Another week, another month, and another full roster of government meetings in and around Charlottesville. Every week this newsletter seeks to make sure as many people as possible know what’s coming up and to help me sort through what I’ll be covering.
Albemarle County & the City of Charlottesville
The staff in PEC's Charlottesville office works with citizens to solve the many land use and conservation challenges facing the Charlottesville and Albemarle area.
Rivanna Bridge Update
Update (August 1): The MPO submitted the Bridge proposal (with the Wool Factory terminus) to VDOT this afternoon for SMARTSCALE funding. We will find out if the project is approved in January of 2023.
Read the full project background here.
As you may know, the Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Policy Board voted last week to pursue VDOT SMARTSCALE funding for a pedestrian bridge connecting Pantops and Woolen Mills at the end of Market Street (the Wool Factory). Allison Wrabel wrote a good story about the vote.
Getting a pedestrian connection over the Rivanna in this area is a big win for the community, and I’m excited for the next step. Although the public survey and MPO Technical Committee both preferred the Chesapeake Street location, Market Street has powerful logic of its own and some late-breaking and not-obvious factors were decisive in the vote.
For one thing, much of the support for Chesapeake Street was contingent on the bridge being an elegant suspension bridge, which came into doubt late in the process. Many people might well have voted differently if they had known the bridge style would likely be more industrial in nature. Of course, it would have been better to know this from the beginning, but the process did work in that it brought the issue to light before the final location was selected.
What’s more, the Albemarle Board of Supervisors has a strong preference for the Market Street alignment adjacent to the Wool Factory site, which locates the bridge entirely in the County. Albemarle is stringing together a series of projects that merge economic development and community wellness in Pantops, the Old Mills Trail, the Wool Factory and Broadway. The bridge at Market Street ties them all together.
Not only is Albemarle putting forth plans, it is putting money behind them. The existing improvements at the Wool Factory are one example. Also quite interesting is the fact that the county has recently juiced several transportation projects with millions from its Transportation Leveraging Program.
That kind of local support (or Economic Development funds) could help mitigate the cost difference between the two bridge location options and be of critical importance if unforeseen contingencies arise. Although both options had strong appeal, the Policy Board (with representatives from Albemarle, Charlottesville, and VDOT) selected the one that it would best be most able to get behind and push to completion.
For all those reasons, this is a very positive outcome.
Week Ahead for March 28, 2022: Budget season continues with real estate tax increase likely in Charlottesville
No week is ever slow in local government, but this one appears to be a lot less intense. It’s the final week of a month, and the beginning of a new month and a new quarter. After an intense March, this is a good week to try to catch up. There are no meetings in Greene County or Louisa County this week, and only one in Fluvanna. The word of the week remains budget.
Week Ahead for March 21, 2022: Major redevelopment of Seminole Square Shopping Center to be presented at public meeting Wednesday
The next several days have crucial decision points as well discussion sessions about our region’s future.
On the Ground Updates – March 2022
A series of short updates from around the PEC region – Albemarle & Charlottesville, Clarke, Culpeper, Fauquier, Greene, Loudoun, Madison, Orange & Rappahannock.
In the City or the Country—Public Access to Nature Matters
As the pandemic drove many Piedmont residents to seek respite and renewal in natural areas, parks, and trails like never before, it made one thing abundantly clear; we need more, well-distributed public access to parks and green spaces all throughout the region.
Week Ahead for March 14, 2022: Budget season continues with work sessions in Albemarle, Charlottesville, Fluvanna and Nelson; Greene PC to consider Lydia Mountain Lodge expansion
Make sure your clock is correct so that you don’t miss any of the exciting meetings coming up this week in local and regional government. It’s another week filled with opportunities to learn more about what’s coming up in the area.
Second Active Mobility Summit Celebrates Collective Action and Launches New Initiatives
On February 28, representatives from organizations, local businesses, agencies and passionate individuals who share a mission to promote walking, biking, running, everyday access to nature and active lifestyles gathered for a free, half-day workshop to identify areas of collaboration and lay out work plans. About 30 people joined the Zoom-based meeting to check in with one another about collective work started at last year’s first virtual Mobility Active Summit.
Week Ahead for March 7, 2022: Budget season begins in earnest; Charlottesville PC to revisit 28 unit development south of UVA
The keyword for this week is “budget” with four out of the six jurisdictions holding meetings about their key financial documents. Charlottesville residents will see what city staff have come up with under the first budget to be produced under the supervision of interim City Manager Michael C. Rogers. Greene County Supervisors will advertise their tax rate. The elected officials in Albemarle and Nelson hold work session.
Week Ahead for February 28, 2022: Standard Communities to make case for $23M in “exempt facility” bonds for Midway Manor; Smart Scale workshop planned for Monday
This is another strange week that takes place in two different months. No week is quiet in a community as dynamic as the metropolitan area that radiates out from Charlottesville. There’s always something interesting to know about before it happens at a government meeting. This newsletter intends to let you know of some of the things you might want to watch either live or in archive form.