In the many years I worked for someone else as a reporter, I always had the idea of creating a podcast version of the stories I was writing because I got my start in radio. I love hearing other people’s voices and trying to capture events in a sonic fashion. The December 19, 2023 edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement once again focuses on a single meeting in a fashion approaching my vision. I’m Sean Tubbs, still trying to figure out how one listens to something visible.
On today’s show:
Charlottesville’s Human Rights Commission celebrates a milestone
Preservation Piedmont salutes the city for work to locate unmarked graves of enslaved persons in Pen Park
Several people have been appointed to Boards and Commissions in Charlottesville
Charlottesville City Council won’t be taking a trip to Maryland anytime soon
City Council approves two large rezonings near the University of Virginia
First shout-out: Camp Albemarle
Today’s first subscriber-supported public service announcement goes out to Camp Albemarle, which has for over sixty years been a “wholesome rural, rustic and restful site for youth activities, church groups, civic events and occasional private programs.”
Located on 14 acres on the banks of the Moorman’s River near Free Union, Camp Albemarle continues as a legacy of being a Civilian Conservation Corps project that sought to promote the importance of rural activities. Are you looking to escape and reconnect with nature? Consider holding an event where the natural beauty of the grounds will provide a venue to suit your needs. Visit their website to view the gallery and learn more!
Today’s edition of the newsletter has audio from the December 19, 2023 City Council meeting. This is not the whole meeting, nor does it contain material from the budget work session held at 4:30 p.m. Nor does it contain material about the Development Code, but the next one will.
Human Rights Commission turns 10
November marked the 10th anniversary of Charlottesville’s Human Rights Commission, a body created after the Dialogue on Race that began in December 2009. City Council agreed to create the body on a 3 to 1 vote on May 20, 2013 with Councilor Satyendra Huja abstaining.
“The Charlottesville Human Rights Commission held its first meeting on November 21, 2013,” said Charlottesville Mayor Lloyd Snook, reading from a proclamation marking the occasion. “The role of the Charlottesville Human Rights Commission is to act as a strong advocate for justice and equal opportunity by providing citywide leadership and guidance in the area of Civil Rights.”
The proclamation was received by Ernest Chambers, the vice chair of the Human Rights Commission.
“We are one of the few left in the state of Virginia that are active,” Chambers said. “It’s very important for us to continue our work and support especially affordable housing that is going on here in Charlottesville.
The budget for the Office of Human Rights has increased during the time period from a FY20 figure of $184,470 to a FY24 figure of $487,553. There are now four full-time employees.
Take a look at the minutes from that May 20, 2013 meeting. That was the same night as the public hearing for the 2013 Comprehensive Plan. Two people spoke.
Preservation Piedmont recognizes city for preserving unmarked graves at Pen Park
A group that honors preservation of historic resources in the region has honored the City of Charlottesville for work to investigate the identities of who is buried in unmarked graves at a cemetery in Pen Park. Research commissioned by the city confirmed they were the bodies of enslaved persons. (view the 2020 report)
Preservation Piedmont created an annual award this year for “Cemetery Preservation and Descendant Engagement.
“We established this award this year because we wanted to illuminate and reveal that which has been hidden in plain sight for way too many years,” said Genevieve Keller, the president of Preservation Piedmont.
Archaeologists were asked by the city to investigate depressions in the earth adjacent to a family cemetery. The consultant team of Rivanna Archaeological Services and NEAVA Geophysical used ground penetrating radar and found 43 unmarked burials.
“This is the beginning of an effort where descendants can determine how their ancestors should be memorialized,” Keller said. “This is a group award that also names the descendants, the [Albemarle Charlottesville] Historical Society, and the city’s consultants.”
Diane Brown Townes is descended from one of the people interred at the site. She thanked the city.
“For respecting and honoring the space that allows us to do the research, contextualize, and interpret our ancestors’ stories,” Brown Townes said. “Our families were torn asunder because of the commercializing and human trafficking and child slavery. This project allows us to find our families. We’re beginning to mend.”
Brown Townes said the work is sad but liberating.
Jeff Werner is the city’s preservation planner in the Department of Neighborhood Development Services. He said there is more work to be done.
“In the coming months, we’ll be coming back to you,” Werner said. “We have a landscape out there that we know contains unmarked graves. We don’t know the extent of them. We don’t know the location of all of them.”
Werner said descendants would like to have the area fully mapped in order to allow them to fully memorialize their families.
Council recognizes Puryear’s service
There was one more item before regular business.
“The next item on our agenda, another recognition, is a resolution of appreciation for Leah Puryear,” said Charlottesville Mayor Lloyd Snook.
Puryear was selected in February to complete the term of former City Councilor Sena Magill. She was among the first people elected to the School Board in 2006 and served four terms.
“And whereas Leah may have thought when her 16 years of service on the Charlottesville School Board ended a year ago that she was going to retire from public service,” Snook read from the proclamation. “And whereas her community called and she answered, now therefore we wish to state our deep appreciation to Leah Puryear for being willing to join us on this dais and we particularly remember and give thanks for her deep knowledge of Charlottesville and our people, her compassion and concern for people who are left out or marginalized, the depth in which she jumped into the revision of our zoning code, her good counsel during the city manager search, an her faithful diligence that the brought to all of her duties as a City Councilor.”
Puryear was one of 20 applications and did not think she would be selected.
“When we got the narrowing down and I was in that group I said, okay, but I knew, I just felt that it wasn’t me so first of all I wanted to say thank you to the four of you for asking me to join the team,” Puryear said.
Puryear thanked everyone in city government from the custodians to the city manager. She encouraged people to seek out the positive aspects of the community.
“Charlottesville has not done everything right but no one does,” Puryear said. “But one of the things that I hope that each and everyone of you in this room or watching or listening will understand that there are some good things in this city.”
This was likely the last meeting for Puryear but this is Charlottesville.
Council makes several appointments to Boards and Commissions but not to PC
As 2024 begins, the Charlottesville Planning Commission will still have a vacant position. City Council named several people to city board and commissions last night, but once again declined to appoint someone to the body charged with advising them on land use.
“There were some spots we didn’t fill and there are some reasons we can get into separately but we don’t need to talk about tonight,” Snook said. “Suffice it to say, there are still openings available.”
In an email, Snook reminded me that the position is listed as closing on January 31, 2024. Take a look at all the vacancies on the city’s website.
Ronald Bailey has been reappointed to the Board of Architectural Review filling a space reserved for owners of residences in an architecture design control (ADC) district.
Roger Birle and James Zehmer have both been reappointed will serve on the BAR in the historian space
Both Richard Fravel and L.D. Perry have been reappointed to the Charlottesville Affordable Housing Fund Committee
James Rucker has been appointed to a vacancy on the Historic Resources Committee
Heather Griffin has been appointed to the Charlottesville Housing Advisory Committee to fill a space reserved for a real estate professional that had been vacant.
Charlie Burton, Angela Estes, Heather Gaston, Patty Herrigan, and Suzanne Lynnhave been appointed to the Human Rights Commission.
Planning Commissioner Phil d’Oronzio has been reappointed to a position on the Personnel Appeals Board.
City Manager report: Charlottesville and Albemarle officials regularly meeting
City Manager Sam Sanders has continued the practice of providing a regular report to City Council on the activities of city government. This was begun by his predecessor, Interim City Manager Michael C. Rogers.
On Monday, Sanders announced the cancellation of a trip to Montgomery County, Maryland to learn more about how that community’s transit system is implementing battery-electric vehicles. The trip had been anticipated as another piece of information for Council in advance of a looming decision for how to proceed with alternative fuels for Charlottesville Area Transit.
“That’s going to allow us to go ahead and move forward with CAT in partnership with Kimley Horn to bring forward their recommendations for the study,” Sanders said. “That will occur on January 16 during the work session.”
Sanders said a decision will not be made at that work session, and added he is hopeful a trip to Montgomery County can occur eventually.
The city manager also announced a high-level “leadership exchange” with officials in Albemarle County.
“This is something we’ve done in the past and every now and again it has gotten off track, and we’ve been able to bring it back together,” Sanders said. “It was an important opportunity for us to work on key matters that we have in collaboration pertaining to our respective FY25 budget planning.”
Sanders said topics included transit, libraries, emergency management, and parks and recreation.
Here are some other items from the written report:
The Parks and Recreation Department is seeking responses to a survey to inform the creation of a new master plan. (take the survey) (learn more)
Charlottesville Area Transit has announced it will create a dashboard to show ridership performance, on-time rates, and service levels in order to promote transparency.
Construction will begin next year on an all-abilities play space called Bennett’s Village. This will be in Pen Park.
Second shout-out: Design Develop
In today’s second Patreon-fueled shout-out, architectural firm Design Develop wants you to know about a new service aimed at the development community that may not be widely known yet — 3D point cloud scanning! That’s a technique that uses specialized equipment, such as 3D scanner systems, to gather a large amount of data points that represent the surface of the scanned object or scene.
The applications of 3D point cloud scanning are extensive and cover various fields, including architecture, construction, cultural heritage preservation, virtual reality, industrial design, manufacturing, and more. These applications require accurate 3D spatial information, and Design Develop’s workflow provides precise and comprehensive results, all while being more cost-effective than traditional methods.
Design Develop has expertise in this workflow for their own needs and now has a dedicated team offering this service in the Charlottesville and Albemarle Area. If you're involved in the real estate, design, or construction industry, feel free to contact us for more information or a free quote.
Visit their website for an introductory video that captures the 3D point cloud scanning of the Downtown Transit Center and a booklet that will explain more!
City Council approves Verve Charlottesville and 2117 Ivy Road
Shortly before they adopted a new zoning code, Council also approved rezonings under the old system for mixed-use buildings near the University of Virginia. Both projects had been deferred at the December 4 meeting.
The first is known as Verve Charlottesville which would replace 62 existing apartments with between 524 and 550 units. The project is located at the intersection of Jefferson Park Avenue, Emmet Street, and Stadium Row.
“You gave the applicant two weeks to come back with something better and before you tonight is what they’re bringing back to you,” said Matt Alfele, a city planner.
The concept for Verve Charlottesville had been altered between the Planning Commission public hearing and Council’s first consideration. Here’s a memo outlining those changes. Since December 4, developers Subtext Acquisitions offered to pay more into the city’s affordable housing fund.
“The new proffer statement that has been provided to City Council and signed offers four and a half times that which would be required under City Code Section 34-12-D-2 based on the approval of the final site plan up to a maximum of $6,800,00,” Alfele said. (view the statement) (view the code)
The amount on December 4 had been a maximum of $6 million. The exact figure will be determined via a formula that’s associated with the existing city code that uses total square footage as one of its inputs.
The new Development Code will have a new mechanism for calculating cash-in-lieu payments and are expected to be much higher. That will be covered in the Affordable Dwelling Ordinance manual which City Council will have to approve.
Councilor Michael Payne wanted to know more about how Subtext came up with their number. Attorney Valerie Long responded that they used the RKG “rate of change” report which recommended changes to the calculation.
“It’s not an arbitrary number pulled out of the air,” Long said. “It is based on the analysis as best we are able to do with the information that we have.”
Payne said he could support the project.
“As best as I can, looking at RKG’s analysis and the change they’ve made I think were made in good faith,” Payne said. “Particularly compared to this when this began at $4 million, it’s much closer to what I think the payment in lieu likely would be under the draft inclusionary zoning.”
The vote to rezone the property to Planned Unit Development was unanimous.
The project will also have to go through the Entrance Corridor Review Board, which is also the Planning Commission.
The second project is a rezoning request for 2117 Ivy Road, one of the only properties on the northern side of that street that is not owned by the University of Virginia or its real estate foundation. This project would include up to 241 units and was also deferred at the December 4 meeting.
“And in that time, the applicants have revised their proffer statement, they have increased the cash-in-lieu payment to a maximum of $3,250,000 and they have also added a second proffer to reflect proposed design changes to their pedestrian streetscape and building stepbacks,” said city planner Dannan O’Connell. (view the proffer statement)
In this case, RMD Properties has not yet decided if they will pay into the fund or actually build the units.
Attorney Valerie Long also represented developer RMD Properties. She said those design changes for the streetscape have been made in response to UVA.
“We’ve also moved the building back as far as possible from Ivy Road to address some comments that you all provided at the last meeting,” Long said.
Councilor Michael Payne said it is a good location for housing and will not displace anyone.
“Obviously the University has bought up most of this corridor and is going to transform it and it’s going to be different in terms of their architecture and height and I think that’s okay,” Payne said. “I think it always has to be on our mind that the University continues to buy property and it’s now well north of $15 million a year that we don’t get in tax revenue because of that.”
Charlottesville Mayor Lloyd Snook repeated a comment he’d made previously that there is too much trying to be packed into less than one acre site.
“I guess I’ll cast a reluctant yes,” Snook said and the vote was unanimous.
This project will also have to go through the Entrance Corridor Review Board, which is the Planning Commission.
What might this project have looked like if City Council and the Board of Supervisors did not agree to dissolve the Planning and Coordination Council? There is no longer any public forum where the three members of the Three Party Agreement can discuss ideas and share concerns openly. Instead, that happens behind closed doors.
Reading material:
BOS Elect, Jessica Ligon, Releases Statement Regarding September Traffic Stop, Blue Ridge Life, December 15, 2023
Courteney Stuart Reports: Longtime friend of Will Richey reflects on his impact, WINA, December 18, 2023
He was a bonfire, and we all relished getting as close to that bonfire as we could to share his glow', Emily Hemphill, Charlottesville Daily Progress (paywall), December 18, 2023
Charlottesville OKs two major apartment developments — against UVa's wishes, Jason Armesto, Charlottesville Daily Progress (paywall), December 19, 2023
Go forth, 617!
I didn’t quite make it through all of the City Council meeting from December 18, 2023 but the next edition will write up the discussion on the Development Code. I’ve already produced some of that but have to get through the end of it. I know I’m not going to be first with that story, but I can assure you my report will be the most thorough.
And that’s what people pay me for. Today I’ve gotten a new $5 a month Substack subscription, a new $200 a year Substack subscription, and a pair of new Patreon supporters. It’s my hope to eventually be able to hire people to do this work, and I’m grateful to all of you who have done so so far.
And thanks to Ting for their sponsorship! The initial payment for those two Substack subscriptions will be matched by Ting which also helps me keep me doing this work on a full-time basis.
If you sign up for Ting at this link and enter the promo code COMMUNITY, you’ll get:
Free installation
A second month for free
A $75 gift card to the Downtown Mall
December 19, 2023: Preservation Piedmont honors Charlottesville for project to locate unmarked graves in Pen Park; Council honors Puryear