December 23, 2024: Plans filed to replace single-family home in Locust Grove with a six-plex under Charlottesville’s new development code
Plus: Charlottesville City Council votes to join Albemarle County on the Regional Transit Authority
The end of 2024 is now quite close and anyone who knows that this leap year has 366 days can probably count backwards to figure out where December 23 stands in the ranking of days from January 1 to December 31. This is Charlottesville Community Engagement, a newsletter that understands these are the holidays times. I’m Sean Tubbs, and there’s information to get out anyway.
In today’s installment:
Plans have filed to replace a single family home on St. Clair Avenue with six units, an action that fits the spirit of the city’s new Development Code
Charlottesville City Council votes to join the long-planned but not-yet-realized regional transit authority
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation thanks Governor Youngkin for more funding for soil conservation but still wants the Commonwealth to rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
A look at some stories that may be written by the end of the year and possibly this week
First-shout: Friends of Charlottesville shed a Downtown Spotlight
In today’s first subscriber-supported shout-out: Friends of Cville launched a new web show this fall called the Downtown Spotlight that brings conversations from local business owners, community leaders, and more who make up the Downtown Mall.
In their fourth edition from earlier this month, Greer Achenbach spoke with Major Mark van Meter from the Salvation Army about the expansion of their services, including the capital campaign for the construction of new low barrier shelter and proposed solutions in homeless intervention.
Take a look at the edition on YouTube:
Six units proposed to replace single family house in Locust Grove neighborhood
As 2024 comes to a close, staff in Charlottesville’s Department of Neighborhood Development services continue to get used to a new zoning code that increases the ability for developers to build new housing units.
On December 17, 2024, an entity called the 1040 St. Clair Land Trust paid $900 to file the latest “major development plan” for city review. This project will see one house built in 1950 in the Locust Grove neighborhood replaced with six units, at least three of which will be affordable under the city’s new rules.
A pre-application meeting was held the next day and the project is under review by staff. As with all new developments under the new code, the City Council and the Planning Commission play no role in deciding what happens.
Developer Nicole Scro purchased the property in June for $285,000. That’s 13.32 percent above the 2024 assessment of $251,500 and 49.21 percent above the 2020 assessment of $191,000.
A request for additional comment was not returned at publication time but will be included as this story moves over to Information Charlottesville.
The property is within the city’s new Residential-A district which allows three new market-rate units per lot or four if the existing structure is kept. That is not the case with this 1040 St. Clair according to the site plan.
In Residential-A, additional units up to a maximum of six can be built as long as enough of them meet the city’s definition of affordability. These are known as bonus units and so far only one other major development plan has proposed going for the extra units by providing affordability. That project is 2030 Barracks Road which seeks to build 24 units on two undeveloped lots on land zoned as Residential B.
The bonus units are covered by the city’s Affordable Dwelling Unit Manual which was adopted by Council in February. All major development plans involving residential use have to complete a form known as the Affordable Dwelling Unit Certification Application.
“The applicant must provide information on planned [Affordable Dwelling Units] for the project or planned in-lieu fee payment, based on the [Affordable Dwelling Unit] ordinance requirements in the Charlottesville Development Code and this Manual,” reads page 7 of the manual.
While the city’s online portal includes the site plan for 1040 St. Clair, the certification is not present at this time.
As for 2030 Barracks Road the initial application was denied and a resubmission was accepted on December 9 according to the development portal. Neither the site plan nor the certification application is present in the portal.
There are at least four other major development plans involving residential projects:
A developer is seeking to build nine units at 1609 Gordon Avenue on a property zoned Residential Mixed Use 5. That zone allows for unlimited residential density as long as one in ten is affordable. The initial application was denied and a second version was resubmitted on September 20. This appears to have been denied, but none of the specific documentation is in the portal. I wrote about this project for C-Ville Weekly in October.
Another developer is seeking to add three units at 1317 East Market Street while keeping the existing residence. None of the documentation is available in the portal. It appears staff denied the initial plan on July 30 and a resubmission is required.
Another development seeks to build 12 units on four lots on Hillcrest Road, which I wrote about earlier in the autumn. No affordable units would be provided as each lot would take advantage of the Residential A zoning. The initial plan is in the portal but none of the correspondence is included. This appears to have been denied on December 20 and the status in the portal states “resubmittal required.”
A major development plan for 303 Alderman Road has twice been denied by staff including one that appears to be dated December 19, 2024. The idea is to demolish a single family house and replace it with six townhouses that are now described on the front of the old structure as “luxury brownstones.” Multiple documents are included in the portal and there are extensive comments. I’ll have a further review of this one with more details in the near future. There are no affordable units required and none are proposed for this Residential B property.
A lawsuit seeking to overturn the Development Code is still active in Charlottesville Circuit Court. My story from November 16 is another I need to update.
One editorial note: As with the Future Land Use Map, this publication will not turn Affordable Dwelling Unit into an acronym in part because this one shares the same space as Accessory Dwelling Unit and the two are not necessarily connected.
Resources:
Charlottesville joins regional transit authority; Council holds first reading on federal transit allocations
No one spoke at a public hearing before City Council on December 16 for the allocation of $7.5 million in state, local, and federal money for Charlottesville Area Transit to purchase replacement vehicles.
“We are buying 10 buses as a part of the $7.5 million,” said Garland Williams, CAT’s director. “Two of the buses are battery electric. That is part of our expansion.”
In March, Council agreed to proceed with a plan to test both battery-electric vehicles and hydrogen-powered vehicles as a way of becoming fossil-free by 2040. These battery-electric vehicles will be purchased from the manufacturer Gillig and Williams said his agency will need to install the infrastructure necessary for charging but that’s not part of this allocation.
The other eight buses will be diesel and Williams said they are among the last CAT will purchase. He said those are already on order and may be here in February.
The allocation will be made after a second reading on January 6, 2025.
Shortly after no one spoke at the public hearing, one of Albemarle County’s deputy county executives appeared before Council to explain the purpose of the proposed Charlottesville-Albemarle Regional Transit Authority.
Ann Wall said the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission has been shepherding the creation of a Regional Transition Plan that culminated in a transit governance study.
“The Transit Governance Study recommended that the region initiate the formation of a transit authority envisioned in the 2009 legislation,” Wall said. “It recommended early decision discussions regarding regional planning efforts with the idea of a shared vision, establishing bylaws, engaging rural localities and engaging transit partnerships.”
Albemarle County voted to join what will be known as CARTA earlier this month. (read that story)
That Regional Transit Vision also covered other localities in the Thomas Jefferson Planning District and there is a chance some of them could join in the future because the 2009 legislation that authorized CARTA includes them.
“It also says that Fluvanna, Green, Louisa and Nelson can come along as partners,” said Ben Chambers, the city’s transportation planning manager. “We have had conversations with them and they'd like to see how we pull this together ourselves first before jumping in with us. But there is still interest in watching to see how this progresses and seeing if there's an opportunity for them to join in the future.”
One of the first steps for CARTA will be to seek a planning grant from the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation. At the moment, the authority will not be able to see actual funding for transit projects nor will it operate any of the transit agencies. Chambers said this is another initial step.
“What this authority is giving us is a table to sit down at so that we can collectively, city, county and all the various transit agencies, decide what we need for transit going forward and figuring out how we resolve some of those questions between the agencies and the jurisdictions,” Chambers said.
City Councilor Michael Payne said the formation of the authority is another step toward transit being a viable alternative to driving. He said another entity needs to be part of the conversation.
“I think UVA's participation will be vital because I could see that doubling ridership in the amount of money we get, and I think it'll have its ultimate impact will be limited as long as UVA is not fully at the table with us,” Payne said.
The vote for Charlottesville to join CARTA was unanimous.
Second shout-out: Ragged Mountain Running and Walking Shop’s 12 Days of Giving
With the holiday season upon us, the people at Ragged Mountain Running and Walking Shop once again are pausing and reflecting on the past year. For 43 years, customers have supported the business and one way to give back is through the annual 12 Days of Giving program.
Since mid-December, the Ragged Mountain Running and Walking Shop has donated 10 percent of their sales to area non-profits as part of an annual tradition that has raised over $40,000 for various groups.
Today, December 23, is the Building Goodness Foundation, a nonprofit construction company that partners with the highest quality NGOs and domestic nonprofit organizations to design and build structures. Locally the group partners with low-income homeowners, nonprofit organizations, and small-business owners to complete construction and renovation projects through their C’ville Builds Fund.
Chesapeake Bay Foundation calls for Virginia to rejoin RGGI
An organization that seeks to promote better water quality in the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed is saluting Governor Glenn Youngkin for several budget amendments to help that goal.
The budget amendments introduced on December 18 include the transfer of an additional $17.4 million to a fund used to support what’s known as “Agricultural Best Management Practices” across the Commonwealth.
“Farm conservation practices like fencing cattle out of streams and planting streamside trees and grasses are among the most cost-effective steps Virginia can take to restore the Bay and local streams,” reads a statement sent out by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation after the amendments were announced.
You can learn more about those programs on the Department of Conservation and Recreation’s website cost-share and tax credit programs.
The CBF release also notes that Governor Youngkin is proposing the creation of a Disaster Assistance Fund with the initial source being the proceeds that Virginia received in the December 2023 auction held by the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. That was $97,444,075.68 according to the RGGI website.
The amendment adds another $25 million from the general fund to this line item.
Within an hour of taking office in January 2022, Youngkin signed an executive order stating his direction for Virginia to leave the interstate compact which requires power generators to purchase credits to exceed emission thresholds. The General Assembly passed legislation to join RGGI in 2020 and bills to exit legislatively failed in the 2022 session. The Youngkin administration pulled out anyway using executive means culminating in a 4-3 partisan vote on the State Air Control Board.
This November, a judge in Floyd County ruled that this action was unlawful. The ruling is being appealed, but the head of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation said he wants Virginia back in the program.
“Climate change is making extreme weather all too frequent, which underscores the urgency of the Disaster Relief Fund,” said executive director Chris Moore. “But it also demonstrates the need for proactive investments before disaster strikes, which is why Virginia must rejoin RGGI as soon as possible.”
You can go through all of the budget amendments on the Legislative Information System.
What stories remain for 2024?
File this one under housekeeping. Holiday housekeeping.
There are a lot of stories I am still waiting to write, and I’m at a point where I know there is limited time before the new season begins. I am a one-person shop, with no benefits, no vacation time, no salary. Just a deep hunger to bring you information.
Here is what I still hope to get to by the end of the month, written in a way to help prioritize what I hope to get to. It is my belief at this point that there are no press accounts of any of this, but please let me know if I’m incorrect:
The Albemarle Board of Supervisors saw a “Year in Review” at their meeting on December 11, 2024 and I will likely get to that one tomorrow or at least by the end of the week.
Albemarle Supervisors also had a legislative meeting on December 6, 2024 I’d like to write up.
The Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority had a work session on December 12 at which they reviewed their work plan. There was a response from the Public Housing Association of residents. A draft was posted in October.
The Regional Transit Partnership met on December 12, 2024 and I want to go through and see what comments might have come up during the roundtable, as well as write out a presentation from Jaunt.
I still want to write about the parks and recreation master plan that went before Council on December 16, 2024. Charlottesville Tomorrow wrote a story but took a specific angle.
The Charlottesville Board of Architectural Review had discussions about two residential buildings on December 17, 2024 as well as a discussion of 1609 Gordon Avenue mentioned above. I want to write up all three.
The Albemarle Economic Development Authority had a discussion about the biotech sector on December 17, 2024. I wrote a preview story and I have the audio for this one to document the conversation.
The Albemarle County Planning Commission had a public hearing on a development proposal called Oak Bluff on December 17, 2024. I have the audio recorded but haven’t been able to process it. Crozet Gazette will definitely have a story, but the rest of the community needs to see, too.
I failed to even mention the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority meeting from December 17, 2024 and doubt I’ll get to this one.
I’m way behind on the AC44 process and may have to move on from some of those conversations. There are far too many meetings and much of the information gets repeated multiple times. I do need to process each one, though, because even though I don’t have salary or benefits, this is my job because people pay me.
The thing is, that’s still a partial list. There are stories everywhere and we live in a time where there really isn’t a system set-up to cover it all. Together perhaps all of the information organizations do so, but each has a different approach. Mine is to be as thorough as possible to provide as much context as possible. If other information outlets won’t do it, then I will do what I can and hope for the best.
And with that, let’s get to the end of this newsletter so I can go shopping.
Reading material for December 23, 2024
Supervisors approve over $200K in school security requests, Heather Michon, Fluvanna Review, December 12, 2024
Board makes changes to policies on personal devices, CBS19 News, December 13, 2024
New Virginia environmental science standards not 'quite meeting the bar', Anna Bryson, Richmond Times-Dispatch (via Charlottesville Daily Progress), December 14, 2024
Virginia lawmakers reach out in Crozet ahead of legislative session, Avery Davis, WVIR 29NBC News, December 15, 2024
Charlottesville engineer sues critics of abandoned apartment project, Hawes Spencer, Charlottesville Daily Progress (paywall), December 17, 2024
Local land use in 2024, by the numbers, Sean Tubbs, C-Ville Weekly, December 18, 2024
Youngkin reintroduces proposal to end state-funded abortions for fetal anomalies, Charlotte Rene Woods, Virginia Mercury, December 19, 2024
Court reaffirms Sweet Briar's ban on trans students, Justin Faulconer, Lynchburg News and Advance (via Charlottesville Daily Progress (paywall)), December 21, 2024
Running mates Wade, Pinkston discuss their joint campaign, homelessness and UVa, Emily Hemphill, Charlottesville Daily Progress, December 22, 2024
Congress passes legislation to provide Hurricane Helene relief, Elizabeth Beyer, December 22, 2024
#785 loves the free-wheeling spirit of the holidays!
Three stories plus a weird recap of uncompleted work is enough for today. I need to go shopping and while I’m out there I’m going to take advantage of the bright winter sun to see how the conversion of Oxford Valley Mall is going off of U.S. 1. There are interesting things to note all over the country, and I’m grateful that family circumstances have meant I see more of it than I used to.
There will hopefully be an edition tomorrow, but the reality of the holiday’s warping effects with me. I know there will be less of an audience, but I also am a creature who lives through writing. I need to process information. We’re all built differently, and this is how I am. So, we’ll see. I’m not happy if I don’t publish, and I like to be happy
If you read this far, you know by now my approach to fundraising is simple. If you like what I do, you can pay me. If you have paid me, I’m going to keep thanking you. If you don’t want to pay me, you may change your mind one day. In 2025, I’m hoping to add one more way to pay but the details aren’t ready yet. I know there are people who want me to keep going, and as long as I get to travel, I will.
I am an American. I was born here to people who moved here from another country. I don’t want to go anywhere else. I want to continue expanding in 2025 because I think there are ways to make things better. All I know is that my role is to write my way through in as thorough a manner as possible.
We are entering the final week where Ting will match your initial subscription through PayPal. I can’t stress how amazing this has been and how I am grateful for their support. Thank you, Ting, for your early support for whatever this has ended up being. I think the first time I mentioned it was back in the April 15, 2021 newsletter. Things have changed a bit!
One thing that has not changed is this faithful copy: If you sign up for service and you are within Ting’s service area, enter the promo code COMMUNITY you’re going to get:
Free installation
A second month for free
A $75 gift card to the Downtown Mall
Bonus note:
Charlottesville Community Engagement would not be possible without King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. In this holiday week, I am providing links to shows at the bottom. “The Dripping Tap” helps me focus. Merry Gizzmas!
Thanks, Sean, as always… By the way, a special shout out for including that great note on “ADU”! Some of us have been looking for documentation for either “accessory, dwelling unit” and “affordable dwelling unit”.