July 31, 2024: New development era underway in Charlottesville as plans filed to replace single family house on Alderman Road with six townhouses
Plus: City Council to hold public hearing Monday on salary increase to $34,000, $37,000 for Mayor
July is now at its conclusion but 2024 still has very close to seven twelfths left until its end. We are now seven weeks into the 101 days of summer. The passage of time continues no matter how it is described, but I am also certain a physicist or a philosopher could convince me that what I experience is but an illusion.
Either way, Charlottesville Community Engagement exists to communicate some of what has happened and to preview a bit of what’s coming up. I’m Sean Tubbs, ready to see what August brings even if its already happened before.
In today’s installment:
Charlottesville City Council will hold a public hearing Monday on a salary increase enabled by recent legislation
Albemarle County wants economic development consulting firms to give a quote on how much it would cost to update the Project Enable strategy
Charlottesville’s economic development office releases another vacancy report for parts of the city
The City of Charlottesville is reviewing plans for six townhouses on Alderman Road where a single-family house currently stands
First shout-out: Charlottesville Community Bikes
In today’s first subscriber supported shout-out, Charlottesville Community Bikes strives to provide wheels to anyone who needs a ride. According to their Facebook page, the nonprofit group is running low on mountain bikes and they’re looking for donations. If you have any bikes collecting dust in your shed or garage, they’d love to find them a happy new home! 🚲
Visit their website to learn more!
Charlottesville City Council to vote Monday on salary increase
Charlottesville City Council is moving fast to take advantage of a new Virginia law that allows them to substantially increase the amount of money a person is paid to serve as a legislator.
There will be a public hearing Monday night on an increase in the annual salary for a City Councilor from $18,000 to $34,000. That’s an 88.9 percent increase. The salary for the Mayor would go up from $20,000 to $37,000, an 85 percent increase.
Delegate Katrina Callsen (D-54) carried the legislation that updated the section of Virginia code that sets the maximum salaries for those elected to make decisions for cities. For the first time, there’s also a provision that allows the rate to be increased due to an inflation factor not to exceed five percent.
“The legislation was part of the Charlottesville legislative agenda for the 2024 session and was also a priority of the Virginia Municipal League and the Virginia First Cities Coalition,” Callsen said in an email.
The final version of the legislation passed the Senate 29-10 and the House of Delegates 67 to 30. The legislation does not apply to salaries of those elected to a county Board of Supervisors.
The amounts set by the state are determined by population size. The Mayor in cities larger than 260,000 people can be paid up to $56,000 while those in cities with fewer than 15,000 can be paid $21,000 a year.
To put the proposed salaries in perspective, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has calculated the area median income for Charlottesville at $124,200. Take a look at their website for further breakdowns of that metric.
Another important detail can be seen in the public notice that appeared in the July 27, 2024 edition of the Charlottesville Daily Progress.
“The proposed the salary increases would not take effect until the July 1 following the next general election for members of City Council, which would be July 1, 2026,” reads the notice.
The grammatical errors are present in the notice which can be viewed on a website maintained by the Virginia Press Association called Public Notice.
Next year the Council seats currently held by Brian Pinkston and Juandiego Wade will expire. The 2023 general election was uncontested and Democrats Natalie Oschrin, Michael Payne, and Lloyd Snook were elected without opposition.
Albemarle moving ahead with update of economic development strategic plan
For many years, Albemarle County did not put an emphasis on economic development. As the 21st century got underway, the Board of Supervisors began to shift toward a more pro-business stance.
According to the county’s economic development strategy, the transition began in 2008 with an update of the economic development chapter of the Comprehensive Plan, followed by an economic vitality action plan that called for significant changes. In 2015, the county hired its director of economic development and the Board of Supervisors adopted the Project Enable plan in late 2018.
Six years later, the county is seeking firms who want to develop a strategic plan for the rest of the decade. The background section in a request for qualifications issued on July 24 sets the stage.
“Albemarle’s local economy is varied, with higher education (anchored by the University of Virginia), the defense sector (anchored by Rivanna Station), healthcare (anchored by the University of Virginia Health System and Sentara), and tourism focused on wine and historic/cultural resources (including Monticello),” reads the RFQ.
The next sentence puts an emphasis on the role that biotechnology is expected to play in the future with mentions of both the Manning Institute under construction at the University of Virginia and the Charlottesville Biotech Accelerator run by CvilleBioHub that both Albemarle and Charlottesville have invested in. (See also: Albemarle EDA to sign off on providing $300,000 match for CvilleBioHub, March 19, 2024)
Project Enable was developed in-house but the county has opted to hire a consultant this time around. The department is without a permanent director and an assistant to County Executive Jeffrey Richardson is serving in the position on an interim basis. Emily Kilroy served many years as the county’s director of communications and public engagement. (See also: Albemarle’s communications director to serve as interim economic development director, May 16, 2024)
The firm hired will have to work on seven tasks including a full review of economic indicators compared to ten peer localities and a review of the existing targeted industries. They will have to develop a sense of the county’s constraints including land use policy and zoning and be aware of real estate and business trends.
They will also need to understand the regional framework with a mention of the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy recently adopted by the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission. (See also: TJPDC adopts regional plan for economic development, May 10, 2024)
The last task is a final plan based on stakeholder engagement.
“The final plan should include a recommended set of easily understandable and obtainable measures to track progress on the overall health of the economy generally, and specifically to track progress on each objective,” reads the RFQ.
Since Project Enable was adopted in December 2018, Albemarle has put together several initiatives using the Economic Development Authority as a means to connect to federal and state grant opportunities. Most of these are conducted in secret due to available exemptions in Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act and there is a list on cvillepedia with the names of some of them from Project 49ers to Project Turtle.
The county is also making a large investment in the defense sector with the $58 million purchase last year of 462 acres of land around Rivanna Station to protect it from encroachment and to develop a campus for the defense and intelligence sector. Supervisors approved a rezoning in June that is seen as a prerequisite for a grant from the Virginia Economic Development Partnership to prepare the site for the future.
In 2023, Charlottesville hired the firm Resonance to develop a new strategic plan for economic development. You can take a look at that document here.
City of Charlottesville updates retail vacancy report
The City of Charlottesville’s Office of Economic Development tracks the occupancy of retail storefronts in six designated areas and has released the latest snapshot reporting on current vacancies.
Of the 450 spaces tracked, 21 are vacant. That’s a slight uptick over 19 reported in January. While the numbers provide one picture, the anecdotal is worth a closer look for what’s happened since January.
Vivi’s Cakes and Candy has opened up in York Place (Facebook) (Instagram)
518 East Main is expecting a new tenant where the Blue Ridge Country Store had been but I could not find any building permits. The report has the wrong address listed.
A bath and beauty store called Ovid & Lane is now at 321 East Water Street (visit the website)
Vitae Spirits is now listed as having a tasting room at 107 East Main Street on the Mall having moved from 101 East Water Street as vacant.
The Charlottesville Redevelopment Housing and Authority will occupy the storefront at 310 East Main Street. The government entity paid $2.65 million for the property in late February as I wrote about at the time. There are no applications for building permits listed in the city’s database.
Lazeez Modern Indian Flair has taken over the former Red Pump Kitchen at 401 East Main Street. This is that company’s second location.
Decades Arcade has expanded into the retail space at 418 East Main Street.
The former Commonwealth Restaurant and Skybar at 422 East Main Street is listed as TBD. There do not appear to be any applications for building permits.
The Draft Taproom is coming back to 425 East Main Street. I noticed activity last time I was on the mall a week ago and a representative told me to check back soon for more details. A permit for a new sprinkler system was issued in 2022 with work estimated at about $7,800. According to their Facebook page, they closed on March 15, 2020 just as the COVID-19 pandemic caused a cascade of business shutdowns.
Downtown vacancies include 200 West Market Street (the former Fellini’s), 201 West Water Street (the former Waterbird distillery), and a retail space at 218 West Main Street in the CODE Building.
The number of vacancies at the 87-space Barracks Road Shopping Center increased from seven to nine due to what the report calls a “natural amount of turnover.” Vacancies include the former locations of Zoe’s Kitchen, Rebeccas Natural Food, Mahana Fresh, SimplyMac, and Chocolatesville.
At some point in the recent past, the Office of Economic Development removed several retail spaces at Seminole Square due to the planned redevelopment of the former Giant and other commercial space into over 350 apartments.
Take a look at the full report for more information.
The Office of Economic Development does not track retail activity on West Main Street, the Willoughby Shopping Center and other scattered sites across the area. There are at least two buildings on West Main Street with retail space that has never been rented.
Second shout-out: Piedmont Master Gardeners have a newsletter
In today’s second subscriber-supported shout-out, the Piedmont Master Gardeners have already filled a July 20 class they have planned. But you can still learn a few things from their monthly newsletter called The Garden Shed.
Volume 10, Number 7 for July 2024 is currently out and has articles with relevant articles for this scorching summer. Read about how to garden in Intense Heat and Drought and how to stop wilts and root rot in your vegetable garden, and a guide to freezing fruit! There are also columns on edible and ornamental items that might have sprung up in gardens this July.
Take a look at the issue and another one will be along soon for August. And be on the lookout for classes as they fill up fast! There’s a lot more information at piedmontmastergardeners.org.
Six townhouses planned for single-family house on Alderman Road
When the Charlottesville City Council adopted a new zoning ordinance last December, one of the main goals was to create more housing in neighborhoods that had been zoned for single-family use. A legal challenge remains alive as I reported earlier this month.
The Development Code went into effect in late February and so far there has not been an onslaught of applications seeking to take advantage of additional development rights created by Council’s vote.
Now perhaps the first such plan has been filed with the Department of Neighborhood Development Services. Evergreen Home Builders paid $835,000 for 303 Alderman on June 17. Exactly a month later, Shimp Engineering submitted what the new rules refer to as a major development plan for a proposal that would remove the existing single family house in favor of six townhouses on the 0.31 acre lot.
Under the old rules, a property owner would have needed Council to approve a rezoning for that level of development, a process which allowed a process where members of the public could express their thoughts at an official hearing. Now the land is designated as Residential-B, which means that six units can be built without Council’s permission. As many as 12 can be built if half of them are designated as affordable.
In order to build what is in the plan, Shimp Engineering has to ask city staff to grant a waiver to exceed the maximum height in order to allow all six units on the site while meeting other technical guidelines such as “minimum built-to width” and “maximum building massing.” In Residential-B, the latter is 60 feet.
In this case, the primary street is Alderman Road and the lot is 96 feet wide.
“In order to meet the build-to requirements, buildings along the primary street must be at least 65 percent of 96 feet or 62.4 feet,” reads a July 17 letter from Julia Moore of Shimp Engineering. “Our proposal meets this minimum by proposing three townhomes each with 21.7 feet of frontage for a total of 65 feet.”
However to make the dimensions work, Shimp Engineering has designed a plan for the buildings to be at 65 feet. The development code gives the zoning administrator the ability to make a designation.
Moore said an “administrative modification” of the rules would not affect other properties.
“All buildings are still well within the setback requirements,” Moore writes. “In addition, because the three townhouse facades’ depths are staggered, they create the appearance of three separate buildings rather than one large massing.”
The other three townhouses would front onto Minor Road.
So far there is no city response available in the development portal or on the zoning website. There are no provisions in the new Development Code for public input into the process.
The major development plan offers a glimpse at the new requirements in the zoning code.
In Residential-B, buildings cannot cover more than 65 percent of the lot. In this case, the total size is 14,395 square feet which creates a maximum of 9,356 square feet. The proposal is a total footprint of 6,105 square feet.
The code requires a nine foot ceiling on the ground floor but this proposal would be for ten feet.
While no parking is required to be built, each unit has one garage.
The plans also include a six foot wide “clear walk zone” on Alderman Road as well as a five foot greenscape zone.
Reading material for #711
A taste of 'old Charlottesville' offered at new Clubhouse Cafe, Emily Hemphill, Charlottesville Daily Progress, July 29, 2024
Amtrak kicks off Northeast Corridor bridge project to make trains more reliable, faster, Julie Strupp, Smart Cities Dive, July 30, 2024
Fire destroys Albemarle County home, CBS19, July 30, 2024
Bob Good will get his recount Thursday, Jason Armesto, Charlottesville Daily Progress (paywall), July 31, 2024
A brief history of the two-decade process to replace the Belmont Bridge, Sean Tubbs, C-Ville Weekly, July 31, 2024
Businesses near the much-debated Belmont Bridge hopeful for a comeback, Sean Tubbs, C-Ville Weekly, July 31, 2024
#711 over; now let’s head to the Seven-Eleven!
When I was a very little kid in suburban Portsmouth, the only store we could walk to was a Seven Eleven. The store had a mythic quality to me and when I got to Blacksburg for freshman year, the nearest store not owned by Virginia Tech. There’s a new one right across the street from where I went to high school in Campbell County.
There’s no longer one on Ivy Road as the University of Virginia needed the space for what I believe is going to be the new Karsh Institute of Democracy. That’s the sort of thing I’ve been tracking for the past four years after going independent. Now I have this outlet as well as my reporting in C-Ville Weekly, and I am always glad to partner with anyone interested in taking the long view.
What will the world look like in 20 years? That’s such a big question, but I’ve made it my career to track how Charlottesville grows. For the past 20 years I’ve been slowly learning things and appreciate being able to approach it story by story.
Paid Substack subscribers make that happen, and today is a great day to become one if you’ve not already. There are well over 3000 people on the Substack and 650 people are paying me to keep doing this work. I’d like to keep going, but as I really begin Year 5 I have to determine how long I can do this and whether I can save up to pay for my old age.
In any case, if you do pay through Substack, Ting will match your initial payment whether it be $5 a month, $50 a year, or $200 a year. Questions? Let me know.
In return, I tell you that Ting can help you with your high speed Internet needs. If service is available in your area and you sign up for service, enter the promo code COMMUNITY and you will get:
Free installation
A second month for free
A $75 gift card to the Downtown Mall
This edition inadvertently listed the wrong year for the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. That was 2020, not 2023.