March 24, 2025: City Council agrees to new agreement for $3 million payment to CRHA for Sixth Street development
Plus: Council indicates support for five out of six CAHF applications
The Third Amendment of the United States Constitution prevents the federal government from requiring property owners to house soldiers and it has never been the subject of a major Supreme Court ruling. However, the concept was fresh in the minds of people who had just successfully won a war against the British government. On this day in 1765, Parliament passed the Quartering Act which required property owners to house British troops. Thus ends the historical section of the March 24, 2025 edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement. I’m Sean Tubbs, and it is good to look back at the past while contemplating the future.
In today’s installment:
One person died in a single-vehicle collision in Albemarle County on Sunday morning
Representatives from area local governments will meet for the first time tomorrow to begin the process of creating a regional water supply plan for the Middle James River Basin
Charlottesville City Council re-enters into an agreement with the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority related to $6 million in city contributions
Charlottesville City Council awards funding from the Charlottesville Affordable Housing Fund
First-shout: Stand-up comedy Tuesday night at Rapture on the Downtown Mall
In today’s first shout-out which no-strings-attached shout-out: Tomorrow night, people who want to make other people laugh will take the stage at Rapture on Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall. The Tip Top Twins and Jemar O’Neal will host the second R.O.F.L. Stand-Up Comedy Showcase at 8 p.m. on the Downtown Mall. Music starts at 7 p.m.
To learn more, take a listen to a recent radio interview on WTJU.
Governor Youngkin begins to veto bills including one to create a committee to bring down prescription costs
At publication time, Governor Glenn Youngkin has begun to exercise his authority under Virginia’s constitution to end legislation that he disagrees with. As of print time, eleven bills have been vetoed according to the Legislation Information System. (view the list)
Three are related to firearms and several are related to employment matters. For instance, HB1921 would have required home health care workers to receive one hour of paid leave for every 30 hours worked. This passed the House of Delegates 51 to 47 and the Senate 21 to 16.
HB1724 would have created the Prescription Drug Affordability Board. That also passed narrowly in a General Assembly held by the Democratic party with a very narrow majority.
This is a developing story and will be updated later this evening on Information Charlottesville. For background information, take a look at a post today by Brandon Jarvis in the Virginia Political Newsletter from a press conference.
One legislation being watched closely across the Commonwealth is SB1307 which would allow localities to hold referendums to determine for themselves whether to levy a one percent sales tax. So far it has not been vetoed, but Jarvis included this quote from Youngkin.
“You can imagine, that if I vetoed it last year, there is a reasonable chance I will this year,” Youngkin said.
Motorcycle crash kills one on Garth Road early Sunday morning
One person is dead and another is injured following a single vehicle crash in the 1800 block of Garth Road in Albemarle County after 1:30 a.m. this morning.
"The two occupants of the motorcycle were transported to the University of Virginia Hospital by Albemarle County Fire Rescue," said Reagan Whitlow, a public information officer for Albemarle County. "As a result of their injuries, one of the occupants passed away at the hospital."
This morning, Albemarle County identified the deceased as 25-year-old Jake A. Martel of Lebanon, Maine.
The Albemarle County Police Department's Crash Reconstruction Team is continuing to investigate what happened.
There were seven traffic fatalities in 2024 compared to ten in 2023, according to the latest annual report from the Albemarle County Police Department.
Regional water supply meeting for Middle James River area to take place Tuesday
Legislation that passed the General Assembly in 2020 requires localities in the same watershed to adopt a regional water supply plan by October 2029.
“Plans include information on water sources, water use, and water resources, as well as water demand projections, water management actions, drought response and contingency plans, and the identification of water supply risks and proposal of regional strategies to address such risks,” reads the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality’s website.
There are 26 separate regions and the Charlottesville area is within Middle James River Region I. The first meeting of the group is scheduled for March 25 at 10 a.m. in Room 320 in the Albemarle County office building at 401 McIntire Room.
There will be representatives from Albemarle County, Buckingham County, Fluvanna County, Greene County, and Louisa County as well as the various towns in each. There will also be representatives from the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission, the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority, and the Rappahannock River Basin Commission.
There will also be a representative from the Commonwealth Regional Council, an equivalent of the TJPDC, due to Buckingham County’s presence in this region.
Nelson County is within Middle James River Region II, a group that met today.
This new regulatory arrangement comes at a time when different localities in the region are at different stages of the planning process.
Greene County is planning on building a new reservoir for future supply, but that would impound tributary of the Rapidan River, not the James River. So far they have not asked to be moved to a different planning region.
Fluvanna County and Louisa County both participate in the James River Water Authority which is constructing a water line from the James River to the Zion Crossroads area.
Albemarle County and Charlottesville are members of the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority which is implementing a community water supply plan adopted in early 2012. The first major step was to build a new dam at Ragged Mountain and the second step is to build a pipe to connect that reservoir with the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir.
Two previous stories on Information Charlottesville:
RWSA may need more water for Crozet, may one day plan jointly with Fluvanna, Louisa and Greene, September 12, 2024
Public comment period underway for changes to water supply planning, September 16, 2024
City Council enters into new agreement with CRHA for Sixth Street redevelopment
For the second time in a month, Charlottesville City Council has voted to re-enter into an agreement with the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority that had lapsed.
Council has previously agreed to contribute a total of $6 million for the redevelopment of a portion of properties at both South First Street and Sixth Street. The terms required CRHA to begin construction by December 1, 2024 but that did not happen in either case. Additionally, CRHA did not even ask for an extension, nullifying the agreement.
Charlottesville’s housing program manager, Antoine Williams, said language has been added to require CRHA to provide more communication with the city.
“Reauthorization of this funding adjusted timeline is that financial closing deadline is no later than July 31,” Williams said. “Construction commencement is July 31 and then construction completion is subject to July 31, 2027.”
Brown said that CRHA can ask for an extension but it has to be in writing and 30 days in advance.
City Councilor Michael Payne is on the CRHA Board of Commissioners and said the deadlines are a crucial part of the process. The $6 million from the city comes from the capital improvement program and comes from the sale of bonds.
“These deadlines exist so we can have access to tax exempt bonds, which is more affordable for the city, which means we have capacity to invest in more affordable housing projects,” Payne said. “So this is very important to actually meet these deadlines. This is not just an arbitrary city decision.”
Council once again waived a requirement for a second reading with a meeting to suspend their rules. Williams said that would allow CRHA to help make the deadlines.
Second shout-out: Plant Virginia Natives
Spring is here and there’s still time to plan for upgrades to your outdoors. You can take some time to get ready for spring! Check out Plant Virginia Natives!
Plant Virginia Natives is part of a partnership with ten regional campaigns for ten different ecosystems across Virginia, from the Northern Piedmont to the Eastern Shore. Take a look at the full map below for the campaign for native species where you are in the Commonwealth. For the Charlottesville area, download a free copy of the handbook: Piedmont Native Plants: A Guide for Landscapes and Gardens.
Plant Northern Piedmont Natives is for anyone who works with native plants, whether you are a property owner, private consultant, landscape designer, nursery operator, conservation group, or local government.
Charlottesville City Council holds first reading of allocations for affordable housing projects
Charlottesville received six applications in the latest cycle of grants from the Charlottesville Affordable Housing Fund (CAHF) and on March 17 voted to fund five of them.
“The CAHF is a key funding tool for advancing city housing goals, ensuring organizations working to preserve, rehabilitate and build affordable housing receive the resources needed to make a tangible impact in our community,” said Antoine Williams, the city’s housing program manager.
This time around there is $823,000 in the fund and Council allocated a total of $788,000 leaving a balance of $35,000. Here are the funded requests reprinted from an earlier newsletter.
$240,000 to Albemarle Home Improvement Program (AHIP) for repairs to a dozen houses. This fully funds AHIP’s request.
$88,000 for Community Services Housing for repairs in 20 units they manage. This fully funds their request.
There is a typo in this one. Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville requested $160,000 to support home ownership for four households below 60 percent of the area median income (AMI). The staff report first states the award is $106,000 but this project has the highest score. The memo also hints that this is being done as a pilot project on a site that now allows higher residential density than previously. Never a dull moment around here. Lower down, the full amount of $160,000 is listed.
The Piedmont Housing Alliance asked for and is recommended to receive $200,000 for a project at 905 Rives Street to be built under their Piedmont Community Land Trust. Piedmont Housing Alliance purchased the 0.434 acre property last June for $300,000. So far, there are no applications in the city’s development portal for this address.
The Piedmont Housing Alliance asked for and is recommended to receive $100,000 for the Piedmont Community Land Trust to build two homes at 356 11th Street NW. The land trust acquired the property in September 2024 for $73,150.
The application that was not recommended for funding by the CAHF Committee was a request from the group Preservation of Affordable Housing for their project to build 180 units in a six story building at 1000 Wertland Street. They had asked for $823,000.
“While the committee recognized the value of the 180 unit project in that it purports to offer a benefit to our housing market and that it will relieve the pressures on units that will be occurring naturally, affordable units and potentially rented out by college students, they felt at this time and for the level of funding their request was $823,000, which is the entire CAV, that this wasn't necessarily the right vehicle funding mechanism for a project like this for consideration,” Williams said.
City Councilor Michael Payne said the 1000 Wertland project also came with a $3 million request in capital improvement funds, similar to what has been provided for both the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority and the Piedmont Housing Alliance.
“Whether you agree on principle UVA should contribute nothing to this project, that’s money the city, you know, very possibly just doesn't have,” Payne said.
The 1000 Wertland project is one of three that will be built on land contributed by the University of Virginia or its real estate foundation. City Councilor Brian Pinkston, a UVA employee, said he felt the institution has been clear that land would be their contribution.
“That's of significant value,” Pinkston said. “And they also feel like they've been very vocal from the very beginning that that would be their contribution. And if other people read into it, you know, they're going to spend the money, they're going to actually pay for all the housing itself. That wasn't the intention.”
Payne said he had talked to many people who felt that UVA would be paying for the land.
A press release from December 2021 when the three sites were selected was clear.
“No UVA funds will be spent on building construction,” reads that article.
Payne said regardless of what UVA said, UVA is a much larger organization.
“It's a challenging situation for the city, that amount of money,” Payne said. “When you compare, you know, our budget of around $250 million versus an annual operating budget of, you know, close to 3 billion with an endowment of over 15 billion.”
There will be a second reading of this item at Council’s next regular meeting on April 7.
Reading material:
NOAA cuts forecast trouble for VA weather warnings, Zamone Perez, Public News Service, March 24, 2025
A very hasty end to #837
I am late for the radio station so this end blurb will be short. I woke up tomorrow not sure if I could do any writing. Then I wrote a personal essay to a friend. That woke me up so I could write a C-Ville Weekly article. Then I did a very short Fifth District Community Engagement edition and then began work on this.
I’m a human, I think. I am much happier when I get to do work I love. I want everyone to have that shot and hope that as we continue as a civilization, we’ll get better at figuring out how to get more people to be able to live their dreams.
I will advise against having a dream of starting your own independent publication, though. There’s no time off and the future means trying to figure out a third end where I can also burn the candle.
Music today is from a band I discovered over the weekend and I think I may be in love. And it’s not even Friday!