May 5, 2025: Charlottesville Tree Commission seeks greater protection for mature trees after pin oak on Garrett Street inadvertently removed
Plus: Attorneys for the City of Charlottesville file a motion asking Judge Worrell reconsider recent motion allowing zoning code to proceed
Cinco de Mayo is not Mexican Independence Day but nevertheless gives an opportunity to celebrate not only an important culture but also to consider how we even know about the occasion. On this day in 1862, Mexican defeated the Second French Empire in the Battle of Puebla. Sometime in the 1980’s there were campaigns to tie this day to the sale of alcohol. This is Charlottesville Community Engagement and check back on September 16 for the second half of this introduction. I’m Sean Tubbs, always interested in attempting to find out why.
In today’s installment:
The city has filed a new motion asking Charlottesville Circuit Court Judge Claude Worrell to reconsider a recent decision to allow a lawsuit against the city’s zoning code to proceed
There will be periodic closures of the U.S. 29 / 250 bypass at Old Ivy Road Tuesday night into Wednesday morning
The Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors reports a flat quarter for home sales to begin 2025
The Charlottesville Tree Commission wants the city to tighten protections for mature trees after one was knocked down due to utility work at Kindlewood
First-shout: Rivanna River Fest this Saturday
We’re up to that time of year when the Rivanna Conservation Alliance and their partners celebrate our community’s main waterway - the Rivanna River!
From 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. there will be all sorts of events at the Rivanna River Company on land now owned by the City of Charlottesville. There will be family-friendly activity tables, free tubing from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m (depending on water levels), and you can sign up for fly-fishing lessons with Orvis.
At 2:30 p.m. you can hear the “Story of Buck Island” from Philip Cobbs
At 3 p.m. the Rockfish Wild Sanctuary will present “Wild Neighbors”
At 3:30 p.m. Horace Scruggs will present the “African American History of the River”
At 4 p.m. there is a guided walk from Steve Gaines, the city’s urban forester
At 5 p.m. there is performance from The Front Porch’s Hometown Choir
There’s a free concert from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. from Mighty Joshua
For more information and details, visit the Rivanna Conservation Alliance website!
City asks Judge Worrell to reconsider April ruling allowing anti-zoning lawsuit to proceed
Attorneys with the City of Charlottesville have filed a new motion in Charlottesville Circuit Court asking Judge Claude Worrell to reconsider a ruling made from the bench on April 16 that allows a lawsuit against the city’s zoning code to proceed.
The legal team representing Charlottesville City Council has argued that a group of Charlottesville property owners do not have the right to use the Dillon Rule to argue that the zoning code should be thrown out. The Dillon Rule is a legal principle that establishes that localities cannot take actions that the General Assembly has not specifically authorized.
The motion to reconsider cites an April 22 ruling by the Court of Appeals of Virginia that involves the Surry County Board of Supervisors and the approval of a conditional use permit for a methane gas conditional facility. A nearby property owner filed a suit arguing notice had been insufficient and the Court of Appeals sided with Surry County. (read Drewry v. Board of Supervisors of Surry County)
A central argument for the plaintiffs is that the city failed to comply with a section of state code that governs “coordination of state and local transportation planning.”
“Like the plaintiff in Drewry who was not permitted to assert the rights of third parties, the Plaintiffs here are not permitted to assert VDOT’s right to enforce the agency’s statutory and regulatory scheme,” reads the motion. (view the motion on cvillepedia)
Attorney for the plaintiffs, Mike Derdeyn, filed a motion to oppose the city’s new request.
“The Virginia Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized that a litigant has the right to assert that a locality’s adoption of a zoning ordinance is void under Dillon’s Rule where the local governing body has failed to comply with the General Assembly’s statutory directives for adopting such an ordinance,” reads the counter-motion. (read this motion on cvillepedia)
Before these motions were filed, the next step was to have been a motion seeking declaratory summary judgment. Hearings have not yet been scheduled.
U.S. 29 / 250 bypass to be periodically closed overnight Tuesday
Crews hired by the Virginia Department of Transportation are working on the replacement of a bridge that carries Old Ivy Road across the U.S. 29 /250 bypass. This week that will mean some overnight delays on Tuesday going into Wednesday.
“From 9 p.m. Tuesday to 6 a.m. Wednesday, the left inside lanes of the U.S. 29/250 Bypass will be closed in both directions between Route 654 (Barracks Road) and U.S. 29 Business (Fontaine Avenue),” reads an email sent out by VDOT this afternoon at 1:31 p.m.
Around midnight, the entire roadway will be closed for 15-minute increments while a beam from the old bridge is removed. The structure was built in 1961 and is being replaced due to structural deficiencies.
The $3.3 million project got underway in February when a long-term detour of westbound traffic on Old Ivy Road was put into place. The new bridge will be slightly higher than the previous one to increase clearance space. Construction is expected to wrap up in the fall of 2026.
Second shout-out: Supporting the Keswick Heritage Fund’s Love Better Project
The Keswick Heritage Fund is a partnership of several churches in Albemarle County that provides education support and opportunities for professional development. One of their outreach programs is the Love Better Project, which provides scholarships to Black students in the Keswick area. The fund was created soon after the inaugural scholarship was awarded in 2020.
Grace Episcopal Church, Union Grove Baptist, Union Run Baptist, Zion Hill Baptist and St. John Church are united for growth through community partnership and education. To learn more about the fund, the scholarships, and the churches themselves, visit their website at keswickheritagefund.com.
CAAR: Sales flat in first quarter of 2025
Home buying activity in the first three of 2025 was similar to that of the year before according to a new report from the Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors.
“There were 695 closed sales in the area during the first quarter of 2025, one additional sale than this time last year,” reads the first quarter report.
As with recent years, the median sales price increased three percent to $450,000.
The number of active listings has also grown.
“At the end of the first quarter there were 875 active listings on the market in the CAAR footprint, 203 more listings than a year ago,” the report continues.
Mortgage rates are down slightly with a 30-year fixed-rate loan at 6.81 percent in the fourth week of April, down from 7.1 percent in the same period in 2024.
The report also notes there has been a 17 percent increase in building permits over last year with 358 issued in the quarter across the Charlottesville metropolitan area.
The number of sales is down 19 percent in Charlottesville, five percent in Albemarle, and seven percent in Louisa. Sales were up fourteen percent in Nelson, ten percent in Greene, and 39 percent in Fluvanna.
“Louisa County and Charlottesville saw median home prices decline this quarter but Greene County experienced higher median home prices than last year,” the report continues. “In the first quarter, the median sales price was $405,000 throughout the state, up 5.2 percent from a year ago.”
The median sales price for new construction fell five percent to $473,250.
Removal of damaged tree on Garrett Street prompts Tree Commission to call for more protection
One of Charlottesville’s many advisory bodies is calling on Charlottesville City Council to do more to protect mature trees after one was damaged by utility work for a major redevelopment project on Garrett Street.
“Despite prior assurances from project engineers and developers that this particular group of street trees would be protected, a 50-year old Pin Oak (36.9” diameter) was severely damaged and ultimately removed,” reads a letter from the Charlottesville Tree Commission to Charlottesville City Council.
“This incident is more than unfortunate—it highlights systemic gaps in our site planning and tree preservation protocols,” the letter continues.
The document is included within the packet of the Tree Commission’s packer for the meeting on May 6. They meet at 5 p.m. in the Parks and Recreation Office on the Downtown Mall level of the Market Street Parking Garage. (meeting info)
The letter claims the tree was to have been spared as the old Friendship Court makes way for more units at what is now known at Kindlewood. The agenda packet includes a draft letter to City Council and the city administration in protest of what they say is now the second tree to be removed.
The letter calls for this incident to highlight the need for protections of mature trees which can take decades to replace.
“In 2022 and 2023, the city undertook an extensive overhaul of its code, but tree preservation provisions remain minimal,” the letter continues.
The group requests:
Creation of a mandatory environmental checklist for all projects that involve tree removals or preservation
A requirement for a tree preservation plan
Accurate depiction of the size of trees on site plans
Stronger penalties for unauthorized or inadvertent tree removals
Requests for comment are out to both the City of Charlottesville and the Piedmont Housing Alliance.
There’s more to be learned from the agenda packet.
The second administration of Donald Trump is seeking to dismantle the federal government including payments to organizations that had already been approved for grants under the presidency of Joe Biden. One source of funding had been the Inflationary Reduction Act which included money for environmental efforts.
Charlottesville had been awarded funds to create an urban forest management plan but those have been eliminated. A goal is to identify the true size of the city’s tree canopy.
“The city is working with Eocene to finish data acquisition in regards to the Tree Canopy Analysis, Vegetation Inventory, and Street Tree Inventory,” reads the agenda packet. “These reports will be paid for with City funds and treated as separate purchased projects.”
The staff report notes that other entities are fighting back and appealing the termination of funding that had already been appropriated.
Now for some context on the tree canopy in the form of previous reporting:
Tree Commission briefs Council on canopy decline, annual report, January 20, 2021
Charlottesville Tree canopy continues to decline, December 9, 2021
Charlottesville Planning Commission updated on tree canopy work, VDOT pipeline studies, October 15, 2023
Charlottesville bids: City seeks a firm to create forest management plan, April 28, 2024
The minutes from the April 1 meeting indicate that early data from Eocene indicates the problem of a declining tree canopy may not have been as severe as initially thought.
“Very surprised that we have more canopy than we thought,” reads the minutes. “Canopy was 38 percent (current), they are finding 46 percent.”
We also learn from the agenda that there is a vacant urban forestry technician position open.
The agenda packet concludes with a letter from former City Councilor Kay Slaughter regarding a proposal in Albemarle County for a special use permit to fill in the floodplain. The property is in the Woolen Mills along Franklin Street just across the border with Charlottesville.
“In the past, city and county governments have turned their collective backs to the River's banks, allowing this great resource to be used for automobile services, truck storage, and other heavy commercial activities,” Slaughter wrote.
In April, the Planning Commission voted 4-3 to recommend approval. You can read about that in this story I wrote for C-Ville Weekly.
Reading material:
The biggest takeaways from Trump's cut-filled FY26 budget, Eric Katz, Government Executive, May 2, 2025
There will be at least one contested Supervisor race in Albemarle this November, Sean Tubbs, C-Ville Weekly, May 2, 2025
Charlottesville-Albemarle unions gather to show solidarity, spread awareness, Gabby Womack, WVIR 29News, May 4, 2025
Charlottesville adds more full-time bus drivers than ever before, but residents say it’s not enough, Erin O’Hare, Charlottesville Tomorrow, May 5, 2025
#858 is heading out of the station
This morning I took the early train back from Pennsylvania. I woke up at 2:30 a.m. and that was that. As soon as I publish this newsletter I’ll head over to WINA to do my usual radio and then perhaps I’ll go somewhere to spend time with people.
I’m slowly becoming more social after years of isolating myself. There are reasons and one day my memoir is going to be incredibly entertaining. Or perhaps I’ll keep it to myself! I am no more important than anyone else but I likely write more things down for an audience than many.
Sitting on Platform 4 at Trenton this morning, I wondered what sorts of lives everyone had around me. I could see across the tracks to Platform 1 and watched people board the New Jersey Transit cars bound for New York City. What would it be like to commute every day?
While I was waiting for the Northeast Regional, several people asked me if they were at the right spot to get to D.C. One man said he was new to the country, and I wished him a warm welcome. Another person with an English accent pronounced Roanoke something like “roonook” or something.
From Trenton to D.C., the Northeast Regional mostly passes through an industrial landscape with so many ruins of the past. This is in stark contrast from what happens when you head south of Manassas the rolling hills of the Piedmont dominate the landscape. I always get excited when the train rolls through Orange but doesn’t stop. If it did, how might that affect that community?
And there’s something amazing when the train practically empties at Charlottesville. I was the last one off today in a process that took several minutes. Everyone has to go through one door, unlike other stations where the train is level with the platform. My friend was waiting to pick me up, and I was glad to be home.
Yet, I will confess I’m glad I have another ticket booked and another adventure is in the near future. Until then? Everyday is an adventure!
Now, here’s a very important remix of a very important song. None of us are monarchs.
Thank you the kind person who let me know that the image I had for the Rivanna Riverfest shout-out was incorrect! It has been changed to a generic image. I regret the error!