May 6, 2024: Virginia State Police use force to disperse unlawful assembly at UVA
Plus: VDOT seeks input on potential projects on Ivy Road and Old Ivy Road to mitigate growth at UVA
What makes a story worth telling? What makes a government action worth reporting? Why does the May 6, 2024 edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement begin with three questions? Every installment seeks to bring information about the area in and around Virginia’s 13th largest city. I’m Sean Tubbs, lucky enough to be here.
In today’s installment:
Police have identified the two people who died yesterday when a twin-engine plane crashed in Fluvanna County
Virginia State Police respond to a call from Virginia’s Attorney General to shut down an “unlawful assembly” at the University of Virginia
The Virginia Department of Transportation seeks input on potential alternatives to reduce congestion in an area where the University of Virginia is rapidly expanding
A Danish company has announced plans to open a hydrogen factory in Chesterfield County
First shout-out: League of Women Voters seek entries for poster contest
In today’s first Patreon-fueled shout-out: Every election is important and every vote matters. To get out the word and increase voter registrations, the League of Women Voters of Virginia is holding a poster contest for middle and high school students on one of four themes;
Voting is Important in Our Democracy
Voting Requires Following Specific Laws
Voting and a Vote Should Depend on True Not False Information
Every Vote will be Handled Legally, Carefully and Counted Correctly
The deadline is June 30, 2024.
Entries must be non-partisan and support no campaigns or political parties. Entries must also look visible when blown up to 22 by 28 inches. For more detailed information on the themes and how to submit, visit the League of Women Voters website at lwv.org.
Two dead after plane crashes in Fluvanna County Sunday morning
Two people have died after a twin propeller airplane crashed in Fluvanna County Sunday morning.
According to preliminary data from the Federal Aviation Administration, the pilot and a passenger both died when the twin-propeller Rockwell 690A crashed en route from Manassas Regional Airport to Georgetown County Airport in South Carolina.
The Fluvanna Review reported Sunday that the aircraft hit the ground and burst into flames off of Miles Jackson Road near Palmyra.
The Prince William Times reports today that the pilot was John W. Latham, 63, of Haymarket. The passenger is Niiben C.A. Ayivorh, 73, of Burke.
The cause of the crash is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board.
Virginia State Police use force to remove protesters from UVA campus
Acres of land in Albemarle County owned by the University of Virginia have long been associated with political commentary and protest. Such activities are often seen as in keeping with the spirit of Thomas Jefferson, UVA’s founder and author of the Declaration of Independence.
In June 2012, large crowds stood outside the Rotunda during a long Board of Visitors meeting called to discuss the ouster of President Teresa Sullivan. When the appointed body adjourned on June 19 well after midnight, a spirited crowd followed Rector Helen Dragas to her car demanding her resignation and Sullivan’s reinstatement. There was no large police presence and the incident played out peacefully.
On August 11, 2017, an organized group of hundreds of people carrying tiki torches paraded around Central Grounds after dark before surrounding a group of counter protestors in front of the Rotunda. According to many reports, police were present but did nothing to intervene that evening. Many would go on to participate in the Unite the Right rally the next day in downtown Charlottesville.
At a Board of Visitors’ meeting on March 1 of this year, a group of graduate students demanding fair wages held up signs in a Rotunda meeting room while the appointed body conducted their business. They were not removed and were allowed to protest.
Other examples from before I was a reporter in this community:
UVA Counters Student’s Charges of Racial Inequity, Associated Press, April 10, 1994
UVA Students Arrested In Living Wage Protest, WFMY, April 16, 2006
UVA living wage advocates undeterred by arrests, Jess Blumberg, GW Hatchet, April 27, 2006
A new era has perhaps begun now that the Virginia State Police have been called at the request of the UVA Administration to remove a group that were not following rules that govern conduct on UVA’s campus.
On Saturday, May 4, the University of Virginia sent out an emergency alert at 12:13 p.m. stating “police activity in the area of the Rotunda / Chapel” and instructed people to avoid the area.
All across the United States, groups of people opposed to the Israeli government’s campaign against Hamas in Palestine have set up encampments on college campuses to draw attention to their demands that higher education institutions divest their endowments from anything that financially supports the Israeli government. One such camp was set up on what UVA refers to as Grounds.
At 2:42 p.m. on Saturday, UVA sent out an emergency alert declaring that an unlawful assembly had been declared. That’s the same declaration made on August 12, 2017 when the Unite the Right rally was being held in what was then called Lee Park to protest the removal of a statue honoring a Confederate general.
In both cases, Virginia State Police in riot gear moved in with force to physically remove anyone in their way to enforce state code which has the following definition for “unlawful assembly.”
“Whenever three or more persons assembled share the common intent to advance some lawful or unlawful purpose by the commission of an act or acts of unlawful force or violence likely to jeopardize seriously public safety, peace or order, and the assembly actually tends to inspire persons of ordinary courage with well-grounded fear of serious and immediate breaches of public safety, peace or order, then such assembly is an unlawful assembly,” reads § 18.2-406.
The punishment is a Class 1 misdemeanor unless participants are carrying firearms. Then it is a Class 5 felony. If a participant fails to disperse and remains on site, it is a Class 3 misdemeanor.
Media accounts initially reported that 25 people were arrested as a phalanx of state police officers used tear gas, pepper spray, and their shields to push people out to University Avenue.
Shortly afterward, President James E. Ryan sent a message to people affiliated with UVA to explain why the protestors needed to be removed.
“Beginning Tuesday afternoon of this week, a small group, including members of our community, participated in a peaceful public demonstration near the UVA Chapel,” Ryan wrote. “Until last evening, they complied with requests to adhere to University policies, including a long-standing prohibition on erecting tents absent a permit.”
Ryan said UVA also grew concerned that the protestors invited non-affiliated members of the public to join them. He said a final warning was given by UVA Police Chief Tim Longo on Saturday morning but was ignored.
“We hoped and tried to handle this locally,” Ryan wrote. “But when UPD’s attempts to resolve the situation were met with physical confrontation and attempted assault, it became necessary to rely on assistance from the Virginia State Police.”
The removal of the encampment on UVA’s campus on Saturday took place several days after similar removals at Virginia Commonwealth University and Virginia Tech. People were arrested in those incidents as well.
On Sunday, Virginia Attorney General Anthony Miyares addressed the UVA incident directly on Fox News. His comments echoed those of Ryan.
“The reality is that what you had at UVA were students that were warned repeatedly,” Miyares said. “They were violating both their student code of conduct. It was an unlawful assembly. There was trespassing. There were outsiders that were there.”
Miyares claimed the students refused to have the tents inspected to see if there were weapons present. He then compared the Commonwealth to other states where protestors have been arrested on college campuses.
“Virginia is not New York,” Miyares said. “You have a very different Governor and different Attorney General and we’re not going to tolerate that. When we had to send in the Virginia State Police, that meant unfortunately they were not dealing with our fentanyl crisis, our human trafficking issues that we have a focus on. They had to deal with these students that instead of acting like adults, they acted like coddled children.”
It should be noted that dozens were arrested at Columbia University, a school which has now canceled its main commencement exercise scheduled for May 16. Read an article in the Columbia Spectator for more information.
In his appearance on Fox News Miyares said “outside agitators” have become involved with the protests at VCU and accused the protestors of threatening officers with assault.
The crackdown on outsiders using UVA’s private space to protest did not deter further action.
CBS19 reports that on Sunday, a group of about 100 people marched from the Memorial to Enslaved Laborers to UVA President Ryan’s house at Carr Hill. There were no arrests.
Today, Charlottesville Daily Progress reporter Jason Armesto posted on a social media site that 24 people were arrested, not 25. He went on to say two faced court hearings today with one of them being a non-student accused of assaulting a law enforcement officer.
For the rest of that story, make sure to check out the Daily Progress story that will follow.
Second shout-out: Design Develop
In today’s Patreon-fueled shout-out, architectural firm Design Develop is offering a new service aimed at the development community that the rest of us might want to know about , too — 3D point cloud scanning! This technique 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. This really comes in handy when working with historic structures, as the firm knows from its experience in Baltimore and Charlottesville. Read their blog post for more information!
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, contact them 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!
VDOT seeks input on Ivy Road projects
For years, the University of Virginia and its real estate foundation have purchased land throughout the community for future expansion. Much of this land has been along Ivy Road or Old Ivy Road, with many private businesses having to seek other locations so a public institution could grow.
Last week, the School of Data Science opened its new building just west of where the Cavalier Inn stood for years. A new hotel called Virginia Guesthouse and the Karsh Institute of Democracy will follow in the Emmet/Ivy Corridor, as will other buildings that have not yet been disclosed to the public. These are on properties that used to generate tax revenue for the City of Charlottesville but are now exempt from that obligation as well as city zoning.
Properties in Albemarle County owned by the UVA Foundation continue to generate tax revenue for now, but places like the 440-unit Ivy Gardens apartment complex will one day be redeveloped with more residential units as well as academic and commercial space.
Food of All Nations and other tenants of the Ivy Square Shopping Center may also one day need to find new locations or go out of business. The UVA Foundation purchased the 2.77 acre site in December 2021 for $20 million, as I reported at the time.
Meanwhile, developers seek more places to build new places for people to live. Last March, Albemarle Supervisors unanimously approved a rezoning for 525 rental units on Old Ivy Road despite opposition from nearby residents who argued the immediate area could not support existing levels of activity, let alone future increases.
Since then, the Virginia Department of Transportation has been studying the area to identify future projects that could alleviate congestion and prepare for more people using the area. This is known as a “pipeline study.”
“The focus of this study is on improving roadway safety, reducing traffic congestion, improving access, and enhancing multimodal accessibility and connectivity for pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit users, including how these needs might be satisfied by facilities within the Route 601 (Old Ivy Road) corridor,” reads a description of the study.
Now VDOT wants community feedback on dozens of potential alternatives that might be pursued. The survey divides into different geographic areas and there are multiple ideas. (take the survey)
Both Ivy Road Western Corridor Improvement Package 1 and Package 2 would modify intersections on U.S. 250 at Ednam Drive, Farmington Drive, Boxwood Estate Road, Kenridge Park Road, and Boars Head Drive with roundabouts in a few locations. To learn more, it’s important to take the survey.
The “Middle” corridor package addresses areas closer to where new developments will take place in the future. One idea here would be to build a ten foot wide shared-use path on the south side of Old Ivy Road. Another would be to use an advanced traffic signal to ensure vehicular traffic could only move in one direction at any time through the narrow railroad underpass. This idea would also see construction of a sidewalk under the underpass.
There are many other ideas including a “triangle-about” at the southbound Bypass off-ramp/Old Garth Road/Old Ivy Road area. This idea was shown to the public shortly before the March 2023 decision to approve Greystar Development’s 525 residential units at Old Ivy Road.
The pipeline survey is open through May 10.
Decisions on what projects to pursue will likely be made by members of the Charlottesville-Albemarle Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Policy Board.
Before November 2019, there was a public body called the Planning and Coordination Council where the impacts of regional growth were discussed by elected officials in Albemarle and Charlottesville and UVA officials.
Now those meetings are held in private as the Land Use and Environmental Planning Committee. Members of the public as well as elected officials must rely on minutes from these meetings to know what was discussed. The minutes for the April meeting are not yet available.
Danish firm may build hydrogen plant in Chesterfield County
In late February, Charlottesville City Council approved a plan recommended by staff to pursue both battery electric and hydrogen-fuel cell vehicles as potential ways to power future Charlottesville Area Transit buses.
Council went ahead with the idea to allow staff to further develop the hydrogen approach despite concerns that the technology may not be far enough along to be ready in time for 2027.
Last week, a Danish company called Topsoe announced they will take advantage of federal tax credits to invest in a new factory in Chesterfield County.
“The factory will manufacture advanced, energy efficient Solid Oxide Electrolyzer Cells (SOEC) that are essential to the efficient production of clean hydrogen and derivatives like eAmmonia and eMethanol,” reads an April 19 press release.
The Inflation Reduction Act created the opportunity for the tax credits, which the release said will catalyze a $400 million investment from Topsoe. The company still needs to make a final decision.
Meanwhile, Charlottesville continues to conduct research of its own according to this entry in City Manager Sam Sanders’ report for tonight’s City Council meeting.
“CAT is hosting an alternative fuels fact finding site visit to Champaign Urbana, Illinois to learn more about the deployment of electric, hydrogen, and [Compressed Natural Gas] buses as well as the infrastructure to support it,” Sanders wrote. “Invited to attend will include council members, key CAT staff, county leadership, a consulting team, as well as media and members of the environmental advocacy community.”
Reading material:
Police clash with protesters at VCU pro-Palestine event, Amy Jablonski and Caitlin McCormack, UR Capital News, May 1, 2024
James River Water Authority wins key permit, Heather Michon, Fluvanna Review, May 1, 2024
New rules for 'forever chemicals' mean challenges, high costs for Fauquier County, Hunter Savery, Fauquier Times, May 1, 2024
Experts Share Model for Encouraging Respectful Debate on College Campuses, Lorenzo Perez, UVA Today, May 1, 2024
Virginia offshore wind project hits whale trouble, Niina H. Farah, E&E News, May 2, 2024
Students, faculty arrested at Virginia Tech now face possibility of university discipline, Lisa Rowan, Cardinal News, May 2, 2024
Bill banning certain driveway, pavement sealants to take effect this July, Charlie Paullin, Virginia Mercury, May 2, 2024
More than 125 arrested at four Virginia universities amid nationwide protests over Israel-Hamas war, Nathaniel Cline,
Thoughts for #673
I have no affiliation with the University of Virginia. I came here for a job related to UVA in 2002 but left that position in the spring of 2004 when it was clear I was not a good fit. I have done freelance work for UVA but have not received any revenue from them or the UVA Foundation for at least eight years.
Yet, I know many of my paid subscribers do so because they want to know what’s happening as UVA constructs billions of dollars in new construction. UVA is the biggest driver of everything in this community and as a person interested in how the community grows, I want to write about how its expansion will change Charlottesville and Albemarle County over time. I want to be fair in my reporting.
Today I did not use the phrase “Grounds” to refer to the University of Virginia campus on first reference. As a person with no affiliation, that word does not belong to me, nor do other practices such as not referring to undergraduate students as freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors. I’m not part of the club and never will be, so why use terminology that may be confusing to those just moving here?
In any case, today’s newsletter may have a weird tone as I process all that happened this weekend. I was at the Virginia Press Association conference at the Omni went the arrests were happening and all sorts of memories came back. I remember being pushed back by state police on April 13, 2017 when I was covering a press conference on August 13, 2017 while snipers were on top of the Downtown Transit Center. Those of who live here have been through a lot in recent years.
I’m skipping the ad and the self congratulation today. I’ll be back tomorrow.
The predicate for declaring an unlawful assembly is violence or the imminent threat of violence. Neither were the case when they issued the unlawful assembly notice. It's also important to note that university officieals kept pointing to a rule they said not permit temnts without administration approval, which they didn't have. According to the university rules, titled "Tent Regulations," "Recreational tents for camping are exempt." To pull off the arrests, they changedthe rule on Satuday morning and went in to arrest people for violating the new rule. That's no way to do business.