Until today, no one at Charlottesville Community Engagement knew that October 19 is Hagfish Day. In fact, the only person who works on the program didn’t even know that there was something called a hagfish, though it makes sense that the structure of the English language would come up with that word. I don’t recommend looking up what the actual creature looks like, and the quicker we put this behind, the faster we can get on with the program. I am your host, the very skittish Sean Tubbs.
On today’s show:
There’s a new interim fire chief and permanent emergency management coordinator in Charlottesville
A committee is being formed to plan for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Downtown Mall
A brief financial update from the city of Charlottesville
Louisa County Planning Commission recommends rezoning for a hotel and apartment complex, but doesn’t endorse plan to increase height to 80 feet
First shout-out is for LEAP’s new Thermalize Virginia program
In today’s first Patreon-fueled shout-out: Have you been thinking of converting your fossil-fuel appliances and furnaces into something that will help the community reduce its greenhouse gas emissions? Your local energy nonprofit, LEAP, has launched a new program to guide you through the steps toward electrifying your home. Thermalize Virginia will help you understand electrification and connect you with vetted contractors to get the work done and help you find any rebates or discounts. Visit thermalizeva.org to learn more and to sign up!
Deputy Chief named as Charlottesville’s Interim Fire Chief
A veteran firefighter with over thirty years experience but only five months in Charlottesville has been named as the interim chief of the city’s department.
Michael L. Thomas has been the Deputy Chief of Community Risk Reduction since June 2022 after retiring from the Lynchburg Fire Department. He will succeed Chief Hezedean Smith, who has left to become chief in Polk County, Florida.
“Chief Thomas holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and an Associate Degree in Fire Science. He holds certifications as a Fire Inspector, Fire Investigator, Certified LEO, Incident Safety Officer, has attended the National Fire Academy, and is currently enrolled in ICMA’s (International City/County Management Association) Professional Development Academy,” reads a press release with the announcement.
A search for a permanent chief will soon begin.
Last week was Fire Prevention Week and Interim City Manager Michael C. Rogers marked the occasion at this week’s City Council meeting. He urged everyone to have a fire escape plan and to have crucial monitoring equipment in place.
“Working smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in reported home fires in half,” Rogers said. “If you need new smoke or carbon monoxide detectors, please call CFD at 434-970-3481 and schedule an installation.”
Rogers also announced the hiring of the city’s first emergency management coordinator. Jeremy Evans is a captain with the Charlottesville Fire Department. He will report to Rogers in his capacity as the city’s public safety director.
More Charlottesville updates from Rogers
Rogers also announced the opening of the public bathroom at York Place on November 1, as first reported by Charlottesville Community Engagement last week.
“The facilities will be open seven days a week during building hours which generally are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily,” Rogers said.
Rogers said the city is also seeking to reopen the Downtown Transit Center by the end of the year. He also said a committee is being put together to oversee the 50th anniversary of the creation of the pedestrian mall on Main Street.
First quarter report in for FY23 in Charlottesville
Charlottesville City Council spent an hour and a half on Monday taking a look at the plans for the budget for the fiscal year that begins next July. I’ll have more about that conversation in a future edition of the newsletter
But they also got a snapshot summary of the first quarter of the existing fiscal year at the beginning of their regular meeting from Krisy Hammill, the city’s budget and performance director.
“We are looking at a revenue surplus at the moment based on our performance in the first quarter,” Hammill said. “If everything were to hold true with that, we are looking at roughly $4 million revenue surplus for FY23.”
That’s a very tentative number. A more secure number is the surplus for FY22 which will be formally known as an audit comes closer together. The estimate at the moment about that is around $14 million.
“I think it’s going to be a little bit more than we talked about earlier but we’ll just have to wait and see until we get the real numbers,” Rogers said.
More on how that money might be spent when I’m able to do that deeper dive into the city budget work session.
For now, take a look at the city’s Budget Explorer, which now should contain data from July 1 to September 30 of this year.
Second shout-out goes to Camp Albemarle
Today’s second subscriber-supported public service announcement goes out to Camp Albemarle, which has for sixty years been a “wholesome rural, rustic and restful site for youth activities, church groups, civic events and occasional private programs.”
Located on 14 acres on the banks of the Moorman’s River near Free Union, Camp Albemarle continues as a legacy of being a Civilian Conservation Corps project that sought to promote the importance of rural activities. Camp Albemarle seeks support for a plan to winterize the Hamner Lodge, a structure built in 1941 by the CCC and used by every 4th and 5th grade student in Charlottesville and Albemarle for the study of ecology for over 20 years. If this campaign is successful, Camp Albemarle could operate year-round. Consider your support by visiting campalbemarleva.org/donate.
Louisa County Planning Commission recommends rezoning for resort, but declines to do so on 80-foot buildings
Plans to build a hotel and residential complex on the shores of Lake Anna in Louisa are before that county’s government and went before the nine-member Planning Commission on October 13. Before we get into the details about what happened, you can also choose to read an account of this meeting as a thread on Tammy Purcell’s Twitter account. Purcell writes Engage Louisa.
Don’t tell me how it ended. I’m still going through the audio of the meeting, in which senior planner Thomas Egeland introduced the several requests before them from L.A. Resort LLC by laying out the land.
“Together these two parcels make up 15.277 acres located near the Spottsylvania / Louisa County border adjacent to the New Bridge Road, Route 208,” Egeland said.
The properties are zoned for commercial, and a previous owner of one of the properties sought an increase to Planned Unit Development to build a 60-unit condominium. The Board of Supervisors denied that request in 2016 and the current owner obtained site plan approval for a project that allowed a restaurant, 25,000 square feet of storage buildings, and three hotels.
“Tonight, L.A. Resort LLC is requesting to start fresh,” Egeland said.
That means a new Planned Unit Development request which Egeland details.
“To Planned Unit Development, PUD, to construct a 96-unit condominium building, a 130 room hotel, a restaurant with retail space, marina services, and accessory structures,” Egeland said.
There’s also a conditional use permit request to allow for 80 foot residential buildings. The Comprehensive Plan calls for mixed-use and is within the Lake Anna growth area.
Mike Grossman represented Lake Anna Resort LLC.
“Every once in a while you find the perfect use for the perfect location and I think this is exactly what we have in this particular situation,” Grossman said.
Grossman said the project would benefit Louisa County financially by providing new hotel rooms and dining opportunities.
During the public hearing, several people disagreed and spoke out against the size of the development such as one person across the street.
“When we purchased that property we recognized that it would be residential across from us, that’s what we expected to see,” said Bill Unrue. “We did not expect to see an 80 foot Virginia Beach style type condo set-up there.”
Several other nearby property owners also opposed the rezoning, including one person who drove down from Leesburg.
“I’m the first one to say I’d love to have a hotel on this lake,” said Carolyn Lorenzin. “It would be great. I have lots of friends and family from out of town and it would be really great to have a place to put them up, but I think this is too much.”
Others were concerned that the residential units would become hotel units by being rented out on a short-term basis. Others cited Lake Anna’s recent bout of harmful algae blooms, as monitored by the Virginia Department of Health.
“I believe it’s irresponsible for the county to add to the problem by allowing this dense, high-density residential resort,” said Anna Clapp. “Discharging up to 60,000 gallons of wastewater a day. I know it’s treated but that’s what they’ve said, that they might that they might discharge up to that amount.”
In his rebuttal, Grossman pointed out that the land has been zoned for commercial use since 1969.
“So I think it should be no surprise to anyone that this land is going to get developed,” Grossman said. “It’s extremely valuable land so a Putt Putt Golf or some kind of light density commercial development is just not going to happen.”
Many speakers had questioned the timing of development and were concerned the residential would be built before the commercial. That would mean less revenue from meals and lodging taxes, which tend to be paid by people who don’t live in the community and don’t use services One Planning Commissioner wanted a guarantee.
“I would be looking for something along the line that we would without certificate of occupancy for the residential until we have an approved site plan for the hotel and the restaurant,” said the Planning Commission Chair John Disoway of the Mineral District.
Grossman said the project would need a hotel in order to proceed with financing, and the goal is to build all of it at once. However, other Planning Commissioners agreed with Disoway agreed that they wanted more certainty.
“If a lending institution won’t take on the risk if they don’t have the commercial, then why should we?” said Commissioner George Goodwin of the Cuckoo District.
There is currently no hotel on the Louisa County side of Lake Anna.
The Commission had three votes. In the first, they recommended approval of the rezoning with two recommendations. One would be for the developer to post a performance bond and the other would be to tie the certificate of occupancy for the 96 residential units to a site plan being submitted for the hotel. That passed on a 4 to 2 vote.
Next was a conditional use permit for the request to allow the residential buildings to be 80 feet tall. That failed on a 3 to 3 vote.
A third motion on a request to allow a different kind of material passed.
The item will go before the Board of Supervisors at a later date.
Conclusionary notes for Episode #445
Finally, another episode! If I had my druthers, there would be a new episode of Charlottesville Community Engagement each and every day. Then again, if I had my druthers, I would be a lot further along in knowing what a druther is and why I would want multiples.
I do know I would love to have multiple new paid subscriptions to Charlottesville Community Engagement through Substack in order to help that possibility come to life. Behind the scenes I have a whole system in place just waiting to assign people stories and segments, but the business of Town Crier Productions needs a few more customers.
Paid subscribers get to take a first look at content such as the September 2022 property transactions that went out this morning. Everyone else can see that on Monday on Information Charlottesville.
If you do sign up, Ting will match your initial subscription. And even if you don’t sign up for a paid subscription to this newsletter, Ting wants your custom too, and if you sign up through a link in the newsletter you will get free installation, a $75 gift card to the Downtown Mall, and a second month for free. Just enter the promo code COMMUNITY.
All of this talk of sign-ups makes me want to also put a sign up for the Twitter account @cvilletowncrier to get schedule updates and links to other news stories. Please spread the word of all of the newsletters and podcasts, and maybe things will turn out okay.
Music in the podcast comes from Wraki, a lifelong musical experience that manifests in multiple melodic forms. Do check out the bandcamp page and consider buying the album Regret Everything.
October 19, 2022: Louisa Planning Commission recommends rezoning for Lake Anna resort, but stalemates on taller residential buildings