In today’s first Patreon-fueled shout-out is for the Plant Northern Piedmont Natives Campaign, an initiative that wants you to grow native plants in yards, farms, public spaces and gardens in the northern Piedmont. Native plants provide habitat, food sources for wildlife, ecosystem resiliency in the face of climate change, and clean water. It’s not too early to think about next spring! Start at the Plant Northern Piedmont Natives Facebook page and tell them Lonnie Murray sent you!
On today’s program:
A rezoning in Fry’s Spring for 170 units hinges on how to pay for a sidewalk on a road that would be more traveled
The Weldon Cooper Center compares its population estimates to the Census count
A quick lesson redistricting in Virginia
The Foxfield Fall Races will benefit Habitat for Humanity this year and for the next four
On this upcoming Sunday, Foxfield Races will hold their annual fall Family Day events at the tracks on Barracks Road west of Charlottesville. This year, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville will be the nonprofit group that will receive a portion of the proceeds as part of a five-year partnership. The races are held on land under conservation easement.
“We are focused on preserving open space to enable the broad diverse Charlottesville community to use Foxfield,” said Foxfield Executive Director Kelsey Cox in a Habitat press release. “We are overjoyed to create a long-term partnership with Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville and look forward to welcoming new and returning attendees on race day to further support this partnership with Habitat.”
Mark Lorenzoni of the Ragged Mountain Running and Walking Shop penned an article in the September 25 Daily Progress that provides a lot of background and perspective as we wait for the 43rd annual fall races at Foxfield. Visit the Foxfield website at foxfieldraces.com for details and to purchase tickets
The Virginia Redistricting Commission met again this morning. They’ve been meeting this month to finalize a map for the 100-seat House of Delegates and the 40-seat Virginia Senate. The sixteen members consisting of eight legislators and eight citizens must finalize their maps this Saturday in time to meet one of several deadlines in the Virginia code.
The Commission’s work began as soon as the U.S. Census Bureau released population counts from 2020. Further meetings are scheduled for this Friday and Saturday, with the public hearings beginning on Monday. Coverage of what will be in those maps will come up in a future edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement.
The Commission must submit maps to the General Assembly by October 10. Virginia Code also specifies nine criteria for Congressional and legislative districts. You can register to speak at the public hearings at the redistricting website.
It’s now been almost two months since the U.S. Census Bureau released the official population count for the country. That’s given the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia the time to make some observations about how the results compare to the annual estimates and regular projections their demographers make.
“Our projections were higher than the actual counts in 66 localities, and lower for 67 cities and counties, indicating well-balanced results,” writes Shonel Sen in the latest edition of the Stat Chat blog that Weldon Cooper produces.
The article explains the methodology used to calculate estimates and projections. Thirteen localities were in excess of a margin of error of five percent, including Charlottesville at 8.9 percent. Weldon Cooper’s 2020 estimate for Charlottesville was 49,447, but the Census count was 46,553. (2020 Weldon Cooper estimates) (Charlottesville Census quickfacts)
An explanation in the footnotes of the blog post states that many college towns are perhaps undercounted due to students leaving the area at the start of the pandemic. Weldon Cooper’s 2020 estimate for Harrisonburg was 54,049, whereas the Census was 51,813. The Census Bureau’s 2019 estimate for Harrisonburg had been higher at 53,016, and 47,266 for Charlottesville.
For more information, go back to the August 21, 2021 edition of this newsletter for an interview with Hamilton Lombard of the Weldon Cooper Center. (link)
A quick Patreon-shout out before we continue.
A concerned Charlottesville parent wants to make sure the community participates in the Middle School Reconfiguration process that is currently underway. After years of discussion, concrete plans are being put forward. You can learn more and contribute at the City of Charlottesville Schools/VMDOs information page" at charlottesvilleschools.org/facilities.
(For my latest story on the topic, go back to the September 16, 2021 edition of this newsletter.)
If the population projections put out by the Weldon Cooper Center at the University of Virginia are to be believed, the area will continue to grow for many decades.
The act of planning as well as the art of land development both take place in response to anticipated needs for places to live, seats in classrooms, and ways for people to get around. In many cases, it takes a legislative decision by elected officials to approve larger residential complexes.
“I personally live in an area where many apartment units have gone up and they fill quickly,” said Ned Gallaway, the chair of the Board of Supervisors. “The question is whether the infrastructure is there to support the density.”
On September 15, 2021, the Board of Supervisors voted 5-1 to approve a rezoning off of U.S. 29 for 332 units on property where the county’s Comprehensive Plan has long anticipated growth and along a stretch of U.S. 29 where a $61.3 million road project was completed in October 2017. The firm RST Development agreed to restrict 75 percent of the units to households below a certain income percentage.
“We talk a lot about how we are an inclusive and welcoming place to live and this is an opportunity to create a place for people to live that have not been able to live in our community,” said Supervisor Diantha McKeel.
“It is part of our primary development area, and when you’re looking at the development area, it is the area where there should be a larger concentration of lower-cost and more affordable housing,” said Supervisor Donna Price.
A similar conversation took place in Charlottesville the night before on September 14, 2021. That’s when the Charlottesville Planning Commission held a joint public hearing with City Council on a rezoning at 240 Stribling Avenue in the Fry’s Spring neighborhood.
Southern Development seeks a rezoning to Planned Unit Development to build up to 170 units on about 12 acres of wooded land. That came after a directive at an earlier work session for the firm to increase the units in the development.
“The Planning Commission told us very clearly that you wanted to see something less dense and more suburban,” said Charlie Armstrong, vice president at Southern Development.
Last year, the Fry’s Spring Neighborhood Association voted on a resolution to support the rezoning if sidewalks and other infrastructure on Stribling could be built to handle the additional traffic. The current Comprehensive Plan designates the land as low density residential, which is one reason a sidewalk there has not been prioritized in the city’s limited Capital Improvement Program budget.
Southern Development’s proposal would set aside 15 percent of those units for either rental or homeownership to households making below 60 percent of the area median income. They also worked with the city’s economic development team to come up with a financing structure to pay for the roadway improvements on Stribling. However, this novel approach points to a potential disconnect in the process.
Armstrong negotiated an agreement with the city’s Office of Economic Development to where Southern Development would make a $2 million loan for the city to build those improvements. The city would then pay Southern Development back over a period of years out of the increased property taxes that it will receive.
“I do want to be clear that this agreement is not part of the rezoning request but it does impact the area nearby and certainly of interest to many in the neighborhood,” said Economic Development director Chris Engel. "In its simplest form this agreement that the developer provides up to $2 million in funds to construct the needed improvements in a timeframe that is likely contemporaneous with the PUD development.”
The cost estimate provided by Southern Development for the upgrades is around $1.6 million. City Engineer Jack Dawson only saw the agreement or the two days before the hearing and said that amount would not be enough because it did not contemplate the full extent of work required.
“My concern is that probably that estime is a little light, to probably very light,” said Jack Dawson. “It isn’t just a sidewalk. It’s essentially a streetscape because when you touch a road you need to bring it up to code.”
Code requires a 20 foot right of way which Dawson said would likely require the taking of private property for curb and gutter drainage, which would add to the cost. Dawson cited an internal estimate created within City Hall of $2.9 million.
However, Armstrong bristled at the cost estimate provided by Dawson.
“That’s not a number that I’ve ever seen published or have ever heard and we’ve been talking with the city and been in this review process with the city for months and years so I would have hoped that might have come up,” Armstrong said.
Under the terms of the agreement, the city would have to pay anything in excess of $2 million but finding those funds will be difficult.
Earlier this month, Council opted to transfer funding allocated for the West Main Streetscape to the $75 million reconfiguration of Buford Middle School. Budget staff said when added to the existing capital improvement program, reconfiguration will require a 15 cent tax increase next year, or less depending on how the 2022 property assessments come in.
“Right now, every penny we are going to have in capital funds until we figure out something else every penny is going to get allocated for school reconfiguration,” said City Councilor Lloyd Snook.
The co-president of the FSNA appreciated the work that went into the agreement but said it was not yet enough to satisfy his concerns.
“There is a potential to find a solution here but there is a big but,” said Jason Halbert. “It’s about safety on that street and the JPA intersection.”
Halbert said the agreement had not been fully reviewed by the appropriate staff. He asked for the project to be delayed while the details of the agreement are worked out.
Commissioner Hosea Mitchell said he liked the project over all but agreed it might not be ready.
“I think it could use a little more baking,” Mitchell said. “There would be value in sitting with the engineers and the economic development people and working out the details and logistics so that we know exactly what it would like before we’re going to move on it.”
Another commissioner suggested the city has to do a better job of communicating better internally about coming up with innovative ways to support density.
“It’s endlessly frustrating to me the degree of dysfunction within the city where the economic development is negotiating this agreement and isn’t even telling [the city engineer] about it literally two days ago,” said Commissioner Rory Stolzenberg.
The issue comes at a time when new city management is just finding its feet. Deputy City Manager Sam Sanders has been on the job less than two months, and new planning director James Freas has been in his job for less than two weeks. At the same time, the city is debating a new Comprehensive Plan. The current draft encourages more density across the city.
“There’s no way to support this project without having a firm grasp of how we’re going to provide these infrastructure improvements to the neighborhood,” said Councilor Heather Hill.
But which comes first? The rezoning or the infrastructure? And whose cost estimate is to be believed? Southern Development’s $1.6 million, or $2.9 million from the city engineer?
City attorney Lisa Robertson had this advice.
“Leadership needs to put their heads together and talk about what’s realistic in terms of whether or not from inside City Hall a number can be developed that builds upon the work that Mr. Armstrong’s team has done, or clarifies it,” Robertson said. “Another function that really needs to be updated is the process by which we develop the city’s capital improvement program.”
Robertson said the CIP cannot be a wish list of aspirational projects. More developed projects with more concrete estimates would provide more certainty.
At the hearing, the question was whether an updated performance agreement could be completed to further scope out the project. Armstrong asked for an indefinite deferral while the agreement is worked out.
What’s happened in the past two weeks?
“The City is continuing to discuss the project with the developer while looking to confirm the cost estimate for the sidewalk project,” wrote Brian Wheeler, Charlottesville’s Communications Director.
Before you go, a plug for a campaign forum I’m co-hosting with the Free Enterprise Forum. Here’s the media advisory:
On Thursday September 30 the, three candidates for Charlottesville City Council will appear in person to answer questions posed by Town Crier Productions President Sean Tubbs and Free Enterprise Forum President Neil Williamson in a candidate forum sponsored by The Hillsdale Conference Center.
The event will also be live streamed via Zoom webinar. Register here!
WHO:
Candidates: Brian Pinkston, Juandiego Wade, Yas Washington
Moderators: Sean Tubbs, President, Town Crier Productions
Neil Williamson, President, Free Enterprise Forum
WHAT:
Candidates will explore their vision for the city including their views on the Future Land Use Map (FLUM), proposed tax increases, affordable housing, equity issues, organizational issues, and Economic Development.
WHEN:
Thursday, September 30 th 7:00 pm
WHERE:
Hillsdale Conference Center Ballroom, 550 Hillsdale Drive, Charlottesville, VA 22901.
MASKS REQUIRED – SOCIAL DISTANCING ENFORCED.
WHY:
Election Day 2021 is now. Early voting has already begun. Learn where the candidates stand before casting your ballot.
September 29, 2021: Fry's Spring rezoning could depend on innovative sidewalk agreement; Virginia redistricting process nearing public hearing stage