Week Ahead for October 14, 2024: Albemarle Supervisors to review changes to county’s Comprehensive Plan process; Fluvanna Supervisors to hold public hearing on solar zoning district
Plus: What does the region's wine industry need to grow?
Today is Canadian Thanksgiving, and the one year I spent in Calgary always makes me think of the holidays Americans will celebrate in November. I like the timing of this one as there seems to be a need for a pause to catch up to the decline in sunlight and the dropping of temperatures. Or at least, I felt the need to take a couple of days off to recharge so this is coming out Monday rather than Sunday.
This week also seems like a recharge for local and regional governments, but there are always interesting items that can be found each week. The goal of each version of this newsletter is provide an overview of what’s happening so people can get involved. The goal of Charlottesville Community Engagement and Information Charlottesville is to do this over the long haul so a record of sorts can be kept.
Here are some highlights for this week:
A technical committee on Tuesday will review proposed changes to the way the Virginia Department of Transportation classifies some area roadways.
Albemarle Supervisors will get their update on changes to the Comprehensive Plan process as well as a detailed report on the economy
Fluvanna Supervisors will have a public hearing Wednesday on creation of a new zoning district where utility scale solar projects can be built.
Can this region increase exports of wine to other states? What’s needed for that to happen? That’s a discussion the Albemarle Economic Development Authority will have on Tuesday.
Charlottesville’s Board of Architectural Review will review the design of a new nine-unit apartment building that could be much larger if the developer wanted it to be.
Charlottesville’s Housing Advisory Committee will discuss ways on Wednesday to convince developers to build units below market-rate
There are no local meetings in Louisa County this week but there is one for the master plan for Lake Anna State Park.
There are no meetings in Nelson this week except for a recurring series of an event put on by the Sheriff’s Office designed to promote security among the county’s seniors.
Thanks as always to the Piedmont Environmental Council for their sponsorship of this weekly look at local and regional government!
Tuesday, October 15, 2024
Consultant to offer suggestions on how regional wine industry can grow
The Albemarle Economic Development Authority will meet in Room 241 of the county’s office building at 401 McIntire Road in Charlottesville. (meeting info) (agenda)
Under new business, there will be a discussion of a new Growing Opportunities Virginia report on the state of the wine industry in Go Virginia Region 9. That consists of the city of Charlottesville and the counties of Albemarle, Culpeper, Fauquier, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, Madison, Nelson, Orange, and Rappahannock.
“Nearly one third of the total number of vineyards and wineries in the state are in the counties listed above,” reads the draft report. “As of 2023, 1,266 full time equivalents were employed in the region’s wineries and vineyards, accounting for over $338,000,000 of GDP for the region.”
The study seeks to encourage ways to grow the industry by increasing exports outside of Virginia. One observation is that many vineyards import grapes from off of their property. Another is that 47 percent of respondents to a survey stated that complications from climate change are a major cause of concern.
There will also be a discussion of a new memorandum of understanding between the Board of Supervisors and the Economic Development Authority. The EDA will discuss some of the draft terms including a new condition where the appointed body could authorize incentive packages up to $250,000 without consultation of the Board of Supervisors. (read the draft terms)
Technical committee to review map for updated functional classifications
Planning for roadways is conducted by engineers, landscape architects, and others with a technical background. Federal code requires a public process where elected officials have to sign off on potential projects for funding and approve changes.
One of those changes relates to how each roadway is defined by the Federal Highway Administration through a process known as “functional classification.” Every ten years there is an opportunity to change these and Albemarle and Charlottesville staff have proposed several changes. I wrote about some of the changes recently causing at least one person to grow concerned their road is proposed to be altered from “local road” to “minor collector.”
What difference might that make? This is the first item on the agenda of the Charlottesville Albemarle Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Technical Committee. The MPO Policy Board deferred action in September because a map incorporating all of the changes was not yet available. Now it is and there will be a discussion of the item.
There will also be updates on cost estimates for projects recently submitted through the Virginia Department of Transportation’s Smart Scale funding process. This also includes an update on the Ivy Road “pipeline” study. Albemarle Supervisors got to take a look earlier this month.
BAR to take up replacement of 5-unit building with 9-unit building
The Charlottesville Board of Architectural Review will meet at 5:30 p.m. (agenda)
One role of the BAR is to provide direction to applicants seeking to build new projects in architectural design control districts. At this meeting they will take up two such projects. One is a revision for Certificate of Appropriateness for 1301 Wertland Street, an apartment building being constructed on the same property as a historic house. The applicant seems to change some of the building materials.
The second project is for 1609 Grove Street where the property owner seeks to replace a two story apartment building constructed in 1963 with a three story apartment building. I’ll be writing about this more for my C-Ville Weekly story.
Another role the BAR plays is in making recommendations for design guidelines for items such as what the furniture should look like for cafe spaces on the downtown mall. At this meeting they will go through potential revisions. The biggest appears to be stricter rules on what can be near downtown mall trees.
“No tables or service furnishings permitted within 2-ft of a tree trunk,” reads the draft revision. “Nothing may be attached to or wrapped around [contacting] the trees.”
In other meetings:
This year, the General Assembly passed a bill to mandate the study of rules for requiring multiple staircases for multifamily apartments. This group meets at 10 a.m. in the Virginia Housing Center at 4224 Cox Road in Glen Allen, Virginia. Charlottesville Planning Commissioner Lyle Solla-Yates is on the group and an advocate of allowing only a single staircase. (meeting info)
The Nelson County Sheriff’s Office continues its Senior Safeguard series at 4:30 p.m. These are held at the Calvary Baptist Church at 8408 Thomas Nelson Highway in Lovingston. (learn more)
The Fluvanna County Board of Zoning Appeals will meet at 7 p.m. in the Morris Room in the Fluvanna County Administration Building. On the agenda is a public hearing on setback reductions on a property on Beaverdam Road in the Zion Crossroads Community Planning Area. (agenda packet)
Wednesday, October 16, 2024
Albemarle Supervisors to review legislative priorities, report on the economy
The Albemarle Board of Supervisors will meet at 1 p.m. in Lane Auditorium in the county’s office building at 401 McIntire Road. (meeting info) (agenda)
The first item on the agenda is consideration of legislative priorities for the 2025 General Assembly. This item is being presented jointly by interim county attorney Andy Herrick and economic development director Emily Kilroy. Supervisors have had two previous discussions this year but now the next session is within sight.
A draft legislative wish list is in the packet. Supervisors seek expanded authority to use photo speed monitoring devices, want to be able to recover more costs from perpetrators of community threats, and additional taxing authority for school capital projects.
They also want more funding for Biscuit Run Park which at one point was slated to be a state park but the county assumed control to get the project moving. Now they want $1,368,000 to fund a one-mile ADA-accessible trail between the park’s western entrance and the future Monacan Indian Nation Tribute Park being developed as part of the Southwood project being lead by Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville.
“A capital contribution by the state will accelerate the completion and availability of park amenities at this regional recreational facility, fulfilling a need contemplated at the time of the state’s initial acquisition of the land,” reads the draft list.
Albemarle also wants the Commonwealth of Virginia to contribute to the Rivanna Futures project.
There’s also a desire to study tools “to mitigate rent increases caused by multifamily residential development.” This is a reference to the purchase of Cavalier Crossing by an investment firm earlier this year.
“Filling a current void of academic literature on the subject, a study could explore effective means of protecting tenants following a redevelopment while still affording landlords sufficient income to recoup project costs and profit,” the list continues.
Several years ago, Albemarle County began working with Virginia Tech’s School of Public Affairs to document the shifting national economy and how local conditions compare. The latest report will be before the Board of Supervisors on Wednesday.
“The report finds that Albemarle County has a strong economy with a history of mostly solid economic and job growth, high real per capita personal income, low unemployment, strong hourly wages regionally, significant employment in relatively higher-income occupations and industries, and strong local business activity,” reads the executive summary of the report.
This would be a great report to go over in local high school classes.
Next up is a review of the Comprehensive Plan update from Albemarle County staff. I’m writing about the Planning Commission’s discussion on AC44 from last week and hope to have that out by Tuesday. (link to the materials)
There are no public hearings in the evening session but Supervisors will still meet at 6 p.m.
The consent agenda contains an authorization for a future public hearing for the county’s proposed acquisition of a piece of land in Parkside Village for the eventual construction of a public street network to support a redeveloped Barnes Lumber property. (staff report)
Public hearing on solar zoning district before Fluvanna Board of Supervisors
The five members of the Fluvanna Board of Supervisors gather at 6 p.m. in the Circuit Courtroom in the Fluvanna County courts building in Palmyra. (agenda packet)
After public comments and a report from County Administrator Eric Dahl, there are two presentations.
The first is on proposed gateway signs recommended by the Economic Development and Tourism Advisory Council. While pricing work is complete, this information is not in the packet neither are mock-ups of the signs.
The second is from Firefly on broadband expansion efforts.
“Central Virginia Electric Cooperative and Firefly are presenting an update to the Board of Supervisors to discuss the project status that the Board partnered with Firefly on, as well as discuss current construction and connections in Fluvanna and the Dominion middle mile fiber project,” reads the staff report.
There are several action matters.
One is for authorization for a public hearing on November 20, 2024 to allow for certain kinds of personal property to be exempt from taxation, mostly agricultural equipment and supplies. The Commissioner of Revenue has already been doing this for twenty years but the code has never been amended. (learn more)
Another is to hire Dewberry Engineers for a firm to conduct sampling of PFAS at the Fork Union Water Treatment Plant. This will cost $7,736.50. (learn more)
Yet another is to hire Dewberry Engineering on a preliminary engineering study to evaluate water and sewer service to Pleasant Grove Park and the county administration building. This will cost $31,555. (learn more)
There are two public hearings.
The first is for a change to the county’s zoning to create a district where utility scale solar projects could be pursued. On July 3, Supervisors removed this as an allowed use in agricultural zones. (learn more)
The second is related to the section of county code on control of dangerous dogs. (learn more)
Greene County Planning Commission work session on subdivision ordinance
The Greene County Planning Commission will meet at 6 p.m. in the county meeting room in the administration building in Stanardsville. (learn more)
The first item on the agenda is a work session on performance bonds as well as the county’s subdivision ordinance.
“In 2020, the Board updated the zoning and subdivision ordinances to amend standards for performance bonds,” reads the staff report from county planning staff. “After additional review of the regulations, it was realized that the language needed further clarification.”
There is also a public hearing for a special use permit for a church and school at 2995 Seminole Trail.
“These two functions will be integrated within a single structure,” reads the narrative from Shimp Engineering. “Additionally, the building will include by-right accessory amenities in the form of a soccer field and a parking area.”
In one other meeting:
The Charlottesville Housing Affordable Committee will meet to further discuss a land bank ordinance as well as financial incentives to entice developers to actually build affordable housing. (learn more)
Thursday, October 17, 2024
Virginia DCR taking public comment for new Lake Anna Master Plan
The Virginia Department of Conservation is required by the Code of Virginia to conduct a master plan for state parks in Virginia. That includes one for Lake Anna in Spotsylvania, Virginia.
“Lake Anna State Park is centrally located on one of Virginia’s premier freshwater lakes, and its proximity to rapidly expanding population centers places it in a unique position within the Virginia State Park system,” reads a DCR website on the plan. “The park consists of 2,810 acres and is renowned for its beach and boating activities.”
There will be an official public comment meeting at 6 p.m. at the Louisa County Public Library at 881 David Highway in Mineral. Anyone who attends will get the latest information on public surveys and potential improvements to be made in the park.
In other meetings:
The Charlottesville Minority Business Commission will meet at 3 p.m. in the city’s Office of Economic Development in City Hall. (agenda)
The Charlottesville Human Rights Commission meets at 6:30 p.m. There’s no agenda at publication time. (calendar item)