Author: amy-kniss

A week of wet weather eased Charlottesville’s water woes—at least for the moment—and replenished receding reservoirs. Thomas Frederick, director of the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority, said, “We’re full. The reservoirs are running at capacity,” including the Ragged Mountain and Sugar Hollow reservoirs, which were seven inches below normal last month.
    The dry spell prompted the RWSA to declare a “Drought Watch” on June 19. Between then and June 29, however, nearly 5.5 inches of rain fell on Central Virginia, causing flash floods and prompting Governor Tim Kaine to declare a statewide emergency on Wednesday, June 28.
    So it looks like we won’t go thirsty for a few more months, but just in case we run dry, the RWSA is finally ready to present a coordinated drought response plan for the region, which will be up for discussion at City Council chambers on July 13.
    “Drought Watch” is the plan’s first stage, asking people “to voluntarily conserve water to the maximum extent possible” and increasing public awareness regarding an impending drought. When the probability of a drought becomes imminent, the RWSA will declare a “Drought Warning,” and water conservation will be mandated. If efforts to avert drought fail, the situation escalates to stage three: “Drought Emergency,” which calls for tighter regulation of consumption.
    Despite the RWSA Board’s effort to generate a unified plan, the City and County have yet to articulate exactly what restrictions would apply during a drought, and how they would be enforced. Thus far, officials say the disparate needs of their constituencies have forestalled response plans: Albemarle County estimates nearly 15,000 of its residents rely on ground-water wells and thus incur greater hardships during drought periods than City residents.

It looks like outgoing Councilors Rob Schilling and Blake Caravati are leaving City Council on good terms. At least Charlottesvillians better hope so, because Mayor David Brown just gave them keys to the city. The ever-jocular Caravati quipped: “Now that they’ve given us keys, they’ll probably change the locks.”
    Judging from their farewell remarks on June 19 (their final Council meeting), changing the locks seems an unnecessary expense that neither would vote to approve. For the first time since the fall of the Berlin Wall, Cavarati, who did not seek re-election in May, will no longer hold an elected or appointed position. But he says he’s not going anywhere, and will continue to crack jokes while serving the community.
    Schilling, the only Republican on the Council, was ousted in the May 2 election. New to Charlottesville in 1997, Schilling joined the Council three years after he got to town. Those familiar with City government are well aware of his commitment to an elected school board and his (sometimes inadvertently) hilarious tit-for-tat with Democrats—especially Caravati. Schilling always framed his work in a specific way: He focused on listening to, and meeting, the needs of as many constituents as he possibly could. Perhaps he made such an effort because, as Caravati said, everyone knows where you live (or could easily find out), and City Councilors must deal with the repercussions of their decisions everywhere they go—not just in Council chambers.

“They’re not here to see Monticello,” Kay Ward says of Hospitality House guests. Trauma, sickness and ongoing medical treatment in family members, not history, bring visitors to the UVA Medical Center facility. Demand has become so steep, in fact, that the hospital is soliciting proposals for approximately 9,800 square feet of rentable space to expand the affordable accommodations Hospitality House provides patients’ family members. Increasingly, outpatients use Hospitality House, as well.
“It’s amazing how many people have had the experience of needing a place to stay when they, or a loved one, needs medical treatment” in a city far away from home, says Ward, the facility’s director. As she speaks, a man in a green shirt sinks into a recliner, and the aroma of Mexican food wafts out of the kitchen’s open door as two women prepare a meal in what’s become their home away from home. Ward hopes to preserve the communal atmosphere in the new facility, which will double current residential capacity.
In its early days, Hospital House was a single, five-bedroom house that sheltered less than a dozen relatives of hospital patients. Founded in 1981 by the Hospital Auxiliary, it has since grown into two adjacent houses on Wertland Street (minutes away from the hospital), with a total of 35 beds and two fully equipped kitchens. Despite this expansion, the houses are regularly booked to capacity—overall, Hospitality House is forced to turn away nearly a third of those seeking refuge from exhausting bedside vigils. While Ward’s dreams include a huge donation from a benefactor—either in the form of an exclusive facility or the funds to construct one—in the meantime she takes what Hospitality House can get. A recent pledge of $100,000 from the Hospital Auxiliary was welcome indeed, and was immediately applied toward the expense of renting the new facility.—Amy Kniss

New legislation from the General Assembly gives Charlottesville’s City Council more power to assist local homeowners with skyrocketing property taxes. Councilors are currently working out the details of the new tax relief program—so far, though, local homeowners shouldn’t expect too much help.
Sponsored by David Toscano, Charlottesville’s Delegate, legislation passed this year allows the City to dole out grants to low and moderate-income homeowners who live in their houses, and it gives the City authority to grant them tax deferrals. The General Assembly passed the bill in February 2006, and the law will take effect July 1.
In a May 11 work session the Council proposed several eligibility criteria, which it will vote on June 5. To qualify, citizens must own (and live in) their house as of January 1, 2006. The house must be assessed at less than $238,200, with a household income of no more than $50,000. Councilors say they want to keep the program simple, especially in its first year, so the City assistance  will be delivered as grants of up to $250.
Of course, a $250 grant looks paltry compared to the $2,300 property tax for a house valued at $238,200; even a $120,000 house—a bargain-basement price in the city—generates an annual tax bill of $1,188. Councilor Kevin Lynch described the program as a temporary solution; a long-term solution, he says, involves reducing residential taxes.—Amy Kniss

“Yeah! Way to go!” cheered Rick Jones on the news that City Council gave his company, Management Services Corporation, the go-ahead for a new student apartment complex near the Corner. The Board of Architectural Review had denied MSC the right to build the 28-unit Sadler Court Apartments at 225-227 14th St. NW. Jones appealed, and on Monday, May 15, City Council overruled the BAR’s decision.

The decision is significant because it marks the first time a developer has appealed a BAR ruling in the new Rugby/Venable/University Circle historic district the city created late last year. As C-VILLE previously reported [“House these ’Hoos,” Jan. 31], student-housing developers protested the new historic district because its restrictions on demolition and construction seemed to contradict a 2003 zoning law explicitly encouraging developers to build high-density student housing in that area. Although MSC began developing Sadler Court before the 2005 rezoning, the BAR’s authority still applied because construction on the project won’t begin until June.

Student-housing developers were watching this case to see how Council would respond to an appeal. The BAR is supposed to consider only aesthetic questions, while Council has the authority to consider the wider economic and social impacts of a proposed development.

“I think approving this will set a bad precedent,” said Councilor Kevin Lynch, who feels that the design alienates pedestrians. Councilors agreed, however, that design preferences must not interfere with their ruling. According to a staff report, “[MSC’s] plan meets the letter of the law, but not the spirit.”

Councilor Kendra Hamilton, meanwhile, said it was unfair to see this building as a precedent, since design began before the historic district was in place. She agreed with Councilor Blake Caravati, however, that conflict between developers and the BAR would only get more intense in areas around UVA. Speaking before Council, Jones noted that the BAR’s guidelines are not clear, and therefore their decisions often seem subjective. Councilor Rob Schilling echoed his concerns. “This makes conducting business in the city frustrating and unfair to developers,” he said. Council voted 4-0 (Mayor David Brown was out of town) to overturn the appeal. —Amy Kniss