Tag: albemarle county board of supervisors

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On the agenda

The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors presented their legislative priorities to a selection of state-level representatives on Monday. Photo: Skyclad Aerial

By Kristin O’Donoghue

The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors met Monday morning with area House of Delegates Representatives Rob Bell, Chris Runion, Matt Fariss, and Sally Hudson, and state Senator Bryce Reeves, to discuss legislative priorities for the upcoming year.

The board asked the legislators to pursue legislation that would enable the county to levy civil rather than criminal penalties for violations of local ordinances, expand the county’s authority to use photo speed monitoring devices, and require agricultural buildings used by the public to be subject to minimum safety standards.

By amending Virginia law to institute a schedule of civil penalties, localities would be empowered to decriminalize numerous activities.

“As a former prosecutor, defense counselor, and criminal trial judge during my time in the Navy, I have long been troubled by overcriminalization of minor misconduct,” said Supervisor Donna Price.

Most representatives present expressed a desire to meet with the police department to discuss their perspective on the proposal.

The second proposal calls for an expansion of the use of speed cameras, specifically to target secondary roads with speed limits above 35 mph where speeding has been identified as a problem.

Hudson wanted to ensure that the cameras would be placed equitably, and not target certain neighborhoods. Supervisor Ned Gallaway said the camera locations would be determined by safety concerns and reports from the police. Like the proposal regarding civil penalties, proponents of the measure say it would free up law enforcement officers to do other critical police work.

The third proposal would beef up safety standards for agricultural buildings used by the public, which requires changing the legal definition of “farm building or structure” and adding a new designation for “public use agricultural buildings.”

“This is about people and safety,” said Supervisor Diantha McKeel.

The delegates also shared their priorities for the session.

Reeves wants to focus on combating illegal gambling, which he says is taking place across the commonwealth under the guise of “charitable gaming,” in addition to restoring funding to state police.

Bell hopes to address crowding in state hospitals, and wants to extend a policy instituted during COVID that assists those with special needs by allowing the parent to be the paid provider for the person in need of services.

Runion wants to pass the Virginia Tuition Aid Assistance Grant for private education, work on digitizing historical records, and respond to the over-capacity problem observed in local and regional jails.

With the virus still mutating, Hudson said she believes that the commonwealth should focus on providing support to people who have offered essential services during the pandemic.

She said the rising cost of living in Virginia was a recurring theme on the campaign trail, and that she’ll be working on the consumer protection front to lower the cost of energy and prescription drugs, and to protect patients from medical debt.

“These are things we can do to make it easier to make ends meet,” she said.

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In brief: People power, tech takeover, bye-bye bikes, and more

The old Monticello Dairy building will house at least two big tech companies. PC: Skyclad Aerial

People power

Opponents of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline scored a huge victory last week when the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals repealed Dominion Energy’s permit to build an invasive compressor station in Buckingham County’s historic Union Hill neighborhood.

“Today we showed that our community, our community’s history, and our community’s future matters more than a pipeline,” said Buckingham activist Chad Oba.

Union Hill became a flashpoint for the pipeline fight when activists began emphasizing the area’s long history. Free black people and former enslaved people founded the neighborhood just after the Civil War. The story of a historic community threatened by an energy monopoly attracted

Al Gore to speak in Buckingham last February. The former vice president called the pipeline a “reckless, racist rip-off.” 

“Environmental justice is not merely a box to be checked,” the court wrote in its decision. “The [Air Pollution Control] Board’s failure to consider the disproportionate impact on those closest to the Compressor Station resulted in a flawed analysis.”

Anti-pipeline groups have sought to slow down Dominion by tying up the project in litigation. The compressor station permit is one of many that pipeline opponents have contested. In the fall, the Supreme Court announced it would hear arguments about whether or not the pipeline could bisect the federally protected Appalachian Trail.

The strategy to slow the project seems to be working—Dominion’s initial estimates said the pipeline would be completed in 2019, but according to the Southern Environmental Law Center, less than 6 percent of the pipe has been laid in the ground so far.

Anti-pipeline protesters gathered in rural Buckingham County last year. PC: Friends of Buckingham County

_________________

Quote of the Week

“This is my life, history. I returned to this area to make sure this story gets told correctly.”

—Calvin Jefferson, archivist and descendant of enslaved people at Monticello, speaking about his family at a panel event this week

_________________

In Brief

You never forget how to ride a scooter

UBike, UVA’s languishing bike-sharing program, has been killed off by the e-scooter boom. The bikes have to be retrieved from and parked in specific docks, making them less convenient than the popular scooters. (Also less convenient: UBikes, unlike e-scooters, don’t have motors.)  

Moving in

PVCC, like other community colleges, is a commuter school—but that could change. As reported in The Daily Progress, plans to sell 17 acres the college owns off Avon Street Extended have been put on hold, as the Virginia Community College System State Board studies whether student housing could be a viable option for some of its community colleges.

Milking it

This town’s tech takeover continues: Two big companies recently signed leases in the Dairy Central office building/retail space currently under construction on Preston Avenue. CoStar, the world’s largest digital real estate company, and Dexcom, which makes diabetes monitoring systems, will together occupy 17,000 feet of office space at the intersection of Rose Hill and 10th and Page, two of Charlottesville’s historically black neighborhoods.

(More) statue drama

With the General Assembly potentially passing a law this year granting localities control over war memorials and monuments on their property, the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors is seeking public feedback on the future of the county’s Court Square, including its “Johnny Reb” statue. For the next six months, county staff will hold community conversations and “listening sessions” about the space, as well as conduct public tours, reports The Daily Progress. The Office of Equity and Inclusion’s equity working group will draft options for the future of the property, which the BOS will consider in June.

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Filling out the ballot: Other races to watch (and who’s running)

Albemarle County resident Amy Laufer, a former teacher who served on the Charlottesville School Board, is challenging Republican incumbent Bryce Reeves in a closely watched race. Reeves received an “A” rating from the NRA in 2015, while Laufer supports gun control measures like universal background checks and a ban on high-capacity magazines.

By Spencer Philps

Albemarle County Board of Supervisors

Three of the six districts in Albemarle County have elections for the Board of Supervisors, where members serve four-year terms.

Scottsville District

Lawyer and retired Navy captain Donna Price (D) is squaring off with Mike Hallahan (R), also a lawyer and a former deputy sheriff for Albemarle and Greene counties. Hallahan, who represented Unite the Right organizer Jason Kessler after the August 2017 rally, wants to bring a conservative voice to the Democrat-controlled board. He says he’ll maintain property rights and revisit the revenue-sharing agreement between Char­lottesville and Albemarle County. Price wants to bring more equity to the county, focusing on education, health care, and the area’s affordable housing crisis.

White Hall District

Incumbent Ann Mallek (D) is being challenged by Steve Harvey (R), an army veteran and outreach director for the 5th Congressional District. Mallek has sought to increase public safety and economic development and promote local agriculture during her time in office. Harvey wants to halt future tax hikes, cut regulations, and renegotiate the revenue-sharing agreement with the city.

Rivanna District

Bea LaPisto Kirtley (D) is running unopposed. A former principal and city council member in California, she has said expanding broadband access and addressing transportation issues are her top priorities.

Charlottesville School Board

With Charlottesville City Schools still reckoning with the findings of last year’s New York Times/ProPublica report on persistent racial inequities in its schools, many school board candidates are campaigning on platforms of increasing equity. Five candidates are running for four open spots on the school board, where members serve four-year terms.

James Bryant (Incumbent)

Charlottesville native Bryant, a retired music teacher and school counselor, was appointed to fill a school board vacancy in 2018. He supports efforts to restructure the Quest gifted program, and to hire more minority teachers, who he hopes will offer more diverse perspectives.

Jennifer McKeever (Incumbent)

McKeever, an attorney, is seeking her third term on the school board, which she chaired in 2019. During her time in office, she’s sought to boost graduation rates, reconfigure the city’s middle schools, and increase equity across the school system.

Dr. Sherry Kraft (Incumbent)

Kraft, who’s lived in Charlottesville since 1976, was elected to the board in 2015. She’s a clinical psychologist who has sought to increase equity as well as mental health resources in city schools.

Lashundra Bryson Morsberger

Morsberger is campaigning to bridge the achievement gap for students of color. She endorsed all the demands of the Black Student Union at Charlottesville High School, and wants to redraw attendance zones to make city schools more racially and economically diverse.

Chris Meyer

Meyer, the executive director of the Local Energy Alliance Program, is running on a campaign of increasing teacher support, reconfiguring the city’s middle schools, and improving after-school care.

Albemarle County Sheriff

Chan Bryant (D) vs. Ronnie Roberts (I)

Bryant, the current chief deputy for the Albemarle County Sheriff’s Office, is squaring off against Roberts, a former Charlottesville police lieutenant who later served as chief of police for Louisa. Bryant, who is the first woman to hold the position of chief deputy, has received the endorsement of retiring Albemarle County Sheriff Chip Harding, and is vowing to expand community programs for children and elders. Roberts says he’ll tackle elder abuse, domestic violence, and gang activity, and reform mental health care.

Albemarle County Commonwealth’s Attorney

Robert Tracci (R) vs. Jim Hingeley (D)

Republican incumbent Tracci, who was elected in 2015, is facing a progressive challenger in Hingeley, a longtime public defender and adjunct law professor at UVA. Tracci says he has worked to curb elder abuse, establish a mental health docket, and improve DNA collection practices. Hingeley says he’ll end cash bail, increase the use of diversion programs, and reduce the harm involved in marijuana misdemeanor charges.

Virginia State Senate

All the seats in the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates are up for re-election this year. With the razor-thin majority that Republicans hold in both bodies, flipping just a few seats across the commonwealth would give Democrats a powerful position in upcoming debates over redistricting, gun control, women’s health rights, and right-to-work laws.

17th District

Incumbent Bryce Reeves (R) is being challenged by Amy Laufer (D), a former Charlottesville School Board member. Reeves, a veteran, says he has fought to protect religious liberties, gun rights, and “the rights of the unborn,” and focused on reforming Virginia’s foster care system. Laufer, who was a teacher and Peace Corps volunteer, is championing increased teacher pay, universal preschool, abolishing the work mandate for Medicaid recipients, and universal background checks for firearm purchases.

25th District

Incumbent Creigh Deeds (D) is up against Elliot Harding (I), a criminal defense lawyer. Deeds, who’s represented the district since 2001, has been a champion of Medicaid expansion, and wants to increase teacher pay and support workforce training programs. Harding says he’s fighting against the status quo in Richmond, and vows to introduce criminal justice reforms and a Virginia data-privacy bill of rights.

Virginia House of Delegates

25th District

Business owner Chris Runion (R) is up against Jennifer Kitchen (D), a local community organizer. Runion wants to bring fiscal conservatism to Richmond to tackle what he sees as financial irresponsibility. Kitchen’s platform includes increasing rural broadband access, introducing a living wage, and fighting against the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley pipelines.

57th District

Economist and organizer Sally Hudson (D), an assistant professor at UVA, is running unopposed.

58th District

Incumbent Rob Bell (R) is being challenged by Dr. Elizabeth Alcorn (D), a dentist and small business owner. Bell, who has been in office since 2002, has introduced measures to bolster mental health support, and voted for Virginia’s Constitutional marriage amendment, which sought to define marriage as between a man and a woman. Alcorn wants to expand affordable and accessible health care coverage, increase Virginia teacher salaries, and support efforts for clean energy in the region.

59th District

Incumbent Matt Fariss (R) is being challenged by educator Tim Hickey (D), an instructional coordinator at Greene County Public Schools. Since taking office in 2011, Fariss, a farmer and small businessman, has advocated against abortion, gun control, same-sex marriage, tax hikes, and increased government regulation. In 2011, Fariss’ website stated that he believed capital punishment is appropriate “for those who take life.” Hickey seeks to protect reproductive and LGBTQ rights, instill universal background checks for gun purchases, provide universal health care, and expand rural broadband, among other goals.

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In brief: Albemarle’s climate plan, monument case breathes new life, Brackney pushback, and more

Inching closer

Albemarle County staff is recommending the Board of Supervisors consider adopting an ambitious climate goal: to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45 percent by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050, aligning themselves with the same goals as the city.

Last month, county staff gave the Board of Supervisors a second update on the first phase of their Climate Action Plan. The current phase focuses on higher-level, community-wide initiatives and immediately actionable efforts to locally address climate change. The second phase will iterate detailed strategies within different sectors to minimize the county’s carbon footprint.

The input process for the Phase 1 action plan began in February. Narissa Turner, climate program coordinator for the county, predicts the finalized plan will reach the supervisor’s desk for a vote by the end of 2019.

“There hasn’t been a lot of refining, or any digging into the details, cost analysis, anything like that,” Turner said. “We’re not ready to call it a draft plan.”

In the past, the county has had a checkered relationship with climate initiatives.

The board voted in 2011 to end its membership with the Cool Counties initiative—a non-binding commitment to reducing carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2050. The same year, the board left the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives, an organization dedicated to local sustainable development.

The county recommitted itself to supporting local climate action in 2017, later adopting the “We Are Still In” declaration—a commitment to upholding the 2015 Paris Agreement—in 2015.

According to Turner, the Climate Action Plan is the first of its kind in the county.

“The plan moving forward is to refine and do a gap analysis [and see if] are there any major strategies missing in the list of recommendations we currently have.” Turner explained. “Really turning this list into something that actually looks like a climate action plan.”

Equity emphasis

Charlottesville City Council is considering the creation of a department of equity and inclusion to coordinate city- wide equity efforts.  At council’s meeting on October 7, Deputy City Manager Mike Murphy presented a report on the costs of creating the department.

The City Manager’s Advisory Committee on Organizational Equity studied data on city employees by race, job category, and salary, and reviewed equity measures in other communities. It found that black employees make on average 17 percent less per hour than white employees, considering wages overall—not the pay of people with the same job.

The committee made two recommendations for the city: prepare its staff by providing organizational context for a culture change, and create an Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, costing an estimated $42,080 and $155,101, respectively. The total $197,181 would come from the Council Strategic Initiatives account, which has $444,560. Of that amount, $159,860.97 is unallocated funding and $284,700 is funding previously dedicated but not spent on equity package items.

Quote of the week

“If you eat anything that eats hay then there’s a problem.” —Elaine Lidholm with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, who spoke with WVTF about the drought that saw several rural counties experience their driest September on record

In brief

Back in the ring

A little less than a month after a judge issued a permanent injunction forbidding the city from removing its Confederate statues, Charlottesville City Council voted October 7 to appeal the circuit court decision. Judge Richard Moore ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, but has yet to determine how much the city must pay for its opponents’ legal fees. The next hearing in the original case is scheduled for October 15.

Development decisions

City Council also voted on several zoning and development plans at its meeting October 7. It approved the Hillsdale Place project, signing off on the redevelopment of the Kmart site at the intersection of Hydraulic Road and U.S. 29 that a rendering suggests could include a Target. In a 4-1 decision, City Council also approved a special use permit for luxury apartment building Six Hundred West Main that will allow it to expand into the former site of University Tire next door.

Under fire

A petition is calling for the resignation of Charlottesville Police Chief RaShall Brackney after she testified to Congress that “any weapon that can be used to hunt individuals should be banned.” Brackney spoke September 25 on behalf of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, adding, “what stops a bad person with a gun is keeping a gun out of their hands to start with.” As of press time, the Change.org petition had over 1,400 signatures.

600-mile controversy

The U.S. Supreme Court decided October 4 that it would hear arguments on the decision of a Richmond appeals court that ruled the U.S. Forest Service acted outside its authority when it approved a $7.5 billion pipeline project led by Dominion Energy that would run underneath the Appalachian Trail between Augusta and Nelson counties. SCOTUS is expected to hear the case in 2020, with The Daily Progress reporting that a decision could come as early as June.

Slap on the wrist

Frequent downtown sign holder and protestor Mason Pickett was found guilty of a misdemeanor assault and battery charge October 4, resulting in a $100 fine. The longtime Wes Bellamy critic, known for scrawling obscenities on the Free Speech Wall, engaged in an altercation with a man protesting the Robert E. Lee statue on August 12 of this year, but the exact details haven’t been released. Pickett was also handed two assault charges for two incidents in 2017, but was eventually found not guilty.

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Court conundrum: A failed referendum and a wish to avoid one

Albemarle County officials want to move their courts out of Court Square. Staff photo

 

The Board of Supervisors’ interest in relocating Albemarle County’s houses of justice from their current location on Court Square and into their own jurisdiction has been overshadowed with opposition, but county attorney Greg Kamptner thinks he may have found a way to circumvent the need for public approval.

He told supervisors at their May 3 meeting that a bill passed in this year’s General Assembly session, House Bill 2313, says, “in the case of the removal of a county courthouse that is not located in a city or town and is not being relocated to a city or town, such removal shall not require a petition or approval by the voters.”

Kamptner says HB2313 applies because Court Square is within Albemarle County and not the corporate limits of Charlottesville. “Before the Board chose that option, it would thoroughly consider the comments and other input received from the public,” he says in an email.

The BOS will hold a work session on June 14, when county staff will give the supes an update on the hiring of a development adviser and exploring partnership possibilities for the court relocation, according to Kamptner.

“The bill was passed 98 to nothing,” says Bruce Williamson, chair of the BAR-Bench Committee of the Charlottesville-Albemarle Bar Association. “It is questionable whether or not the local members of the House of Delegates or State Senate understood that this bill might affect the ability of Albemarle County to move the courthouse from where it is to a different location.”

Williamson says, “They have the absolute right to locate their courts where they wish to locate them. The bigger question is is it good for the county and is it good for entire city and county community?”

Since the Albemarle Board of Supervisors passed a 4-2 resolution in November directing staff to explore options to relocate one or both of the courthouses, Williamson has been vocal about his opposition.

In November, he said, “This has been couched as a matter of convenience for lawyers. Nothing could be further from the truth. Adding in travel time to the urban ring would increase costs, reduce the number of cases public defenders could take and keep more people incarcerated while they wait for a hearing.”

And it isn’t only happening here.

In Staunton, a similar issue arose when Augusta County supervisors called for a referendum vote to move their courthouse from the downtown area to Verona. It failed when about two-thirds of county residents voted to keep it in its place, though six of seven supervisors supported the move. In this case, the attorney general has said the court cannot legally expand to a lot across the street from the courthouse, so supervisors are searching for another option.

“As far as what we can do, we’re very limited,” says Tracy Pyles, chair of the Augusta supervisors. “So we’re asking for some changes in the rules governing us.”

Currently, if a referendum vote fails, the board can’t initiate another one for 10 years. While his staff hopes that can be amended, Pyles offers advice to the local BOS.

“If they’re going to go to referendum, I know the mistakes we’ve made and I know the limitations we all work under,” he says. “First of all, try to have your cost estimate as realistic as possible.”

For instance, he believes a major reason the public voted against moving its courthouse was the $45 million price tag, which was the worst-case scenario, and would most likely cost about $35 million.

“We took the estimate of everything, which included things like $3 million for office furniture—that was never going to be the case,” he says.

He also recommends documenting the ongoing operating cost to keep the courthouse in place and to move it, he says, by noting details such as accruals in tax revenue and the cost of lawyers relocating. “Be able to really show why you intend to do it. If you can’t show monetary savings and efficiency improvement, you’re hard-pressed to say why.”

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Biking battle continues: Supes give the okay on studying Hedgerow

Albemarle County has an ordinance that prohibits bike riding at Ragged Mountain, but the natural area is located in Charlottesville where City Councilors have voted to allow it. Staff photo

Albemarle Board of Supervisors Chair Diantha McKeel said in February that an accelerated opening of Hedgerow Park could be an alternative to allowing biking at Ragged Mountain Natural Area, a controversial city-owned and county-located property on which both governing bodies are at odds about whether cycling should be permitted.

In an April 12 work session, the supervisors discussed the feasibility of opening the new park and all agreed to authorize an immediate conceptual engineering study for the space, which consists of 340 acres just south and west of the Interstate 64 and Route 29 interchange. It abuts Ragged Mountain Natural Area. If all goes well, the park’s construction would take place next year between May and November.

“To get to this park, you’re going to have to drive,” said Trevor Henry, the county director of facilities and environmental services. This has been a negative for cyclists looking for a location they can bike to.

Gauging the use at Preddy Creek Trail Park, which is the most similar county space to the proposed park, Henry estimates that 40 parking spaces will be necessary at Hedgerow. He also wants to allow space for about six horse trailers.

“The terrain here is incredibly steep in many places,” said Supervisor Ann Mallek, and it’s not ideal for horseback riding. “Not everything has to be available at every place.”

Each county park allows its own recreational activities, granting the estimated 800,000 people who visited them last year the opportunity to choose their destinations based on the activities they plan to do, Mallek said. And prohibiting horseback riding at Hedgerow would allow for a smaller parking lot.

But Supervisor Liz Palmer noted that when the late Jane Heyward gave the land to the county, she was adamant it be used for different kinds of recreation, including horseback riding. As for parking, on a recent Sunday afternoon at Crozet’s Sugar Hollow and Mint Springs Valley Park, she said she counted more than 50 cars in each lot.

“It’s interesting to me that it seemed a lot safer with people getting out [of their cars] with picnic bags and dogs and kids and everything to have a little bit bigger parking lot,” Palmer said.

Henry told supervisors the existing entrance into Hedgerow would first need widening, and potentially paving. He listed a number of possible issues that have design and cost implications, including the current parking lot’s location in a 100-year floodplain and proximity to a stream buffer, which could result in stream mitigation work.

The price? Henry estimates it at an initial $1.5 million; adding a pavilion and running electricity to it would cost an extra $450,000.

“I see lots of Eagle Scout projects,” said Mallek. Supervisor Rick Randolph said they’d be happy to accept any donations.

At Ragged Mountain, Charlottesville and Albemarle County officials are still at odds over who should have ultimate authority over the property.

Virginia code says localities may make rules for parks they operate in other jurisdictions, but “no ordinances in conflict with an ordinance of the jurisdiction wherein the property is located shall be enacted.”

When the Ivy Creek Foundation handed Ragged Mountain Natural Area over to the city in 2014, former foundation director and city councilor Dede Smith—not involved with either group at the time—says she doubts the city knew about the county’s ordinance that disallows biking.

“They certainly did not know about the history of the reservoir as the only clean raw water we have in the community,” Smith says. “I very much regret that the Ivy Creek Foundation gave up management, but I wasn’t there anymore at that point, so I am not privy to the decision. ICF protected the land back in the 1990s for a reason, but that was lost in the transfer.”

Adds Smith, “An important point to make in the disagreement about governmental rights of the use of the land is that the Ivy Creek Foundation had to get the approval of the county to establish the natural area. For the city to say [the county has] no rights now is simply wrong.”

A price to pay

The accelerated opening of Hedgerow Park won’t be cheap. Here’s how Trevor Henry, the county’s director of facilities and environmental services, breaks it down.

Base scope:

$1,486,000

Additive for pavilion and its utilities: $450,000

Total: $1,936,000

Annual operating cost:

Staff: $65,534

Operating: $15,810

Total: $81,344

Startup/one-time cost:

Equipment (vehicle and trailer): $66,708

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Old news: $2 million for Senior Center in question

Construction on the Center at Belvedere is scheduled to start next year. Courtesy of Peter Thompson

The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors has set aside $2 million in its capital improvement budget for the Center at Belvedere, a new senior center that is set for construction in the Belvedere neighborhood next year. And one county resident isn’t happy about the partnership.

“I think it is wrong for government officials to spend public tax dollars on private organizations,” says Gary Grant, who lives in the Rio District. “It’s so damn frustrating that I don’t think they really take constituents—taxpayers—as serious when we have serious concerns about certain topics.”

In email correspondence with a county resident that Grant was included on, Supervisor Rick Randolph said he opposes allocating taxpayer money to support the construction of the Center at Belvedere because he sees no evidence that the needs of at-risk and low-income seniors in the Scottsville, Esmont, Crozet and Cismont areas will be addressed by the new facility. Randolph has not made a motion to pull those funds out of the budget, and according to Grant, has said he will not because he doesn’t think another board member will second his motion.

Randolph declined to comment.

Grant also challenged Supervisor Ann Mallek at one of her district’s recent town hall meetings, proposing that she and her board use some of that budgeted money for the public’s benefit, by hiring more police or increasing teacher salaries—all things the board members have supported. They will officially adopt the budget on April 18.

Albemarle County is one of the few counties or cities in the commonwealth that doesn’t have a department for aging, and while the Parks and Recreation Department is able to help publicize programs at the Senior Center, currently located on Pepsi Place, it isn’t able to hire a staff to run them, according to Mallek.

This is why a public-private partnership mutually benefits the county and the organization for the elderly, she says. For that same reason, the Board of Supervisors contributed $2 million to the Brooks Family YMCA, which is scheduled to open in McIntire Park this summer. In that case, Mallek says the city donated the land in an agreement it would gain ownership if the facility were to ever change its operation.

Mallek says she will propose that the Center at Belvedere become a county office building if it ever folds.

In the grand scheme, she says, contributing $500,000 annually for four years is a small investment in the $20 million building, which will be 60,000 square feet. “If it were a private club that did not do things for the general public and have 80 percent of its programs open and available and free, then I would not be doing this.”

Some of those programs, according to executive director Peter Thompson, are concerts, dances and classes on the topics of cyber theft, avoiding fraud, health insurance counseling and current events. The Senior Center also partners with several nonprofits such as Hospice of the Piedmont and Alcoholics Anonymous. Most programs are open to the public for free or a nominal fee.

The current Senior Center encompasses 20,000 square feet and serves about 8,000 unique users a year and 100,000 repeat users, according to Thompson. In its 57 years of existence, the center has never sought public funding, “and that’s the way it will be,” he says. The county’s $2 million will be designated specifically for construction of the new center; the current Senior Center building will be sold.

Senior citizens make up 14 percent of the local population, according to information from Weldon Cooper Center. By 2020, the number is expected to more than double, from 27,000 to 56,000.

After five years of planning to accommodate the rising population of elderly people, Thompson says the fact that they are on track to break ground next year means local leadership understands that an aging community is an issue worth investing in.

“It’s not just nice to have a quality senior center. It’s as vital as having great healthcare, great schools and great transportation,” he says. “You don’t become an age-friendly community just by osmosis.”

Says Grant, “I like these people. I don’t like what they’re doing.”

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No way, Crozet: High-density subdivision rezoning denied

Developer Kyle Redinger had hoped to make Adelaide a high-density subdivision with some affordable housing units. Since that plan was shot down, he says he’ll build the 35 high-end homes that have already been approved.

At its February 1 meeting, the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors denied a rezoning request for Adelaide, a proposed 80-unit housing development in Crozet. The project is currently zoned for one single home per acre, and developer Kyle Redinger sought a zoning change to six units per acre, which would provide more density in the area’s high-density growth area.

“I relied on county-appointed experts, the county staff and the planning commission to interpret the master plan and design guidelines for Adelaide,” Redinger says.

In a written statement, he adds, “We talk a lot in Albemarle County about being welcoming and inclusive, especially now, in the darkness and uncertainty associated with our immigrants and those most in need. But, when it comes time to creating inclusivity on a local level, it is clear that some of our leaders have a different agenda.”

A staff report from a May 10, 2016, public hearing with the planning commission listed five favorable factors about the development including: It’s consistent with the Crozet Master Plan and the neighborhood model; it includes a mix of unit types, open space, Route 250 buffer, pocket park and trails; and the developer offered cash proffers and 12 affordable housing units for rent or sale.

Of the two unfavorable factors listed in the report, increased traffic was the biggest concern to approving the project located on Route 250, next to the Cory Farm subdivision, according to county staff.

Crozet resident Judy Herring, who owns the approximately 20-acre property upon which Adelaide will be built, feels unfairly targeted by the traffic concerns. “Downtown Crozet has quite a few projects in the works and if traffic is a concern of Adelaide, what do you think it will be if all those developments go through?” she wrote in a letter to Ann Mallek, the supervisor representing the White Hall district. “[Route] 250 is the main thoroughfare road and nothing is going to change that,” says Herring, whose husband was killed in a hit-and-run accident on that road in 2013.

Mallek voted against the development and encouraged others to speak out against it. Supervisors Liz Palmer and Rick Randolph also voted against Redinger’s zoning request, killing the rezoning with a 3-3 vote.

“Their vote prevents Albemarle from building trails and connections, and it pressures growth in the rural areas,” says Redinger. “Most importantly, it permanently eliminates the opportunity for affordable housing, creating price points that are far out of reach for young families, police officers, teachers and public servants.” The decision sends “a message of exclusivity to those most in need,” he adds.

And though some think Adelaide was the perfect subdivision for the growth area, Mallek says, “I voted no because I thought that the density on the edge of the growth area, surrounded by forest and rural uses, should be at the low end of the range suggested in the comprehensive plan and master plan for Crozet.”

Switching gears, Redinger now says he’ll build 35 by-right, high-end homes that have already been approved.

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Sign of the times: Supes don’t take kindly to city plaque

Charlottesville wants to put a new sign up at the Albemarle County Circuit Court in Court Square. File photo

An item on the Albemarle Board of Supervisors consent agenda August 3 was to allow the city to put up a historic plaque in Court Square in front of the county’s courthouses. Only instead of rubberstamping the request, one supervisor took issue with the content, and others complained it was yet another missed opportunity for the city and county to work together.

Supervisor Rick Randolph asked for the resolution to be pulled from the agenda because he objected to a statement that the residents of Court Square often owned one or two slaves.

“Many moved to the outskirts of Charlottesville to Albemarle County,” he said at the meeting. “I felt like the narrative ended with slaves being slaves in the antebellum period, but where did they go after the Civil War? That’s a story that needs to be told.”

Some of the former slaves moved in the 1870s to communities just being discovered, like Hydraulic Mills or Lambs Road, Supervisor Ann Mallek pointed out.

Another wondered why a historical marker would go up while the city has a blue ribbon commission looking at race in memorials and public spaces.

And Supervisor Diantha McKeel wanted to know the backstory on whether any county staff had been involved with the text and if the city had even asked if it was okay to put the sign on county property. “I’m a little frustrated,” she said, “because time after time we have these missed opportunities when we ought to be working together instead of being blindsided.”

Note to city: The supes were also miffed they weren’t invited to the Hillsdale Drive meeting, according to a recording of the BOS meeting.

On the county side, assistant county exec Lee Catlin and deputy county exec Bill Letteri didn’t know how the issue got on the board’s agenda.

City preservation planner Mary Joy Scala shines light on the project and says at least one county staffer was involved from the county attorney’s office.

The Charlottesville Historic Resources Committee designed nine new markers to create a walking tour of Court Square to tell a more complete story of the history there, she says in an e-mail.

The markers will replace granite ones currently there with faded gold text, but the older slate markers “that everyone seems to like” will remain, she says. All the new signs will be 11″ x 17″, except for the one the city wants to plant on county property, which will be roughly 4′ x 5′.

The big sign replaces one that was put in front of the courthouses when Court Square was renovated in 2003, says Scala, and that marker replaced a large wooden one that was moved to the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society.

Because there’s no legal agreement between the city and county about such signage, that’s why it was on the county’s agenda, says Scala, a veteran of many City Council meetings, who did not attend the county meeting.

The city will pick up the tab for the new walking tour markers, which will likely exceed $5,000, Scala estimates.

Another controversial Court Square plaque is the one at the site of the slave auction block, which has come under fire for being on the ground and not terribly visible. The city’s historic resources committee was asked to replace an older slate one that had gone missing in 2013. “I know the Blue Ribbon Commission has been discussing the interpretation of this location as part of their agenda,” says Scala.

Meanwhile, the county still wants to have a say in how the history of Albemarle is told.

Says Letteri, “It may have been simply an oversight on the city’s part. They may not have thought about the county being involved.”

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There’s hope yet for the pedestrian bridge over 250

A bridge similar to the one Diane Berlin proposes at Rolkin Road already exists on Emmet Street. The difference? Rolkin’s will be longer, with the potential to be cheaper, and will feature an elevator on one side and ramps on the other. Photo by Martyn Kyle

Though building a pedestrian bridge over Route 250 at Rolkin Road may not be the Albemarle Board of Supervisors’ first priority, the proposal hasn’t gone unnoticed.

With about 350 to 400 names on petitions advocating for the bridge and a large showing of supporters at the November 11 meeting, Pantops Community Advisory Committee member Diane Berlin says the supes gave her project a lot of attention.

“We’re in the mix,” Berlin says. “They get it.”

For now, though, supervisors say improving the safety in county schools—a project that was initiated after the shootings at Sandy Hook—takes priority.

They did approve, however, a study to find a permanent location for the pedestrian bridge and fundraising, which will begin next year, according to Berlin.

While VDOT could match funds up to $10 million for the bridge, the supervisors applauded communities in other jurisdictions that fundraised their own projects.

Berlin is skeptical. “If you ask the citizens for 10 or 20 dollars,” she says, “there’s no way they’re going to come up with a million dollars.”