Tag: City Council

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Price of prevention

Local violence interruption group the B.U.C.K. Squad objected to City Council slashing its 2025 budget allocation. Supplied photo.

Controversy arose last week when local violence interruption group the B.U.C.K. Squad announced that City Council reduced its funding for 2025. While councilors argue the $200,000 allocation from the Vibrant Community Fund shows strong support for the group, the B.U.C.K. Squad’s leadership is disappointed and confused by the decrease from the proposed $456,000.

“The BUCK Squad is grateful for the $200,000 budget allocation from the City via the Vibrant Community Fund,” the group posted on Facebook April 8. “However, we are disappointed that Council chose to reduce the original recommendation from the City Manager and the hard working VCF from $456,000 when gun violence continues to be an escalating problem in Charlottesville.”

According to Assistant Executive Director Bryan Page, the group was planning to use the extra money to increase its staff, provide improved coverage and services to the sites it monitors, and expand the program to include more hotspots. The cut to the proposed allocation has dashed its original plans, due to roughly 95 percent of funding going to payroll, per leadership estimates, with employees paid $18 to $19 an hour.

B.U.C.K. Squad members are often out in the middle of the night investigating and de-escalating tips called in to its hotline, which Page says “rings all night.” Call data shared by Page shows the group received 4,061 calls between 2021 and the end of 2023, investigated 595 tips, and interrupted 234 incidents.

C-VILLE can not independently verify the data because of the anonymous nature of the B.U.C.K. Squad’s call records.

Page acknowledges the city’s statements of support for the B.U.C.K. Squad, but says the rationale provided for reallocating funds was disappointing. “The budget was $250 million,” he says. “You give us $200,000 out of $250 million to fight gun violence?”

“These people are not in these neighborhoods, seeing how people are living. We do. And it’s always those closest to the problem close to the solution” says Page. “I’m effective in what I do because of my reputation … [it’s] all based on reputation and relationships.”

In its Facebook post, the B.U.C.K. Squad also suggested that Councilor Michael Payne’s position on the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority board is a conflict of interest, and he should not have participated in the reallocation process.

Payne is the City Council representative on the CRHA board, and denies any conflict of interest.

“There has always been a City Council representative on the CRHA board, the same as how Councilors serve on numerous boards and commissions,” Payne told C-VILLE in an email. “I receive no income or financial benefits—in any way—from CRHA.”

While Payne has not spoken directly with the group since the Facebook post, he told C-VILLE in a follow-up interview that he doesn’t “take it personally” and said “there [are] dedicated people in the B.U.C.K. Squad doing important work.”

“Adjustments have always been part of our process,” says Payne. “The VCF makes initial recommendations to council at the beginning of the budget season, and then council with the city manager works through adjustments. The conversation was pretty standard, this year was like every other, where the requests we had far out matched the amount of money in the Vibrant Community Fund.”

Council members opted to redistribute allocations within the VCF to provide money to two groups previously not receiving any funding—the CRHA and the Uhuru Foundation. Both organizations address systemic causes of gun violence, but received a “weak” funding request designation from the VCF.

“We had programs that we wanted to fund, and we just didn’t have the money to do it,” says Mayor Juandiego Wade. “[The B.U.C.K. Squad] was a program that we saw that had gotten a lot more than they had in the past.”
Despite the decrease from the original allocation proposal, the B.U.C.K. Squad will receive about $40,000 more this year from the city’s Vibrant Community Fund. It is also receiving the largest allocation of any organization this year.

“We also wanted to acknowledge that there are other players in the field too, and so that’s where some of the funding went,” says Wade. “We realized that we can’t [address gun violence] alone as a city, that’s why … we support the many nonprofits that we do.”

The B.U.C.K. Squad is “out there doing great work. I mean, I know that they were on the ground with this first homicide that we had of this year,” says Wade. “Unfortunately, they couldn’t stop that. But what they’re doing now is preventing the retaliations and so they’re on the ground … doing important, incredibly important work. And we as councilors, we as a city, we appreciate their work.”

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None in the chamber: Charlottesville’s search for a city manager has gotten messy

City Council (pictured here last year) has held numerous closed sessions in recent weeks after a firm retained to find a new city manager declared the government dysfunctional. Photo: Eze Amos

One of the keys to stabilizing a floundering city government is to hire a strong and competent chief executive. But in order to attract a high-quality city manager, you need a government that isn’t floundering.

That’s the paradox facing the Charlottesville municipal government at this moment. In September, City Manager Tarron Richardson resigned after less than a year and a half on the job. Earlier this month, the hiring firm retained to find his replacement fled the scene as well, with the firm’s principal telling the city he had “never seen a level of dysfunction as profound as what he was seeing here,” according to a January 4 Facebook post from Councilor Lloyd Snook.

“The plan to stabilize the organization and begin to rebuild was to have John Blair as the interim for a few months, begin a recruitment process to hire a city manager, and go from there,” says Councilor Michael Payne.

But the recruitment firm couldn’t handle the situation in Charlottesville. “They were very candid in saying that the amount of instability made it impossible for them to feel like they could be effective in recruiting a high-quality city manager candidate,” Payne continues.

The situation got so bad that Snook wrote, “In my opinion, we will not be able to hire a permanent City Manager until after the next election, in November, 2021, and we should not try.” (The next council will take office in January 2022. Mayor Nikuyah Walker and Councilor Heather Hill’s terms end in December, though both could run for reelection.)

In the last two weeks, City Council has held three closed meetings to discuss topics including “one or more prospective candidates for employment or appointment to the position of city manager,” and, ominously, “the performance of one or more city councilors.”

(When Richardson resigned in September, the announcement came at the end of a series of long closed meetings to discuss “the performance of the city manager.”)

In an interview on Monday afternoon, at the end of a five-hour session, Vice-Mayor Sena Magill was cagey about council’s plans. “We all recognize that there is a lot of fear, and tension, and unease throughout both the city government and the city as a whole right now,” she says. “We’re working very diligently to look at as many opportunities as we can to solve that.”

Some of the turnover in city government over the last few years can be attributed to the fallout of 2017’s Unite the Right rally—the city manager, police chief, and communications director all departed in the months following August 2017.

Magill thinks the problems go deeper than that, however. “This is something that’s been growing. This isn’t a single issue. We’re not looking at issues that started in 2017,” says the vice-mayor. “We’re looking at growing and changing, and growing and changing is difficult and painful.”

Certainly, relationships between some council members seem strained.

In his January 4 Facebook post, Snook wrote that an email from Walker suggested to him that “the Mayor was going to not fully engage on the most important decision that we have as a Council—the selection of the City Manager,” and that the firm’s decision to bow out was “directly attributable to the dysfunction on Council, starting with the Mayor and her e-mail of December 10.”

Snook and Walker did not respond to a request for comment on this story, and Hill declined to comment, but Walker did post on Facebook the day after Snook’s initial post.

“I am tired of my white colleagues placing the blame for everything that goes wrong at my feet and using their fragility to excuse their cunning behavior and the cunning behavior of some staff and community members,” Walker wrote. “The title of the piece that I need to write – Charlottesville: The Mountaintop of White Supremacy.”

“The problem with the written word is there is no tone of voice,” says Magill when asked if she agrees with Snook’s assertion the currently seated council won’t be able to find a city manager. “We automatically hear tone of voice based on our experience with a person, or what state of mind we’re in when we read something. And that leads to misunderstanding.”

Some citizens have begun circulating a petition asking the council to bring Richardson back as city manager. In October, when he resigned, Richardson told C-VILLE “I’ve done my best, I’ve made a significant number of changes, and it’s time for me to move on.”

For now, Magill says more closed session discussions are on the horizon, and that the group of elected officials will continue working together to the best of their ability.

Payne doesn’t think the solution lies in waiting for another election, as Snook suggests, though admits turning things around won’t be easy. “Council has been having very candid, honest conversations about substantial things that need to change going forward,” he says. “I do think the situation has gotten bad enough where it’s going to take some time to get city government back to where it’s been in the past.”

 

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Street smarts: City committee revamps honorary street name policy

In June, two blocks of 16th Street in Washington, D.C., were renamed Black Lives Matter Plaza. PC: Wikipedia User BDWARD3

Want to take a walk down Black History Pathway? Or maybe Waneeshee Way? Or even Tony Bennett Drive? Soon, you might be able to. These are among the honorary street names that area residents have submitted to the city in recent months.

After debating the issue late into the night during several meetings, Charlottesville City Council decided in September to send nearly a dozen honorary street name proposals to the Historic Resources Committee, seeking guidance on the evaluation process.

During its November 13 virtual meeting, the committee decided to completely revamp the honorary street naming policy before tackling the applications.

Until recently, the city rarely received new street name proposals. But around the country, people and governments have sought to commemorate the year’s events by redesignating their physical environment. In Washington, D.C., for example, two blocks of 16th Street were transformed into Black Lives Matter Plaza, with huge yellow letters painted on the pavement.

Charlottesville currently has a dozen honorary street names. Recent designations include Heather Heyer Way, honoring the victim of the 2017 white supremacist attack, and Winneba Way, named for our sister city in Ghana.

“Up until now this process has been very ad hoc,” said committee member Phil Varner. “We’re really trying to nail down [how] exactly should we do this…what exactly are the policy criteria, and what does the application actually look like for it [and] mean?”

Under the current policy, proposals are limited to individuals, organizations, entities, events, or something of local significance. While the committee agreed to keep these broad categories, it suggested that some honorary streets could be temporary, while others could be permanent, depending on the will of the nominator.

“Especially in a small city like this, [rotating] can be beneficial if there are this many people that should be honored,” said member Sally Duncan.

Committee member Jalane Schmidt expressed concern over the sunset period, and how it may lead to individuals “who’ve been excluded from conventional historical narratives” to only be recognized for a few years, while many city streets have had the names of racists for over a century.

After member Dede Smith pointed out that the city’s current honorary markers offer no information about who or what they’re named after, committee chair Rachel Lloyd suggested the creation of a website with a detailed history about each street name, as well as including them on the updated historic walking tour.

Smith also stressed the importance of street names being near the geographic location of the person or thing they are honoring. For instance, a portion of Avon Street is currently named after the late Franklin Delano Gibson, a celebrated philanthropist who owned a grocery store on the street for more than 40 years.

That won’t always be possible, though. “Because one of the reasons we’re doing this is out of equity concerns, there may be people who aren’t permanently associated with a distinct geography,” said co-chair Genevieve Keller. “We would need to memorialize and honor them anyway [and] find the most appropriate place.”

While some preferred that the street proposals be submitted by city residents, people who live on the street, or family members of the individual being honored, the committee decided to leave the applications open to anyone in the larger Charlottesville area.

However, a public notice will be sent to residents living on the streets with name proposals, so they can provide input on the decision.

The committee also decided to scrap the 500-word essay on the current application, and replace it with a series of short, direct questions about the street proposal.

After deciding on the policy changes, the committee briefly discussed the applications submitted to the city over the summer. Several seek to honor notable Black figures, like activist Wyatt Johnson and enslaved laborer Henry Martin, and historical events, like the razing of Vinegar Hill, while other proposals cover a variety of categories, including two in honor of UVA men’s basketball coach Tony Bennett.

In September, before turning to the HRC, City Council approved two of the original 13 applications. One renames a section of Grady Avenue after the late Reverend C.H. Brown, who built 12th Street’s Holy Temple Church of God In Christ in 1947. Behind the church, Brown also constructed several homes, helping the area to become a thriving Black neighborhood.

The other approved request honors the ongoing movement against police violence and systemic racism, recognizing Market Street between First Street Northeast and Ninth Street Northeast as Black Lives Matter Boulevard. It was proposed by community activist Don Gathers.

At its next meeting, the committee will officially vote on the naming policy changes, and decide which of the remaining 11 applications it should recommend for council’s approval, using the newly established guidelines.

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Still here: Public health experts urge caution as holidays approach

With cold weather and the flu season upon us, the Charlottesville community should brace itself for a serious uptick in COVID-19 cases. PC: Thomas Jefferson Health District

Nationwide, nearly 100,000 new COVID cases were reported last Friday—the most in a single day to this point. And with COVID-19 spreading across the country faster than ever, that number will almost certainly rise.

Locally, positivity rate has remained low, currently at just 2.4 percent, said Thomas Jefferson Health District medical director Denise Bonds at Monday’s City Council meeting. Bonds attributes that rate to the “very large number of tests that UVA is doing on an almost daily basis.”

Even so, the health district urges caution as the winter months and holiday season approach.

“The more people gathering—whether it’s at work sites or community events—it’s more of a risk for people to get exposed to COVID-19, and spread it to others,” says TJHD spokesperson Kathryn Goodman.

The return of students to UVA Grounds contributed to case spikes in Charlottesville and Albemarle in September and early October. Since the fall semester began in late August, students have been spotted crowding into bars on the Corner, and attending off-Grounds parties—typically standing close to each other and not wearing masks.

As of November 3, the university has reported 1,108 cases among students, faculty, staff, and contract employees since August 17. The spike receded in the later part of October, and 26 cases are currently active.

“A majority of what we’ve seen [with] UVA cases is that it’s been spread amongst UVA, and not far out into the community,” says Goodman. “It’s hard to know that always though—we can’t say for sure there hasn’t been [any] community spread from UVA cases.”

The health district continues to focus on educating area residents about proper safety precautions through social media, testing events, and other outreach measures.

“We know that everybody is tired of hearing about it…[but] COVID is still here unfortunately,” adds Goodman. “We have to continue to be extra cautious by wearing face masks, washing our hands, keeping six feet apart, [and] staying home when sick to help prevent further spread.”

The health district will offer free testing every day the week before Thanksgiving, and set up additional testing sites the week afterward.

Families should celebrate Thanksgiving—along with other upcoming holidays—with their own household, and include family and friends virtually, says Goodman.

“One of the highest-risk decisions people can make for Thanksgiving is having multiple households gather indoors together,” she adds. “It’s important people recognize that this year, we have to do things differently.”

People who do visit family or friends for the holidays should quarantine for two weeks before their trip, gather outside, and make sure each household is seated at separate tables, spaced at least six feet apart.

The health district is also worried about chilly fall weather—the beginning of cold and flu season—and its potential impact on cases.

“A lot of our concern is around people not being able to get together outdoors. The cold weather brings people inside,” says Goodman. “We [also] don’t know what the effects could be if someone gets the flu and COVID-19 together.”

To prevent the spread of the flu in the community, the TJHD is currently offering free flu shots. Its next drive-through clinic will be November 7 from 2 to 5pm at Charlottesville High School.

Correction 11/5: TJHD will be offering free COVID testing every day the week before Thanksgiving, not every day before Thanksgiving.

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Drop it: Belmont residents call it quits on petition against church rezoning

Residents who opposed the city’s rezoning of a Belmont church in order to build a 15-unit apartment complex have dropped their case. PC: Hinton Avenue United Methodist Church

Last fall, a band of city residents stirred up controversy when they filed a petition against City Council, demanding that it overturn its decision to allow a Methodist church in Belmont to build a 15-unit apartment complex, with four to six units set aside for adults with developmental disabilities

After a lot of backlash on social media, some residents removed their names from the petition. Now, even those who didn’t initially back down have stopped fighting the structure.

The residents opposed the philanthropic development effort because they had concerns about a large, commercially zoned building in a residential neighborhood, says Mark Kavit, a petition leader.

“The way the media handled it…they really vilified the neighborhood, and made them look like they are against housing for the disabled and affordable housing, when that wasn’t the case,” says Kavit, who lives in North Downtown. “Residents’ concerns have been first and foremost about the zoning, and then the size and scope of the development.”

Over the past year, the petition has been a “bit of a headache” for Hinton Avenue United Methodist Church, but not a big problem, explains Kim Crater, who’s leading the planning of the apartment complex. The structure will be called Rachel’s Haven, in honor of the church’s pastor’s wife, who died of breast cancer in 2016.

“We’ve had to adjust the order that we do things in,” says Crater. “We don’t want to spend the money until we are 100 percent sure that the zoning is going to stay in place, so we’ve delayed [certain] tasks and done other ones instead.”

“We also have been hands off with the petition, because [it] wasn’t against us. It involved them and City Council. We weren’t even a party to it,” she says.

Before the petition was filed, Crater and her team worked to address neighbors’ reservations about the church’s rezoning application. Some feared the property would eventually be sold, and turned into a business, which they believed could cause problems for the neighborhood, explains Crater.

“Initially, we put in a proffer that we won’t build any restaurants, since that seemed to be the big thing they were worried about,” Crater says. “But then they [worried] we could put in a store, so we put in a proffer that said no commercial enterprise—this is only residential.”

The church also hosted public meetings to explain why the zoning change was necessary to build Rachel’s Haven, which will also include several affordable units, rented out at rates accessible for those making 80 percent of the area’s median income.

Last month, the petitioners finally abandoned their effort. “We decided to non-suit without prejudice, due to the complications of organization, and health in the pandemic,” says Belmont resident Kimber Hawkey, another petition leader. “It’s also a question of trying to fight this in the courts. The cost of hiring lawyers to take this on is prohibitive.”

“We had heard [that] many, many of them had dropped off,” says Crater. “We had hoped this was coming.”

Despite dropping the petition, Kavit and Hawkey remain concerned about the church’s commercial zoning, pointing to issues Belmont has already experienced with properties being rezoned from residential to commercial. Southern Crescent Galley & Bar drew ire from neighbors last year for playing loud music and adding two cabanas. The bar was later fined by the city.

Petitioners also worry that, should the church change hands, future property owners wouldn’t be legally required to abide by the church’s proffers, which aren’t binding. They hope the city will create a new zoning category allowing the church to build the apartments without permitting future commercial use.

Because the petition was dismissed “without prejudice,” the group could pursue it again in the future. While they’re not sure if they’ll ever take it back up, Kavit says he will lobby the city planning commission for a new zoning category for projects like Rachel’s Haven.

Meanwhile, Crater and her team continue to look for ways to fund the apartments, specifically through the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program. They also plan to partner with an affordable housing nonprofit.

Though Crater does not expect the petitioners to file again, she hopes their concerns will be properly addressed.

“If they feel that the city did not respect their rights in this rezoning process…then I almost hope that they will file it again,” she says. “I never want people to feel like their rights are trampled, and that their voices aren’t heard.”

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In brief: Public housing progress, Trump rally trouble, and more

The Friendship Court redevelopment is scheduled to take place in four phases over the course of seven years. Phase one, indicated above, will begin in the fall. PC: City of Charlottesville

Do-over

Multiple public housing developments in Charlottesville are one step closer to getting a badly needed makeover. At its Monday meeting, City Council unanimously approved two ordinances regarding the redevelopment of Crescent Halls, South First Street, and Friendship Court.

The Piedmont Housing Alliance will take the lead on the first phase of Friendship Court’s redevelopment, while the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority will head the work at Crescent Halls, as well as the first phase of South First Street.

In this year’s budget, council allocated over $3 million to CRHA for its projects. At its meeting this week, council needed to approve the funds again into a community development corporation operated by CRHA. Constructing and redeveloping Crescent Halls and South First Street will cost an estimated $34 million in total.

Once redeveloped, Crescent Halls—which houses mostly seniors and people with disabilities—will have 98 one-bedroom, and seven two-bedroom apartments, as well as improved accessibility and amenities. At South First Street, CRHA will renovate the existing 58 units, and build 142 new ones.

For Friendship Court, PHA plans to build 35 new multi-family homes and 71 new apartments off of Monticello Avenue. Forty-six will be set aside for current residents, while others will be available to people making between 80 percent to less than 30 percent of the area median income.

Construction on Friendship Court is expected to begin in the spring.

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Quote of the week

“The grass around here looks terrible. It’s up above our knees. If we have a mayor that’s sitting on the housing board, have y’all really looked at Westhaven?”

—local activist Rosia Parker, calling out the poor conditions in the city’s public housing at Monday’s City Council meeting

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In brief

Trump train strain

On Sunday, Richmond City Council candidate Mike Dickinson led a “Trump Train”—a caravan of supporters in their cars—from Henrico County into the city. That caused yet another altercation beneath the Monument Avenue Lee statue, where protesters stood in the roadway, preventing the caravan’s progress. Police responded to reports that a gunshot was fired and one woman was pepper sprayed. No other injuries were reported. The statue’s days seem numbered—last week, a judge said Governor Ralph Northam can remove the Lee statue by executive order, pending one last period for appeal.

Whine and dine

A disgruntled bride is suing Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards for $32,000 after the Albemarle winery refused to refund a deposit for a canceled wedding, reports NBC29. Heather Heldman and her fiancé pushed their May 2020 wedding back to October when COVID broke out, but even with the postponement, just 15 percent of guests said they were able to attend. Heldman asked for a full refund. Pippin offered to return $9,000, saying it will have hosted a dozen weddings by the end of the fall, and it’s not the vineyard’s fault the Heldmans’ guests couldn’t make the trip. The wedding is just the latest event that’s gone sour in 2020.

Wild times

The city continues to expand the Heyward Community Forest, a swathe of newly protected land near Ragged Mountain. Last year, the city used a $600,000 grant from the Virginia Outdoors Foundation to purchase 144 acres of land from a private owner, thus establishing the forest. At Monday’s council meeting, the city appropriated $65,000 in VOF grant money to purchase five additional acres.

PC: Stephen Barling

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Guns down: City gun control ordinance draws fire

Beginning October 1, guns will be prohibited at government buildings like City Hall, as well as in parks and recreation and community centers, and near permitted events. PC: Skyclad Aerial

In June, the Virginia General Assembly passed a slew of gun control bills, including one that allows cities and counties to prohibit guns on public property. Localities across the state, like Newport News and Alexandria, have since enacted such a ban—and last week, Charlottesville followed suit.

Beginning October 1, guns will be prohibited in parks, buildings, and recreational or community centers owned by the city. They’ll also be banned on public streets or rights-of-way used for—or adjacent to—a permitted event, according to an ordinance unanimously passed by City Council on September 8.

What might have seemed like a straightforward progressive reform has, in fact, stirred controversy.

Anti-racist activist Brad Slocum fears the ordinance will be selectively enforced, pointing to the infamous Unite the Right rally, during which Charlottesville and state police officers stood by as white supremacists attacked counterprotesters.

“There’s ample recent and historical evidence that these kinds of ordinances…are not usually enforced against groups or individuals that are perceived as friendly to the police or the state, [like] militias, white supremacists, and similar types,” says Slocum, who supports defunding the police. “Whereas they do seem historically to be enforced against Black, left-wing, or otherwise non- or anti-establishment groups and individuals, sometimes severely.”

City resident Sean Reid also believes the law will disproportionately impact Black people, citing CPD’s long history of racism and overpolicing. According to Charlottesville Open Data, about 54 percent of people arrested by CPD since 2015 have been Black, even though the city is only about 18 percent Black.

Police officers are also not going to be posted at every city property, leaving many without a way to defend themselves or a sense of safety, says UVA grad student Ben (who asked that we not use his last name).

Though he views gun violence as a “non-issue” in the places where the city has now banned guns, Ben, who is a gun owner, also questions whether the law will be an effective way to prevent it, pointing to shootings that have occurred in places where guns were banned.

(Due to the varying definitions of “mass shooting” and “gun-free zone,” research remains unclear on whether shootings occur at increased rates in gun-free zones.)

Speaking only for herself, City Councilor Sena Magill says she too worries about the “unintended consequences” the ordinance could have, but feels that it is “the right way forward,” specifically because of the violence and trauma surrounding Unite the Right.

“If this ordinance had been in place on August 12, 2017, hundreds of people would not have been able to legally gather on park property and intimidate and threaten my friends and family,” she says. “I [also] don’t want someone to be able to walk into City Hall with a gun on their hip…and be able to intimidate the City Hall staff.”

“We’ve seen extremists exploit lax gun laws to terrorize the public,” adds Mike Fox, legislative lead for the Crozet chapter of gun control advocacy group Moms Demand Action. “We saw it with Unite the Right in Charlottesville, earlier this year when armed demonstrators descended upon Richmond, [and] we’ve seen it across the state, where you have armed citizens showing up at government meetings, intimidating lawmakers [and] voters.”

According to spokesman Tyler Hawn, CPD is creating an educational and awareness campaign on the ordinance “to ensure understanding and compliance.” It will alert the public of where they can and cannot legally carry a gun, and the consequences that can come with violating the ordinance, a Class 1 misdemeanor: up to a year in jail, and a fine of up to $2,500.

Updated 9/16 to clarify the racial disparity in arrests made by CPD

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In brief: Flint Hill gets A-OK, Freitas lands primary, and more

Fifteen percent of the housing in the new Flint Hill housing development will be affordable units PC: Roudabush, Gale & Associates, Inc.

Second chance

City Council approves Flint Hill development

After nearly an hour of discussion, and midway through a meeting that lasted until 2:30am, City Council voted July 20 to move forward with the Flint Hill housing development, a set of new homes to be constructed in Fry’s Spring.

Last year, council rejected an initial proposal for the project, but Southern Development has since made substantial changes to its plan. It now wants to build 37 single-family homes and two eight-unit condominium buildings, dumping its original plan for 50 townhouses.

The developers have also boosted the number of affordable units, from 10 percent to at least 15 percent. The units will be affordable for 30 years, and priced to house residents from 25 to 60 percent of area median income.

With a density of six units per acre, there will be some room left for homeowners to add accessory dwelling units, such as a basement apartment or guest house. And there will be almost five acres of green space along Moores Creek, including trails and places to gather.

Last month, the Charlottesville Planning Commission unanimously endorsed the revamped plans.

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville has partnered with Southern Development, and will build 30 percent of the units. Because the average area median income for Habitat families is 32 percent, Habitat’s president, Dan Rosensweig, said that Flint Hill would be “really good” for them, and for the city.

“It’s the kind of neighborhood our families have told us they’d like to live in,” he added. “This isn’t an answer to all affordable housing issues…[but] we’re really excited to be part of this project.”

Multiple people voiced their support for the development during public comment, including a current Habitat homeowner.

While Mayor Nikuyah Walker had several concerns, including when families would be able to move into the affordable units, she admitted the project was “better than anything” she’s seen regarding affordable housing since she’s been on council.

Two ordinances and a resolution for the development will be put on the consent agenda for council’s next meeting on August 3, and the project will move forward from there.

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Quote of the week

“As you consider defunding the police, my message to you is to fund diversity in crisis responders…[The public mental health system] has just as much systemic bias issues as law enforcement.”

—Black mental health advocate Myra Anderson, speaking to City Council.

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In brief

Military grade

On Monday, City Council voted to ban the Charlottesville Police Department from obtaining weapons from the military and participating in military training. But ahead of the meeting, Planning Commission member Rory Stolzenberg pointed out a variety of loopholes in the resolution—military equipment could still be purchased from private sellers, and the resolution doesn’t address the military-style equipment already in CPD’s arsenal. Stolzenberg, along with other public speakers, urged council to pull the policy from the consent agenda and strengthen it, but council passed the resolution anyway. “Just because it’s not pulled tonight, doesn’t mean we’re not going to work on this,” said Vice-Mayor Sena Magill.

Beer and spirits

Three Notch’d Brewing Company is the latest local business to strip Confederate imagery from its brand. For years, the Charlottesville-based brewers have been selling The Ghost APA, which is named for John S. Mosby, a Charlottesville native and Confederate officer nicknamed the Gray Ghost. The beer will now be called Ghost of the James, a reference to the reserve fleet of U.S. military boats currently stored on the river. The packaging has shifted from gray to blue.

Nick Frietas PC: Gage Skidmore

Freitas tries again

Last week, Nick Freitas won the Republican primary to challenge freshman U.S. Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger for Virginia’s competitive 10th District seat. Freitas lost to far-right statue defender Corey Stewart in the 2018 Republican U.S. Senate primary, and won his current seat in the House of Delegates through a write-in campaign, after failing to file paperwork to get himself on the ballot. He nearly made the same mistake this year, but the Virginia Board of Elections extended the deadline for filing, a move the Democratic Party has contested.

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The fight continues: Downtown rally amplifies voices of Black women despite threats

Organizers Zaneyah Bryant and Ang Conn honor the Black women who’ve died at the hands of police with a moment of silence. PC: Eze Amos

It’s been nearly two months since the murder of George Floyd, but protests against police violence continue around the country, including here in Charlottesville. Over a hundred protesters took to the streets July 17 to amplify Black women’s voices and struggles, and demand justice for those who’ve been killed by police, including Breonna Taylor and Sandra Bland.

Hosted by Defund Cville Police, the demonstration started in front of the Albemarle County Office building, where organizer Ang Conn welcomed the (masked) crowd and led several chants, including “No justice, no peace, defund the police,” and “Black women matter.”

Youth organizers (and twin sisters) Zaneyah and Zeniah Bryant, who are 14, also took turns shouting chants into their megaphone, alongside local activist and friend Trinity Hughes. Drivers passing by honked their horns in support.

While the group gathered on East High Street, a white woman drove around the public works truck blocking the road, and twice told the protesters they would “make good speed bumps,” according to tweets from the event and a Medium post from Defund Cville Police. The threat is especially chilling and violent given that Heather Heyer was murdered by a driver just a few blocks from where the protest took place.

The woman was soon identified as UVA undergraduate Morgan Bettinger. Her stepfather, Wayne Bettinger, was a Charlottesville police officer until he passed away in 2014.

When asked, the Charlottesville Police Department said it is “respectively declining comment” about the family member of a former member of the force.

Defund Cville Police called for Bettinger’s expulsion from UVA, but activist Zyahna Bryant says the group will not press charges. “We cannot and will not use/expect systems and institutions that disproportionately harm and criminalize Black people, to protect us at this time. They won’t. We protect us,” Bryant tweeted.

UVA released a statement via social media saying, “We are aware of the allegations on social media about a student’s conduct with respect to a protest in the city and are actively investigating the matter.”

The protesters walked down the mall before stopping in front of the Charlottesville Albemarle Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, where Conn asked everyone to take a knee and a moment of silence to honor the Black women who have lost their lives at the hands of police.

In front of the courthouse, Conn spoke about why money needs to be reallocated from the Charlottesville Police Department—which currently has a budget of $18 million—to different social departments and programs, especially the city’s foster care system.

Reading from last year’s Charlottesville Foster Care Study, she emphasized the disproportionate amount of Black and multiracial children who are referred to child welfare services, compared to their white peers in the city. These children are also less likely to be reunified with their families upon exiting foster care.

Conn, who spent time in foster care, invited Black people in the crowd who’ve been affected by the system to share their stories.

Sisters Harli and Kyra Saxon detailed the trauma inflicted on them after their parents split up, and their mother was no longer able to keep up with the bills. The family was evicted from their home, and CPS eventually got involved. Kyra was forced to live with the girls’ abusive father, while Harli was sent to a group home and later lived with several foster families. The pair said they begged to live with their mother, but the social workers assigned to their case—as well as a “racist” judge—did little to help them, even as they faced serious mental health crises.

After five years of battling CPS, the sisters were reunited with their mother.

“That’s what defunding the police is about—channeling those funds into assistance,” said Harli. “If somebody had come up to my mom and said here is some rent money, this never would have happened.”

Following several more speakers, Conn wrapped up the protest by encouraging attendees to call on City Council to slash the police department budget and invest in “real solutions,” such as an emergency response division, which could have prevented the violent arrest of an intoxicated unhoused man on the Downtown Mall earlier this month.

“We shouldn’t be criminalized for being human,” she said.

Updated 7/20

Categories
Coronavirus News

In brief: Drive-up dentist, neighborly love, and more

Dental Assistant Jodi Yount uses a Nomad machine to X-Ray a patient at the Charlottesville Free Clinic. The clinic bought the machine with money from a grant in December, and has been using it extensively under the new procedures of the COVID-19 pandemic. PC: Zack Wajsgras

Open wide

Parking lots have become the scene of all kinds of new activity in our virus-crippled world. Students are sitting in their cars to access school Wi-Fi. Religious congregations are meeting without getting out of their vehicles. And here in town, the Charlottesville Free Clinic is offering parking lot dental services for its patients: Two days a week, as many as 15 patients drive up and say “ahhh.”

The Free Clinic provides care to those who make too much money to qualify for Medicaid but don’t get health insurance from work. Parking lot dental checkups are just one way the clinic has adapted to life during the pandemic—they’re also doing curbside medication delivery and evaluating patients for financial eligibility over the phone.

“A lot of folks are losing their jobs, and therefore their insurance,” says Colleen Keller, the director of the clinic. “We anticipate having a lot of new patients by fall.”

The clinic has focused on maintaining its pharmacy services, and the most common medication it distributes is insulin. “We are seeing patients who aren’t always refilling on time coming in,” Keller says. “They know they are vulnerable, and they are working on their health. This is a silver lining.”

Like health care workers around the country, the free clinic’s staff is going full speed ahead. “As one staff member said, ‘It feels good that we can do something. It’s harder when I leave and go home,’” Keller says. “We have enormous gratitude for our jobs, and for the community who funds a free clinic.”

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Neighbors helping neighbors

Since March 13, the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation’s Community Emergency Response Fund has raised more than $4.4 million from more than 600 donations—including a gift of $1 million from the University of Virginia—to help those who need it most during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The fund has awarded $200,000 in grants to local nonprofits that provide critical services, including the Sexual Assault Resource Agency and Blue Ridge Area Food Bank.

And through the Community Foundation’s partnership with Cville Community Cares and United Way of Greater Charlottesville, along with city and county governments, it runs a Community Resource Helpline to provide direct support to local residents in need of money for rent, groceries, and other essential expenses. The helpline has already assisted more than 7,200 people, and with the recent addition of an online form to make the process easier, the foundation expects that number to drastically increase.

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Quote of the Week

“I am committed to an in-person fall semester in which we are back together in our classrooms, laboratories, studios, and clinics.”

—Virginia Commonwealth University president Michael Rao, as UVA and other schools are staying mum on fall plans

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In Brief

A welcome site

The City of Charlottesville has a new digital home, upgrading its website this week from charlottesville.org to charlottesville.gov. The new website is sleeker and slimmer, with 500 pages compared to the previous site’s 2,000. At the City Council meeting last week, councilor Heather Hill promised a “new website, new domain, same commitment to service,” while communications chief Brian Wheeler acknowledged that “a lot of links are going to be broken.”

Hals monitor

Those who’ve long cherished Charlottesville’s (increasingly rare) quirks got a treat last week, when an alleged self-portrait of Dutch Golden Age painter Frans Hals showed up for sale on Charlottesville Craigslist. It’s going for $7.5 million (though the poster will consider “reasonable offers” and “partial trade for real estate”). Art historians consider Hals to be one of the best painters of his time, but local experts were hesitant to speculate on the painting’s authenticity. As for why the anonymous poster would want to part with such a treasure, the owner said only: “It is time for him to come under new stewardship.”

For sale by owner: Frans Hals self-portrait (for a mere $7.5 million). PC: Anonymous Craigslist user

Corner support

With COVID-19 keeping students off Grounds—possibly until next spring semester—businesses on the Corner have taken a huge hit. To help them survive, tech nonprofit HackCville has created savethecorner.com, which thousands of students have used to buy gift cards from their favorite Corner spots and donate to the Charlottesville Restaurant Community Fund. HackCville has also raised over $2,000 to buy meals from Corner restaurants for UVA’s contract workers laid off by Aramark.    

Tragedy on the frontlines

Dr. Lorna Breen died at UVA Hospital on Sunday of self-inflicted injuries. While serving hundreds of coronavirus patients, Breen, emergency department medical director at NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital, contracted the virus, but tried to go back into work after staying home for about a week and a half. After the hospital sent her back home, her family brought her to Charlottesville. According to her father, Dr. Phillip Breen, the pandemic had taken an extreme toll on her mental health. “Make sure she’s praised as a hero, because she was,” Breen told The New York Times. “She’s a casualty just as much as anyone else who has died.”