Podcasts about brookhill

  Brookhill Ranch will conduct the Brookhill Ranch Market 2023 on October 20th and 21st. Get all the details here, at their website: https://www.brookhillranch.org/market Thanks to our exclusive media partner, KVRE • Join Our Free Email Newsletter • Subscribe To The Podcast Anyway You Want • Subscribe To Our YouTube Channel (click that bell icon, too) • Join Our Facebook Group • Tell Your Friends About Our Show • Support Our Sponsors (click on the images below to visit their websites) __________________________________________

  Mike McMillian, Chief Operating Officer of Brookhill Ranch says it is more than a ranch and church camp. In the 61 years since the founding of Brookhill over 60,000 kids have attended this ranch just south of Hot Springs Village. Originally founded by Don and Hettie Brooks in the summer of 1964 with seven campers, the ranch has steadily grown over the years and now accommodates over 2,500 campers each summer. The Ranch's executive director is Lynlee McMillan, Mike's wife. With over 26 different activities on an actual working ranch, it's easy to be a happy camper at Brookhill Ranch. You can contact them for more information: Call (501) 623-5983 or email them at info@brookhillranch.com Thanks to our exclusive media partner, KVRE • Join Our Free Email Newsletter • Subscribe To The Podcast Anyway You Want • Subscribe To Our YouTube Channel (click that bell icon, too) • Join Our Facebook Group • Tell Your Friends About Our Show • Support Our Sponsors (click on the images below to visit their websites) __________________________________________

If this were a Leap Year, July 18 would be the 200th day of 2022. However, this Monday is in fact the 199th day of the year and we are 532 days away from 2024. Are these numbers compelling or a distraction from the beginning of this 409th installment of Charlottesville Community Engagement? Let’s ask the Magic 8-ball! I’m your host, Sean Tubbs. Sign up for a paid subscription to ensure this work continues long into the future! Ting will match your first payment! See below for more. In today’s installment:An update on the COVID-19 pandemic as local experts anticipate a future surgeThe Virginia Department of Health is cautioning swimming in the western tributaries of Lake AnnaThe latest campaign finance numbers are in for Virginia’s Fifth District Storefront vacancies are up in the six commercial areas tracked by the city of CharlottesvilleAnd some updates on infrastructure projects in Albemarle CountyFirst shout-out: Piedmont Master Gardeners want to help you rethink your lawnIn today’s first subscriber supported public service announcement: Have you thought about changing up your lawn to something more sustainable for pollinators and other creatures? The Piedmont Master Gardeners wants you to know about a program called Healthy Virginia Lawns which can assist you in your transition. The program is a joint venture of Virginia Cooperative Extension and the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. If interested, the first step will be for a Piedmont Master Gardener to come for a visit for an assessment and soil tests. Healthy Virginia Lawns will give you a customized, science-based roadmap to a greener landscape that protects water quality, wildlife and other resources along the way. Visit piedmontmastergardeners.org to learn more!Youngkin’s health department makes COVID quarantines optional in education and childcare settingOn Friday, Governor Glenn Youngkin announced that the Virginia Department of Health has updated its guidance for children, teachers and staff in educational and camp settings. “This revised guidance outlines that quarantine is no longer routinely recommended for asymptomatic individuals after exposure to COVID-19 infected individuals,” reads the updated guidance “In general masks are not routinely recommended in these settings, indoors or outdoors, except during isolation.”The guidance continues a shift away to individual decisions related to the pandemic rather than mandates. The federal Centers for Disease Control has a much more broad system of quarantine protocols, which can be reviewed here.Dr. Costi Sifri, director of hospital epidemiology at the UVA Health System, said schools and day care facilities should do what they can to improve spaces to reduce transmission, especially before the school year begins. “Those include things like just understanding whether there are more opportunities to improve ventilation and those other engineering type approaches to reducing risk of transmission within schools,” Dr. Sifri said. “We know the virus is not going to go away.” Today the Virginia Department of Health reports a seven-day average of 2,930 new cases a day and the seven-day percent positivity ratings for PCR tests is at 23 percent. This continues an upward trend that dates back to the spring as newer strains became more prevalent. Dr. Sifri said the Omicron subvariant BA.5 continues to spread and he expects an additional surge in cases at some point in the near future. “We’ve had new variants that have replaced previous variants and for most of 2022 what we’ve seen is that these variants are descendants or are related to the Omicron variant that was called BA.1,” Dr. Sifri said. Dr. Sifri said reinfection is becoming more likely due to the new strains. “That really helps us think about perhaps whom we should be trying to protect by revaccinating,” Dr. Sifri said. “The challenge is that the COVID vaccines are based on the original strain of COVID and the protection from that or from previous infection is unfortunately not as robust for general infection due to BA.5 or some of these newer variants.” Dr. Sifri said vaccination and previous infections do protect against serious outcomes, except for those who are immunocompromised. “So the CDC guidance and our recommendations are that if you are in a high-risk group, then you should make sure you are up to date with your COVID vaccine,” Dr. Sifri said. Dr. Sifri noted that nearly half of the country is currently considered by the CDC as an area of high transmission. He recommends people wear masks, but acknowledged the political reality of America in the third year of the pandemic. “We know that’s not being done in many places around the country,” Dr. Sifri said. “I just flew in from the west coast earlier this week and masking is really the exception to the rule on airplanes and in more airports right now. If you are in those situations and you’re not wearing a mask, you should anticipate that you could be exposed to COVID.”To find out if you are eligible for another vaccine dose or to get vaccinated for the first time, visit vaccinate.virginia.gov to learn more. Harmful algae bloom at Lake AnnaThe Virginia Department of Health is asking people to avoid swimming in or contact with waters on the western side of Lake Anna and its tributaries due to the presence of a harmful algae bloom. “Samples collected at six sites on the Upper and Middle Pamunkey Branch, including Terry’s Run, and the Upper and Middle North Anna Branches indicated a cyanobacteria bloom with cell concentrations at unsafe levels,” reads a VDH update posted on Friday.The next update from VDH will be given some time in the second week of August. Until then, VDH cautions people to not fish, swim, or let pets in bodies of water that smell bad, look discolored, or have visible foam or scum on the surface. For more on the topic across Virginia, visit www.swimhealthyva.com. Good leads Throneburg in fundraising for 5th District RaceThere are 113 days until election day and 59 days until the next time that candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives will have to file campaign finance reports. The most recent deadline was this past Friday for activity through June 30.In the Fifth District, Republican Incumbent Bob Good of Evington has raised $848,271 in his reelection campaign for a second term, including $149,017 in transfers. Of the $679,372 in contributions, nearly 75 percent comes from individuals or entities who contributed $200 or more. About eleven percent came from political action committees. Good has spent $570,585 and had an ending cash balance of $328,023 on June 30.Democratic challenger Joshua Throneburg of Charlottesville has raised $446,579 so far, including $50,000 in loans. Just under 77 percent of the $396,379 in contributions came from individuals  or entities who gave $200 or more. So far, Throneburg has spent $320,531 and had $126,048 in cash on hand at the midway point of the year.  For all of the details, read the quarterly reports on the Federal Elections Commission’s website. Here’s the one for Throneburg and here’s the one for Good. Second shout-out is for LEAP’s new Thermalize Virginia program In today’s second Patreon-fueled shout-out: Have you been thinking of converting your fossil-fuel appliances and furnaces into something that will help the community reduce its greenhouse gas emissions? Your local energy nonprofit, LEAP,  has launched a new program to guide you through the steps toward electrifying your home. Thermalize Virginia will help you understand electrification and connect you with vetted contractors to get the work done and help you find any rebates or discounts. Visit thermalizeva.org to learn more and to sign up!  Storefront vacancies up slightly in Charlottesville Storefront vacancies are up in the six commercial areas tracked by the City of Charlottesville. That’s according to the latest twice a year report put together by the Office of Economic Development (read the report).“This study examines only the ground-level retail storefronts at the six major shopping centers, so vacancies on the second floor and higher are not included,” reads the report. “Not all vacant buildings are included in the vacancy rate provided .”Those six commercial areas include Barracks Road, the Downtown Mall, McIntire Plaza, Preston Plaza, Seminole Square, and the Corner. There were 22 vacancies in January and that has risen to 33 in July. That does not include storefronts that are under renovation. When factored in percentage, the vacancy rate increased from 5.01 percent to 7.21 percent. The study also does not cover West Main Street, which has some buildings that have storefronts that have never been filled. The Flats at West Village used to have a restaurant that closed before the pandemic, and one retail space required to be built due to the zoning has never been occupied. The Lark has seen two breweries come and go but the second closed during the pandemic. A retail space on Roosevelt Brown Boulevard has never been occupied.The Standard has several retail spaces, and only one has been occupied. Another appears to be a storefront, but is actually an advertisement for a ghost kitchen. Urban sidewalks are among several infrastructure projects under construction in AlbemarleEvery quarter, Albemarle County’s Facilities and Environmental Services Department puts out an update of its activities. The latest is on the consent agenda for Wednesday’s meeting of the Albemarle Board of Supervisors. (read the report)Here are some of the highlights:Construction got underway in June on over 2,000 feet of sidewalk to connect Albemarle High School to Greer Elementary School. Funding comes from a one-time Neighborhood Improvements Funding Initiative as well as the Safe Routes to School program. Replacement of 376 exterior windows at the county’s office building on McIntire Road is also underway. The windows all date back to the late 70’s when Albemarle bought the former Lane High School from the city of Charlottesville. This will reduce energy costs and the report notes that electricity consumption in June was down 13 percent over the same month in 2021. The Federal Emergency Management Agency recently awarded Albemarle a $96,261 grant to study the potential for flooding in the 770-acre Branchlands watershed. This may take some years to complete. Design for an entrance road for the first phase of Biscuit Run is still ongoing with negotiations continuing between county staff and the Virginia Department of Transportation. The first phase will consist of that road, restrooms, and a parking area. According to the report, completion of the first phase is now expected in September 2023. Albemarle is considering using land proffered to the county as part of the Brookhill development for many uses, including a relocation of the vehicle maintenance facility used by Albemarle Public Schools. Other uses might include a solid waste convenience center, such as the one that will soon get under construction in Keene. A feasibility study for the Brookhill land should be ready in mid-August. The Southern Convenience Center is expected to be completed in December on a nearly $1.1 million budget. Completion of several sidewalk projects is expected in the coming weeks. Albemarle was successful in getting revenue-sharing funds from the Virginia Department of Transportation for sidewalks and improvements on Rio Road, Avon Street, and U.S. 250 West in Crozet.“The Rio Road Sidewalk Improvement project will connect the Stonehenge residential neighborhood to the John Warner Parkway and Rio Road sidewalk system. The Avon Street Walkway/Crosswalks Improvement project will provide sidewalks on the east side from Swan Lake Drive to Mill Creek Drive and then to Cale Elementary School [sic] and on the west side from Stoney Creek Drive to Arden Drive. The US 250 West-Crozet project will consist of the construction of sidewalk and crosswalks from Cory Farms to the Cloverlawn commercial area and Blue Ridge Shopping Center.”Cale Elementary was renamed Mountain View in 2020. Secure this work’s future with financial supportThis is episode 409 of this program and I’ll be getting to work on 410 and beyond. I really want to get to 818, 820, and so on. This is the work I want to do and I believe the community benefits when I’m able to spend my time as a reporter. Town Crier Productions is not a nonprofit organization, but around a third of the audience has opted to contribute something financially. It’s similar to the old days when you would subscribe to a newspaper. I subscribe to several, myself, and would greatly appreciate your subscription. Supporting the program through a Substack contribution or through Patreon makes it very easy for me to get paid and every single dollar that I get makes me want to work that much harder to serve the community. In just under two years, I’ve produced hundreds of stories that seek to give you information about how decisions are made in our community and in the Commonwealth of Virginia.For more information on all of this, please visit the archive site Information Charlottesville to learn more, including how you too can get a shout-out! Thank you for reading, and please share with those you think might want to learn a few thing or two about what’s happening.Also, Ting will match your initial payment! Visit them today to see if they can help you speed your Internet up. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

Does Wednesday the 13th make you tremble in fear? What about the fact that we’re now 110 days away from Halloween? Or perhaps the fast-paced motion of a rapidly revolving world has you dizzy? Either way, we are still supposed to be in the middle of the days of haziness and laziness, but somehow craziness abides each and every day. Charlottesville Community Engagement intends to bring some focus on an ever-changing landscape. I’m your host, Sean Tubbs. In today’s edition:A new health partnership is sponsoring an event this Saturday to promote better health outcomes in vulnerable communitiesSeveral area organizations receive funding from Sentara Healthcare Inflation is up as measured in the latest update of the Consumer Price IndexAn update on the Cville Plans Together initiative as well as a status report on the development of the University of Virginia’s next master plan Time is running out to fill out the latest survey in Albemarle County’s Comprehensive Plan review First shout-out is for LEAP’s new Thermalize Virginia program In today’s second Patreon-fueled shout-out: Have you been thinking of converting your fossil-fuel appliances and furnaces into something that will help the community reduce its greenhouse gas emissions? Your local energy nonprofit, LEAP,  has launched a new program to guide you through the steps toward electrifying your home. Thermalize Virginia will help you understand electrification and connect you with vetted contractors to get the work done and help you find any rebates or discounts. Visit thermalizeva.org to learn more and to sign up!  UVA continues to develop next master planThe University of Virginia is in the midst of updating its master plan, which is to be known as the 2030 Grounds Plan. These meetings are not open to the public, but the documents and presentations are available for your review. According to a presentation at the June 15, 2022 meeting of the Master Planning Council, the next plan will integrate several recent plans such as the 2030 Great and Good Strategic Plan as well as sustainability goals. The first phase of the plan’s update began last summer and the second phase took a look at Big Ideas, System Plans, and Redevelopment Zones. One identified opportunity is to:“Improve the Grounds-City interface through ongoing collaboration and cooperation on sustainability, equity, and community well-being,” reads a bullet point on slide 11 of the presentation. Big ideas include the goal of requiring second year students to live on Grounds, creation of mixed-use nodes including one at Fontaine Research Park, and creation of transit priority corridors. The presentation also includes maps for where future parking structures might be. In June, the Buildings and Grounds Committee recommended approval of an update to the UVA capital plan to include a $54 million 1,000 space garage. Potential locations could include Fontaine Research Park and North Grounds, as well as two other locations. (slide 28 for details). The third phase will begin to draft the actual plan. Both the Master Planning Council and the Land Use and Environmental Planning Committee (LUEPC) were asked what they thought of the Big Ideas and what was missing. The LUEPC committee is a closed-door body of Albemarle, Charlottesville and UVA staff that replaced what has been a public body in late 2019. Development of the 2030 Grounds Plan will continue throughout the rest of the year. The Charlottesville Planning Commission got an update on what’s happening at one of those nodes from Bill Palmer, their non-voting representative from the University of Virginia’s Office of the Architect. “At the Ivy corridor, the big construction site down there continues,” Palmer said. “The School of Data Science is the building you see coming out of the ground. A lot of steel in that one that, as well as the landscaping and the stormwater pond, which I heard held up well in the rain last weekend.” How does this compare with how the University markets the Charlottesville area to its students? Take a look at a video from May 2018. A series of speakers extol the virtues of this place. “The University feels like a major part of this community and town,” one unidentified voice can be heard. “There is this separation but also togetherness.” “You want to be part of a community that is constantly evolving, not in a rush, but gradually so you can make the place work for you,” says another unidentified speaker whose voice may sound familiar. You’ll have to hear the podcast to make your guess. Deadline for Comprehensive Plan survey in Albemarle fast approaching Albemarle County is in the first phase of a review of its Comprehensive Plan with an eye on a growth management policy. A second questionnaire on the policy closes on July 17, and Albemarle’s Communications and Public Engagement office produced an explanatory video. “The growth management policy is one of the tools that we use to implement the county’s vision by helping us to make intentional decisions about how and where we grow and what areas are protected,” states the narrator of the video.The video states that one purpose of a growth management policy is to ensure that there are services for a growing population, including the provision of water and sewer services. “The majority of new residential, commercial, retail, office, industrial, and mixed-use development is intended to be within the county’s development areas,” the video continues. “The rural area is intended to have limited residential development.” Different community groups are also encouraging community members to fill out the survey.The Forest Lakes Community Association reminded its members of the basic gist of the growth management policy. “Designated Development Areas currently comprise only five percent of Albemarle County while Rural Areas currently comprise 95 percent of the County,” reads the newsletter. “Yet we in Forest Lakes are seeing the developmental impacts more directly, since the limited Development Area includes the 29-Corridor to the west of Forest Lakes.” The Forest Lakes Community Association had argued against the nearby Brookhill and RST Residents developments, and points out there’s currently no public transportation in the area. “Roads are planned that will eventually connect both developments directly to Ashwood Boulevard, with estimates of up to a 50 percent increase in daily traffic utilizing the Forest Lakes South exit,” the newsletter continues. Former members of the Village of Rivanna Community Advisory Committee also want people to fill out the survey. The group quit en masse in April which you can read about on Information Charlottesville or on their Substack newsletter.This spring, the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors were presented with a build-out analysis to determine if there’s enough room in the existing development area to meet the needs of a growing population. Albemarle Planning Commission briefed on build-out analysis, Information Charlottesville, May 25, 2022New report shows potential for Albemarle's growth if the county wants it, Daily Progress, May 24, 2022Supervisors got an update on June 1, 2022 that I’ve yet to write about, but will before the end of the summer. You can watch the video of that meeting here, and let us know what happened!NDS Director gives an update on Charlottesville’s Comprehensive PlanIt’s a hot summer for big land use plans. Charlottesville is in the third phase of its Cville Plans Together initiative which has already seen adoption of an Affordable Housing Plan as well as an updated Comprehensive Plan that gives more development rights to mostly every residential lot in the City.How those development rights will turn into future buildings will depend on the update of the city’s zoning code that is now underway. In June, the city released a Zoning Diagnostics and Approach report.“Basically, a slate of ideas for how we can modify our zoning to implement the Comprehensive Plan that you all and Council adopted last November,” said Neighborhood Development Services Director James Freas to the Charlottesville Planning Commission last night. The next step will be the development of a new Frequently Asked Questions list based on input taken at a public forum in June. “Our public feedback period lasts until all the way through until the end of August,” Freas said.In early August, Freas said the city will release the inclusionary zoning and market analysis report.“The market analysis piece of that is the piece looking at how might our real estate development marketplace here in Charlottesville react to this new zoning?” Freas said. “What we can expect in terms of the timing for new development, the types of new development that might happen, and where it might happen based on our existing market conditions and what we can not to that.” If you’re interested in what’s happening with the property market in Charlottesville, I track that and will have a piece that paid Substack subscribers will get a first look at tomorrow. In the meantime, visit Information Charlottesville to catch up on monthly anecdotal reviews. Sign up for a paid subscription to get the June report tomorrow!Happy 2nd birthday to Charlottesville Community EngagementToday is the second anniversary of Charlottesville Community Engagement. I posted the first episode to what’s now become Information Charlottesville. This first version is about five minutes long, but I decided to commit to putting together something on a regular basis. I had produced the Charlottesville Quarantine Report since March 2020, and was quickly wanting to branch out.I’ve been able to do this work thanks to a great number of people who have been supporting the work through Patreon. I’m grateful to those who thought my return to local journalism would be worth funding, and so I got to work as soon as I could. A few days after July 13, 2020, I launched this Substack because the delivery platform is so easy to use. This has also brought in more revenue, with many generous supporters who want me to produce as much information as I can about the items I’ve been covering for many years. This shout-out is a thank you, but it’s also a hope that if you’ve not opted to support the work yet, you might consider doing so at some point in the near future. I depend on subscriptions and Patreon contributions, as well as a couple of sponsorships. I’m looking to sustain the information and to continue serving the community. And with that, it’s back to the work! Inflation increases by largest amount since November 1981Real quick segment here. You’ll hear about inflation from lots of sources today, but I wanted to direct you to the original press release. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics today released the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI), which indicates that the average cost of all tracked items has increased by 9.2 percent from June 2021 to June 2022. For the month, the CPI increased 1.3 percent over May. Energy costs increased 7.5 percent since May with gasoline increasing 11.2 percent. When you exclude food and energy, the index rose 0.7 percent in June. Several organizations get funding from Sentara HealthcareEarlier this month, Sentara Healthcare announced nearly $5 million in funds for organizations across North Carolina in Virginia. Distributions from the Sentara Healthier Communities Fund include several in the greater Charlottesville area. “These investments will directly support programs and initiatives that address social determinants of health and promote health equity by eliminating traditional barriers to health and human services,” reads a release that went out on July 6. The local groups that received funds are:Brave Souls on FireCharlottesville Redevelopment & Housing Authority Common Ground Healing ArtsHabitat for Humanity of Greater CharlottesvilleLoaves & Fishes Food Pantry, Inc.Meals on Wheels of Charlottesville/AlbemarleThe Women’s InitiativeThomas Jefferson EMS Council Tour of Faith Mobile Community event to be held to promote health benefits of walkabilityA relatively new public health program to improve health for vulnerable community members will hold an event this Saturday morning to spread awareness of their work Betsy Peyton is the director of WellAWARE, a partnership program between UVA Health, the Charlottesville Free Clinic, and Central Virginia Health Services that seeks to serve medically underserved communities. “We are an innovative, new community health program that sends community health workers into people’s homes to help connect them to better health care,” Peyton said. Peyton said this includes neighborhoods such as Rose Hill and the 10th and Page neighborhood as well as the Esmont area in southern Albemarle. “We chose these neighborhoods related to health data,” Peyton said. “Highest rates of obesity, stroke, highest rates of low acuity emergency room visits, so people going to the emergency room for things like a headache.” WellAWARE is intended to connect people to primary care physicians. “We’ve signed a lot of people up for Medicaid who are scared to go the doctor because they weren’t sure how they would pay,” Peyton said. “We drive people to the doctor or provide free cabs to the doctor.” Peyton said the organization also holds events to promote awareness of healthy lifestyles, and this Saturday there’s one coming up in central Charlottesville.“So this event, we’re partnering with Move 2 Health Equity and it’s going to be a big event in Washington Park called Healthy Streets and Healthy People,” Peyton said. Peyton said the event will draw importance to the need for environmentally healthy streets. “If you’ve looked at maps of Charlottesville and the region, the areas that have the least shade also have the worst health outcomes, are also the poorest, and traditionally African-American neighborhoods,” Peyton said. “And so part of the mission of this event is to talk about more bikeability, more tree canopy, usable parks.” The event will take place between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. There will be a “gentle” walk/run with prizes, a field day event for kids, and gardening sessions where people can take home containers of potted herbs and vegetables. There will also be some general medical training. Learn more in this link to a press release.Housekeeping notes for the conclusion of this installment:Now that this newsletter is two, I am going to begin to add this end section with wrap-ups and acknowledgements. This is in part to curb on the rambling that occurs at the end of the podcast. Beginning today, I will acknowledge that most of the music in the podcast is composed by an entity currently going by the name Wraki. You can purchase the latest tracks on Bandcamp in an album called regret everything. If you’re interested in a shout-out, consider becoming a Patreon Subscriber, or drop me a line and we can find another way. The shout-outs may be changing soon in the near future. I am certain that does not mean they will be translated into Esperanto. Sed ili povus esti.Charlottesville Community Engagement is free to receive, but supported by paid subscriptions. If you subscribe, Ting will match your initial contribution! This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

After today, 80 percent of May’s Tuesdays will have happened, leaving one more to go. While this one is with us, there are plenty of fake holidays to ponder including National Escargot Day, National Caterers Appreciation Day, Aviation Maintenance Technician Day, and National Scavenger Hunt Day. Can you find the clues in the May 24, 2022 edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement? If so, please let me know so I can also try to figure it all out. I’ll reveal who I am at the end of the program. Send this newsletter and podcast on to someone else so we can grow the audience!On today’s program:Charlottesville City Council holds first of two readings on new mechanism to provide tax relief for city property ownersA public hearing is held for a segment of an east-west commuter trail The candidates are in place for the 5th District Congressional race this November The General Assembly will head back to Richmond on June 1 Details on a planned condominium complex in downtown Belmont Shout-out to Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards In today’s subscriber-supported Public Service Announcement, the Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards continues to offer classes this spring and summer to increase your awareness of our wooden neighbors and to prepare for the future. Coming up on June 7 is a tree identification course taught on Zoom by tree steward Elizabeth Ferguson followed by a separate hike on June 11 at the Department of Forestry’s headquarters near the Fontaine Research Park. That’s followed by a tree identification walk at the University of Virginia on June 12 for the public. On June 14, Rachel Keen will give a lecture on Zoom on the Social Life of Trees. Do trees really communicate with one another? What is a 'mother tree'? Can a tree do anything to repel a pest? Learn more at charlottesvilleareatreestewards.org.Republicans nominate Good for re-election to Fifth District We are now three days into the general election stage for Virginia’s Fifth Congressional District now that both major parties have selected their nominees for the November 8 ballot. On Saturday, Republicans who attended a convention at Hampden-Sydney College in Prince Edward Category overwhelmingly selected incumbent Bob Good of Campbell County to seek a second term. According to a raw vote count, incumbent Bob Good received 1,115 of the 1,303 votes cast. Of the 24 localities with Republican committees, challenger Dan Moy of Charlottesville performed best in Albemarle County where he got votes from 43 of 128 convention delegates and in Charlottesville where he received 15 out of 28 votes. However, the convention used a weighted system which gave Good 1,488 votes to Moy’s 271. (view the vote tally)Democrat Josh Throneburg got straight to work with a press release pointing out that the number of votes cast in the convention were less than 0.02 percent of the population of the Fifth District.  Throneburg became the nominee by default when all other candidates failed to qualify for the primary ballot. Other resources: 5th District Republicans nominate Good to represent party in November, Lynchburg News & AdvanceGood defeats challenger at convention, will be on November ballot, Chatham Star-Tribune NewsRep. Bob Good wins GOP nomination for 5th District, NBC29Virginia Public Access ProjectVirginia legislators to return to General Assembly on June 1A date has been set for the Virginia Senate and the Virginia House of Delegates to return to Richmond to complete the special session that convened on April 4. The two Chambers will convene at 10 a.m. according to the Legislative Information System.One of the major pieces of business left to complete is the state budget and a slate of legislators from both Houses have been seeking to work out a compromise to reconcile both versions.  There are also several bills that passed both Houses but also have to be reconciled before it can be sent to Governor Glenn Youngkin for action. These include a sales tax exemption for food and personal hygiene products, changes to the make-up of the State Board of Elections, and the establishment of a Virginia Football Stadium Authority.  City Council holds public hearing on trail connectionA new partnership has formed between the City of Charlottesville and an entity that secures open space easements in Virginia, and that will slightly increase the cost of land transactions. “We have a property owner that we’ve been negotiating with and we have a granting agency in the Virginia Outdoors Foundation that’s providing the funding which has already been appropriated,” said Chris Gensic, a planner in the Parks and Recreation Department. When complete, the transaction will trigger a $3 fee for recordation of most deeds to go toward a pool of money to allow the Virginia Outdoors Foundation to purchase more land. Gensic said most localities of Virginia already have this arrangement but the city has yet to record an open space easement within its borders. The property in question would allow for the 250 Bypass Trail to continue on an already paved trail in the woods to the south of Charlottesville High School toward the Piedmont Family YMCA to the east“The parks department has been working diligently over the past few decades to acquire pieces of property to stitch together a trail network per the Comprehensive Plan,” “We’ve been discussing this particular acquisition that’s on the western end of McIntire Park.” The public hearing was held to move the transaction forward, but Council took no action. That will come when the deal is nearing completion. Rex Linville of the Piedmont Environmental Council said the parcel in question was significant. “It is a crucial link in the multiyear effort to create a shared-use path that will connect McIntire Park, the YMCA, and Charlottesville High School to Hydraulic Road,” Linville said. “This parcel is also a vital part of a larger four-mile loop that will connect these public resources to Michie Drive, the Greenbrier neighborhood, and the John Warner Parkway.” No city funds will be directly used in the transaction, according to Linville. Council approves action plan for federal HOME and CDBG fundsCity Council has approved an action plan for federal funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the next fiscal year. Staff had suggested making some changes to the process in order to meet HUD’s guidelines, but some groups pushed back on some of those proposals. (read the staff report)“Staff will no longer request that the task force be changed to staff advisory,” said Deputy City Manager Sam Sanders. “Instead we’re going to focus on identifying income eligible participants to ensure that the diverse voice is always available.” Sanders said the city cannot use federal funds to pay participants to sit on that task force, but local funding can be found for that purpose should Council want to ensure participation by low income individuals. Charlottesville will also stop the process of designating a neighborhood to receive funds for three-year periods at a time. In recent years, projects in Belmont received those funds despite an influx of wealth. “Instead we will continue to work to identify projects that prioritize investment in those areas for the targeted low-income population to benefit from,” Sanders said. A project that had been recommended by the task force was $186,376.16  in funds for sidewalk improvements in the Ridge Street neighborhood, the current priority neighborhood. That will no longer be part of the action plan due to a concern that the project would not be completed in time to meet HUD’s deadline. Instead funds for project will be returned to the pool to allow for other proposals from the community to be funded for the Ridge Street neighborhood.  A second reading and vote on this year’s spending will be on Council’s agenda on June 6. City changing mechanism for property tax relief City Council will hold a work session with the Planning Commission this afternoon but before the joint session on transportation matters gets underway, there will be a second reading of an appropriation of $1.5 million in city funds to be used as grants to low- and middle-income property owners. This would replace the long-running program Charlottesville Housing Affordability Program (CHAP) that the city had been using to provide tax relief. Todd Divers is Charlottesville’s Commissioner of Revenue. “We’ve kind of scrambled to put together a program that I think is going to get us close to what we were doing,” Divers said. Divers said the previous tax relief program had been justified by the City Charter, but now a second avenue to justify the program will be used instead. “The Director of Social Services as the local Social Services board will be the official administrator of this program though I will be working in a cooperative agreement with her and we’ll still be effectively managing the program the way we always have,” Divers said. The move also allows the city to increase the threshold for eligibility for participation to a home value of $420,000, which is the average assessed value of a residential parcel in the city. The income threshold will be increased to $60,000. “This a grant program,” Divers said. “This is a grant for needy folks and the way that we are defining that is folks who make less than $60,000 a year and who own a home in the city of Charlottesville.”Divers said he estimates an additional 100 people will be eligible. The second reading is being held today to speed up the process to allow the process moving forward for this year. Shout-out for an ACHS program on the Fields of Honor This year, the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society has been working with a group called the Fields of Honor to identify soldiers who were killed in action in the Second World War. Since February, ACHS researchers have helped locate several photographs of the fallen, including that of Private Clarence Edward McCauley who was tracked down through high school records. There are 18 remaining photographs to be found, and on Thursday, May 26 at 7 p.m. the ACHS will host Debbie Holloman and Sebastian Vonk of the Fields of Honor Foundation to talk about how you can take part in their volunteer efforts honoring the service and sacrifice of US WWII service members buried or memorialized at US war cemeteries in Europe. That’s Thursday, May 26, at 7 p.m. via Zoom or Facebook Live.Site plan meeting held for Belmont Condominiums projectOfficials with Riverbend Development have offered details on a proposal to build dozens of condominiums on undeveloped land in Charlotteville’s Belmont neighborhood. “I know on this site in particular I have been working with the neighborhood off and on for at least five years regarding this site and we’ve owned it for well over a decade now I believe,” said Ashley Davies with Riverbend Development.A previous submission that looked more like neighboring City Walk Apartments had gone to a site plan review conference in 2018 but that version did not move forward. “A lot of the feedback that we got from the neighborhood from that time is just that it felt like these two buildings were too big compared to what you see in the rest of the neighborhood,” Davies said. This development would include 130 total units and it needs city approval on three applications. Both a major subdivision and a site plan can be approved by staff, but a third requires endorsement by elected officials.“A critical slope waiver due to impacts to critical slopes requires a City Council action,” said city planner Matt Alfele said. “This means that application will go to the Planning Commission for a recommendation and then City Council for a final decision.” No date has been set for that Planning Commission meeting and a public hearing is not required. The six acres of property span many parcels which would be combined in the major subdivision. Since 2003, the zoning has been for Neighborhood Commercial Corridor which allows for mixed-use. Most of the buildings would be constructed in a form known as a two-over-two. “It looks like a townhouse style unit on the outside but once you go into the unit it actually has two units each two floors tall and there’s garages on the backside that have parking internal to those units,” Davies said. Davies said Riverbend has built these types of units at Brookhill in Albemarle County and they have proven to be popular. Eight of the units would be designated as being sale to households and individuals at a certain income level. The property is currently being used for automotive repair. One neighbor asked if the site needed to be remediated due to potential contaminants in the soil. Scott Collins is an engineer working on the project “As far as contaminants, they’ll be testing the soil as well when the asphalt and concrete is removed and checking the consistency of the soils and making sure it’s not contaminated and if it is, there are remediative measures that have to be in place,” Collins said. The site plan must be approved by staff if it meets all of the technical requirements. Staff has not yet completed the comment letter that will go to Riverbend. People still have until June 15 to make a comment about the site plan or to ask a question. But Council will have to approve a critical slopes waiver and one Councilor who attended the May 18 site plan conference did not like what he saw in the current project, taking his cues from a speaker from the Piedmont Environmental Council. Michael Payne said he preferred the previous approach Riverbend had taken. “I just would say that I’m pretty disappointed at where this has ended up,” said Michael Payne. “I feel like where this ended up is the worst of all worlds in terms of as Peter Krebs [of PEC] said the most impervious surfaces, the least compact and clustered development. And also the least affordable development. It seems like its the most sprawled version which will have the most expensive units and I think this project just would have been much better off to be more clustered and have more apartments similar to the Belmont Lofts project or City Walk for that matter.”  One neighbor suggested the city make a swap with the developer.“Wouldn’t it be lovely if the city could do an exchange with the owners of Belmont Holdings and give them the existing Clark School which is a gorgeous building with high ceilings and let them turn that into condominiums and turn this site into either a school or a park?” commented Deb Jackson. This is not likely to occur. Help Ting help support Town Crier productions!For one year now, Town Crier Productions has had a promotional offering through Ting!Are you interested in fast internet? Visit this site and enter your address to see if you can get service through Ting. If you decide to proceed to make the switch, you’ll get:Free installationSecond month of Ting service for freeA $75 gift card to the Downtown MallAdditionally, Ting will match your Substack subscription to support Town Crier Productions, the company that produces this newsletter and other community offerings. So, your $5 a month subscription yields $5 for TCP. Your $50 a year subscription yields $50 for TCP! The same goes for a $200 a year subscription! All goes to cover the costs of getting this newsletter out as often as possible. Learn more here! This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

The final day of the month, and the final day of 2022’s first quarter. A lot has happened so far, and there’s still a lot more to go. Mathematically we are 24.66 percent of the way through the year, and for those who want to take the long view, we are 21.25 percent of the way through the 21st Century. It all adds up in this installment of Charlottesville Community Engagement and I’m your host, Sean Tubbs. Sign-up for free for as much material as I can manage to write! Payment is optional but very much supports continued production!On today’s program:People are warned to not come into contact with water in an urban stream in Charlottesville due to high levels of E. coli bacteriaThe director of the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority is hopeful Crescent Halls can be reopened this year Charlottesville City Council will meet three days in a row beginning with tonight’s budget work sessionThe Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority gets an update on capacity in Albemarle’s northern growth areaFirst Patreon-fueled shout-out goes to the Charlottesville Area Tree StewardsIn today’s first Patreon-fueled Public Service Announcement, the Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards are preparing to hold their first in-person tree sale since 2019. On April 9 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards will open up their tree nursery at the Fontaine Research Park and will sell saplings of native trees, some of which are hard to find from commercial sources for between $5 and $15. There will be large trees from Birch to Sycamore, smaller trees from Blackgum to Witch Hazel, and shrubbery! Visit charlottesvilletreestewards.org to learn more!High bacteria levels in urban streamCharlottesville is warning the public to stay out of Pollocks Branch between Elliott Avenue and Rockland Avenue due to elevated levels of E. coli. Pollocks Branch is a waterway that travels south from downtown Charlottesville and is one of many locations monitored by the Rivanna Conservation Alliance.“E. coli is a type of fecal coliform bacteria and when it is found in water, it is a strong indicator of sewage or animal waste contamination which can cause disease or illness,” reads an announcement from the city. City officials are investigating the situation and advise that no one touches the water. Pollocks Branch runs underground from the Downtown Mall and underneath the Ix Art Park before daylighting at Elliott Avenue where it flows into Moores Creek. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality certifies the Rivanna Conservation Alliance’s monitoring efforts as a Level III which means the data can be used for official scientific purposes. The RCA has been monitoring bacteria since July 2012. Charlottesville City Council to hold retreat this weekendThe Charlottesville City Council will meet in-person for the first time in over two years tomorrow when they convene at CitySpace for a retreat. A limited amount of public spaces are available, but the event can be viewed via Zoom.The two-day retreat will be facilitated by the Virginia Institute of Government, a branch of the Weldon Cooper Center at the University of Virginia. On the agenda is a facilitated discussion of City Council goals and strategies, as well as an item called “Identify and Build Consensus for Priorities and Actions Items.” The retreat begins tomorrow at 4 p.m. and on Saturday at 10 a.m. (Friday meeting info) (Saturday meeting info)Tonight Council will meet at 6 p.m. for a budget work session. Read previous coverage courtesy of this Tweet thread. CHRA Director wants Crescent Halls reopened by AugustOn Monday, the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority’s Board of Directors voted to approve a $12 million budget for the fiscal year that begins tomorrow. They also learned that at least one revenue source for the current fiscal year is coming in much lower than had been anticipated. The CRHA had expected there would be some residents at Crescent Halls while it was renovated, but a flood last summer changed the plan.“There was some knowledge as to what was going to happen but obviously with the flood it created a different wrinkle and deficit,” said Mary Lou Hoffman, CRHA’s finance director. The CRHA had budgeted $291,049 in yearly rent from Crescent Halls but only received $122,745. The building is currently unoccupied as crews work to renovate all apartments. CRHA Executive Director John Sales said the original plan had been to do to the renovation in stages and the budget had expected 70 units would be occupied at all times. “After that we emptied half the building and put them in hotels,” Sales said. However, Sales said insurance would not cover that expense long-term because the units that had been damaged were going to be renovated anyway. “Then we started having the conversation with the residents that were living in the building about the conditions of the building with half of the building being empty, the work that was going on on the other side with the walls being town down, applianced ripped out, and just the morale and how depressing it was living in a building with only four floors occupied and only half of those units occupied,” Sales said. Sales said some residents were moved to other public housing sites and others were given housing vouchers. The CRHA lost revenue not only from rent but from subsidies from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Sales said the project needs to be completed on time. “So I’ve been pushing the contractor that we’re not changing that August date,” Sales said. “We have to make that date work.”Sales said the first phase of South Street also needs to come online on time in order to meet the revenues that HUD officials are expecting. The federal agency considers CRHA to be a troubled agency. When Crescent Halls does come back online, not all of the units will be considered public housing units by HUD. Sales said the units will remain affordable. “At Crescent Halls you’re going to have your traditional public housing units, but then you’re also going to have the project-based voucher units where they will be higher rents but they’ll be subsidized with the voucher,” Sales said. Sales said under the vouchers, tenants would only have to pay thirty percent of their income toward rent.“So we can charge $1,000 for a one-bedroom unit while not impacting what the resident that is living in that unit can actually afford because the voucher is going to subsidize their rent above their 30 percent,” Sales said. “So if they make $1,000, their rent is going to be $300. The voucher would cover the $700.”For the public housing units, the CRHA can only charge what the tenant is able to pay. CRHA Board members also asked City Councilor Michael Payne to ask Council to waive the payment in lieu of tax that CRHA pays to the city each year. Payne said he would bring up the matter at tonight’s budget work session. See also: Public Housing projects move forward after Council talks on CRHA financial sustainability, CCDC property tax liability, October 4, 2022Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority turns 50 this JuneThe government entity responsible for providing drinking water and collecting and treating sewage will officially have to ask the state of Virginia for permission to continue existing. “Authorities are authorized for 50 years and then they have to be reauthorized,” said Bill Mawyer, the executive director of the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority.The Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority received its original authorization in June 1972, marking the 50th anniversary of the decision to create an authority to provide basic essentials for a growing urban community. “So a part of our celebration will be submitting resolutions to the Albemarle Board of Supervisors and City Council to reauthorize the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority,” Mawyer said.The RWSA owns and operates facilities that serve the urban ring around Charlottesville as well as Scottsville and Crozet. Mawyer said the Beaver Creek Reservoir has recently been treated to bring down levels of algae. “It is the earliest we’ve seen that we’ve had an algae bloom at any of our reservoirs since our current staff have been around,” Mawyer said. “In the long term, we plan to have a hypolimnetic oxygenation system which is a pipe that goes along the bottom of the reservoir that bubbles air into the water and helps to oxygenate it to minimize the conditions that are conducive to algae blooms.”That pipe will be installed as part of the upgrade of the Beaver Creek Dam scheduled to take place next year. Another major capital project is a proposed waterline to connect drinking water from the Observatory Water Treatment Plant to other portions of the urban water system in Albemarle’s growth areas. Some have expressed concern about the route preferred by staff. RWSA officials have been meeting with neighborhood groups to explain its purpose and to discuss its path through the Fry’s Spring neighborhood along Cherry Avenue, 6th Street NE, and East High Street before connecting to a waterline that serves Pantops. “So the plan is that we’re going to collect all the information and feedback from the neighborhoods, assess it, get any feedback that Council may provide us or the Board of Supervisors and assimilate all that data and come back to the RWSA Board at the June meeting for the final location of the waterline,” Mawyer said. The project has an estimated cost of $31 million and may be further informed by the completion of a master plan for water infrastructure. Second shout-out goes to the JMRL Friends of the Library In today's second Patreon-fueled shout-out! Lovers of used books rejoice! The Friends of the Jefferson Madison Regional Library is back again with their annual Spring Book Sale opening this Saturday through Sunday, April 10! The Friends of the Library sale will once again take place at Albemarle Square Shopping Center from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day. There’s a special preview for members tomorrow from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and there’s still time to volunteer! Visit jmrlfriends.org to learn more! See you there! Planning for additional homes and businesses in northern Albemarle The RWSA Board of Directors were also briefed on whether there is enough capacity in Albemarle’s northern growth area to support additional homes such as at the University of Virginia’s North Fork Discovery park. There are also hundreds of homes coming online at Brookhill, RST Residences, North Fork, and other developments under construction. “What we’re looking at now is that these significant utility demands that are being proposed may force one of two options,” said Jennifer Whitaker, the RWSA’s chief engineer. “One is to accelerate the utility plan or require some phasing so that we don’t have an unmet need in the future.” According to a demand study from July 2020, current demand for the whole system is at 10.4 million gallons a day (MGD) and capacity can provide a safe yield of 12.8 MGD. “Every ten years we try to take a very strong look at what we know as a community about growth and development and use within our community and then we also take a look at what’s going on in our reservoirs,” Whitaker said. “We try to look at how the raw water supply and the finished supply match up.”Whitaker said there is enough water through 2060 as long as several parts of the Community Water Supply Plan are built by 2035. They are construction of a pipeline to connect the South Fork Rivanna and Ragged Mountain Reservoir and the raising of the pool at the Ragged Mountain Reservoir. Northern Albemarle is served by the North Fork Rivanna Water Treatment Plant which Whitaker said can effectively treat one million gallons a day. There’s a demand of about a half million gallons a day. The RWSA is planning to decommission the plant but has to first connect that area to water from the South Fork Rivanna Water Treatment Plant.  “Some of the growth demand at the North Fork Research Park and another northern Albemarle areas, the need has picked up and we’re now looking at that plan and trying to figure out how to sequence it to meet that need,” Whitaker said. Wastewater flows via gravity to the Moores Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant and Whitaker said improvements to what’s known as the Powell Creek Interceptor are currently slated for some time between 2045 and 2065. “As we evaluate future growth in this area we’re looking at potentially having to accelerate that as well,” Whitaker said.Whitaker said the RWSA is working with the University of Virginia Foundation and the county as a rezoning for the North Fork park makes its way through the approvals process. They’ve asked for a maximum potential of 1,400 homes there. UVA has announced that some of these units will count toward UVA President Jim Ryan’s goal to build up to 1,500 affordable housing units. “Ultimately we will be able to serve all of it but the question is how quickly will we allow them to bring that online,” Whitaker said. The other two locations for affordable housing are on Fontaine Avenue at the Piedmont housing site as well as Wertland Street. There was no action at the meeting, but certainly a lot to pay attention to into the future.Support Town Crier Productions!Special announcement of a continuing promo with Ting! Are you interested in fast internet? Visit this site and enter your address to see if you can get service through Ting. If you decide to proceed to make the switch, you’ll get:Free installationSecond month of Ting service for freeA $75 gift card to the Downtown MallAdditionally, Ting will match your Substack subscription to support Town Crier Productions, the company that produces this newsletter and other community offerings. So, your $5 a month subscription yields $5 for TCP. Your $50 a year subscription yields $50 for TCP! The same goes for a $200 a year subscription! All goes to cover the costs of getting this newsletter out as often as possible. Learn more here! This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

Wilhelmenia Rembert gets the County Commission's nod as a temporary replacement for Ella Scarborough. The plan to remake the Brookhill Village property falls apart and Rock Hill officials talk about why bonds have not been issued for the Panther's headquarters project.

In today’s first subscriber supported Public Service Announcement, one person wants you to know about another community litter cleanup event in Albemarle, this time on October 30 in the southern part of the county. The latest Love Albemarle event will take place between 8:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. at sites in Esmont, Keene, Scottsville, and North Garden. Around fifty people showed up for a similar event in Esmont this past spring, and organizers want to double that amount. Organizer Ed Brooks is seeking to get children involved, so if you’re a parent or guardian and want to spend the morning cleaning up road-side litter, register today! On this edition of the program:A host of development updates in Albemarle County, including a mixed-use development in the Broadway BlueprintThe Virginia Chapter of the American Planning Association releases its annual awardsEmmet Street at Ivy Road to be closed for nearly two weeks for stormwater projectChris Greene Lake reopens to dogs after a month’s closureA suspicious item is found at Charlottesville’s federal courtFire crews and police officers responded last night to reports of a suspicious item at the Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in downtown Charlottesville, but the item was determined by the Virginia State Police to be of no threat. The area was closed from 6:45 p.m. to around 8:30 p.m. according to a release from the city’s communications office.The incident comes just three days before a trial gets underway in the federal cases against multiple organizers involved in the August 12 Unite the Right rally. The lawsuit was filed four years ago and seeks damages based on an 1871 civil rights law as well as a prevention of future rallies. Defendants include Jason Kessler, Richard Spencer, and Christopher Cantwell, among others. The trial begins Monday morning. (read more in the University of Michigan’s Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse)The water at Chris Greene Lake Park has been reopened to dogs and people. Albemarle issued an advisory in late September after tests reported elevated levels of harmful algae. There have been two consecutive tests which have indicated water quality has returned to normal levels. A release announcing the reopening went out Friday afternoon. Emmet Street will be fully closed between Ivy Road and Rothery Road for nearly two weeks between November 1 and November 12. Traffic will be detoured along Massie Road and Copeley Road. According to a release, the roadway will be shut to allow for installation of a large stormwater utility structure across Emmet Street. Pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, and transit-riders are warned of potential delays. “Please expect traffic backups along the detour route and if possible, utilize Rt 250 or other city streets to bypass the area,” reads the release. “Pedestrians will be detoured through the UVA site along the parking garage service road.” The school superintendent in Nelson County has announced she will step down next June 30. The Lynchburg News Advance reports that Martha Eagle has plans to retire after a 32-year career in the Nelson school system. Nelson County has 1,520 students and more than 300 employees. (read the article)The Virginia Chapter of the American Planning Association has released its awards for 2021 at a hybrid conference in Roanoke. Senator Lynwood Lewis (D-6) received the Cardinal Award for his role as a legislator, singling out key pieces of legislation that were signed into law in the from the past year.SB1350: Requires the Commonwealth Transportation Board to incorporate resiliency into project selection processSB1374: Establishes a carbon sequestration task force which must report before 2022 General Assembly  SB1389: Requires landowners whose properties are prone to flooding to report that risk to potential buyersSB1404: Adjustments to the Stormwater Local Assistance Fund to clarify intent to reduce nitrogen and phosphorous reduction Fairfax County won the Commonwealth Plan of the year for its Zoning Ordinance Modernization Project, which cut the length of those regulations in half.“The new streamlined ordinance is half the size of the previous Ordinance from 1978, which was accomplished through elimination of repetition and use of easy-to-understand language, graphics, and figures,” reads the award’s write-up.The city of Norfolk won three awards for three projects. OpenNorfolk is an initiative that helped businesses connect with customers during the pandemic. Norfolk also created a Missing Middle Pattern Book to explain how additional density could be achieved in single-family neighborhoods. The Norfolk Thrive plan presents a vision for how to extend urban development in the coastal city from the Harbor Park ballpark to Norfolk State University. The latter won the APA’s Resilient Virginia Community of the Year. Other awards include:Williamsburg Planning Director Carolyn Murphy won the Outstanding Service AwardThe Edge District between York County, James City County, and the City of Williamsburg won the Holzheimer Economic Development Award Frederick County won the Commonwealth Connectors Award and planner John Bishop won the Outstanding Service Award for the Crossover Boulevard project, which is a new four-lane roadway in WinchesterIn today’s Patreon-fueled shout-out is for the Plant Northern Piedmont Natives Campaign, an initiative that wants you to grow native plants in yards, farms, public spaces and gardens in the northern Piedmont. The leaves have started to fall as autumn set in, and as they do, this is a good time to begin planning for the spring. Native plants provide habitat, food sources for wildlife, ecosystem resiliency in the face of climate change, and clean water.  Start at the Plant Northern Piedmont Natives Facebook page and tell them Lonnie Murray sent you!Time now for a round up of various developments in Albemarle County. Developer Alan Cadgene has filed plans with Albemarle County for a mixed-use development to be built on a 1.36 acre property just to the northwest of the redeveloped Woolen Mills factory. The proposal is for a 2,500 square foot manufacturing buildings with 13 dwelling units. The project is being submitted by-right. “[That] means that if the proposed plans meet the minimum requirements of the county’s zoning, site plan, or subdivision ordinances, they must be approved,” reads the public notification for the project.The county’s Comprehensive Plan designates the land as Neighborhood Density Residential which calls for between three and six units per acre. According to the project application, the residential density on the site be 9.55 units per acre. An existing structure on the property would remain. This is within the scope of the county’s Broadway Blueprint planning area. That’s being run by the county’s Economic Development Office. Elsewhere in the county, plans have been filed for 250 units along Rio Road near Four Seasons. Andy Reitelbach is a senior planner with the county. “So the application is called the Heritage on Rio,” Retelbach said.The property is within the jurisdiction of the Places29-Hydraulic Community Advisory Committee, which had a community meeting on a rezoning application for the project on October 18. “Sometimes the current zoning and the future land use designation do not always line up so that is one reason why a property owner may choose to request a rezoning of their property,” Reitelbach said. In this case, the request is to go from R-6 zoning to a customized zone known as a Planned Residential Development. That would allow up to 35 units per acre as well as some commercial uses. The buildings have not been designed, according to attorney Valerie Long with the firm Williams Mullen. The Architectural Review Board will also weigh in on the project as Rio Road is an entrance corridor. “The project is proposing that 15 percent of the rezoned units will be affordable to those making up to 80 percent of the area median income,” Long said. By-right there could be 50 units on the property, so that translates to 15 percent of 200, or 30 units. The Places29-North Community Advisory Committee met on October 14 and one topic was an update on the Brookhill development south of Forest Lakes and north of Polo Grounds Road. Cameron Langille is another planner in Albemarle. (watch the meeting)“Brookhill was rezoned by the Board of Supervisors in 2016,” Langille said. “Brookhill totals 277.5 acres so it is a pretty large project. It’s going to be developed in multiple phases and the rezoning referred to each of those phases as blocks.”Brookhill is a mixed-use development that must have at least 552 residential units and a maximum of 1,550 units. These include apartments, townhomes, and single-family homes. Langille said the developer could have constructed many more under the Comprehensive Plan but opted to go at a lower density. Final approval so far has been granted for 535 total dwelling unitsBlock 1 is the center of the development. “There’s going to be also a public park and a plaza gathering area, and that is going to be the primary focal point for non-residential uses in this project,” Langille said. Some blocks have been approved and constructed, while others are working their way through the review process. Block 8A consists of a 179-bed assisted living facility which is nearing opening. Block 1A and Block 8B consist of multifamily units that look like townhomes but contain more units. A site plan had been submitted for a hockey rink in the town center. “That plan got to the final site plan stage which is basically the last thing they have to do application wise before they get final approval,” Langille said. “We were reviewing that back in 2018 and from what the developer has told me it’s not going to be build in that block any longer. They are still working with the folks who are looking to do that ice rink and they are potentially going to relocate it a little further north on the north side of the town center area.”Allison Wrabel of the Daily Progress reported in February 2020 that the park had been delayed. A group called Friends of the Charlottesville Ice Park had been fundraising for the project. The website for the group has expired. Special announcement of a continuing promo with Ting! Are you interested in fast internet? Visit this site and enter your address to see if you can get service through Ting. If you decide to proceed to make the switch, you’ll get:Free installationSecond month of Ting service for freeA $75 gift card to the Downtown MallAdditionally, Ting will match your Substack subscription to support Town Crier Productions, the company that produces this newsletter and other community offerings. This is a public episode. Get access to private episodes at communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

Will is a principal of Capital Growth Real Estate, where he focuses on junior and big box disposition, site selection for retailers, land brokerage, and acquisitions. With over 17 years' experience in the commercial real estate industry his current retail clients include Aldi Foods, Taco Bell, Logan's Roadhouse, Dave & Busters, NTB, Tuesday Morning, and Jack's Hamburgers. Will's past Landlord clients include Bayview Financial, Brookhill, C&S Wholesale Grocers, CW Capital, DDR, Inland, Interwest Capital, Wal-Mart and others. Prior to becoming a principal at CGRE Will worked for The Shopping Center Group (TSCG) in their Birmingham, AL office where he specialized in Tenant and Landlord Representation. Will holds a BA degree in Real Estate Finance and Economics from The University of Alabama. When he isn't working or spending time with his family he is an active “Big Brother” in the Big Brothers Big Sisters Organization, flies planes, Hosts Small Groups for The Church of The Highlands(COH), Christian Financial Coach for COH, and an Active Board Member for Save A Life. Will was named Top 40 Under 40 in 2008 by the Birmingham Business Journal.

In today’s Patreon-fueled shout-out: With the summer heat in full swing, your local energy nonprofit, LEAP, wants you and yours to keep cool. LEAP offers FREE home weatherization to income- and age-qualifying residents. If you’re age 60 or older, or have an annual household income of less than $74,950, you may qualify for a free energy assessment and home energy improvements such as insulation and air sealing. Sign up today to lower your energy bills, increase comfort, and reduce energy waste at home!On today’s show:A new nonprofit launches to promote regional entrepreneurial activitiesA quick review of a recent stakeholder meeting on increasing transit in urban AlbemarleSeveral area destinations receive state funding for tourism marketingAlbemarle County seeking a consultant to help lead upcoming rewrite of the zoning ordinanceThe Virginia Department of Health today reports 2,117 new COVID cases, the highest one-day count in four months. The percent positivity is now at 7.5 percent. The seven day average for new cases is now at 1,733. The Blue Ridge Health District reports another 52 cases today. The percentage of Virginians fully vaccinated is now at 54.8 percent, a number that includes children. The number of adult Virginians fully vaccinated is now 65.8 percent. The seven-day average of shots per day is now 14,124. Source: Virginia Department of HealthNext week, the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles will open a window in the Scottsville Town offices. The DMV Select will open on August 16 in the second floor of Victory Hall at 401 Valley Street. DMV Select offices allow for limited transactions such as picking up registration decals, but do not issue driver’s licenses. For a full list of services, visit the DMV website. You’ll need to schedule an appointment and masks are required. (schedule an appointment)Speaking of Scottsville, repairs have been made to the library following heavy storm damage in late July. The library reopened yesterday at 1 p.m. A new nonprofit is launching in the Charlottesville area to support regional entrepreneurship. Venture Central is to be a partnership between the city of Charlottesville, Albemarle County, the University of Virginia, and the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce. The group has announced the first members of the Board of Directors and will begin a search for an executive director. According to a release, Sarah Rumbaugh of the firm Relish will serve as the chair. Other board members include the economic development directors of both Albemarle and Charlottesville. Governor Ralph Northam has announced the award of $861,080 in matching grants through the Virginia Tourism Corporation’s Recovery Marketing Leverage Program. The initiative exists to help expand the Virginia is for Lovers brand and to encourage new tourism marketing partnerships. (see a full list of recipients)The Charlottesville Convention and Visitors Bureau will get $10,000 for Birthplace of Virginia Wine programDairy Market will get $20,000 for Charlottesville’s Bite-Sized Adventures: A Foodie Bucket ListFront Porch Cville will receive $19,980 for Rivanna Roots: A Riverfront Concert Series 2022Blackburn Inn and Conference Center in Staunton will receive $20,000 for Sip, Stay, and Explore: Hiking Trails and Virginia WinesThe Heifetz International Music Institute at Mary Baldwin University will get $2,182.50 for a marketing programWaynesboro Economic Development and Tourism will receive $10,000 for EXPERIENCE WaynesboroWayne Theater Alliance will get $10,000 for an outdoor production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor DreamcoatPicking back up from the August 4, 2021 meeting of the Albemarle Board of Supervisors, that body agreed to apply for $314,000 in Community Development Block Grant funding for a food security program. Stacy Pethia is the county’s housing policy manager.“The proposed project would serve a total of 470 individuals and households through three distinct programs,” Pethia said. These are $110,000 for a grocery card gift program to serve up to 220 households, and $144,000 for the Local Food Hub’s Fresh Farmacy program to provide fresh produce for 18 months to 100 households. The funding would come specifically from a COVID relief program. Supervisors also agreed to amend a special use permit that allows the Monticello United Soccer Club to operate on land off of Polo Ground Road. Scott Clark is a planner with Albemarle County. “The proposal would increase the number of total number of fields to seven although only four would be used for play at any one time,” Clark said. “This is to enable them to move feels around, rest fields, prepare fields.”The land is within Albemarle’s rural area, and there are no permanent facilities on the property. There is no increase in the number of parking spaces. “This property could easily return to agricultural use in the future with a very low impact on the site,” Clark said. The Mon-U soccer field is on Polo Grounds Road, which is just to the north of where the furthest Charlottesville Area Transit route currently stops. That won’t change when the city-owned and operated agency alters its routes later this year, but CAT is conducting a review of how to expand service to the north. So is Albemarle County and the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission. You’re reading Charlottesville Community Engagement and time for another subscriber-supported public service announcement. The Charlottesville Jazz Society at cvillejazz.org is dedicated to the promotion, preservation, and preservation of jazz, and there’s no time like now to find a time to get out and watch people love to play. The Charlottesville Jazz Society keeps a running list of what’s coming up at cvillejazz.org. This week, find out that the Michael Elswick Gathering plays at the Pub at Lake Monticello on Friday and the Eric Franzen Trio plays at Early Mountain Vineyards on Saturday. Take a look at cvillejazz.org. At the same time, Albemarle County and the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission are doing the exact same work as part of a study partially funded by the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation. Boris Palchik is a transit planning project manager with Foursquare Integrated Transportation Planning, a firm hired to help conduct the work. The other consultant is Michael Baker International. Palchik ran a meeting on July 26 that sought to get initial feedback for the study.“It’s really a feasibility study and implementation plan for expanding transit service in both population and employment centers in Albemarle County,” Palchik said. The July 26 meeting was for northern Albemarle County along U.S. 29, and one on July 28 was held for Pantops. We’ll focus on July 26 first. (watch the video)Palchik said the study may not result in several new fixed routes, but may include a combination of on-demand routes and other new transit options. The work consists of a market analysis, a service analysis, and stakeholder outreach. “The market analysis is looking at the underlying environment in which transit operates or needs to operate in the study area,” Palchik said. “The service analysis is looking at what’s happening today on the ground in terms of ridership and productivity.”Stakeholder outreach includes the July meetings and other ways to get a sense of what people might want and need in expanded transit. In addition, to Charlottesville Area Transit, Jaunt provides service in the area through on-demand, one fixed-route service, and through its partnership with Greene County Transit. “There’s really many different ways to provide transit service and each of those ways has its own ideal operating environment,” Palchick said. “When we’re looking at the market analysis, we’re trying to understand the environment that exists so we can make recommendations that are appropriate.”That means taking a look at population density, the built environment, employment opportunities, and other factors to measure the potential for public transit to work. “Transit service is most effective and most efficient in areas that have higher density,” Palchick said. “The kind of tipping point for where fixed route transit service really begins to make sense is once you have more than five people or jobs per acre.”Research conducted so far indicates moderate-to-high transit potential south of the South Fork of the Rivanna River. The highest population density in the area is along Commonwealth Drive, which is currently served by CAT’s Route 5. Service gaps are north of Rio Road and in the Hollymead / Forest Lakes area. A slide from the July 26 presentation (download)This work also comes at a time when Albemarle continues to become more dense, with more properties coming online such as North Pointe, Brookhill, and numerous other developments that will be more dense than single family homes. Palchick said the stakeholder analysis specifically sought out information that may not have come through their initial review. During the service analysis, stakeholders were shown older information on CAT routes, several of which are changing in the coming months. There will be alterations to Route 5, Route 7, Route 8, and Route 11, all of which serve Albemarle’s northern urban area.  Learn more about the CAT changes here. Scott Elliff is a member of the Forest Lakes Community Association’s Board of Directors. The FLCA has used a portion of its homeowner association fees to fight development of a mixed-use development on Ashwood Boulevard known as RST Residences. Elliff took the opportunity to speak at a discussion on expanding transit to point out that the existing character of his neighborhood is suburban. “The challenge that’s happening up here is that we’re starting to get developments that are going to be by necessity pretty dense,” Elliff said. “There’s one that’s being planned which we’re opposing and hasn’t come before the Supervisors yet. It would be a huge high story development on the corner of Ashwood and 29.”Currently there is fixed-route transit service in the Forest Lakes area provide by Jaunt through their Route 29 Express.According to Valerie Long of the law firm Williams Mullen, 75 percent of the apartments in the RST development will be rented to people who can demonstrate household incomes between 30 percent and 80 percent of the Area Median Income. Elliff is concerned that if all of those people drive, it will exacerbate traffic congestion out of a neighborhood that only has two direct connections onto U.S. 29. “The only solution from a transportation standpoint that I can think of is to have a dedicated service that picks people up at those affordable housing apartment buildings and takes them non-stop down to Barracks Road, downtown mall, and UVA where the jobs are,” Elliff said. Elliff claimed there were no jobs in his area. In fact, let’s hear more of what he had to say. “We’re up here in a beautiful area,” Elliff said. “There are no jobs. There are retail jobs… in the shopping centers north and south. If it’s going to be heavily affordable housing, these are people who are going to be working retail and they’re going to be working as administrative assistants or something in small companies but not around here. This is completely residential.”Elliff’s claim made me look up the latest information from the Virginia Employment Commission on the top employers in Albemarle County.  Several of them are within close proximity to the Forest Lakes neighborhood and all rough measurements below are taken from the pool at Forest Lakes South using main roads and Google Earth. (VEC profile)#4 is the Department of Defense and the various military installations at Rivanna Station (4.77 miles away) #6 is the Crutchfield Corporation which operates by the Charlottesville Regional Airport (3.5 miles away)#7 is the Northrup Grumman Corporation located in between both sides of Stonefield on U.S. 29 (4.4 miles away)#9 is Wal-Mart located just south of the South Fork of the Rivanna River on US. 29 (2.2 miles away)#18 is Emerson (listed as G.E. Fanuc) on U.S. 29 north of North Pointe (5.2 miles) #29 is Costco in Stonefield on U.S. 29 (4.5 miles away)#32 is Target in Hollymead Town Center (2 miles away)#36 is MicroAire Surgical Instruments in the former U.S. Postal Service building off of Airport Road (2.75 miles away)#38 is Rosewood Village Associates with facilities in Hollymead Town Center (2.4 miles away) The RST rezoning goes to the Board of Supervisors on September 15. From the Albemarle County profile from the Virginia Employment Commission (download)Now, on to the July 28 meeting, which covered the Pantops area. Fewer people attended that virtual call. Pantops is currently served by Charlottesville Area Transit Route 10, which will also be changing as a result of the upcoming route changes. Here’s Boris Palchik with Foursquare once again reviewing a market analysis. “In the Pantops area north of U.S. 250, there are a number of key kind of activity generators like multifamily housing, the Social Security administration building, but it’s still showing fairly low density,” Palchik said. Dick Hiss, the chair of the Pantops Community Advisory Committee, asked if the various analyses conducted take a look at future land use changes. “Have you considered the changes that we see coming in the Pantops area such as the motor vehicle department going somewhere?” Hiss said. “That building has had a sign on it for years saying it is moving.”Hiss said he is also wondering if State Farm employees will return to that building. State Farm is the fifth largest employer in Albemarle according to the VEC. Sentara Martha Jefferson is the third. Gina Morss-Fischer, a public affairs specialist with State Farm, confirmed in an email to me today that employees assigned to the Charlottesville-Albemarle office will continue to work from home. Palchick said the stakeholder meetings are intended to take note of comments such as this. For a time, Albemarle County had been updating development dashboards which depicted what projects were coming up in the near future. These have not been updated since February 2020 in part because of the pandemic and in part because a staff member moved on. Charles Rapp is the planning director in Albemarle County. “The staff member that was previously managing the dashboards is no longer with the county so we have used this as an opportunity to collaborate with our GDS department and create an updated version of the development dashboard,” Rapp said in an email to me this morning. “This new approach will have automated updates regularly and should provide a more streamlined approach toward conveying information.  We are working through the final details now and hope to have it ready for the public soon.”(review the current Development Dashboards on the Albemarle website)But back to transit. Palchick said on-demand microtransit could be an option for parts of Albemarle in the future.“The main difference between microtransit and Uber and Lyft is that Uber and Lyft operate with a fleet of vehicles that are not infinite, but you never quite know what kind of vehicle you are going to get when you request a service,” Palchick said. “Whereas with microtransit you have a set fleet of vehicles and a set group of drivers that are operating the service so it is more predictable and can be more closely branded with the local public transportation service and be more closely affiliated with it.”Currently, Pantops is also served by Jaunt’s Buckingham Connect East service. “So this service operates between Buckingham County and destinations in Charlottesville and Albemarle County,” Palchick said. “Those destinations include downtown Charlottesville, the University hospital, Martha Jefferson Hospital and the Westminster Canterbury retirement community.” Westminster Canterbury is the 14th largest employer in Albemarle County. A slide from the July 28 presentation on Pantops (download)In addition to the meetings on July 26 and July 28, the consultants are holding individual meetings. The goal is to complete the study by next January in order to apply for funding from the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation to pay for a pilot project.Will any of this result in a better transit system? That means to be seen. Another thing I encourage people to see is the staff report of a February 11, 2008 joint meeting of the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors and Charlottesville City Council to discuss a study for a Regional Transit Authority that would be one unified system. That never happened, but eight years later, a Regional Transit Partnership was formed to encourage collaboration between area systems. That body next meets on August 26. (RTA staff report) This is a public episode. Get access to private episodes at communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

James talks about how he and his wife took over his family Angus operation after a number of years working on Wall Street, and how it's sometimes hard, but the opportunity to walk around the farm and be in nature gives him the chance to decompress. He has some strong opinions about the big four packers, and about feedlot cattle raising in general, but also thinks that the 'fake meat' creators aren't addressing how they're replenishing the soil. He's a proud user of Hustler Equipment as well, and talks about some of his favorite product features and benefits.

Today's Patreon-fueled shout-out is for the Plant Northern Piedmont Natives Campaign, an initiative that wants you to grow native plants in yards, farms, public spaces and gardens in the northern Piedmont. Native plants provide habitat, food sources for wildlife, ecosystem resiliency in the face of climate change, and clean water.  Start at the Plant Northern Piedmont Natives Facebook page and tell them Lonnie Murray sent you! In this edition:Charlottesville may try out open-carry containers in public spaces to boost economic recoveryAlbemarle’s Places29-North group talks traffic, apartments, and congestionPerrone Robotics continues to move its autonomous vehicles forward The University of Virginia has a new RectorA former member of the House of Delegates and a former Secretary of Transportation in Virginia has been named as the Rector of the University of Virginia Board of Visitors. Whittington Clement from southside Virginia will take over the position on July 1, succeeding James Murrary of Albemarle. Robert Hardie will become the vice rector. Read more on UVA Today.Perrone Robotics of Crozet has recently demonstrated the use of its autonomous vehicles in the city of Westminster, Maryland, according to a press release distributed by the company. Perrone participated in the Mid-Atlantic Gigabit Innovation Collaboratory Autonomous Corridor Project by using its AV Star, which purports to be the world’s first and only fully autonomous vehicle and uses the company’s TONY software. TONY stands for To Navigate You and its use was pioneered in Albemarle with a three month trial in Crozet when a six-sheet shuttle reached something called Level 5 Autonomy. In Westminster, the AV Star operated on a “complex operational design domain” route that required it to make left and right turns, a four-way stop, and to drive through a historic city neighborhood. According to the release, Perrone has now installed the autonomous software on over 30 different kinds of vehicles. The AV Star (Source: Perrone Robotics)The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation is seeking comments on a proposal from the Commonwealth Transportation Board to implement something called the Transit Ridership Incentive Program. Legislation passed the General Assembly in 2020 that seeks to improve transit service in urban areas of the Commonwealth with over 100,000. When TRIP goes live, transit agencies and localities will be able to apply for funding for regional projects. Like Smart Scale, candidate projects would be scored on how well they mitigate congestion and how they can provide connectivity to job centers. Review the resolution if you’re interested and send in a comment. The Charlottesville Economic Development office has been working on a recovery plan for the city, and the Charlottesville Economic Development Authority got a look at their meeting on June 8. Director Chris Engel said his department will seek American Rescue Plan funding from City Council to pay for projects within the initiative. “Essentially we met and did a series of outreach efforts including a series of phone calls that was led by Jason Ness on our team with previous recipients of our grants from last year to find out how they’re doing,” Engel said. “We found four basic buckets in which there was desire for additional assistance.Items in the roadmap include direct financial assistance through continued grant programs and  additional training programs including a “specific hospitality focused training program.” Other ideas include updating maps for business corridors and creating a marketing leverage program. There are also ideas to create new infrastructure.“One of them is a unique opportunity that is now available to municipalities to seek out what are called designated outdoor refreshment areas,” Engel said. “These are areas where alcoholic beverages can be served in an outdoor environment without putting up the traditional hard barriers that people might be accustomed to for these types of things.”That would allow people to walk on parts of the Downtown Mall while carrying their drinks with them.“Some details to be worked out with that,” Engel said. “There’s a particular kind of cup that would have to be used and some things like that. Not quite Bourbon Street but a more toned-down version.”City Council will be presented with the plan on June 21. Screen shot of the draft Roadmap to Recovery for Charlottesville*You're reading to Charlottesville Community Engagement. Time now for another subscriber supported public service announcement. This June, the Jefferson Madison Regional Library is hosting two virtual programs to commemorate Juneteenth. On June 17th, JMRL is hosting a panel discussion on the lives of the enslaved populations on the Monticello, Montpelier, and Highland plantations. (register)On June 22, JMRL will hold a program about the recently discovered unmarked graves outside the enclosures of the cemetery at Pen Park. (register)Tonight, the Albemarle Planning Commission will once again consider a rezoning for about 19 acres near the Forest Lakes neighborhood for a multifamily complex. RST Development last went before the Planning Commission in March, and their proposal for 370 units was vehemently opposed in a coordinated effort from the Forest Lakes Community Association. Members of the Places29-North Community Advisory Committee were presented with a revised plan on June 10. But they also heard two other items and a common thread throughout all of them was the impact new uses and developments have had and will have on existing roads. The first item was a community meeting for an application from the Monticello United Soccer Club (MONU) to expand the number of fields from four to seven at their location on Polo Ground Roads, as well as the hours. The site is on the banks on the South Fork of Rivanna River and is directly south of the Brookhill community that’s currently under construction. Planner Scott Clark said that section of Polo Grounds Road has received capacity upgrades to handle the additional traffic for the development. “We’ve got signalization, turn lanes in both directions, the westbound straight lane across to Rio Mills Road was closed, and also Rio Mills itself can no longer send traffic directly across to Polo Grounds,” Clark said. Some residents to the east, however, are concerned that any increased use will bring new vehicles. Polo Grounds Road eventually gets to Proffit Road, but there’s a one-lane railroad underpass that prevents high levels of traffic. The amendment to the existing special use permit has already been to the Planning Commission, but Clark wanted to bring it back to the CAC. That gave one man who lives on Proffit Road the chance to ask this question.“Are you telling me that all the traffic is going to enter and exit from U.S. 29 and nobody’s coming under the railroad tunnel to get to Proffit Road?” said the man. Clark said he could not guarantee that none of the people would go that way. The man responded that the Brookhill development is just getting started and any additional uses would affect the overall area. Fred Gerke, a member of the Proffit Community Association, offered some perspective on how the community has changed over time. “You know, I’ve lived out here for 35 years and I’ve watched Proffit Road turn from a dirt track,” Gerke said. “Polo Grounds when I moved out here was a dirt road. I’ve watched it paved and VDOT said it couldn’t get paved. It got paved. Our concerns are just with traffic. MONU is a good organization, does good things. No complaints about that. The objections with the original permit which we commented on all those years ago, that’s why those limits were in there, about traffic concerns.” Gerke said the county’s plans have not kept up with increases in population and use in the area. “Brookhill is great, but what are you going to do?” Gerke said. “We put in these sidewalks and paths and bike lanes that go nowhere. You have no choice. You live in Brookhill, you’re going to have to get in your car to go anywhere, and it’s the same with MONU.” The Albemarle Board of Supervisors will hold their public hearing on MONU on August 4. Next, the Places29-North CAC held the community meeting for a rezoning for the proposed Maplewood Community to be built on a vacant parcel of land at the intersection of Proffit Road and Worth Crossing. The 3.41 acres of land are currently zoned commercial, but the application is for Planned Residential Development to build a maximum of 102 units. Ashley Davies is with Riverbend Development. “We’ve got some layouts now and it’s probably going to land somewhere closer to about 74 units total,” Davies said. “We think it’s a nice, complementary use to the other commercial uses in the area and we imagine sometime in the future the rest of this area will probably see some redevelopment.” The layout shown to the CAC features housing units called a “two over two.”“They’re a new unit type that is basically townhouse units but they have two units per townhouse, so it’s a four story unit,” Davies said. “You’ve got parking on the bottom and then one of the levels is one unit and then you have a two-level unit.”One CAC member noted that there have been several applications in this area that are approaching the upper limits of allowed residential densities. County planner Mariah Gleason had some explanation. “In terms of proposals coming in at higher level densities, yes, we have had several lately come in that are in this area,” Gleason said. “I think it’s a combination of where there’s availability and the desire to build from the development community.”The applicant requested an indefinite deferral yesterday to respond to comments from staff. One issue in the letter is that staff interpreted the application as requesting five-story buildings, which aren’t allowed under zoning at that location or in the Comprehensive Plan. Davies said that was not the case.“The buildings proposed are four stories so there’s no height issue,” Davies said. A basic layout for the Maplewood project The last item on the agenda was a discussion about the RST project. The applicant was not on the call, but members of the CAC talked about their official list of concerns for the revised project. “Most are driven by concern for the very high density of units on this small parcel of land,” reads the comments. “We feel the sheer number of units proposed will not sustain even a relatively high quality of life for either current residents, or the people who will move into this development.”The one and a half page list of comments points out three good things about the new proposal. They are the slightly reduced size, the provision of below-market units, and the “ethnic diversity” the project would bring. But the rest of the comments are in opposition.  Citing one of them, CAC member Steve Cameron said he was against a special exception request for a fifth story in the main apartment building. “I don’t understand the reason for the five-story waiver or the necessity for that,” Cameron said. “Looking out the topography, this is a higher portion of ground. It’s going to be higher. Four stories. The density is still the same. And then when we look around, Brookhill certainly would have wanted to go to five stories if they could.” Tony Pagnucco went next.“I have three concerns about this development,” Pagnucco said. “First of all, the traffic. Second of all the transportation site so that if there’s ever public transportation, that there would be some place where people could get on and off of public transportation. And lastly the schools.”However, Pagnucco said he was not sure the CAC should send out the document and he did not support it. He did suggest that high density multifamily units could be built in the rural areas. “Where really the only people that would care about that are few and far between,” Pagnucco said. Back in March, there was concern that there were no provisions for transit. Supervisor Bea LaPisto Kirtley said the new proposal does include considerations for future bus routes.“There are three projected transit stops for the RST development,” LaPisto Kirtley said. “One on 29, one on Ashwood Boulevard, and one inside the actual development.” The Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission will soon begin the public comment period before expanding transit in Albemarle. Charlottesville Area Transit is conducting a similar study in the whole area. The CAC did not take a vote to officially endorse the comments. Planning Commissioner Corey Clayborne thanked the group for their discussion.“Thank you guys for that conversation,” Clayborne said. “It was very helpful to be able to those concerns and document those.Watch the whole meeting of the Places29-North Community Advisory Committee here. Screen shot of the comments discussed but not endorsed at the meeting. This is a public episode. Get access to private episodes at communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

This week on the Community Spotlight we learn more about the local non profit Brookhill Farms and the work they are doing in the community.

Welcome to a somewhat irregular installment of Charlottesville Community Engagement that brings you a condensed version of a Planning Commission meeting where the full weight of a neighborhood was brought out to oppose a multifamily development next door. I’m your host Sean Tubbs, and the intent of this episode is to document what happened. We’ll be back to the regular format next time, but when I first started doing podcasts in 2005, I wanted to capture conversations in the public realm. This one seemed important to spend time on.The area within yellow is the site of the proposed development On March 2, 2021, the Albemarle County Planning Commission was just moments away from recommending denial of a rezoning of nearly 20 acres of land on U.S. 29 to make way for 370 housing units. The land is currently zoned for single-family residential and the county’s Comprehensive Plan designates future uses could have a residential density of between 6 and 36 units per acre. The proposal from RST development came in just under 20 units per acre.  At the end of the meeting, Attorney Valerie Long asked to defer a vote in order to give RST Development time to make adjustments after the Forest Lakes Community Association mounted a campaign to stop the development. According to their November 2020 newsletter, a portion of a proposed increase in homeowners association fees for Forest Lakes residents was used to hire a consultant to conduct an “independent, professional review” of the proposal. Many of these materials are available on the FLCA website. At the same time, Albemarle County is updating its affordable housing policy with a public hearing on the draft plan set for March 17 before the Board of Supervisors. Plans are one thing, but the actual ability for Albemarle to meet its housing goals depends on specific applications being approved. Before we begin, let me let you know what you’re about to read or hear is an edited portion of the meeting. You can watch the whole thing on the county’s YouTube page. You can also take a look at the staff report on the county’s website. Staff had recommended denial of the project at this time. Every land use application contains a recommendation from staffWhat you won’t find in that staff report are new details about provisions and subsidies that would have kept the rental prices below market-rate.  The federal definition of “affordable” is that rents would be no more than 30 percent of the occupants household income, based on a metric known as the Area Median Income (AMI). On the day of the hearing, I asked attorney Valerie Long for more details about the affordability and got them. “The Owner will commit to: at least 75% of the apartment units will be affordable to those making between 30% and 80% AMI, with an average of 60% AMI, for 30 years.“The project proposes 254 apartment units. 75% of 254 apartments is 190 units“In addition, it is our hope that the 108 for-sale townhouse units proposed will be affordable to those making 80% AMI.”In her email, Long acknowledged staff had not yet received the material. Now, let’s get to the tape from Tuesday night. Following a brief staff report from planner Andy Reitelbach, an official with RST Development explained the intent was to provide housing to people with a wide range of incomes.  “The opportunities that we’re creating for ourselves with this wide range does provide for that opportunity with teachers and firefighters and first responders,” said Scott Copeland of RST Development. Affordability came up several times during the two-hour public hearing, but the tenor of the discussion was set by a nearly 90 minute presentation where different representatives from the Forest Lakes Community took turns reading from a prepared script. They were led by Scott Elliff, the treasurer of the Forest Lakes Community Association. In all, six out of seven of the FLCA’s Board of Directors would speak. Elliff has previously led campaigns against interconnectivity with other neighborhoods. In 2016, the neighborhood was successful in preventing a trailhead from being built as part of the Brookhill neighborhood which was approved by the Board of Supervisors that November. However, the neighborhood was not successful in stopping a road connection that leads north from Brookhill onto Ashwood Boulevard. (April 2015 story) (August 2016 story) (October 2016 story)Elliff kicked off a long string of comments from Forest Lakes residents who all took turns reading from a slideshow supplied to the county in advance. “We have a lot of ground to cover because there are so many issues regarding this proposal that we have,” Elliff said. “It’s deficient  and unacceptable in numerous different areas and you’re going to see that in great detail.” At first, the county struggled to display the presentation provided by the FLCA and a brief break was taken to address technical errors. Carolyn Shaffer runs the meetings for the county.“Can you go ahead and get started on what you are talking about? All of the commissioners have seen…” Shaffer said. “We’re all going to want to use the visuals that we created specifically for this, of course,“ Ellif said. “Many of our comments relate very specifically to the charts and analysis and examples that we’ve created just specifically for this tonight.” The visual presentation was highly coordinated and stage managed by Elliff. “In introducing each person, we have a page with their name on it so you don’t need to use the other name stuff,” Elliff said. “I set that up so you could just roll through this presentation, kind of fully contained.” “I still have to do the three-minute timer,” Shaffer said. “Of course, and our people all know that as well,” Elliff said.  Before we go further, let’s review the rules of procedure for the Planning Commission. Especially two lines which are worth noting here.Each other person speaking on a matter shall be allowed one appearance not to exceed three minutes. A speaker may not reserve any time for rebuttal or transfer any time to another speaker. After several minutes of getting the presentation to be visible, the clock started. Elliff was the first of 27 speakers who were part of the presentation. He was also the 7th and the 14th. “Our HOA Board presidents will speak and you have a number of volunteer residents who are going to talk about very specific topics and have done a bunch of research,” Elliff said. “We’re going to have charts and analyses and examples and all kinds of things including a couple of areas where we actually contracted our HOA for outside professional support just for this meeting.”  Elliff said the FLCA acknowledges the parcel is in the county’s growth area, but that the current proposal was out of scale. He said the new affordability provisions had no effect on the FLCA’s opposition to the project. He spoke for nearly four minutes before Shaffer cut him off. “This is going to create just a tremendous amount of traffic potentially between Brookhill and…”“Because there are so many speakers I have to stop you,” Shaffer said.“Yes, thank you, so, happy to go on,” Elliff said. Speaker after speaker explained how they felt this development would hurt their community.“The 350 additional new housing units at this time I think is simply too much and too soon,” said Mike Turbidy, a member of the FLCA Board of Directors. “I would be looking at those big, quite frankly ugly buildings,” said Sheila Katz. Katz read aloud from comments made from those who signed the petition against the development. “Traffic is going to be backed up actually to my development. I don’t know how I’m going to get out in the morning. This is a poorly designed ugly and excessive development that benefits no one except for a handful of opportunists ignoring what is best for our special community.” Helen Marie Field also read from other comments from the petition. “I am very passionate about my opposition to this proposed development,” said Helen Marie Field. “I grew up in Northern Virginia specifically Vienna and I have watched the terrible over development over the years. After graduating from UVA, I stayed in Charlottesville specifically because of its charm and the character of Albemarle County but this is being threatened more and more each year.” Cat Smith called the current proposal “heavy-handed and ham-fisted.” “We used a balloon and raised it up to the height of the buildings as the developers have indicated they would be and you can just barely see it there on that slide on fullscreen but it is well above what is an 8-foot wide privacy fence which is directly behind some of the homes in Cricklewood Court,” said Cat Smith. The next speaker was George Pearsall but he had difficulties being heard, so Scott Elliff was given the chance to take his turn to keep the slide presentation running on track.“Scott, would you like to take George’s comments, since we can’t hear him?” Shaffer asked. “Sure, I can do that,” Elliff said. “It’s just two pages.”“Your time starts now,” Shaffer said.“He’s the president of the HOA Ashland,” Elliff said. “George’s point primarily is that the scale of this just as Cat mentioned beforehand is overwhelming and huge compared to the one story residential townhouses that are in this area.” Elena DeLisoe objected to the density and asked that the development include more open space.“Green space is important for people’s physical and mental wellness,” DeLisoe said. “A less crowded environment results in a better community, reducing the potential for conflicts related to disputes over noise, parking spaces, traffic, snow removal, pets, and other situations created by packing more people into smaller areas.” One of the consultants hired for the project is also a resident of Forest Lakes.“FLCA hired us to do a visualization and analysis of the proposed development,” said Vlad Gavrilovic of EPR PC. “We were all also asked to do a professional assessment of the proposed plan and there are some concerns we found from the plan and where it deviated from what I call professional best practices.”Gavrilovic said EPR PC rewrote the plans and found that a maximum of 200 units were all that would fit on the property. “We think that’s a much more reasonable yield for the property using professional design standards,” Gavrilovic said. Forest Lakes resident Alice Keys compared the proposal to the Places29 Master Plan.“This proposed development may meet the density required in the Comprehensive and Places29 Master Plan, but it does not respect the scale and character of the existing surrounding neighborhood,” Keys said.   Lifelong Albemarle resident Paul Merrell said he was one of the first to move into Forest Lakes back in 1993.“The proposed development is definitely not similar to this neighborhood or the livability,” Merrell said. “It is instead an example of urban sprawl not in character with the neighborhood that we have now.” Merrell acknowledged that growth is going to occur. He said there were other locations for affordable housing in Albemarle and Charlottesville. “It only really benefits the developers’ profit and outcomes from this development,” Merrell said.Sue Friedman recently concluded ten years on the FLCA Board, and was just appointed to the Places29-North Community Advisory Committee. She raised concerns over equity. The development as proposed requires special exceptions, which are common in the land use application process. “What is the trade-off in harming an existing development, Forest Lakes, versus giving a developer concessions?” Friedman asked. “What is the expense that we’re willing to have those who are already live here bear for this new development, particularly looking at the traffic and the aesthetics open scale? So in terms of how the county and the planning process addresses equity. Those who are here, we in Forest Lakes, do we deserve to be harmed? Do we deserve to have challenges and expenses to benefit a new development?”Source: Traffic Impact AnalysisThe next scheduled speaker was not available, so Elliff was given another chance to read someone else’s remarks. “Next we have, it was supposed to be Bob Jones but Scott is going to speak again because Bob was not able to make the meeting,” Shaffer said. Elliff proceeded to speak about the traffic study the FLCA commissioned from EPR to challenge the traffic study RST had developed. He said the developer’s study did not factor in new development in the Brookhill community under construction to the south. “We actually asked the developer to run an alternate scenario for us just so we could understand the potential and they frankly declined to do that specifically, so we spent our own good money to contract it,” Elliff said. “Same model, just some different inputs. Next slide please.”At this point, Elliff is the 14th speaker reading from the same presentation. The 15th consecutive speaker is Jane Keathey, another member of the FLCA Board.  “I feel like this RST development as planned is a poor fit for the space at that intersection,” Keathley said. “There are too many planned units and it will not be able to be adequately accommodated by the local surroundings as we’ve been describing here this evening.” “Could I have the first slide?” asked Paula Grazzini as she took her turn in the coordinated presentation. She said the Planning Commission needed to take into consideration the additional traffic that will come from the Brookhill development as units are occupied by new residents. Grazzini detailed the EPR traffic study. “We feel that the majority of people living in those areas are going to choose Archer Avenue and Ashwood Boulevard as their morning rush hour route to reach 29 whether they’re going north or south,” Grazzini said. Bill McLaughlin, the 18th speaker, is another new member of the Places29-North Community Advisory Committee and sits on the board of directors of the Hollymead Citizens Association. He also said the density of the proposed development raised health concerns. “My concern is for the health of the people who will be living there in relation to the threat posed by airborne viruses similar to the one causing the current pandemic,” McLaughlin said. “As we are all well aware, the current pandemic has struck most heavily at essential workers who cannot work from home and often work closely with the public. And of course it is just these people who most often live in high-density housing.” Deborah Bremmer was the 20th speaker named to speak in the powerpoint. We are now 70 minutes into the presentation. “I’m concerned that if this development is approved that our overcrowded schools will become more overcrowded and our property values will be negatively affected,” Bremmer said. Speaker 21 was Tamera Hammond, who said approving the development would be against the spirit of the recently adopted Climate Action Plan. “One of the main themes of the Climate Action Plan is to protect our local natural environment,” Hammond said. “It also states that the plan is as much about the kind of place we want to live in here in Albemarle County as it is about reducing the community’s contributions to greenhouse gas emissions.” Dick Billings is another member of the FLCA Board and as the 22nd consecutive speaker, he showed a topographic overview of the property.“This represents first of all the highest ground in the local area so every bit of rainfall that hits this development has to run off to somewhere,” Billings said.Billings reminded the Planning Commission that the development of the Hollymead Town Center in the 2000’s resulted in stormwater that carried dirt and sediment into Lake Hollymead. “We don’t want to see that again,” Billings said. “What we would like to see is any plan going forward have a requirement for 100 percent remediation of any damage to the local area.” Gail Hayes does not live in the development, but her parents do. We’re now at 80 minutes into the presentation.“You’ll hear me echo some of what Vlad Gavrilovic, Tamera Hammond and Dick Billings said,” Hayes said. “The bottom line up front is that I believe the plan is not acceptable as it has been presented and should not be moved forward until substantial changes have been made.”The 24th speaker, Todd McGee, is a realtor who also sits on the FLCA Board.“Unfortunately this project would have a negative impact on the value of the homes that border the site,” McGee said. “The proposed development will have a negative impact on the value of any home that is directly adjacent to the site.”The 25th speaker was Donna Cameron who along with her husband chose Forest Lakes because of its amenities. “I’m here to address the intangible and unmeasurable human impact that this proposed development has upon the Forest Lakes residents,” Cameron said. “We knew that the area behind us was zoned residential and would someday be developed but we trusted in the integrity of the 29 Master Plan. We never dreamed that waivers, special exclusions, or expanded stepbacks would create austere, concrete high-rises that would breach our privacy, invade the dark skies, and potentially cause run off flooding.”The 26th speaker is Paul Moruza, the president of the Hollymead HOA. He said his neighborhood would also be affected by the development. “We are really all part of one community,” Moruza said. “I would like to represent our Hollymead neighbors to you. We are 468 families and individual residents. We have single-family homes, condos, and townhomes. Hollymead is the older brother of the developments in the Forest Lakes.” Moruza gave this description of the development. “It is a very block Soviet-style construction which will be seen from all over,” Moruza said. The final speaker on the unified presentation was Jimmy Baranik, the current president of the Forest Lakes Community Association. “For those of you who don’t know, Forest Lakes is the largest homeowners’ association in Albemarle County, 1,500 homes and about 5,000 residents and as Paul mentioned previously, we are one big happy neighborhood.”Baranik thanked the other speakers who had spoken as well as the hundreds who signed a petition against the development. In all, the total presentation took nearly an hour and a half. The public hearing was not over. Crystal Passmore is a city resident who wanted to weigh in. “My comment today is just that I would like people to have homes,” Passmore said. “I want people to have affordable homes. I want people to live in the town where they work. I don’t want people to have to commute from Ruckersville if they work in Charlottesville or if they work in downtown Albemarle. I don’t know anything about viewsheds or intrusive lighting. I just want people to have homes they can afford.” Passmore said the voices of those who would one day live in the development could not be heard under this arrangement. “Everyone who has spoken before me has convinced me that this is a lovely place to live,” Passmore said. “I would love it if you guys would allow more people to  live here.”A few more city residents spoke in favor of the project, including Josh Carp. He questioned the notion that the new development would hurt property values. “I think it’s more important that people have affordable housing then that property values continue to go up,” Carp said. “These houses in the neighborhood are worth half a million dollars plus. If you want to deny affordable housing to maximize property values for people who have that much money, maybe you can come to my kids’ daycare and explain to the teachers why they can’t live in the area.” Many opponents of the project cited the county’s Comprehensive Plan. City resident Rory Stolzenberg read other portions. “First, land use objective 5 - promote density within the development area to help create new compact urban places,” Stolzenberg said. “Encourage developers to build at the higher end of the density range on greenfield sites provided that development will be in keeping with design guidelines in the Neighborhood Model. Encourage developers to build within the density range recommended in the master plan on infill sites. Ensure that housing is available to all populations.” City resident Matt Gillikin called attention to the organized opposition from Forest Lakes residents. “It’s really remarkable to see how consistently affluent neighborhoods in the county gather their resources together to fight against housing for people who don’t have the resources that they have,” Gillkin said. After those four spoke, another previous speaker had a second chance to speak, in violation of the Rules of Procedure which Chair Julian Bivins corrected. “Hello, my name is Jimmy Baranik, I spoke earlier,” Baranik said. “I just want to point out that we are not opposed to underfunding anybody, we’re not opposed to having people who can’t afford wages in our neighborhood. We are opposed to the buildings. That’s what we said. The building environment. We just need to overhaul the plan. I want to make sure everyone is crystal clear on that.” Jason Inofuentes, a former member of the Pantops Community Advisory Committee, spoke in favor of the project.  “Affordable housing is an imperative that cannot be set aside for the interest of a select few homeowners,” Inofuentes said. “The development would represent an incredible value across 30 years to those who aren’t in the position to buy a well-manicured lawn on a quarter-acre lot.” That was the end of the public hearing. You can watch the whole thing here.Deliberation and deferralAfter a brief recess, Valerie Long had five minutes to respond according to the Rules of Procedure. “Obviously we cannot in five minutes rebut all of the comments that were made tonight so first let me say that we have very clear responses and rebuttals to absolutely every single point that was made in opposition,” Long said. Long sought to address concerns about the traffic input, the visibility of the buildings from existing neighborhoods, and claims of full clear-cutting.“So the images that you saw from the criticisms of the project are entirely inaccurate,” Long said.After more explanations, Shaffer informed Long she was over time.Next, the Planning Commissioners had the chance to discuss a matter. Commissioner Jennie More went first as she prepared to ask a question.“I just want to be clear that I want to figure out a way to get to yes,” More said. More asked another question about the view from the development. She wanted to see a slide that Long had shown during rebuttal. “I guess there’s a more generous area there than I had imagined and seeing that slide from her helped me understand the possibilities with buffering that could happen there,” More said. However, the slide was not shown and Long was not offered a chance to respond. During a series of questions from commissioners about the affordability component of the project, staff responded about county policy. At one point, Scott Copeland with RST sought to make a clarifying point. “Mr. Chairman, can I address the question about the affordability?” Copeland asked.“No thank you,” Bivins said. “Not right now, thank you very much.”The planner for the project, Andy Reitelbach, was invited to respond.“Regarding the new proposal that Ms. Long presented this evening, that hasn’t been submitted to staff yet so I really can’t say on the 75 percent that I believe she mentioned, what those numbers are,” Reitelbach said. “I haven’t seen any plan or anything like that so I don’t know if Ms. Long may be able to expand on that more.” Long wasn’t given the chance to respond.The University’s non-voting representative on the Planning Commission, Luis Carrazana, wanted to know more about how stormwater would be treated on the property. “I don’t remember seeing a [topographical map] in the application, but we did see one from the residents,” Carrazana said. Reitelbach responded. “There [are] at least conceptual stormwater management facilities up here in the northeast corner of the site,” Reitelbach said. “I know our county engineer has reviewed at least the conceptual grading and stormwater management and had no objections but stormwater is something that would have to be addressed at the site plan stage and would have to meet all of the state requirements.”Commissioner Karen Firehock said she had hoped for a more innovative proposal that went further to mitigate stormwater by allowing more open space.“I am very supportive of the need for affordable housing in our community,” Firehock said. “I am really disappointed at the notion that means we have to sacrifice green space and adequate recreational areas.” Firehock said she was inclined to recommend denial, but also reminded everyone watching that the Planning Commission’s vote is advisory. “And the developer would certainly have ample opportunity to amend their application,” Firehock said. “Whether we end up voting for or against it.” Commissioner Corey Clayborne was concerned about one aspect of infrastructure he thought was lacking in the proposal. “I was a little concerned I didn’t hear about public transit and this notion to work with the county,” Clayborne said. “If we’re going to have all of these affordable housing units, there’s no public transit there. Do we just leave it alone, or do we just turn a blind eye to it?” To step out of the meeting for a second, in the current fiscal year, Albemarle County is contributing $87,500 toward creation of a regional transit vision, as well as $53,107 toward a “feasibility study and implementation plan for expanded transit service to population and employment centers within Albemarle County.” Last week, members of the Regional Transit Partnership were told by TJPDC staffer Jessica Hersh-Ballering that the goal of the study was to inform a second grant application to pay for funding of an actual project. This information was not conveyed to the Planning Commission at the time. Commissioner Rick Randolph represented the Scottsville District on the Board of Supervisors from 2016 to 2019. He compared the proposed project to an infamous public housing project in Chicago.“Twenty years from now, what will this development look like?” Randolph asked. “Will it be like another project like Cabrini Green in Chicago?” Randolph said the project would supply affordable housing, but fell short on one intangible metric.  “They didn’t satisfy the need of a community to have a soul, and therein lies my concern,” Randolph said. “I can’t find a soul to this project.”  Randolph also said the residents would need to be responsible for covering the cost of maintain certain services and he was skeptical they could do so.“There needs to be clarity how residents can afford to maintain the roads within this community, plow them when it snows, and to cover the annual cost through their HOA fees for pool and exercise facilities when now 75 percent of the units are going to be affordable housing? Where does the money come from? These are not inexpensive?”More said she was frustrated that details about the affordability for the units were not made available. “When you bring us brand new information especially when it’s really important information that is a change of substance the night of the Planning Commission, I think it’s something that’s great to add to the conversation but it leaves staff not able to respond because he hasn’t had that submitted, and it leaves us with questions about something I think is key and important.”The public hearing last over two hours, with the Forest Lakes Community Association getting almost 90 minutes of consecutive time. “The level of public comment, which is great, also does tend to wear us down a little bit so then maybe we aren’t asking the great questions we could ask,” More said. “We have staff here that could answer stuff about traffic and these types of things and I think that’s too bad because as I said before I’d like to figure out how to get to yes.” After More’s comment, Bivins asked Commissioners what they wanted to do. Commissioner Corey Clayborne responded. “I move to recommend denial of ZMA202000007-RST Residences for the reasons stated in the staff report and the reasons stated within the conversation that we’ve had amongst the Commission,” Clayborne said. At this point in a regular in-person meeting, the applicant’s representative might stand to request a deferral. A vote by the Planning Commission to recommend denial doesn’t kill a project, but Supervisors often follow the lead of the advisory body. Let’s hear what happens next.“Obviously there’s been a lot of comments made,” Long said. “I will reiterate we are prepared to address all of those if asked but if that is not the preference of the Commission tonight, we would be more than happy to take the comments that we’ve received tonight and go back and amend our plans and certainly update the affordable housing, work on the precise location of the transit, and…”“I thought you were asking about something else, but that’s not what we’re doing here,” Bivins said. “I’m sorry?” Long said.“So, you’re asking about you will take whatever we decide and go forward,” Bivins said. “I thought you might be asking for a different kind of situation.”“No, in fact Mr. Chairman, I think we would like to ask for a deferral at this point so that we can take the comments that we’ve received and see if we can do our best to address those so that we could come back to with you an application that could gain your support and recommendations,” Long said. After a few minutes of parliamentary procedure, the motion to defer was adopted unanimously. Commissioners had some parting comments. “I do think that this development can be fixed in terms of the things that we have recommended,” Firehock said. “I just think that we need a much more quality development with more green space, more attention to fitting in with the character of the neighborhood, public transportation.” “You’ve heard the thoughts and the cares of the Planning Commission, and I think I can say that each of us wants this to be a successful project but many of us felt that we were not provided with enough information for us to fall directly in the most positive way of supporting the project,” Bivins said.   UPDATEShortly after publication, I received this response from Emily Kilroy, the county’s director of communications and public engagement:The Board of Supervisors has as part of their adopted procedures the following regarding visual/audio presentations: “The speaker may include a visual or audio presentation, provided that the presentation is received by the Clerk at least 48 hours before the Matters from the Public session at which the speaker plans to speak.” You can find this online here: https://www.albemarle.org/government/board-of-supervisors/public-meeting-participation-guide (FAQ for What are the speaking rules for Matters not Listed for Public Hearing?) Prior to the Planning Commission Public Hearing for this application, the Forest Lakes HOA contacted the Planning Division to request to provide a Powerpoint and this was submitted in advance.The County Attorney’s Office did review the request to provide a list of speakers and a presentation that each speaker would speak to a part of and found it was consistent with practice. For in-person meetings, a speaker could upload a Powerpoint or other visual up at the podium and use that during their 3-minutes. Understanding that every speaker could do that individually, and knowing the transition time that takes when that action is taken individually, a combined presentation was deemed permissible.Allowing an individual to speak multiple times was a procedural error and has been addressed. This is a public episode. Get access to private episodes at communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

This edition of the show is supported by the many people who have been generous with a paid subscription to Substack or a monthly contribution to Patreon to help me keep the lights on while I bring you this information each week. This venture would not be possible without your support, and I’m grateful to bring context to the community in this manner. If you’ve not been able to do so so far, that’s okay. Just make sure you share it with someone else. And now… On today’s show:Charlottesville Parks and Recreation Advisory Board updates on facility reopening, Emerald Ash Borer impacts, and City Market plans The Places29-North Advisory Committee briefed on draft housing plan, future construction Albemarle County signs agreement with Piedmont Housing Alliance to use federal vouchers to help subsidize 76 apartment units at redeveloped Southwood * Both of our segments today touch upon the pandemic in some way, so we should go ahead and get the numbers out of the way. All this week, the number of new COVID cases has been in the 3000’s range, with 3,191 reported today. The seven-day percentage for positive results is now at 10 percent, down from 16.4 percent a month ago. In the Blue Ridge Health District, the number of cases in Charlottesville is once again beginning to increase similar to early September when students began to arrive at the University of Virginia for in-person instruction. There are 42 cases today, and the seven-day average is now 25. The COVID tracker at the University of Virginia now lists 222 active cases with 201 of these students. That figure will be updated one more time this afternoon before the weekend begins. Source: Virginia Department of HealthThe Charlottesville Parks and Recreation Advisory Board had not met for 11 months before their first virtual meeting of the year last night. Since then, Council took an action that changed the group’s relationship to city government. "We appear to have been demoted," said Ned Michie, who was appointed as chair at the beginning of the meeting. “We’re now an advisory committee to staff rather than a City Council appointed advisory board.”The group covered a lot of ground and got a lot of information from staff about what the department has been up to since the pandemic shut down government operations. Vic Garber is the deputy director of Parks and Recreation. “All parks are still open which includes open space, our basketball courts, tennis courts, playgrounds, trails and our shelters,” Garber said. “We still don’t take reservations at our shelters.”However, restrooms at outdoor parks are all closed, except at the skate park and the golf courses due to the volumes of people. Also closed are the city’s indoor recreational centers and indoor pools. With spring not too far away, many are wondering what the schedule will be to open.  “We do still follow CDC guidelines, Virginia Department of Health Guidelines, and local ordinances in everything that we do,” Garber said. “The pools are still closed because we do not have permission to open those pools yet from City Council.” Garber said park attendance has increased, and recreation programs pivoted to online. But other usual parks and rec offerings are still on hold.“Athletics is still at a standstill,” Garber said. “Youth basketball was canceled. Normally we have about 500 youth participating.”Garber said he expected representatives from Little League baseball to ask Council to allow them to prepare for them to play ball in the spring. Governor Northam has amended the state of emergency to allow this to occur and for games to be played with up to 25 spectators. “Presently the City is still in phase two,” Garber said. “If you remember, [Albemarle] County went to phase three. We stayed in phase two in late July.”That caps gatherings to no more than ten people. “So, in a nutshell, we can practice, we can scrimmage, but we cannot have competition,” Garber said. The pandemic is not the only natural disaster going on in our midst.  The emerald ash borer is devastating ash trees in Virginia, and the parks department has been removing affected specimens. The city’s Tree Commission is requesting Council spend at least $50,000 to try to treat trees and fight the spread. Parks director Todd Brown said that may just delay the inevitable.“You can count on basically all the ash trees are going to die,” Brown said. “It’s a question of when. We are treating some of them and a small portion of money is going towards treatment. I’m working with the Tree Commission of which trees those are going to be and the arborist.”Brown said it is now a matter of triage and that people will notice this spring when the leaves come back. He said this will become a pressing issue. Planning Commission Chair Hosea Mitchell asked an important question.“What exactly is emerald ash borer? Is that an insect?” Mitchell asked. “It’s a little bug that gets in the bark and cuts off the blood flow effectively to the tree,” said parks planner Chris Gensic. But back to pools. The city is continuing to rebuild the Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning system at Smith Aquatic and Fitness Center, a facility that opened in 2010 and has been plagued with issues. “We’re a little bit ahead of schedule so it looks like we may have a May completion and hopefully in the future, we’re projecting it might possibly be open some time in June if we’re given approval to do so,” Garber said. Garber said the indoor pool at Crow Recreation Center has been revamped and is ready to open, but requires Council approval to open. That applies to all facilities, and Brown said the department is getting ready. “At this point, we don’t know what opening will look like,” Garber said. “But we are preparing to open all facilities.”The pool at Crow Recreation Center is closed until further noticeEven though they are no longer specifically charged with advising Council, the board discussed how they could encourage Council to begin to open up facilities. They opted to work on a letter in advance of Council’s discussion next Tuesday about the city’s COVID ordinance. This morning I had the opportunity to ask officials at UVA Health what they think about the potential for opening. Dr. Costi Sifri is an infection diseases expert at the UVA hospital. He urged caution. “We have the prospect of a vaccine that is highly effective against the strain, the predominant strains in the United States,” Dr. Sifri said. “We have hope but we also have the challenge that maybe these new variants. I think those two things need to be considered and balanced.”We’ll hear more from Dr. Sifri in the next installment of this program. Also on the agenda at Council Tuesday is an update on the City Market “We are requesting to keep the market in its current leased location area which everyone knows is at 100 Water Street to maintain the market continuity for vendors and the customers,” Garber said. “If Council approves the sublease next week, City Market will return starting April the 3rd though we do not know the format whether its going to be a drive-through, or a pick-up only, in-person shopping or whatever,” Garber said. More on the City Council agenda and the rest of what’s coming up in local government will be made available in the next installment of the Week Ahead newsletter, sponsored by the Piedmont Environmental Council.Staff report for City Market sublease on Council’s February 16 agendaYou’re reading Charlottesville Community Engagement. With the COVID pandemic still raging, today’s Patreon-fueled shout-out from an anonymous contributor is once again to state clearly: "We keep each other safe. Wear a mask, wash your hands, and keep your distance."Before we begin the next segment, a quick notification to you that a public comment period for Albemarle’s draft housing plan ends on Monday. Take a look at the county’s website to read the plan and to fill out a questionnaire. (draft plan website)The first objective is to increase the housing supply to meet the needs of an Albemarle population projected by the Weldon Cooper Center to be 138,485 by the year 2040, up from a current estimate of 109,722. (read Feb. 9 edition for an update on population) “To accommodate this growth, the County will need to add approximately 11,750 new units to our housing stock over the next 20 years,” reads the plan. “The majority of this need—8,134 units or 69% of the required new housing – is projected to be met with units already in the residential development pipeline. This means the county must support the development of an additional 3,616 units to fully accommodate projected household growth through 2040.”Objective 1 is on page 13 of the 75-page draft documentMembers of the Places29-North Community Advisory Committee had the chance to ask questions last night. Bill McLaughlin sent a long list of comments and questions to staff about the plan. “A lot of them were coming from the concern about the health of the people that are going to be living in these developments in terms of how much density are we going to trade for low-income housing and I’m wondering if we get too much density, do we have a housing areas, housing developments that aren’t really good for anyone to live in,” McLaughlin said. McLaughlin questioned the county’s policy of restricting development to designated growth areas. “And that total is 35 square miles, and I don’t know how much of that 35 square miles is left,” McLaughlin said. The reason the county has community advisory committees is to shepherd the various master plans. The idea in general has been to encourage density. Here’s what the introduction of the county’s Comprehensive Plan says:“A large part of planning for the future has been the County’s commitment to its Growth Management Policy,” reads the introduction to the plan. “The Growth Management Policy directs development into specific, identified areas for vibrant growth while conserving the remainder of the County for rural uses, such as agriculture, forestry, and resource protection.”The Comprehensive Plan was last adopted in June 2015. Furthermore, objective 4 of the Development Areas chapter calls for the efficient use of land “to prevent premature expansion” of those areas and objective 5 calls for density to “create new compact urban areas.” As reported in the February 6 edition of this newsletter, Albemarle is just beginning a review of the plan. Here’s Rivanna District Supervisor Supervisor Bea LaPisto-Kirtley weighed in.“We have two choices in Albemarle County,” LaPisto-Kirtley said. “Either we make full use of our developable area which probably means eventually going higher in density or higher in buildings. Maybe multi-story apartment buildings closer to the center of downtown. You don’t want to build them out in the middle of nowhere. You want to build them where people can go shopping, where people can go to the grocery store nearby. Or you go into the rural areas and if we crack that nut and go into the rural areas, which may happen eventually, if that happens, we lose Albemarle in my opinion.” The above slide comes from a presentation made to the Places29-North Community Advisory Committee on February 11, 2021 (download)There are multiple apartment complexes and new development under construction or under planning consideration in the Places29-North area. RST Residences seeks a rezoning for redevelopment of the Ridgewood Mobile Home Park along U.S. 29.  The community meeting was held last July. The rezoning is for 244 apartment units and 108 townhome units.“That’s a total of 370 units,” Accardi said. “Fifty percent of these units are proposed to be designated as affordable.”The Planning Commission will take up the rezoning request on March 2. The Forest Lakes Community Association is organizing opposition to the request. Over 400 people have signed a petition calling for Supervisors to deny the request.  Scott Elliff is on the association’s board of directors.“We’ve done a lot of research and analysis on it,” Elliff said. “It’s troubling to us in a lot of different ways and we’ll certainly be very active at the Planning Commission meeting.”Currently under construction is the Brookhill development, which was approved by the Board of Supervisors in November 2016 and the new community is being built in phases. “This project is approved for a maximum of 1,550 dwelling units as well as 130,000 square feet of non-residential space,” Accardi said. Another development under construction is North Pointe, which was approved by the Board of Supervisors in 2006. The land remained undeveloped for many years but infrastructure for the property has been constructed in the past couple of years.“The project is approved to develop a maximum of 893 units as well as commercial and office space,” Accardi said. “None of the blocks have been approved to be built so far.”That refers to approval of site plans, which is a ministerial function that requires approval by staff if the developer meets all of the conditions in the rezoning. There are still remaining units available allowed in Hollymead Town Center under a 2003 rezoning that have not yet been built. Other pending re-zonings:An amendment to the Hollymead Town Center original rezoning to increase maximum amount of non-residential space by 25,000 square feet in order to build a new 40,000 square foot building. Next step would be to scheduled a Board of Supervisors public hearing. The Albemarle Planning Commission has recommended approval of a special use permit request from Rappahannock Electric Cooperative to increase the height of existing poles for power lines. The item has not yet been scheduled for a hearing before the Board of Supervisors Request to amend previous rezoning at Willow Glenn on the east side of Dickerson Road to convert all housing units to multifamily units rather than the mix called for in the rezoning. This would increase the number of dwelling units to 324. A community meeting will be held at the Places29-North meeting in March. Albemarle County has entered into an agreement with Piedmont Housing Alliance to use some of the county’s allotment of federal housing vouchers for the first phase of the redevelopment of Southwood Mobile Home Park. Habitat for Humanity was able to secure a rezoning for this first phase, which would see new construction along Old Lynchburg Road on land that is currently wooded. (details)Now Piedmont Housing Alliance will develop the actual new homes and will seek  Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) to make the project more feasible. This agreement could help the application’s chances with the Virginia Housing Development Authority, an entity that now goes by the name Virginia Housing. The application for Southwood Apartments A would be for 76 affordable rental units with 58 of those being two-bedrooms. According to correspondence from Virginia Housing to Albemarle County, these would be in two three-story buildings. Applications for LIHTC credit are due in March. Other applications are expected to come from Virginia Supportive Housing for redevelopment of the Red Carpet Inn in a collaboration with Piedmont Housing. Piedmont Housing is also submitting an application for the second phase of Friendship Court. This is a public episode. Get access to private episodes at communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

This installment of the show comes with support from readers and listeners who have opted to make a contribution to keep it going. There’s Patreon to fund my general research, Substack for this newsletter and occasional enhanced content, and Venmo for a one-time payment. I’ll even take checks! Contact me for details. *The Virginia Department of Health is reporting its highest one-day total of COVID cases this morning, but there’s a caveat. “The 2,677 case count reported on Monday, November 16 is due to a catch-up from the VDH data system being down for upgrades for a few hours over the weekend,” reads a statement on the VDH portal, which goes on to direct people to look at the metrics in a different way. “In order to observe the spread of illness most effectively, please review the charts that show cases by date of symptom onset,” the statement continues. With this new information, the seven day average for new daily cases is now 1,594. The seven-day rate for positive tests statewide has increased to 7.3 percent up from 7 percent on Sunday, and 6.1 percent last Monday. In the Blue Ridge Health District, there are another 41 cases reported today, with 16 from Charlottesville, 14 from Albemarle, four from Louisa, three from Fluvanna, three from Greene and three from Nelson. The percent positivity for PCR tests in the district increased to 2.7 percent from 2.5 percent Sunday. The percent positivity for all tests is 3.2 percent, up from 3 percent yesterday. *City Council tonight will discuss options to help reduce speeding on 5th Street, which has been the scene of several fatal accidents in recent years. A petition to change the character of the street now has over 1,400 signatures. One option is to build a roundabout in the middle of a long stretch of a four lane divided highway. The topic also came up at Council’s budget work session on November 12.  (read Duncan’s report)“That is kind of an interim solution to try and calm some of the traffic and break up the long straightaway that’s there,” said Brennen Duncan, the city’s traffic engineer. “That would go just north of where Bailey us, kind of where the community gardens are today.”Duncan said the owner of an undeveloped property to the west would be interested in donating land as long as they were able to get vehicular access to the roundabout. He said this is just an idea now and would need further research if Council wanted to move forward. Duncan estimated the roundabout would cost between $3 million and $4 million. In his staff report, Duncan said there are other options to reduce speeds.“We don’t really have a traffic problem, or a speeding problem for the majority of traffic, but we do have a long straight roadway that will allow people to get up to speed if they choose,” Duncan said. Last Thursday Councilors were asked to give staff direction on their appetite for tax increases to pay for increased capital spending, or whether they should make cuts to previously approved programs in order to stay within the city’s debt capacity. Read the first part of this story from Friday’s newscast. However, Council did not make any decisions about what to do because they said they need more information. In summary, the elected officials said they know they will need to make cuts, but need more information about how to proceed. Here’s Vice Mayor Sena Magill. "There is no way that we're getting out of this without cutting things that we all care about tremendously," Magill said. Council meets later today, but will also meet on Friday to further discuss the budget. Those with paid subscriptions will get a more detailed version of this story later on today, and it will be posted on infocville.com before Friday. *Today in meetings:    The Virginia State Board of Elections meets today at 1 p.m. to certify the election. (agenda)Albemarle County will hold the second of two information meetings for property owners within the scope of the proposed Rio Road form-based zoning code. This virtual meeting begins at noon. This is not the last time we’ll hear about this proposal this week. (meeting info)The Albemarle Architectural Review Board meets at 1 p.m. The only item listed on the agenda is a decision over what blocks in the Brookhill development should come before the panel for review. Brookhill was rezoned in November 2016 and will bring between 600 and 800 homes. This is a good chance to get an update on where the project stands.  (meeting info)Places 29 Hydraulic Community Advisory Committee meets at 5:30 p.m. There will be a presentation entitled “Neighborhood Strength: Lessons from Bamboo Grove”, referring to a recent rezoning in Crozet. Then the group will get updates on the county’s housing policy, and an update on efforts to increase broadband access.  (meeting info)The Village of Rivanna Community Advisory Committee meets virtually for the first time since the pandemic. They’ll get an update on the “development dashboard” updated by county planners. The Breezy Hill rezoning is not on the agenda, but could conceivably come up in conversation. (meeting info) This is a public episode. Get access to private episodes at communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

CLT City Councilmen Tariq Bokhari and Larken Egleston discuss the 2020 general election from top to bottom and give their views on who could win, as well as run down a monster city council meeting that covered many big topics. The post Ep106 – The Election Show, PLUS: Eastland, Brookhill and CMPD appeared first on PFM Hero.

A Conversation with Ray Shawn McKennon, Pastor of South Tyron Community Church - a United Methodist Church in Charlotte, NC that serves the Brookhill and Southside communities, now called SouthEnd. There are over 300 of our sisters and brothers who are on the spectrum of low economic income, with 1/3 being children who live there. Our conversation is centered around what role should the church play in the Affordable Housing crisis, how should the church imagine a society where no one is forced to make life work, on $25, 000 yr - for a family four, 30% (AMI income), and how does the church engage to find solutions to this crisis. After all we do live in the wealthiest nation on the planet? Just Systems?! Profit Margins?! Gap Funding?! The Good News?! Investment?! Faith! “Let’s Find a way to Get to YES!” Resources: Information on the New Brookhill Development Project; A Section at the New Brookhill Site: https://www.newbrookhill.com/questions A Call to Action: Please email Charlotte City Council members and the Mayor of Charlotte to simply convey that you are supportive. The New Brookhill Affordable Housing initiative and you want Brookhill Project to be apart of the Charlotte City Funding Projects. The Charlotte City Council will Vote on April 27, 2020. Link to the Council Members email with their phone numbers:  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Dt__66C9PTExpHsisZyYAqaIqtwxq5n6AO6__7276 po/edit?usp=sharing TRUTH - The sentiment of the Charlotte City Council meeting, April 13, 2020 was… “Let’s Find a way to get to, YES!” #TheNewBrookhillinitative Music by - Tyris Williams -

Developer Tom Hendrickson talks about revitalizing Brookhill Village into a mixed-use community of market rate townhomes and affordable housing in Charlotte's booming South End district. Legal and financial hurdles were overcome to get the New Brookhill project off the ground in 2020.

This week, Jonathan is joined by Katie Peralta with the Charlotte Agenda and Ely Portillo with the UNCC Urban Institute to discuss the plan to make a MLS practice facility on the former Eastland Mall site in East Charlotte.  Plus, we discuss the latest proposal to revive the Brookhill Village site in South End.  

This is one of my favorite conversations so far. Lots of links below. Allison Wrabel with Charlottesville's Daily Progress is a remarkable asset to our community.Local journalists matter because they pay attention to and catch the little things, and connect the dots, for the things that become bigger things.Brookhill and North PointeElections coming upThe number of things the candidates agree on is interestingGo see the candidates in person and see how they interactNational politics and local politicsHow Allison tracks meetingsHow she got up to speed on the area as fast as she did. August 10 is her 4 year-in-Charlottesville-anniversaryThe value of reporters being there.Baseball lights in CrozetHow has social media changed journalism? (Twitter is not real life)My Charlottesville media Twitter feedBeing a citizen takes sacrificeDaily Progress' newslettersKeeping her opinion out of what she's writing about

We sat down with Alvin C. Jacobs Jr. to discuss Charlotte, his work and the "Welcome to Brookhill" exhibit. We also wrapped up our history of the Crocketts and Supportive Guy says Charlotte was an All-Star.

Alvin C. Jacobs, Jr. is a photojournalist and image activist. He honed his craft on the front lines of America’s social justice movements, documenting people and events in cities throughout the nation. His social documentary work has been featured most notably at exhibits at the Levine Museum of the New South and the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African American Arts + Culture. His work includes professional sports, concert, portrait, editorial and fashion photography. He has taken photographs for the NFL, NBA and NASCAR, and commissioned to take concert photography at multiple record-breaking dates of Jay Z’s 4:44 Tour. He is a recipient of Charlotte magazine’s 2018 Charlottean of the Year Award. This episode is perfect for anyone interested in photography, image activism, social justice, and showing up for change.   IN THIS EPISODE Alvin discusses image activism and photographs taken ‘through the lens of the people.’ He shares why and how he documents certain moments. He describes the ‘K(no)w Justice, K(no)w Peace’ exhibit at the Levine Museum of the New South. He reveals what goes through his mind when he shooting photographs during street protests. Alvin addresses ‘benefiting’ from photographs of conflict and struggle that he has taken. He describes the ‘Welcome to Brookhill’ exhibit at the Harvey B. Gantt Museum of African American Arts + Culture. He talks about growing up in Rockford, Illinois, how the city has changed, and what living in Rockford taught him. He discusses his father, step-father and mother and his relationship with them. Alvin reflects on attending Keith Country Day School and Auburn High School in Rockford. He considers how becoming a father at a young age changed the trajectory of his life. He talks about the ‘spaghetti junction’ of his life took after high school. He shares why he is in a hurry to live. He addresses the consequences of maintaining street credibility. Alvin discloses what he wants his career to have been about. plus Mark's Personal Word Essay: A Choice of Weapons To learn more, visit On Life and Meaning

On the Season 1 Finale, Dr. Keith Cradle sits down with image activist Alvin C. Jacobs. Listen as Alvin discusses his beginnings with a camera, how "K(No)W Justice, K(No)W Peace changed the CLT landscape and winning the trust of the community with his latest exhibit "Welcome to Brookhill." (Episode 9) Crafted With Cradle is a curated conversation over cocktails with Charlotte's finest, and hosted by Dr. Keith Cradle. Our producers are Chuck Holliday and Jameka Whitten. Our theme music is "I Wanna Have You" by Jason Jet. Remember to subscribe, favorite and review us on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, and anywhere you find podcasts. Follow us on social media, on Facebook and Instagram (@craftedwithcradle) and Twitter (@craftedwithcra1). Crafted With Cradle is sponsored by JSW Media and Suite929.

Host @FlyShadeRay is here with Season 4 Episode 4 and another installment of The #BlackManIsGod series! TTTMedia and @FlyshadeRay were recently inspired by "Welcome To Brookhill", a photo exhibit held at The Harvey B. Gantt museum in Charlotte,Nc. "Welcome To Brookhill" shot by Alvin Jacobs, captured the joyfulness of the residents in the community of Brookhill as the effects of gentrification reek havoc. An active member of the Brookhill community and a standout at the exhibit launch, Van "2face" Anthony sat down with TTTPodcast to discuss what it means to be a black man and a black father,and his first-hand experience with gentrification. . ..BE INSPIRED Follow Talk That Podcast on IG & Twitter @TTTMediaCo Follow The SoundCloud & Subscribe To The iTunes Podcast. Thanks For listening! comment, Like, Repost & tell a friend. F$ Ray!

The five candidates for Albemarle County School Board on the 2017 general election ballot appeared at a forum hosted by the League of Women Voters on Thursday. The event took place at the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library’s Central Branch in downtown Charlottesville.   Three county School Board seats are up for election this year. Graham Paige is running for a second term as the Samuel Miller District representative. Julian Waters, a 2017 graduate of Western Albemarle High School, is challenging Paige.   Katrina Callsen and Mary McIntyre, both newcomers to local politics, are running for the Rio District seat on the School Board. Rio District incumbent Pam Moynihan is not running for reelection.   School Board Chairwoman Kate Acuff is running unopposed for a second term as the Jack Jouett District representative.   Paige taught in Albemarle County schools for over 20 years and has served as a member of the school division’s Long Range Planning Advisory Committee. He was elected to the School Board in 2015 to fill the unexpired term of Eric Strucko.   “I have had a lot of experience in the classroom, and being involved with parents and other people in the community,” Paige said. “I am committed to maintaining the excellence that we enjoy in many areas, while also improving areas in which we recognize problems.”   Waters, 18, has served as a student adviser for several of Albemarle County’s high school redesign initiatives. “It’s important for us to have someone fresh out of the system, who can speak directly to students and teachers,” he said.   Waters said his priorities as a School Board member would be expanding early childhood education and preschool access, reforming and improving transportation, and increasing teacher compensation.    McIntyre holds master’s degrees in music education and literacy instruction. She has taught at schools in Virginia, North Carolina, and Hawaii, and at an American military base in Germany. She worked at Agnor-Hurt Elementary last year as a part-time reading instructor.    “Everybody carries the experiences they’ve collected through their life, and those experiences help guide the decisions that they make,” McIntyre said. “My life has always been centered around education.”   Callsen, a graduate of Yale University and the University of Virginia School of Law, taught middle school math for two years as a Teach for America corps member. She said her parents, who did not graduate from high school, taught her to value education, hard work, and public service.    “That mindset was what pushed me to attend Yale when I thought college was impossible. And it’s what motivated me to become an educator, and work with children,” Callsen said.    Acuff, a health policy consultant, said Albemarle’s public schools were among the best in Virginia. However, she said more work was needed to ensure greater equity for economically disadvantaged students.   “I am very dedicated to working through possible interventions and opportunities for students, so we can engage every student,” she said.    Questions submitted to the candidates by the PTO Council of Albemarle County focused on overcrowding in schools and school modernization needs.   Paige said Western Albemarle High School in Crozet would soon need additional building space to alleviate overcrowding there. He said redistricting could be necessary as a last resort to evenly distribute Western Feeder Pattern students in the lower grades.   Waters said creative student grouping and instruction could provide immediate, short-term solutions to problems caused by overcrowding.    “Insuring that we have the necessary organization done with students and teachers can help us, in addition to exploring increased capacity in terms of infrastructure,” he said.    Acuff said the county may need to accelerate a planned expansion of Crozet Elementary School to accommodate the community’s growth. She encouraged county residents to attend the Oct. 26 School Board meeting, at which the board will receive recommendations for high school improvements from a consultant.   In 2016, Albemarle County obtained a 61-acre site for a new high school near the intersection of U.S. 29 and Rio Mills Road as a proffer for the Brookhill subdivision. Callsen said she was concerned that building a high school in this location along the new Berkmar Drive extension would “...further divide our students along socioeconomic and racial lines.”   McIntyre said the School Board should consider collaborating with the county government to establish health clinics, food pantries and other community resources on the campuses of new schools.      “Schools as insular, siloed, buildings... are the schools of the past,” said McIntyre. “The schools of the future have more of a community center atmosphere.”   All four of the candidates at Thursday’s forum said they would oppose any state policies that give residents tax credits or vouchers to send their children to private schools. The candidates also were supportive of Virginia’s current restrictions on charter schools. Albemarle County already operates two of the eight public charter schools in Virginia.   Candidates were also asked to share their budgeting philosophy for the school division; their thoughts on frequent changes to curriculum in the county schools; and their opinion of the School Board’s decision to close B. F. Yancey Elementary School.   Election day is Nov. 7.    Download