Fifth District Government Glance: Pittsylvania Planning Commission to review further restrictions on utility-scale solar; Charlottesville City Council to learn about health equity program
What's happening this week in Albemarle, Charlottesville, Fluvanna, Louisa, and Pittsylvania government
Welcome to the second newsletter of 2023! This will also be the last one I identify by number. This year is going to get busy quick. But first, a few of the meetings listed are quite light but the one in Charlottesville is not. In fact, four of these five meetings have already been profiled in Charlottesville Community Engagement, but I can’t expect everyone in the southern localities to subscribe to that one as well!
There may or may not be another installment this week focusing on elections for this year. I’m hoping to get those previews wrapped up January 11. That’s the first day of the General Assembly and an ambitious version of me is interested in trying to report on some of what happens here.
There is a good chance paid subscriptions will get turned on at some point. In late December, someone pledged $150 to this newsletter! I didn’t even know that was a function, but I was honored someone offered to do that. I still need to think about that, but can definitely say I hope to keep publishing this through 2023. Thanks for being on the journey!
Tuesday, January 3, 2023
Pittsylvania Supervisors to select new chair for 2023; Planning Commission to meet
The seven-member Board of Supervisors in Pittsylvania County will meet for their annual reorganization meeting Tuesday at 5 p.m. Will there be drama behind the dais, as was the case for much of 2022? (agenda)
Either way, Vic Ingram held the position last year which began with the sudden firing of Administrator David Smitherman on a 4-3 vote. Read about that in the Danville Register & Bee.
One interim administrator came and went, and the county attorney now is serving in that role. Pittsylvania is also in the midst of a zoning rewrite. What will this year bring? It all begins at this meeting when Supervisors appoint themselves to various boards and commissions. They’ll end the meeting with a closed session to discuss hiring a permanent replacement for Smitherman.
Later in the day, the Pittsylvania County Planning Commission will meet. This year, you will begin to see more of these listed in this newsletter as I continue to learn the rhythm of each county. The Planning Commission meets at 7 p.m. and have six public hearings. One is a request to transition from agricultural land to residential, two are requests to transition from residential to agricultural, and one is a special use permit for a doublewide trailer
Another hearing is for a special use permit for a marina on Smith Mountain Lake. The existing uses are not in compliance with the shoreline management plan required by American Electric Power.
The final hearing is an amendment to the county code related to permits for utility-scale solar facilities. Those who follow such things may want to dig in a little. (Planning Commission agenda)
Council to consider amendment to existing zoning to allow nine-story building on Ivy Road
Charlottesville City Council meets at 4 p.m. for a work session followed by a regular session at 6:30 p.m. As they are a city, the presiding officer is a Mayor and is elected for a two-year term so that won’t happen until next January. (meeting info)
The work session will focus on a presentation from a partnership that seeks to improve health outcomes in the community. That is Move2Health Equity. This presentation is not available in advance, so here’s some information.
“Chronic diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes, are visible throughout our whole community,” reads the organization’s website. “Chronic diseases are often preventable and frequently manageable.”
Learn more in the latest report from the organization which dates back to 2019.
After the closed session, Council will first take up the consent agenda. Here are some of the items:
The minutes for the December 5, 2022 meeting are worth reviewing. For more information on the Vibrant Community Fund discussion, read my story from the December 31 newsletter. I also wrote extensively on the Mount View Planned Unit Development as well as the new courts agreement. The minutes also describe Deputy City Manager Sam Sanders’ request for more time to iron out transportation infrastructure planning. My story does, too.
There is a second reading of budget amendments to the current fiscal year. (staff report)
Piedmont Housing Alliance seeks the designation of 1200 Park Street as a revitalization area to help with funding applications for a 50-unit apartment complex. Here’s my story from first-reading of the rezoning last year. (staff report)
The Charlottesville-Albemarle Convention and Visitors Bureau will take lead on creating a local committee to prepare for the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. (staff report)
Council will hold first of one reading on a critical slopes waiver for a 45-unit development in the Fry’s Spring area. (staff report)
New lease for McGuffey Arts Center
Under regular business, Council will first enter into a new lease agreement with McGuffey Arts Associates for the lease of the former elementary school at 201 2nd Street. The group currently pays $2,047 a month under the terms of a lapsed lease that ended on October 31, 2020. That works out to $0.72 per square foot which is way undervalued. Comparable office rates are $24.7 per square foot, according to the staff report.
The new lease will increase the McGuffey’s rent to $2,593 per month. This is the only public hearing on the agenda.
While not strictly an organizational meeting, Council will establish meeting times and dates. (staff report)
Next up, Council will hold first of two readings on readoption of the Comprehensive Plan. For details on the reasons for that, take a look at my story from December 4, 2022.
Developer seeks zoning change for nine-story building in midst of UVA land
After that, a very interesting proposition indeed. The University of Virginia or its real estate foundation own most of the northern side of Ivy Road except a bank property at 2117 at the intersection with Copeley Road. This land is owned by RMD Properties who want to develop the one acre property and not sell out.
“The Applicant proposes to develop the property as a mixed-use development in a building nine stories tall that would include approximately 225-250 residential units (for approximately 610 residents), up to 4,000 square feet of retail/neighborhood commercial uses on the ground floor, structured parking, and high-quality amenity spaces,” reads a December 5 letter from attorney Valerie Long of the firm Williams Mullen. “In keeping with Council’s affordable housing objectives, the Applicant is also proposing a mix of on-site affordable units and/or a cash donation to the City’s Affordable Housing fund.”
To do so, they need a change to the zoning ordinance to allow a Planned Unit Development less than two acres in size.
“At this point in time, Council is not being asked to discuss the merits of making this zoning amendment or not, but simply whether to approve a resolution directing the Planning Commission to consider the proposed zoning text amendment and to provide a recommendation to Council,” reads the staff report.
Planned Unit Developments will no longer exist under the new zoning code which makes the timing for this worth reviewing. Will the University of Virginia Foundation make an offer RMD Properties can’t refuse?
In October, they paid $2.575 million for the property next door that currently houses Moe’s Barbecue. In December 2021, they paid $20 million for the shopping center where Food of All Nations exists. Construction of the Emmet-Ivy corridor buildings is currently underway and none of that land pays property taxes to the city of Charlottesville.
For comparison, let’s look at a similar project. The Lark on West Main is on 1.27 acres of land. Council voted 3-2 in January 2014 for a special use permit for the multi-use apartment building. In that year, the property had an assessed value of $1.068 million. In 2022, that’s increased to $52.84 million.
In the penultimate item, Council will extend the dockless mobility sharing system permit for Veo Ride.
“The operation has approximately 350 scooters and 50 e-bikes operating in Charlottesville and served over a quarter million rides in 2022,” reads the staff report. “Veo Ride, Inc. is interested in renewing its permit for 2023, but has requested an opportunity to revisit the current terms of the permit regulations to better serve the City.”
For now, that will mean a 90-day extension while Veo Ride’s wishes to increase the number of vehicles is studied by staff.
The final item is Council’s ratification for the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission’s plan for American Rescue Plan Act funding. (staff report)
Louisa Supervisors to consider land purchase by VDOT
The seven-member Louisa County Board of Supervisors meets at 5 p.m. in the Louisa County Public Meeting Room. Administrator Christian Goodwin will begin the organizational meeting which starts with election of a chair and vice chair. Then they’ll set meeting times and adopt bylaws. And then they’ll go into closed session.
They’ll enter into open session at 6 p.m. with an invocation from Supervisor Duane Adams.
One thing on the consent agenda is a resolution on how to use Louisa’s portion of $400 million in funding for school construction projects. The county is to receive $1,919,539 in direct aid and the plan is to use it conduct the design phase for an addition to Louisa County Middle School as well as the Career and Technical Building. There is also a resolution of support for Annette Hayes and her work to establish pickleball in the Louisa County Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Department.
After the consent agenda and the public comment period, there will be consideration of a resolution for the county to sell property on Zachary Taylor Highway to the VIrginia Department of Transportation for $35,670.
There are two public hearings.
The first is to amend a section of the Louisa County Code to grant a property tax exemption for the Veterans of Foreign Wars. That benefit currently extends to the Arc of the Piedmont and the Louisa County Resource Council. (page 172)
The second is to add amendments to the building ordinance for design standards for off-street parking. This would allow the use of grass parking to be approved for events in the rural area. (page 174)
Wednesday, January 4, 2023
Fluvanna Supervisors to review proposed renovations to Community Center
The five-member Board of Supervisors in Fluvanna County will meet and will begin with the organizational meeting. That means the election of the chair and the vice chair, as well as an adoption of the meeting schedule and the board’s by-laws. They meet in the Carysbrook Performing Arts Center at 8880 James Madison Highway in Fork Union. (meeting packet)
In the regular meeting, Supervisors will get an update on the Fluvanna Community Center renovation from Administrator Eric Dahl. There is a request for $650,000 in the Fiscal Year 2024 capital improvement program budget.
They’ll also review a memorandum of agreement with Persimmon Tree Players for storage space that has existed on the property of the Fluvanna Community Center. This practice will now be formalized and the theater company would like to be able to perform and rehearse there as well.
There will also be five-minute presentations from several non-profit organizations. This is a different process from Charlottesville where all of the requests are reviewed by the Vibrant Community Fund team.
Albemarle Supervisors to briefly meet to elect chair, chat in closed session
The Albemarle Board of Supervisors will meet at 1 p.m. in Lane Auditorium in the county’s office building at 401 McIntire Road. As this is their first meeting of the year, County Executive Jeffrey Richardson will gavel the six member body into order before a new chair is elected, followed by the vice chair. (meeting info)
They will also appoint a clerk, set times and dates for board meetings, and adopt rules and policies for 2023.
Then after announcements, they’ll go into closed session, though the reason has not yet been cited on the agenda. Then they’ll appoint themselves to various boards and commissions.
Thursday, January 5, 2023
One more meeting for this week and it continues the expansion into PC meetings across the Fifth District.
The Goochland County Planning Commission meets and will have three public hearings. One is for an unhosted short term rental on Broad Street. The second is to amend the zoning ordinance to change requirements for a community meeting for land use applications. The third is to move access management from the subdivision ordinance to the zoning ordinance.