County approves expansion of University of Virginia Research Park; Playing field dedication to be reviewed

By Brian Wheeler
Charlottesville Tomorrow
Thursday, March 11, 2010

The University of Virginia Research Park adjacent to the Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport will be expanding with a rezoning unanimously approved by the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors Wednesday evening.

Thirty acres will be added to the existing research park providing a new main entrance off of Airport Road, once Lewis & Clark Drive is extended from the other side of the park.

Concept drawing showing sample building locations on 30-acre addition to UVA Research Park

“This has been in development over the last four years,” said Fred Missel, Director of Design & Development for the UVA Foundation in an interview.  “It started in 2006 after the rezoning for the [Hollymead] fire station.  Our goal was to have a continuous piece of property zoned as [Planned Development – Industrial Park] (PDIP) and available for its highest and best use.”

The expanded facility will allow an additional 700,000 sq.ft. of development in the research park, roughly a 23% increase in existing capacity.  Today the UVA Foundation has only built about 500,000 sq.ft., or 17%, of the 3 million sq. ft. allowed prior to the expansion.

Local developer Wendell Wood was the only member of the public to speak during the public hearing.  He encouraged the board to approve the rezoning as one way to increase local employment options.

“We sold the land to the University of Virginia in 1985 and have been patiently waiting to see some results,” said Wood.  “I think we should do everything we can to support the further development when we have a world renown university.”

Valerie Long & Fred Missel presenting to the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors

Valerie Long, an attorney with Williams Mullen representing the UVA Foundation, told the board that the research park is currently home to 1,100 employees.

A number of defense sub-contractors have established offices at the park to be near the Rivanna Station military base located on the other side of U.S. Route 29.  UVA Foundation officials said that is a trend they expect will continue.

In 1996, the project was called the North Fork Research Park and it covered 525 acres.  In addition to research park activities, the county has also approved special use permits to support laboratories, supporting commercial uses (e.g. restaurants and retail), and hotels.

Missel said this new rezoning has generated a lot of questions about the University’s plans for a hotel and conference center.

“A lot of people are excited about a conference center, but that has been allowed in the zoning since 1998,” said Missel.  He said the University has no immediate plans for a hotel or conference center anywhere in the park.

Supervisor Dennis Rooker said he was reminded in his review of the proffers, the contributions from the UVA Foundation to mitigate the impact of the development, that a recreational playing field had been promised in an earlier rezoning.  Rooker inquired about the status of the field to be donated to the county.

“I’ve never noticed playing fields and picnic areas,” said Rooker.  “We have a better system in place today for monitoring proffers… and I just want to make sure we are following the proffers reasonably carefully.”

Long said that there has not yet been a request from the County for dedication of the playing field.

County Executive Bob Tucker said he would bring the matter to the attention of his Parks & Recreation Department to see if the time was appropriate to receive the donation of the field.

Board debates funding for constitutional offices, social services

By Sean Tubbs
Charlottesville Tomorrow
Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Supervisors Dennis Rooker and Lindsay Dorrier

The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors is in the process of amending County Executive Bob Tucker’s proposed $293.8 million budget for the next fiscal year. The Board is reviewing all areas of the budget during a series of four work sessions.

Earlier this week, Charlottesville Tomorrow we posted the first half of the budget work session where the budget for general government and community development was discussed. We now present the second half, which covers funding for constitutional offices as well as the budget for human service agencies.

The Board will continue the process next Monday with a discussion of the capital improvement program budget, followed by a final session on Wednesday, March 17 should one be needed. Citizens will have a chance to comment on the amended budget at a public hearing on March 31.

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TIMELINE FOR PODCAST:

• 01:00 - Assistant County Executive Bryan Elliot begins discussing judicial section of budget
• 03:00 - Rooker asks for an explanation of how constitutional officers are funded by the state
• 04:00 - Elliot describes funding for the clerk of court
• 04:30 - Elliot describes funding for the Commonwealth's Attorney Office
• 05:30 - Dorrier asks if state compensation board is still funding localities
• 06:50 - County Attorney Larry Davis explains how recent legislation is affecting compensation
• 08:45 - Elliot predicts that state compensation for constitutional officers will continue to decline
• 09:10 - Supervisor Rooker says constitutional officers and their staff are state employees
• 11:00 - County Executive Bob Tucker says more information on state budget will be available Friday
• 12:00 - Commonwealth's Attorney Denise Lunsford describes her efforts to increase state funding
• 12:50 - Lunsford says her staff are a hybrid of state and local employees
• 14:00 - David describes the evolution of funding for constitutional offices
• 16:30 - Elliot describes the budget for the sheriff’s office
• 19:00 - Rooker questions what would happen if county did not fully fund sheriff’s office
• 24:00 - Supervisor Snow asks how removal of a local authority for a telecommunications tax has affected funding
• 27:00 - Elliot describes funding for juvenile and domestic courts
• 28:50 - Elliot begins process of discussing community services budget
• 29:40 - Elliot describes funding for public safety budget
• 31:30 - Elliot describes funding for police and fire/rescue
• 33:30 - During description of fire/rescue budget, discussion over cost-recovery begins
• 34:15 - Supervisor Ann Mallek questions the amount being spent on processing fees
• 35:10 - Rooker asks Chief Dan Eggleston if administrative costs would go down if CARS joins EMS revenue recovery program
• 38:30 - Rodney Thomas asks a question about changes in cost of city-county fire services contract
• 39:00 - Boyd asks if County should reduce funding to CARS because they are not using recovery revenue
• 41:30 - Thomas says he hopes not to have to reduce funding for CARS
• 45:00 - Dorrier asks why funding for SPCA increased
• 48:30 - Elliot sums up feedback he's received from Board
• 49:00 - Mallek asks for reductions in funding to Offender Aid and Restoration
• 50:40 - Boyd asks for a matrix of social services in order to avoid duplication of services
• 52:30 - Snow asks how funding for agency for social service agencies is monitored
• 54:00 - Elliot begins discussion of human services provided by county
• 57:20 - Discussion of funding for Bright Stars program
• 59:00 - Elliot says budget is built on what county staff thought how composite index was calculated in December 2009
• 1:00:30 - Rooker asks question about private Smart Beginnings initiative, and if the two can be merged
• 1:18:45 - Snow asks for more information on Bright Stars

City planning commission to resume discussion of zoning changes

By Sean Tubbs
Charlottesville Tomorrow
Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Download Planning Manager Missy Creasy's memo to Commissioners Download zoning matrices Download description of staff's proposed changes

When the Charlottesville City Council passed a new zoning ordinance in 2003, three “zoning matrices” were created to keep track of what land uses are allowed in each of the city’s zoning districts. For the past few months, city planning staff have been working on amending those matrices to eliminate inconsistencies.

Tonight, the Planning Commission will resume debate over the residential matrix. Potential changes include whether accessory apartments need a special use permit before construction, elimination of inconsistencies in the Cherry Avenue mixed-use corridor, and how convents and monasteries are treated in the zoning code.

The matrices were originally to be discussed in February, but the meeting was canceled due to a snow storm.  The Commission began their conversation at a work session on February 23, 2010.

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TIMELINE FOR PODCAST:

• 01:00 - Item is opened for discussion by Chair Jason Pearson
• 01:50 - Planning Manager Missy Creasy describes reason for review
• 07:00 - Pearson describes how the matrix will be reviewed during the work session
• 08:40 - Planner Nick Rogers begins review
• 09:10 - Commission requests further review on accessory apartments
• 12:00 - Commissioner Emory asks about bed and breakfast definitions
• 17:00 - Emory asks follow-up question and jokingly asks if Charlottesville can declare trees as sacred
• 18:20 - Discussion turns to convents and monasteries
• 20:30 - Commissioner Kurt Keesecker asks question about residential density thresholds
• 22:45 - Brief discussion of residential treatment facilities
• 26:30 - Brief discussion of private clubs
• 31:00 - Brief discussion of laundromats
• 31:45 - Brief discussion of day cares / adult day cares
• 38:00 - Rogers reviews items Commissioners sought further discussion on
• 43:00 - Discussion on accessory apartments continues, with Creasy reading concerns of Commissioner Genevieve Keller
• 53:00 - Discussion on bed and breakfast
• 57:00 - Discussion on boarding houses
• 1:05:40 - Discussion of residential treatment facilities
• 1:07:30 - Discussion of private clubs
• 1:13:30 - Discussion of schools
• 1:18:30 - Discussion of whether property managers can be required in certain apartment complexes
• 1:23:00 - Discussion of allowing model homes in existing residential communities

Board begins process of amending proposed $293.8 million budget

By Sean Tubbs
Charlottesville Tomorrow
Tuesday, March 9, 2010

The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors has begun amending County Executive Bob Tucker’s proposed $293.8 million budget for the next fiscal year. The Board is reviewing all areas of the budget during a series of four work sessions between now and next Wednesday.

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Monday’s session covered general government, and each Supervisor had the chance to suggest changes in the form of new cuts or increased spending on various initiatives.  By state law, the board must pass a balanced budget before the beginning of the next fiscal year which starts on July 1st.

Tucker’s budget reflects a $10.3 million decrease in county expenditures. One-time spending cuts range from $21,000 by reducing landscaping on county property to $100,000 by contracting out custodial services. 

“This recommended budget comes with some difficult and painful choices that change services in our community,” Tucker said.

Other cuts are more structural, particularly in reductions to the county administration and the community development department. The majority of the county’s 78 frozen or eliminated positions come from these two areas.

Deputy County Executive Tom Foley leads Supervisors through the budget section by section

“We’ve been very responsive to the need to improve our operations and become more efficient, but our changes have also positioned our operations for the future by restructuring and reallocating staff to core responsibility,” said Deputy County Executive Tom Foley.

The impact of those cuts will likely be felt in the county’s efforts to guide development in its growth areas.

The Board of Supervisors has adopted two master plans (Crozet and Pantops) and action is pending on two more (Places29 and Village of Rivanna).

Assistant County Executive Bryan Elliot said the county may no longer have the resources to coordinate community input on how to prioritize the construction of new community infrastructure. For instance, the Pantops Advisory Committee has already cut back to quarterly meetings according to Supervisor Ken Boyd.

Supervisor Dennis Rooker said this trend would reduce the effectiveness of the master planning efforts.

“It troubles me that we’re cutting back so significantly in that area that we’re not going to do what may be necessary to effectively implement [the Places29 master plan],” Rooker said.

Foley said the Board will eventually need to decide what level of community engagement will go to support the plans.

“This is probably the best time for us to be scaling back, but once the [plans] are finished, and those committees are formed, it’s going to drive some demand,” Foley said.

Additionally, the county’s transportation planner has been reassigned to another department because there are no funds in the capital improvement program for new projects.

Supervisors listen as details of budget are presented by county staff

Supervisor Ann Mallek asked for more information on why the Alliance for Community Choice in Transportation is set to receive $6,000, claiming that the county pays the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission to perform similar work.

A growing part of the proposed budget is a 4.4% increase for the county’s finance department. This includes the unfreezing of a business auditor position in county government to focus on tax collection in order to help secure new revenues. The concept was accepted by Supervisors.

The Board will discuss the school budget during Wednesday’s work session, and the capital improvement program next Monday. The amended budget will then be presented to the public on March 31.

TIMELINE FOR FIRST PODCAST:

• 01:00 - County Executive Bob Tucker begins review of the proposed budget
• 02:30 - Tucker lays out the philosophy behind how cuts were made
• 06:50 - Tucker explains budget process to new Supervisors
• 08:02 - Richard Wiggins explains why revenues are down
• 13:30 - Supervisor Boyd asks a question about transfers between CIP and operating budgets
• 18:22 - Wiggins outlines some of the factors that contribute to expenditure increases
• 22:00 - Deputy County Executive Tom Foley describes cuts to general government
• 25:30 - Discussion begins on frozen positions
• 29:00 - Discussion of cuts to Board of Supervisor's office
• 31:00 - Discussion of cuts to County Executive's office
• 32:00 - Rooker questions Chamber of Commerce support of political advertising
• 35:40 - Foley describes the purpose of unfreezing a business auditor position
• 40:30 - Foley describes savings associated with eliminating Microsoft enterprise agreement
• 41:00 - Discussion of funding for a primary election if one is necessary in 2011
• 42:30 - Discussion of how stormwater position might be paid for
• 43:30 - Discussion of contracting out custodial services
• 48:30 - Foley discusses service impacts
• 50:00 - Supervisor Lindsay Dorrier asks question about property assessments
• 53:30 - Supervisor Ken Boyd asks about potential increases to City-County fire contract
• 55:30 - County spokeswoman Lee Catlin describes marketing efforts for ACE
• 57:50 - Supervisor Duane Snow asks what temperature the heat is on in county buildings, rental of county buildings
• 1:02:15 - Thomas asks how revenue sharing payments will increase or decrease in the next few years
• 1:03:30 - Dorrier asks about reduction in line item for community relations
• 1:05:30 - Discussion of master planning efforts
• 1:12:15 - Snow calls for county to reduce printing of documents
• 1:14:30 - Foley moves discussion to Community Development Department budget
• 1:19:30 - Boyd asks if school system is creating ongoing positions using stimulus money
• 1:27:45 - Foley moves discussion to Facilities Development Department
• 1:29:30 - Foley begins discussion of agencies funded by Community Development
• 1:31:30 - Mallek requests information on what ACCT does for its funding
• 1:34:10 - Dorrier asks about the amount the county pays for CTS
• 1:38:30 - Elliot lists some of the cumulative impacts of service reduction
• 1:39:00 - Rooker discusses the value of having local enforcement of environmental issues
• 1:43:30 - Rooker asks about stream buffer enforcement
• 1:47:00 - Foley says providing staff for boards and commissions will be a challenge in the future
• 1:48:15 - Foley explains how $350,000 in transportation funding will go to pay for ACE for one year
• 1:51:00 - Foley talks about how master planning is going to be affected

Trail report prompts Councilor Szakos to call for study of bike registration fee

By Sean Tubbs
Charlottesville Tomorrow
Wednesday, March 3, 2010

After hearing a status report from city staff on efforts to create new bike lanes and trails, City Councilor Kristin Szakos has directed a city bike and pedestrian committee to explore the possibility of requiring cyclists to register their vehicle.

“You pay $5 for a little tag that you put on the back of your bike and it funds bike [projects],” Szakos said. She argued money raised by the fee could go towards building priority projects the city wants but cannot currently fund.

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Her comments came after Jim Tolbert, the city’s director of Neighborhood Development Services, gave a progress report on efforts to build new sidewalks and bikeways in Charlottesville.

Download maps of Charlottesville's bike trails and sidewalks

A committee created in 2008 to address pedestrian safety issues will be made permanent, and Tolbert said cyclists would be invited to join.

Click to enlarge

In 1997, the City adopted a list of 99 priority locations for new sidewalks. Since then, crews have been able to build a third of that goal according to Tolbert. The public works department currently spends about $200,000 a year on sidewalk construction, but that will increase to $300,000 in FY2011 if the city manager’s proposed budget is adopted. 

Tolbert said the list is in the process of being updated, with staff suggesting 30 more locations. 

Neighborhood associations will be asked to review the list this spring, with approval of a new priority list by both the planning commission and Council.

Eleven audible pedestrian signals were installed at 11 locations throughout the city, and Tolbert said several more would be installed in the coming year. LED crosswalks were also installed in several locations.

“I think these have done a lot to increase the safety of pedestrians,” Tolbert said. He also reported that none of them were destroyed by snow plows during recent storms.

Tolbert also reported that the City has run out of roads where there is enough room to easily bike lanes just by drawing a line. Parking will have to be reduced in locations in order to build more lanes within city limits.

“What we’ve realized is our greatest opportunities for bicycles are off-road because of our narrow streets,” Tolbert said.

Trail planner Chris Gensic has been acquiring easements to build more bike trails. Tolbert said this work will become to come into fruition this year with several projects scheduled to be completed.

“We’re on the verge of really building some off-street trails and getting some things implemented that Chris has been working on for a couple of years,” Tolbert said.

Special signals have also been installed in several places along West Main and Emmet Streets that allow bikes to tell the traffic lights that they are present.

Councilor David Brown asked Tolbert to make sure the bike actuation signals were installed in places they would truly make a difference.

“The busy streets aren’t the problem,” Brown said. “Cars are going to come along anyway and activate the signal.”

Brown also called for one aspect of the Old Lynchburg Road project to be accelerated. Part of that plan involves north-bound bike traffic through Azalea Park in order to take them off a curving and hill road. The city is also looking into the possibility of having full color bike lanes to better distinguish areas where bicycles have the right of way.  Staff will also explore a potential ordinance which would make helmets mandatory for bike riders under the age of 14.

In addition to her proposal regarding the bike fee, which was not pursued by Council, Szakos called herself a “militant pedestrian” and said she wanted to make sure crosswalks have better lighting. Szakos also said public meetings should be held in locations without active neighborhood associations to find out what residents of those areas think.

Councilor Satyendra Huja said gaps in the network should be filled in as soon as possible.
“It would be nice to have a connected network of bike lanes so that you can go to point A to point B,” Huja said.

TIMELINE FOR PODCAST:

• 01:00 - Staff report from Jim Tolbert, director of NDS
• 12:00 - Response from Councilor Szakos regarding lighting at sidewalks
• 16:00 - Councilor Brown asks if recommendations from the Alliance of Community Choice in Transportation were considered
• 18:00 - Councilor Huja calls for network of 
• 20:15 - Szakos asks for study of a bike registration fee
• 21:20 - Mayor Dave Norris asks for status update on legislation that could encourage railroads to give more right of way along their tracks

Water officials taking public input on South Fork dredging study; Critics of water plan see silver lining

HDR Engineering's February 2010 Dredging Studies
Pre-Dredge Survey Report
Sediment Characterization Report
Bathymetric Survey & Volume Analysis Report
Wetlands Assessment Report

By Brian Wheeler
Charlottesville Tomorrow
Thursday, March 4, 2010
 
Critics of the long-term water supply plan, approved by Charlottesville and Albemarle County in 2006, said Wednesday that dredging of sediment from the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir could be completed for $10 million and satisfy all of the community’s water needs for the next 50 years.

Citizens for a Sustainable Water Plan announced their projections after reviewing the initial dredging feasibility studies completed by HDR Engineering for the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority.

RWSA Executive Director Tom Frederick, however, said that the HDR studies completed thus far provide no information on the cost of dredging or final numbers on the volume of water storage that would be made available.

“I think at this point in the study, it is premature to draw conclusions,” said Frederick.

At a Wednesday news conference to announce the citizens group’s reading of the dredging study, former City Councilor Kevin Lynch said on behalf of the group that the study showed neither a new dam nor a new pipeline is needed.

“The analysis of the reservoir shows … the conditions are much more favorable to dredging than even we thought,” said Lynch. “The reservoir has much more water in it than we originally thought. It has been filling with sediment much more slowly than we originally thought. And it will take much less dredging to get it back to its original usable volume.”

The water plan endorsed in 2006 would cost more than $140 million and includes construction of a higher dam at Ragged Mountain Reservoir and a new pipeline to carry water from the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir to Ragged Mountain. It does not include dredging.

Dredging is one component of a water-supply alternative that has been advocated by Charlottesville Mayor Dave Norris, but even the so called “Norris Plan” includes a new pipeline and additional storage via expansion of the existing dam at Ragged Mountain.

In an interview, Frederick said the HDR report also leaves open questions about wetlands at Rivanna.

“We have yet to learn or understand what the limits of dredging the reservoir might be with respect to wetlands and we need to fully understand that issue.”

“If the wetlands are disturbed, it would have to be mitigated,” said Frederick. “If we are going to protect the wetlands, we can’t restore the original volume of the reservoir and HDR has not yet quantified the net gain in volume from the dredging that could take place.”

HDR identified 45.6 acres of wetlands that have formed in the reservoir since it was built in 1966. The firm recommended protecting the wetlands with a “no-dredge buffer zone along the reservoir shoreline.”

Lynch said any water plan would incur additional costs to repair the existing Ragged Mountain Dam, maintain the Sugar Hollow Pipeline, and build additional water treatment capacity.

While the original water plan would abandon the pipeline used to carry water from the Sugar Hollow Reservoir near White Hall to the Ragged Mountain Reservoir, Lynch’s alternative would continue using that pipeline, and would not build a new line between the Rivanna and Ragged Mountain reservoirs.

“Nobody is so naive to think that other improvements won’t need to be done to the system over the next 50 years,” said Lynch.

Those costs are not included in the group’s $10 million estimate for dredging, which Lynch said was based on an unsolicited 2004 dredging proposal from Blue Ridge Sand Inc., adjusted to reflect HDR’s findings and inflation.

The RWSA is hosting a public input meeting on the first phase of the dredging feasibility study on March 9 at 6 p.m. in the CitySpace meeting room in the Market Street Parking Garage.