Council decides to keep Old Lynchburg Road open and ask the County to make Fontaine-Sunset Connector a priority

Late last night the Charlottesville City Council heard a dozen members of the public weigh in on the future of Old Lynchburg Road and the City’s transportation diplomacy with the County of Albemarle before they reached consensus around midnight that the existing connector road should only be closed only “as a measure of last resort.”  Many of their citizens had testified and signed petitions indicating they have already reached the breaking point.

How much time will City Council give for diplomacy to work?  Councilor Kevin Lynch plans to give the County “a month” to demonstrate that they are serious about getting the Fontaine-Sunset Avenue Connector built across the Granger property and through the UVA Fontaine Research park.  This proposed connector road has virtually unanimous support in both localities, but is tied up on an uncertain timeline in County rezoning requests and proffer negotiations.  Meanwhile, the Biscuit Run rezoning, the largest neighborhood ever proposed in the County, is moving forward in its review through the County Planning Commission.  Biscuit Run also has substantial proffers under consideration and a key topic for City Council is their expectations about how the developer’s voluntary contributions to mitigate traffic impacts should be tailored to help the City.

Mayor David Brown indicated that while he agreed with the importance of building new County connectors to alleviate conditions on Old Lynchburg Road, he was skeptical of the City’s ability to influence the County’s negotiations with the developer.  He feared pre-emptive action by the City to close the road might lead to the unintended consequence of the City getting no support for its transportation needs.

Councilor Julian Taliaferro suggested the City might have to send a message by closing the road.  “Sometimes we have to send a message.  Sometimes I feel they disregard us.”

Multiple Councilors reacted to the remarks in public comment from local transportation activist John Pfaltz.  Mr. Pfaltz asked the City to close Old Lynchburg road immediately as a way to improve the position of the Board of Supervisors in their negotiations on Biscuit Run as well as to spark acceptance by County residents for additional road interconnections from neighborhoods like Redfields to Route 29.  He argued that only if County residents were literally running into a wall at the City line would they then accept the bitter pill of a political decision by the Supervisors to build alternate paths around the City and through some County neighborhoods.

Those alternate paths around the City are at the top of Councilor Kevin Lynch’s wish list.  He joined the rest of the Council in the belief that Old Lynchburg should only be closed as a last resort, but it is a step he said he was prepared to have the City take if there is no movement on a Fontaine-Sunset Avenue Connector.  He wants a significant contribution from the Biscuit Run proffers to go to the building of that road.  Meanwhile, the Biscuit Run developer is focusing a significant portion of his transportation proffer dollars towards improvements on Route 20.  The fact that proffers for one housing development are being debated all the way from Route 20 to Route 29 are one indication of the scale of the expected impact of Biscuit Run on the City of Charlottesville.  The developer’s attorney, Steve Blaine, has repeatedly told the County Planning Commission that their proffer contributions are a very finite resource. 

The Biscuit Run traffic study indicates the need for improvements throughout the area, including the widening of the bridge over I-64 at Fifth Street, a project for which there are neither proffers nor an exact price tag.  Certainly traffic backing up at I-64 and Fifth Street will also send more cars towards Old Lynchburg Road and Route 20 to find a path into the City of Charlottesville.

City Council agreed Monday to pursue Biscuit Run proffers towards: improvements on Old Lynchburg Road; traffic light synchronizations; and the Fontaine-Sunset Avenue Connector road.  City staff will also ask the County to adopt the September 2004 “Area B” study as part of its Comprehensive Plan.  This was the joint planning effort by the City, County, and UVA that identified numerous connector roads needed as a way to build a “a more integrated and interconnected community.”

This community discussion will continue at the following upcoming meetings:

• View complete Charlottesville Tomorrow calendar and event details
• Feb 6th – County Planning Commission Meeting.
• Feb 10th – County public forum on Biscuit Run Project (drop-in event).
  (NEW TIME!  10:00 AM Saturday at the County Office Building on Fifth Street, South of I-64)
• Feb 13th – City Planning Commission Meeting
• Feb 15th - Quarterly PACC Mtg (UVA-City-County).  The Planning and Coordination Council. (PACC) has representation from UVA, the County Board of Supervisors, and Charlottesville City Council.
• Feb 15th – City Transportation Work Session.
• Feb 27th – County Planning Commission holds public hearing on Biscuit Run.

While the County Planning Commission has tentatively scheduled a public hearing and vote on Biscuit Run for February 27, 2007, it is very unlikely they will have all the information they have requested to complete their review.  If the applicant declines to defer to a future meeting, the Commission could reject the development.  The developer would then appeal directly to the Board of Supervisors, thus starting another round of public work sessions and proffer negotiations.

Brian Wheeler

Comments

[Blair Hawkins]

Another story last night you won't hear about elsewhere was the proposed historic district for the city's Fifeville neighborhood. Notification letters were sent out the day before Christmas, Dec. 24.

Councilor Kendra Hamilton acknowledged blacks have historically opposed historic designation, but she didn't know why.

Mayor David Brown said the purpose of historic designation is to prevent property owners from demolishing their historic homes. Brown doesn't know that blacks want a designation to prevent the city's agencies from demolishing historic homes.

Councilor Julian Taliaferro was the biggest denier of Charlottesville history by saying the concerns of blacks is an example of "perception greater than reality." During his campaign for office, at least twice, Taliaferro dismissed statements by the public as untrue, based solely on his inability to believe the truth.

Tonight, the councilors were responding to Ann Carter, who owns 324 6th St. SW. In her public comment, she listed out some history the councilors continue to dismiss as untrue.

But I don't believe Ms. Carter is a lier. I'm working on a big story now and will try to contact her so her truth can be included. Monday I photographed 152 pages of Housing Authority archive photos, none which concern the sites in the news in 2006. The text documents are still being withheld. Nobody knows the total number of documents UVa professor Scot French of the Carter Woodson Institute is "safeguarding." On Feb. 24, there will be a discussion on this topic at First Baptist Church with time to be determined.

The podcast at the city's website is not up yet. Also the Nov. 20 podcast is not available, the meeting where Council refused to release urban renewal archives.

[Janet Brown]

Hello, My name is Janet Brown. I would very much like to know something about A very old brown brick two story buiding on Carlton Ave. It has been boarded up for some time. Would very much like to know the history behind it, who owns it, and how do I get in touch with them. Thanks for your help.
Janet Brown
1500 Carlton Ave.
Charlottesville, VA 22902