MPO discusses new branding for Charlottesville Transit; I-64 Interchanges at 5th Street and Shadwell to get improved ramps

By Sean Tubbs
Charlottesville Tomorrow
Friday, May 29, 2009

At their meeting on May 27, 2009, the Policy Board of the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) was presented details on a possible new marketing strategy for the Charlottesville Transit Service (CTS), heard more information about how federal stimulus money is being spent on transit systems in Virginia, and adopted the UNJAM 2035 long-range transportation plan.

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A new identity for the Charlottesville Transit Service?

Since January, Selena Barlow with the firm Transit Marketing has been working with CTS to help improve the agency’s communications and branding strategy. Part of that work has involved a week-long survey of over 3,000 bus riders conducted this spring. Here are some of the findings:

• 96% of riders said they would recommend CTS to their friends and co-workers
• 81% of riders said they are either “very in favor” or “somewhat in favor” of a Regional Transit Authority
• 49% of riders have some affiliation with the University of Virginia
• 56% of riders are under the age of 30
• 31% of riders have access to a car and hold a driver’s license
• 43% only ride 1 to 3 times a week and are considered “occasional” users

Download Selena Barlow's presentation to the MPO

Barlow said all of the above information indicates that Charlottesville is a community supportive of transit, but she said that the numbers could improve if people knew more about how to use the system.

“There’s a high level of awareness for CTS but not a lot of knowledge,” Barlow said. “People know the bus system and know a little about it, but when I started to dig a little deeper into what people knew about there were a lot of misperceptions.” In particular, she said people are not aware that transfers between routes are free.  She said many people requested GPS-locator systems in the survey. CTS began using such systems in 2008, and added a Google Transit feature in December 2008.

The existring CTS logo

Barlow said much of that information could be better relayed to the public if CTS incorporated a branding strategy that included a more navigable website. She said the existing brand may be dated and somewhat ineffective.

“It doesn’t really communicate transit unless you’re seeing it on the side of a bus,” Barlow said. This would be an ideal time to consider a new brand, according to Barlow. “One of the reasons this came up early on was the possibility of transitioning to a Regional Transit Authority and introducing a new name that would be appropriate for use when that transition happens.”

One potential idea that came up in a branding workshop was to rename the service as CAT, which could represent Charlottesville Area Transit or Charlottesville Albemarle Transit. That would allow the use of a slogan such as “catch the cat.”  She suggested such a slogan could lead people to a website that was much more accessible than the CTS’ existing site, which is currently nested inside the City’s website.

“It’s not a bad website, it has a lot of information, but it’s not really that easy for a novice user to use,” Barlow said. A website dedicated to the transit service would be more user-friendly and could lead to more riders.

MPO welcomes new TJPDC Executive Director

Steve Williams, the new Executive Director of the TJPDC

This MPO meeting was the first attended by Steve Williams, the new Executive Director of the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission. Williams said he has worked for various MPO’s across the country over the past 25 years. His last job was in Nashua, New Hampshire, a community he said was of similar size to the Charlottesville-Albemarle area.

Williams said he did not want to be labeled as being an expert in any one area of transportation. He told the MPO Policy Board that all modes of transportation must work in order for a metropolitan area to function.

“I think we are moving into a period in time where we at the MPO level will be challenged in ways that we have not been challenged before,” Williams said. Those challenges include finding local methods of funding transportation projects as well as connecting land use with transportation planning.

MPO holds two public hearings to adjust Transportation Improvement Program

Federal planning for improvements to transportation includes a lot of layers of paperwork in order to track the status of the hundreds of projects planned for any one given MPO area. If any new sources of money become available, the changes must be reflected in an MPO’s Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). Any change to the TIP must be accompanied by a public hearings.

Download Melissa Barlow's staff report for the I-64 TIP adjustment

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) has so far resulted in more money for transportation maintenance projects in the Charlottesville MPO’s jurisdiction. That required the MPO to hold two public hearing at the May 2009 meeting.

First, the MPO officially placed $1.3 million in stimulus money from  ARRA on the TIP to indicate that the Charlottesville Transit Service will receive the funds to pay for two new buses, four new shelters, as well as spare parts and other various pieces of equipment. None of the money, which was funneled through the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) requires a local match. DRPT will open up a second round of funding from ARRA later this year.

Supervisor Dennis Rooker (Jack Jouett) asked the DRPT’s Joe Swartz if it were possible to use stimulus money to pay for pedestrian crosswalks to improve access to bus stops. Swartz said there was no precedent, but that the community could at least apply. Bill Watterson of CTS said it was unlikely that would be the best use of stimulus funds.

CTS Director Bill Watterson said his agency has decided to apply for funding to plan for a new transit station at Barracks Road Shopping Center. The idea would be to make it easier for riders to transfer between Route 5 (serves Albemarle County via Commonwealth Avenue) and Route 7 (Fashion Square Mall to Downtown). Watterson said CTS will also seek stimulus funding to replace 6 existing buses with hybrid fuel vehicles. 

For the second public hearing, the MPO agreed to suspend its public participation requirements in order to hold an unadvertised public hearing to accept money into the TIP for interstate highway improvements. The westbound exit at the interchange of I-64 and 5th Street will be widened at a cost of $1.15 million, and an additional left-hand turn lane will be constructed at the Shadwell exit. No local match is required for these projects.  Barlow said these would not be major overhauls, but would improve the flow of traffic at the exits.

MPO Adopts UNJAM 2035

The MPO adopted the UNJAM 2035 long-range transportation plan, which has been in the works over the last year. The adoption came despite a request from City resident John Pfaltz to restore the Southern Parkway to UNJAM’s fiscally constrained long range plan. Pfaltz claimed the road would help improve response times for the fire department, and would provide an important transit connection between the Southwood mobile home park, Piedmont Virginia Community College and the stores at Mill Creek. He also said the Southern Parkway should be a higher priority and was more important to the region than developing an urban cross-section for Proffit Road. Supervisor Dennis Rooker said the Bent Creek Parkway, which will be built by the developer of the Fifth and Avon Center, provides the same connection and thus the County would be unlikely to allocate its diminishing secondary road funds to the Southern Parkway project.

TIMELINE FOR PODCAST:

• 01:00 – Meeting begins with a public comment from City resident Peter Kleeman
• 04:10 – Slutzky asks MPO if they will waive public participation requirements to hold unadvertised public hearing on additional stimulus money for interstate highway improvements
• 06:30 – Melissa Barlow, Transportation Program Manager for TJPDC, introduces public hearing for TIP amendment for CTS
• 08:00 – Public hearing comment from City resident Peter Kleeman
• 10:40 – MPO adopts TIP amendment for CTS
• 11:00 – Second public hearing is held for TIP amendment for additional interstate highway funds
• 13:30 – Public hearing comment from City resident Peter Kleeman
• 14:30 – Public hearing comment from City resident John Pfaltz
• 16:00 – Public hearing for UNJAM 2035 adoption
• 17:45 – Public hearing comment from City resident Peter Kleeman
• 20:20 – Public hearing comment from City resident John Pfaltz requesting addition of Southern Parkway to UNJAM’s CLRP
• 23:20 – Barlow and MPO responds to Kleeman’s comment
• 28:40 – MPO discusses Pfaltz’ request to place Southern Parkway back on CLRP
• 32:00 – Steve Williams, the new executive director of the TJPDC, is introduced and makes remarks
• 37:00 – Approval of minutes from April meeting
• 39:15 – Slutzky and Barlow introduce discussion of how ARRA will help localities in Virginia pay for additional transit projects
• 40:00 – Presentation from Joe Swartz of the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation
• 46:30 – Supervisor Dennis Rooker asks Swartz if it would be possible to use stimulus money for crosswalks near bus stops
• 50:00 – CTS Director Bill Watterson says his agency will apply for stimulus funds to pay for a new bus station at Barracks Road Shopping Center.
• 53:00 – Watterson introduces next item – CTS marketing study discussion
• 54:00 – Selena Barlow of Transit Marketing begins her presentation of the survey results
• 1:08:00 – Selena Barlow switches gears to discuss the marketing plan and suggests a rebranding strategy
• 1:28:00 – Regional Transit Authority update
• 1:32:00 – Update on the Regional Transit Authority toolkit
• 1:35:00 – Consideration of resolution to recognize work of Ann Whitham
• 1:36:10 – Slutzky reports on the work of a Monticello High School class that did a project on transit in the community
• 1:39:00 – Discussion of a grant application requested by Charlottesville Citizens for Better Rail Alternatives that Steve Williams helped fill out
• 1:49:30 – Public comment from Jerry Diely regarding Bike Virginia 2009

MPO considers Hydraulic Road grade-separation and Leonard Sandridge Road extension during UNJAM 2035 discussion

By Sean Tubbs
Charlottesville Tomorrow
Friday, April 24, 2009

At their meeting on April 22, 2009, the MPO Policy Board debated last-minute changes to the UNJAM 2035 plan, received updates from area transit agencies, and heard a report from the head of VDOT’s Culpeper District on what projects could receive funding from various stimulus initiatives being implemented by the federal government.

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COUNCILOR TALIAFERRO REQUESTS PRIORITIZING SOUTHERN PARKWAY

The MPO Policy Board is required by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to adopt a long-range transportation plan by May. The document is actually a five-year review of the United Jefferson Area Mobility Plan (UNJAM) and the update has been overseen by Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission (TJPDC) staff since last year. Projects in the plan have been vetted by the MPO’s two subcommittees as well as the MPO itself. However, various stakeholders in the community continue to request the reordering of some items on the fiscally constrained long-term plan (CLRP). 

Source: VDOT

The CLRP represents projects that have some hope of receiving funds between now and 2035. A vision list specifies projects that are desired by the community, but funding possibilities are more remote.
Charlottesville City Councilor Julian Taliaferro began the MPO’s April 2009 discussion by saying he would like the Southern Parkway near Albemarle’s Mill Creek neighborhood to be restored as an active project on UNJAM 2035’s fiscally constrained long-range plan.

The project was moved to UNJAM’s vision list in part because the developers of the nearby Fifth and Avon Center are responsible for building a new road, to be known as the Bent Creek Parkway, to connect Fifth Street Extended and Avon Street. Taliaferro said he wanted the project made active because it would increase fire and rescue response times. He also expressed concern that construction of the Southern Parkway was constantly being pushed back.

“It’s in the graveyard for all practical purposes as far as I’m concerned,” Taliaferro said.
In order for any project to be added or moved to the CLRP, another project must be moved to the vision list. Mac Lafferty of the CHART Committee suggested moving a project to enhance Proffit Road  from the CLRP to the vision list because the two have similar cost estimates. Supervisor Dennis Rooker (Jack Jouett) said the improvements to Proffit would serve the northern development area as part of the Places29 Master Plan, and would help to make the area more walkable.

Rooker said the Southern Parkway has been a dormant project because funding has never been available. He predicted that the Bent Creek Parkway would come online with five years, and that the County’s development area south of the City would see a new connector road once Biscuit Run is developed. Rooker also said that it was his understanding that the City placed a higher priority on the Fontaine Avenue-Sunset Connector.

“There’s a huge amount of public that wants [the Fontaine-Sunset] connector built, and it’s in the City,” Rooker said. “Citizens from the City want to see that connection built to alleviate the traffic that is going through that part of the City to get to the University.” Conversely, he said that he can’t remember a citizen coming forward to advocate for the Southern Parkway. Rooker also said there are potentially future rezonings along the Fontaine-Sunset alignment, which could mean that developers might proffer some of the cost of building the road, which has a current cost estimate of $16 million.

Melissa Barlow, Transportation Director for the TJPDC, warned against changing the priorities in UNJAM so close to the federally-mandated May deadline for adoption. Unwanna Dabney with the FHWA said the MPO can choose to amend the CLRP at any point, but should go ahead and adopt the plan as currently written.  Taliaferro said he did not want to hold the process up.

MPO ADDRESSES PRIORITIZING OF GRADE-SEPARATED INTERCHANGES

Another project that continues to be debated is the grade-separated interchange long planned for the intersection of Hydraulic Road and US 29. Last year, the MPO Policy Board moved the $25 million project to the vision list for several reasons. In part, they needed to cut some projects to balance the CLRP. The two City Councilors on the MPO also requested the planned grade-separated interchange at Rio Road go first. 

However, the City Planning Commission recently recommended that Council move the Hydraulic Road grade-separated interchange from the vision plan back to the CLRP. Morgan Butler of the Southern Environmental Law Center said he supported the City Planning Commission’s request and encouraged the MPO Policy Board to follow suit. He said that the grade-separated interchange at Hydraulic was necessary to prevent failing levels of service on US29. 

“This project is too important to this region’s transportation network to preclude the possibility of receiving federal funds for it,” Butler said.

Rooker said he agreed with Butler, but that the political reality was that the City has not been interested in having the Hydraulic Road be in the CLRP. He said only one quarter of the intersection is in Albemarle County. Rooker suggested that the City Council take a public position on the Planning Commission’s vote at its next meeting. MPO Chairman and Albemarle County Supervisor David Slutzky (Rio) suggested that the MPO staff should prepare for the possibility that City Council agrees with their Planning Commission’s recommendation.

LEONARD SANDRIDGE ROAD EXTENSION

This rendering of how the proposed Western Bypass would intersect with US29 was produced by the Southern Environmental Law Center. Dennis Rooker questioned whether the community should invest money in studying potential ways to extend Leonard Sandridge Road, formerly known as the North Grounds Connector

Dennis Rooker suggested that one $672,000 study could be eliminated. The draft UNJAM 2035 currently includes a feasibility study to extend Leonard Sandridge Road to Hydraulic, Georgetown or Barracks Road.  Rooker said the project would be unnecessary and would create a parallel road to US29 where one is not needed.  

 “We have a parallel road on the west side of 29 network that goes from Georgetown Road to Hydraulic Road to Berkmar Road,” Rooker said. “This is being done, I think, as a way of trying to salvage some value out of the right of way for the [western] bypass knowing that the state is unlikely to ever have $300 million that they’re going to want to put into the project,” Rooker said. He said the extension would require a very expensive interchange and would have to go over Stillhouse Mountain. Rooker suggested that the community should plan on selling the right-of-way for the bypass and putting the money into other appropriate projects.

The MPO discussed Rooker’s idea for some time, and evaluated different ways of how Leonard Sandridge Road is used by commuters looking to get to the University. Rooker prevailed, and the study was taken out of the draft CLRP.

Other news from the meeting:

• Melissa Barlow said that the MPO is no longer expecting a 10% cut in funds from either the VDOT or the Federal Highway Administration.
• The MPO amended the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) after an impromptu public hearing. The TIP was amended to allow for the possibility of receiving stimulus funds for maintenance projects
• The Charlottesville Transit Service is reporting a 15% increase in ridership over last year in part because of night service on Routes 5 and 7. CTS will also have a free fare day on May 1, 2009
• The University of Virginia is still searching for a partner to work with on a car-sharing program. Negotiations with Zipcar fell through last year
• Construction will begin in August on a realignment of the intersection of West Main Street and Jefferson Park Avenue
• Ann Whitham is leaving the TJPDC to take a position with the MPO in Missoula, Montana

TIMELINE FOR PODCAST:

• 01:00 - MPO Chairman David Slutzky explains agenda changes for the meeting
• 02:30 - Public hearing on Public Participation Plan (PPP) Review*
• 04:00 – Public hearing on Draft FY10 United Planning and Work Program (UPWP)*
• 07:40 – Public hearing on Draft United Jefferson Area Mobility Plan (UnJAM) 2035*
• 08:00 – Councilor Julian Taliaferro launches discussion about restoring Southern Parkway to UNJAM 2035’s CLRP
• 19:30 – Barlow warns against making too many last minute changes to UNJAM given it needs to be adopted by the MPO by May
• 24:00 – Ann Whitham reviews changes requested made by the Charlottesville and Albemarle Planning Commissions
• 25:30 – Unwanna Dabney of the FHWA lists her comments with the plan
• 28:30 – Rooker questions whether UNJAM should encourage link rural communities via transit given the limitations on funding for transit
• 35:30 – Rooker raises a concern over a potential study to extend Leonard Sandridge Road to Hydraulic Road
• 44:15 – Morgan Butler of the Southern Environmental Law Center makes comments about UNJAM 2035, prompting discussion about Hydraulic Road versus Rio Road for grade-separated interchange
• 51:45 – Albemarle County Chief Planner David Benish reminds MPO that there’s a feasible design for a grade-separated interchange at Hydraulic Road
• 54:45 – Public hearing comment from Jerry Diely officially endorsing grade-separated interchanges at both Rio and Hydraulic Roads
• 56:00 – Rooker makes a correction to the entry for a pedestrian-bike path to be built along Earlysville Road
• 57:00 – Slutzky introduces idea for having a public hearing for the Transportation Improvement Program for a new project
• 1:05:50 – VDOT’s Jim Utterback discusses what projects will receive funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act  followed by a discussion by the MPO Policy Board
• 1:30:00 – CTS update from Nancy Arens
• 1:33:00 – UTS and UVA update from Julia Monteith
• 1:45:00 – JAUNT update from Donna Shaunessy
• 1:51:00 – Reappointment of CHART members Bobby Burke and Mark Evans
• 1:52:00 – Barlow introduces Steve Williams, new Executive Director of TJPDC

Board will receive update on cash proffers

Albemarle County received $819,300 in new proffers in the first three months of this calendar year, and spent $814,000 from various proffers collected in the past several years. The information was released as part of the County’s 3rd Quarter Proffer report, which also states the County has the potential to receive up to $56.7 million in cash proffers as approved residential and commercial developments are built-out. 

The new proffer money came from the rezoning of land for the Fontana subdivision on Pantops and the Patterson subdivision near Crozet, and will be mostly added to the County’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP). The County now generally receives a $17,500 cash proffer from a developer for each new housing unit approved, as well as the expectation that 15 percent of units be designated as ‘affordable.’ If a developer opts to not build affordable homes, an additional cash proffer of $2,809 per unit is expected. In the case of the Fontana 4C rezoning approved on March 19, 2008, the developer chose to pay $95,500 in lieu of constructing the affordable units.

However, the County actually collected just over $69,000 in cash during the quarter. That’s because a developer often is not required to pay up until certain conditions are met. The process by which the funds are transferred to County coffers are governed by the proffer statements signed by the developer prior to the approval of a rezoning.

Proffer money spent in the quarter mostly went to help pay for the construction of the $5.9 million Hollymead Fire Station. Funds totaling nearly $555,000 came from the rezoning of Hollymead Areas C and D, which are in the process of being built out. The rezoning that allowed for the construction of the 35-unit Wickham Pond contributed $59,000 towards the Crozet Streetscaping project, and the proffer fund for North Pointe contributed $200,000 towards the County’s affordable housing fund.

At the end of the third quarter, staff tallied up the outstanding obligations owed by developers and came up with a total of over $56.7 million, adjusted for inflation.  The biggest single category is the Biscuit Run rezoning, which carries an adjusted total of $17.9 million in cash the County can expect if that development reaches full build-out. There are also additional non-cash proffers from the Biscuit Run development including land for a park and for a school. 

The next largest cash proffer is expected to come from Hollymead Town Center Area A2, which was rezoned the same evening as Biscuit Run. In all, the County can expect $15.2 million in cash proffers in exchange for changing the Rural Area zoning to Commercial and Neighborhood Model zoning. According to the proffer statement, the developer won’t have to pay until a building permit is issued for the 151st market rate unit. However, the amount per unit will be adjusted for inflation each year.

Sean Tubbs

Top-10 Growth & Development Stories of 2007

In my weekly appearance today on WINA AM 1070 on the Charlottesville Right Now program, Coy Barefoot and I counted down Charlottesville Tomorrow's top-10 growth and development stories of 2007.

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Charlottesville Tomorrow's Top-10 Growth and Development Stories of 2007

1. County Elections 2007—Ann Mallek elected Supervisor in White Hall District
2. 4,800 new homes approved at Biscuit Run, Hollymead Town Center, and Rivanna Village
3. Wendell Wood’s projects around National Ground Intelligence Center on Route 29N get new scrutiny by media, public, and local government
4. Albemarle Supervisors set new cash proffer expectations
5. Proposed rural area protection ordinances stalemate Board of Supervisors
6. Lack of rain leads to drought warnings
7. City Planning Commission debates ethics, communications with the public and developers, impartiality, and starts holding pre-meetings off camera
8. Water and sewer infrastructure needs get increased community attention
9. City approves another nine-story downtown building and receives recommendations to limit future building heights in some areas
10. Major capital projects continue facility improvements at the University of Virginia

Brian Wheeler

Scottsville candidates face questions at forum

On October 23, 2007, the three candidates for the Scottsville District on the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors appeared at a candidate forum co-sponsored by the Free Enterprise Forum and Charlottesville Tomorrow.

Democratic incumbent Lindsay Dorrier and independent challengers Kevin Fletcher and Denny King answered ten questions on land use, transportation, and growth in the County. The candidates also answered several questions submitted by members of the audience, ranging from ground water quality, the ethics of meeting with developers privately, and the amount of time it takes per week to serve on the Board of Supervisors.

About twenty-five people attended the forum, which was held at Monticello High School. The event was co-moderated by Neil Williamson of the Free Enterprise Forum and Sean Tubbs of Charlottesville Tomorrow.

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Watch the video below:

OPENING STATEMENTS

Denny King (I)-Challenger: “When people ask me why in the world I was running for public office, I simply said that I had been so fortunate throughout my business career and I felt that it was time for me to give back to my community... At the urging of my many friends and neighbors and business associates, they had been terribly concerned about the changes that have happened over the past ten years in our County. And they were very concerned about representation... When I looked at the questions tonight, the first thing I thought about was “Why weren't some of these questions asked ten years ago?” That was the time in which these questions should have been asked. The horse is now two counties away and we're playing catch-up. We have been reactive rather than proactive...”

Kevin Fletcher (I)-Challenger: “There's been quite a bit written in the papers and different things about that I'm really not that interested in trying to get elected, because I have only raised $575 for my election, and I'd like to try to explain that in the sense that I ran for Board of Supervisors as a write-in four years ago, and I received quite a bit of support financially... When I lost, it hurt me deeply, because a great many people had not only invested their time, but they invested a lot of money... I felt that I had let them down, and that bothered me for quite some time... I'm not a politician. I do not like letting people down, so I made the determination that I'm not going to take a bunch of money... People have offered me money, but I've not spent any time at all soliciting money...”

Lindsay Dorrier (D)- Incumbent: “I'm running for Board of Supervisors because I guess I've got a genetic disposition to do so. Both of my grandfathers served on the Board of Supervisors in the 1940's and 50's. My great-grandfather served on the Board... I think it's probably the local governments where the action is, where people can get something done and you can do it yourself... I'm proud of the fact that I'm representing the Scottsville district because I draw my strength from you the people who give me ideas about ways we can improve our government. Albemarle County is going through changes now. We're seeing a lot of growth in Albemarle County, but I think we have some processes that we are applying in Albemarle County that are going to reap fruit in the near future. We've got a master planning process that we are using to plan communities... We are taking proffers from developers for infrastructure. Those amount to millions of dollars. For example, Biscuit Run project is 41 million dollars from the developer...”

Question 1: How would you assess Albemarle County’s growth management strategies? What other steps would you advocate be taken to discourage development in the rural countryside and encourage development in the growth areas?  Are the existing incentives adequate?

Lindsay Dorrier (D)-Incumbent: “I believe that the growth management strategies are beginning to work. I think that we've got a master planning process. I helped develop the strategic plan in 2001 and 2002 that's we're implementing, and that we used to redo the comprehensive plan with. The strategic plan sets the goal of development in 5% of the area of the County, which is the growth area. 95% of the County is going to remain rural. And we have implemented those strategies to deal with growth... So I think that these growth strategies will work, they are working. We've got to manage future growth by master planning... By master planning I mean we're bringing County planners into meetings and dialog with citizens of the area, so the citizens working with the County design he plan for the area of the County.... Crozet had some problems at first but we're on the right track out there and we're getting a lot of input from Crozet residents.

Denny King (I)-Challenger: “I think we've had very poor growth management strategies... And Mr. Dorrier speaks about the Master Plan. The Master Plan wasn't even in effect before the County approved 15,000 homes... I believe that the citizens have been marginalized and the developers have been catered to. The developers appear to be in charge of the County. It is my desire and my goal to give the County back to the people, once again, to hear the voices of the people. I believe the whole growth system, the whole growth plan is totally, totally out of balance. We've seen secret private meetings discussing these matters. When we go to public hearings, we see the Board of Supervisors get up and go back and have their own mini-meetings. It's simply time that we make the Supervisors, your Supervisors, accountable to their actions, to make it transparent. You deserve that, you require that, and that is your right. We speak for you, we speak for the will of the people, and I believe the will of the people simply has not been heard...”

Kevin Fletcher (I)-Challenger: “I also believe that the growth management strategies have failed in Albemarle County... Many of the development that has taken place in the County has been done without a Master Plan in place. And, the Comprehensive Plan is very clear that the Neighborhood Model of which we all work upon for our rezoning will fail, it will fail without a Master Plan in place, and that has been proven in Crozet. So much started without that, and then they finally got it going, and mistakes were made in that... We have so much going on.  We've had Biscuit Run, we've had Rivanna Village, we're going to be having the shopping centers that's going to come up soon on the other side of 64. There's not a Master Plan in place and one hasn't even begun...…As far as the rural areas, I liked what was brought before the Board I guess it was last week or two weeks ago. The Board failed to vote on it once again – deadlocked – which is sad. Even if they are deadlocked they need to vote so that your vote goes on record, where you stand as far as protecting our rural areas... Are the existing incentives adequate? Certainly they're adequate. I think there's been quite a bit of growth, and I think the incentives for people to develop in the growth areas have certainly been there. But we have failed to manage our growth because we have moved too quickly... We have failed our County.

Question 2:   How important is creating new jobs to the future of Albemarle County?  Should particular businesses be encouraged or discouraged from coming to or remaining in Albemarle County?  Who?  How?

Denny King (I)-Challenger: “I think the economic well-being and the health of any community is paramount on job creation. Unfortunately, our County has been  losing jobs at a pretty staggering rate. The creation of new jobs, I believe, should be linked to the University. We have a tremendous number of alumni from the University who have created very successful companies and corporations, and I believe that we have to work closely with the Alumni Association, with the University, to encourage some of these alumni to come back to Charlottesville and Albemarle County and bring their businesses back here.  The jobs that have been created are low paying service jobs, and once again, requiring this workforce, these employees to live a county or two counties away. Thus again, impacting the traffic problem and all of the other infrastructure, system problems that we experience every day of our lives. We must be, I believe, proactive.  I think Albemarle County has just signed on with the economic commission group
representing several neighboring counties, and the County was very reluctant to do that for a great number of years and I think that the County made a great decision in finally joining forces with the Thomas Jefferson [Partnership] for Economic [Development (TJPED)]... Because those people will go around the nation encouraging clean industry and more jobs to come to Charlottesville and Albemarle. And we're beginning to see more and more of that, with the creation of NGIC, the growth factor, we now have over 18,000 employees at the University...”

Kevin Fletcher (I)-Challenger: “I think that it is very important that we are continuing to try to create new jobs.  I think we are going to be facing a bit of a job crisis I believe coming up because of housing market is continuing to  slump…I think we will be in a bit of trouble.  I think there's going to be some people that are going to be in dire need of looking for work.  I think also one of the aspect of business is that we really need to try to push in Albemarle County is agriculture. I think that local agriculture is a very hot topic. People like local agriculture. They like the fact that something is grown local and sold local, keeps money in the economy.... And that also helps to protect our rural areas and it helps to get the people who live in our rural areas, they can live and they can work  and live, not necessarily make a fabulous living, but supplement their income... I think that we need to try to attract more technology based businesses... work with the University on that... Another part of the growing segment in our business in our County is going to be  the service industry, especially since our population is getting older... Albemarle County is very much a microcosm of America. Manufacturing is gone. Technology businesses have moved in, have done very well, they're very clean, and now the uptick in the surge in America is the service industry, and I think we need to try to pay attention to that and promote that.”

Lindsay Dorrier (D)-Incumbent:  “We need to work on creating new jobs in Albemarle County...  I have been in favor of the Board joining TJPED and the Chamber of Commerce... And the Board only reluctantly came around to that opinion last year. I think it's important that we belong to both of those  organizations because they deal with the future of the County. If we don't have a good economy in Albemarle County we're not going to be able to have a high quality of life, and we are not going to be able to do all the things that we want to do... We have a number of underemployed people in Albemarle County. We've got PhDs waiting tables and we've got a number of people who have to leave the community because they can't get jobs... I think businesses should be encouraged to come here and if they are manufacturing type businesses, we would probably discourage them from coming here.  We have lost some major industries in Albemarle County.... We need to look at the computer-type industries, the Silicon Valley type. Non-invasive, non-smoke belching industry is what we want. We want research parks. We need to work closely with the University of Virginia to bring the right businesses here and to encourage research and biomedical areas...”

Question 3: How will you deal with neighborhood opposition to rezonings in our growth areas that are in line with the goals of Albemarle’s Comprehensive plan?

Kevin Fletcher (I)-Challenger: “Once again we go back to the master plan. I think that if we utilize the master plan the way it was intended I think it would cut down on a great deal on public unhappiness with rezonings... There should even almost be a community input team. Let's say Biscuit Run... There might have been a couple people from Mill Creek, Mill Creek South, Lake Reynovia, Foxcroft. Those people all work together and they are creating, they are working within the community to come up with ideas and plans that can be presented to the Planning Commission... There is a sense that you do not get your say in this county.  The mere fact that they voted on [the Biscuit Run] rezoning at 1:00 AM, that also helps to set, the mindset, of the general public that you do not matter... That is why when you go and you walk through the neighborhoods and you try to to talk to them and they talk about growth, and they say, “You know, there's nothing you can do about it. It is hopeless. It is hopeless.” And that is something I want to try to bring to the Board...

Lindsay Dorrier (D)-Incumbent: “The way to deal with neighborhood opposition is to have the developer meet with the opponents and try to deal with their particular concerns. Also, the Supervisors should be involved in that process. I think that in the Biscuit Run situation, the developer met with citizens. He appeared before the Planning Commission and he appeared to answer every question that people had concerning that development. Now, the Planning Commission voted unanimously in favor of it, and so did the Board of Supervisors. I think that neighborhood opposition has been dealt with...
Now the process takes a little different stand and we need to make sure that the developer is doing what he said he's going to do and what's required of him by the proffers. We've got some road situations we need to work on with Biscuit Run and infrastructure. We need to make sure that everything is done correctly and it's not going to be built for five or ten or probably twenty more years, so there is some time to work on these things... Neighborhood opposition is probably going to occur with most rezonings, but if the rezoning is in the development area, that's the way the County plans to put the growth...”

Denny King (I)-Challenger: ““I think much of the neighborhood opposition today comes from the lack of disclosure by the County. The whole plan is inherently imbalanced. There have been so many residents who have moved here and had no idea they were moving into an area or a neighborhood that someday could become another Northern Virginia… I believe once again in being upfront with the citizens. We have that responsibility as Supervisors... We have to make those disclosures up front and not on the back end... Because the County and the developers have not been forthcoming about plans, residents feel like they have been duped, they have been cheated, they have not been treated honestly... I have had nearly 3,000 responses [to surveys on my website] and inherently all of those surveys that have come back have said they feel that they have not been represented the way they feel they should have been represented... As I travel around the neighborhoods, I see this apathy and it is sad...

Question 4: Albemarle County has dedicated $2 million towards priority transportation projects. With the state unable to fund critical road projects, what do you see as the responsibility of local government bodies to fund road projects? 

Lindsay Dorrier (D)-Incumbent: “The state government has opted out of funding our local roads and the federal government has stopped funding anything other than an interstate... So we've got no choice but to have the locality try to fund the road projects. What type of funding is the big question. We all know we need to improve the roads... , the question is how we are going to pay for it? I still  think we can get more from state if we can put some pressure on our delegates and our senators and get the government to commit to building roads in Albemarle County, but we are probably going to have to take care of a lot of this ourselves... Albemarle County enjoys a AAA bond rating…with that good bond rating we ought to be able to issue some transportation bonds that will produced enough funds to do some serious building of local roads and improvement of local roads in our area.... I think the local government bodies are going to have to work with the City, the University, and going to have to work with private businesses to fund roads... Some people have proposed a gasoline tax, I'm a little hesitant to do that because but I don’t think we need another tax... I think a bond is something that is concrete and citizens can vote on the bonds...”

Denny King (I)-Challenger: “Currently, I believe it is the responsibility for the state to fund local road projects.  But we have to remember  we live in a Dillon Rule state... I don’t think the Dillon Rule has been challenged aggressively enough... We have to go twist some arms. We have to go to Richmond.  I see all of this earmark stuff coming out of our nation's capitol with our Senators and Congressman. It's deplorable! And we can't get out roads fixed? We need somebody who is willing to go there and fight hard... This funding should not be placed on you as an additional burden… I think the Board of Supervisors missed an incredible opportunity when they approved Biscuit Run and the Rivanna Village in Glenmore, and the Board did not hold out for the necessary road proffers... Those were millions and millions of dollars and they folded under to the pressures of the developers...   If we're going to fund these roads ourselves, which I don't perceive happening and I don't want this to happen, but I have to agree.. Someone mentioned to me a SPLAT Tax... it's by referendum, and it's adding 1% to our sales tax for a period of five years, but we have to know where that revenue is going to be spent...”

Kevin Fletcher (I)-Challenger: “Many people had gone to the state and had fought for the ability to have an impact fee to pay for roads, and the Board has failed to use that tool... I hate the fact that it looks like one of the best ways to have to pay for our roads is through a bond referendum. That's basically the County going into debt. When we have had an incredible increase in County revenues over the past eight years, our County revenue has increased by $144 million dollars, and the fact that we have set aside $2 million dollars for roads is unconscionable. Where does all of our money go to?... We never set the money aside. We never are planning. We are never thinking forward...

Question 5: Albemarle County has expectations for the development community to build or pay for affordable housing.  Do you agree with that approach?  How do you believe the County should address the need for not just affordable housing, but also workforce housing?

Denny King (I)-Challenger: “Sadly I don't think the affordable housing is a concept that's going to work in Albemarle County without the help of the University. Currently there are only about 40 percent of the students that are housed on Grounds, and the rest live in condos and apartments. Because those apartments reflect the market price, whatever the market will bear... most of these University students can afford to pay more for their housing than our average work force person. I believe until the university houses most of its own, we’re going to have this problem of affordable housing. It's not going to happen with forcing developers to build 15% of the dwellings and earmark those as affordable housing units and when they're not sold within 90 days, they go back on the market at fair market value... We love all the amenities that the University has provided to the community over the years, but I believe they have to really start looking again at housing their own. I don't believe that there's been any new student housing built for years...

Kevin Fletcher (I)-Challenger: “I do believe that it’s the responsibility of the people who are developing the county to try to provide affordable housing... We have had over 700 affordable houses proffered in Albemarle County, and none have been built yet because the Board was never forward thinking enough to think of phasing, in which you are required, let's say you build the first ten percent of your houses and of that first ten percent, a certain number have to be affordable housing. That concept never came up until Biscuit Run... We move so quickly in our re-zoning that before we realized that actually there was a problem with our affordable housing program, we had already approved 10,000 houses before we realized, wait a minute, there's a flaw in our system... [the 90 day housing clause] was something that was inserted between the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors for Old Trail... Basically, what that means is that you can hold back all of your affordable housing until the very last moment. If you have 1,000 houses, you can hold back 150 houses and then release all 150 houses. Whatever those 150 houses that do not sell within 90 days, can be sold for whatever the developer wants to sell them for… It is now  boiler plate in all re-zonings... It's a crime, it really is... I like the idea, there's a new idea that's come up, as far as a Land [Trust], in which you buy some houses... and they are sold at a low rate, and they continue to stay on the market  at a low rate... It has not really been done yet in this state, but I like the idea, but I think that affordable housing should be dispersed throughout the neighborhoods...”

Lindsay Dorrier (D)-Incumbent: “I’m in favor of working with the developers and the banks to come up with a trust fund, like they have in North Carolina, that has money which is used for affordable housing… In the County we have decided that at least 15%, 14% of the homes will be affordable housing... I think that the development community is just going to pass on the cost to the people who buy the houses and if it costs more than they project, then there's a problem there... We need to work on affordable housing because the service workers in the County are moving to Buckingham, Fluvanna, other places to get away from the high cost of living in Albemarle. We've got an affordable housing task force that's being sponsored by the County and we also have a church group, a 25 member Church group called IMPACT that also has an affordable housing group. We’re looking forward to getting their recommendations…”

Question 6: “The Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission have both had work sessions on the, transportation elements of the Places29 Master Plan.  Will you support Berkmar Drive Extended from the Sam’s Club to Hollymead Town Center and grade separation on Route 29 as major components of that plan?  Why or why not?”

Kevin Fletcher (I)-Challenger: “I do support the bridge, but it all comes down to the situation of how are you going to pay for this bridge? I think that Wendell Wood has said he will pay for it, for 31 million dollars. But I guess you know, you’re playing with the devil there and you got to determine as to exactly is he going to want?... Perhaps maybe he might like to expand the growth area...  I would even support a bridge even for the extension of the Meadowcreek Parkway… I really don’t think that I support the, I guess I call it an overpass on 29. I think the cost of that is going to be quite high, and I think that once you take that other traffic off, you create much more of a thoroughfare for people who are going from the northern part of the County straight down to the University...”

Lindsay Dorrier (D)-Incumbent: “I think the studies have shown that about 70-80% of the traffic on that 29 section of road is local traffic. I think that we need to support a new bridge over the Rivanna, and we need to support Berkmar Extended from Sam’s Club to Hollymead Town Center. We need to get as much out of the developers as we can for that road. Whether or not it should be grade-separated or not, I don't believe I'm in favor of that...
29 North is probably never going to be the perfect place for biking or walking, but I think we can make it better than it is now. We definitely need to work on making it safe... Finding the money to pay for these projects is always going to be a problem...That's where the Board of Supervisors is going to come up with a plan to improve a number of roads in the urban area, urban ring, and that could include 29 North...”

Denny King (I)-Challenger: “If Wendell Wood spends $31million on a bridge over a river, you can be assured that the land north of the river will be re-named and reclaimed “Wood County...” I do support the extension of Berkmar, and I simply feel that grade-separation right now, and grade and elevation changes now are totally, totally unaffordable to the County. I just read recently that pedestrian accidents are on the increase on 29... I do support the creation of a  pedestrian overpass, especially with the creation of Places29, the growth area further out on 29 North around the Hollymead Town Center. I believe that we're going to have to take some very creative approaches to moving traffic, to improving the traffic flow in these areas, and I believe it can be done for tens of thousands rather rather than tens of millions…”

Question 7: Do you support a limited access bypass for Route 29 around northern Charlottesville and, if so, where would that be located?

Lindsay Dorrier (D)-Incumbent: “One time there was a recommendation for a western bypass, but the Board didn’t support that for a number of years... It's in too close to be workable. It looks like I would support a bypass around Route 29, around northern Charlottesville. I guess I would probably favor it running from Airport Road to Route 64 on the eastern side....That would probably be less expensive than it would be to try to build it on the western side of 29. But we do need some bypass for Route 29... Warrenton has a bypass, Lynchburg has a bypass, Danville has a bypass, and eventually Charlottesville is going to have to have a bypass....Once again, paying for this is going to be problematic and I don’t have any answer for that… We need to make darn sure we put it in the right place and we know what we're doing... We're still talking about Meadowcreek Parkway and it's been thirty years we've been talking about it, and I don’t expect we’ll have any bypass for Route 29 in the near future...”

Denny King (I)-Challenger: “I disagree... I believe the bypass should run from out near the airport west, towards Crozet, and have the access on Earlysville Road and Garth Roads and intersect at 250, east of the 240-250 intersection, and then continue southward down 29 near Plank road... To even consider building the Meadowcreek Parkway today I think would be totally ludicrous. It's antiquated. Why, why attempt to spend that money today when the results won't be would they have been had it been built when it was originally talked about?... We have to let infrastructure guide growth...I would love to see a bypass. I think all of us would love to see a bypass... But how many of us in this room would be able to enjoy the 29 bypass when it’s completed 35 years from today?

Kevin Fletcher (I)-Challenger: “I think it’s interesting that the Attorney General recently came down with a ruling that was brought up by a delegate from Lynchburg that says Charlottesville owes the state something like $45 million if they do not move forward on this plan that has been sitting idle for a number of years... I would not support it just because I do not believe it's ever going to happen. I think by using the bridge network we just discussed before I think we do an adequate job of moving quickly down 29…”

Question 8: The county’s water and sewer infrastructure will need upgrades and expansion. How do you propose to fund our water and sewer  infrastructure and over what time frame?.   What changes, if any, would you make to the boards of the Rivanna Water & Sewer Authority or the Albemarle County Service Authority?

Denny King (I)-Challenger: “I attended yesterday the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority board meeting and I learned a great deal. Indeed we do have antiquated infrastructure, some of which is a 100 or a 100 plus years old. Infrastructure has to be the engine for growth. I believe a lot of developers are getting off scot-free, and we simply have to be more forceful and we have to make sure that if there are developments, these issues must be addressed. It's going to be very costly. Should the users be forced to pay for this? You know, we have 100 percent water increase ready to go at any given time. It's already approved. All they have to do is say it's in place. When the RWSA pays for the 50 year water plan, some of those costs will certainly be passed along in the rates charged to the [Albemarle County Service Authority] and I find this very interesting, too. We have one entity in our county wholesaling our water to our retailer. I find this very strange... I think we should find a way to make these one. Why have all these various levels, and I think when you have those multiple layers and levels of decision making, I think we’re asking for problems...”

Kevin Fletcher (I)-Challenger: “Certainly, our water and sewage is going to need upgrades. I think that we are still waiting for the report from Rivanna Water and Sewer as to exactly what upgrades need to be made... We continue to rezone without this information... As far as how we're going to pay for it. It's going to come down to, I think it was the head of the Rivanna Water and Sewer, on the board there, said basically it all depends on how bad the citizens want it, and how much they're willing to pay... I think that once again, as far as proffers go, we have missed the boat as far as trying to pass this cost on to developers... A great deal of concern to me was the Biscuit Run development, that the park was a wonderful thing, when they donated the park. But if you read that carefully, by accepting that proffer for the park, the county is now responsible for paying for the new [water] trunk line that will have to go into that development...I think also another way we’re going to have to look for paying this is going to have to be a bond referendum. I'm sorry to say that it seems like, we have such a good credit rating and we’re going into debt. Basically, we've made so much money over the past eight years in our revenue, and we have squandered it.... Once again, when you look at how much money has been set aside for our water problem, for paying for our water, $2 million dollars. This is a problem that we have known was coming along for quite some time....

Lindsay Dorrier (D)-Incumbent: “The water and sewer infrastructure is critical to the system. To make it work, you have to fix the infrastructure. The question is, how is it done, and who pays for it? For new development, proffers have to be put on there that are adequate, make the developer pay for it. We need to shore up that system and make sure it's working properly. If this old infrastructure that’s located in the county, it’s going to be located in that 5% of the county that's in the growth area. We need to determine it may have to be a sharing of the cost, and there may have to be a bond issue dealing with the cost of that infrastructure. Many of these developments were built before we really had a good planning staff and before we were requiring the developers to pass on, to pay for the items for the customers they had. Now we’re taking a harder approach, a more cost effective approach to collecting the money from the developers and having them pay for infrastructure. So we're playing catch-up to a certain extent because of our past policies, before I got into the Board in the 80's, 90's, 70's, and the question is, what will be the total cost? We need to work on making the Boards of the [RWSA] and [ACSA] more responsive to the needs of the people and the needs of the Supervisors... I think that with water in such a shortage now throughout the country, we need to work on coming up with a single water authority that is responsive to the public will...”

Question 9: Does County government have the appropriate resources, financial and personnel, to achieve the objectives in our comprehensive plan?

Kevin Fletcher (I)-Challenger: “They should have the money, but obviously they don’t, because we have to keep talking about bond referendums... The money was there and it’s been set aside for other things… I think an interesting fact that someone brought up when I was at the night of the public hearing for Biscuit Run that, I'll just call them the white collar version of county government, people who are staff, secretaries, assistants to assistants, and things of that nature, has grown by 15% on average every year I think he said for the past 8 years. We’re building an incredible group of people who are paper-shufflers...

Lindsay Dorrier (D)-Incumbent: “I believe we do. We need to pay close attention to the comprehensive plan...It’s really just a guide, a guide to the future of Albemarle County…  Our objectives are to funnel growth into the growth area and to preserve our rural areas… We need to look at more joint endeavors with the City and see if we can save some money by combining services... “

Denny King (I)-Challenger: “The county does not have the appropriate financial resources to achieve its objectives, whether its the comprehensive or the strategic plans... I believe that the county has certainly not allocated the appropriate personnel resources to achieve the necessary objectives in the current plans... And at this point, expending any resources on the county’s current comprehensive plan in my feeling would be a total waste of money... I want to know what we get for the revenue sharing with the City of Charlottesville... I believe that we pay them $14 of $15 million dollars annually...”

Question 10: The Board of Supervisors has recently endorsed the concept of prioritizing areas for new development and community infrastructure within our growth areas. Do you think this prioritization is a good idea? Why or why not?

Lindsay Dorrier (D)-Incumbent: “I guess I don’t think it’s a good idea because I think prioritizing within the growth area is getting into the private marketplace and determining who goes ahead of somebody else. It seems to me we need to come up with a comprehensive plan for the whole growth area that integrates sewer and water and roads into that area...”

Denny King (I)-Challenger: “Prioritization should have been part of the implementation formula from day one. Prioritization is a good idea because the infrastructure cannot be provided in a scattered, disjointed function. With these 15 or 16 thousand housing units already approved, and no phasing requirements, and inadequate proffers, the ship has already clearly sailed...”

Kevin Fletcher (I)-Challenger: “I would have to agree with Denny.... To me, prioritizing is just another name for Master Planning, and that is something that we failed to do. Prioritizing is planning for the infrastructure and I think that it's interesting, as Mr. Dorrier rattles off all our master plans... Once again, here we are in Scottsville district and we have nothing... We are open season for quite some time from Biscuit Run, to Rivanna Village, to coming up, the Leake properties and things of that nature...”

Audience Question #1: If the county’s water well monitoring results suggest that new wells can impact a neighboring property, will you be willing to tighten the county’s well ground water ordinance to make well water availability a reason to deny new development?

Denny King (I)-Challenger: “Yes. I believe that water is the single most important factor in the sustainability of our quality of life...”

Kevin Fletcher (I)-Challenger: “Yes, of course... If something that is going on on a neighboring property is impacting the quality of life of someone else, then certainly, you have to tighten that up because all water is ground-water, even if it’s captured, at some point in time it’s coming from up Sugar Hollow, coming up out of a spring, somewhere...”

Lindsay Dorrier (D)-Incumbent: “I agree with both of the other speakers... We need water and we need to make sure that it’s properly licensed before a building permit is issued, that you have to have a water well line that works. So I’m in favor of ensuring that our new development does not take other people’s water and does not impact neighboring areas...”

Audience Question 2: Will you pledge not to participate in private two-by-two meetings with members of the Board of Supervisors to discuss public matters in order to avoid the public meeting regulations?

Kevin Fletcher (I)-Challenger: “Yes.”

Lindsay Dorrier (D)-Incumbent: “As a practical matter, the process would grind to a halt. The Supervisors need to meet with people who are bringing new projects to Albemarle County. If you're saying we can't meet with those people, then that would be cutting out some important meetings. You need to know exactly what’s going on in your district... It’s rare that two supervisors meet with an applicant. So I think that process would be controllable, but three people can't meet because it would be a meeting, it would classify itself as a meeting. But two people and an applicant, I would say there are going to be times when it's necessary to do that, but infrequent.”

Denny King (I)-Challenger: “Mr Dorrier, that’s certainly not been my observation...  It’s about accountability and it's about transparency and it’s due time that all supervisors are accountable and totally transparent and begin working with integrity. I have seen these little two-by-two meetings and I know they take place. And I know that more than one supervisor will meet with an applicant at the same time. And I vow to you that that will not happen on my watch.”

Audience question 3: Everyone agrees that affordable housing is in short supply in Albemarle County. For county residents making less than $20,000 a year, the shortage of affordable rentals is what it important. What portion of the funding that the county sets aside to solve the affordable housing crisis should be dedicated to affordable rentals?

Lindsay Dorrier (D)-Incumbent: “That's a critical area.  I think I believe 20% of the people in the Charlottesville-Albemarle area are below the poverty level... We need to deal that problem...  I don’t know whether affordable housing funds should be used for the rentals for these people, but we need to address that problem. I think the IMPACT group, the church group, is looking into solving that
very specific problem... I don't have the answers right now, because we don't have a community trust fund set up for affordable housing. That would be the first step. And perhaps we could use some of that money for payment  of rent for low income housing....”

Denny King (I)-Challenger: “Certainly in the Scottsville magisterial district I see tremendous pockets of wealth, and on the flip side of that coin I see many, many many of my constituency living at or below the poverty level... I also attended that IMPACT meeting last week and I listened intently to those assembled 25 or 30 congregations who were going to solve the affordable housing problem. And I salute them for addressing this issue. But I don’t envision them going out into the county with hammers and nails and saws and boards and building houses. I believe that they’re going to come to us... and say, okay guys, we want you to fix it. And I salute their efforts. I know they mean good. But come to us with a plan. Don't say we just need affordable housing. Help us. Help us. Come with us. Come with a plan....

Kevin Fletcher (I)-Challenger: I believe 100% of the assisted living, that type of rental units that they're talking about, is all located within the city. We have none in the county. That's an important aspect that I think we need to work with the City a great deal and try to work with them. They’re very knowledgeable in the subject... I think by creating a partnership with the City we can also get a similar type of assisted housing...”

Audience question 4: How should the rural areas pay for their protection, and what is your position on land-use taxation?

Denny King (I)-Challenger: “I believe that the current comprehensive plan is totally outdated. It simply doesn't work. I think we have to make some major, major changes...I believe that land-use taxation, when it's used honestly, is a wonderful thing especially for the farmer, that person that’s totally deserving. But I have also seen in the 15 or 16 years I’ve lived here seen an abundance of faux-farms. Many many acres of white four-board fencing,  that I don't see a cow or a crop on, yet I know those people are receiving land-use taxation... Look at the amount of revenue that this county is losing by not properly policing this...

Kevin Fletcher (I)-Challenger: “I approve of the land-use tax credit as long as you’re farming, as long as you're doing something. We need to create some sort of paper trail... Something that the tax assessor can follow up on... There are people who abuse it... As far as how they should pay? Certainly we would propose some of the things that were not voted on this past two weeks ago to try to help to preserve our rural areas...”

Lindsay Dorrier (D)-Incumbent: “If you talk to people in the Farm Bureau, they will tell you that they can’t farm without the land-use taxation... The true farmers are the ones that really need this. I guess there are some abuses of it... I've seen the roll-back work and require the previous owner pay the past five years of taxes at the regular rate, so that's some small help. If there are abuses, let's root them out and be done with them, but I don't think you throw out the land-use taxation.

Audience question 5: “How much time per week do you believe is necessary to do a proper job as Supervisor, and what unique skills do you bring to the job?

Kevin Fletcher (I)-Challenger: “I think I bring unique skills as far as my knowledge in the rural areas... I have farmed, I make my business in the rural areas...I think that I bring that unique aspect to the Board... I often like to say that I am a man of the people, for the people, in the sense that I own property in Albemarle County. I know how you have to set your money aside to pay your tax bill.. As far as time, it's been brought to me that it should take 60 hours a week to be on the Board of Supervisors.. I disagree with that... I think that if you donated, I'll say, 16 hours a week. That may seem low, but if you are efficient that should be enough

Lindsay Dorrier (D)-Incumbent: “I’ve been doing this job now for about 11 years, and I guess I spend an average of 30 hours a week on the job. You often go past midnight. It’s not an easy job. It's not an easy calling but I think it is a calling and it’s a very important calling. I believe that I bring to the Board certain characteristics. I don’t tend to come in with a pre-conceived notion about something. I learned in the law that you need to look at the facts and follow the facts where they take you. Not to come up with a solution before you know what the problem is... I think everything can be solved because I’m an optimist and since I was born and raised here I think I know the pulse of the community and I think that makes me unique for this job.”

Denny King (I)-Challenger: “I think the record will show my high degree of respect for the man on my right [Mr. Dorrier]. With that said, I believe that change is absolutely necessary. I believe that there needs to be new energy, new ideas, and a tremendous amount of work. And I'm willing to accept that task... I've worked hard for nearly 35 years in the corporate world and have enjoyed success. And I believe that that experience in the corporate world has prepared me for these challenges... I have spoken to the other Supervisors, and I know that it requires far more than that. I know the number of committees that they sit on and chair. I’m ready for that task. I’m ready and willing and able to work hard and fight hard for the citizens of Albemarle County. And I believe that I am prepared to join the Board of Supervisors because of my business experience... And when you realize that Albemarle County is a business, it is a $350 million dollar a year plus business, and it has to be operated accordingly. I encourage you to think about those issues and the necessary efforts that it’s going to require...”

CLOSING STATEMENTS

Lindsay Dorrier (D)-Incumbent: “I think I can do the job in Albemarle County to run this $350 million business. In the year 2001 and 2002 I brought strategic planning to the Board of Supervisors. Before that time we really hadn't had a strategic plan for the County. Now we have a strategic plan for not only the Board of Supervisors but we have a strategic plan for the school board... If we plan strategically for everything we do in the County, we’ll have the money to pay for it and we will look down the road for ten to twenty years. We’re going to a new five year spending plan. We're going from one year to five years, so we're trying to take the long view... I work with the other Supervisors and I think we've got a good working relationship. You can’t do anything on the Board of Supervisors alone. You don't get anything without three other votes. You have to be able to persuade three of your colleagues to come along with you. The off-the-wall ideas may be appealing but they won’t go anywhere if you can't get three other votes. I think I can come up with the solutions for affordable housing, the infrastructure, roads, and the problems that we have in general. I think I can forge a compromise and come up with solutions to these problems... It's no accident that we live in the best place in America to live. It's no accident. It's a result of a lot of hard work from a lot of people...”

Kevin Fletcher (I)-Challenger: “...Albemarle County is no longer the best place to live in America anymore, it's now 17 and falling rapidly, I would have to say... My thought is that we have a problem with affordable housing... The opportunity has been there to take care of these problems. We've had our other meetings, in which all the people who are running for the Board are speaking, all of them talk about how we could do a better job, we could do a better job, and I think that they have had their opportunity, and I think I could do a better job. I think that one of the things it takes is resolve, and that we need to make decisions. And that is something I think we need to press for. That we need to make a decision and act on it. When we have these continued deadlocks, especially when it comes to the rural areas... that is not compromising or working together. That is just a constant stalemate. As far people in the growth areas. You deserve the same quality of life as the people who live in the rural areas. To me there is no sacrificing the growth area to preserve the rural area. Everybody deserves a quality of life that is often promised in Albemarle County.”

Denny King (I)-Challenger: “We’ve all heard a lot of talk tonight from all three of us. I believe that change is not only healthy, but I think it's absolutely imperative for an effective and ethical government. And I think you have to have that change to ensure that effectiveness and the ethicalness of government. No matter whether it's local, state, or federal. We have to have change. That’s why we have elections. To give the voters a chance. To make a decision on whether their leaders have led well or not so well. And you will have that choice to make, two weeks from today. On  November 6 ... You have heard. You have engaged. You have made the effort to learn about each and every one of us up here. And I believe that we all offer certain values. I believe that we all have good ideas and I believe that we all have good intentions. But I think you must ask yourselves when you go to the voting booth... who would you like to represent your interest?  And there are many, many many challenges that I know I’m going to face... I vow to work hard and I have that ability. I have a work ethic and I’m ready to meet those challenges and I'm ready to meet the tasks at hand. And I ask for your confidence, and your votes of confidence two weeks from today.  Thank you.”

TIMELINE FOR PODCAST
1:19 – Introduction and ground rules from Neil Williamson of the Free Enterprise Forum
3:30 – Opening statement from Denny King (I)
5:50 – Opening statement from Kevin Fletcher (I)
7:27 – Opening statement from Lindsey Dorrier (D)
9:38 – Question 1
16:41 – Question 2
24:44 – Question 3
32:50 – Question 4
41:48 – Question 5
49:33 – Question 6
56:00 – Question 7
1:02:24 – Question 8
1:10:50 – Question 9
1:16:52 – Question 10
1:21:06 – Audience question 1
1:24:14 – Audience question 2
1:26:47 – Audience question 3
1:31:09 – Audience question 4
1:37:55 – Audience question 5
1:44:11 - Closing statement from Lindsey Dorrier (D) – Incumbent
1:46:50 – Closing statement from Kevin Fletcher (I) – Challenger
1:48:49 – Closing statement from Denny King (I) – Challenger

Sean Tubbs & Kendall Singleton

Rivanna District Candidates Forum

On October 17, 2007, the two candidates for the Rivanna District on the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors appeared at a candidates forum sponsored by the Free Enterprise Forum and Charlottesville Tomorrow.

Republican incumbent Ken Boyd and Democratic challenger Marcia Joseph answered ten questions on land use, transportation, and growth in the County. The candidates  also answered several questions submitted by members of the audience. About fifty people attended the forum, which was held at Baker-Butler Elementary School on Proffit Road. The event was co-moderated by Neil Williamson of the Free Enterprise Forum and Sean Tubbs of Charlottesville Tomorrow.

Podcast produced by Charlottesville Tomorrow * Player by Odeo

Listen using player above or download the podcast:  Download 20071017-Rivanna-Forum.mp3

Watch the video below:

OPENING STATEMENTS

Ken Boyd (R): “I'm a 26-year resident of the County. I'm married and I have four children, all of whom were educated in the public schools here. I spent 23 years as a professional in the banking business before starting my own financial planning company 16 years ago, and that's what I do today, I'm a financial planner. Because I was very interested in my kids and their schools, I have a real passion for education, so in 1999, I decided to run for the School Board. I ran, was elected, and served four years as the School Board representative from this area... After that, my youngest son had graduated from Monticello High School, and he had moved  on to JMU, and I didn't have any more kids left in school, so I decided to move up to the Board of Supervisors and ran for that in 2003, and have served, this is my fourth year. I'm currently the Chair of the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors. There's really a number of things that we've accomplished in the last four years... I'm going to touch on just a couple of them... One is in water, and I know it seems to you like it does to me that nothing has been done about our water situation since the 2002 drought, but the Board of Supervisors and the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority have been actively working to put together a 50-year plan, and we're about a month or two away from getting that approved. I'm real happy with that. I was particularly pleased that I was able to work with Dave Brown, the Mayor of Charlottesville, and he and I went to Washington and got the money for the completion of the Meadowcreek Parkway, and if you've been reading the paper, we're actually going to get that road built here in the next year, I think we'll put it out for bids... Lastly, I think that one of the things I'm really happy about that's just come out recently is, you know, we weren't able in either the Planning Commission or the Board of Supervisors to approve the first SOCA location for their complex, but I've been working closely with them ever since, and we've now come up with an alternative location which we feel will work for both them and us, and we're really excited about that.”

Marcia Joseph (D): “I'm the current chair of the Albemarle County Planning Commission. I'm a 23-year resident. I do also have children who graduated from Albemarle High School, and thanks to Mark Curry, our chemistry teacher at Albemarle High School, are now chemists, so I'm very proud of them. There's a lot of things that have gone on in my life in Albemarle County, and I've done a lot of public service, I've worked for 12 years either on one board or another commission. I've been on the Architectural Review Board, I've been chair of that, I've been on the Ag-Forest District Committee, and I've also served on the Acquisition of Conservation Easements Committee. All of these very important issues to me. I think that it's extremely important for us to have transparency in government, which is exactly what I plan on doing. I think it's important to have all kinds of communication go on between Rivanna, between the Albemarle County Service Authority, between the City and the County. I work currently with, and have friends in, City government and Rivanna. I think it's not just the fact that they're friends, but the important aspect that I feel that we've been lacking is communication. I think that's extremely important. I think that it's time that we started looking at how we develop in this County, and make sure that anything that comes down the pike is not what we develop, or is not what we approve, but we only approve things in this County that improve the conditions for the existing residents of Albemarle County. I think that we've found that our infrastructure now is failing, and needs help, and now its time to pay the piper and we're going to have to figure out how we're going to do this. So, that's why I'm running.

Question 1: How would you assess Albemarle County’s growth management strategies? What other steps would you advocate be taken to discourage development in the rural countryside and encourage development in the growth areas?  Are the existing incentives adequate?

Marcia Joseph (D): “I think that what we've done is we've managed to definitely encourage growth. We've got over 1400 residential units that have been created, and just in our neck of the woods, along 29 corridor, we've got over a million square feet of retail space that's been approved, which according     to our latest Comprehensive Plan, is a whole lot more than we're going to need by the year 2015. So, I don't think we've done a real good job in measuring how much we're putting into different areas. We also have not really done a good job with discouraging growth in the rural areas. We've had several     items that have come before the Board of Supervisors in the last few years that would just slow down growth, just slow it down a little bit. One was phasing, and that would not allow so many units, so many lots to be created in a year, and the other night had to do with critical slopes, family division, and stream buffers. And those were very benign things, and were just not approved by the Board, and I think it's really important that those sorts of small steps be taken so that we can discourage a lot of growth in our rural areas because that really helps create the character of our rural areas, and the character of Albemare County as a whole.”

Ken Boyd (R): “First of all, I want to comment on the rather benign ordinance changes that we put before the Board of Supervisors the other night because we had over a hundred speakers come out that spoke until 1:00, til 12:30 in the morning, that didn't feel like they were very benign changes... The Board of Supervisors did not, did not vote those down. They felt they just needed more work, and so that's what we're going to do with these, we're going to  have some more work done, try and get more people to buy into it. Now, I have here, I think that our growth management activities are working. I have here, the spring 2006 Clarion, which is put out by the Piedmont Environment Council, and it says, Albemarle landowners set conservation record, and it goes on to talk about how in 2005, we put 10,500 acres into conservation easements, and that brought up the total acreage to around 60,000, and this kind of lauds what we're doing. I know that there's a lot of perception being put out there, but I like to deal in real numbers. I'm a numbers type guy, I'm a financial type person, so, what I did was I went back and I got the building report, the latest building report for the 2nd quarter of this year. And if you compare it to a similar building report in 2004, 46% of the new housing starts... was in the rural area. In 2007, through the second quarter... it's 16%... These issues are beginning to work and beginning to take hold now. It's very soon in the process, and I'd be the first to admit that it's early on to be declaring that we've really shut down all the level of growth we want in the rural areas...”

Question 2:   How important is creating new jobs to the future of Albemarle County?  Should particular businesses be encouraged or discouraged from coming to or remaining in Albemarle County?  Who?  How?

Ken Boyd (R):  “This was an issue on jobs that I ran on 4 years ago, because we were coming off of the year in 2003, a period of time when we had a number of closings of manufacturing jobs. ConAgra, Comdial, Technicolor... We constantly need to be trying to promote job growth in this community... I think we can all agree that what we want are good clean industries here.... Biotech would be an excellent thing for us... I was part of the people on the Board who promoted us joining the [Thomas Jefferson] Partnership for Economic Development and the Chamber of Commerce, and the reason for this is that those people thinking about bringing jobs to our area were concerned with the fact that when they were talking to the University of Virginia, when they were talking to the Partnership, that the County of Albemarle wasn't there... In addition to that, we've also set up a $250,000 jobs opportunity fund, which we haven't had to use yet, but I certainly hope that we have some opportunity come up that we can use those funds for job training or for other things that might attract jobs to our areas.

Marcia Joseph (D): “We have an unemployment rate that is 2.7%, around 3%... I think what I hear     more from people is not so much that we need jobs here, but we need some jobs that are higher pay and     better quality and that goes hand in hand also with affordable housing... We have some really good     resources in town, people who have made some home-grown businesses: MusicToday, SNL Securities,     Biotage, Crutchfield. There's a bunch of people who have stayed right here and made some money, and     created some businesses. What I'd like to do is talk to these folks... and find out what is it about     Albemarle County that made you do this, how can we make it easier for you, and how can we create     some jobs here? I'm not so sure that it's important that we attract all kinds of things, though Albemarle     County has never turned down anything to my knowledge...

Question 3: How will you deal with neighborhood opposition to rezonings in our growth areas that are in line with the goals of Albemarle’s Comprehensive plan?

Marcia Joseph (D): “I've really had some real interesting experiences while being on the Planning Commission, and one of them is that normally we have neighbors come in, and they're really concerned  and they speak to the developers and they say why these things shouldn't happen, but recently in the last couple of years we've actually had some developers come in because something has come that wants to happen, some rezoning next to their properties, so I'm finding it kind of comical that we have this sort of thing happen, because it's human nature. People don’t like change.  People don't like the fact that what their expectations are, this piece of property was going to stay the same, it makes it difficult. Our comprehensive plan is our plan.  It helps guide us with growth, if growth is necessary in any particular area... I think it's important to listen to people.  They're the people who live in that neighborhood. I listen to those developers that came in and complained, just as much as I listen to any other neighbor that comes in, and talks about and explains to me how this will have an effect on their property.... I think it's important that we also look at our Comprehensive Plan and look at the Community as a whole... there's some sort of middle ground that we have to come to when we're doing something like that...

Ken Boyd (R): “I am on record saying... that  I will do everything possible as a Board of Supervisor representative to preserve our existing neighborhoods, even if that means going against issues that are in the comprehensive plan.  I personally don't believe that we should do things like put connector roads through existing neighborhoods where the existing roads are not set up to handle that...I think an example of that is the stand that I took on  Ashwood Boulevard, which I did not want to connect to Polo Grounds Road, and we heard from over 800 residents in the Forest Lakes area saying they were opposed to that particular road... We've now got that taken off of the plan for Places29.... I much prefer the alternative of taking the new neighborhoods and putting parallel roads through them if we need to do it...If we build a neighborhood with the idea that they're going to have a road that is a commuter road that's taking people through their neighborhood... then at least they bought their house knowing what's going on...”

Question 4: Albemarle County has dedicated $2 million towards priority transportation projects. With the state unable to fund critical road projects, what do you see as the responsibility of local government bodies to fund road projects? 

Ken Boyd (R): “I guess since I am the Supervisor who originally promoted the idea of putting more money into transportation, that I would have to say that I think that, unfortunately, we have to step up. We have to step up here locally because we have transportation problems that are not being dealt with by the state so we have no alternative but to put money into our own transportation... One of the things that we've done is we've recently put a proffer policy, where we are going to get from developers money up front for every house that's built that will go into paying for infrastructure costs, things like schools and roads and transportation...There's something we have to be very careful about. In my opinion, VDOT or let's just say the state, would very much like to turn over road-building to the counties, and road-maintenance to the counties. We can't do that. We can't put that kind of burden on property taxes... They have been giving us less money and we get less money today than we got ten years ago...One of the things you'll probably see next year from the Board of Supervisors is a proposal for a bond issue so that we can go ahead. We've been paying as you go for most of the time that we've been funding infrastructure in this area, and we can't keep up with the inflated cost of it...

Marcia Joseph (D): “I think our responsibility is to find out what our  priorities are... If we're going to do bond referendums and we're going to do general obligations, we'd better find out from people if this is what they want to happen, or if these are the improvements that they want to happen at this point in time.  I do think there are some important things. We do hear a lot about traffic and we're going to have to do something about it. There are other ways we need to look at this, too. If it's traffic related, maybe we can still looking at other modes of transportation. Maybe we need to think about doing somethings a little creatively, like using transit, and trying to figure out some ways that we can really get people to use mass transit... Maybe we need to talk about other forms of transportation like bicycles...  What's the best way to spend our money? If we're going to go out and we're going to ask some financial institution to lend us some money, what do we want to spend it on? So I think we really need to start talking about those things. I think this is an opportunity for us to become a very unique community... It is not just roadways.  I think we need to think about other means of transportation, and how we might handle that... I do think we may have to borrow some money, but I would certainly make a point of coming to the community and making sure that's exactly what they wanted to happen.”

Question 5: Albemarle County has expectations for the development community to build or pay for affordable housing.  Do you agree with that approach?  How do you believe the County should address the need for not just affordable housing, but also workforce housing?

Marcia Joseph (D): “I have worked with Habitat for Humanity, and so I know what goes on in some of the lower realms, you know, 50% of median income.  Affordable housing in our community is defined as 80% of median income. I think that this is an absolutely wonderful opportunity for us to do public-private partnerships... There's a group out there that's talking about community land trusts... I've been involved with those people... it's just really exciting because it's a way to provide affordable housing by using private funds and if we can get, if I'm on the Board, I would like to encourage other board members to also endorse and commit to providing some funds for this... Right now what we've got going in our affordable housing is that the proffers that we have are for five years only. So, that piece of property would stay affordable for five years and that's it... This would leave it so that it would stay forever...”

Ken Boyd (R): “I want to first address the land trust idea... That's been presented to our Board with encouragement from our existing Board for them to get the act together and come back and tell us what  they want to do there... That's something I'm very intrigued with and I think it's an excellent idea. I think that we've got a good start on the affordable housing project. But, as Marcia says, what we've done, and I'm not sure why we did it this way, but we sort of identified our affordable housing policy around  80% of median income... That does not touch the workforce housing needs in this community... These things are driven by market-rates. We're very very concerned about what's going on with the sub-prime markets now and what that's going to do to the lenders... It's a much more complicated issue than that. I'm looking for great results out of our task force. It's a City, County, University task force  that's looking at it, and they're trying to define what the problem is so that we can break it up into manageable pieces and tackle it.”

Question 6: “The Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission have both had work sessions on the, transportation elements of the Places29 Master Plan.  Will you support Berkmar Drive Extended from the Sam’s Club to Hollymead Town Center and grade separation on Route 29 as major components of that plan?  Why or why not?”

Ken Boyd (R): “First of all, I have been a big supporter of Berkmar Drive Extended for a long time... We've actually had the opportunities in the past to try and get that done but our Board has decided to hold off zoning applications that might have accomplished at least getting some of that road built until such time as the master planning process is over... I think that's an important parallel road  to 29 that we need to build. We're going to have to come up with a bridge, and it's going to be expensive for that bridge, but it needs to be done. Now, I'm not sure that I'm ready to turn Route 29 into an expressway... We've got...  12 percent that's through-traffic. So why would we want to build an expensive expressway  with a bunch of overpasses that are going to handle just 12 percent of the traffic?

Marcia Joseph (D): “The consultants have looked at this in any number of different ways and have come to the conclusion that [Berkmar Extended] is the way we can move traffic most effectively on 29... I do support that. It's going to be a real huge challenge to try to come up with the money for that bridge. I've heard anywhere between $14 million and $40 million... The grade separated  interchanges have been a problem in a lot of people's for many many years. I met with one of the members of the North Charlottesville Business Council today and I'm going to sit down with him next week and try to figure out what it is about that whole process or that whole design that is so problematic to people... It's hard for me to say I don't agree with it, because we've got engineers and experts that we're paying an awful lot of money, that are telling us that that's the way to solve our problems. I realize that we're the people who are leaders and we're supposed to look at this and make sure that it's  right, so that's what I'm doing now...

Question 7: Do you support a limited access bypass for Route 29 around northern Charlottesville and, if so, where would that be located?

Marcia Joseph (D): “I really don’t.  I think that the Places29 [Master Plan] has determined that we don’t need that. I mean, I haven't heard that as part of their recommendations, and again, I'm relying on experts but I'm not an engineer and haven't done any traffic modeling, but they say we don't need it, so I don't support it.”

Ken Boyd (R): “Well, just so everybody understands, the so-called Western Bypass as its more commonly referred to was not, was taken out of the study group, so they were not allowed to look at that as an alternative, so that was the recommendation, that was a majority of the Board that did that. I in fact do support a  connector road. I would rather call it a western connector rather than a western bypass. I think that if we follow the route of the existing, proposed bypass, by which they've bought most all of the land already for that, and then if we had a road that would dump in right across from Leonard Sandridge Road, that this would be an excellent help to us to route traffic off of 29 and we could then possibly have 29 become that main street that we want it to be... But, for right now, there's not enough support on the Board to do that so that's not a road that's even being considered as part of Places29.”

Question 8: The county’s water and sewer infrastructure will need upgrades and expansion. How do you propose to fund our water and sewer  infrastructure and over what time frame?.   What changes, if any, would you make to the boards of the Rivanna Water & Sewer Authority or the Albemarle County Service Authority?

Ken Boyd (R): “When I first came on the Board four years ago... one of the things I wanted to do, I was concerned about the water supply and the water system in this area, and I was sort of amazed to find out that we had no accruals for capital improvement projects that were happening in the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority. Now, the Albemarle County Service Authority was, but not in Rivanna. In addition to that, and even worse in my respect, is that we had not done any real analysis of the either the flow or the maintenance of the infrastructure... So when we talk about the fact that we've got to build for growth in the future, we've got to do some corrections for growth that's been in the past. We have some pipes that are as much as 50 years old, and we've found out now that we're already at capacity with sewer lines... Another thing I've been advocating for for at least four years is to change the structure of the board of the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority. I think this community would be much better served with a board similar like the MPO, which has elected representatives on that Board... I think that in regard to how we would fund the future, would be sort of presumptious and probably not  appropriate for us to to try to micromanage a process that's already in place. They're already looking at bonds and options... I do think this from the preliminary things I've seen, this is another situation where we probably need to go ahead with all of the improvements at one time rather than do them piecemeal...”

Marcia Joseph (D): “We don’t have any choice as far as time frames go in the water supply. We are under the gun now.  We have to repair a dam that was built in, well one of them was built in 1920 and the other in 1895. These are at Ragged Mountain, and they have to be repaired. The state is telling us that it's got to happen. So we don’t have any choice in that matter.  We are also going to raise the height of the dam to make sure there is water enough for the next 50 years. We're looking at a cost of $140 million dollars, so we have to do that. The time frame for this building is 2011... How do we fund this?  What I've heard a lot is ratepayers, and I think it's really important for us to make sure the ratepayers are not the only responsible parties.  I think we really need to sit down with the University and the City and make sure this all works equitably... Now in changing the structure of these entities, I was fascinated at how independent these entities are that are actually providing our water and sewer for us. As I sit on the Planning Commission and projects have come before us, I have asked and other commission members have asked, “Alright, this is a rezoning, do we have enough water?”and we are assured by the Service Authority that we have enough water. Not once has anyone said to us “Oh, by the way, we have a $140 million project coming down the pike,” so that we're never able to give that information to any of the developers or any of the citizens that come in, because citizens have been badgering us for years about water, and we have been told, no problem.... we really have to start thinking about these things and get all of these entities together to make sure that we're all talking...”

Question 9: Does County government have the appropriate resources, financial and personnel, to achieve the objectives in our comprehensive plan?

Marcia Joseph (D): “That's a real interesting question because right now we're dealing with a planning staff that's down several members because of the budget cuts that have been made recently... We don't have the proper resources apparently at this point of time to be on a level playing field right now, and deal with the issues that we're dealing with maybe six months ago, because our revenues have gone down... We really need to take a look at our comprehensive plan and decide what it is we want to do, again, as a community... If we're down right now, in funding, it's going to be a little bit difficult to decide we have the personnel when we don't have the appropriate personnel right now.”

Ken Boyd (R): “First I want to clarify one point because there is not budget cuts that are going on and causing a freeze in salaries. It's a revenue shortfall, that's what's happening. We had projected to have a five percent increase in our revenues, and it is probably going to manifest itself at something less than one percent... That's why we're being very cautious with replacing people for opening that we have. But I do agree that at the present time, we do not have the resources we need to implement all the things that are in the comprehensive plan.  But by the same token, even though we live in this sort of, immediate “me, me, me” world where everything has to be immediately done now, we have to realize and take a step back and understand that in order to be appropriated in our taxation of the individuals here, we can't do everything all at once and it's going to have to be gradually done over time as we implement these changes and move forward.”

Question 10: The Board of Supervisors has recently endorsed the concept of prioritizing areas for new development and community infrastructure within our growth areas. Do you think this prioritization is a good idea? Why or why not?

Ken Boyd (R): “Well the answer to that is yes and no.  I think that it is very appropriate that we set priorities for the infrastructure that the County is going to be putting into our master plans, I think we should do that. We should decide on which way we want to spend County dollars for things like sidewalks, redevelopment, libraries, things like that, and what sequence we ought to do it in. I do not agree, in fact, I voted against prioritizing what the development community does, because I think that is going to create a competitive advantage or disadvantage depending on who owns the property where we see can be developed next. So it's simple. I don't think we should be dabbling in the free enterprise, and the marketplace with that and giving priority for one person or developer or build over another.

Marcia Joseph (D): “I do support this idea.  I think it's extremely important. If we're going to prioritize where we put our infrastructure, then we ought to make sure that’s where the development goes. I think that unless someone is willing to put in all of the infrastructure that's necessary to support the development, then that would be fine, but I think it's also a sense of security for the community, that they have an idea of what's going to happen, where, and if we're all helping to pay for the infrastructure, then we ought to know where the development is going, so I think it's extremely important.”

Audience Question #1:  How do you see recently approved projects such as North Pointe, Biscuit Run and Hollymead Town Center as benefiting our community?

Marcia Joseph (D): I’ll start with Biscuit Run, because I think it does benefit the community. I think we got a 400 acre park, I think we got a through-road through that, I think we got a school site on that. We got money for proffers for road improvements that are off-site...  I don’t think North Pointe was a good idea.  I think the layout is not good. I think that anything that puts another 30,000 cars through that intersection of Airport Road and 29 is not such a good thing. I think that North Pointe could have been phased, if it it needed to happen. I don't think we need any more big boxes on 29.... I think that we didn't need that much commercial activity... Hollymead, I think that that was also not a benefit the way it happened. It should have been phased, I think we learned a lot about stormwater with that, that we really need to make sure that as these things happen, they are phased so that people know what's going to happen so that ponds are not destroyed and water isn't rushing through some of these culverts underneath...”

Ken Boyd (D): “I was not on the Board at the time that Hollymead was approved, and had I been on the Board, I never would have approved it with the erosion control and sediment control restrictions that were put on it. Every project since then, we've put much stricter erosion and sediment control restrictions on them, and we've asked them to proffer it, and that includes North Pointe, and that includes Biscuit Run, both... I disagree little bit, that I'm going to sit here and say that a planner who does absorption calculations and says we have too much or too little retail space only because all we've done is rezoned it. I'm more of a free market type person, and what I believe is that the market will take care of itself. If there's too much retail space in North Pointe, then it won't get built because they won't find anybody to put in it, and I can tell you they're not going to build something where they've not got a tenant to put in there... I think that the traffic situation is probably no worse on North Pointe than what has been created at Biscuit Run.... I do want to correct Ms. Joseph.  It is phased at North Pointe. We have phasing in regards to when the commercial development will happen... In my mind, both [Biscuit Run and North Pointe] met the neighborhood model....

Audience Question #2
What experience do you have that will help you lead the County as we deal with major financial issues in the near future? Roads, water, revenue decline...

Ken Boyd  (R): “My background is in finance and banking and financial planning.. I've also had the opportunity over the last 8 years to be working with both the school budget and the budget for the Board of Supervisors... This positions me... to deal with what's going to be a very complicated budget process. This year with us being down on our revenue projections is just the beginning of what we feel will be a 2 to 5 year cycle and one of the things we're doing is we're reforming our budget, and this is based on an initiative that I've been asking for for eight years to start doing our budget differently, so that we can get a better handle on it...”

Marcia Joseph (D): “Well, I do not have an MBA, but I don't think that you need that to be a member of the Board of Supervisors.  I think we have adequate staff and I think I'm a smart enough person to try to figure out exactly what's going on in the budget. I think we would get lots of public input as we normally do, and lots of input from staff, as we normally do, and I think that that's how we would do it. I don't think it takes rocket science to do this stuff, it has to be simple, we all have to understand it, so I think my experience in knowing what the needs are of the community, talking to the people in the community, I think that's extremely important also in deciding what our priorities are and how we're going to do this...”

Audience Question #3
With the County’s annual [population] growth rate less than 2%, where do you want it to be?

Marcia Joseph (D): “I think we've all sort of counted on it being around 2% for a very long time, since I think 1976, 75, it's been about 2%, and I think that's what we've relied on when we're looking at our comprehensive plan, and deciding where our designated growth areas are, and where these people are going to go. I think that makes a whole lot of sense. I think that we're never going to get it lower, and it's not anything that I want to see go lower. I didn't spring from the earth in Albemarle County. I am not a native. People come here because it's a beautiful place, and I think that we should probably count on about two percent growth happening in Albemarle County."

Ken Boyd (R): “Well, actually, since I've been on the Board, the growth rate as a percentage of population has been declining every year. When I first went on in 2004, our growth rate was 1.7%. In 2006, according to the Weldon Cooper provisional numbers, it was at .7%...  I mentioned earlier about jobs and the economy and ebb and flow.We can't get to a point where we have much less than one percent in growth. We certainly don't want to get to a situation where we have a minus growth pattern going on, because if you think that your taxes are high now, then just imagine what it will do if we don't have the economic development going on and the job creations here, and the retail business that brings in retail sales and business taxes that they bring...I think that one to two percent would probably be a good level for us to be, and it looks like that's where we've been for a long time, and I am a bit concerned it dropped below one percent at the current time."

Audience Question #4
The MPO is considering a regional transit authority.  What is your position on the RTA and would you support the implementation of night bus service on [CTS] Route 5?

Ken Boyd (R): “I wholeheartedly support the Regional Transit Authority... I think it's very important that we improve... that we have different transportation mechanisms for people to get around this county without having to be in a car... I'd like to see the numbers [on night service] are...I think if we have got empty buses like we had years ago with Big Blue that ran up to the Forest Lakes area, then that's just a big waste of time and money. But we also need to work with the public and educate them and I'm not at all opposed to investing some money in transit with the idea that if we build it, they will come.”

Marcia Joseph (D): “I am really excited to hear that there are Board members that are supporting this.  It really is about time we started thinking of ourselves in more of an urban context and providing different means of transportation for people. Again, that's another way that we can get people off the roads, and deal with some of the traffic that we've got going on. Yes I would support [the RTA], I think it's really important, we've got some terrific entities here that can get together and make something work... You talked about the night service. I think it's important to try these things out. There are people who work at night. There are people who need to get to places back and forth, and I think that we need to try something like that, see if it works, see what the ridership is, get some advertising out there, and get these things happening....

Audience Question #5
While preserving the rural areas is admirable, preserving quality of life in the development areas is equally important.  Please speak to your commitment to preserving quality of life in the urban areas.

Marcia Joseph (D): – “Places29, if you all don't know, is a Master Plan that we're all looking at right now... actually, the 23rd of October, the Planning Commission is having a meeting at 6:00 PM, so if you want to find out what's going on, please come to the meeting and we do allow public comment... One of the things I think is extremely important is for the growth areas, is, I'm a landscape architect, I think we need parks. I think it's important for us to have some open green spaces in these urban areas...I think when we start talking about bus service, and we start talking about walking trails and bike trails, one of the exciting graphics that you'll see in Places29 has a parallel multimodal kind of pathway along 29, and when you see it, it's a wonderful thing because people can walk on it, people can bike on it...”

Ken Boyd (R): “Every other year we do biannual survey, and we call it our customer service survey to find out what we're doing in the County that people appreciate, and what we feel we're doing a good job. Something that always comes back  with high remarks is emergency services and police services. And when we talk about quality of life, now this is something that falls off of the radar screen because we've done a good job of providing that but it's a quality of life issue for this community...Now, since I've been on the Board and probably one of the most recent things that we've done is that realizing that our response times for emergency services have greatly dropped for this area, particularly in the Forest Lakes area, with the density and the urban area that we have there. We put a temporary station out at the airport a year and a half before the opening of the new station, because we knew that we had to do something... These things cost money. The Board has just recommitted to its plan to get to a level where we have 1.5 police officers per 1,000 people in the County. Now we haven't gotten there yet and we're probably going to have to add four or five police officers over the next few years to accomplish that...”

CLOSING STATEMENTS

Ken Boyd ( R): “I very much love this community and I have since I came here 26 years ago. I think that if what I'm hearing on the doorsteps of the 3,000 homes that I've visited during this campaign is true, that everybody that I've run across would like to, whether they moved here 26 years ago... or whether they moved here last year, they want to freeze this community in time as of when they got here... We cannot do that, that's an impossible thing to do. It's very important for the Board of Supervisors to consider all of these issues that you're talking about... And I still remain committed to you to work very hard on that...”

Marcia Joseph (D): “I just received the endorsement from the Albemarle Political Action Committee for Education, that's the teachers in the community. I'm very excited about that.... I've also been endorsed by the Sierra Club... I am an environmentalist and I am not ashamed. Those two things I'm very proud of.... One of the things that's really really important to me as a Board of Supervisors member, is to make sure that we have open communication between all kinds of entities. I don't want to see what happened at the budget last session, where there was all kinds of animosity between different people within the audience, and schools took a hit a lot of the times and they shouldn't. We're proud of our schools, we have some great teachers, we have great schools, we have great principals, we have great kids. It's important to us to remain a community that people want to live in to have a great educational system...”

TIMELINE FOR PODCAST

• 1:10 – Introduction and ground rules from Neil Williamson of the Free Enterprise Forum
• 2:27 – Opening statement from Ken Boyd (R)
• 4:39 – Opening statement from Marcia Joseph (D)
• 6:36 – Question 1
• 11:25 – Question 2
• 15:36 – Question 3
• 19:10 – Question 4
• 23:46 – Question 5
• 29:33 – Question 6
• 35:45 – Question 7
• 37:39 – Question 8
• 44:02 – Question 9
• 47:19 – Question 10
• 49:15 – Audience Question 1
• 54:59 – Audience Question 2
• 57:43 – Audience Question 3
• 59:42 – Audience Question 4
• 1:02:33 – Audience Question 5
• 1:06:24 – Closing statement from Ken Boyd ( R)
• 1:07:25 - Closing statement from Marcia Joseph (D)

Kendall Singleton and Sean Tubbs

Supervisor Sally Thomas encourages Board to improve public input process

At the start of their meeting on October 3, 2007, Supervisor Sally Thomas (Samuel Miller) encouraged her colleagues to give some thought as to how the public input process could be improved for matters before the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors. 

Thomas said that, in response to recent public hearings, she thought it was unfortunate that changes in state law that had taken effect July 1st have created obstacles for the board to respond to public comment and to making adjustments to developer proffers after a public hearing had been opened.  If material changes are made, the law requires a new public hearing to be scheduled.  Thomas later specified to Charlottesville Tomorrow that she was thinking of the recent public hearings for both Biscuit Run and Wendell Wood’s NGIC expansion project. 

Thomas suggested that the Board consider taking public comment during work sessions so as to provide an earlier opportunity to receive feedback.  This has been a practice adopted by the Albemarle County Planning Commission in recent years.  Thomas said such participation would be one approach to allow for meaningful public input at the point in time when the Supervisors could still respond and make changes to a proposal before the Board.  “I have some fond memories of times when we were very responsive to the public, on sometimes small things,” said Thomas.

Chairman Ken Boyd (Rivanna) agreed.  “I think that’s an excellent idea.”  He asked the County Attorney for more detailed information on the legal restrictions placed on the Board with respect to what constitutes a material change to a proffer.

“I think that the legislation that has passed has actually backfired,” said Supervisor Dennis Rooker (Jack Jouett). “We ought to talk to our legislators about amending that legislation because no matter how many work sessions you have…the most people are going to show up at the public hearing when you are supposed to make your decision.”  Rooker said it was “ridiculous” that the Board was now put in a position of being unable to act on public comment without starting the review process over by advertising another public hearing. “The idea of the legislation was to protect the public, but in effect what it is doing is hurting the public,” said Rooker.

Albemarle County’s existing proffer policy was also intended to protect the public and set clear expectations for the developers.  The policy states:

“It is the Board’s preference that a public hearing should not be advertised until all of the final materials for a zoning application have been received by the County and are available for public review….Final signed proffers shall be submitted to the County no later than nine days prior to the date of the advertised public hearing.” 

Ideally, the County envisions a process that allows the staff and the public adequate time to review a developer’s complete proposal.  The new state law now puts a premium on everyone doing their homework and surfacing the big questions in advance of a public hearing.

In Albemarle County, this law change has lead to last minute proffer changes unseen by the public before public hearings.  Ensuring timely submission of complete developer applications, as well as the addition of more time for public input at a work session, could ensure major proffer questions are resolved by the applicant, staff, and public before a public hearing.

For example, the final proffers for the 3,100 home Biscuit Run development were prepared just two days before the rezoning was approved.  The final NGIC proffers were prepared in the hour before the Board’s vote.  In neither case were the final proffers available to the public in advance of the public hearing.  The challenge for the Board is to provide enough information to the public to allow for informed feedback at a hearing (and perhaps in the future at work sessions), but not make last minute material changes to the proffers that will delay a project’s review. 

With this initiative by Supervisor Thomas, the Board seems interested in finding a new approach that accommodates the state law, allows for an improved public input process, and avoids last minute material changes to developer proffers.

Brian Wheeler

4,300 homes approved for Biscuit Run & Hollymead Town Center

The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors has unanimously voted to approve the Biscuit Run development. The vote came after 32 people spoke at a public hearing, and after Supervisors considered last minute changes to the proffers made by the developer, Forest Lodge LLC.

The public hearing on Biscuit Run began shortly after 10 PM and the public, at least those still present after waiting for five hours, got their opportunity to speak starting around 11:00 PM.  The unanimous vote came at 1:05 AM this morning.

Podcast produced by Charlottesville Tomorrow * Player by Odeo

Listen using player above or download the podcast: Download 20070913-BOS-Biscuit-Run-Approval.mp3

The rezoning will allow at least 3,100 homes on 828 acres, as well as some retail and office uses, plus an additional 400 acres for a County park. Biscuit Run will be the largest development in the history of Albemarle County. The County accepted an estimated $41,150,000 in proffers in connection with the rezoning. Without the rezoning, Supervisors said the developer could have built between 1,000 and 1,400 homes on the property by-right.

“This will be the gold standard for the neighborhood model plan,” said developer Hunter Craig.

During the public meeting, many people requested that the Board postpone action until a full environmental impact assessment could be made. Many residents of the Mill Creek South neighborhood spoke in cautious support of the project, because a proposed connection between the two neighborhoods will now be built as a walking trail. Other speakers expressed concern about increased traffic on Route 20 and the adequacy of water and sewer capacity.

Several neighbors spoke in favor of the project, saying they look forward to using some of the shops, parks and trails that will be built as a result. Ron Sykes, the Headmaster of the Covenant School to the north of the development, said Biscuit Run would be “complementary to our campus.”

“We don't have legal authority to require a developer to do an environmental impact study,” said Supervisor Dennis Rooker (Jack Jouett). He added that the Neighborhood Model would help reduce the impact of the development on the region, while allowing residents to get to several destinations on foot.

Supervisor David Slutzky (Rio) said he was pleased that transit became a major component of the proposal. “It's really a poster child for how a proposal can make its way through our process,” he said.

Supervisor David Wyant (White Hall) said that the proposal is a good example of how a public-private partnership work. He added that the level of scrutiny that has gone into this proposal has improved the process by strengthening erosion control requirements.

“It's not the perfect project, but it's one of the best ones that's come along in a long time,” said Supervisor Ken Boyd.

HOLLYMEAD TOWN CENTER APPROVED

Earlier in the evening, the Supervisors unanimously approved Hollymead Town Center (HTC) Areas A1 and A2. In all, the Supervisors approved in this one meeting more than 4,300 new homes for Albemarle County.

HTC Area A-1 will be a commercial development on approximately 31 acres along Route 29 North across the street from Holly Memorial Gardens with approximately 277,000 square feet of commercial, office, and service uses. HTC Area A-2 will be a mixed use development on approximately 47 acres behind Area A-1.  It can have up to 1,222 homes and up to 368,000 square feet of commercial, office, and hotel uses.

Sean Tubbs & Brian Wheeler

Biscuit Run: A detailed look at the discussion on parks, transportation, and water needs

The Biscuit Run development took a giant step forward at last week’s meeting of the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors. The project made its first appearance before the Board since being recommended for approval by a unanimous Planning Commission last May.  During a two and one-half-hour work session, proffers dominated the Board’s discussion.

Developer Hunter Craig has volunteered numerous proffers as part of his rezoning request in order to mitigate the impact of the new development on the community.  Proffers are used to fund infrastructure needs like parks, schools, roads, libraries, and public safety. 

By the end of the meeting, the Supervisors had:

• accepted $1 million as an up front cash proffer to support a new City-County public transit authority;
• requested an estimate of the revenue sharing dollars that would be received by the City of Charlottesville as a result of Biscuit Run;
• accepted a 402 acre park proffer (the development is on 828 other acres);
• heard the developer object to VDOT's analysis of road needs;
• determined water and sewer needs would be adequately addressed;
• made recommendations for a future road connection to Mill Creek South; and
• provided feedback on affordable housing proffers.

Attorney Steve Blaine, representing Craig, pointed out that Biscuit Run’s proffer proposals had come together in response to specific issues raised by the community and prior to the development of the County’s new per-home cash proffer expectations.  Reconciling these proffers with the County’s emerging cash proffer policy is one of the key considerations before the Board. 

Blaine described the development’s proffer contributions as being valued at $30.86 million.  However, County staff told the Board that the proffers actually represented a shortfall of between $17.4 to $30.7 million.  In part, this shortfall is the result of staff’s calculation that $12 million in proffers should not be counted unless the Board granted some exceptions to their new guidelines.  One example is the 402 acre district park which has an estimated value of $5.3 million.  This amount is included in the applicant’s total, but excluded by staff because a park this large is not a specific project currently in the County’s Comprehensive Plan or capital improvement budget. 

Thus County staff asked the Board to weigh the value of the applicant’s proffers versus the cash that might be paid for each of the development’s 3,100 homes (for example, a one-time charge of $17,500 per single family detached home as required in the County’s new guidelines).  Supervisor Dennis Rooker (Jack Jouett) stated that he thought the cash proffers, estimated by the developer at $11,711 per unit, showed a deficit of about $3,000 per unit that the applicant would need to make up in their rezoning request.

COUNTY AGREES TO 402 ACRE DISTRICT PARK

In their deliberations, the Board agreed new ideas like the park had to be considered on a case by case basis.  Blaine pointed out that had the new cash proffer policy been in place in the beginning, the Biscuit Run development would have looked much different and “innovative things” such as the park would have been absent.

Pat Mullaney, Director of Albemarle County Parks & Recreation, was asked about the value of the park proffer.

“This park will be here forever, and as the County grows that property becomes more and more valuable.  They print money every day.  They won’t make any more land….Accepting this park land is directly in line with your strategic plan objective to increase the total combined acreage, either in conservation easements or in qualifying public park land.  I really don’t want to see us miss this opportunity to set this land aside.  It’s one of the best things we can do for the quality of life of our citizens in the future….Parks are forever.  It may be a hundred years from now, but someone is going to thank you for protecting this park land.”

During questioning about the construction of the road and bridge to allow access to the park, developer Hunter Craig made it clear to the Board that he could do other things with the 402 acres of rural land.

“I have a verbal offer for over nine million dollars for that piece of property.  So if you would like, we would be more than happy to just give you that five and one-half million in cash [the estimated proffer value].  We were doing that to be community-minded.  It is my heartfelt belief and desire that the entire community will benefit.  There are not enough fields for [soccer], youth lacrosse, and this was entirely meant to be a community benefit.”

In a separate cash proffer of up to $1.8 million ($500 per home built), Craig has offered to build one or more playing fields.  Chairman Ken Boyd (Rivanna) said that this was a proffer he had personally advocated for with Craig in an effort to get additional playing fields for the community.  The Board reached consensus that the district park was a benefit to the community and an acceptable proffer.

DEVELOPERS SAY VDOT OVERSTATES TRANSPORTATION NEEDS

At multiple points in the meeting, Supervisor Sally Thomas (Samuel Miller) asked questions about the scope of the general transportation proffers as compared to the needs identified in memos from VDOT.  Thomas asked, “How do we get from a memo from VDOT that says that the figure, just on Route 20 [improvements alone] ought to be $12.974 million to something called 'general transportation fund contribution' of $7.75 million?”

Blaine responded by quoting from the memo saying it was provided for “informational purposes only and did not necessarily reflect improvements that are needed entirely due to the impacts associated with the proposed rezoning.”  Blaine continued:

“I think what VDOT was attempting to do was to make certain that the County understands that there is planning needed for the widening of Route 20.  What we found in the public hearings and the meetings with the community is there’s not necessarily a consensus right now for the widening of Route 20.”

Blaine shared his view that VDOT had overstated the share of costs attributable to the development, including the needs for widening Route 20. VDOT's March 2007 analysis addressed improvements required only to Route 20, Avon Street, and Old Lynchburg Road. The total cost of the improvements for these three roads alone was estimated to be $88 million (in 2014 dollars) with VDOT suggesting the pro-rata share that should be proffered in cash by the developer totaling $32 million.

Further, Blaine indicated VDOT had oversimplified the cost allocation and he cited the comprehensive transportation study conducted for Biscuit Run. 

“We have spent eleven months on a traffic study that recommended various improvements, and that’s what the staff’s recommendation is based upon and what our proffers are based upon.  And so the VDOT memo does not provide anything other than a planning tool and a suggestion, and we disagree with it if it is suggesting that our fair share is $14 million [for Route 20 improvements].”

The Biscuit Run transportation study also called for the widening of the 5th Street bridge over Interstate 64 to allow for two full-length parallel turn lanes, a need not yet addressed by VDOT, County staff, the applicant’s proffers, or the Board of Supervisors (see diagram prepared by Charlottesville Tomorrow at left). 

By the end of the meeting, when Chairman Boyd was encouraging board members to submit their questions in advance for the next work session, he suggested the board not revisit matters already addressed by the Planning Commission.  After Thomas again mentioned that some of VDOT’s concerns had not been fully addressed, Blaine told the Supervisors that the Planning Commission had fully vetted the transportation issues.  “Their findings were supported by a unanimous, enthusiastic recommendation,” said Blaine.

WATER AND SEWER CAPACITY WILL BE ADEQUATE

Supervisor Thomas asked the Gary Fern, Executive Director of the Albemarle County Service Authority (ACSA), to address the adequacy of water and sewer infrastructure to support Biscuit Run.  Fern started his response by saying he didn’t know of any unresolved water or sewer issues.  He assured the Board that water would be available for the development and he detailed the two memorandums of understanding that outline the developer’s agreement to help pay for increased sewer capacity in the future.  Fern said he had no concerns about the agreements reached between the County and the developer.

ROAD CONNECTION TO MILL CREEK SOUTH

Interconnecting our neighborhoods is a goal of the County’s neighborhood model form of development.  However, a proposed road interconnection between Biscuit Run and Mill Creek South has been a hot potato bounced around by the developers as they have received conflicting feedback from Mill Creek residents and County decision makers. 

Supervisor Lindsay Dorrier (Scottsville) raised concerns he had recently received from Mill Creek residents who were opposed to the road connection.  He favored a bicycle and pedestrian only connection to the existing neighborhood.  Other Supervisors like Sally Thomas, David Slutzky, and Dennis Rooker expressed their support for a future vehicle connection.  Thomas had feedback for both the timing and design of the connection.  She suggested that it might start as a pedestrian/bicycle connection then be upgraded for vehicles only after the elementary school was built or a certain amount of retain space was built.  She asked for a revised plan that showed this road being built as a “T-intersection” with a stop sign which would minimize cut-though traffic.  Slutzky indicated that he did not want to specify when the connection would occur out of deference to the neighbors’ concerns, but that he was confident the community would ask for it in the future and that the proffers gave the County the flexibility to establish the road when needed.

WHAT’S NEXT

The Board of Supervisors has allocated another hour and a half for a second work session on August 8, 2007 at 2:00 PM.  A public hearing will be held in September 2007.

Brian Wheeler

Biscuit Run approved by Planning Commission

On May 29, 2007, the Albemarle County Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval of the Biscuit Run rezoning.  The public hearing featured the first appearance by developer Hunter Craig (photo at right), an audience of approximately 100 people, and thirty-two speakers who offered their comments on the 3,100 home development in Albemarle's Scottsville magisterial district.  Up until this meeting, Craig had kept a low profile granting only one interview related to the project and typically deferring to his attorney Steve Blaine to represent the project in public.

In the view of staff which recommended approval, and by the end of the five hour meeting, the Planning Commission, the developer of Biscuit Run had brought a lot to the table to entice Albemarle County to rezone 828 acres of land for the new development.  The Planning Commission looked very favorably upon the proffers for transportation, affordable housing, and public parks. 

Roughly half the speakers from the public expressed their support for Biscuit Run, with many citing improvements that had been made to address their concerns.  While several speakers asked that the project be rejected, most of the other half of the speakers came with outstanding questions and concerns that they asked be addressed before the project was given the County's approval.

The Biscuit Run rezoning will next be reviewed by the Board of Supervisors in a work session on July 11, 2007.  A public hearing before the Board has tentatively been scheduled for August 8, 2007.

Watch a video of the Commission's vote:

Brian Wheeler