Cville Tomorrow News

Money pit: Quarry offered as dredging base

5/15/08 * The Hook [full story]

To skeptics, the big hole in any proposal for saving the Rivanna Reservoir is the potentially expensive problem of what to do with all the dredged-out dirt. Well, a big hole just arrived, and it wants its fill.

A local company has put together a team and a concept that involves engineers, dredgers, and an already owned site adjacent to the Reservoir. And the cost-- $24-29 million-- appears to be the lowest yet offered that both restores the Reservoir's original capacity and precisely explains where the sediments would land.

"It would be a turn-key operation," says Pat Enright, the CEO of Dominion Development Resources LLC.

On Monday, May 12, he and company president Katurah Roell led a reporter through a tract near the southern end of the Reservoir off Rio Mills Road. The 80-acre site almost appears tailored for handling massive quantities of excavated lake bottom, as it contains a dormant 14-acre rock quarry whose walls climb 70 feet on three sides. As for "dewatering," it also contains two pre-existing ponds that could aid in stripping sediment from water before it returns to the Reservoir or to the Rivanna River-- both of which are options with this site.

County spike: Water rates to climb 20% this year

5/15/08 * The Hook [full story]

In what a group of water watchdogs fear could be a harbinger of harsher things to come, County water bills will spike 20 percent this year, compounding last year's 30 percent jump to mean customers will pay 55 percent more than just two years ago-- and nearly triple what they paid in 1999.

"It's ridiculous," says longtime Albemarle citizen Lucy Bennett. A catering company employee struggling with soaring gasoline prices, she'd like to sign a petition to roll back water rates. "Everything's draining us right now," she says.

The rates, recently advertised in Daily Progress legal notices and posted on the Albemarle County Service Authority's website, show water climbing 11 to 13 percent. But the bulk of the increase comes in sewer rates, which will jump 29 percent.

"No one likes rates to go up," says Service Authority director Gary Fern, who points to two causes: a rise in the underlying rates (2.44 percent for water and 10.54 percent for sewer) set in March by the area's water wholesaler, as well as $7 million in the Service Authority's own pipe-replacement and other capital spending projects [spreadsheet].

Some big water line replacements include $286,300 for Reservoir Road, $842,200 for West Leigh subdivision, and, in what appears to be the biggest expense for a single customer (until one considers talk of a nearby development), $252,700 to replace the old cast-iron water line to Camp Holiday Trails.

One of biggest sewer projects is $650,000 to replace septic tanks with sewer pipes to improve the health of Moore's Creek in the I-64/Fifth Street neighborhood of Oak Hill. Another is $1.3 million for the design phase of what might eventually be a $7-million project: creation of a new and expanded sewage pumping station for Camelot and Briarwood subdivisions, UVA Research Park, GE/Fanuc, the National Ground Intelligence Center, and eventually the proposed North Pointe development.

According to an annual rate survey by Draper Aden Associates, the price of water in Virginia cities and towns has climbed an average of 37 percent and the price of sewer by 58 percent in the past 10 years. What's happened in Albemarle, however, has been much more dramatic-- a 273 percent increase in a decade.

Family feud: Skaters rejoice, supes kvetch

5/15/08 * The Hook [full story]

When the skateboard park on McIntire Road was abruptly closed and dismantled at the beginning of the year, many assumed it was being scrapped to make way for the proposed 250 Interchange project. C'mmon, would the powers that be do that to us, dude? No way! They were just ordering us some rad new ramps and rails! 

To the joy of boarders and bikers, the over $200,000 renovation of the park should be completed this month. The old park, say city officials, was abruptly dismantled over concerns about safety, as the equipment was quickly deteriorating. The new park includes a new City-funded resurfacing as well as top-of-the-line features from Spohn Ranch, a California company that has built over 400 skateparks across the country.

The new ramps and decks feature galvanized steel hand rails, stairs, and edges, and a nearly seamless surface that dampens sound and resists graffiti. The structures are also movable, which will come in handy when and if the park needs to be moved to make way for the interchange project.

However, while boarders may be happy, it appears that Supervisors are bitter.  At the Board's May 7 meeting, during which Supervisors were presented with a $93,500 bill for half the cost of the equipment, chairman Ken Boyd said he was "taken aback."

"This happens to us quite often," he said, "when the City does something and says ‘Oh, by the way, here's the bill.'"

Land-use taxation program ‘re-validated’ unanimously

5/15/08 * Daily Progress [full story]

Albemarle County supervisors unanimously decided Wednesday to take a step they say would “re-validate” a program that allows rural area landowners to defer a hefty portion of their real-estate tax bill in exchange for keeping their land undeveloped.

A majority of the six-member board also agreed to look at changing the tax-deferral program more substantially. Supervisors Lindsay G. Dorrier Jr. and Kenneth C. Boyd voted against that step.

While the board agreed to re-validate the land-use taxation program, supervisors differed greatly on whether the program needs more substantial revision. Under re-validation, the county would send out letters and forms to rural area landowners to prove that they are farming, harvesting trees, or doing other rural-area activities that qualify them for the program. It’s the first time Albemarle has taken such a step after supervisors in 2001 decided not to pursue a similar validation.

Exactly what the re-validation process will entail will be decided after a June public vetting.

The land-use taxation program is an emotionally charged issue for farmers and rural area landowners, many who say the program keeps farming alive in Albemarle and the county’s pristine views uncluttered by development. It allows landowners to defer taxes on undeveloped land, while paying full taxes on their home and surrounding 2 acres. Sixty percent of county acreage is in the program, amounting to $18.8 million in deferred taxes this year. That compares with $7.2 million in deferred taxes in 2001.

City transit to build new bus complex

5/15/08 * Daily Progress [full story]

Construction will begin this summer on a new, $15.6 million complex for the Charlottesville Transit Service just south of the city.

The bus system has become too big for its 30-year-old facility in the city’s public works yard off Fourth Street, and more room is needed to store and service the fleet of buses.

“We are outgrowing our current facility and saw an opportunity to consolidate to save some money in the longer term,” Ric Barrick, the city spokesman, said.

Most of the money for the project — $14.3 million — will come from the state and federal governments. The city will chip in the remaining $1.3 million, with most of that in the current budget. Albemarle County, which serves as a customer of the bus system, will not provide any funding.

The design of the project is completed and the city will begin soliciting bids from companies this week. Construction should wrap up by September 2009, said Scott Hendrix, the project manager for Charlottesville.

The city has purchased 6 acres on Avon Street Extended in Albemarle for $2.25 million to build the complex. One vacant building sits on the site and it will be retrofitted into CTS’ administrative offices.

Culpeper may land daily Amtrak train

5/14/08 * Fredericksburg Freelance Star [full story]

Town Councilman Chris Snider last night told his fellow members that Culpeper could potentially have daily Amtrak business passenger rail service to and from Washington by 2010.

But Dorothy Campbell, speaking during a public forum session, urged town and county residents to act quickly or that rail service could go to the Interstate-95 corridor. "Amtrak only has equipment for one corridor," Campbell said. "They want to see local response and we need to have that response in to Matt Tucker [of the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation] by June 1."

Snider said that he and Mayor Pranas Rimeikis began discussing the possibility of extended rail service with Amtrak last year, and that at a recent meeting it was learned that a daily morning train that originated in Lynchburg and stopped in Culpeper on its way to Washington (and then New York) was a possibility.

"It could happen within two years," Snider said in urging the Town Council to pass a resolution--which it did unanimously--to show support for the measure.

"That resolution is not enough," Campbell said. "We need to follow up with our delegates or we're not going to get it."

And Campbell stressed the urgency of rail proponents getting their written comments in to Tucker (1313 East Main St. Suite 300, Richmond, Va. 23219) before the end of this month.

Local drought watch lifted

5/14/08 * Daily Progress [full story]

Recent rainfall has allowed the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority to lift Charlottesville and Albemarle County’s 10-month drought watch.

The watch — which encourages voluntary water conservation — was lifted because of healthy rainfall this month. Ac-cording to the University of Virginia’s McCormick Observatory, 4.25 inches of rain has been recorded in the area in the first 12 days of May. That compares with an average of 4.86 inches for the entire month.

“For May, our water supply is in good shape,” said RWSA Executive Director Thomas L. Frederick Jr. “We believe it will continue to be in good shape heading into early and mid-June. It’s very, very difficult to forecast beyond that.”

The area received 3.2 inches of rain Friday and an inch more since then. Year to date, the area has received 13.48 inches of rain versus an average over the same period of 12.25 inches, Frederick said.

The drought watch was initially declared in July, and even though rain persisted, officials were wary of the drought situation because streams were still low on water. Now, streams are again healthy.

“To my mind, it’s always a fine line, but you don’t want to be crying wolf when the wolf isn’t there,” said Albemarle County Service Authority chairman Donald Wagner, who said he supports RWSA’s decision to call off the warning.

Gas tax is still best bet

5/13/08 * Daily Progress Editorial [full story]

As Virginians await the convening of the General Assembly in a June special session to consider road construction funding, we have a prima facie example of the problem right here in Charlottesville.

For years, planners have advocated the construction and development of roads and corridors parallel to U.S. 29 as a tonic for heavy traffic on eight lanes there. Improvements over the years to roads such as Berkmar Drive and Rio Road constitute Exhibit A evidence such corridors help ease the burden on the region’s main thoroughfare.
....
We hope wiser heads prevail this time in Richmond, and that the legislature passes a simple gas tax increase that locks in revenues to go toward projects such as the Hillsdale connector.

What happened to a cherished water supply plan?

5/13/08 * C-Ville Weekly [full story]

Critics say dredging can work, but a good number is hard to find

Flashback to 2005: After the worst drought on record and a whole lot of talk (and some misguided action) going back 30 years, it looked like there was a plan to expand the water supply that actually would work and satisfy a host of interests—developers who wanted water for the future, advocates who wanted better streamflows for aquatic critters, regulators who needed laws upheld, and ethicists and environmentalists who thought it best to use water from our watershed instead of drinking from the James River.

To top it off, the idea was brought up by a citizen at a public meeting, not from some bigbucks consultant. “Since it was such a simple idea, I thought someone else must have thought of it,” said Ridge Schuyler, Piedmont Program director at The Nature Conservancy, who was instrumental in conceiving the breakthrough component—a pipeline connecting the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir to the Ragged Mountain Reservoir. The Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority (RWSA) bought into the $143 million plan, which would provide for 2055 water demands and restore streamflows in the Moormans River. It was passed unanimously by City Council and the Board of Supervisors, cheered by regulators and environmentalists alike.


Ridge Schuyler, Piedmont Program director at The Nature Conservancy, first proposed the key pipeline feature of the water supply plan. “I think that the benefit that the community is going to get out of this whole process is that it has refocused people on the need to do some maintenance dredging at South Fork,” says Schuyler.

But some people have stopped cheering. At first, it was a handful of people, many with interests in either protecting the Ragged Mountain Reservoir as is or in stalling water supply expansion in order to check local growth. Then The Hook, a local weekly that had largely stayed away from reporting on the water supply plan, published a series of articles that depicted dredging as an alternative water supply solution that was intentionally undermined by local officials, consultants and The Nature Conservancy. Though the reporting was rife with comparisons that oversimplified the cost of long term dredging and overplayed the environmental and monetary impacts of the current plan, the coverage stirred up local concern, particularly among those who didn’t follow the water supply planning in 2005 and 2006.

Hence a three-hour City Council work session on May 6 in order to dredge up a lot of old issues before Council votes in June on increased water rates, which are expected to rise only gradually the first five years because of the water supply plan, but more dramatically after that.

Jeff Werner of the Piedmont Environmental Council knows most of the issues being raised in 2008 about the 50-year water supply plan—because he raised them in 2005, when fighting the idea of building a pipeline from the James River. But Werner stands by the current plan.

Students imagine MaJeff in 2018

5/13/08 * C-Ville Weekly [full story]

Ten years from now, the corner of Locust and High streets will undergo a dramatic facelift. In place of the Martha Jefferson Hospital will spring hundreds of housing units, a grocery store, an assisted-living facility, a linear park, and office space, served by an underground parking lot. The intersection of Lexington Avenue and High Street will be reworked to make it safer for pedestrians, who will be drawn to the open landscaping of the redeveloped site. The 1920 portion of the hospital, the Patterson Wing, will remain, but the other buildings will be demolished, its concrete recycled as fill, its doors donated to Habitat for Humanity.

That’s a vision, anyway, that 13 graduate students from the UVA School of Architecture concocted for the redevelopment of the Martha Jefferson Hospital site on Locust Avenue, which will be vacated in 2012 when the hospital migrates to its new Pantops building. The hospital plans to sell to a developer, and so students shared renderings, models and explanations of how the huge 13.6-acre parcel could open up with an urban, mixed-use redesign in three phases with about a dozen Martha Jefferson neighbors.

The students had tried to find creative ways to create courtyards and “live-work” units—some of which looked a bit like a tetris game in renderings—but a resident was skeptical of the square, modernistic buildings. In general, though, the neighbors seemed impressed by the work, and particularly a timeline for redevelopment that the class put together, which optimistically forecasted a completed redevelopment in 2018.

“It’s stunning the depth that you put into it,” said Francis Caruccio, who lives on Lexington Avenue. “And from someone who lives in the neighborhood, what it does is bubbles up the next four or five years of the process to today and highlights what are the things that are going to be concerns.”

Council decides not to decide on big house

5/13/08 * C-Ville Weekly [full story]

Kick north Downtown house back to BAR

When Charlottesville City Council declined to step into the middle of a dispute over the construction of an ambitious, environmentally friendly house that north Downtown neighbors argue is too large, it may have just delayed the inevitable. On May 5, councilors voted 4-1 to (ready for this?) not vote on an appeal brought by residents around 509 Second St. SE, where Mark and Barbara Fried plan to build a house that tops out at over 5,000 square feet.

The house was approved by the city Board of Architectural Review (BAR) on March 18 by a 6-1 vote. Neighbors, though, are concerned that the size of the house will negatively affect the characteristic of the neighborhood, as well as set a bad precedent for infill projects. They had appealed the BAR’s decision to Council.

After more than two hours of presentations from the neighbors, the project’s architect, Allison Ewing, and the Frieds’ attorney, state Delegate David Toscano, councilors seemed less than eager to make a ruling on the appeal. Councilor Satyendra Huja motioned to defer a vote, hoping the appeal could be resolved back at the BAR level.

“I thought it needs a little more work, especially as it related to the street and the neighborhood,” says Huja. “I think they’re moving in the right direction.”

But Council didn’t specify that the BAR address the one subject that caused neighbors to file an appeal—the building’s size. Without addressing that, neighbors are unlikely to drop the appeal.

Two projects bank on Preston’s promise

5/13/08 * C-Ville Weekly [full story]

Hope for pedestrians on former motor mile

For the most part, Preston Avenue is a place in between places, an auto-oriented strip you pass through to get from Barracks Road to Downtown. But the city Planning Commission, along with a couple of pioneering developers, are hoping that Preston can become more than just a cut through.

Alex Dotson and other investors have gotten preliminary approvals to build a four-story, 27-unit condo building, “The Carver,” with 1,700 square feet of office space and basement parking at 701 Preston Ave., on the site of Main Street Auto Body Shop. Across the road, Andy McGinty and other developers are rehabbing the King Lumber Building, which is next to Reid’s Market, in order to convert it to 19,000 square feet of office space.

“We believe in Preston,” says McGinty. “There’s a lot of vehicles on it right now, but I hope there’s more projects like ours to give people a reason to walk down Preston.”

City gets nudge on stormwater laws

5/13/08 * C-Ville Weekly [full story]

SELC attorney presents ordinance ideas

On the morning of May 9, the streets of Charlottesville were still carrying the torrents of the night before, the stormwater runoff forming an unfortunate conveyer belt moving oil and detritus into local rivers and eroding stream banks in the process. As a way of doing something about it, local groups have launched a concerted effort to show the city how to lessen the damage of stormwater.

With the help of UVA law school students, the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) and the Rivanna Conservation Society has compiled a booklet of recommended ordinance changes for the city that they believe would reduce runoff by decreasing impervious surfaces, increasing onsite filtration and limiting erosion from construction sites, among other measures.

“These aren’t some panacea or silver bullet that will solve stormwater problems,” says Morgan Butler, an SELC attorney and principal author of the report. “Basically, the city has got ambitious development goals. The idea is that as new development comes in, try to reduce the stormwater impact that the new development has.”

Often environmental measures involve tighter government regulation, and some of the SELC’s recommendations include higher standards for erosion and sediment control on building sites. But some of these proposed changes involve loosening requirements. For instance, the city’s minimum road width requirement of 30' for a local street makes for broader swaths of asphalt. SELC recommends that this be dropped to closer to 20'.

Burnley-Moran gets VDOT safe routes grant

5/13/08 * Daily Progress [full story]

The Virginia Department of Transportation has awarded the city of Charlottesville a $328,280 Safe Routes to School project grant.

The money will be used to improve conditions for walking and bicycling to and from Burnley-Moran Elementary School. The school will build sidewalks and establish crosswalks in the Locust Grove neighborhood just north of U.S. 250. Also, improvements to ensure continued compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act will be made.

Last year, Venable Elementary School and Buford Middle School benefited from a $366,600 Safe Routes to School grant.

The VDOT Safe Routes to School program aims to improve the safety and health of children in the state by encouraging fitness while maintaining safe travel routes.

Planned shopping center change raises objections

5/13/08 * Daily Progress [full story]

A proposal to replace part of Barracks Road Shopping Center’s signature concrete canopy has angered merchants, who fear it could deter customers from shopping and hurt sales.

Charlottesville city staff has approved Federal Realty Investment Trust’s plan to remove the long, covered walkway from Panera Bread to Richey & Co. and replace it with small, individual awnings in front of each store. The 10-foot-deep concrete walkway serves as one of the defining features of the center, enabling shoppers to stroll from store to store without exposure to the elements.

The move is part of a planned overhaul of the shopping center, which will include replacing signs, adding parking spaces and altering the road network. Because the center is not in a historic district, the proposal did not have to come before the city’s architectural board or Planning Commission.

In some sections the covered walkway will remain but be redesigned, said Mary Joy Scala, the city’s historic preservation planner. However, in the strip south of Panera, 4-foot canopies of various colors will supplant the homogenous covering, giving each store its own identity.

“The new canopy design lends itself to more individuality versus a linear design,” Emily Groome, a senior development manager for Federal Realty, wrote in a letter to the city. “Many of the existing tenants have unique storefronts; we would like to continue that trend but still have control over the final outcome.”