Changes to land use rules are being made across the region to allow for additional density to create what planners and developers refer to as “missing middle” housing. The term was coined by Dan Parolek in 2010. “His focus is on small units and making them feasible to build in neighborhoods where only large single-family…
For each of the past 12 months, I’ve kept a regular record of property transactions in Charlottesville and I’ve posted what I come across for people to see. I’m not a real estate agent, but I’ve written about land use for many years. The best way to stay on top of things is to look…
“Technically we could vote on this right now but with all that information that came out of this weekend’s meeting I feel like Town Council needs to have a special session to discuss all that information before they take a vote,” said Mayor Ron Smith.
Charlottesville City Council has given final approval to two separate rezoning requests for new housing projects on Park Street in Charlottesville, just north of the U.S. 250 bypass. At Council’s first meeting of the year, they reached consensus to place rezoning of land at the Park Street Christian Church was approved on the consent agenda…
A new motion was filed this week in the federal lawsuit seeking the Virginia Board of Elections to hold a new election this November for all 100 seats in the House of Delegates. Attorney Paul Goldman filed the suit in the Eastern District of Virginia last year arguing that the current boundaries are invalid because…
There will be no change in leadership on Albemarle’s Economic Development Authority. Donald Long will remain the chair, George Ray will stay the vice chair, and David Shreve gets to keep being treasurer. The group met virtually yesterday and heard from Economic Development Director Roger Johnson about what his office will be up to this…
Last week, the Albemarle Board of Supervisors has promoted Sean Reeves to be the next police chief in the county. Reeves began his career in Albemarle County as a patrol officer in 2001 and currently holds the rank of Major. He will succeed Ron Lantz who retires at the end of February. “Major Reeves has…
A former city administrator from Washington D.C. will serve as Charlottesville’s latest interim city manager. “I look forward to coming to town, hitting the ground running, working with you, listening to you, understanding the issues that are immediately before you so that we can work on constructive solutions for addressing problems and issues for the…
There’s a deadline this year for localities and regional bodies to submit projects to the Virginia Department of Transportation for potential funding. Four rounds of the Smart Scale process have taken place so far, and planners across the Commonwealth are preparing applications for a preliminary deadline this spring. Jessica Hersh-Ballering is a transportation planner with…
After years of planning, the Piedmont Housing Alliance has broken ground on the multi-phase redevelopment of Friendship Court. Phase One will be built on the open space portion of the existing 150-unit residential complex. Sunshine Mathon is the executive director of the Piedmont Housing Alliance. “For over 40 years, Friendship Court, also known to many…