Monthly Archives: December 2022

Governance study: A primer on regional transit systems

For much of the past year and a half, planners at the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission and hired consultants have been crafting a Regional Transit Vision intended to make public transportation be a more effective option for people to get around the broader community. 

Now, some of those consultants are working with the TJPDC on a study to recommend how to move from a system of multiple transit agencies to something more unified.  This is the second attempt to create a regional transit authority in the area.

Stephanie Amoaning-Yankson with AECOM said the study will recommend strategies to expand governance opportunities for localities in the entire region and to identify new forms of revenue. The main idea is to create a government entity similar to the Central Virginia Transportation Authority which receives tax dollars related from transportation spending. 

“This is going to be a year-long study and we kicked-off a few months ago so this will carry on through December 2023,” said Amoaning-Yankson. 

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Albemarle County seeking state funds to prepare North Fork for economic development

Albemarle County’s economic development office is waiting on the results of a grant application to help prepare a location to reach a new level of certification from the Virginia Economic Development Partnership.

“This is a process we’ve been in since September where we are working with the University of Virginia Foundation to ready 31 and a half acres within North Fork,” said J.T. Newberry, Principal Business Development Manager for the office. 

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Champion hands over beer distribution and licensing to North Carolina company

A Charlottesville brewery that launched in 2012 and spawned a restaurant group will now have the bulk of their distribution conducted by a North Carolina “beverage platform” called Bevana. 

“All of the breweries’ distribution will now be handled by the platform, alongside their ever-growing portfolio of independent craft partners,” reads a press release sent out Tuesday.

Ten people have been laid off according to a spokesperson for Champion. 

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Maurice Jones resigns as town manager in Chapel Hill

The man who served as Charlottesville’s City Manager from late 2010 to the middle of 2018 stepping down as the administrator of a town near the University of North Carolina’s main campus.

“It’s been an honor to serve the Town of Chapel Hill over the past four and a half years,” Maurice Jones in a press release that went out on Tuesday. “After an assessment of my personal priorities, I have made the difficult decision to resign from my position as town manager.” 

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New site plan filed for 245 units off of East High Street

Consultants hired by Seven Development have submitted a second plan for a project to build 245 apartment units off of East High Street on a property within the floodplain. City staff issued a preliminary denial in October

An attorney hired by the firm has also weighed in on a memo stating the modified plan should comply with city regulations. 

“We contend that the updated preliminary site plan application dated December 7, 2022 complies with all applicable provisions of the zoning ordinance,” wrote Valerie Long with the firm Williams Mullen. (read the memo)

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