Monthly Archives: January 2023

Council to consider amendment to existing zoning to allow nine-story building on Ivy Road

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The University of Virginia or its real estate foundation own most of the northern side of Ivy Road except a bank property at 2117 at the intersection with Copeley Road. This land is owned by RMD Properties who want to develop the one acre property and not sell out. 

“The Applicant proposes to develop the property as a mixed-use development in a building nine stories tall that would include approximately 225-250 residential units (for approximately 610 residents), up to 4,000 square feet of retail/neighborhood commercial uses on the ground floor, structured parking, and high-quality amenity spaces,” reads a December 5 letter from attorney Valerie Long of the firm Williams Mullen. “In keeping with Council’s affordable housing objectives, the Applicant is also proposing a mix of on-site affordable units and/or a cash donation to the City’s Affordable Housing fund.” 

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Council to sign off on Planning Commission recommendation for waiver for 45-unit Fry’s Spring development

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Tonight, the Charlottesville City Council will have an item on their consent agenda for approval. Stanley Martin Homes needs a critical slopes waiver to build 45 single-family homes on land in the Fry’s Spring neighborhood between Monte Vista Avenue and Azelia Drive. 

“These provisions are intended to direct building locations to terrain more suitable to development and to discourage development on critical slopes,” reads the definition in the city’s zoning code. 

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Parks and Recreation update: Meadow Creek Trail could be completed by summer 2024

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Before 2023 can really get underway, there are still some meetings from late 2022 I want to go through. One of them is the December 15 meeting of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee. There were no action items but there were many updates on projects.

The first was a progress update on an effort to complete the Meadow Creek Trail which is intended to span from Michie Drive up northeast to the Virginia Institute for Autism followed by an eastern spur to Greenbrier Park. That’s the number one priority for the parks department, according to planner Chris Gensic. 

“We have [Virginia Department of Transportation] grants and then City Council allocated about $1.2 million to add to that pile because we did not get the second round VDOT grant that we applied for,” Gensic said. “Then we were informed a couple of weeks ago that another city had backed out of a project and if we wanted the extra $800,000 we could have it and we are going full forward with that with [Deputy City Manager] Sam Sanders’ full support.” 

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Legislative report: Statewide list of transient occupancy charges? 

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There are now eight days until the General Assembly convenes for the 2023 session, which will be 45 days long. Another number to keep in mind is 308, which is how many days there are until the November election, in which all 40 seats in the Senate and all 100 seats in the House of Delegates are up for a vote. So let’s take some time now to see what’s been filed. 

  • Delegate John McGuire has filed a bill that would eliminate an age requirement for veterans to be able to file an income tax subtraction. (HB1436)
  • Delegate Bill Wiley has legislation that would require the Commonwealth Transportation Board to develop a policy to delete and purge collected data and video of users of highways after 30 days. (HB1437)
  • Delegate Tim Anderson filed a bill to create a nonrefundable tax credit for the donation of oyster shells for restoration projects. (HB1438)
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Charlottesville City manager report: Interim City Attorney in place

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Later on this evening, the Charlottesville City Council will have their first meeting of the year. One of the items is a report from interim City Manager Michael C. Rogers who will celebrate his one year anniversary on January 31. These written reports provide a glimpse into the operations of the city government and here are some of the highlights. (read the report)

  • Allyson Davies is serving as the city’s interim City Attorney following the sudden resignation of Lisa Robertson late last month. Davies has been with the city since 1999 according to a question that ended up being a Freedom of Information Act request. The position has been advertised. Rogers writes that he wants the position filled in three months. 
  • The city has hired a labor relations manager to manage the new collective bargaining ordinance which went into effect on January 1. Petitions and elections will be conducted in February with the first bargaining period set to begin in March. 
  • Seven firms have responded to a request for a firm to conduct the city’s next strategic plan. A selection will be made by the end of the month with the work set to begin in February. Strategic plans help local governments prioritize what staff members should be doing. 
  • The pedestrian tunnel under the Belmont Bridge has reopened. A mid-block crossing at Graves Street will be permanently closed once a sidewalk between Graves and Levy is completed. 
  • A temporary bus stop has opened on East High Street as a sidewalk is built in front of the AT&T building. The stop was recently moved to prevent impatient and potentially unstable motorists from using parking lots to pass stopped buses.
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