CRHA to give status update on Dogwood Housing, seek permission to sell one property

There is a recent tradition of Charlottesville City Council holding work sessions to discuss large issues and the two items on the agenda of the 4 p.m. meeting would fit that description. (meeting overview)

The first item is an update from the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority on what has happened since the agency purchased 74 housing units across the city from Woodard Properties for $10 million. Council provided half of the funding and the city owns a share of the portfolio. 

“The CRHA received a $5 million loan from the Federation of Appalachian Housing Enterprise,” writes John Sales in the staff report. “FAHE is a non-profit financial intermediary that provides capital for the creation and preservation of affordable housing.”

As soon as CRHA took over management, Sales said residents began contacting the agency to complain about pest control issues. Treatment was only occurring quarterly and rather than hire a contractor, CRHA hired two licensed exterminators for all of its properties. CRHA also hired a property manager to concentrate on the Dogwood portfolio. 

Staff in the Office of Economic Development approached the CRHA about a property on Harris Street on land that is now owned Industrial Mixed Use 8. 

“The CRHA believes it is in the best interest of the City and the CHRA to sell the property and reinvest in another unit with the proceeds from the sell,” the report continues. 

Three properties on Ridge Street have roofs that need to be replaced, and estimates range from $45,000 to $65,000 per unit. 

The second work session will review the city’s five Small Area Plans, including one that had been demoted from Small Area Plan status to a Vision Plan. The first plan is the Strategic Investment Area produced by the firm Cunningham Quill that was added to the Comprehensive Plan in February 2014. 

The centerpiece idea was a linear park that would have been built along a daylighted stream called Pollocks Branch. The Congress for New Urbanism thought the idea merited an award, but none of it came to pass. Doing so would have prevented the Piedmont Housing Alliance from redeveloping Friendship Court into Kindlewood. CRHA is in the midst of the second phase of the redeveloping public housing at South First Street and the SIA plan was not used as a guide. 

The SIA plan also called for transition to a form-based code for the area that was championed by former City Councilor Kathy Galvin, but the Planning Commission recommended not moving forward with that idea in November 2019 as reported by Nolan Stout in the Daily Progress. 

One of the only infrastructure projects in the SIA to move forward is a pedestrian bridge at Jordan Park. Bids closed on February 29.

Another plan is the Hydraulic Small Area Plan that was produced in collaboration with Albemarle County in 2018. Another is the Cherry Avenue Small Area Plan that was produced by the Thomas Jefferson Planning District in March 2021. 

The New Hill Development Corporation received funding from the City Council to create what became known as the Starr Hill Vision Plan that was added to the Comprehensive Plan as an appendix in April 2021. The final one is the Urban Rivanna River Corridor Plan put together by the TJPDC. 

There are two line items in the Capital Improvement Program related to these plans and staff wants flexibility to tap into that pool of money for other purposes.  

“Staff would like Council consideration of broadening the use of the funds allocated under the ‘SIA Implementation’ and ‘Small Area Plans’ CIP items,” writes Neighborhood Development Services Director James Freas in his staff report. “For the first, staff would like Council to consider broadening the use of these funds to be for SAP implementation so that these funds could be used for implementation projects related to any of the adopted SAPs.”

The CIP anticipates $200,000 a year in “SIA implementation fund” and $100,000 a year for “Small Area Plans.” 

Staff would also like to be able to use these funds for further review of the Comprehensive Plan, such as reviewing and updating the city’s environmental regulations. 

The city wants to create more Small Area Plans, all of which call for additional infrastructure. Council might consider the city’s ability to deliver such projects and whether projects are feasible, such as reviewing a February 2024 status update of transportation projects. 

Not mentioned in the staff report is the now-defunct West Main Streetscape in which millions of dollars were paid to consultants, designers, and architects for a plan Council ultimately rejected when it canceled the project in June 2022. Perhaps it is time to start using a different word than “plan” which implies something will happen.

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