Council to review affordable housing investments from FY21 to FY23, Flock cameras

The five-member City Council of Charlottesville will meet for a work session at 4 p.m. followed by a regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. Both events will be in City Council Chambers. (meeting overview)

The work session contains two items. The first is a report on the city’s affordable housing activities for the past three years since adoption of the Affordable Housing Plan in March 2021. 

“While not meant to be an exhaustive affordable housing or market analysis, the report will present data on funding allocation per year, associated units, and populations served, alongside projections for future unit availability,” reads the staff report.

Some highlights:

• Over $61 million has been allocated or committed to affordable housing in the three  years since 2021. 92.1 percent of that has gone to create housing restricted to households making less than 50 percent of the area median income. 
• Zoning reforms called for in the Affordable Housing Plan have been completed
• The Housing Advisory Committee no longer makes recommendations on what programs are funded as a separate Charlottesville Affordable Housing Fund committee has been created. However, the HAC continues to consist of leaders of groups that receive city funding such as the executive director of the Piedmont Housing Alliance, the executive director of Habitat for Humanity, and the executive director of the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority. 

A closer look at the $61 million shows that figure is inflated by the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority’s decision in February 2022 to allow a third-party group to use its bonding authority to preserve 98 units at Midway Manor. No city or CRHA funds were used. (read the story)

The report also includes information about future projects that Council has not yet approved funding for such as 40 units at the Mews on Little High Street and 195 units at the Wertland and 10th and something called 601 Cherry Avenue. The latter is likely a misprint. 

The second work session item is a follow-up on the potential installation of Flock surveillance cameras. The proposal included in the package argues license plate readers can assist with Amber alerts and other targeted searches, as well as help with investigation of shootings, robberies, and stolen vehicles. 

The proposal lists where the cameras would be stations in key locations, many of whom are within a heat map that correlates recent shootings and vehicle thefts. The police department is proposing a one-year pilot where data would be retained for seven days and would not be shared outside the Commonwealth of Virginia. There are examples in the package of “transparency portals” including one used in Culpeper. 

The consent agenda has several items worth reviewing.

• There’s a ground lease in Pen Park for Council to approve between the City and Bennet’s Village for an all-abilities playground. (staff report)
• There’s also a memorandum of agreement between the city and Bennett’s Village about how the space will be operated. (staff report)
• The Batten Foundation is allocating $40,000 to the city to support the Community Attention Youth Internship Program. This is the first of two readings. (staff report)
• There’s first reading of the allocation of an additional $130,059.50 for the Rugby Avenue Bicycle and Pedestrian Trail project. The project has previously been put out for bid and proposals all came in over budget. (staff report)
• There is second reading on award of funds from the Charlottesville Affordable Housing Fund as well as the Housing Operations and Program Support. To see the listings, go back to my post on the March 18 meeting. I also hope to write up whatever discussion that happened tonight by tomorrow. (staff report)

The first item on the agenda is another consideration on a vote calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. There’s no explanation in the agenda about why this is coming, but one might specular that that City Council will not be able to resume until Council votes for the item. 

“The Charlottesville City Council asks the City Clerk that copies of this Resolution be quickly forwarded to the President of the United States, Joe Biden; Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner; and Representative Bob Good,” reads the final paragraph of the resolution.

Then Council will hold first reading on the budget, the annual appropriation, and the tax rates. I’m hoping to get a special newsletter out with an update on that tomorrow morning. (staff report)

The meeting concludes with the State of the Forest from the Tree Commission. 

“Much of this presentation will relate to current trends in tree canopy and how City programs such as tree planting and invasive plant control/containment will increase the City’s resiliency to climate change,” reads the staff report. 

The report can be summed up in one word: Precarious. 

While the official canopy coverage is estimated at 38 percent, much of that is likely invasive spaces and the actual canopy coverage is around 25 percent. 

“Expect losses to continue for the foreseeable future reducing the canopy by another ~15 percent by 2050,” reads a summary slide in the presentation. 

However, the presentation lays out steps that are being taken to avoid the reduction or to have it rebound with more plantings and stewardship. 

Before you go: The time to write and research of this article is covered by paid subscribers to Charlottesville Community Engagement. In fact, this particular installment comes from the April 1, 2024 Week Ahead. To ensure this research can be sustained, please consider becoming a paid subscriber or contributing monthly through Patreon.