Albemarle Supervisors to get briefing on Ragged Mountain Natural Area, possible changes to allowed recreational uses

After a seven year legal stalemate, Charlottesville City Council agreed in March to settle a lawsuit over the city’s assertion that it had the final say on whether bikes could be allowed on trails at the Ragged Mountain Natural Area. Albemarle County had long insisted its local ordinance banning such uses was the final word. 

That would seem to have been that, except on April 3, 2024 a majority of the Board signaled to staff they may be willing to reconsider actions taken by a previous board. We don’t have minutes for the meeting, but we do have this unofficial account from the meeting’s action report.

“By a vote of 4:2 (Mallek, McKeel), directed staff to come back at a subsequent meeting to provide a presentation regarding the litigation results, the settlement terms and what they mean in terms of the County’s authority, and also possible ways forward if additional activities are to be considered,” reads the report.

On Wednesday, Albemarle Supervisors will get that presentation. There are no details in the packet about what those possible ways forward may be. (staff report)

Aside from proclamations (see below), there are no other items on the afternoon agenda.

When Supervisors reconvene at 6 p.m., there are four public hearings on three topics.

• The first is to receive comment on the secondary six-year plan which contains a very small amount of funding for unpaved roads. (staff report)
• The second and third are related to a special use permit and rezoning needed for Stonefield to allow for a Tesla dealership. (staff report for the second) (staff report for the third)
• The fourth is for an easement for the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority to build a water main from the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir. (staff report)

There are some interesting items on the consent agenda worth reviewing.

In the first, Supervisors will adopt a resolution to schedule a public hearing on charging a fee for the use of county-owned charging electric vehicles. There are two located at the county’s office building at 401 McIntire Road that were installed in 2021 that cost $333,008. 

“Since commissioning, the County has hosted approximately 8,000 unique drivers at the county-owned facilities, dispensing over 696 mega-watt-hours of electricity, for an accumulated greenhouse gas emissions savings of over 487 metric tons,” reads the staff report. 

In 2021, localities weren’t allowed to charge fees but that has since changed. This would be a good meeting for anyone interested in learning about how deployment of this technology is changing. 

Other consent agenda items:

• Supervisors will schedule a public hearing for a two percent increase in compensation for elected officials. A recent law allows cities to pay City Councilors much more money, but that does not apply to counties. (staff report)
• There is a memo from the Virginia Department of Transportation that details bicycle and pedestrian accommodations that will be made as part of a forthcoming project on U.S. 250 in Pantops. There’s a lot of detail in this and it would be interesting to compare what’s being recommended versus what’s in the Pantops Master Plan. (staff report)
• A proclamation for the 50th Anniversary of the Stony Point Volunteer Fire Company is on the consent agenda. (proclamation)
• Want to track the progress of the county’s revenues and expenditures? Read the Third Quarter Financial Report.
• The Spring 2024 report from the Facilities and Environmental Services Department is out. I usually get four or five stories out of each one so stay tuned to the newsletter! (or read the report yourself) 
• There’s also a monthly report from the Virginia Department of Transportation. (read it!)