City Council to amend and update the city’s stormwater utility program

The impact of human activity on the natural landscape can be mitigated with planning and funding. In Virginia, disturbance of the land to create places for people to live, work, and drive changes the topography when it rains. Impervious surfaces increase the velocity of water and left unchecked can lead to erosion. 

Virginia law for many years has required localities to have rules in place to review new development to ensure measures are in place to address stormwater that would be created by new development. 

On July 1, localities will have to update their codes to reflect the merger at the state level of the Virginia Erosion and Sediment Control Program with the Virginia Stormwater Management program. The first item of regular business on Council’s regular agenda is an update of the code to reflect the change. 

“The new proposed ordinance language uses the model ordinance provided by the state, incorporating Charlottesville’s more stringent standards,” reads the staff report. “There are no proposed policy changes in this amendment.”

Want to check for yourself?

• Current Water Protection ordinance 
• Resolution with proposed changes 

The second item is related and deals with changes to the city’s Stormwater Utility Fee program to become compliant with the state’s new combined program. The city has had such a fee in place since 2014 after Council voted 4-1 in February 2013 to put it in place (Here’s a story I wrote at the time)

One of the most frequent questions I get is how the city spends this money. Here’s the description from the staff report:

“The Stormwater Utility Fee helps the City meet its state and federal regulatory requirements related to stormwater management,” reads the staff report. “Fees collected are used to repair and replace public stormwater infrastructure, to implement capital projects related to water quality and drainage improvement, and to preserve, enhance, and restore the integrity of the City’s water resources.”

The third item is an official approval of the Transit Strategic Plan for Charlottesville Area Transit, which was the subject of a work session on June 3 which I’ve not been able to write up yet. A public survey closed on May 31. 

The plan tells the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation what capital investments will be made in the next ten years and what will be done to increase ridership. Part of that involves the piloting of battery-electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Here are some recent articles if you’d like to learn more:

• More planning in the works for Charlottesville Area Transit, July 9, 2023
• Charlottesville’s bus system seeks input on transit strategic plan, May 17, 2024
• Area delegation travels to Illinois to tour hydrogen production used by Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District to power a dozen buses, June 14, 2024

I sure would have liked to have written up the June 3, 2024 work session. The adoption of this plan authorizes changes that will happen in the near future as soon as enough drivers are hired. The minutes are not available for that discussion and there’s no way to stop time for me to write it all down in time. 

After that there will be an amendment to the city’s action plan for the Community Development Block Grant program to reflect additional funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Community Development. (staff report)

Finally there will be an annual report from the Charlottesville Sister Cities Commission. There are three active city, one Friendship city, and one on emeritus status. Do you know which ones? This would be where a quiz might be fun. 

In any case, there have been visits in the past twelve months from delegations from Winneba in Ghana, Huehuetenango in Guatemala, and Besançon in France. The report has updates on each community including Pleven in Bulgaria. 

“Pleven was placed in emeritus status in 2018 due to a lack of activity or an active support group in either city,” reads the annual report. . More recently, we have received an inquiry through the American Embassy in Bulgaria to determine if we would have interest in renewing our relationship.”

Some items on Council’s consent agenda:

• There will be a second reading of $130,713 to fund the Local Energy Alliance Program, which helps property owners make investments to make their homes and businesses more energy efficient. (staff report)
• There will be a second reading of $172,182 from the Virginia Department of Social Services for individuals who receive auxiliary grants, adoption assistance, and independent living services. (staff report)
• There is the second of two readings to transfer $9 million to the city’s Retirement Fund related to the city’s recent decision to implement collective bargaining and adjust compensation for all employees. For FY25, the city’s payroll will exceed the three percent assumed by the city’s actuary and the city has to pay more into the fund. The city is making up the difference at one time rather than spread it out over years. The funding comes from the surplus in FY23. This reflects a decision already made by Council but worth pointing out. (learn more)
• There is second reading of a $10,000 payment to the Tonsler League from the city’s Vibrant Community Fund. This is in addition to $15,000 the city’s Parks and Recreation Department pays to the entity. The staff report also doesn’t mention that the recently approved state budget allocates $250,000 to the City of Charlottesville specifically for the purposes of running the Tonsler League. Did the writer of the staff report know that funding will be available? (staff report) (state budget) 
• There is second reading of a resolution for increases in utility fees (staff report) and second reading for a new $340 gas connection fee (staff report) and second reading for the use of $46,000 in Community Development Block Grant for playground enhancements at Johnson Elementary School (staff report).
• There’s also the second reading of a forgivable loan to Piedmont Housing Alliance of $5.75 million for the second phase of Kindlewood. (staff report)
• There are also second readings for franchise agreements for telecommunications company that operate in public right of way. These are for Level 3 Communications, Crown Castle, and Brightspeed.
• The company 2PIC LLC at 178 Zan Road had a water leak and there’s a provision for them to seek a refund from the city. The utility billing office calculated they’re owed a credit of $18,212.63 and that requires Council approval because it is over $10,000. (staff report)

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 is from the June 17, 2024 Week Ahead edition of the newsletter.