Month: December 2015

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Looking Back at 2015 in Crozet

2015 was. I despise “top 10” type posts, but looking back can be a useful exercise.

Growth and development continue to be huge issues, Downtown Crozet’s redevelopment begins anew, the Crozet Library celebrated two years, WAHS got a new principal, Brownsville’s principal moved mid-year, the CCAC meetings were informative as always. I know I say this often, but the boring meetings are where things happen … months and months before most people get informed enough to get up in arms. Being a good citizen is time-consuming, and worth it.

Thank you to everyone who reads, lurks, comments, subscribes, here and on the ever-growing RealCrozetVA Facebook page/community. Y’all make Crozet a great place to live.

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CCAC Meeting – 16 December 2015 – New Developments + Growth

A few thoughts after tonight’s CCAC meeting:

  1. Having that many involved, interested, engaged people at a local meeting is AWESOME.
  2. Crozet is a designated growth area. It has been for many years.
  3. Crozet is going to grow.
  4. These developers are working under the constructs permitted by the County of Albemarle.
  5. If you want to effect change, it takes time. And effort. And time and dedication.
  6. See #1.
  7. If you want something to stay the same, buy it. Otherwise, expect it to change. I don’t say this flippantly, but bluntly and simply.
  8. The conversation that the community needs to have is far, far greater than one or two neighborhoods. It’s about Crozet. And the County. And the City of Charlottesville + County of Albemarle. And schools. And roads.  And taxes.
  9. If you comment on a matter, I think you should have to disclose your interest in the matter.
  10. Dig into the tweets. Come to the next meeting. Please.
  11. This is the slide deck the folks presenting about Adelaide used last night.
  12. Update – letter from the Cory Farm neighborhood against the rezoning

Update – Sean Tubbs with Charlottesville Tomorrow has as well.

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WAHS Robotics Competing at UVA on 19 December

WAHS Robotics PhotoIt almost didn’t make it. It almost fell, treads over robotic hook, down the ramp and onto the competition field. Everyone watching knew what was at stake, no matter the experience level. Would the robot hang, suspended from the pull-up bar, or end the match in defeat?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qD_Ic7mhVlI&feature=youtu.be&t=170

 

Five robotics teams from Crozet are preparing to compete at UVA’s Slaughter Rec Center on Dec. 19th. Western Albemarle High School Robotics has three student led teams: Her Majesty’s Engineers, Loose Screws, and Geek Gods. These teams commit anywhere from six to ten hours per week building and programming their bots in anticipation of qualifying for advancement to the State competition. Joining the WAHS teams on the 19th are Henley’s Nerd Herd and Rogue Robotics, an independent Crozet team made up of students from Western and Albemarle High Schools.

The Crozet teams and their mentors invite you to come support FIRST robotics and our local student teams. Qualifier competition matches usually start around 11:00 with exciting elimination matches from about 3:30 to 5:30. Parking is available near Slaughter Rec Center.

 

~ Shelby Bowen

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Adelaide Neighborhood Public Meeting

Adelaide Development Neighbor Notification

I had intended to post this letter a couple weeks ago from the proposed Adelaide developer.  Since then, the Cory Farm HOA have gotten together and written a letter outlining some of their concerns. Both are below.

So as to not bury the lede, the CCAC meeting where this development will be discussed is Wednesday, 16 December at the Crozet Library.

– Letter from Kyle Redinger,  “a developer who grew up in Albemarle County, attended Western Albemarle High School and have been an entrepreneur in the community for over a decade. I have lived in our community for over 30 years. ” (PDF).

– Letter from the HOA to the CCAC of the adjacent neighborhood, Cory Farm.

Crozet is going to grow, folks. We are a growth area. How we grow is, in part, up to us. In part.

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Transportation from Crozet to Charlottesville – sans your own car

image1In February we had  a good conversation about buses from Crozet to Charlottesville.

Brandon Black from Lenoir Limousine has asked me to ask you –

“Looking to get some input on what people think about a bus service from Crozet to Charlottesville.

• Would you ride it?
• What times should it depart in mornings and evenings?
• How much would you pay per week?
• What areas in Charlottesville would you want to go?

Just throwing around ideas want to hear community input.”

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CCAC Meeting – 16 December 2015

Lots of stuff (such as two new neighborhoods!) on the CCAC agenda this month; I’m going to try to make it and tweet it, but would certainly welcome others’ assistance!

Via email – 

CROZET COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Wednesday, December 16, 2015 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

The Crozet Library

Agenda

1. Agenda Review. (Jennie More – CCAC chair)

2. Approval of Minutes and CCAC housekeeping items (15 minutes)

3. Project Updates/Information:

  •  Community Meeting – Proposed Special Use Permit for fill in the flood plain/stream crossing – Proposal requires a new special Use Permit to add a road connection out to Orchard Drive. Current owners are Crozet Development Solution (Piedmont Housing Alliance). – Keith Lancaster and Charlie Armstrong with Southern Development (45 minutes)
  •  Community Meeting – Proposed Rezoning for residential development Adelaide. This property is located immediately to the west of Cory Farm on 250. – Kyle Redinger (45 minutes)
  •  Clean up Meeting space (15 minutes)

The Library closes at 9pm.

4. Items not listed on the agenda.

– Frank Stoner would like to remind people that the most current information about The Former Barnes Lumber Property is available on their website. Mr. Stoner has met with planning staff and has received comments on the plans he showed the CCAC in October. These staff comments will be available on the website. www.downtowncrozetinitiative.com.

5. Announcements.

– DCI Steering Committee Update – Tim Tolson and Dave Stoner

6. Future Agenda Items.

– Update on Former Barnes Lumber Property – Frank Stoner

– Discussion/Information about critical road connections- Phil Best

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Rumble-Stripping 240 Near Highlands

This used to be a narrow shoulder. Then they paved it and made it a wider shoulder, which served as a wonderful bike lane.

Then they rumble-stripped it.   As someone who rides a bicycle and drives there frequently, I hate this new “feature.”

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Rumble-strip near Highlands

-PAXP-deijE

I posted the question on Facebook;  the consensus is that the rumble-stripped the road because people driving cars keep running off the road.

Alison’s response wins, and I encourage folks to act as they see fit: (bolding mine)

The driver who ended up in our yard actually passed two breathalyzers. She was sober, there was no bad weather, it was light out, nothing in the road. We assume she was looking at her phone as it was in her hand when my husband got to her car seconds after she crashed. She had two fence posts go through her windshield on either side of her head. She was lucky to have nothing more than a couple gashes. She went through two back fences, took out several mature trees, missed our kids play structure by literally inches, and broke through our side fence, stopping feet from our neighbor who was unloading groceries in her driveway. That same neighbor had a car go through their yard a few months earlier.


So we and several others on our street have been begging VDOT for a guardrail since this happened and they have repeatedly shot it down as too dangerous for the drivers. We also asked them to lower the speed limit to match the section of 240 near Western Ridge and they refused to do that as well. What they did do is pave the shoulder (because the drop off was soft and didn’t allow drivers the opportunity to self-correct) and put in the rumble strips. We told them it was not enough but after 11 months of asking that was what we were given. Anne Mallek even spoke up for us and they didn’t budge.That being said, I would urge anyone who is unhappy with this situation to call VDOT and tell them! There are houses on our street where the drop off from 240 is very steep and any car going off the road would be in their living room in seconds. People regularly drive too fast and we have spent many nights watching them swerve in and out of the lane lines for no apparent reason. So we are not giving up.

If you’re willing to help, you can reach our Charlottesville Residency Administrator at VDOT at 434-422-9373. Express your safety concerns/unhappiness with not having a bike lane/frustration with wasteful spending… If enough people speak up maybe they will reconsider. We won’t get what we don’t ask for. Thanks!

Two of my thoughts:
1 – Focusing on building roads solely for cars is profoundly short-sighted and irresponsible, especially for a community seeking to encourage people to ride bicycles and to walk places.
2 – Maybe not building neighborhoods so close to a busy and getting-busier road?
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December’s (2015) Crozet Gazette – Chock Full of Good Stuff

A few stories from this month’s Crozet Gazette (don’t neglect to pick up a copy at one of our local stores!)

 

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Old Trail Aiming to Downzone to Build Fewer Homes

Just over 10 years ago, Old Trail was approved/rezoned.

If you’ve seen the Albemarle County signs at the entrance to Old Trail and wondered, what’s that for?

In short, they’re seeking a downzoning from the allowed 1,600 units to 1,100 units. As I advise my clients: Old Trail will grow; so will Crozet. Be aware, and  If you don’t own it (whatever “it” is), it’s going to change.

Update 16 December 2015:

Charlottesville Tomorrow reports on the proposed downzoning. I’m awfully curious about this part, seeing as how more connectivity is needed.

March Mountain also wants to remove a reference to a future road connection with Henley Middle School. Staff members want the developer to retain a pedestrian connection and reserve it for emergency vehicle access and the developer agreed.

 

Clarifying Update – 16 December 2015, from the County’s report (pdf):

 

#2: Henley Middle School Connection

The applicant has proposed to remove the road connection that was shown on the original application plan, and is also shown in the Crozet Master Plan, between Block 19 and Henley Middle School and instead provide a pedestrian only connection. Planning staff, school staff, and the applicant have met concerning this connection and while the schools currently do not have this connection in their plans, they do not want to foreclose on the possibility of a connection in the future to alleviate traffic on Route 250 coming into and out of the school and help with bus traffic. Therefore, the note should be revised to include both a pedestrian and road connection between Block 19 and Henley Middle School. Staff’s understanding is that the applicant is amenable to this change.

 

 

#1: Interconnection between Blocks 32 and 22

The applicant has proposed the following note in regards to Street T, which is the connection between Blocks 32 and 22: “The developer reserves the right, but not the obligation to build the road between Block 22 and Block 32 as an approved public or private road or as a secondary emergency accessway. If this road is constructed, the developer reserves the right to impact the stream buffer as shown on Sheet 3.”

 

Staff is in support of this road being designated as an optional public or private street because of the large impacts to the stream buffer, however, the note should be revised to delete the reference to “secondary emergency accessway.” The proposed note appears to leave it to the discretion of the developer to decide whether or not to build an emergency accessway, If during the site plan or subdivision process for these blocks, Fire and Rescue, VDOT, or engineering find that a secondary emergency access is needed for the health, safety and general welfare of the public, then this connection will need to be made. As stated, the developer would not need to adhere to that requirement.

And the accompanying RealCrozetVA facebook post.

 

 

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