Month: March 2017

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Notes from the Crozet Master Plan Committee Meeting

Thanks to Tim Tolson at the CCA for this … read the whole thing.

Present: Tom Loach, Tom Guterboch, Jennie More, Bryan Kelly, Shawn Bird, Jim Crosby, Pat Crosby, Tim Tolson, Mike Marshall

Notes by Tim Tolson

Elaine Echols from Albemarle County staff sends her regrets, she cannot make this meeting.

Ann Mallek emailed to say she had another commitment and couldn’t make this meeting.

Tom L. re-capped why we’re doing this survey, to gather opinions about Crozet and growth topics related to master plan in preparation for 2018 when County said it can revise master plan. Starting with 2009 survey that CCAC and CCA and County did, Tim chaired that effort. (Click here for the Crozet Gazette article with more background)

I have a conflict for the next meeting, Thursday, 3/30 at 7:00 PM at the Field School. If you can attend, and can tweet the meeting, please let me know. I’ll pay. This is important stuff, folks. These are not FOIA-able public meetings, even though they are open, and the public is encouraged to attend. While they do a great job with the minutes, having live-tweeting would be fantastic.

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Crozet Needs Water?

via NBC29

The water treatment plant that provides clean water to people in Crozet could exceed its capacity within the next five years. That’s why the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority (RWSA) is beginning a master plan to make sure water keeps flowing from.

Dr. John Schoeb depends on fresh, clean water for both his businesses – his dental practice and his brewery, Pro Re Nata.

“Without it, neither one of them exists,” Schoeb explained. “It’s a limited resource. We’re paying for it, we’re trying to be good to the environment.”

Schoeb says simple conservation steps cut his brewery’s water use by 8,000 gallons per month. It’s an effort he encourages his neighbors in Crozet to try.

“Crozet is a growing, vibrant area. People want to move out here, so if we’re going to keep the infrastructure we have we’re all going to have to work together to conserve as much as we can,” said Schoeb.

Crozet’s infrastructure is the focus of a new water master plan. The RWSA is hiring a consultant to study the growing community’s water needs.

“It is an area where we’re seeing high demand that is starting to get close to our capacity,” said Bill Mawyer, RWSA executive director.

Crozet’s 52 year-old water treatment plant can handle one million gallons per day. Right now, the average daily demand is about half a million gallons.

 

via Crozet Today (pdf)

 

The Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority (RWSA) is launching a master plan to make sure water keeps flowing for Crozet. The Crozet water treatment plant could exceed its capacity within the next five years. Crozet’s infrastructure is the focus of a new water master plan. The RWSA is hiring a consultant to study the growing community’s water needs.

“It is an area where we’re seeing high demand that is starting to get close to our capacity,” said Bill Mawyer, RWSA executive director. Crozet’s 52 year-old water treatment plant can handle one million gallons per day. Right now, the average daily demand is about half a million gallons.

The RWSA estimates it could exceed capacity by the summer of 2022. “We need to start planning now how we will expand the facilities to make sure we can meet the demand in the next five, to 10, to 50 years,” said Mawyer.

 

Read the whole thing.

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Wariness of the Crozet Master Plan

A letter from a reader:

Thank you for the continued updates. We bought in December 2013 in (Crozet) and love it. We will be retiring there in the next few years and selling our DC metro home in MD.

We have watched with dismay over the past 40 years as a pastoral gem — Piscataway, MD, est. 1636 — was continually remade in the image of special interest groups, county government, and developers who could not grasp the significance of an area 20 minutes from the Capitol Building in DC that retained so much early local history, buildings, and active farms. There were many meetings, zoning amendments, master plans presented, but ultimately, all was disregarded and developed much like the rest of the area. Very large homes on tiny lots with a high foreclosure rate, inadequate infrastructure, terrible roads, intolerable commutes, and schools that rank among the lowest in MD. However, we have a world class casino 10 minutes away…

The experience has left me very leery of Smart Growth. Or, any promise of master plans that will actually govern the development process and honor the vision that preserves the essence of the area being considered and the will of the people.

I’m not anti growth. I just wonder if we really want the Crozet area to look just like every other developing area. I think it is a very shortsighted view.

    – Chris
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Crozet Master Plan Survey Meeting – 23 March 2017

Short story: the Crozet Master Plan update will likely affect Crozet significantly. Be there if you’re interested. (does the Crozet Firehouse have open wifi?)

 

via email:

The Crozet Master Plan Survey committee meeting
Thursday, March 23, at 7:00 PM
at the Crozet Firehouse

Anyone interested in helping with the Crozet Master Plan survey is invited to attend the next meeting on Thursday, March 23 at 7:00 PM at the CrozetFirehouse (come around the back of the fire station, and enter through the glass doors on the east side).   We will be reviewing the final draft of the new survey based on all the input and feedback received.  The survey‘s goal is to find out what the residents of Crozet and surrounding community think about various topics and concerns related to the Crozet master plan and its implementation.

Background: Over six years ago, the Crozet community conducted a community survey to get input on items of concern and interest to Crozetresidents to inform the revision of the 2010 Crozet Master Plan revision.   This meeting is part  a similar process for the next revision of the Crozet Master Plan.  Said revision is already over a year over-due and not schedule by the County to occur for another year or two.  The Crozet Community Association (CCA) believes that’s too long to wait for revision, given the pace of development in Crozet.

This is a committee of the Crozet Community Association (CCA).   The results from the survey will be made public.  It will be used to inform the process of master plan revision.  It will also help inform what topics the CCA should focus on when it hosts some town hall meetings about Crozet Master Plan (CMP) revision topics.

Additional background:

We did this in 2009, too.

And in 2005, too

And you can listen to Tom Loach from 2007.

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Neighborhood Funding Initiative Meeting Recap

How would you spend a couple hundred thousand dollars in Crozet? That was the focus of the meeting on Wednesday night at Crozet Elementary.

 

Keep in mind that this money is to be split amongst 7 CACs.

Background on the Neighborhood Funding Initiative.

 

 

I wasn’t able to make the meeting, but offer big thanks to those who were there who tweeted.

Click through for the tweets; there’s a lot of good information there.

Continue reading “Neighborhood Funding Initiative Meeting Recap”

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Crozet Board of Trade Meeting – 20 March 2017

Remember … local politics are where your voice can (hopefully) matter the most. Also, I’d advise walking or riding bicycles …

via email:

Dear Crozet Board of Trade —

The street design of The Square will be our main topic when we meet again next Monday, the 20th, at Crozet Pizza restaurant at 7:30. County facilities director Trevor Henry and transportation engineer Jack Kelsey will present the county’s plans for renovating The Square, which the county discovered that it owns last year. The prospect is a one-way street accessible from Crozet Avenue with angled parking. Come see and let’s give the county some feedback on a project that is critical to downtown.
We also have several new businesses who will be there to introduce themselves and join our company in working to build Crozet’s prosperity.
We’ll meet in the former location of Over the Moon Bookstore, which is now part of Crozet Pizza and offers a quiet room. Food and beer is handy, of course. The meeting will last no more than an hour. Stick around and visit afterward.

Remember, besides the parking space in front or at The Depot, there’s parking behind the Fruit Growers Building, including 16 spaces that were recently paved.
See you there!

Mike Marshall
President, CBT

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Temporary Signal at 151/250

via email:

To improve safety, the Virginia Department of Transportation is installing a temporary signal at the intersection of Route 250 (Rockfish Gap Turnpike) and Route 151 (Critzers Shop Road) in Afton, near the Nelson County line.

An advance warning flasher on Route 250 eastbound, which has a steep downgrade, will accompany the signal to alert motorists when the signal ahead is yellow or red.

Beginning this week through late April, motorists should stay alert for intermittent lane closures controlled by flagging.

A more extensive project is in development to convert the intersection to a roundabout. The safety improvement project will address a history of turning-related crashes at the high-volume intersection. Route 250 carries 6,700 vehicles per day and Route 151 carries 10,000 with about seven percent truck traffic daily on both routes. Pending funding approval, preliminary engineering on the project will begin in 2018.

But y’all knew that if you followed RealCrozetVA on Instagram. 🙂

 

 

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Crozet Trails Add to Crozet’s Connectivity

 

It’s amazing that you can get from Western Ridge, Cory Farm, Highlands, Westhall … all on paths, on foot or on bicycle, and not in a car.  Thanks to the Crozet Trails Crew.

A few upcoming dates of note

Bridge behind Western Ridge
Lickinghole Creek
Looking down from Cory Farm
Behind Western Ridge
Behind Western Ridge
Behind Western Ridge

 

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