Author: Jim

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What’s Going on At Crozet Park?

I ride through Crozet Park all the time and there is a lot happening! So much so that I asked Kim Guenther with the Park to give us an update. She was gracious to quickly email me something and it’s taken me a couple weeks to get around to posting; I’m sorry.

What’s Happening at the Park

If you’ve been by Crozet Park lately, you’ve no doubt noticed the mountains of dirt sitting south of the upper playground. Some have guessed this might be a new BMX dirt bike course or, an obstacle for a Tough Mudder event. Or, just for fun, the Park Board decided to dig up the old pool near the upper playground that was shut down and covered over when the new pool was built in 1996.  But no, none of these things are true. Instead, we are redesigning and improving the Park’s parking.  

The project kicked off in early July and we’ve pulled together key points into an FAQ. So, if you’re wondering what the heck is going on at your community park, read on…

  1. Why are we renovating and expanding Park parking?

Surveys of Park users have helped make clear how current parking is not adequate.

Anyone who has been to the Park, especially in the spring and summer, can attest to the many challenges of parking.  Park usage continues to increase especially as new amenities – dog park and perimeter trail — are added, resulting in parking that is less than adequate. To put this in context, traffic volume coming into the community-owned 22-acre Crozet Park is second only to the County-owned Darden Towe Park, a 113-acre park in Charlottesville.

Continue reading “What’s Going on At Crozet Park?”

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CCAC Meeting Recap August 2016

So much discussed at tonight’s Crozet Community Advisory Council meeting at Crozet Library.

 

Click through, scroll down, read *all* the tweets, and make your way back up.

Continue reading “CCAC Meeting Recap August 2016”

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6 Years to Get a Sidewalk in Crozet

Sidewalk from Field School/Crozet Elementary
Sidewalk from Field School/Crozet Elementary

But hey, at least we’re getting a sidewalk!  Remember when the sidewalk grant was announced in 2010? And we talked about it in 2011?

Thanks, really, to those at the County and the community (and those who straddle both!) for continuing the push. Unfortunately, my kids are now well out of Crozet Elementary, but I look forward to seeing more kids riding bikes and walking to school!

And thanks to those at Crozet Elementary who continue to push and advocate for walking and biking to school!

Note: accompanying Facebook post.

Sidewalk from Field School/Crozet Elementary
Sidewalk from Field School/Crozet Elementary

Continue reading “6 Years to Get a Sidewalk in Crozet”

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CCAC Meeting 17 August 2016 | Police Substation, Downtown Crozet, CCAC Priorities

The CCAC matters, folks. Sacrifice time to attend, get informed, and be present — not just when something comes up that directly affects you or your neighborhood. *

via the CCA site:

CROZET COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE (CCAC) Meeting

Crozet Library, 2020 Library Avenue, Crozet

Wednesday, August 17, 2016 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Click here for PDF (printable) version of the agenda.

Agenda

1. Agenda Review. (David Stoner – CCAC chair)

Approval of Minutes (Draft minutes of July 20, 2016 meeting)

3. Update on possible police substation in Crozet (Capt. Greg Jenkins ACPD – 15min) — Some background on this at RealCrozetVA; short story: the County determined last year that it’s not even remotely a priority in the CIP)

4. Update Focus Areas and Committee Liaison Roles (All – 20 min) — see the end of this post for more information

5. Barnes Lumber & Downtown Crozet Initiative (DCI) Update (1 hour) — this should be interesting.

a. Barnes Rezoning Presentation (Frank Stoner, Milestone Partners)

b. DCI Update (Mary Beth Bowen and Dave Stoner, DCI)

6. Follow-up on CCAC Priorities and Master Plan Update Discussion (All-time permitting) 

7.   Items not listed on the agenda

8.  Announcements

9.  Future Agenda Items

The CCAC’s role and “charter” docs are found here: Continue reading “CCAC Meeting 17 August 2016 | Police Substation, Downtown Crozet, CCAC Priorities”

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Emerson Commons – Crozet’s Cohousing Community

Remember the cohousing community that was coming to 240 in 2009?

Now it appears that site is called Emerson Commons, as reported by Tim Dodson with Charlottesville Tomorrow, and it’s going to be a reality.

A new cohousing community will be coming to Crozet by 2018.

Emerson Commons will be located on 6.1 acres along Parkview Drive off Route 240, near the Crozet Veterinary Care Center.

“For some people, this ‘cohousing’ term, they’ve never heard it before, this is the first in this region,” said Peter Lazar, who is developing the community. “Some of the core elements that you see in every cohousing neighborhood is that parking is on the periphery, so that’s a fundamental aspect of it to make it pedestrian-oriented, [and] the houses are clustered so that there’s more green space.”

 

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The August 2016 Crozet Gazette is Here!

I love this time of the month – a new Crozet Gazette.

A few of my favorite stories (make sure to pick one up at a local store, and buy something while you’re there!) –

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More on Old Trail Village’s New Commercial Phase

Big news last week when Old Trail Village released the plans for their next commercial phase.

Charlottesville Tomorrow’s Tim Dodson reports more today:

Brockman said there will likely be three to five retail tenants, depending on how the ground floor space is divided up.

“We’ve had our ear to the ground for a while, listening to the existing merchants that are in Old Trail and in Crozet and speaking with residents, so we hope to bring at least one more restaurant to this facility,” Wilson said.

Wilson said some other retail ideas include an outdoors shop, a bike store and a small grocery with a deli.

Brockman suggested a boutique could be another possible type of tenant, in addition to potential service-oriented tenants.

“We’re hoping to be very inclusive in our search, and we certainly appreciate and welcome feedback from area residents,” Wilson said. “We want to be good neighbors and we want to help provide a new service that people will use.”

See more at the Old Trail Village Center site.

 

Continue reading “More on Old Trail Village’s New Commercial Phase”

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If Crozet Became a Town – What Might its Budget Look Like?

I’m advocating nothing here, other than for discussion and conversation.

Easy questions about “if Crozet became a town”?
  • Would you be willing to pay more in taxes to have more control over the future of Crozet?
  • Would yet another layer of bureaucracy be a good thing?
  • How is being a town working out for Scottsville?
A big question

@realcrozetva what additional services would you want for your town taxes?

A Budget from a friend

Here is a link to what a Crozet budget would look like if incorporated from a very well run Town that is comparable in community feel and size.

ACSA would provide the water and sewer, so the budget would be around $5mm per year, and provide police services in the Town. Of that, 40% is streets, much of which is funded via VDOT cost sharing.

Police is $850K annually, parks and rec around $600K. They have really nice baseball/softball facilities and parks. On par with what Crozet would provide.

The pie chart on the last page is instructive.

Added tax rate is 9 cents per hundred on Real Estate in the Town.

BUDGET.NEWSLETTER.FY2016.pdf

…

Town status could be a Pandora’s box for either side of the argument, depending upon who would be elected, but I do think Crozet would benefit from Town status and to be able to more closely control and direct its own policies, decisions and land use outcomes.

In response to my inquiry as to if he knew any other localities that successfully sought and achieved town status –  (bolding mine)

There was a movement at Massanutten to seek Town status, but that was an anti-growth movement and there is no “town” there apart from the Resort who is opposed.

I think it would be relatively easy to define the Town boundary – just take the existing Comp Plan boundaries and survey it. The actual steps to seek Town status at the General Assembly do not appear daunting, but that excludes the County/State politics discussion.

Bridgewater is a great example to use as it is in a similar place as the premier bedroom community to a major public university town. Full of parks and town pride and a perfect family community, but really lacking the ability to attract new major employers despite the quality of life.

“Really lacking the ability to attract new employers” … or in Crozet’s/Albemarle’s case, the desire/will to do so.

See this.