Category: Crozet

I sent this to the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors. Posting here because a) I think it’s a good idea (that’s why I sent it) and b) If I say it to the board, I will say it here.

I’m writing as a resident of Crozet, and of Parkside Village, in reference to the nearly-completed road and site work for the newest phase of Glenbrook at Foothills.
My request/suggestion is simple: please do not open this road to vehicular traffic until the road through the forthcoming Barnes Lumberyard redevelopment is completed and open. 

The road opening is inevitable; we knew about the road and growth when we moved in 18 years ago. “Don’t open the road” is not my position, even though Hill Top is not scaled for this volume of vehicular traffic, nor is the original section of Hill Top.

The timeline for the road through to Barnes is an unknown, and the pushing of dirt has been “next year” for many years.
Open the road to bicycles and pedestrians, but not to automobiles and trucks:

• Neither Hill Top nor Tabor are sufficient for increased vehicular traffic, and “old Hill Top” has embarrassingly deficient “sidewalks,” and Tabor has sidewalks on 1/3 of the road.  Already, the morning and afternoon backups on Tabor/240 are extraordinary.
• The Tabor/Park/Hill Top intersection already is unable to handle its traffic, and is in a persistent state of disrepair.
• Most importantly, this is an opportunity to nudge people to alter their transportation patterns and expectations, and to encourage people to walk or ride a bike less than a mile to downtown Crozet. 

I’d make the obvious arguments that fewer cars and more walking/riding is better for human health and the environment, but I know that you are aware of all of these.
Happy to provide more photos or video for any who are interested.

Addition that wasn’t in my email: while it may be necessary for the road to be accessible for the fire department after 50 units are complete, I suggest bollards that are removable so that the fire department – and only the fire department – can have vehicular access.

Attachments: 

• Photo of current Hill Top Street adjacent to the new development
• Video of same 
• Photo of “walking path” on Hill Top — impossible to navigate with a stroller or kids’ bicycle, so people walk in the road.
• Note – I’ve added two additional pictures to this post that I didn’t send to the BoS – the pictures that have the equipment.

I get these emails from Albemarle County, I guess because I’m now on the CCAC and I’m glad I do — better to know know what’s happening in our community. Not every announcement is a “big” one, and often it’s the aggregate of the small ones that matter.

Every week, I skim them for Crozet-focused things. Two of note in the past two weeks:

(I’ve re-ordered the snippets I copy/pasted below; both files are at the bottom of the post; I encourage people to click through and read/learn/digest for yourselves)

PROJECT: SP202200029 Park Road Manufactured Home Park

LOCATION: 934 Agatha Dr.

PROPOSAL: Special use permit for a manufactured home park.

PETITION:  A request for a special use permit under Section 18-16.2.2 for a manufactured home park on a 14.94-acre parcel. The property is currently a non-conforming manufactured home park with 73 units. The proposal seeks to bring the property into conformance and to request an additional 14 units for a total of 87 units at a gross density of 5.82 dwelling units/acre. Associated with this request are several special exceptions to the manufactured home park special regulations outlined in Section 18-5.3.

Seemingly not much on the Crozet Community Advisory Committee agenda for November; we’ll see.

Crozet Community Advisory Committee Wednesday, November 9, 2022

7:00 P.M. – 8:30 P.M. Crozet Library Meeting Room |

AGENDA

1. Call to Order, Agenda Review, Introductions (5 minutes) Joe Fore, CCAC Chair
2. Approve Meeting Minutes (2 minutes) Joe Fore, CCAC Chair
3. Announcements and Updates (5 minutes)
4. Committee Business (5 minutes) • •
5. Scheduled Presentations (75 minutes)
   • CAC/County staffing and operations, Emily Kilroy and Serena Gruia
   • Crozet Trails Crew, Terri Miyamoto

via email from CCAC Chair Joe Fore

The Crozet Community Advisory Committee will meet this Wednesday, November 9, at 7 pm in the large meeting room at the Crozet Library. I have attached the agenda and the draft minutes from our last meeting. (If you can arrive a few minutes early to help set up the room, it will help ensure that we can start promptly at 7.)

We will have two scheduled presentations. First, in a fitting follow-up to last month’s discussion about our internal operations, we’ll discuss CAC operations and staffing with Emily Kilroy and Serena Gruia from the County. Second, we’ll hear from the Crozet Trails Crew about their recent and future projects. 

We’ll also consider a resolution to let the committee meet virtually in a way that complies with state law. I’ll circulate a copy of that proposed resolution before the meeting. 

Lastly, I wanted to pass along an update regarding the White Gate Farm/Montclair stream, shared by Eric Schmitz (who joined us for our September meeting). The environmental consultants hired by the County have confirmed that there is, indeed, an “intermittent” stream, which is entitled to protection under County ordinances. Frank Pohl, the County Engineer, issued the attached letter, agreeing with that determination and noting that the stream and the corresponding stream buffers will be added back to the County’s maps.

Attachments

Update: here’s the draft language for the virtual meeting proposal (tl;dr – only three meetings a year are allowed)

I received the following via email (the bolding is mine)

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has prepared a Draft Supplemental Watershed Plan-Environmental Document (Draft Plan-EA) for the Rehabilitation of Multiple-Purpose Structure No. 1 of the Beaver Creek watershed (Beaver Creek Dam) located in Albemarle County, Virginia. NRCS and the Project Sponsors invite you to review the Draft Plan-EA and provide your comments, questions and/or feedback regarding this supplemental watershed plan.

The documents will be available online at https://www.rivanna.org/rwsa- projects-map/beaver-creek-improvements/ beginning on November 4, 2022.

The formal comment review period will conclude on December 19, 2022. Please direct all questions and comments to J.R. Collins of Schnabel Engineering, LLC by e-mail at [email protected], or hard copies to:

Schnabel Engineering, LLC
12301 Research Blvd, Building 4, Suite 150 Austin, TX 78759
Attn: J.R. Collins

For more information, please visit www.rivanna.org. We look forward to receiving your feedback.