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Crozet Redevelopment Conversations
Read the whole thing at C-Ville.
There are plenty of contentious issues at stake, but it was nonetheless a calm affair when dozens of Crozet residents turned out to Western Albemarle High School on September 30 to be briefed by Albemarle County staff on the mandatory five-year update to the Crozet Master Plan, adopted in 2004. Folks listened politely as staff described progress on a major downtown streetscape project, the new library and a 28-unit affordable-housing project for seniors called Crozet Meadows.
Also, please read the guest post by Leslie Burns here on RealCrozetVA:
At the town meeting on Sept. 30th, the progress of the Master Plan was reviewed by individuals spearheading each part of the plan that are seeing progress. A brief review showed attention to all of the 7 Guiding Principles. Take a moment to review the principles that you in Crozet set out as a guide from the very beginning of this process:
Crozet Town Meeting – Master Plan and More
Mark Your Calendars!
The Crozet Town Meeting
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Western Albemarle High School Cafeteria
6:30-7:00 p.m. – Meet & Greet
7:00-9:00 – Program
Come and learn how the Crozet Master Plan is taking shape in your community.
Projects include the New Crozet Library, Streetscape and other downtown enhancements, the Crozet Master Plan 5-Year Update, a new affordable housing project at The Meadows, community efforts to initiate the Crozet Historic District, and Albemarle County Police programs in the area.
Streetscape Concerns in Crozet
Perfection is the enemy of the good.
Gustave Flaubert
French realist novelist (1821 – 1880)
The Daily Progress has a good article about the stalling of the Streetscape project. Please read the whole thing.
“We don’t want the charm of downtown to die away,” Trigo said. “That’s why we have to keep the businesses alive and work together.”
The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors already has appropriated the money as part of its capital improvement plans, but Marshall said he and other CCAC members are worried the money will be spent on other county projects if property owners don’t get on board.
“Downtown needs this to happen and time is slipping away,” Marshall said. “This is a project that will benefit everybody, [but] the county needs to find a way to reassure [property owners] they are going to hold contractors to a schedule and stick to it.”
My question is this – if we don’t take advantage of this opportunity now, when will we? We’re not going to get a perfect plan – but we need to insist on getting this started and finished as soon as possible. What better time than the midst of a recession to prepare for the other side?
Secondly, I’m going to borrow tfjtolson’s comment from the Daily Progress in its entirety:
I want the business owners of Crozet to know that while they build it (the streetscape) we will keep coming. I want them to stay in business and I want Crozet to have the improvements.
Therefore, as a Crozet resident, I pledge to keep patronizing their stores during the construction.Who will join me in this pledge?
Update: More at C-Ville.
Crozet Master Plan Revision Open House
If you’re not involved and informed, your opinion is less likely to matter.
Crozet residents are invited to drop by an Open House scheduled for Monday, August 10, from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm at the Crozet United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall to learn about the focus areas proposed for the Crozet Master Plan 5-Year Update. Albemarle County’s Comprehensive Plan requires that Master Plans such as Crozet’s, adopted in 2004, be reviewed and updated every five years.
The Crozet Master Plan update now underway is not intended to change the overall goals set by the community in 2004, but to look at specific focus areas that may need modification. The review process will also consider requests from individuals for specific changes to the land use map and plan.
Features of the plan that may need modification have been identified by the Crozet Community Advisory Council (CCAC), the public, County staff, the Planning Commission, and the Board of Supervisors. A questionnaire completed by residents of the Crozet Growth Area and their neighbors in western Albemarle during June 2009 established many of the public’s central areas of concern regarding the plan. Those focus areas will be on display at the Open House for the public’s information.
County staff and members of the Crozet Community Advisory Council will be on hand to provide information and answer questions. The focus areas will be presented to the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors for their review and approval this fall. Following Board approval, the community will be involved in developing recommendations for the actual revision of the plan throughout this winter and spring.
Lee P. Catlin
Community Relations Director
Albemarle County
401 McIntire Road
Charlottesville, VA 22901
(434) 296-5841 (office)
(434) 531-8092 (mobile)
Historic District in Crozet – What would the Impact be?
From today’s Daily Progress –
Community leaders say residents would benefit from part of Crozet becoming a historic district, and though the first steps were taken to make that happen, paperwork has been stalled. And uncertainty lingers about when the application will be completed and who’ll pay for it.
Michael Marshall, chairman of the Crozet Community Advisory Council, said that such a request should be filed by Albemarle County, particularly considering that most of the work is already done and part of the expenses were paid by the county. But Margaret Maliszewski, the county’s principal planner for architectural review and historic resources, says that the county doesn’t have the money or staff to finish the work.
“It’s just sitting on a shelf now,” Marshall said. “At a recent CCAC meeting, [county officials] said, ‘Well, you guys have to come up with $5,000 to package this report in an application to the feds.’”
Crozet community leaders say that the advantage of having a historic district would be that eligible businesses would be able to get tax credits that would cover as much as 45 percent of the cost of renovating historic buildings that are more than a half-century old, and homeowners could have as much as 25 percent of renovation costs covered.
1 – Read the whole story at the Daily Progress.
2 – What are the unintended consequences?
Take the Crozet Master Plan Survey
I ran into Mary Rice this evening at the Great Valu. She was handing out notices about the Crozet Master Plan Revision survey.
She said that people just were not/are aware of the survey (and one would assume they are unaware of the impact/influence they could also have).
Take a few minutes, educate yourself and fill out the survey. Ask and cajole your friends and neighbors about it too.
It matters.
What is your Vision for Crozet?
Start thinking about it, because the time to voice your opinion is around the corner.
From the Daily Progress:
Crozet residents will soon have a chance to weigh in on their concerns over growth in western Albemarle County.
One topic sure to emerge: the Crozet Master Plan’s estimate on the growth area’s long-term maximum population capacity.…
Although the board has approved major zoning to benefit the downtown area, officials said the economy has kept more new businesses from coming in. They hope the zoning and the other projects will boost the downtown area.Other areas in Crozet — including the Old Trail development and a segment of U.S. 250 where a new Harris Teeter grocery store is poised to open and other businesses already are in place — have seen a burst of retail activity. Some see that growth as a complement to downtown Crozet, while others fear it will siphon business from the village’s center.
Mallek said she hopes the revision process will help “take away a cloud that hangs over†the Master Plan. She said the questionnaire is just one of the first steps in deciding what changes need to be made.
“I think we’re going to get wonderful responses [from the questionnaire],†Mallek said. “The people in Crozet are very involved in how their community is going to be. We expect that to continue as we go through this process.â€
In the next six weeks, residents will be able to fill out the questionnaire online or on paper. They can pick up questionnaires, which will have 30 to 40 questions, at the Crozet Library or at a town hall meeting county officials plan to host next month.
My vision is a work in progress –
1 – Downtown Crozet is the hub of Crozet.
2 – Old Trail gets built out and becomes a vibrant part of the Crozet Community (this is a two-way street that requires effort and acceptance of Old Trail for Crozet and Crozet for Old Trail).
3 – We become a bike able and walkable community.
A Crozet Commuter Train?
From Charlottesville Tomorrow (read the whole thing) :
Encouraged by the reality of daily passenger service from Lynchburg to Washington, D.C., Albemarle County Supervisor Ann Mallek (White Hall) sought the full Board’s support for a feasibility study for daily commuter service from Crozet to Charlottesville. The Board agreed on April 1, 2009 to send a letter to Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) officially seeking grant opportunities to study the idea further.
The service is proposed to be run on rails operated by the Buckingham Branch Rail Road (BBRR) , according to Mallek. She has met with Charlottesville Mayor Dave Norris to discuss the idea with the railroad company’s officials. Buckingham Branch operates a railroad line that runs nearly 200 miles from Clifton Forge to Richmond on its Piedmont Branch.
The idea sprung up from a conversation between City resident John Pfaltz and Gale Wilson, the General Manager of the BBRR’s Richmond-Alleghany Division. Wilson identified three challenges, according to Pfaltz:
* Amtrak would need to sponsor the project and CSX, which owns the rail line, would need to approve the service
* CSX trains and Amtrak’s Cardinal service would take priority on the line
* Fencing would be required to keep pedestrians off of the track through Charlottesville
Pfaltz said the second item could be overcome by extending a “passing track” that currently exists in Ivy. This extra track would allow either the CSX train or the commuter train to park while the other train passes by. He estimates the start-up costs would be around $5 million.
(Hat Tip: C-Ville)
In a poll on RealCrozetVA last year, nearly 90% of respondents said that they would be willing to use rail service from Crozet to Charlottesville. About 60% of respondents said that they would be willing to pay less that five dollars each way –
The real challenge may lie in the answer to this question – what do you do when you get to Charlottesville? One idea is to have one of the rail cars be a bike car – then use bicycles to get around town.
Some studies have shown that properties close to transit are worth more …
Crozet Community Advisory Council meeting – March
A reminder that the Crozet Community Advisory Council’s (CCAC) monthly meeting is this Thursday, March 19, from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM at the Meadows (off Route 240, south of town).
Everyone is encourage to attend.
The Council’s meeting agenda, minutes, membership, etc. are all posted on the Albemarle County web site.