Category: Politics

Posted on

Vote Early In-Person Starting this Friday, September 18 (2020)

via Albemarle County’s email

(if you’re curious, you can learn more background about voting in Albemarle by reading the CCAC recap)

Vote Early In-Person Starting this Friday, September 18

Beginning this Friday, September 18th through Saturday, October 31st, registered voters can vote early in-person in Conference Room A at the 5th Street County Office Building on 1600 5th Street.

Voting early in-person is a nearly identical experience to voting at your polling place on Election Day – you’re just opting to cast your vote early!
Dates and times for early in-person voting are as follows: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 8:30 am to 5 pm Tuesdays from 7 am to 5 pm Thursdays from 8:30 am to 7 pm Saturday, October 24 from 9 am to 5 pm Saturday, October 31 from 9 am to 5 pm

Think ahead and #makeaplan to vote in the upcoming 2020 November General Election.
Register to Vote Check your voter registration or register to vote at vote.elections.virginia.gov.

The deadline to register to vote/update your voter registration information is Tuesday, October 13, 2020.

To register online, you must: Have a valid Virginia DMV driver’s license or state ID card Be a citizen of the United States Be a resident of Virginia Be 18 years old on or before the next general election (if you are 17, you can still register and vote in elections if you will be 18 on or before the next general election) Not be convicted of a felony or judged mentally incapacitated, unless right to vote has been restored
Ways to Vote There are three options to cast your vote in the upcoming November 2020 General Election.

By Mail Any registered voter can apply to vote by mail for the upcoming election, no excuse necessary.

Applications must be submitted by October 23, 2020. Mail-in ballots must be mailed in to the Voter Registration Office or personally delivered to the Voter Registration Office by November 3. However, we recommend sending them in as soon as possible.

Early In-Person Starting Friday, September 18 through Saturday, October 31, registered voters can vote early in-person in Conference Room A at the 5th Street County Office Building at 1600 5th St. Voters will present acceptable ID, get checked in on the electronic pollbooks, be handed a ballot, and directed to a ballot marking booth; the voter will mark the ballot, and then insert it into a DS200 ballot scanning machine. Curbside voting will also be available. Hours for early in-person voting are: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 8:30 am to 5 pm Tuesdays from 7 am to 5 pm Thursdays from 8:30 am to 7 pm Saturday, October 24 from 9 am to 5 pm Saturday, October 31 from 9 am to 5 pm

At your Polling Place on Election Day All 30 Albemarle County voting precinct polling places will be open on election day, November 3, 2020, from 6 am to 7 pm. Enhanced cleaning and distancing protocols will be in effect to keep voters safe. To find your polling place, visit https://www.elections.virginia.gov/citizen-portal/
Important Deadlines Register to Vote: Tuesday, October 13, 2020 Request Mail-In Ballot: Tuesday, October 23, 2020 Return Mail-In Ballot: Tuesday, November 3, 2020 at 7 pm
Voter Registration Office Information
Early In-Person Voting Conference Room A County Office Building at 1600 5th Street Charlottesville, VA 22902 (1/2 mile south of I-64 on 5th Street Extended)
Dates and Times: September 18 – October 31 Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 8:30 am to 5 pm Tuesdays from 7 am to 5 pm Thursdays from 8:30 am to 7 pm Saturday, October 24 from 9 am to 5 pm Saturday, October 31 from 9 am to 5 pm

Send Ballot by Mail Use pre-addressed envelope sent with your mail-in ballot -OR- Elections 435 Merchant Walk Square, Suite 300 PMB 160 Charlottesville, VA 22902

Mail Ballot Drop-Off Drop Box at the parking circle of the 5th Street County Office Building, 1600 5th St., Charlottesville, VA 2290
Posted on

Crozet Land Use and the Planning Commission – 1 September

This stuff matters, folks. And the voices that speak up are the ones that are heard, and the ones that write the policies we live with.

6pm on 1 September. See here how to attend.

NB: the County Calendar is useful.

via email

The Board of Supervisors directed staff to begin work on the Crozet Master Plan update on September 4, 2019. The purpose of this work session is to provide the Planning Commission with an update about public feedback related to land use and to receive the Commission’s guidance on revised land use categories.(Andrew Knuppel)

And from the PDF

Discussion/Recommendation: Staff recommends that the Commission review the attached background information,feedback summaries,and draft land use information and provide direction to staff on the questions below.

Q1 Do you agree with staff’s recommendation to create a Middle Density Residential land use category to support the stated goals within Crozet?

Q2 Do you see applicability for this category in similar contexts in other areas of the County (to be considered with future Master Plan updates)?

Q3 Do you have any feedback on the recommended density, housing types, or form guidance within the land use table?

Q4 Do you agree with staff’s recommendation to create a Downtown Neighborhoods Overlay to support the stated goals within this area of Crozet?

Q5 Do you have any feedback on the recommended criteria for increased density, housing types, or form guidance within the land use table?

I’ve put the PDF here, so that it will be here the next time Albemarle changes their website and urls.

2020 Crozet Master Plan Update Future Land Use update for 1 SeptemberDownload
Posted on

Get your Albemarle Absentee Ballot for June Primary Elections (2020)

I have two questions:

1 – Will they accept electronic signatures, or must they be wet signatures? Answer: Yes, they accept electronic signatures, so long as you are already registered to vote

2 – May we email the PDF of the absentee ballot application? Answer: yes; you may email to [email protected]

(and the FB post)

Here is the link to request your absentee ballot.

via email:

                  IMPORTANT NOTICE TO ALBEMARLE COUNTY VOTERS !!!


The Governor has postponed the June primary elections in Virginia. The June primary elections will now be held on Tuesday, June 23, 2020. Albemarle County voters will have an opportunity to vote in either the Democratic primary or the Republican primary (but not both).

Because of the COVID-19 virus, if you would like to vote in the upcoming June 23 primary the Albemarle County Electoral Board and Department of Voter Registration strongly urge ALL voters to vote absentee by mail in that election, so as to avoid having to go to the polls on election day. 

By notice posted on the Virginia Department of Elections website, the Department of Elections has advised all Virginia localities that because of the COVID-19 emergency, ALL voters will be permitted to vote absentee for the June primary elections in Virginia.

Jim’s note: After speaking to the registrar, I struck through this. Choose the first option.

In order to get an absentee ballot, voters will need to submit an absentee ballot application form.  Use “my disability or illness” as the absentee reason.  

If you have a Virginia driver’s license, you can complete that form online. https://vote.elections.virginia.gov/VoterInformation

Continue reading “Get your Albemarle Absentee Ballot for June Primary Elections (2020)”
Posted on

Vote 5 November 2019

Sample Ballot -5 November 2019

This is an extremely important election.

Candidates for Albemarle County Board of Supervisors

Crozet has three polling places

MECHUMS RIVER PRECINCT


Western Albemarle High School
5941 Rockfish Gap Turnpike
Crozet VA 22932

 Mechums River was formed out of parts of the Crozet and Brownsville precincts in March of 2018.Voting takes place in the auxiliary gym, at the end of the school farthest away from the main entrance.

Mechums River Precinct Map

November 5, 2019 Sample Ballot

BROWNSVILLE PRECINCT

Brownsville Elementary School
5870 Rockfish Gap Turnpike, Crozet, 22932

Located on Route 250 West, just west of Crozet.  The school shares a parking lot with Henley Middle School and is opposite Western Albemarle High School. Voting takes place is the gymnasium.

In March 2018 a new precinct called Mechums River was created out of parts of the Brownsville and Crozet precincts in order to minimize overcrowding. 

Click here to see a map of the new precinct.

November 5 2019 Sample Ballot 

CROZET PRECINCT

Crozet Elementary School

1407 Crozet Avenue, Crozet, VA 22932
Located just north of Crozet on Crozet Avenue.  The school is on the east side of the road.
In March 2018 a new precinct called Mechums River was created out of parts of the Crozet and Brownsville precincts in order to minimize overcrowding. 

Click here to see a map of the new precinct.

November 5, 2019 Sample Ballot .
Continue reading “Vote 5 November 2019”
Posted on

Candidate Forum at Field School – 29 October 2019

Candidate forum Tuesday night. Time to do your final due diligence and research.

A good place to start is by looking at the money.

from Crozet Community Association’s site (make sure to click through to their site and see which candidates will be attending)

The Crozet Community Association (CCA) will host a candidates forum on Tuesday, October 29, 2019 from 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM at the Field School.  All the local candidates for the White Hall district have been invited and most  have said they can attend. 

Continue reading “Candidate Forum at Field School – 29 October 2019”
Posted on

Albemarle’s New Dress Code

Good.

via email.

Dear Parents, Guardians and Students:

On February 28, I communicated with you about the enforcement of our student conduct policy and dress code practices to better meet our responsibility to provide an educational environment in our schools in which all students can fulfill their highest potential.

Our policy states that any clothing that interferes with or disrupts our educational environment is unacceptable. This requirement has always been present in our policy; it is not new.

Effective tomorrow, Tuesday, March 12, the wearing of clothing with imagery associated with organizations that promote white supremacy, racial division, hatred, or violence will not be permitted in our schools. 

Continue reading “Albemarle’s New Dress Code”
Posted on

CCAC Meeting – February 2019 | Schools, and Recycling

This should be an interesting meeting, seeing as how most everyone in Crozet benefits from having a great school system. I’ll reserve my cynicism for my in-meeting tweets.

#CCAC0219

Crozet Library 
Wednesday, February 13, 2019 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. 

Agenda 

1.    Introductions and Agenda Review (Allie Pesch – CCAC chair) 

2.    Approval of Minutes 

3.    Recycling in Western Albemarle (Trudy Brement, Emma-Caroline Avery, and Maren Eanes, Henley Middle School – 20 min) 

Due to illness, the recycling discussion will be postponed. Instead, our neighborhood planner Andrew Knuppel will be presenting the county’s new development dashboard and giving us an overview of Crozet developments currently “in the pipeline.”

4.    Western Albemarle Feeder Pattern School Capacity and Enrollment (Rosalyn Schmitt, ACPS Chief Operating Officer – 60 min) 

5.    Items Not Listed on the Agenda 

6.    Announcements 

7.    Future Agenda Items 
        –  Joel DeNunzio, VDOT (March) 
        –  Chesterfield Landing Phase III Review 
        –  Albemarle County Development Pipeline Dashboards (Andrew Knuppel) 
        –  The Square and Barnes Lumber Updates? 

Posted on

Homestay (AirBnB/VRBO/etc) Regulations in Albemarle County Changing

A reader messaged me:

Hi Jim- Not sure if this is appropriate for the RealCrozet page or not, but if you think it is, would you be willing to share the link where county residents can share comments about the proposed Homestay changes, please? I feel like, given the lack of hotels in western Albemarle and the amount of tourism here, this should be on residents’ radars more than it currently is. Thanks!

Here’s the link to comment to the County of Albemarle with your thoughts on the proposed Homestay regulations.

There was a well-attended roundtable at the County on 8 January 2019.

Learn the background here (and consider subscribing to the Daily Progress)

Why do I bang the “pay money for local media” drum?

Watch this. Seriously. Watch it. 

 

Posted on

Steve Landes Town Hall – 29 December 2018

Update: Postponed.

CROZET – Del. Steve Landes, R-Weyers Cave, has postponed his Saturday town hall meeting due to a hospital stay, according to a release from William T. Wrobleski, Landes’ communications director.

“Delegate Landes has postponed the December 29th Town Hall Meeting in Crozet,” the statement said. “Delegate Landes had an adverse allergic reaction requiring admission to the hospital. Unfortunately, he will not be discharged prior to the scheduled meeting. The Crozet Town Hall will be rescheduled as soon as possible.”

Yes, it’s an advocacy post (via email), but that’s ok.

State delegate Steve Landes (R-25) is holding a town hall listening session in Crozet at the Crozet library on Saturday, December 29th at 10:00 am.

Suggestion: bring signs that just say 78%. That’s the percent of Virginians who support a Constitutional amendment to create an INDEPENDENT Commission to draw voting boundaries. (See the full survey here)

Let’s tell Landes and our other representative not to block the right of the PEOPLE to decide how we want our political districts determined!

If you go, take a photo with your smartphone and post it to our BRAG Facebook page.

Thanks — this is the time when everything helps.

Posted on

Three Things about Voting in Albemarle – 6 November 2018

You might have heard. 6 November there’s an election.

 

  1. Make sure you know where you’re supposed to vote. (things may have changed)
  2. Check the sample ballot before you go in.
  3. You’ve studied the constitutional amendments, right? Right?
    1. Read a bit more about them.
  4. Now’s a good time for homebuyers to search out neighborhoods and try to discern if they might like the neighborhood.