The Hindsight Report Asks ‘What If?’
By. Neil Williamson, President
Often the most enlightening questions start with, “What if?”
Working with co-author Derek Bedarf, we looked at developing empirical data to answer the question, “What if Charlottesville’s annexation was successful compared with the results of the negotiated Revenue Sharing Agreement?”
After significant research and deliberation, it was determined that this information was available but not assembled in a manner that made such calculations easy. Utilizing Geographic Information System (GIS) technology for the real estate assessment data and 15 years of Albemarle County budget documents for the other taxes (sales taxes, consumer utility taxes, business taxes, motor vehicle licenses and prepared food and beverage taxes. Other taxes excluded from this study, for a variety of reasons, include utility consumption tax, short term rental tax, clerk fees, transient occupancy tax, penalties interest, and audit revenues), The Free Enterprise Forum calculated the tax revenue generating power of the study area.
The resulting “Hindsight Report” examines the tax generating power of the proposed annexation area as it compares with the revenue sharing payments.
- The Hindsight Report indicates that over the study period (2001-2016), Albemarle County received, from the study area, over $277 million in local tax revenue compared with the $212.9 million revenue sharing payments made to the City of Charlottesville (+$64.1 million).
- Had Charlottesville been successful in the annexation and the revenue sharing agreement not been in place, the City would have received $304.7 million in tax revenue from the study area during the study period compared with $212.9 million in revenue sharing payments from Albemarle County (-$91.8 million).
- During the study period, study area property owners paid $72 million less in real estate taxes by being in Albemarle instead of the City of Charlottesville. This “Non-Annexation” Dividend averaged saved (Albemarle) property owners between $3 million and $4 million annually topping out at $6 million in 2007.
The question the data does not answer is whether the Revenue Sharing Agreement was a good deal for all involved. This is a subjective question that can only be answered in context.
At the time, the historical record suggests annexation was a very real threat and revenue sharing negotiations were heated.
The historical public record also shows many citizens at the public hearing raising some of the same questions regarding equity and fairness that remain part of the discussion today.
Was it a good deal?
Hopefully this data will help you decide.
The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to discuss the Revenue Sharing agreement during their second August meeting on Wednesday August 9th.
Founded in 2003, The Free Enterprise Forum is a privately funded, public policy organization focused on Central Virginia’s local governments.
The entire Hindsight Report can be accessed at www.freeenterprisefoum.org under the reports tab.
Respectfully Submitted,
Neil Williamson, President
Neil Williamson is the President of The Free Enterprise Forum, a privately funded public policy organization covering the City of Charlottesville as well as Albemarle, Greene, Fluvanna, Louisa and Nelson County.
Bad ‘Housekeeping’
By. Neil Williamson, President
Growing up in the 1970s, the only ‘housekeeper’ I knew was Alice from the Brady Bunch. She was an important part of the family who helped out getting everything accomplished for a busy family with six children. She was well respected by the children, the community and her employers.
Now, in separate, equally disturbing, actions both Albemarle County and Charlottesville are giving Alice a bad name.
Please let me explain.
Under the auspices of literally “Housekeeping” Albemarle
plans, by my count, nearly 30 code revisions. The legal ad for the June 20th Planning Commission Public Hearing (right) was dense, even by Albemarle standards.
While the Free Enterprise Forum applauds some of the changes proposed, we remain concerned that other items are clearly being pushed through for political expediency and are being “hidden in plain sight”.
Yesterday, I literally took out my magnifying glass to read the small print. Policy wonks may read the legal ads this closely but by putting thirty largely unrelated code revisions into Zoning Text Amendment, the opportunity for obfuscation is great.
In a municipal game of “Where’s Waldo” see if you can find the second amend statement in the ad above. If you were able to find it, you would find this innocuous legalese:
Amend Section 18-32.6 to clarify that specifications for recreational facilities comply with Sections 18-4.16-4.16.3;
Reading the text above, Alice (and pretty much everyone else) might think this is just “cleaning up” some legal stuff to make it comply with some other legal stuff. But in reality, these twelve words eliminate special use permits for golf and swim clubs in the rural areas, effectively banning new golf courses in Albemarle County. [correction June 13 10:46 am this language is to clean up the ordinance, a separate SUP (and public engagement plan) will be submitted to eliminate golf courses in the rural area – per e-mail from Albemarle’s Bill Fritz- the Free Enterprise Forum regrets this error – nw] This is just one of the “housekeeping” items buried in the proposed Zoning Text Amendment
Albemarle is not alone in burying changes in “housekeeping” activities. Charlottesville Deputy City Attorney Lisa Robertson took City Council’s charge of a “Legal Review” to mean anything her office wanted to change should be a part of the review.
Luckily, the Charlottesville Area Development Roundtable (CADRe) took a long look at the “Legal Review”. As CADRe stated in their May 23rd letter to the Planning Commission:
In the case where a revision represents a substantive change that we feel is inappropriate for the Legal Review and better served by potential Amendments following the update to the Comprehensive Plan, we have noted as Substantive Change. [emphasis added-nw]
Much more than just “Housekeeping” CADRe’s letter outlined 16 pages of Substantive Changes; including the elimination of non residential uses in residential districts:
Also, what about all the other non-residential uses that are currently permitted in residential districts per the residential matrix? Is there a proposed replacement matrix that maintains these uses?
Examples: Houses of worship, temporary outdoor churches, cemetery, Health clinic, private clubs, wireless facilities (antennas, attached facilities, etc.), day care facility, schools (elementary, high school, college) funeral home, library, municipal govt. offices, property management, parking garage/lot, indoor health/sports clubs, parks, utility facilities, utility lines, consumer service business.
If these uses are eliminated from the residential districts this too is a SIGNIFICANT SUBSTANTIVE CHANGE
Regardless of your position on the issues buried in these Zoning Text Amendments, it is difficult for us to understand how one would find these changes as “Housekeeping”. Instead, we see it as an attempt, albeit a legal attempt, to circumvent the normal process and implement significant changes without proper public engagement.
Alice would indeed be disappointed in this shaming of the word “Housekeeping”.
Respectfully Submitted,
Neil Williamson, President
Neil Williamson is the President of The Free Enterprise Forum, a privately funded public policy organization covering the City of Charlottesville as well as Albemarle, Greene, Fluvanna, Louisa and Nelson County.
Photo Credit: WJBQ.com
Sprawl Wars–One Rouge
By. Neil Williamson, President
Reminding me of the old Don Imus bit “Which Doesn’t Belong and Why”, this Thursday evening I will be joining Charlottesville City Councilor Kathy Galvin and Piedmont Environmental Council’s Charlottesville-Albemarle Land Use Officer Jeff Werner on a panel discussing “How Zoning and Land Use Shape The World Around Us”. This FREE event is a non-partisan project of The Democratic Road Forward PAC.
At the outset, I must complement the other panelists both of whom are well respected in their professional and political fields. I have known Werner and Galvin for many years; we disagree strongly about some things, but we have always had interesting, positive conversations/debates. I anticipate Thursday will be equally interesting.
While the Free Enterprise Form is pleased to be invited to the panel, some of the promotion for the event already has me scratching my head. Rather than focusing on the more cerebral zoning and land use, the organizers are touting “URBAN SPRAWL” Here is the blurb from the website:
“Decades of unplanned and carelessly applied zoning gave rise to urban sprawl”, I have to disagree.
Sure the zoning regulations and their enforcement had an impact on neighborhood expansion, but market demand, improved mobility, automobile affordability, as well as the advancement of women in the workplace were significant contributors to sprawling neighborhoods.
Blaming the previous planning is evidence of the arrogant planner’s paradox — if only the community planned better we would be a better community – planning is good but product must have a market or it does not get built. The Free Enterprise Forum does not believe most planners have a wide enough world view when it comes to planning alternatives.
In his paper, Urban Sprawl, Smart Growth, and Deliberative Democracy, David B. Resnik, JD, PhD wrote:
Urban sprawl in the United States has its origins in the flight to the suburbs that began in the 1950s. People wanted to live outside of city centers to avoid traffic, noise, crime, and other problems, and to have homes with more square footage and yard space. As suburban areas developed, cities expanded in geographic size faster than they grew in population. This trend has produced large metropolitan areas with low population densities, interconnected by roads. Residents of sprawling cities tend to live in single-family homes and commute to work, school, or other activities by automobile.
The concept of living in a suburban neighborhood has been a dream for many American families. The advent of affordable automobiles and gasoline provided America the greatest independent mobility in the world. People could choose to live out in the country and still make it into the urban areas to work. Today, environmental groups and academics have successfully attached a negative connotation to the “American Dream” of owning a house with a yard by using the term ‘sprawl’.
“Sprawl features rapid geographic expansion of metropolitan areas in a “leapfrog,” low density pattern, segregation of distinct land uses, heavy dependence on automobile travel with extensive road construction, architectural and social homogeneity, shift of capital investment and economic opportunity from the city center the the periphery, and relatively weak regional planning.”
—Rollins School of Public Heath, Emory University“Sprawl is irresponsible, often poorly-planned development that destroys green space, increases traffic and air pollution, crowds schools, and drives up taxes.” –The Sierra Club
Local and State Governments have joined in the anti-sprawl movement mainly for economic reasons – it is significantly more efficient to deliver government services (Schools, Police, Fire, Etc.) to a densely populated area rather than geographically dispersed.
In a fascinating piece of creative lexicon, the term ‘Smart Growth’ worked its way into the planning sphere in the 1990s. Like ‘Clean Water’ these positive terms, work subliminally to support their own cause i.e.: if you are opposed to ‘smart growth’ you must favor ‘dumb growth’. Recently many of ‘smart growth’ proponents have shifted lexicon to be supportive of “Form Based Zoning”, “Sustainable Cities” and of course Charlottesville’s “Streets that Work”.
One of the premier new urbanist evangelists is Andrés Duany, whose firm DPZ was hired by Charlottesville last year to develop their Form Based Code. Duany has co-authored five books: Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream, The New Civic Art, “The Smart Growth Manual”, “Garden Cities” and “Landscape Urbanism and Its Discontents”.
The Free Enterprise Forum believes there is a market for Form Based Codes and New Urbanism; but there is also a market for old urbanism and suburbanism. Just as we were supportive of Albemarle’s neighborhood model as ONE model not THE model, we believe zoning should not be crafted to prevent the last bad thing from happening again it should be built to allow the next great place to be built. Neither sprawl or the automobile should be seen as planners’ enemy.
In his seminal book The Vanishing Automobile and Other Myths, Randal O’Toole wrote:
Sprawl is one of those invented problems. Low-density suburbanization–which is what people usually mean when they say “sprawl”–not only is not responsible for most of the problems that its critics charge, it is the solution to many of the problems that sprawl opponents claim they want to solve.
The war on sprawl is really a war on American lifestyles. It combines a war on the suburbs that house half of all Americans with a war on the automobiles that carry Americans four out of every five miles they travel. Yet the suburbs provide an ideal medium between rural open spaces and crowded cities while occupying just 2 percent of the nation’s land. Meanwhile, for most urban-length trips, the automobile is the fastest, most convenient, and most economical form of personal transportation ever devised.
Americans live in a wide range of possible lifestyles. A fourth of all U.S. residents live in rural areas away from any cities or towns. Another 10 percent live in small towns that are far from major urban areas. While 65 percent of Americans live in urbanized areas of 50,000 people or more, just a third of those live in the central cities such as New York, Seattle, or Dallas. Urbanized lifestyles range from low-density suburbs through medium-density edge cities to high-density city centers. All of these are valid lifestyle choices and they work for the people who live there.
To be clear, any land use regulation worth of the name is a restriction of property rights. Interestingly, those same regulations provide a level of protection for the property rights (and property values) of others. The question is how intensely you regulate.
- Should local government determine where you should put your dumpster?
- Should local government determine what color red should be in the Red Lobster sign?
- Should local government mandate expansive sidewalks, bike lanes and street trees?
- Should local government encourage economic development by reducing regulation?
- How much power should neighbors have directing development nearby?
- How does zoning impact neighborhood ethnic and income diversity? Should it?
These are the type of questions I hope we get to discuss on Thursday night. The answers will shape how our community chooses to prosper and grow, or not.
Respectfully Submitted,
Neil Williamson
Neil Williamson is the President of The Free Enterprise Forum, a privately funded public policy organization covering the City of Charlottesville as well as Albemarle, Greene, Fluvanna, Louisa and Nelson County.
Sunny Day? Albemarle Prohibits Greens, Endorses ‘Green’
By. Neil Williamson, President
What does Albemarle want for the rural areas (95%+) of the county?
On this and other issues, Albemarle County’s Board of Supervisors is putting the fun back into dysfunctional.
Earlier this month, the Supervisors enacted two Rural Area Resolutions of Intent that are as similar as a ten pound bag of gold and a ten pound bag of manure. Both weigh ten pounds but one is more valuable than the other because the supervisors like it better.
Please let me explain.
First up on April 5th, buried on their consent agenda as attachment “T”, the supervisors decided they don’t like golf, swim and tennis clubs in the rural areas:
WHEREAS, it is desired to implement the Rural Area Chapter of the Comprehensive Plan by removing “swim, golf, tennis, or similar athletic facilities” as a use permitted by special use permit in the Rural Areas zoning district because those uses are no longer consistent with the County’s policies and objectives for the Rural Area
During the Comprehensive Plan discussion (which reads such regulation should be considered) many of the folks opposed to such recreational activities in the rural area have suggested they generate too much traffic and take
up too much land mass. Interestingly, this would effectively ban new golf courses in Albemarle County as we wrote in a piece earlier this month (A Tradition Like No Other–Albemarle Again Seeks to Ban Golf).
So imagine our surprise when the same Board of Supervisors later on the same day used climate change as the justification for changing their regulations regarding rural solar farms.
To be cost effective, these farms will take a large amount of acreage and require significant additional infrastructure.
The sunny view on solar is different than that of swim, golf and tennis clubs.
WHEREAS, the Albemarle County Comprehensive Plan (hereinafter “the Plan”), Chapter Four, Natural Resources, Objective Eight states the County shall, “Recognize changes occurring to the earth’s climate to anticipate and mitigate impacts to the County.”; and
WHEREAS, the County, the City of Charlottesville, and the University of Virginia formed the Local Climate Action Planning Process Steering Committee (hereinafter “LCAPP Committee”) in 2010, which recommended that all three entities integrate the role of energy and carbon emissions in projects and planning and that the entities identify and promote actions that enable the community to reap the health, economic and environmental benefits that accompany sound energy-based decisions; and
WHEREAS, the Board accepted the LCAPP Committee’s recommendations on September 7, 2011; and
WHEREAS, the Plan, Chapter Twelve, Community Facilities, Objective Ten, Strategy 10(a) provides that the County will, “Continue to ensure the adequate provision of electricity, telephone, fiber optics, and natural gas services to support existing and anticipated development in the County through coordination with utility companies”; and
WHEREAS, permitting the siting, development, construction, operation, integration, and decommissioning of large-scale solar energy systems may assist the County’s efforts to achieve the aforementioned objectives in the Plan as well as the LCAPP Committee’s recommendations;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT for purposes of public necessity, convenience, general welfare, and good zoning practices, the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors hereby adopts a resolution of intent to consider amending the Albemarle County Zoning Ordinance to achieve the purposes described herein;
So, despite the Comprehensive Plan’s discouragement of commercial activity in the rural areas, it is OK if they like your product or service provided. As property rights advocates, we believe both uses should be permitted in the rural areas. 
We even agree that a special use permit is an appropriate route to make sure swim golf and tennis clubs as well as solar farms have adequate protections in place to remain harmonious with the surrounding rural areas.
We do not understand how the Board of Supervisors can call for a ban on rural area recreation the same day as they endorse the concept of a commercial field of glass that will require regular maintenance, transmission lines and have equal if not greater significant neighborhood impacts.
Perhaps there are some politics involved in such in-congruent decisions.
Respectfully Submitted,
Neil Williamson, President
Neil Williamson is the President of The Free Enterprise Forum, a public policy organization covering the City of Charlottesville as well as Albemarle, Greene, Fluvanna, Louisa and Nelson County. For more information visit the website www.freeenterpriseforum.org
Photo Credits: Sigora Solar via Facebook
Sayonara Shucet
By. Neil Williamson, President
Late yesterday afternoon (3/30), the embattled Elizabeth River Crossings (ERC) named former Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) Commissioner Philip Shucet as their new Chief Executive Officer.
Shucet has most recently served as a consultant to VDOT as a facilitator and problem solver for challenging projects including the Route 29 Solutions panels.
Virginia Transportation Secretary Aubrey Layne said in the ERC News Release:
I know Philip personally and am confident he is the right man for the job.
It does not appear everyone in the Transportation Department was as prepared for Shucet’s sayonara as Secretary Layne. According to VDOT’s Lou Hatter:
The Route 29 Solutions project team will work through VDOT Commissioner Kilpatrick’s office to develop a plan going forward.
While appreciative of the professionalism and speed of Route 29 solutions project management, the Free Enterprise Forum has been a vocal critic of the meeting tactics and lack of true public engagement offered by Shucet’s panel process. In our 2014 post Shucet’s Charade – A Public Participation Illusion:
The Route 29 Advisory Panel is, perhaps unwittingly, playing a part in a masterfully orchestrated and expertly conducted illusion of public participation where the questions, concerns and opinions of panel members are being denied or actively dismissed. No votes are taken nor consensus measured. All the while the facilitator is complementing the panel for its incredible positive forward momentum.
In our three years of observation, we have grown to appreciate the charming manner in which Shucet manages (some might say manipulates) meetings and their outcomes. His pioneering (for VDOT) of video streaming meetings promotes transparency but not participation. By reviewing e-mails and phone calls received, Shucet can color the manner in which the complaint was made and how VDOT, or the contractor handled it.
As a facilitator extraordinaire, he has stayed true to the “Shucet Six” we first identified in 2014:
- Control who is in the group. The number of participants and their representative groups selected to provide appearance of balance of perspectives
- Control Content, Agenda and Release of Data Controlling when and where data is released allows the facilitator the opportunity to build “proper context”
- Reduce/Eliminate Outside Influences. By removing public comment from the meetings and accepting it only online, Shucet insulates the panel’s meetings from being distracted by a boisterous critic [AKA Citizen]
- Demurely Dominate Conversation. Shucet’s down home drawl, overzealous compliments and genteel demeanor seem to engage the entire panel in discussion while his voice is most often heard directing the conversation. In addition, strictly limiting the group meeting time to two hours also helps this technique succeed.
- Limit Decision Options. While the Route 29 Advisory Panel was supposedly provided nine options to consider in their first meeting, Shucet brought forward just four options to the second meeting as possibly moving forward based on the “Professional Judgment” [note the word opinion was not used] and screening of the Technical Team.
- No Voting and Don’t Ask for Consensus. After three years, how many votes have been taken? None. How many times has consensus been “tested”? Never. The closest is when Shucet indicated he saw a number of heads nodding.
None of this is news and it does not change the fact that Shucet has served in this role well. Personally and professionally I consider Shucet to be an excellent public servant. That being said, I also believe he and I see the role of the so called “advisory” panels differently.
This morning blogger Jim Bacon applauded Philip Shucet, Transportation’s First Responder:
Bacon’s bottom line: Most people working the interstices between the public and private sectors are usually looking to line their pockets by trading on their relationships. Philip Shucet is a different breed. Not to say that he hasn’t done well for himself as a businessman and consultant in recent years, but he could work anywhere in the country he chooses and probably make a lot more money. Fortunately for the commonwealth, Shucet, who lives in Virginia Beach, has chosen to dedicate much of his career to public service and tackling some of the biggest, stickiest transportation problems. We’re lucky to have him.
Recently, in a conversation with VDOT officials someone asked me if I believe the blue tourism oriented destination signs, that were offered to impacted US29 businesses made a difference during the Rio/US29 interchange construction.
I indicated that while the signs likely did not change anything significant, they were an important step to let the local businesses know VDOT was aware (and listening) to their very real concerns – perhaps such tepid tranquility is the overall goal of these panels as well.
How and who will replace Shucet in the facilitator role is the challenge for the future, for now we say Sayonara Shucet, we wish you fair winds and following seas.
Respectfully Submitted,
Neil Williamson, President
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Neil Williamson is the President of The Free Enterprise Forum, a public policy organization covering the City of Charlottesville as well as Albemarle, Greene, Fluvanna, Louisa and Nelson County. For more information visit the website www.freeenterpriseforum.org
Photo Credit: Cvillepedia
VDOT Panel’s Pocahontas Problem
By. Neil Williamson, President
This Sunday’s (3/12) Daily Progress Editorial discusses “Beginning Anew on Hydraulic” painting a rather optimistic picture of the regulatory and political process planned to design, secure funding and build improvements to the Hydraulic and US29 intersection.
But the Editorial forgot Pocahontas.
Please let me explain.
Regular readers are aware of the Free Enterprise Forum’s position opposing the Rio/US29 grade separated interchange. Despite that opposition, we have been impressed with the manner the project was completed. Now the Daily Progress editorial board is comparing the Rio intersection process with Hydraulic:
And the process through which the Rio project was completed did, in fact, contribute to its success. That process can be replicated, regardless of what kind of engineering design it eventually produces.
In fact, it is being replicated. The meeting last week of state and community leaders follows the pattern used in the Rio project: A panel of local elected officials, business owners and citizens is meeting regularly to discuss the Hydraulic venture, provide input and help guide decision-making. Their involvement is aimed at ensuring that local interests are represented in the state’s drive to speed traffic through a congested bottleneck.
This is where Pocahontas lesson comes in:
What I love most about rivers is you can’t step in the same river twice – The water’s always changing, always flowing
Just prior to the seating of the so called “29 Solutions” panel, there was significant state and federal dollars allocated and a contract awarded to a project (the western bypass) that had enjoyed (4-2) support from Albemarle’s Board of Supervisors and then Republican Governor Robert McDonnell. In November 2013 elections, the balance of power on the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors shifted left and Democratic Governor Terrance McAuliffe was elected. Then in February 2014, the project was effectively prohibited by a letter from the Obama Administration’s Environmental Protection Agency.
Cvillepedia described the situation in the manner:
Aubrey Layne, Virginia’s Secretary of Transportation, convened a panel in the spring of 2014 to suggest alternatives for money that had been allocated by the Commonwealth Transportation Board.
With the project [Western Bypass] presumed dead, former VDOT commissioner Philip Shucet has recommended alternate uses for at least $200 million that had been allocated to the bypass. The alternatives include $54 million to extend Berkmar Drive across the South Fork Rivanna River, an additional $10 million to further extend Hillsdale Drive Extended to Holiday Lane in Charlottesville, and $81 million to build a grade-separated intersection at Rio Road and U.S. 29. The Commonwealth Transportation Board adopted a new six-year improvement program that included the projects at its meeting on June 18, 2014. [17] That meant the Western Bypass project was defunded. [5]
In addition, in a deft politically savvy move, McAuliffe required ALL the Route 29 “solutions” be completed by October 31, 2017 (coincidentally just prior to Election Day 2017).
The Pocahontas lesson that was not lost on Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) contract facilitator Philip Shucet. In the first meeting of The Hydraulic Planning Advisory Panel last week, he highlighted that unlike the previous panel which was considering how to spend a pot of money already allocated to the district the project or projects would have to compete for limited transportation dollars via VDOT’s Smart Scale evaluation program in 2018.
Secretary Layne’s charge to the Hydraulic panel includes this concern as well as hinting at the potential political in fighting at an intersection that is 3/4 in the City of Charlottesville and 1/4 in Albemarle County:
Secretary of Transportation Aubrey Layne’s charge to the Panel:
To provide general advice and input to the City of Charlottesville, Albemarle County, VDOT and the Commonwealth Transportation Board regarding future land use and mobility improvements in the general area near the Hydraulic Road and Rt. 29 intersection.
The Secretary understands that land use decisions are in the hands of the localities, but also emphasizes that decisions to submit a future Smart Scale application for state-funded transportation improvements are also in the hands of the localities.
The multi jurisdictional work (land use, design and funding) of Hydraulic Road will be significantly more involved than the challenges at Rio Road. While we agree that the process will be informed by the work of Rio, we are also reminded that Pocahontas quote is actually derivative of the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus:
No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.
Not only is Hydraulic a very different intersection than Rio,the land use work ahead is different and the funding is nowhere near secure.
Yes the facilitator is the same, as are some of the panel members, but this multi-jurisdictional land use and transportation effort will be a VERY different process and the outcomes (and their timing) are far from certain.
Stay tuned.
Respectfully Submitted,
Neil Williamson, President
Neil Williamson is the President of The Free Enterprise Forum, a privately funded public policy organization covering the City of Charlottesville as well as Albemarle, Greene, Fluvanna, Louisa and Nelson County.
Photo Credits: Disney
March Madness–Albemarle’s Planning Philosophy
FORUM WATCH EDITORIAL
By. Neil Williamson, President
Imagine you are a college basketball player and in the final tournament game, the officials change the rules – calling fouls that usually would be ignored and ignoring others that would usually be called.
In addition, the basket automatically changes height dependent on which player is shooting and from where. There was no change at the rules committee, there was no open discussion amongst coaches – those charged with making the decisions just changed how they judged things – this is Albemarle County planning philosophy today.
Please let me explain.
Albemarle, in big ways and small, is changing the way they look at property where the Rural Areas and Development Area boundaries meet. The Comprehensive Plan, which is only a guideline, calls for density up to the edge of the development area (see below) but recent actions see that philosophical pillar being eroded.
On the development area side, the Adelaide proposed subdivision on the edge of the Crozet development area provides one example of eroding, or perhaps evolving, planning philosophy.
In the Crozet master plan the land was designated for “3-6 dwelling units an acre” – the Adelaide proposal came in at 5.5 units an acre. (editor’s note the Free Enterprise Forum does not take positions on specific projects only policy thus had no position on this or any other application).
In her defense of her vote in opposition, Supervisor Ann Mallek wrote to the Crozet Gazette:
I stand behind my vote to deny Adelaide to uphold important features of the Crozet master plan … .The primary reasons for my vote were stated in the resolution I read as part of my motion to deny. Three supervisors thought the density was acceptable at the high end of the range. Three thought the density should be at the low end of the range. A 3-3 tie results in denial of the application.
Additional reasons for my vote:
- New density on the edge of the growth area, surrounded by forest and rural uses, should be at the low end of the range suggested in the comprehensive plan and master plan for Crozet. …
- The highest density buildings were placed at the highway, further encroaching on the rural nature of the State Scenic byway. Emphasis added – nw
Regarding the rural side of the line, earlier this year during a discussion of Farm Winery, Brewery and Distillery events, Supervisor Diantha McKeel said:
We’re looking at, in my district, on Hydraulic Road, in the middle of the urban ring.. an event center [winery] essentially an event center surrounded by 25,000 homes. It is in the rural area but in the urban ring. The folks that live in the area are very patient with music from Albemarle High School, they love the band on Friday night – but to have something that brings in this type of traffic and noise and impacts without some restrictions is unnerving and I get that it is a little unusual place.
To prevent having rural enterprises adjacent to the development areas Supervisor Rick Randolph suggested:
Perhaps none of the edges of the winery parcel can be outside of the rural area.
Albemarle County Attorney Greg Kamptner informed Randolph such a provision would be in violation of state law.
All of this discussion took place despite the explicit direction of Albemarle’s Comprehensive plan that calls for clear edges between development and rural areas. Interestingly the very neighborhood McKeel discussed was called out in the plan
8.26 Albemarle Comprehensive Plan Clear Boundaries with the Rural Area
Strategy 2r: Promote use of Development Area land up to the boundary with the Rural Area. Do not require transitional areas between the Rural Area and Development Areas. Part of Albemarle’s beauty and attractiveness for residents and visitors is their ability to clearly see and appreciate the features of both the Rural Area and Development Areas. Discerning the boundary between the designated Rural Area and the Development Areas is important because it affects where and how new development should take place.. . .
Visual clues are also helpful in identifying the Development Areas-Rural Area interface. Land use on
both sides of the boundary should be so distinct that residents and visitors know they are in the Development Areas or the Rural Area. Theses visual differences help to define expectations and appreciation for the different areas. Figure 20 clearly shows that the left side of Rio Road is in the Rural Area and the right side is in the Development Areas. . .
Transitions of large-lot subdivisions at the boundary are discouraged, as they are neither rural nor urban.They are too small for agricultural uses and muddy the edge. Emphasis added – nw
One easy solution would be to expand the development areas to encompass what McKeel calls the urban ring. Dependent on the size of the expansion it could create, for a time, a buffer area of non conforming uses.
The larger core question revolves around the duality of two comprehensive plan land types, Development and Rural. A plurality of planners today see the world in a less binary reality. The most popular planning philosophy of the day deals with the concept of “Transects” which is taken from the environmental sciences.
The Center for Applied Transect Studies (CATS) Explains transects this way:
To systemize the analysis and coding of traditional patterns, a prototypical American rural-to-urban transect has been divided into six Transect Zones, or T-zones, for application on zoning maps. Standards were written for the first transect-based codes, eventually to become the SmartCode, which was released in 2003 by Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company.
A similar picture appears in Albemarle’s Comprehensive Plan. Interesting question – where would you say the development area starts in the image above? T-3? T-4?
Based on recent actions, it is difficult to say where the Supervisors believe the Development areas begin and the rural areas end.
- The question is how does this now shaky planning philosophy pillar impact the community vetted master plans and how does the rural area gain a voice in the discussion since by design they are outside of the master plan areas?
- Should Albemarle consider abandoning its density dogma across the entire development area and seek to create a new comprehensive plan category?
- A further question would be if Albemarle should consider proactively rezoning all the development areas land to make the community supported densities occur rather than the adversarial nature of the current rezoning process.
Once again we have more questions than answers, let March Madness begin.
Respectfully submitted,
Neil Williamson
Neil Williamson is the President of The Free Enterprise Forum, a privately funded public policy organization covering the City of Charlottesville as well as Albemarle, Greene, Fluvanna, Louisa and Nelson County.
Photo Credits: Denver Post, Albemarle County, Center for Applied Transect Studies
Albemarle Passes The Bucks ($1.4 Million) To Unelected CACs
By Neil Williamson, President
In Wednesday’s (2/1) meeting, without so much as a formal public hearing, Albemarle County’s Board of Supervisors plans to send a $1.4 million dollar piggy bank to the unelected Citizen Advisory Councils so that the elected officials don’t have to make the hard budget choices.
Nothing they are doing is illegal, it’s just not right. Please let me explain.
Albemarle’s annual Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) Budget is laborious and involves significant number of staff hours to determine the staff priority for Capital projects such as vehicles, buildings and renovations.
Over the last 13 years the Free Enterprise Forum has been impressed with the level of detail and careful consideration the CIP committee (including citizen representation and 2 elected BOS members) have put into these discussions. There have been times when one geographic portion of the development areas had CIP projects that garnered higher scores by the committee and these were funded rather than less urgent projects.
The new “Neighborhood Funding Initiative” would siphon off $1.4 million of the annual CIP budget and allocate it geographically and by population. The staff has proposed a formula to accomplish this task:
Staff has simply developed this Board driven concept. In fact, the staff report hints at a better manner to utilize citizen involvement along with the elected officials within the current CIP process.
staff has conducted best practices research which is summarized as Attachment A that revealed that the majority of these types of community focused improvement funding programs fall into three basic categories: neighborhood matching grants; formal citizen involvement in capital planning; and citizen-driven Capital Improvement Programs. After hearing the Board’s discussion, staff thinks that the third category may most clearly align with the Board’s preferences, so the program has been designed along those lines. If the Board would like this program to be more closely incorporated in the already existing CIP review, evaluation and ranking process that would be another viable approach.
The Free Enterprise Forum has long been a critic of the unelected CACs.
In 2009 we wrote:
The Free Enterprise Forum believes citizen groups (including us) should have the ability to be active participants in the workings of local government. That being said, we are increasingly concerned that the leadership function of some Boards and Commissions may be inappropriately delegating to community organizations.
With the proposed policy change, beyond effective regulatory veto power over development projects that would advance the community vetted comprehensive plan, Albemarle now seems poised to give these unelected “mission creeping” Citizen Advisory Councils the county purse strings as well.
As the Supervisors continue to delegate, I wonder what will be left for them to do … besides run for reelection.
As we said in 2009:
In the end, elected leaders must lead, not delegate, if citizens don’t like the direction they should replace the leaders.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Stay tuned.
Respectfully Submitted,
Neil Williamson
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Neil Williamson is the President of The Free Enterprise Forum, a public policy organization covering the City of Charlottesville as well as Albemarle, Greene, Fluvanna and Nelson County. For more information visit the website www.freeenterpriseforum.org
2016 – A Year of Exits (Executive and Grade Separated)
By. Neil Williamson, President
At this time each year, I take time to look in the rearview and see what issues we have covered that have garnered the most attention. As usual, I am amazed, and thankful, for the large number of people who read and financially support our work.
Here are the Free Enterprise Forum Top Ten 2016 Shaking My Head (SMH) Moments
#10 Is Charlottesville the $17.86 Million Court Jester?
Imagine you are a mayor or a City Manager, if a major employer and economic driver in your city was poised to leave, how would you respond?
Perhaps its just me, but I would likely fight like heck to keep them in the city. It is much easier to retain a major employer than to attract one.
But what if the employer is actually an arm of a neighboring government, should that matter? …
If Albemarle decides to bring $17.86 million of ‘County’ economic activity back to Albemarle, Charlottesville may end up looking as wise as the Court Jester this Halloween.
#9 Bananas and Albemarle’s Outdated Economic Opportunity Map
Imagine being in the banana business — and you have no way to obtain fruit.
That is Albemarle County’s current economic development sales position: “Yes, we have no bananas.”
“If a manufacturer calls interested in locating near a highway, we tell them, ‘We have nothing for you,’. Prospect businesses are looking to move within three to six months if they are not looking to build. We tell them, ‘We have no product ready to go today.’” – Faith McClintic, Albemarle County’s economic development director
#8 Greene Supervisors Approve Overspending FY17 Budget
By. Brent Wilson, Field Officer
In just the second month of the new budget cycle, the Greene County Board of Supervisors discussed
two issues last night (8/23) that would allow the county to spend nearly $33,000 over the approved FY17 budget.
The first issue that County Administrator John Barkley explained was that several positions are needed to be brought up to market value. He further explained that supplemental funds are being requested to fund the $27,250 for the reclassification of positions. Surplus funds from the FY16 budget will allow the county to be able to fund this request.
#7 C’ville’s Hydraulic Houdini
What would you call it when Charlottesville works to make a primary pillar of an integrated
transportation program disappear?
The Hydraulic Houdini.
Please let me explain.
Those with even decent short term memory can remember the argument over the now defunct Western Bypass and the Route 29 “Solutions”. Rather than building a limited access bypass around Charlottesville’s congestion (The Free Enterprise Forum supported), Bypass opponents proposed a series of integrated “solutions” would increase the existing roadway capacity.
My friend Jeff Werner of the Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) even had a nifty PowerPoint Presentation regarding the congestion
#6 Albemarle’s Executive Exodus x 2
Albemarle Executive Foley Finds Greener Pastures
With rumors flying around Albemarle County (and Social Media) all day, a 4 pm Stafford County announcement made it official; County Executive Tom Foley is leaving Albemarle County to take up the same post in Stafford County. In the announcement Stafford highlighted Foley’s service and temperament as key qualities they were looking for in their new administrator:
Albemarle is Losing Faith
As anticipated as the sun rising in the east, it is with absolutely no surprise that Albemarle County’s first Economic Development Director, Faith McClintic, will be leaving her position later this year. In her short 18 month tenure, McClintic often found herself at odds with Planning Commissioners, some members of the public, this writer, and some elected officials. In addition, she found herself without product as she said in August of this year:
“If a manufacturer calls interested in locating near a highway, we tell them, ‘We have nothing for you,’. Prospect businesses are looking to move within three to six months if they are not looking to build. We tell them, ‘We have no product ready to go today.’” – Faith McClintic, Albemarle County’s economic development director
#5 Albemarle and VDOT Create US29+Rio Lemonade
While the Free Enterprise Forum lost the battle against the US29/Rio Grade Separated Interchange (GSI), we have found Albemarle County (and Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT)) to be working exceedingly well together and significantly positively impacting the challenging business environment due to the roadway construction.
In the most recent Route 29 Solutions Project Delivery Advisory Panel meeting, former VDOT Commissioner and PDAP facilitator Philip Shucet indicated the next phase of the Rio GSI project, where the intersection will close for up to 103 days, “Isn’t going to be a birthday party”. This might be the understatement of the year.
#4 SOMEONE’s Shameful Sensationalism
Over the last dozen years, I have read literally hundreds of Albemarle County staff reports. I tend to find the reports to be professional, concise, factually correct and devoid of generalizations or editorial commentary – until last week when I determined that SOMEONE improperly and sensationally used a tragedy to further an advocacy position in what was presented as an impartial staff analysis.
In an attempt to sensationalize the need for closing of Earlysville Road to truck traffic, SOMEONE has stooped so low as to cite a terrible teenage 2002 drunk driving accident as justification to overrule the technical analysis of professional traffic engineers.
#3 ‘Snob Zoning’ Crozet Master Plan in the Works?
Recently, C-ville magazine cover story posed the question, “Can Crozet maintain its small town charm
as its population increases?”
Perhaps the question should be “After millions of dollars of planning and infrastructure spending, should Crozet residents be allowed to stifle population and economic growth by hijacking the master planning process?”
We’ve recently learned such a plan is in the works. And it is a bad idea….
The reality is the CCAC is opposed to density in the development area that is critical to achieve the philosophical goals of the Comprehensive Plan. The community vetted plan calls for densely populated development areas filled with amenities and services surrounded by less populated rural areas that are supportive of agriculture, forestry and open space.
In her seminal book “Snob Zoning”, Liza Prevost, exposed what happens when NIMBY zealots are able to change plans and regulations
#2 Fluvanna Land Use Fireworks
By. Bryan Rothamel, Field Officer
“I’m a little surprised board members are so happy to push this under the rug,” said Supervisor Tony O’Brien. . .
O’Brien said there were supervisors who should recuse themselves from the vote because they should know they aren’t compliant with the program.
Eager asked O’Brien to name who he thinks is not compliant as she has done everything to be compliant. He replied he never thought she wasn’t but questioned if Supervisor Don Weaver and chairperson Mike Sheridan (Columbia District) were compliant. He also thought Supervisor Mozell Booker might not be compliant but she was in a different arm of the program.
Sheridan said he asked a cooperative agent if he was in compliance and was told his practices were.
Fred Payne, county attorney, gave a legal opinion that supervisors do not have to recuse themselves just because they participate in the program.
O’Brien also suggested Mike Sheridan should recuse himself because Mel Sheridan is his brother.
Payne’s said Mike Sheridan had no need legally reason to recuse himself. He continued supervisors can always recuse themselves if they feel it is necessary but there was no legal reason to do so.
Weaver, who was quiet for the discussion, called for a vote which ended the discussion.
O’Brien said under his breath after the vote, “Embarrassing.”
#1 $52.5 Million Dollar Indecent Proposal – Albemarle Backs Off Threat to Wedding Industry
Last Tuesday evening, a rare joint meeting of the Albemarle County Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors heard a great deal from both wedding venues and the vendors that support them. Albemarle staff had prepared a proposed ordinance that, am
ong other things, would limit the ability of wineries, breweries and distilleries to 24 events a year. In the end the supervisors backed away from the most restrictive portion of the ‘indecent proposal’.
The testimony Tuesday was insightful and passionate. Wedding Photographer Jen Fariello asked pointedly “Why are weddings being attacked?” Wedding planner Adam Donovan-Groves [name correction 9:01 6/20 nw] told of one recent wedding whose local fiscal impact exceeded $250,000 musicians, gift packs, invitations, transportation, jewelry, photographer, etc.
Yes, 2016 has been a year of executive exits, speedy construction and threats of overregulation. Through it all the Free Enterprise Forum continues to blog, tweet (@neilswilliamson) and Facebook about local issues of significant importance.
The year ahead is filled with promise: the promise of a national search for a new Albemarle County Executive, the promise of so called “Solutions” 29 being completed earlier than scheduled (looks like June), the promise of new form based code development in Charlottesville, as well as the promise of elections across all localities.
2016 will also bring us the opportunity and privilege of attending and participating in many more government meetings where important policy decisions are made and #SeatsAvailable.
Thank you for your support!
Happy New Year
Neil Williamson
Neil Williamson is the President of The Free Enterprise Forum, a privately funded public policy organization covering the City of Charlottesville as well as Albemarle, Greene, Fluvanna, Louisa and Nelson County.
Accelerating Albemarle’s Anemic Economic Development
FORUM WATCH EDITORIAL
By. Neil Williamson, President
Wednesday night (12/21), Albemarle County Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors will hold a joint public hearing regarding a rezoning in Crozet for Perrone Robotics. According to Albemarle staff, the intention is to have both government bodies vote on the application that evening.
Josh Mandell of Charlottesville Tomorrow reported on the Crozet Citizens Advisory Committee (CCAC) endorsement of the proposal last week:
Advisory committee member Leslie Burns said she was excited that Perrone Robotics could bring dozens of high-paying jobs to downtown Crozet. “This is not just a new gift store,” she said.
Crozet resident Brian Day said he also would welcome Perrone Robotics’ move to the Barnes Lumber property.
“It’s exactly what we need to ground the future of our downtown,” he said. “The old industry that was there, you could hear it two and a half miles away. We are talking about something that is quiet, safe and high-tech.”
While the Free Enterprise Forum does not take positions on specific projects we do applaud the speed in which the County has moved forward this economic development opportunity.
But we have to ask, why is this news?
Why couldn’t Albemarle move all of their applications forward faster?
I am sure this question is on the mind of the folks at The Clifton Inn.
In September 2015, the County received an application for a zoning text amendment (ZTA) related to historic buildings and sites from the owners of Clifton Inn.
This prompted the county to reexamine its zoning code for historic inns and taverns in rural areas.
The application for this historic property has already languished in the byzantine bureaucracy for well over a year – why?
Just because it has been successful and now seeks to EXPAND its existing business and add JOBS in the rural area (95% of Albemarle is Rural Areas).
A major milestone was reached earlier this month when ordinance changes were approved – but that only allows the Clifton project to apply for consideration under the new ordinance – It is likely the applicant will have to wait well over two years before being permitted to EXPAND their existing business and add JOBS.
Albemarle can do better.
Beyond simply holding Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors joint public hearings which would speed up the process slightly, the true answer for economic development is proactive rezoning. Earlier this year in the Daily Progress we quoted then Economic Development Director Faith McClintic in our editorial about Bananas and Albemarle’s Outdated Economic Opportunity Map.
“If a manufacturer calls interested in locating near a highway, we tell them, ‘We have nothing for you,’. Prospect businesses are looking to move within three to six months if they are not looking to build. We tell them, ‘We have no product ready to go today.’” – Faith McClintic, Albemarle County’s economic development director
What if the uses defined in the community vetted comprehensive plan actually agreed with the zoning that controls the land?
Today if a business wants to come in where the Comprehensive Plan suggests but the zoning does not agree, there is a year-long Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) process before a site plan can be submitted.
Imagine if a prospective business could identify a property already zoned and shovel ready, would that make Albemarle more attractive for economic development arena.
If (and this is am important if) Albemarle wants to grow jobs in the new year, reducing regulatory barriers via proactive rezoning would be a great New Year’s resolution.
Respectfully Submitted,
Neil Williamson, President
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Neil Williamson is the President of The Free Enterprise Forum, a public policy organization covering the City of Charlottesville as well as Albemarle, Greene, Fluvanna, Louisa and Nelson County. For more information visit the website www.freeenterpriseforum.org
Photo Credits: Trip Advisor
