March CCAC Recap – Crozet’s Master Plan & Contentiousness

This is a must-listen and must-read story from Charlottesville Community Engagement.

The CCAC meeting on 10 March 2021 was one of the worst CCAC meetings I’ve watched; what could be a productive dialogue, wasn’t.
The Crozet Master Plan needs to evolve; keeping the principles from 2004 and 2010 is not recognizing that a lot has changed in nearly 20 years.
Plans need to evolve.

Read and listen to the story here.

If you have feedback to share, either do it here, or email [email protected]

If you’re new to Crozet, or simply don’t pay attention, please take the time to listen to this, and then get involved somehow.

There’s a lot here, not the least how the County Staff were treated.

Also, read Allison Wrabel’s story in the Daily Progress.

A relevant reminder with respect to this is that the CCAC votes are guides, but are not actually part of the legislative process; the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors are that process.

“This is no longer the Crozet Master Plan; this is now the Planning Commission and staff master plan, because we voted against the middle density, and here we are back with it again,” (Tom Loach) said.

County Staff don’t get paid enough to be treated like this.
— realcrozetva (@realcrozetva) March 11, 2021

Reminder: CCAC votes are not binding; binding votes are those done by the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors.

March 8, 2021March 7, 2021

CCAC Meeting – 10 March 2021 | Land Use

These meetings are extremely important. I’ll pay someone to tweet this meeting. Please text me – 434-242-7140

The only thing of consequence on the agenda:

4. Master Plan Discussion: Land Use (60 minutes)

#CCAC0321

via email:

The Crozet Community Advisory Committee will meet this Wednesday, March 10, at 7 p.m. on Zoom to continue our discussion of the land use updates recommended by county staff for the current Crozet Master Plan revision. The agenda is attached. If you would like to read over the working draft of the land use chapter ahead of the meeting, it is available for download here.

Join the zoom at this link. Additional instructions for participating are included on the agenda.

I hope you can join us for this important discussion! Please let me know if you have any comments or questions.

Agenda

Crozet Community Advisory Committee Wednesday, March 10, 2021 7:00 P.M. – 8:30 P.M. Virtual Meeting

This meeting is being held pursuant to and in compliance with Ordinance No. 20-A (16); An Ordinance to Ensure the Continuity of Government During the Covid-19 Disaster.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS MEETING ONLINE:

Download Zoom. Use this link https://albemarle-org.zoom.us/j/94571782297 to join the webinar.

BY PHONE/CALL-IN:

Dial (301) 715-8592. Type in the Webinar ID 945 7178 2297 followed by the pound (#) sign. If you have any questions, please email [email protected]

Call to Order & Agenda Review (3 minutes) Allie Pesch, CCAC Chair
Approve Meeting Minutes (2 minutes) Allie Pesch, CCAC Chair
Officer Elections (10 minutes) CAC members

AGENDA

4. Master Plan Discussion: Land Use (60 minutes)

Staff: Rachel Falkenstein, Tori Kanellopoulos, Michaela Accardi

Topics:

Summary of land use updates and changes
Draft land use chapter overview

5. Committee Business (10 minutes)

Allie Pesch, CCAC Chair

Next Meeting:
Regular Meeting (Wednesday, April 14, 7:00 PM)

November 27, 2020November 30, 2020

CCAC Meeting 30 November – Trying to Stop Growth?

via email:

I’m attaching the agenda for our special meeting Monday, November 30, at 7 p.m., when we will review the summary of changes that staff has proposed for the Crozet Master Plan and consider a few resolutions that committee members have proposed to send forward to the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors.

Please join us! https://albemarle-org.zoom.us/j/98824274913

A short read on this (my opinion) is that infrastructure has not kept up with growth, CCAC want to slow growth until the infrastructure catches up, and they are looking to advocate for lower density (read: more expensive) housing in lieu of higher density. Why not just seek to stop all growth now that we are all here? (sarcasm intended)

CCAC Meeting Documents

Please read these.

There is even a petition

Nextdoor has been a hotbed of anti-growth commentary of late.

All this talk about wanting to shut things down and have some sort of autonomy from Albemarle County makes me think Crozet should discuss becoming a town.

Also, you know what makes housing more affordable? More houses. Supply & Demand matters.

I just put up a facebook (I hate facebook) post, in part:

I’m curious – we’re going to grow. What housing would people support?

From ProPublica’s Separated by Design: How Some of America’s Richest Towns Fight Affordable Housing

Many zoning boards rely on their finely tuned regulations to keep housing segregation firmly in place. They point to frail public infrastructure, clogged streets, a lack of sidewalks and concerns of overcrowding that would damage what’s often referred to as “neighborhood character.”

And from gzeromedia’s Urbanization Around the World

Over the past seven decades, dozens of countries have experienced rapid urbanization as people flock from rural areas to cities in search of more diverse economic opportunities. During that time, the global urban population has increased six-fold.

November 10, 2020November 12, 2020

CCAC Land Use Meeting – 12 November 2020

Via email:

Crozet Community Advisory Committee Thursday, November 12, 2020 7:00 P.M. – 8:30 P.M. Virtual Meeting

This meeting is being held pursuant to and in compliance with Ordinance No. 20-A (14); An Ordinance to Ensure the Continuity of Government During the Covid-19 Disaster.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS MEETING ONLINE:

Download Zoom. Use this link https://albemarle-org.zoom.us/j/94571782297 to join the webinar.

BY PHONE/CALL-IN:

Dial (301) 715-8592. Type in the Webinar ID 945 7178 2297 followed by the pound (#) sign. If you have any questions, please email [email protected]

Call to Order & Agenda Review (3 minutes)Allie Pesch, CCAC Chair
Approve Meeting Minutes (2 minutes)Allie Pesch, CCAC Chair

AGENDA

3. Discussion: Crozet Master Plan Land Use (75 minutes)

Staff: Rachel Falkenstein, Michaela Accardi, Tori Kanellopoulos

Topics:

Downtown Neighborhoods Overlay
Middle Density Residential
Land Use in Old Trail Village
Draft Land Use Recommendations

Discussion Questions:

Has staff accurately summarized the community and CCAC feedback to date?
Do you have any additional comments or questions on these topics?

page1image2120464336 page1image2120464624

4. Other Business (10 minutes)

Allie Pesch, CCAC Chair

Next Meeting:
Special Meeting (Monday, November 30, 7:00 PM)

Supporting documents

– Crozet Future Land Use Plan Community Engagement Summary (hint: the County have done a lot to engage the community.

– Agenda

Some Recent Background

The September Crozet Land Use meeting, held during the day, was full of good information and discussion.

My Quick thoughts from that meeting

We need creative density, commensurate with infrastructure improvements
There are a lot of people who say they want affordable housing, but want it somewhere else
Seems like a lot of Crozetians don’t like the current growth patterns, and want to shut down development. At least the ones speaking out.
Some of the stuff that is being built around Crozet is certainly contributing to the changes in Crozet
We need affordable housing here. Not “over there.”
I agree with the commenters that this feels somewhat rushed, but we still need to do something soon
We need a developer to come and propose/put up something like thisthat is functional and creative.
Ceasing development is not a good or viable solution (I’m working on a follow up post on this, and would welcome citations in favor or against this argument)
Zoom meetings are fantastic in that they open the meetings in a way that make them much easier to access, jump in and out, and learn.
- No driving or parking
- Meetings are recorded and put on YouTube
- Transcripts of the meetings!

October 13, 2020October 13, 2020

CCAC Meeting October 2020 | Crozet Park Plans & Water Projects

Zoom zoom.

Honestly, I could be convinced to never go back to in person meetings.

via email

Crozet Community Advisory Committee

Wednesday, October 14, 2020

7:00 P.M. – 8:30 P.M. Virtual Meeting

This meeting is being held pursuant to and in compliance with Ordinance No. 20-A (6); An Ordinance to Ensure the Continuity of Government During the Covid-19 Disaster.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS MEETING ONLINE:

Download Zoom. Use this link https://albemarle-org.zoom.us/j/94571782297 to join the webinar.

BY PHONE/CALL-IN:

Dial (301) 715-8592. Type in the Webinar ID 945 7178 2297 followed by the pound (#) sign. If you have any questions, please email [email protected] page1image392448688

Call to Order & Agenda Review (3 minutes)
Approve Meeting Minutes (2 minutes)

AGENDA

September 25, 2020September 28, 2020

Crozet Land Use Meeting Recap

There was a big land use meeting the other day. Here’s the blog post with the agenda, and below are the attachments sent out after the meeting. These land use decisions affect everything. Housing, schools, roads, trails, jobs, parks, and virtually everything else.

Note that the County are having Office Hours on 2 October. Read on for details.

These quick thoughts are part of an email that I sent to someone asking for my thoughts after the meeting. I wasn’t going to write a story until I was asked, so here it is.

(here’s the accompanying FB post)

Quick thoughts

We need creative density, commensurate with infrastructure improvements
There are a lot of people who say they want affordable housing, but want it somewhere else
Seems like a lot of Crozetians don’t like the current growth patterns, and want to shut down development. At least the ones speaking out.
Some of the stuff that is being built around Crozet is certainly contributing to the changes in Crozet
We need affordable housing here. Not “over there.”
I agree with the commenters that this feels somewhat rushed, but we still need to do something soon
We need a developer to come and propose/put up something like this that is functional and creative.
Ceasing development is not a good or viable solution (I’m working on a follow up post on this, and would welcome citations in favor or against this argument)
Zoom meetings are fantastic in that they open the meetings in a way that make them much easier to access, jump in and out, and learn.
- No driving or parking
- Meetings are recorded and put on YouTube
- Transcripts of the meetings!

Attachments

CACPresentation_20200923_FINAL_ Presentation Download

Crozet-CAC-09-23-2020 – Partial Transcript Download

Crozet-CAC-09-23-2020-Questions and Answers during the Zoom Download

From a Nextdoor Thread

(bolding is mine; this is part of the email from the County Staff as a followup

Thank you for attending yesterday afternoon’s Crozet Community Advisory Committee meeting. This was by far the highest-Zoom meeting we have had since we were forced to move engagement to a virtual format, with the turnout surpassing some of our public input opportunities that were open for over three weeks at a time. If you were unable to attend, please take some time to provide input through our questionnaire at https://publicinput.com/O2561.

I’ve had a number of requests for the video from the meeting as well as the Q&A list, chat, and presentation and wanted to provide those here. The meeting video can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/gCUKw8b4Mb0.

The Q&A list, chat log, and presentation slides are attached. We also wanted to create some additional opportunities for community members to chat directly with staff to provide feedback and ask questions about the Master Plan. Next Friday, October 2 from 11AM-1PM we will be hosting (virtual) office hours. Please consider joining us to learn more about the draft future land use plan, ask questions, and share your feedback! You do not have to attend for the entire time and can join whenever is convenient for you. You can pre-register/access the meeting here:

https://albemarle-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwtduispjojHNKmukxCG-93SNoEQpybeAqp/.

September 21, 2020September 21, 2020

Crozet Land Use Meeting – 23 September at Noon

This looks like an important meeting. Land use affects everything.

Note: this is a great podcast episode that gets into land use in the last half; it’s worth listening.

via email:

Please find attached materials for our special meeting scheduled for () Wednesday, September 23 from 12:00 – 1:30. Zoom information for the general public is included in the agenda and below as well.

You all provided us with some feedback at last week’s meeting that you didn’t feel there was enough detail to provide informed feedback, yet too much information or detail was provided. In response, we’ve provided a summary list of land use changes as well as a simplified version of the land use table to help with your preparation. Please take some time to begin by reviewing the agenda and the discussion questions before jumping into the attachments:

(Jim’s note: attachments are at the bottom of this post)

Attachment 1 provides a comparison of the 2010 and draft 2020 land use plans
Attachment 2 provides the list of changes to accompany the map
Attachment 3 provides simplified descriptions of land uses
Attachment 4 is a list of draft recommendations that builds upon the guiding principle and goals you discussed in May.

Responding to concerns about community engagement and awareness of the draft land use map, we have also provided an opportunity for community input and review here: https://publicinput.com/O2561. Please share this information with your neighbors, HOAs, or other interested groups so we can hear their input. We will plan to leave this input opportunity open indefinitely.

Looking forward to a productive conversation! Have a great weekend.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS MEETING

ONLINE:
Download Zoom. Use this link https://albemarle-org.zoom.us/j/97118038548 to join the webinar.

BY PHONE/CALL-IN:
Dial (301) 715-8592. Type in the Webinar ID 971 1803 8548 followed by the pound (#) sign.

Andrew Knuppel

Senior Neighborhood Planner
Albemarle County
aknu…@albemarle.org

434-296-5832 ext. 3313

401 McIntire Road, North Wing, Charlottesville, VA 22902

CCAC-Agenda_20200923 Download

Att4_20200917_CrozetMP_LURecommendations_Draft Download

Att3_Summarized-Land-Use-Table_20200918 Download

Att2_Summary-of-Land-Use-Changes_September2020 Download

Att1_Crozet-Land-Use-Changes_20200917 Download

September 10, 2020September 23, 2020

CCAC Recap for September 2020

What I would have tweeted, but with more formatting, and way longer; I hope you find this useful.

Like them or not, these meetings influence many aspects of our lives in Crozet, and in Albemarle County. Land use affects almost everything.

Highlights

Voting discussion, Animal Wellness Center expansion, adding a new, denser, middle housing category.

Each heading is a link to the video, cued to to the right time.

Voting Discussion

Jim Heilman talking about voting in November; this election is a “perfect storm” of an election. Has never seen an election like this one.
New election laws, some of which were passed on Friday. “Certain voices” saying mail in ballots are fraudulent, not to trust the mail, and then we have COVID-19
Goes over what’s on the ballot, from races to two constitutional amendments
- See money behind Webb v Good.
Talking about voter registration. There is usually a spike in voter registration; not this year as voter drives aren’t happening
Learn more about voting in Albemarle here; last day to register is 13 October
Details how to register to vote. Or here at the Virginia elections site.
Three ways to vote
- In person early – you’ll be voting on a machine, just as on election day. Check their site for hours.
- Mail in voting
  - This time 4 years ago, they had 800 applications. Now it’s over 15K.
  - Call – 434-972-4173 or do it online.
- In person on Election Day
The Albemarle County Electoral Board encourages citizens to vote early in person or via mail so as to avoid long lines.
Highly encourage voters to wear mask; state says they can’t force people to, but will do everything they can to encourage people to wear them. Me: Wear a damn mask.
Jennie – if someone requested a mail in ballot, could someone still vote in person early, or once you make the request, is that the way you should vote?
- A: Fill it out, bring it to the County Office Building
- Or if you want to put it into the machine yourself, you can do that
- Dropboxes: we have never before had a legal way to do this. Last week, State passed a law allowing drop off stations, but we decided that’s not a good idea. They will have dropbox outside County Office buidling on 5th Street. May have drop off centers in the two weeks prior to election
- Q: when will the mail in ballots be mailed?
- A: by September 18, and hopefully Kanye West doesn’t win his appeal so we have to re-print the ballots. Me: #headdesk
Heilman: we don’t think there will be a problem with the mail. But don’t wait until the last day to mail.
Any ballot postmarked November 3, and received by 6 November will be counted.
Two ways to track your ballot. Ballot Scout will track your ballot.
Reminder that they’ve added a precinct, the Mechums River District.
- Five locations to vote: Crozet, Brownsville, Western Albemarle High School, Broadus Wood, Free Union Country Day School
Discussion about how to get out the word to vote
- Good story in the Crozet Gazette with a ton of information about how to vote this year.

Animal Wellness Center Special Use Permit

September 7, 2020September 6, 2020

CCAC – 9 September | Master Plan, 2020 Voting Procedures

Local politics is like a slow drip … best to pay attention so you’re not surprised when things happen in your back yard.

#CCAC0920

Crozet Community Advisory Committee
Wednesday, September 9, 2020 7:00 P.M. – 8:30 P.M.
Virtual Meeting

This meeting is being held pursuant to and in compliance with Ordinance No. 20-A (6); An Ordinance to Ensure the Continuity of Government During the Covid-19 Disaster.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS MEETING

ONLINE:
Download Zoom. Use this link https://albemarle-org.zoom.us/j/96815486613 to join the webinar.

BY PHONE/CALL-IN:
Dial (301) 715-8592. Type in the Webinar ID 968 1548 6613 followed by the pound (#) sign.

If you have any questions, please email csha…@albemarle.org

AGENDA

1. Call to Order & Agenda Review (3 minutes)

2. Approve Meeting Minutes (2 minutes)

3. Presentation: 2020 Voting Procedures (Jim Heilman, Albemarle County Electoral Board) (15 minutes)

4. Community Meeting: SP2020-00015 Animal Wellness Center (40 minutes)
Link to application materials: https://lfweb.albemarle.org/weblink/search.aspx?dbid=3&searchcommand=%7b%5bCDD-Planning%5d:%5bApplicationNumber%5d=%22SP202000015%22%7d

5. Discussion: Crozet Master Plan: Planning Commission Work Session Recap and Next Steps (remaining time)

Discussion Question: Are CCAC members available in late September/early October for a special meeting? This meeting will focus on finalizing site-specific land use recommendations and reviewing draft recommendations in the Master Plan’s Conservation chapter.

Next Meeting:
Special Meeting (date/time TBD)
Wednesday, October 14, 2020 7:00 P.M. – 8:30 P.M.

August 19, 2020August 19, 2020