Dear Members of the Crozet Community, We wanted to let you know that on Friday, March 31, children at Crozet Elementary School will be walking to school. This event is designed to help kids learn that fitness can be fun and practical…. Supported by the Alliance for Community Choice in Transportation [ACCT] and their Safe Routes to School initiative, this event encourages all families who can walk to school to do so. Children who must ride the bus will have the opportunity to take a walk around the outside of the school before entering the building for the day. Parents who drive their children by car are invited to park at Crozet Baptist Church on St. George Avenue and walk to school from there under the supervision of school staff. A second supervised “Walking School Bus” will walk from the Brookwood neighborhood. Members of the community are advised to be on the lookout for children walking in the neighborhoods and to be extra careful driving between 7-8am.
More than 12,000 people in Crozet …
This outstanding report by Charlottesville Tomorrow shows what the County apparently is unable to accurately determine and/or admit to. While nobody can predict accurately the speed with which those homes will be built and occupied, it is news that County staff are bringing this to the attention of the Board. On paper, the twenty-year Crozet Master Plan approved in December 2004 has crossed the threshold of a population of 12,000 people.Go read the report, educate yourself and contact your representative in Albemarle County.
Crozet Community Association meeting this Thursday
Mark your calendars – the March meeting is this Thursday, March 9, 7:30 at the Crozet Firehouse.
Crozet residents speak
But have they been heard?Charlottesville Tomorrow has the podcast.Members of the Crozet community appeared before the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors to deliver a petition signed by 1,316 area residents asking the County to not let Crozet’s population exceed 12,000 people. In this podcast, Charlottesville Tomorrow presents the public comments delivered in this portion of the Board’s meeting. Seven of the six speakers focused their remarks on the Crozet Master Plan.
“A Call to Arms”
Attempting to notify Crozetians the day before any action is too late.From the Crozet Community Association – We urgently need a number of people who can come to the Board of Supervisors’ Meeting, 9 A.M., Wednesday morning, March 1, at the County Office Building, room 241, on McIntire Road downtown. You will not have to speak; just be there to stand up and make the presence of Crozet felt…. Some of us will present the over 1100 signed petitions urging the BOS to respect the Master Plan and keep to the promised 12,000 buildout population. We have found using the County’s own figures that the current population including all the developments that have already been approved is over 11,000!… We have never agreed to the twenty year date; the 12,000 figure was the total build-out figure continuously quoted to us during the Master Planning period…. Or are they going to ignore the 12,000 figure and continue to make Crozet a population land-fill?… We need Crozet citizens and other concerned people to be there on Wednesday to support our contention that the BOS has to take control of the uncontrolled building taking place and STOP it now…. At the most recent Crozet “Town Hall,” he made a few seemingly prepared remarks but did not take public questions.
This pretty much sums it up
From today’s DP article by David Hendrick – Fabienne Swanson, manager of the nearby Fabulous Foods, also expressed guarded optimism about impending change.”I do have to say I’m looking forward to growth and some of the changes,” Swanson said. “I really hope they think about the roads before they allow all the growth.”If only they would listen to the people …
Crozet meeting tomorrow night
Albemarle County has updated their Crozet site. Check out the agenda for tomorrow, the infrastructure update and more. Based solely on the agenda, I think the County may be continuing the disconnect that currently exists. Is the planned population for Crozet 12,000 or 24,000? Without addressing this, I think that Crozetians are going to be less able/willing to move forward. Who wants to work with someone they don’t trust?
Crozet’s Master Plan petition
An effort is being made to request the County to review its Master Plan for Crozet. You can sign the petition here.The petition reads:Citizens of Crozet diligently worked thousands of hours over two years with Albemarle Count planners and and consultants to design a Master Plan that would create a Crozet of 12,000 residents. In good faith, Crozetians negotiated with Albemarle County leaders for a Master Plan in which the maximum population of Crozet was publicly and repeatedly projected at 12,000 total residents. This projection would quadruple the size of Crozet. Now the County says we have it wrong! The County says the plan calls for a population in the Crozet Growth Area as high as 24,000 residents! The want Crozet to grow to half the size of the City of Charlottesville.The County currently has a credibility problem. They certainly have some ‘splainin’ to do.
Stay informed on Crozet’s Master Plan
Albemarle County’s website has an updated notification system for Crozet’s Master plan. Go here to sign up. One thing that irks me is that they require registrants to state whether they are residents of Albemarle. I would be interested to see an option for how many are natives of Albemarle. Their A-Mail is one of many efficient features of their extensive website.
New bar in Crozet
I made my way to the new bar in Crozet this afternoon/evening to watch the Redskins’ run end. My conclusion: exactly what Crozet needs. Multiple televisions, five beers on tap – sadly, no Starr Hill beer, but they do have PBR, huh? This ought to be remedied asap…. Obviously they are still working things out, and the smoke was too much, but nonetheless, this is a great addition to Crozet. Better yet, the Hogwaller Ramblers were playing there this evening. Unfortunately I was unable to attend, but hopefully they will return. They’ve always been one of my favorite C’Ville area bands.