Pulled From the Comments – Thoughs on the Crozet Master Plan and Reporting the News

In this comment, Craig covers a lot of ground – reporting of the news and the necessary relationships for said reporting, growth in Crozet and Albemarle, local economics – it is this sort of comment that helps to make writing this blog worthwhile.

Each morning, a young, green reporter at Daily Progress appears to field a call from county officials on what the “local news” should read for that day. Only a child-like mind would read the DP’s local coverage as news – or ridiculously self-interested preening for the “master plan” from Crozet Gazette’s editor, for that matter.

Right now, the local news – according to our county officials – reads that they are short the money needed to pay for the wonderful growth infrastructure contained in wildly popular urban plans. The DP – and county officials – are prepping residents for “tough decisions”, decisions the board passed on when the passed trendy development plans and hungrily consumed 30 percent increases in assessments.

I would look at recent election results, rather than the Daily Progress, for a more accurate sense of where the community stands. We just had two elections in which residents made their feelings on the rezonings in a “master plan” known. Sadly, after these elections, both Democrat and Republican supervisors for Crozet immediately passed two of the largest rezonings in the county, claiming the master plan is a popular rezoning guide.

Sure, you can find a few local residents who are wetting their pants with excitement for the high density development in the master plan or claiming they are proud of their role in it. But the vast majority of residents don’t want to pay for it (tax increase are probably coming), shift students, or commute 12 miles to densities that are 3 times as dense as the 3/acre densities of the Biscuit Run development in Charlottesville. The “master plan” is detested.

The School Board is reacting to policies that they did not create. If supervisors of both parties want to send thousands of people into Western Albemarle (both parties are passionate about it), then the school board will need to shift students from Crozet, almost annually. Students have to be placed somewhere.

Residents should expect students shifts from here on out. The Board could add on to existing schools, but I would rather keep our schools small. Smaller schools, which may no longer be possible in Crozet, are more effective socially and academically. The student shifts are not the school board’s doing, but it has become their problem.

The Board of Supervisors will also have to raise revenues to pay for the infrastructure to feed future growth caused by urbanization programs. However, they created this problem, and the excuses can be read as “local news” in the Daily Progress (concurrent calls for lower taxes and more spending on growth infrastructure can be in the Crozet Gazette).

I believe the increase of news on the internet – blogs like this one – has a function. Even though I don’t always agree with Jim, he does a great job of letting a wider array of opinions see the light.

What do you mean, you don’t always agree with me? 🙂 In all sincerity, thank you Craig for reading and posting such a thoughtful comment.

Update 22 October 2008: I thought it warranted putting my own comment here in the main story –

In defense of Mike Marshall who is the Crozet Gazette – He has done a remarkable thing for Crozet – not just by publishing the one and only monthly newspaper, but he’s involved – in far more things than most people could possibly find the time to do.

Not to put words in his mouth, but I sincerely believe that he supports the Master Plan for at least two reasons (and likely more) – 1) He’s invested in the plan 2) He’s invested in and cares for Crozet.

Shoot, how many people would start a newspaper – in this day and age – from scratch – if they didn’t care for the community?

Come Meet Candidate Tom Perriello

This is a non-partisan announcement for a clearly partisan event. It’s pretty cool to have the opportunity to meet a candidate for Congress. If Virgil Goode has an event in Crozet, I’ll gladly run that announcement as well. Shoot, an afternoon with wine, music (Jan Smith band and the Perriello Pickers All-Star Bluegrass Band will be there) (and a little bit of politics) sounds pretty good.

Personally, I don’t care about whom you vote for, just that you educate yourself and vote!

Please join Tim and Casey Beeghly for a reception honoring Tom Perriello,Democratic Candidate for Congress (VA-05)

Saturday, October 25, 2008
5:30 – 8:00 P.M.
Pollak Vineyard
330 Newtown Road, Greenwood, Va.

Please reply at your earliest convenience to [email protected] or 434-979-1104

Donations to support Tom’s campaign will be accepted at the door.

Contributions to Perriello for Congress are not deductible for federal income tax purposes.

Directions from Charlottesville: Take Interstate 64 West to Exit 107 (Crozet). Turn left onto
250 West. Go about three miles, passing the estates of Mirador, Seven Oaks, Ramsey and Ridgley all on your right. Just past Ridgley estate, take a right fork onto Rte. 796 (Brooksville Rd.). Continue about a half mile and turn right on Newtown Road. Entrance to Pollak Vineyards is about a half mile on your left – look for the Perriello signs.

Crozet Master Plan up for Review

From Charlottesville Tomorrow:

The Crozet Master Plan, the County’s first for one of its designated growth areas, was approved in 2004. Master Plans are expected to be reviewed every five years. Albemarle County Senior Planner, Elaine Echols described the goal of the review which will take place initially behind the scenes and then be in front of the public in a significant way after July 1, 2009.

“This is not a complete overhaul of the Crozet Master Plan,” said Echols. “The plan is basically good. There are some tweaks that are needed. There have been some specific areas of concern to the community as well as to the staff, and these issues are going to be resolved through the update.”

County staff outlined how they plan to work co-operatively with the Crozet Community Advisory Council (CCAC) which is setting up several subcommittees to keep the review on track between now and mid-2009. County Community Relations Manager, Lee Catlin, described the work as a “very vigorous public involvement effort.”

Download the Crozet Master Plan staff report here. (pdf)

Crozet Arts and Crafts Festival October 11 and 12

Crozet Arts & Crafts Festival.jpg

This year with wine tasting!

One note – if you happen to take photos of the Festival, please upload them to Flickr and tag them with “crozet” – that way they’ll show up in the slideshow to the right.

From their press release:

“Don’t miss central Virginia’s premier juried Crozet Arts & Crafts Festival. Saturday and Sunday Oct 11 & 12, 2008 Approximately 120 of the finest artists and craftspeople from around the nation will gather together. This two-day event is held, rain or shine, and, for many it is THE place to find one of a kind, handmade items of pottery, textiles, leather, glass, wood and metal as well as beautiful photography and art.

Our festive fare menu includes a variety of foods ranging from fresh popped Blue Ridge Kettle Korn, Lion’s Club famous gourmet hot dogs, K&R BBQ, local favorite La Cocina del Sol and MORE. There is no need to take a lunch break away from the grounds. The kids will be entertained as there are activities designed just for them including sand art, face painting, and more!

NEW – Wine Tasting Tent! Admission is $7 and includes a souvenir glass. Stop by our tasting tent and sample some of the finest wine this area has to offer. Identification required.

When you are ready to take a break, grab some lunch and a seat around the stage and plan to see local favorites Skyline Cloggers, magic by Dick Hildebrand, award winning bluegrass and more. All exhibits are handicapped accessible and under shelter.

Come and enjoy a day in the shadows of the Blue Ridge Mountains and marvel at the beauty of the Virginia countryside. All proceeds benefit Crozet Park, a
community non-profit recreational facility open to all. Call 434-823-2211 or visit our website www.crozetpark.org for more information and directions.

Gate Admission is $5 for adults and children under 12 are free. No pets please.”

Update from an email:

“They can use a few more volunteers if anyone is interested in helping out in the community.
If you can give a couple hours for setup (today), call.

Update 14 October 2008 – I’d qualify the Festival as a huge success. I’ll try to do a full write up soon.

Crozet Market Update – September 2008

The Crozet real estate market, like the entire region, is in a state of transition. In an attempt to keep Crozetians (and those curious folks outside Crozet who may be interested in moving here) informed, I am going to be publishing quarterly market reports specifically for Crozet.*

This data is pulled from the Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors’ MLS. I’m not displaying prices – sold and listed – because so many of these subdivisions are interspersed with attached and single family homes. For example – Bargamin Park has two active properties – one attached for $272,500 and one single family for $375,500.

If you’re interested in a wider market analysis of the entire Charlottesville/Central Virginia area, you can see all of my market analyses at RealCentralVA. If you have questions about Crozet (or Charlottesville, etc.) real estate market, please ask me anytime.

Looked at another way,

* Crozet = Brownsville and Crozet Elementary Schools

* The information displayed is only as accurate as the Realtors inputting said data.

A Few Changes to RealCrozetVA

You may have noticed that I implemented a new theme last week. This week I’m changing things up a little bit more. I replaced the flickr sidebar with a large scrolling flickr slideshow with photos tagged with “Crozet.”

I’ve also added a widget in the sidebar that is a slightly more blatant announcement that I happen to be a Realtor. Since I started writing this blog in September of 2005, I’ve never hidden the fact that I make my living as a Realtor, but I don’t think I’ve every come out and said, “I’m a Realtor!” If you think that this detracts from the site, please let me know. It’s meant to be a passive, non-intrusive announcement that I do happen to have a job other than writing here.

If something doesn’t work or look right, please let me know. Thank you sincerely for reading.

As always, you can receive updates from RealCrozetVA by clicking here to sign up for email alerts or here to receive RSS notifications.

If you’re reading this in your RSS reader, please take a look at the new theme.

Crozet Music Lessons

Ed Note: sent in by a reader

I’m not sure this is a “story”, but as the new school years starts I know I always get new music students with families that are pleased and surprised to find they don’t have to drive to the other side of Charlottesville for lessons! My website is www.ivyartsandmusic.com. I teach voice, clarinet, flute, and general music. I would also be happy to put people in touch with other music teachers in the Crozet area. There is certainly a lot of talent around here!

A Slower Master Plan and Redistricting

Two stories of note from the Daily Progress –

Crozet Elementary may move 101 kids to Brownsville Elementary

Interesting is this –

In February, school officials developed four options for moving students from Crozet to Brownsville and gave parents several months to voice their concerns and opinions.

Only 15 people had weighed in on the options by the end of the summer, said Maury Brown, spokeswoman for the school division.

If we don’t tell our elected officials ahead of the time to make the decision what our intentions are, how can we expect them to follow our direction?

And –

Economy could slow Crozet master plan

Residents are “exasperated” by the slow progress of the projects, said Michael Marshall, chairman of the advisory council. “It just seems like the county cannot stay on schedule.”

Marshall, who’s also the editor of the Crozet Gazette, argues that “if the county drags its feet” on plans for a concentrated area of development in downtown Crozet, sprawl will occur in the meantime.

As for the plans to develop the downtown, “Nobody in Crozet disagrees with what the projects are,” Marshall said. “The citizens of Crozet were happy with the master plan. … Let’s get it done.”

Encounter With a Bear

Ed note: sent in by a reader –

I started my morning run at 5:30 a.m., planning to run 6 miles, with 5 20-second sprints at around mile 4. I ran out the door, out of Greyrock, our subdivision, onto Jarman’s Gap Road, and headed south. It was dark, with a full-moon lighting the way. While passing Chiles’ Peach Orchard, I saw a dog. A mile further, I saw a family of deer cross the road. I turned around at the Greenwood Community Center, feeling pretty good, looking forward to doing my sprints.

While heading back, I was approaching the four-mile point, passing a produce stand in the middle of another peach orchard. There was an orchard on the right and a field on the left. The road was uphill. Chiles’ was right after the top of the rise. In the pre-dawn gloom, I saw a large, black figure lumbering on four legs out from the orchard toward the road. It was too big to be a dog. I looked at it carefully, and my mind sent up a red flare, telling me, “Holy crap! THAT’S A BEAR!”

The bear continued to lumber toward the road. I stopped. It was about 150 meters from me. It lifted its head, testing the air. I think it smelled me. It was directly between me and the path home. I couldn’t get past it, and going around would take me miles out of the way. I retreated about 20 feet, just to make sure I’d have a bigger head start if it started toward me. I said to myself, “What do I do now? I can’t go on, because if the bear gets scared or mad it might try to kill me. I could go back, but that would take me hours.” My mind was racing.

At that moment, the bear started walking across the road. It went into the brush on the other side of the road, and I thought it would be safe. I started moving again, and it popped back onto the road. I stopped and retreated again. Then, I saw a small pickup truck approaching, going my way. I briefly thought about flagging it down and asking for a ride. The bear was not visible, but I knew it was there. Then I thought the truck will scare away the bear, so I’ll be able to pass safely. The truck passed me and the area where I thought the bear was and continued on.

I started running. I was thinking the bear is probably scared, and so I should make some loud noises so I don’t startle it. I gave my best roars, which sounded pretty weak, as I approached. Then I passed the area where the bear crossed. As I was running by, I was facing forward. I didn’t see anything at first. Then, I heard a rustle to my left. There, about eight feet up, was the bear, in a tree by the side of the road. If it had decided to, it could have easily jumped out of the tree and run me down. I was probably 20 feet from it. When I turned to look at it, the bear climbed up further into the tree. As I ran, slightly faster, past the bear, I realized that I scared the bear.

I made it back safely home. I told my wife about this, and told her I must be really ugly, to scare a bear.