Crozet Zoning update

I’m still working my way through this one, but Crozetians should take the time to read the whole thing. A few quotes jump out from some of Crozet’s respected leaders:

Sandy Wilcox of the Downtown Crozet Association said he was upset about the way the process was turning out. He said the idea of reducing the size of the downtown had never been discussed during meetings between property owners, staff and consultants. He also said he was confused by why the lumber yard was taken out.

“The idea that we had in there was for everything to be the same so there wouldn’t be a wild card out there that we don’t know what is going to happen,” Wilcox said. He added that he felt blind-sided by the staff’s report and that his trust in the process is broken.

The complaints kept coming.

Mack Lafferty, a member of the Crozet Community Advisory Committee, said he felt blind-sided. Another member, Mary Rice, encouraged the Commissioners to walk along Carter Street before following the recommendations.

Mike Marshall, publisher of the Crozet Gazette and chair of the CCAC, said he was shocked that staff issued a new recommendation before the work session.

If they’re concerned, so should we be.

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Crozet Streetscape – Phase 2

Republishing press releases from the County is but one way that this blog tries to inform and educate Crozetians. This meeting also presents an opportunity for somebody to write a first-hand account of the meeting.
Crozet Streetscape

Crozet residents are invited to a Community Meeting for the Downtown Crozet Streetscape Project Phase 2 to provide input on the conceptual design and the impacts related to implementing the vision for Crozet Avenue and New Main Street on Monday, December 3 at 7:00 PM at Western Albemarle High School.

This meeting will be sponsored by Albemarle County and project consultant Kimley-Horn and Associates and will be held in conjunction with the regularly scheduled Crozet Downtown Association Meeting.
For those unable to attend, there will be opportunities for you to contribute to the process by email. We will also have the informational materials from the meeting available for review on the County website.

Welcome, Co-Housing Neighbors

The Blue Ridge Cohousing project was approved by the Albemarle Board of Supervisors on Wednesday night.

What is Blue Ridge Cohousing? 

Blue Ridge Cohousing is a group of families working to establish cohousing in Crozet near Charlottesville in beautiful Central Virginia.

What is cohousing?     

Cohousing neighborhoods combine the advantages of private homes with the benefits of more sustainable living, including shared common facilities and ongoing connections with neighbors. These intentional neighborhoods, created and managed by residents, offer an innovative solution to today’s environmental and social challenges. 

I am curious to learn more about the project, and the “car-free” design of the neighborhood.

Their development goals are goals that would be good to be adopted by more than just co-housing projects:

– Environmentally sound construction
– Includes affordable housing
– Includes housing for disabled residents
– Houses are visitable to the disabled
– Homes should be $150K to $400K

Learn more at their website.

Hat tip: Cvillenews
Do any readers have first-hand knowledge of this development?

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Thank you from Ann Mallek

Dear Crozetians,

I am honored by the confidence voters have in me and will work hard to earn it every day. I also invite all residents to continue our conversation about ideas for solutions, concerns which need to be addressed, ways to build a sense of community and common purpose here.

We are all working to one goal, a great quality of life for us and our next generations.

Residents, please don’t be strangers. You have my number.

Ann Mallek

Ed Note: I published this for Ann at her request.  My thanks to her for reaching out and participating.

49% Turnout in White Hall District!

Congratulations to Ann for a well-run, hard fought race. Now the real work begins. 🙂

Thank you for your service to our community.

The past four years have brought significant changes to Crozet – and these changes were demonstrated in today’s vote. Thanks also to those who voted – just over 49%! A huge turnout for an off-year election.

White Hall district

Crozet's district

Ann swept all 5 precincts.

Seeing the ramifications and analysis to come will be very interesting.

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A reminder to RealCrozetVA readers

In September, RealCrozetVA was opened to all writers and contributors, furthering the drive to create a community hub of discussion and debate. Tuesday’s elections provide a great opportunity for somebody to craft a summary of the results.

Will Crozetian Arin Sime, fresh off the News Virginian’s endorsement, pull out a victory in the 24th District race?

Will challenger Ann Mallek upend incumbent David Wyant?

Log in (it’s on the right, under “Meta”), write a story, save it as a draft, and then email me to let me know.

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Blue Ridge Internetworks hosting RealCrozetVA

Blue Ridge Internetworks is now hosting RealCrozetVA.com, gratis. It is humbling to have a company offer hosting services, and I am grateful for the offer. The transition from my previous host was seamless, painless and completely invisible to readers – just how it should be.

The cost of operating this site is not so significant as to be a hardship, but, it is intended to be a community resource; I won’t take ads, so until now the cost has been borne alone.

Thank you to Blue Ridge Internetworks.

I expect that I will be moving a site or two over to them soon.