Crozet Community Association Meeting Thursday 10 September

At the Old School House this Thursday from 7:30 pm to 9 pm. Anyone who wants to write a story for RealCrozetVA will be thanked loudly, roundly and I’ll buy you a cup of coffee from one of the three local coffee shops.

One suggestion – if we really want to and intend to invite Old Trail into Crozet, we (really the CCA) should put signs at the entrances to Old Trail as well as at the intersections of Crozet Avenue and 240 (and Jarman’s Gap Road).

Photowalking between Crozet Elementary and home

Take the Crozet Master Plan Survey

At Albemarle.org. (Update 15 November 2016 – the link to Albemarle’s site is dead) Once again, this is a remarkable opportunity to contribute your opinion to the future of Crozet. If you’re pro-growth, anti-growth, indifferent-to-growth, please take the time to express yourself.

From the survey’s introduction:

Your neighbors on the Crozet Community Advisory Council, in collaboration with Albemarle County staff, are starting the process of revising the 2004 Crozet Master Plan. Your input and participation are essential. The Crozet Master Plan is part of the County’s Comprehensive Plan and establishes a blueprint for the County’s future decisions on land use and development, transportation systems, public facilities and utilities, resource protection, housing, human services and public services. Part of that plan’s original 2004 adoption includes a requirement to review the Plan after five years.

This questionnaire has been created to gather public input about Crozet and the Crozet Master Plan. It is not intended to be a scientific or statistically valid survey, but rather as a way to get feedback from as many people as possible. The results of this questionnaire cannot be used to draw any specific conclusions or assumptions about the general community’s perspective, but will be used in providing ideas and understanding the perspectives of those who complete the questionnaire.

This survey is one of several opportunities for your active participation in the decisions affecting our community in the next five years or so. This is an opportunity for all of us to take a careful look at Crozet’s development and consider new actions and solutions to problems that may emerge.

We urge you and anyone else in your household to each fill out and return the following survey so that your ideas and concerns will be heard. We hope everyone in your family will complete a survey.

It should only take you about 10 to 12 minutes to complete this survey. There are no right or wrong answers; what’s important is your opinion. All of your responses are anonymous and will be kept confidential.

Thank you in advance for your time and thoughtful input.

Crozet Master Plan Revision

CROZET MASTER PLAN REVISION KICKOFF MEETING TOMORROW NIGHT (MAY 27)

Citizen Questionnaire available on line beginning May 27

Crozet residents are invited to a public meeting on Wednesday, May 27, at 7:00 pm at the Crozet United Methodist Church to kick off the five year revision of the Crozet Master Plan, which was adopted by the Board of Supervisors in December, 2004.

The meeting will focus on two objectives – to provide a community refresher on the current Crozet Master Plan and also to introduce and distribute a questionnaire sponsored by the Crozet Community Advisory Council to gather information from the Crozet community. The Crozet Community Questionnaire will be available online from May 27-June 12 at www.albemarle.org/crozet and at the Master Plan Refresher session as well as other locations around Crozet.

The master plan update is an opportunity to assess Crozet’s progress in achieving the goals set in the Master Plan adopted in 2004. As a Development Area in the county’s land use plan, Crozet is expected to continue to provide a place for growth to occur outside of the designated Rural Areas as part of the County’s overall growth management policy. Now at the five-year mark, it is time to determine what may or may not have developed as envisioned in the plan, given the experience of four plus years of the plan in action. The update is an opportunity to revisit and revise issues of concern from all perspectives.
Focus areas for the revision will be determined this summer based on public feedback, input from the Crozet Community Advisory Council and staff analysis and will be presented to the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors for their review and comment this fall.

Lee P. Catlin
Community Relations Director
Albemarle County
401 McIntire Road
Charlottesville, VA 22901
(434) 296-5841 (office)
(434) 531-8092 (mobile)

Crozet Community Advisory Council Meeting tonight

The monthly Crozet Community Advisory Council meeting is this Thursday, May 21, 2009 from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm at The Meadows Community Center

(Located on Meadows Drive/Route 240, Crozet)

Tentative Agenda
1. Agenda Review  (Mike Marshall – CCAC Chair)
2. Historic Resources Study Update (County Staff)
3. Crozet Community Questionnaire (Tim Tolson)
4. Master Plan Revision Tentative Schedule (Elaine Echols/Rebecca Ragsdale)
a. 5/27 Education Session Plan (Britton Miller)
b. Schedule through the Summer (Elaine/Rebecca)
5. Committee Updates (CCAC)
6. County Announcements/Development Updates (Rebecca Ragsdale)
7. Election of Officers for Next Year (CCAC)
8. Summary and other updates/agenda items for next meeting:
June 18
9. Adjourn

All are welcome and encourage to attend.

Crozet Park Soccer Field to Close (for the Summer)

But just for a few months. In a sign of the severe lack of soccer (and other, but my passion is soccer) fields in the whole of Charlottesville/Albemarle, Crozet Park’s field is decimated annually by its overuse. For instance, last year when coaching, we had four teams practicing together – each with a quarter of the field – until Daylight Savings kicked in.

Tim Hughes with the County of Albemarle’s Parks and Rec division says:

Crozet Park is one of our “High Maintenance Level” multi use fields. It is a Bermuda grass field, which is a warm season grass. We generally close those type of fields ( Crozet Park, Henley, AHS, WAHS, etc.) around the first of June. We will then top dress and over seed those fields with Bermuda seed which will not geminate in the fall.

We chose this time of year for two reasons. First the type of grass which I mentioned above and second because the largest user group SOCA does not have league play scheduled during this time period. This allows us to re establish the turf during the hot summer months when Bermuda grass thrives and provides us with a better playing surface for the fall season.

If I can be of further assistance please let me know.

Mr. Hughes expects the field to re-open in August, but we really need two things (at least) –

1 – More fields in Crozet
2 – For Crozet Park field to be closed for long enough for the grass to really take root and establish itself. Traditionally, the field is already worn by the first couple months of the fall season. A few months isn’t sufficient. (and I say this from having played adult league soccer on every field in the County)

Update:

Will Yancey provides pictures of the potential fields.




Yancey Mills in Crozet

Originally uploaded by jimduncancville


Crozet Community Advisory Council Meeting 16 April

A reminder that the Crozet Community Advisory Council’s (CCAC) monthly meeting is this Thursday, April 16, from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM at the Meadows Community Center (off Route 240, south of town on Meadows Drive).

Everyone is welcome to attend.

Tentative Agenda
1. Agenda Review (Mike Marshall – CCAC Chair)
2. Approval of Minutes (CCAC)
3. Crozet Community Questionnaire (Tim Tolson)
4. Master Plan Revision Process Update/Discussion (Lee Catlin/CCAC)
a. Preparation for 4/25 Education Session (CCAC/County Staff)
5. New Member Orientation Update (Britton Miller/New Members)
6. Train Service to Crozet: Update/Discussion (Ann Mallek)
7. Committee Membership (Mary Rice)
8. Committee Updates (CCAC)
9. Crozet Downtown Zoning Ordinance Update (Rebecca Ragsdale)
10. Development Review Update (Rebecca Ragsdale)
11. Summary and other updates/agenda items for next meeting: May 21.
12. Adjourn

The Council’s meeting agenda, minutes, membership, etc. are all posted on the Albemarle County web site.

A Crozet Commuter Train?

From Charlottesville Tomorrow (read the whole thing) :

Encouraged by the reality of daily passenger service from Lynchburg to Washington, D.C., Albemarle County Supervisor Ann Mallek (White Hall) sought the full Board’s support for a feasibility study for daily commuter service from Crozet to Charlottesville. The Board agreed on April 1, 2009 to send a letter to Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) officially seeking grant opportunities to study the idea further.

The service is proposed to be run on rails operated by the Buckingham Branch Rail Road (BBRR) , according to Mallek. She has met with Charlottesville Mayor Dave Norris to discuss the idea with the railroad company’s officials. Buckingham Branch operates a railroad line that runs nearly 200 miles from Clifton Forge to Richmond on its Piedmont Branch.

The idea sprung up from a conversation between City resident John Pfaltz and Gale Wilson, the General Manager of the BBRR’s Richmond-Alleghany Division. Wilson identified three challenges, according to Pfaltz:

* Amtrak would need to sponsor the project and CSX, which owns the rail line, would need to approve the service

* CSX trains and Amtrak’s Cardinal service would take priority on the line

* Fencing would be required to keep pedestrians off of the track through Charlottesville

Pfaltz said the second item could be overcome by extending a “passing track” that currently exists in Ivy. This extra track would allow either the CSX train or the commuter train to park while the other train passes by. He estimates the start-up costs would be around $5 million.

(Hat Tip: C-Ville)

In a poll on RealCrozetVA last year, nearly 90% of respondents said that they would be willing to use rail service from Crozet to Charlottesville. About 60% of respondents said that they would be willing to pay less that five dollars each way –

The real challenge may lie in the answer to this question – what do you do when you get to Charlottesville? One idea is to have one of the rail cars be a bike car – then use bicycles to get around town.

Some studies have shown that properties close to transit are worth more …

Crozet Library Meeting – 19 February

From Albemarle County –

Crozet Library Open House
Thursday, February 19, 2009
4:00-6:30 p.m.
Crozet United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall
1156 Crozet Ave, Crozet

Please join Crozet Library Steering Committee members and Albemarle County staff for an open house on the conceptual design of the new Crozet library and an update on the Destination Downtown project, including the streetscape and stormwater projects. The public is invited to drop in at any point during the Open House to view the conceptual design and other materials, talk with staff and committee members, and provide feedback. Additional details about the Open House will be available on the Crozet Library website at www.albemarle.org/newlibrary. For more information about the Open House, call the Albemarle County Community Relations Office at 434-296-5841 or email [email protected].

Update 11 February 2009: Is the Crozet library already too small?

Minutes from the Crozet Community Association Meeting – 12 January 2009

Editor’s note: if you can, find the time to attend the monthly Crozet Community Association meetings; they are among the best ways to meet fellow Crozetians and learn about the goings-on in Crozet.

The minutes of the November meeting were approved.

David Wayland has received the Crozet bumper stickers (which are the Crozet family crest). They are available at various local stores, library, etc.

New officers were elected for 2009:

President: Sarah Henley, Vice President: David Wayland, Secretary: Judi Burbes, Treasurer: Emery Taylor

Moment in History:

Phil James was not available for the meeting, but the group discussed the history of the Crozet library; included in the discussion were memories of the Women’s Club serving as a library, the bookmobile serving as library, and the various buildings that served as libraries.

New Business/Reports:

Tim Tolson spoke to the topic of the new library. General agreement has been reached on the arrangement of the new facility. Of course, the economic deterioration may well affect the schedule of funding. All citizens are encouraged to communicate with their legislators (federal and state) as well as the Board of Supervisors, to put the library on the list of “shovel ready” projects to be submitted for federal funding. Wendy Saz (our head librarian) reported that the National Assoc of Libraries has put the Crozet library at the top of their shovel ready requests!! Although the library itself may not be shovel ready in the next 6 months, the new Main St. could be. The library is seen as a way to help bring economic stimulus to the downtown area of Crozet.  The library is the 4th busiest in the area (behind Central, Northside, and Gordan Ave). Tim and the library committee will be looking for sources of funding for the library going forward.

NOTE: the committee working on the new library meets the 4th Monday of the month, at 4:30 (new meeting place will probably be at the Meadows).

Kelly Strickland spoke for the Crozet Park Board regarding the proposal to put a cover over and expand the pool at the park. This proposal was one of three competing for funding from the Board of Supervisors; the other proposals are for the Y and Star Swimming (in N. Albemarle). It appears that these have all been put on the back burner (due to the economic situation), although surprisingly, the BOS initially seemed to favor the non-public proposal by Star Swimming.

Tom Loach (our representative on the Planning Commission) addressed questions on the industrial area proposed along Rt 64. This has been pushed to back to be included in the revision to the Crozet Master Plan, which will start later this year.  There are questions in terms of watershed protection (the stream on the property has recently been rated as only of fair quality already).  This area is not attached to the growth area as defined under the Master Plan.

Tom also spoke to the Gas Station proposal along Rt 250. Currently the water usage estimates are being reevaluated.

On a positive note, Tom indicated that the Crozet Streetscape is being funded and should be proceeding.

Items requiring followup:

Recycling within Crozet is still an unresolved item. The last update presented to the CCA was that the RSWA (Rivanna Sewer and Water Authority) was to present a proposal. It was also mentioned that Carroll Connelly is collecting cans for the Lions Club. Kathleen will follow-up on the RSWA status, and Barbara Westbrook will speak with Carroll to determine the extent of recycling he’s willing and able to support. Ray McCauley also indicated that he would be willing to do a pickup from a central location.

The CCAC proposal regarding the light industrial area will be forwarded to Judi Burbes by Tim Tolson for presentation/voting for concurrence at the next CCA meeting.

Most years the Crozet community sponsors a cleanup day in April. Judi Burbes will follow-up with Heidi Sonen (who has led this in the past) and WAHS to determine what role the community could play in the cleanup for 2009.

Advocacy Items:

The Fire Department will be celebrating it’s 100th year of service. The department will be sponsoring a contest to develop a new logo. Details will be unveiled in the near term.

The Blackfriars Theater in Staunton is apparently feeling the squeeze of the economic situation, and is asking for contributions for any donors who would like to support the theater.

Submitted:

Judi Burbes, Secretary