Monthly Archive for October, 2006

Page 6 of 7

Survey: We’re Growing Too Fast

Published by Waldo Jaquith on October 12, 2006 in Development and Taxes. 15 Comments

The results of Albemarle County’s latest citizen survey look pretty good, WINA reports. UVa’s Center for Survey Research surveyed hundreds of Albemarle County residents via telephone, as they did in 2002 and 2004, and this year’s results seem to be a lot like prior results. Ninety one percent of people are happy with county services, and 85% believe they’re getting a good value for their tax payments. I think the most interesting numbers are those about growth: 64% believe that the county is growing too fast, and just a teeny tiny minority — 3.4%, or approximately the number of employees at the Chamber of Commerce — support faster growth.

October 13 Update: Lee Catlin provides the summary results and the entire report, which is really, really detailed. Who wants to dig into the internals of this poll?

No Firetrucks on Proffit Bridge

Published by Waldo Jaquith on October 11, 2006 in Transportation. 12 Comments

The new Proffit Rd. bridge isn’t strong enough to bear the weight of firetrucks, Jeremy Borden wrote in yesterday’s Progress, and the Stony Point Fire Department isn’t particularly happy about it.

Stony Point’s two trucks weigh 15.5 and 16.5 tons, while the bridge can bear just 12 tons of weight. Stony Point is not the primary responder to that area — Charlottesville and Earlysville can get there as quickly as Stony Point — but a three-alarm fire may well require Stony Point to show up. Thing is, the old bridge was only rated at 15 tons (15 < 15.5), and that was dropped to 12 tons a year and a half ago. Jeremy Borden was kind enough to provide some more detail via e-mail. It seems that the Stony Point Fire Department, back when it was being run by arsonists, figured that the bridge would hold twice the posted limit, so they just went ahead and drove over it. When the adults took over in 2002 they brought a stop to that and began seeking an official blessing to use the bridge.

So, nothing has changed, but this does seem like a good example of what can happen when development patterns don’t respect the realities of existing infrastructure and resources. The county shouldn’t provide building permits to structures on the west side of that bridge that could have fires so severe that they’d require a prompt response from Stony Point. But that’s just common sense. Isn’t it?

Turner Speaks Out About…Nothing

Published by Waldo Jaquith on October 9, 2006 in Meta News. 4 Comments

UVa Dean of African-American Affairs Rick Turner retired abruptly back in July the week after pleading guilty to lying to federal investigators in a drug probe, having been assigned a probation officer and agreeing to regular drug testing. Nobody knows the slightest thing about the case other than that. Turner is famed for his blunt outspokenness, so when interviewed on WINA by equally outspoken guest host (and recently-defeated City Councilor) Rob Schilling today, fireworks could well have been expected. Instead, The Hook has Schilling didn’t once ask Turner about his conviction or abrupt exit from UVa in the hour-long interview. A Hook reporter finally called to ask the obvious question, which Turner deflected and Schilling ignored.

The story behind Turner’s guilty plea and departure from UVa will have to remain a mystery until a reporter or a radio host with some cajones has the opportunity to get an answer.

Slutzky Proposes TDR

Published by Waldo Jaquith on October 9, 2006 in Development and Politics. 10 Comments

Board of Supervisors member David Slutzky made an interesting proposal early last week, I’ve just discovered upon returning from a week’s vacation. He’d like to see the county allow transfer of development rights from rural property owners to growth-area property owners, meaning folks who live out in the country can sell their right to build more houses on their land to folks who already own land in growth areas. It’s a free market approach to shaping growth, requiring that nobody lose any property rights. Not everybody’s thrilled with the proposal, but this may well prove to be the most popular short-term solution to our growth problem.

Unpasturized Apple Cider?

Published by Waldo Jaquith on October 8, 2006 in Ask cvillenews.com. 27 Comments

CiderIt’s that time of year when thoughts turn to picking apples and buying cider. Though a trip to Carter’s Mountain makes for a fine afternoon, their cider is, sadly, pasteurized. Does anybody know of an area orchard that sells unpasteurized cider?

Sideblog