This Week In Crozet

July 18th - 24th

Crozet United
July 17, 2024

Connecting you to what’s happening around town

Forecast

Umbrellas at the ready…

Things to do

Thursday, July 18th

Family Hike: Sounds of Nature | Ivy Creek Natural Area | 9:30 AM | Registration Required

A male Eastern Bluebird on a Dogwood branch

Friday, July 19th

Hike: Natural Bridge State Park and Natural Bridge Caverns | Meetup | 8 AM

Saturday, July 20th

Crozet Farmers Market | 8 AM - Noon

Sunday, July 21st

Monday, July 22nd

Family Hike: Aquatic Animals | Ivy Creek Natural Area | 9:30 AM | Registration Required

Bob Gore

Tuesday, July 23rd

Wednesday, July 24th

Planning Ahead

Albemarle County Fair | August 1-3rd | Fairgrounds of James Monroe Highlands

First Day of School ACPS | August 21

Want your event listed? Send us an email with the details. Basic event listings go for as low as $15 (non-profits are often listed at no charge). Lastly, this is a static newsletter, but life isn’t. Check to make sure the event is still happening before loading up your family of 7 for the trip.

Our Town

Oak Bluff Rezoning Deferred – Riverbend Development has opted to defer the highly anticipated rezoning hearing for its Oak Bluff development that had been calendared for the Planning Commission’s August 13^th meeting.

Riverbend Development cancelled the Oak Bluff hearing scheduled for August 13th.

County Rejects Our Request for an External Review of Project Heron – Over the last month, Crozet United has privately petitioned the Chair of the Board of Supervisors to demonstrate the County’s commitment to public transparency by conducting an independent review of “Project Heron”.

We had hoped that a fact-finding collaboration with the County would become a first step to repairing its fractured relationship with the Crozet community.

Unfortunately, our offer has been rejected. We were also informed that the County will have no further comment on the matter, to us at least.

Many unanswered questions remain, including, but not limited to:

Why did the County originally report that the Economic Development Authority (EDA) was not involved now that it admits that it was? How long was the EDA involved with Project Heron? As the Board’s liaison to to the EDA, was Supervisor Bea LaPisto-Kirtley briefed on the effort?
Did the County willfully violate Virginia’s Public Procurement Act by exclusively meeting with a single vendor over a period of months to draft a detailed project schedule and term sheet with a contract value of up to $17 million?

If Project Heron ended in 2023, which was County’s justification for destroying project documents, why was the Project’s detailed schedule and term sheet still referred to and attached to several staff emails in 2024?
What was in the Collins Engineering document that the County destroyed? Does the County have a digital copy of it? If not, can the County ask Collins Engineering to provide a replacement copy?
Why is the County rejecting VDOT’s design recommendation for the Eastern Avenue bridge to move it outside of the FEMA flood plain?

Why hasn’t the County run a scenario to estimate the cost of VDOT’s suggestion to use a longer bridge but also reduce the total length of the road by using a more direct alignment?
Did any of Albemarle’s Supervisors or Commissioners have improper and undisclosed private communications or meetings with Riverbend Development regarding Oak Bluff or Project Heron?

Crozet United will continue to seek answers to these questions and many others and will continue to report our findings to Crozet citizens.

Maintaining The Trails - Great story about a group of volunteers helping to maintain the trails people love in the Shenandoah National Park.

ACPS Bus Driver Shortage - If you have had kids in school the last few years, you are likely familiar with this issue. Albemarle County Public Schools once again don't have enough drivers to fill all the bus routes this year. However, they hope to notify affected families sooner this time. While it seems the problem isn't as severe this year, it's frustrating that it still hasn't been resolved.

Changing Locations - The Green Olive Tree thrift store is relocating to a space within the Music Today building on August 1. The store is no longer accepting donations at its current location but will hold a bag sale from July 15th to 20th.

Comprehensive Planning Update - On Wednesday, the Board of Supervisors will get an update on AC44, the comprehensive plan update that will guide major land use decisions over the next 20 years.

Crozet United’s take: Supervisors need to ask County staff an essential question: “How many additional homes are still needed to house the projected population of Albemarle in 2044 after subtracting those that we have already approved to date?”

It is essential for Supervisors to understand and ensure the Comprehensive Plan is grounded in an accurate baseline housing demand forecast that accounts for all of their recent rezoning actions, including several large future developments along 29N.

Inquiring minds want to know: How many more houses do Albemarle County Supervisors need to approve by 2044?

On The Lighter Side