This Week in Crozet
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This Week In Crozet (12/11)

This Week In Crozet (12/11)

Dec 12th - 18th

Crozet United
December 11, 2024

Connecting you to what’s happening around town

Forecast

They say the universe is expanding, that should help with traffic

Things to do

Christmas Parade | Crozet Volunteer Fire Department | 2:00 PM | FREE | Join us at the end of the parade to meet Santa and enjoy food, bounce house, arts & crafts, and more!

Find all events and links at DiscoverCrozet.com updated every Thursday

Christmas Cookie Decorating Workshop | Bluebird & Co. | 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM | $65

Monday, Dec 16th

Hike: Trayfoot Mountain Loop | Meetup | 9:00 AM | FREE | Registration required

Planning Ahead

Trans-Siberian Orchestra | John Paul Jones Arena (JPJ) | 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM | Price Varies

Holiday Hangout at Piedmont Place | Piedmont Place | 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM | FREE | The holiday season can be stressful. Come take a breather! Stop by Piedmont Place for a warm beverage and a cookie, ornament making, and holiday photos with the Yay! Crozet! Photo booth.

Jingle Jog | General - Race Sponsor | 11:00 AM | FREE | Casual event! Free, no chip, no timing! All are welcome to walk, stroll or run all or part of the race. Email [email protected] questions.

Want your event listed? Send us an email with the details. Lastly, this is a static newsletter, but life isn’t. Check the venue’s website to make sure the event is still happening before heading out with your family.

Our Town

CroZeli Sandwich Shop Expands in Piedmont Place - CroZeli Sandwich Shop has expanded its operation in the Piedmont Place building! They’ve taken over the adjacent space, adding seating, a bar and a fun new feature: a mini arcade. Now, you can enjoy your sandwich and a cold beer while your kids dive into classic games and spend their quarters.

With the expansion comes new hours:

Tuesday & Wednesday: 11 AM – 3 PM
Thursday through Saturday: 11 AM – 8 PM
- Happy Hour: 3 PM – 6 PM, Thursday through Saturday

Stop by CroZeli to check out what’s new—and dibs on Detroit for NBA Jam!

Maynard Gets Milestone Win - After ending last season with 499 career wins, it must have felt great when Coach Darren Maynard finally earned his 500th on Friday night as Western Albemarle boys basketball beat Rocktown High School 63-58. Congratulations Coach!

Photo credit: Grant Sandridge. Check out all of Grant’s photos from his time at WAHS and JMU at www.sandridgephotos.com

Double Header this Friday - The WAHS varsity girls basketball team will face cross town rival Charlottesville High School at home this Friday at 6:00 PM. This game is consistently one of the most exciting of the season as both teams are loaded with talent and run a high tempo game. Tickets can be purchased here and include entry to the boy's varsity game which immediately follows at 7:30.

Old Dominion development update: The plans for the new Old Dominion neighborhood have been updated as shown in the graphic below. The 110-home neighborhood, which surrounds the current veterinary clinic on Route 240, will be a prominent visual change to the Crozet entrance corridor. A small portion of a bike lane will be added and a very dense block of townhomes will hug the northern (mountain view) side of the street.

The future Old Dominion neighborhood on Route 240 is taking shape.

Schools Don’t Have the Funding to Handle Population Growth - At their joint meeting with County Supervisors last week, the Albemarle County School Board requested half a billion dollars ($560M) for school construction to keep up with our population growth. The school division currently projects that 11,310 more homes will be built across the County over the next decade, which will yield up to 4,350 more students.

Unfortunately, the schools’ growth projection is still an order of magnitude too low because it doesn't fully account for the Supervisor’s recent residential development spree. As of today, there are over 10,000 new homes that have been approved but haven't been built yet. The County is now evaluating proposals for 4,000 more. These figures still ignore all of the additional housing developments that have yet to be proposed and built over the coming decade.

Every time I drive down the road, I see another development and I cringe…not because I’m not pleased that our community is growing, but just that I know the impact on our schools.

Kate Acuff, School Board Vice Chair

Unless the County's Planning Commission and Board start to take seriously the secondary effects of the development they already approved, it’s reasonable to expect that our schools will become even more underfunded and overcrowded, our water supply will face greater strain, and our transportation infrastructure will remain unsafe and increasingly compromised.

Perhaps the 2025 local election cycle, which unofficially kicks off next month, will be the wake-up call Supervisors need to take a hard look at the County’s runaway growth. Voters deserve clear answers on how they plan to address the mounting challenges—overcrowded schools, overtaxed water resources, and unsafe, congested roads—that come with this rapid development.

Like horses with blinders, Supervisors focus on growth while ignoring its real costs.

Petition to Save Crozet Circulating - An online petition calls on the County to finish the Eastern Avenue Connector before approving the adjacent Oak Bluff development. You can find it here. The Oak Bluff development will go before the Planning Commission next Tuesday.

Wildfire in St. Mary’s Wilderness - If you smell smoke it’s because a fire in St. Mary’s Wilderness, about 40 miles southwest of Crozet, has grown to about 2,000 acres. The Forest Service urges everyone to avoid the area to ensure the safety of fire crews.

Photo by U.S. Forest Service FB

Crozet United is here not only to keep you informed, but it is also your platform to celebrate Crozet and the people in it.

Share your good news—like team victories, community cleanups, or any positive updates—with us. Small or big we want to share the good things happening around town.

On The Lighter Side

Skyline Drive is a 105-mile National Parkway that follows the mountain ridge from Front Royal to Rockfish Gap offering access to Shenandoah National Park. The original section of Skyline Drive was planned to connect to Rapidan Camp.

Which U.S. President used Rapidan Camp as a vacation home?