Guest post from Matt Hodges with Compass Home Loans:

Every year in mid-late November, conforming loan limits are set for the next year. This year, our government gave us a bit of a surprise on the Freddie/Fannie limits and a very nice surprise on the FHA limits. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that the mortgage world and the real estate markets have been tumultuous this year. There is little investor confidence is any mortgage product not named Freddie, Fannie or Ginnie. Hence, the government has meddled into the market. Perhaps you could say nationalized the market.

Back to our November surprise. The national loan limits for Freddie and Fannie remain at $417,000, but because we are in a “high cost” area, our limits have been expanded to $437,000. It’s a nice surprise because that loan limit should correspond to the real estate marketplace. Yet, for the past three years, the limit has remained the same, despite dropping house values nationwide. Now, the very good news is that FHA has raised their limits to $417,000 nationwide and $437,000 locally (Charlottesville, Albemarle, Greene, Fluvanna, Nelson (excel file).

By the way, buy in Louisa (pdf), and your loan limit is $535,900 -they are part of Richmond’s MSA.

Waynesboro and the rest of the Valley remains at $417,000 for Fannie/Freddie and range between $271,050 and $277,150 for FHA.

Previously, the FHA limit was $323,000, but in March FHA was allowed to raise the limit to $425,000. This increased limit came with a cost of about .5 point higher in rate, so many borrowers declined this route. Now, with all three entities operating on the same page, borrowers will have clear choices and that better reflect costs of housing in our area.

Further, often clients are choosing FHA over conventional loans, even when they have upwards of 10% down payment. Given the restricted ability to acquire home equity lines and loans, mortgage insurance premiums can be significantly higher for conventional over FHA, with no discernable difference in interest rate.

Ed note: I have two additional guest posts tentatively lined up for the coming weeks. One on short sales in the Charlottesville/Albemarle area and one that sheds light on the local builders’ point of view.

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*

It’s a hard time to be a charity. (and there are quite a few charities in Charlottesville). If you can, please consider helping out. Toy Lift will be serving 3,098 children this year!

“But … this year is the 20th anniversary of the Toy Lift and we hope it will be the most successful year ever!

One way you can help is to volunteer! How do we collect toys, sort them and distribute all in one weekend? Come to our volunteer meeting to find out how the lift weekend works and how we prepare for it and how we finish up for the year. It is a great time for families, friends, youth groups, scouts or anyone who loves to volunteer.

If you would like to donate a toy to the lift before Dec. 5th the early drop off locations are: Anytime Fitness – Crozet, CVaMP, Creative Press, Gold’s Gym, The Running Company, Seminole Total Health, Wilson School of Dance or you may email me for pick up service.

Want to donate to Toy Lift, but not sure what to get? How about adopting a family?

Call us or e-mail us. Tell us you want to adopt a family. We’ll tell you how many kids, ages, genders, and what the kids really want. You put together a complete package made up of main and secondary gifts, stocking stuffers, books & a family game or activity.Then just label your toys or books with the control # and bring them to Gold’s Gym and we’ll make sure it gets to the right family. You can specify the size of the family you want, the age range you’re interested in, or even the county they live in!

It’s also a great way for a small office or group to help.

–

Kids Lift Foundation Toy Lift / Books Lift Kids

PO Box 6762 Charlottesville, VA 22906

(434) 975-TOYS info@kidslift.org www.kidslift.org”

* Even if I didn’t believe in the Toy Lift, I’d be writing about it – my wife is on their Board.

** This post originally appeared on the Toy Lift blog.

The 20th annual Toy Lift is almost here! The Lift is Friday December 5th, 7AM-8PM at Fashion Square mall. Please bring your family and friends to celebrate the Festival of the toy! We will have entertainment, bounce toys, face painters, music, Santa and more! Drop off a toy and stay for the festivities!

For more information visit http://www.kidslift.org/. We still need sponsors and volunteers! If you would like to volunteer or sponsor email us at info@kidslift.org.

The most requested toys for the 20th year are:
· Action figures (especially Iron Man, Spiderman, Transformers, & wrestling)
· Bakugan
· Barbie, Bratz, & Dora dolls
· Hannah Montana anything!!
· High School Musical
· board games
· Art supplies
· Sports equipment
· Remote control cars & trucks
· Legos & Magnetix
· Jewelry & Make-Up for the older girls
· Bicycles (esp need the larger ones), Big Wheels, tricycles, & riding toys

Thanks to all of our tremendous sponsors, volunteers and friends for your support! We look forward to seeing everyone at the 20th annual Toy Lift!

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If a picture is truly worth a thousand words -

This market update is a bit longer and more detailed than most of my previous market reports – there seems to be uncertainty right now and I’d like to do my part to answer as many questions as possible. There is so much more that I would like to post, but feel that already I am in danger of providing information overload.

There are a lot of buyers in the market right now. Fortunately for them, there are a lot of houses on the market as well.

Diving right in -

Current Inventory – Days on Market

Right now*, there are 2,390 properties on the market (Albemarle, Charlottesville, Fluvanna, Greene, Nelson)*

312 have been on the market for more than one year.

908 have been on the market for more than six months.

1406 have been on the market for more than three months.

2059 have been on the market for more than one month.

Currently there are 606 residential properties currently market as being Under Contract. 223 of these – nearly 37%! – were on the market for less than 30 days. 307 - 50%! – were one for less than 60 days. Conclusion – IF YOU PRICE YOUR PROPERTY WELL, IT WILL SELL. You may however, come to realize that the price at which you can sell your property is either a) less than you expected/hoped for and/or b) less than you owe on your mortgage. What you need to make is irrelevant to the fair market value.

——————————-

The Agent Update

In 2007:

From January through the end of May, 158 Realtors had more than 5 sides

45 had more than 10, and about 700 had not had one transaction

In 2008:

From January through the end of May, 74 have had more than 5 sides

24 have had more than 10, about 900 600 have not had one transaction

Any Realtor who is not at least a little bit concerned about survival either isn’t paying attention or isn’t a full-time Realtor.

—————————

On to the market update (click images for larger versions):

So far, we have seen the fewest number of monthly sales in years, the highest number of homes on the market in May, and fewer building permits than we have seen in the first quarter. Interesting times. I didn’t know how long we’ve been in this cycle until I referred to this story – Sold Comps now matter less – from February 2007; and was a bit shocked that it had been so long since I had written it.

2005

2006

2007

2008

——————————-

Median Prices of sold properties* -

May 2008 -

$274,000

May 2007 -

$287,000

May 2006 -

$264,000

May 2005 -

$255,000

May 2004 -

$227,998

——————————-

Outlook/projections:

I have been saying for nine to eighteen months that the recovery is nine to eighteen months away. Anecdotally, properties that are priced well are selling, and buyers are buying – but there are more options now than ever before. We may not have seen the worst of what this cycle has to offer. I believe that the bulk of short-term ARMs have not yet reset, and until this happens (likely in 2009 and 2010) we may not see the proverbial “bottom.’ That being said, we won’t know the bottom until we have the benefit of nine to eighteen months of hindsight.

1 – If you plan to live in the house for at least three to five years, now could be a great time to purchase a home – some prices are tremendous, interest rates are at historic lows, and buyers are absolutely in the drivers’ seat. Be aware that well-priced properties are occasionally seeing multiple offers. If you are buying – look at the data, days on market, condition, external uncertainties and uncontrollable factors that may affect resale.

2 – If you are selling or planning to sell – be realistic with your goals and expectations. Frequently that realism will be costly.

Nota Bene

1 – a “side” is a side of a transaction – the Realtor had either the Buyer or the Seller in a transaction.

2 - Absorption Rate - Number of weeks it takes to sell the current inventory at the present rate of sales.

3 – Counties included – Albemarle, Charlottesville, Fluvanna, Greene, Nelson. I will include Louisa in the market updates next year.

4 – Source of all data is from the Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors’ MLS; while it is the best source of market data available and one can draw reasonable conclusions from said data, it is only as accurate as the people inputting the data.

5 – “Right now” is Sunday evening, 8 June 2008.

6 – I would really like to provide county-specific market reports, but in the interest of reaching and serving the broadest possible audience, I’ll stick to posting market reports for the Central Virginia region.

7 – I am available for consulting contracts, whereby I provide locality-specific analysis, as well as data points broken down by price range, new construction and property type (condo/attached/single family) analysis and more. See my new “Services” page for more information.

Charlottesville and Albemarle are a bit better than the wider Central Virginia market and highlight the inherent risk in making any market generalizations. Every real estate market is decidedly local - town by town, neighborhood by neighborhood even street by street – and each property requires a specific market analysis to accurately determine possible fair market value.

—————————————–

What do you get if you choose me as your Buyer’s Agent or choose me to represent you in the marketing of your home? Property and market-specific analysis – such as the selling price differential between the original asking price and the final selling price, the actual continuous days on market as opposed to the easily-manipulated MLS numbers, whether Dual Agency was involved in the transaction, and much more. Contact me if you have any questions about representation.

Copyright RealCentralVA.com, LLC. If you like this post, please, visit RealCentralVA.comwhere this was originally posted.

What a difference a year makes.

The Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors releases its Third Quarter Market report today. (The full PDF report is here)

There were 2,875 homes sold in the first nine months of 2007, which was down 647 (-18.4%) from last year. All local areas (Albemarle -17.8%, Charlottesville -25.6%, Fluvanna -21.5%, Greene -34.7%, Louisa -18.5%, and Nelson -21.5%) posted lower sales than the same period last year. Looking at the past 6 years (see chart below), our region has returned to a sales level just above 2003 – which was a record at the time.

Interestingly, this report comes on the heels of a post at Inman News that asks this of the National Association of Realtors:

But enough’s enough with the spin. Why can’t they just tell it like it is? Some markets are doing fine, but many are struggling. And while the jobs forecast and interest rate outlook appear to be in good shape, the mortgage market remains a huge wildcard. Prices are falling in many markets, which complicates the delinquency equation as many mortgages continue to reset at higher rates and higher monthly payments.

The new Charlottesville report seems to have less spin than many of the previous ones, which is beneficial to everybody – buyers and seller, the public, the media and the Realtors (and their credibility).

One aspect of the report that needs clarification is this – when looking at non-locality-specific numbers, the numbers they use are for the entire MLS, not just our market area, which I have noted several times before skews the numbers.

In the City of Charlottesville, Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa and Nelson Counties, as of 14 October, 2007:

There are 2,492 properties actively on the market right now.
2,444 properties have sold since the first of the year. (Down 22% versus 2006, down 25% versus 2005, down 19% versus 2004 and down 4.5% when contrasted with 2003)

Currently, we have 3,471 homes on the market and the median price of these homes is $329,000. The average DOM of these homes is 126 days. There are 588 homes for sale under $200,000 with an average DOM of 120. There are 262 homes currently on the market priced at a million dollars or more with an average DOM of 154.

There are 367 homes under $200k on the market (and I don’t have the ability to do the average DOM for that many properties) and there are 170 homes over one million dollars on the market.

A few choice quotes from the report, decidedly un-spun:

In the early part of the decade, we saw extremely low inventory levels of around 4 or 5 months of supply. This caused home prices to soar, as buyers were forced to make aggressive offers to purchase the home they wanted. Today, we have a 20-month supply of homes on the market, which is very high and possibly a record. We are just entering a quieter selling season with the holidays approaching, so we will likely see a continuation of high inventory into the spring. First-time buyers, who don’t have a home to sell, have an extraordinary opportunity in this market.
…
The seasonal aspect of the Charlottesville area real estate market allows us to draw year-end conclusions based on the first three quarters. The balance of the year is the “slow” time for sales, so unless there is a dramatic real estate swing, the third quarter will be reflective of the year-end situation. That means we will end the year with the 4th highest year for sales reported to the CAAR MLS. Prices will continue to rise slowly and inventory will continue to be the big story in the market.

Take note: the lenders do not consider the Charlottesville area a “declining market,” which is declared after a market has witnessed several consecutive quarterly declines. From an email from one of the lenders with whom I work : Northern Virginia is getting hammered; these counties are listed as being “declining markets” – Fairfax, Arlington, Clarke, Spotsylvania, Stafford, Warren, Fauquier, Prince William, Loudoun, Including the following cities: Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, Manassas Park – sharing the page with Florida and California.

In closing, we see little in this report that is different than the trends we have been tracking all year. Patience and preparation are key virtues for both buyers and sellers.

I’m sticking by my predictions from 1 January of 2007.

As always, all stories about our market statistics are here.

Technorati Tags: albemarle, charlalbemarle, charlottesville, fluvanna, greene

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Believe it or not, they are.  Removing condos from the equation –

In Charlottesville/Albemarle/Fluvanna/Greene:

141 properties sold in October 2006.
185 sold in October 2005.
196 in October 2004 and
194 in October 2003.

Putting condos back in the mix, as they have become the de facto choice for many seeking affordable housing, the numbers change a bit:

161 properties sold in October 2006.
203 sold in October 2005.
197 in October 2004 and
196 in October 2003.

Why only October? October is the most recent full month with closed transactions. Looking at the data through such a narrow window is bound to raise as many questions as it answers, but hopefully this helps provide a little bit of perspective for where we are. If you’re a first-time homebuyer, now would be a good time to start looking.

Technorati Tags: 141 , albemarle, charlalbemarle, charlottesville, fluvanna, greene

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Biscuit Run, the proposed development to the south of the City has been revised downwards from a proposed 5,000 homes to 3,500 homes. The traffic study work session next month should be interesting.

As always, Cvilletomorrow has much more information as well as a podcast of the planning commission’s meeting.

Wal-mart is finally coming to Greene County! If only NBC29 will stop with the bringing “green” to Greene lines. Hardy-har-har. So clever. There has been much discussion locally about the merits of Wal-mart, but I do know that my clients in Greene will welcome this addition to their community. Soon they won’t have to go to Culpeper or CharlAlbemarle,

Yesterday at an open house for a new development, I was interested to see that their solution, as approved by the County, to the affordable housing situation is to provide affordable “accessory apartments. (pdf)” At least it’s something. More at the County’s website.

Fluvanna’s clustering is moving forward and Daniel has his thoughts on the newest Fluvanna development.

Piedmont Environmental Council’s new report says that we have enough housing in the pipeline. (pdf)

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – studies that consider only Charlottesvile/Albemarle or Fluvanna or Greene are too myopic for today’s settlement and travel patterns. We need to look at development and its benefits and impacts from at least a regional point of view.

Housing inventory is up, but development plugs on, and for many, that’s a good thing. The various development industries add so much to our local economy that many don’t realize. Managed appropriately, growth can be good. Might as well attempt manage it, because it seems it’s going to happen anyway.

Tracking all of these things is almost a full-time job!

Technorati Tags: albemarle, charlalbemarle, crozet, fluvanna, greene, real estate

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And inventory is up.

Rates are low.
Home price appreciation is slowing.
Inventory is up. Significantly.

note: as soon as I figure out how to upload an image via coding, rather than depending on my normal program, I will.

Regarding NAR’s press release: They have an obligation to present the facts, and their best opinions. Everybody has opinions and interpretation of data. Assumptions and conclusions may (and usually do) differ.

Take this for example:

Total existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – dipped 1.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.18 million units in September from a level of 6.30 million in August, and were 14.2 percent below the 7.20 million-unit pace in September 2005, which was the third strongest month on record.

And compare NAR’s spin:

“The good news is that fewer new listings are coming online. A stable sales pace is expected to draw down the number of listings to a supply balance that will support positive price growth within a few months. Taking the long view is always the best way to approach housing decisions, and right now, buyers are in a very favorable market.”

With the Calculated Risk’s “alternate” take on the report:

Sales plummeted 16.3% from September 2005. This is a record YoY (Year over Year) Sales decline.

Median Prices dropped 2.2% from September 2005. Bloomberg: “… the biggest year- over-year decline since record-keeping began in 1969.”

Locally in the Charlottesville region (inclusive of Charlottesville/Albemarle/Fluvanna/Greene/Louisa/Nelson), the market has slowed. Using a quick YoY analysis, in September of 2005, 333 residential properties closed. In September 2006, 211 closed – quite a drop year over year.

Listings under contract – September 2005 – 305 listings went under contract. In September 2006 – 214. Sit down. Take a breath. It will be ok.

And here you have the Virginia roundup from The Housing Bubble Blog, while Dewita’s calling NoVa a Buyers’ Market. A different one, but a Buyers’ Market all the same.

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The past few months have seen some significant changes in our market. It’s not just the interest rates, though – they’ve actually gone down a bit of late. I am running the numbers a little bit differently as well.

*Active in July 2005: 456
Active in July 2006: 418
% change: -8.33%
Contingent: -16.74%
Pending: -29.31%
Sold: -20.02%

In short – the market has slowed. Some would say tremendously. Surprisingly, there were fewer properties on the market in July 2006 versus July 2005, but fewer of those are going under contract. The greatest jump in new-to-the-market inventory was in the second quarter of this year. The big difference is that more of these properties are staying on the market.

From an aggregate point of view, May, June and July -

There were nearly 4% more properties on the market for this time period in 2006 when contrasted with 2005, yet not nearly as many going under contract.

March/June/July

Active: 3.82%
Contingent: -2.32%
Pending: -13.48%
Sold: -5.62%

Bottom line (except for the asterisks): Real estate remains a wise investment. Everybody’s expectations need to be re-evaluated: buyers have time to decide, sellers need patience and agents need educating. The jump of discretionary sellers to the market may have reached or passed its plateau. One month is not enough to make that conclusion, but it may be an indication. Time will tell.

*Only for those properties in CharlAlbemarle, Fluvanna and Greene. As fuel prices have risen, the market has shrunk a bit.

**I excluded neither condos nor new construction for this analysis. Accessing and processing the raw data is extraordinarily time-consuming.

Technorati Tags: bubble, charlalbemarle, fluvanna, gas, greene, real-estate, realtor

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Madison County struggles with their comp plan and affordable housing.
Major subdivisions in Fluvanna County
Augusta County’s comp plan consultant fed up, pulls out

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Running government as a business – now there’s a thought. (via Commonwealth Conservative)

More to the point, Richman said, governments don’t have to make a profit – “they don’t have to satisfy consumers who can simply turn around and take their money elsewhere,” Richman said, “so they don’t face the same kind of pressures as businesses.”

Crozet to pass 12,000 – by the County’s own admission! (and here)
Bloggers and ethics.
Mark Warner profile – I think I really like this guy – he seems to understand that strict party-line thinking is past its prime.
Virginia’s thoughts on the region’s growth
In search of inspiration
Joe says: Internet 1, Real World, 0

Fluvanna struggles with growth

The last word, in substance if not in sequence, came from Supervisor Don Weaver (Cunningham): “A good question is does this Board want to slow down growth in the county. Either they do or they don’t … I always thought that’s what they [supervisors] wanted; maybe they don’t.”

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Predatory Lending article (PDF)
Orange County is joining the trend and raising property taxes
Biscuit Run headed to the Albemarle County Planners
Do you want your employer to provide health care or buy you a house? It’s not so far-fetched!
Mandate Clustering developments?
As Growth continues, these discussions will become more common: Paid EMS?
Nelson County changes it subdivision rules

Technorati Tags: albemarle, fluvanna, politics, real estate

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Trying to stay regionally involved and up to date … very difficult to do. All counties are facing similar issues with growth, as shown in the respective candidate forums and public meetings.

From an article by Nancy B. Miner in the Central Virginian:

In a meeting that at times turned contentious, with more than one curt exchange between speakers and county officials, the Fluvanna County Planning Commission voted Sept. 26 to approve two by-right rural cluster subdivisions in an A-1 agriculture zone.

Growth is everywhere. Watching how the different localities deal with and manage the growth is interesting. From today’s DP, by Megan Rowe.

If you build it, they will come. This seems to be the theme for Virginia’s fifth-fastest growing county. When Fluvanna County officials begin the process of updating the county’s comprehensive plan later this fall, they will seek resident input for improvements to the county’s designated growth areas.

Trying to please 100% of the people is an impossible task, not worth attempting. Growing as efficiently and as wisely as possible should be the goal of all involved.

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Tom McCrystal has a nice post.
Conserve energy.
The NYTimes causes a stir this morning with a report on the housing market. Why does their story get so much buzz and press?

Greene faces its future with their Board of Supervisors elections.
Greene also moved closer to approving their first CIP.

Development issues in Louisa and Fluvanna. This is a novel concept -

Harrison Rue, Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission (TJPDC), acted as facilitator for the Monday, Sept. 12 meeting. He urged the group to make a conscious effort to link land use to transportation, find ways to support development that brings in jobs, create community gathering places, and attempt to answer the question, “What makes a place a place?” (Bolding mine)

Everything in this region always comes down to money, politics and growth.

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The Free Enterprise Forum’s October Newsletter has been released. As usual, there is a lot of pertinent information. Full text is below.

October 2005
Forum Watch
October  2005

IN THIS ISSUE:

Important Dates
Zoning Issues  
Master Planning
Water Supply
Transportation Policy
Other Land Use
Editorial

Important Dates
 
October 3rd – Greene County Board of Supervisors Candidate Forum – 7:00 pm William Monroe Middle School
October 8th – Charlottesville Neighborhood Design Day 9:00 – 3:00 pm Various locations see article in Master Planning
October 10th – TJPDC MPO Transportation Improvement Program Public Hearing – 5:00 pm 401 E. Water Street
October 10th – Albemarle County Jack Jouett Supervisor Candidate Forum – 7:00 pm Jack Jouett Middle School
October 17th – Albemarle County Rio District Supervisor Candidate Forum – 7:00 pm Woodbrook Elementary School
October 27th – Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority Water Supply Community Outreach meeting – 6:30 Monticello HS
October 31st – Halloween
October 31 – November 4 Places 29 Charrette #2 details to follow soon ACOB
ACOB – Albemarle County Office Building
CCH- Charlottesville City Hall
GCAB – Greene County Administration Building
FCGC – Fluvanna County Government Center

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Transportation Policy

Meadowcreek Parkway – The Free Enterprise Forum released a report indicating the Meadowcreek Parkway Project could be completed prior to the separate federally funded US 250/McIntire Meadowcreek Parkway interchange project.  The full report can be found at http://www.freeenterpriseforum.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/ViewPage/page_id/51?CFID=309539&CFTOKEN=63058528&    Despite this important report, the parkway’s future is not yet certain.  At least one City Councilor still has concerns regarding parkland issues.  This issue may or may not be resolved in the next few months.   

Charlottesville Downtown Mall Crossing – More than 100 Downtown businesses submitted a petition to City Council asking for a replacement traffic crossing on the west end of the downtown mall.  The petition was supported by the Downtown Business Alliance to assist west end businesses that would benefit from increased exposure and access. The Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce has endorsed the concept. Others support the change as it will increase the number of ways drivers can cross the mall.  The downtown advisory Committee will see the plans on October 12th and the issue will go to a Planning Commission public hearing on November 8th.

FY06 Transportation Improvement Program –   The Charlottesville-Albemarle Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) is seeking public comment on the draft Fiscal Year 2006 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP).  The TIP lists federally funded road, transit, bicycle, pedestrian and related transportation projects to be undertaken in the next three years.  The first public hearing on Monday October 10th at 5:00 pm is the first step in a six month process to determine these key transportation projects.  Comments may also be submitted via e-mail to info@tjpdc.org
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Zoning Issues

Albemarle County Neighborhood Model Zoning Text Amendment – With somewhat remarkable speed the NMD Zoning text amendment was considered by the planning commission earlier this month.  The commission did not act on the amendment as they felt the scope (only focusing on the front yard setbacks) was too limited.  The Free Enterprise Forum raised a number of concerns to the commission, which were well received. 
 
Staff has not yet provided a work plan and date determined when the Zoning Text Amendment will come back before the commission.  The Free Enterprise Forum hopes that the next time around the community will have more than 14 days to review the draft document.  Stay Tuned.

Nelson County Zoning – Nelson County Board of Supervisors continue to make slow progress with the revised subdivision ordinance.  Details at http://www.nelsoncounty.com/planning/proposedzoningordinance     
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Water Issues

Community Water Supply – The Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority will have a public outreach meeting on October 27th at 6:30 to discuss the progress of the Community Water Supply project.  The latest report on the water supply project can be found here http://www.rivanna.org/documents/agenda_jul25_2005_doc5d.pdf
 
Mr. Frederick hopes to have the proposed alternative to the Rivanna Board in January and to the Regulators in February 2006.  To see the deadlines and the costs of this project please see the report at http://www.rivanna.org/documents/agenda_jul25_2005_doc6b.pdf
 
The Free Enterprise Forum does not have a preferred option but appreciates that each of the options under consideration is designed to meet the projected 50 year need for water in the community.  If the community come up with a workable solution to the 9.9 million gallon a day projected need and then permit and build it, future generations will be served by this good stewardship.
 
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Master Planning

Charlottesville Neighborhood Design Day – October 8th, 9:00 – 3:00 pm The City of Charlottesville will be hosting a number of neighborhood design meetings throughout the city.  This is the major public participation event in the city’s 2006 Comprehensive Planning process.  Details and locations of the meeting can be found at http://www.charlottesville.org/content/files/2CCD2AF7-2578-49B6-9DA3-C82AB79DD19E.pdf

Fluvanna County  In what may be one of the most overreaching decisions to date, the Free Enterprise Forum has learned that Fluvanna County is requiring Army Corps of Engineers and Virginia Department of Environmental Quality approvals on yield plans (A yield plan is a fictitious development that indicates how many units could be built on a particular parcel by right) submitted to determine density of their required cluster subdivision.    The Free Enterprise Forum believes this is an enormous waste of taxpayer dollars at a time these professionals need to be focused on our hurricane damaged Gulf Coast.

Forcing such approvals on fictitious subdivisions designed in a manner contrary to the county approved cluster plan will only increase prices and further restrict the supply available.  The Current Board of Supervisors does not seem to have great concern regarding housing affordability.  One member recently balked at the potential of regulation increasing housing prices by $10,000 or $15,000 indicating “people will buy it anyway”.

Places 29  – For those watching the process closely, Places 29 is an interesting case study of public participation and how it relates to a planning vision.   An interesting report is posted on the Albemarle County website reflecting the variety of comments that were received at the public input session.  http://www.albemarle.org/upload/images/forms_center/departments/community_development/forms/Places29/places29-wkshp1-statistics.pdf .  The Free Enterprise Forum has reviewed this lengthy report and believes it is an accurate representation of the views expresses at the meeting. 

We are very concerned that the public may not have been loud enough as in the draft vision statement and guiding principles Places 29 states “enhance the connectivity between neighborhoods” clearly at the public meeting many of the public comments focused on adesire for no interconnectivity of neighborhoods and a bypass.  Further we find it interesting that the first sentence of the Vision statement discusses “the preservation of open space… and the natural environment.” If the primary vision is to preserve the open space, is this not in conflict with the county plans to focus development in this area???

A map of the study area can be found here http://www.albemarle.org/upload/images/Forms_Center/Departments/Board_of_Supervisors/Forms/Agenda/2005Files/20050504/Northerndevelopmentattachb.pdf
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Other Land Use

Albemarle County Mountain Overlay Committee – This committee is now idle waiting for staff to draft proposed language for a Mountain Overlay District (MOD) Ordinance.  The glacial pace of the deliberations is draining many of the members.  Based on the current pace of work, The Free Enterprise Forum does not anticipate a work product from this committee until after the first of the year.  For additional details on their current deliberations, please contact neil@freeenterpriseforum.org .

Albemarle County Lighting Zoning Text Amendment The Free Enterprise Forum was successful in getting Albemarle County to agree to review submitted a zoning text amendment to ask Albemarle County to reconsider it’s prohibition of spilled light on pedestrian walkways and right of ways.  The ZTA also asks the county to allow zoning inspectors to use average lumens instead of initial lumens in their inspections. Albemarle County is clearly pushing for a more pedestrian oriented form of development.  The Free Enterprise Forum does not understand the hesitancy to allow light to spill greater than ½ foot candle to the pedestrian right of way.  The Planning Commission will hear this ZTA on September 20th.
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Editorial

Property Rights Matter
By. Neil Williamson, Executive Director, Free Enterprise Forum
 

Property rights are the fundamental building blocks of Liberty. John Locke, who, arguing from Natural Law, claimed all men had a right to Life, Liberty, Health, and Property.   

Yesterday, the Free Enterprise Forum filed a friend of the court brief in the Collins v. Shoppers World Property Rights case.  The brief, responds to a suit brought by the American Civil Liberty Union of Virginia and The Rutherford Institute, seeks to reaffirm the private property rights of commercial real estate owners.

The initial suit concerns Richard C. Collins unsuccessful bid for the Democratic nomination for Virginia House of Delegates.  On May 7th, Collins was distributing campaign literature outside of the Whole Foods store in the Shopper’s World shopping center. After being asked by management several times to cease this activity, the Albemarle County Police Department was contacted. The police also attempted to mediate the situation and asked Collins to leave, he refused.  In the end, Collins was arrested for trespassing. 

The Amicus Curie brief fully supports the right to free speech but contends such a right does not supercede the right of a property owner to control his property.  “The issue in this case is not whether the candidate as the plaintiff has a right to speak out about his candidacy, or the candidacy of others…The issue in this case is not the right to speak, but the location at which he can engage in that speech” according to the brief.
Since the filing, I have heard from many Forum Watch readers on both sides of this issue.  The Free Enterprise Forum stands clearly on the side of property rights.  If we as a community allow the continued erosion of private property rights, we start down a slippery slope away from our ownership society.  Clearly, property owners do not surrender all of their property rights to the public merely because the property is open to the public.
 
The Free Enterprise Forum has taken a stand on this issue contrary to The ACLU, The Rutherford Institute and (as of yesterday) The Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression.  We do not take this stand lightly.  We clearly believe this issue is much bigger than the one case that brought it forward. 
 
Someone had to stand up for property rights; we did.    
 
Yes, property rights matter.
 
Respectfully submitted,
 
Neil Williamson

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The Free Enterprise Forum  
550 Hillsdale Drive  
Charlottesville, VA 22901  
Phone: (434) 220-0781  
Fax: (434) 817-2836  
www.freeenterpriseforum.org  

Copyright Free Enterprise Forum 2005
This publication is a product of the Free Enterprise Forum.
For more information on the items addressed in this issue or on other topics related to local government in the
Central Virginia region, contact Neil Williamson at Neil@freeenterpriseforum.org or call 434-220-0781.  Those who read the small print are rarely surprised.
 

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I am trying out a new feature – a poll to the right. Our transportation/infrastructure issues are not isolated to the City of C’Ville, Counties of Albemarle, Greene, Fluvanna, et. al.  They are regional issues that need regional solutions and for these governments to gasp! work together towards fair and efficient solutions.

If you have the time and inclination, please take a moment to vote … I am curious to know what peoples’ thoughts are on this subject. If you have any ideas or additions to the poll, please post your comments below.

Technorati Tags: albemarle, Central Virginia, growth, politics, transportation

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It is hard to ascertain from this story in The Central Virginian which side (if either) is right.

While it was clear that the Fluvanna County Planning Commission was unhappy with Barry Meade’s proposed Southern Pines development, some members felt they did not have the necessary legal grounds to reject it. The project calls for 239 by right rural cluster lots on 603 acres on Rte. 630 (Mountain Laurel Road) in the Columbia district.

Speakers cited concerns about a dwindling water supply, displaced wildlife, increased traffic, overcrowded schools, overburdened emergency services, and lack of infrastructure. Some castigated the commission for penning a set of zoning ordinances they viewed as “disastrous.”

And then the Developer’s attorney speaks –

“We appreciate the citizen input,” said Boyd, but reiterated that Southern Pines is a by right development. “We are fully confident that we have addressed the ordinances’ requirements.”
She told the commissioners that Meade was trying to create a neighborhood that anyone would be happy to live in. While the homeowners association would not own the open space, the landowner would continue to grow and harvest trees and would grant homeowners an easement around the houses that could contain walking trails.

By right is one thing; but should developers be held responsible for providing the necessary infrastructure that will enable their developments and the surrounding community, will be sustainable? At least Albemarle is not the only County with controversial developments!

Technorati Tags: Central Virginia, fluvanna, growth

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It would be nice to see other local governments do something like this.

Alarmed over a decision handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court last month in Kelo v. New London, the Fluvanna County Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted a resolution at its Wednesday, July 6 meeting opposing “the condemnation of private property through eminent domain purely for economic development purposes.”

Technorati Tags: eminent domain, fluvanna, politics

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DailyProgress.com | Louisa officials looking to solve water shortage:

Although Fluvanna and Louisa counties have agreed to the basic outline of an $18 million project to pipe water from the James River to Zion Crossroads, it is still in the early permit process and Louisa leaders are meanwhile eyeing other ways to hydrate the area.

The potential for dramatic water shortages is not localized to the Charlottesville/Albemarle area – it extends at least to the entire Central Virginia region, as evidenced by this story. Interestingly, one of the issues that Louisa/Fluvanna are considering is the James River pipeline.

One of the focal points of this particular story is the Spring Creek development that is currently under development near the 64 Interchange in Louisa. This is a massive development that is the first foray into our market by Ryan Homes. Adding >1000 large homes will certainly have an impact on water resources!

Technorati Tags: charlottesville, real estate

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Copyright RealCentralVA.com, LLC. If you like this post, please, visit RealCentralVA.comwhere this was originally posted.

Copyright RealCentralVA.com, LLC. If you like this post, please, visit RealCentralVA.comwhere this was originally posted.