Rivanna Village public forum

This is a good idea. From Jessica Kitchin’s story this morning in the DP (no longer available):

On Tuesday, the 88-acre development will be the focus of a town hall meeting in the designated-growth area that surrounds it.

“The residents of the Village of Rivanna will have NO VOICE, NO VOTE on the Rivanna Village [zoning] and other development within the Village of Rivanna growth area unless we step up, speak up and act for ourselves,” an e-mail sent out by the Rivanna Citizens Committee states. “This meeting is our opportunity to weigh in. We have some options.”

Rivanna Village is a mixed-use development in the planning stages that would be built off U.S. 250, east of Charlottesville. It is up for rezoning that would change it from rural area to neighborhood model, opening the door for KG Associates and Cox Associates to build up to 495 residential units and up to 240,000 square feet of commercial space.

I wrote about this last month. The County has some credibility issues regarding rezoning of land. You can’t please everybody – that is an impossible task. At least the County will go through the motions of listening to the people.  Researching proffers is a good way to get educated on the process.

The project did not pop up overnight – it has been ongoing for years. Is this development too far along to prevent its coming to fruition? At what point should the public no longer have the ability to stop or delay a project? Or is this a case of too little, too late? One of my biggest questions is what infrastructure improvements are planned for this area? How will they tie in to the Pantops Master Plan? With the rest of the Master Plan? How might schools be affected?

The County’s own survey shows that residents are becoming less satisfied with the growth plan.

The survey indicated continued support for the county’s major growth management policies, with approximately 70% of respondents favoring concentrating development in the urban areas to protect the rural areas, but that percentage showed a significant decline in support from the 2002 survey where almost 80% of respondents said they favored concentrated growth.

For more on the County’s growth plans, they have an excellent website.

I think this meeting presents an excellent opportunity for a podcast.