Growth issues abound in Charlottesville and Albemarle

Free Enterprise Forum’s October newsletter (archived: 2008) – they attend more meetings than most people know exist. Bless them.

Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) Program still seeking traction (no longer available)

Ah, the “greater good” argument (no longer available):

The request creates a conundrum for the Board, a conundrum most succinctly spelled out by Slutzky at that September meeting: “We’re weighing the individual property owner’s wishes appropriately, but we should be weighing them against ultimately what’s the objective of this master planning process.”

At that same meeting, Wheeler offered her own view: “To propose a change in property rights or the land use for my property without contacting me is unconscionable,” she said during the public comment. “The property rights for the people who live in that area should be the concern of the people who live on that land.”

Is a conservation easement not an option? (archived: 2009)

At least one of the candidates in Albemarle is going door-to-door (no longer available).

Cato Institute scholar talks zoning.

Dr. Van Doren outlined three points on zoning’s inefficiency, “Zoning reduces some property values (land that could be used more intensely), more than it increases other property values; zoning is not necessary to ‘preserve’ wealth; and the market for change in zoning is political rather than explicitly economic.”

How Houston gets along without zoning.

Meadowcreek Parkway moving forward. I couldn’t agree with Dave Norris more:

“I would like to see a much stronger emphasis be put on getting a commitment by the County and setting an expectation from the County to really step up on the issue of transit, bike and pedestrian connections,” he said.

I would add only that to emphasize the need to coordinate transit plans with all the stakeholders, not just the City of Charlottesville, County of Albemarle and the University of Virginia. We should be looking at regional plans as well.