City Council Matters

From Councilperson Agelasto’s FaceBook page:

City Council will meet on Monday, September 8, at 6:00 pm. The agenda can be found on the City Clerk’s website. Please be mindful that any ordinance or resolution could be continued during the docket review at City Council’s informal meeting at 4:00 pm.
The agenda currently includes 47 items, many of which are of interest to the public and have received significant media attention. These include:
Ordinance No. 2014-94 – Special Use Permit for The Camel at 1619/1621 W. Broad Street.
Ordinance No. 2014-121 – Special Use Permit for a historic property located at 1650 Overbrook Road. An application for historic tax credits is currently under review by the Department of Historic Resources as there is information that may prohibit the project from proceeding as submitted.
Ordinance No. 2014-125 – To appropriate new revenue to the city as a result of expiring rehabilitation tax abatement to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund up to $1,000,000 annually.
Ordinance No. 2014-152 – To establish the MetroCare Water Assistance and Conservation Program to provide financial assistance to certain qualified customers for plumbing repairs and the replacement of water-inefficient appliances.
Ordinance No. 2014-153 – Special Use Permit for the Leigh Street Armory (122 W. Leigh Street) to be used as a museum for the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia.
Ordinance No. 2014-155 – To received funds in the amount of $417,418 from VDOT to pay for the construction of the Floyd Avenue Bike Boulevard. This is the primary vote that City Council will take to approve or deny this project.
Resolution No. 2014-R157 – To assess exist policies and budget resources to support anti-litter initiatives and to establish a campaign to be called “Keep RVA Beautiful” that could be supported regionally.
Resolution No. 2014-R158 – To develop a Rental Inspection Program and submit proposals to City Council for further consideration. [This resolution simply seeks more information on specifics for a program that could be implemented in Richmond. Details such as budget implications, possible footprint of districts, rollout of communication to property owners are all necessary. We are looking at making the development of the proposal an inclusive process. We are not seeking to rush this. We are waiting for Code Enforcement staff to inform City Council of a reasonable timeline for developing the program details and guidelines and will amend the resolution as necessary. This will likely result in a continuation of the resolution until the October meeting of City Council.]
Resolution No. 2014-R161 – To approve a budget for the Economic Development Authority. [Not sure what the funds will be used for as there has been no presentation to City Council on this request. I will ask that it be sent to Committee for further review.]
Ordinance No. 2014-71 and No. 2014-78 – Special Use Permit for 2801 E. Main Street (aka Pear Street). The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported this morning that Councilwoman Cynthia Newbille does not support the current proposal. This may or may not be voted on by City Council.
Ordinance No. 2014-148 – To reinstate the Career Development program for Fire and Police and to amend the budget to equal the number of pay periods each department will receive.

Also, notice was recently sent out about City Council’s planned retreat. From press release:

On Monday, September 29, 2014, Richmond City Council will hold its annual planning meeting/retreat, beginning at 8:00 a.m. at the Virginia War Memorial, 621 South Belvidere Street, Richmond, Virginia. The morning session will include a bus tour of Richmond Voter Districts.

While many citizens will remain focused on the hot button issues (the Camel’s SUP, Pear St., Shockoe stadium proposal), there are other ones worth following also…

In regard to Ordinance No. 2014-152, Better Government Richmond has some questions (Ed.’s disclosure: I serve on BGR’s board and have helped lead earlier utility reform efforts).

One thought on “City Council Matters

  1. Also from Parker’s FaceBook page:

    On Monday, October 6, 2014, Richmond City Council will hold its annual Budget Retreat, beginning at 3:00 p.m., at the Library of Virginia, 800 E. Broad Street, 1st Floor Conference Rooms A, B and C, Richmond, Virginia.

    Discussions will include a review of the Richmond City Council’s previous Fiscal Year 2015 Richmond Government Budget Review process and Richmond City Council’s priorities for the upcoming Fiscal Year/s 2016-2017 Richmond Government Budget (Fiscal Plan).

    The regularly scheduled Richmond City Council Organizational Development Standing Committee meeting will take place at the conclusion of the Council Budget Retreat at the same location.

    For additional information please contact Ms. Lou Brown Ali, Council Chief of Staff, at 804.646.5921.

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