Category Archives: community

Lots of Spring Events Coming…

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The Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association is putting a lot of events on its website …hey, the more the merrier…
There are some great opportunities to become more locally involved…
https://ohnarva.org/events-2/

Here are some more…


TOMORROW:
Open High’s PTA is holding its annual Art Exhibition and Bake Sale to benefit art at Open.
Please join us in the Open parking lot Thurs, 4/24, 3:30-5:30… Enjoy beautiful student art and maybe buy a tasty treat to raise money for student art supplies. All are welcome!


John Murden, who created Church Hill People’s News and this and many other neighborhood sites, is hosting a new event this Saturday.

Get your kids on the bikes and ride with us!
KIDICAL MASS + CARGO BIKE MEET-UP on Saturday 4/26
Meet and ride from Bryan Park in Northside or Meadow Park in the Fan to Pine Camp.
Meet at Meadow Park in the Fan at 10AM ~or~ at Bryan Park Bellevue Gate at 10:30 and ride together to Pine Camp.
Got a cargo bike or just big bike curious? Want to find out about bikes that can carry kids and groceries? Bring your bike check out other bikes, take demo rides and meet other cargo bike riders.

Van Yahres Tree Company will lead Hollywood Cemetery’s annual Spring Tree Tour on May 2.

This 90-minute guided walk will showcase our accredited arboretum and provide education about the preservation and care of the historic trees of Hollywood Cemetery.

RSVP to Kelly Wilbanks at kwilbanks@hollywoodcemetery.org or call 804-648-8501.

The Richmond Public Library Main Branch (Oregon Hill’s branch) has a variety of upcoming events, including a DIY Frog Waffles workshop on April 30th and free blood pressure screenings on the first Monday of each month and select Saturdays.
Check out the calendar here:
https://rvalibrary.libcal.com/calendar/main?cid=7469&t=d&d=0000-00-00&cal=7469&inc=0

Also don’t forget about the Friends of RPL Spring Book Sale:

Don’t forget that VCU’s graduation weekend is May 9-11.

Pine Street neighbor Stephenie Harrington has a timely reminder:
REMINDER
Saturday, May 10
City trucks will be removing rubbish and debris
Friday, 5/9 —> Place items where trash is normally picked up

OHNA Meeting Notice

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From email announcement announcement:

Please join us at Pine Street Baptist Church for an in-person monthly meeting and pasta supper provided by the church (vegan option available). We will meet early, at 6pm, so we can get our dinner and get settled and start a little early. In exchange for feeding us, the church will be asking for our thoughts on how the church can meet the changing needs of the community. Agenda below and attached.

Neighborhood Traffic Safety Walk: Tuesday April 22 at 5:30 pm
JOIN The Oregon Hill Stop Sign Safety Workgroup and City of Richmond Traffic Engineer Andy Boenau for a walk through OH’s dangerous intersections. Meet at Pine Street Baptist, Albemarle Street side, at 5:30.

Public Feedback: Brown’s Island Design Pop-up: Tuesday, April 22·3:30 – 7:00pm
Oregon Hill residents are encouraged to attend this public design feedback session for Brown’s Island. They say it’s a casual drop-in event, so ok even if you only have 10 minutes to stop by Brown’s Island to share your thoughts on proposed plans for the future of this beloved public space! Haxall Bridge Entrance near Potterfield Bridge. Learn more: https://venturerichmond.com/our-services/browns-island-improvement-plan/

Cultural Heritage Stewardship Plan: Tuesday, May 6th at 6:00pm.
Review the final draft of the Cultural Heritage Stewardship Plan. It will be presented to the RVA Planning Commission for a vote Tuesday, May 6th in the 5th floor conference room of City Hall (900 E Broad St) at 6:00pm. Public comments may be no more than two minutes. Written comments may be sent to Alyson Oliver (alyson.oliver@rva.gov) prior to the meeting time.

_______________________________________________________
Agenda: OHNA Monthly Meeting April 2025
Join Zoom Meeting (Editor’s note: Zoom meeting info redacted, please join or contact OHNA in order to receive it)

Welcome

Approval of Minutes (Scott Racette)

Community and local Officials Updates:

Police, VCU, Commonwealth’s Attorney, City Council, Allianz Amphitheater

Committee updates:

Zoning, FoOHP, RvaPB, (Bylaws and Stop Sign Safety ctes will present during “Discussions” and “Continued Business” portions of the meeting

Updates and Continued Business
May Open Gardens Day: May 17, 10:00 – 2:00. (Phaedra Hise)

Stop Sign Safety Workgroup: presentation, discussion, and vote (Amanda Bradley)

Discussions
Bylaws Committee: amended bylaws presentation and discussion (no vote)
Note: “By-Laws may be amended at any duly constituted meeting of the Association by a two-thirds vote of those members present and voting, provided that the amendment was submitted and read at the previous meeting of the Association.” (Phaedra Hise & John Bolecek)

Pine Street Baptist Church: Discuss ideas for reimagining the space to meet the needs of our community. (Philip Turner)

New Business:
——————————————————

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Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association
Valerie L’Herrou, President
Bryan Clark Green, Co-Vice President
Jennifer Hancock, Co-Vice President
Susan Hill, Co-Vice President
Harrison Moenich, Co-Vice-President
David Shannon, Co-Vice President
Scott Racette, Secretary
John Bolecek, Treasurer

OHNA on the Web: follow our calendar of events: https://ohnarva.org/
JOIN OHNA: https://forms.gle/joCpHqcPrShu8qf86

King Ponders Passports

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While the Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association is reviewing its bylaws and considering updates in regard to membership and agenda making, the King of Oregon Hill is re-visiting and re-contemplating what it means to be a subject and citizen.

“Given the dismantling of the administrative American state and the corporate takeover accompanying it, as the United States cancels more than 300 student visas, as over 50 universities are under investigation as part of Trump’s anti-DEI crackdown, as free speech and civil rights come under increasing pressure, all people residing in North America should be asking themselves what they can do to protect the more vulnerable, the targeted, the ‘invisibled’, the next-on-the-list,” The King said.

He went on-
“It’s not clear if a printed document from a small, relatively poor, internal micronation would be seen as anything more than a joke, but I am thinking of our humanitarian duty to do something, even if merely symbolic, to offer shield, escape, or hope. It’s important to remember that the United States once served as a beacon to the world. Of course, ideally, I would wish that Burgerian citizenship would come with additional benefits such as universal, single payer health care and distributed renewable energy, but these would also require more contracting, allegiance, and actual sacrifice. As the United States falters, more trappings and tools of statehood may need to be implemented here, without directly challenging the host country. Despite past racism, intimidation, and its roots as a ‘company town’ for Tredegar Iron Works, Oregon Hill has, at least in theory, ‘open borders’ and a sense of liberty which ideally can still be defended.”

Gathering The Wood…

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Oregon Hill residents, knowing what time of year it is, have started gathering branches and wood scraps for this year’s neighborhood Wickerman.

The Beltain festivities’ location will be in Parsons Linear Park along the 600 block of S.Belvidere (across from the Virginia War Memorial).

Valerie, the current neighborhood association president, says the Wicker Man’s construction will be undertaken by a subcommittee of the Friends Of Oregon Hill Parks, and questions should be submitted to that group. Faidra, one of the main members, has already volunteered that they are in the midst of deciding on a selection of local produce, unruly dogs, and either a first year student from either VCU or the Virginia Theological Seminary.

“We were asked about babies, but we are drawing the line on them, at least for this year”, she added.

Click here to see footage from previous years’ Wicker Man in Richmond Sister City, Summerisle, in southwestern Scotland.

‘Richmond300’ Committee Expresses Concerns About Neighborhood and City’s Alignment

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Reeling from accusations that new ‘pattern books’ contain multiple serious errors with growing neighborhood concerns, the City’s ‘Richmond300 Committee has declared that grave misalignments must be identified and corrected.

New development on W.Cary Street in the Fan.

In order to dispel the acridity and seek more harmony, the Planning Commission has called on Maria Peach, a globally recognized teacher, speaker, healer, and writer, who known for her work on the chakra system and its connection to human psychology and spiritual growth.
Her fees were not available at press time, but City planners have expressed great confidence in this expert’s ability to properly diagnose and channel the root lines and ultimately help the City discover, decode, and harness its life force.

“We believe that by addressing the subtle energy matrix, we can open a powerful path for sustainable healing,” stated a member of the City’s Code Refresh Task Force. “We are putting all of our crystals on the table and going back to the maps so that we can solve blockages and imbalances. We want to clear the negativity for not just Oregon Hill, but all neighborhoods and residents.”

For their part, Oregon Hill neighbors have signaled that they are willing to do the meditation, breathing exercises, and shadow work necessary to realign and eventually come to an understanding.

“There is no direct mention of the chakras in the City Code. While this might seem like a cause for concern, it is important to note that viruses, hormones, ultraviolet rays, or even “the Trinity” cannot be found in the City Code either!” explained one enlightened neighbor.

Neighborhood Restaurant ‘Round Robin’ Planned

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Photo by Arjan Stalpers on Unsplash

Now that Spring as arrived, Oregon Hill restaurant owners are getting ready to announce a promotional event, when, for two days, patrons can visit every restaurant in the neighborhood and enjoy at least one item in exchange for showing one master ticket. The idea is that people can walk from restaurant to restaurant and sample pre-designated fare, some which may be made special for the event.

It’s based on the traditional ‘progressive dinner party’, which involves a group of friends planning a meal with each course served at a different person’s home, making the party progress from house to house. Instead of eating an entire meal at one location, the group moves from one location to the next, with each location serving a different course.

The event will be called ‘The Oregon Hill Round Robin’ and will most likely take place early June, as more preparations and advertising are needed before official launch. It will undoubtedly happen during the week so it does not interfere with the weekend crowds. The names of the restaurants have not officially been listed (though at least 5 have committed), but they have all been described as within Oregon Hill’s ‘historic boundaries’ (which technically go to Broad Street and stretch into what is considered VCU’s academic campus) ‘or adjacent’.

West Cary Street looking westward from S. Pine

The ticket price for the Oregon Hill Round Robin has not been settled on yet either, though the figure of $100 has been bandied about.

Local foodies are all in a flutter, wondering and imagining how the menu will transpire. Many of them are thinking of breakfast food along W.Cary Street, while others are looking forward to a new Asian creation from the Grace Street or Belvidere Street area.

Pine Street ‘Heights’

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This photo is of the eastern side of the 100 block of S.Pine Street. You can see on the northern end where a row house was sacrificed for an apartment building’s parking lot, but the remaining historic houses have been beautifully renovated.

Sadly, this block was separated from the rest of “the Hill” by the construction of 195, but it is still considered part of Oregon Hill neighborhood. Some wryly refer to the area north of the expressway as “the Oregon Hill Heights”.

What’s even sadder is the the City’s own Planning Commission has recently drawn its new ‘pattern book’ for the neighborhood without including “the Heights”, challenging the neighborhood’s defined borders and angering many residents.

This is seen as part of a long campaign to do away with this historic neighborhood, even if it means gradually chipping away, decade after decade. It’s the long battle of preservation.

Neighborhood Threatened By Re-Zoning – Comments Due This Weekend

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New development on W.Cary Street in the Fan.

This is very similar to what was warned about previously in a mock up from 5-years ago.

But, here we are. Oregon Hill residents have spoken up from the very beginning of the discussion, from the first ‘charrettes’ of the ‘Richmond300’ to the latest on ‘Code Refresh’ from the Planning Department. Every single step of the way, Oregon Hill residents and neighborhood association have reiterated support for protecting our historic streetscapes and keeping the R-7 zoning with its height limit. There have been heartfelt editorials and letters to the editor. There have been pleas to elected officials. There’s also pre-history on this, from street protests against demolition to smaller meetings with City officials about supposed overlays that turned out to be nothing but hot air.

But, again, here we are. Take a look at the proposed zoning changes. Even the RA-A designation would raise the height limit to 40′, incentivizing developers to demolish more houses and ruin the streetscapes of this nationally-recognized, historic neighborhood. It would undue decades of hard, preservation work by citizens who have stuck with this City for decades, through good and bad times.

In short, this is betrayal. It also speaks volumes on why citizens look askance at ‘focus meetings’ and ‘providing input’ – what do these things matter if the City government is going to always put developers over citizens?

Yet, one more chance to try to change minds-

From the City of Richmond Planning Department, Re: 300 Plan.

Proposed New Zoning Districts Survey
If you were unable to make it to the open houses, you can view the boards on the City’s webpage, and take our survey (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MYVYQCF) by March 31st to tell us your thoughts on the proposed new zoning districts.