Category Archives: community

Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association Statement

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The Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association has released this statement, following the meeting last month…

Dear Oregon Hill Neighbors,

The Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association (OHNA) is the neighborhood civic association. Separate from OHNA, is the Overlook Unit Owners Association (HOA) at Outlook Townhomes (south of Holly Street). All residents are invited to join OHNA’s monthly meetings on the 4th Tuesday of the month at St. Andrew’s Church on the corner of S. Laurel and Idlewood at 7pm. Since we meet during dinner hours, neighbors host a potluck. Please feel free to bring something small to share if you can.

Over the years, multiple neighbors have approached OHNA to discuss a Residential Restrict Parking Zone similar to what The Fan and Carver have due to parking pressures. Residential Restrict Parking Zones must be backed by the neighborhood civic association. You can learn more about Restricted Parking Districts using the link below. It is highly recommended that you review the city website before taking the survey. You will see that The Fan and Carver’s restrict parking zones are different. Oregon Hill’s will also be unique based on the community’s feedback via the survey and at the meeting.

Restricted Parking Districts: http://www.richmondgov.com/Parking/RestrictedParkingDistricts.aspx

At the July OHNA meeting, President Todd Woodson made the decision to throw out all previous signed petitions. This decision was made to increase community awareness through a paper flyer campaign, online survey, and posts on Facebook and Nextdoor.

Website: www.oregonhill.net (Editor’s note: This website is an independent community news site that does not necessarily represent OHNA)
Facebook (closed group): Search “Oregon Hill Community”
Nextdoor: www.nextdoor.com
Online Survey: https://goo.gl/forms/BO98EfQ4GYCAUsbz2

Please take 5-10 minutes to complete the online survey (longer is you explore the links within the survey). Due to financial and time restraints the survey will only be available online. This data will be on display at the next OHNA meeting on Tuesday, August 28, 2018 at 7pm to help determine the details of the petition. Please note the survey will close on Tuesday, August 21, 2018 at 11:59pm so the data can be compiled. Filling out the survey does not replace the requirement of the paper petition. Results from the survey do not stop neighbors from continuing with a new paper petition (see sample).

The DPW Parking Division will be on hand at the next OHNA meeting to walk Oregon Hill through the process of determining the petition’s language. Your feedback through the survey will greatly speed this process up. The requirement for the Department of Public Works (DPW) Parking Division is 60% of a block face (one side of the block) must sign in support of the restricted parking zone. The neighborhood must have 10 block faces with 60% or more signing the petition for the Parking Division to conduct a parking study. (One block equals two block faces.) There is no need for a second petition stating a neighbor is in opposition, the neighbor just does not sign the support petition. After the parking study is complete the Parking Division will help draft an ordinance to bring before City Council to be adopted. The parking ordinance cannot be edited for an entire year.

Several of you have asked what the Randolph Neighborhood Association is proposing. You can learn more on their website. They have been listening to Oregon Hill’s discussing for four years. Due to their parking pressures, they plan on moving forward whether Oregon Hill does or does not. They will be handing out flyers over the next week too. Website: https://randolphrva.com/2018/06/02/restricted-decal-permit-parking-zone/

If you have any questions that the links above or in the survey do not answer OR are willing to help flyer the neighborhood, please email OHNArva@gmail.com.

Thank you all for your time,
Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association

P.S. Richmond residents with local government service questions & non-emergency requests are reminded they can call 311 (804.646.7000), use the www.rva311.com web portal, and/or the RVA311 app to report such things as: potholes, streetlights, illegal dumping, abandoned vehicles, overgrown lots, etc. The RVA311 mobile app is available on SmartPhones via the Google Play or Apple Stores.
Richmond’s previously used apps/portals, such as RVA One, See-Click-Fix, MPACT website, and the Citizen Request System are no longer in use as of June 15, 2018.

OHNA Meeting Recap From Channel 6

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As expected, last night’s OHNA’s meeting received a lot of attendance and attention.

WTVR News covered it for last night’s news broadcast.

While other topics were discussed in the earlier part of the meeting, the main focus and debate was on proposed parking restrictions and decal programs.

And as the story goes, this issue is probably not over-

After about an hour and half of heated discussion, Woodson announced they were “starting over” and revisiting the restrictions of the permit plan.

That would require volunteers to canvass the neighborhood for signatures.

OHNA Meeting Tomorrow Night

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The Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association (OHNA) is meeting tomorrow night. There is already a lot of interest in the parking decal proposals. A flyer has been going around the neighborhood (see above image). Here’s a message from OHNA President Todd Woodson:

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Please join us at 7PM on Tuesday, July 24, 2018 at St Andrews Parish House, 236 S Laurel St for our monthly Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association meeting. We again welcome Ms. Lynne Lancaster and Mr. Steve Bergin from the City to discuss our residential parking permits.

Here is the agenda:

7PM Meeting called to order

7:05 Richmond Police update- Lt James Roberts

7:10 VCU Police update- Officer Greg Felton

7:15 VCU update- Mr Tito Luna

7:20 Update from Councilman Agelasto’s office- Ms. Amy Robins

7:30 Neighbor Charles Nill has asked to speak on the current stop sign arrangement and request 3 way stops.

7:40 Update on Monroe Park renovations and the unfortunate placement of an electrical box only feet from the WWII Memorial. I will request a resolution from our organization to the Urban Design Committee/Richmond Planning Commission that the City move the box to a more appropriate location. You can read about the issue here:

https://tclf.org/unfortunate-addition-richmonds-monroe-park

7:50 Discussion of parking permits with Ms Lancaster and Mr Bergin

8:20 New or old business

8:30 Meeting Adjourned

I very much look forward to seeing you all and having a productive and congenial meeting! Times are subject to change as necessary.

Parking Permit Debates Go Public

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THere’s been a lot of discussion among neighbors both recently and over the years about parking permits. Style Magazine has an article that bares some of the frustrations involved.

Excerpt:

Egger emphasizes he’s not anti-permit but believes the proposal could be better thought out. He says nonenforced blocks will likely be flooded with student cars from Virginia Commonwealth University. Hancock acknowledges that this critique also applies to Oregon Hill’s short streets, which would allow longer parking. She says the issue will be discussed at a meeting, and that she’s also observing how other neighborhoods suggest employee parking solutions.

“We have been discussing this for a number of years now,” Woodson says. “But the petitioning is a fairly recent thing where we’re actually determined to do this. Should Randolph get parking permits this fall, Oregon Hill will be the only neighborhood that abuts VCU that does not have permits. And we’re already getting killed.”

Intermediate Terminal #3, Section 106 Comment, by Charles Pool

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This is not Oregon Hill news, but it is newsworthy, and does relate back to the neighborhood’s efforts to preserve Canal and riverfront history. Laurel Street neighbor Charles Pool has submitted a detailed comment in the ongoing Stone Brewing/Intermediate Terminal building controversy. (City Council has delayed voting on the Stone matter six times now!).

Please click here to see the full comment in PDF form.

Summary:
• Intermediate Terminal #3 is a rare resource associated with Richmond’s
important history as a thriving port on the James River.
• The building was completed in 1938 as a New Deal project with federal
funding from the Public Works Administration.
• The Terminal played an important role in the life of the city as a municipally-
owned warehouse for commodities imported (such as sugar from Cuba) and
exported (such as tobacco).
• The Intermediate Terminal #3 in authentic, unaltered condition as
confirmed by the original building blueprints.
• The building is structurally sound, built with steel-reinforced concrete as
confirmed by the building permit, blueprints, building specifications and
visual inspection.
• The Intermediate Terminal #3 is one of the first commercial buildings in
Richmond built on piers to avoid flooding of the James River.
• The building is a low-rise structure that does not adversely impact the
important viewshed from Libby Hill.
• Intermediate Terminal #3 should be preserved as one of the few surviving
landmarks associated with Richmond’s port history.

Neighborhood Cleanup This Saturday

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From City Council liaison extraordinaire Amy Robins:

Hi folks! The Oregon Hill 5th District cleanup is THIS Saturday, June 16.
I drove a decent number of your alleys this morning and do not feel there is actually enough to warrant a truck. It appears (minus the storm delays) that the every two week bulk pick up program is working. Additional alley cleanups have been scheduled for the big August 1 move out to make sure your alley aren’t trashed. I know we all vwant to make sure we are using our tax dollars wisely.
This cleanup will be focused on street litter and graffiti removal off public property. We are happy to do private property but the property owner needs to provide the paint and sign this waiver:

http://www.richmondgov.com/PublicWorks/forms/GraffitiRemoval.pdf

AND call me before Friday so I can add it to the TO DO LIST. 804-646-5724

FaceBook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1999082900374103/

Sierra Club: Terminate the Monroe Park Conservancy’s Lease, Remove Board President Massie

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From the Sierra Club Falls of the James press release:

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 6, 2018
CONTACT
Joe Brancoli, Chairperson of the Sierra Club Falls of the James Executive Committee

Sierra Club: Terminate the Monroe Park Conservancy’s Lease, Remove Board President Massie

RICHMOND, Virginia – At the May meeting of the Sierra Club Falls of the James (SCFOJ) Executive Committee, a vote was taken to update and republish last year’s public letter by the SCFOJ Executive Committee to the Mayor and City Council which called for an end to the lease agreement with the Monroe Park Conservancy. (Note: a copy of the 2017 SCFOJ letter can be found at this link: https://theshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com/2017/01/sierra-club-falls-of-james-letter-to.html, please do review its statement of facts.) This new resolution follows multiple, unanswered requests for meetings with elected officials, despite their pledges for more public oversight. The new resolution also makes the additional request that City Council ask the Monroe Park Conservancy to remove Alice Massie from her position as the president of the Conservancy.

The past year has seen growing public outrage against the Monroe Park Conservancy for its actions. It is worth noting that, after being closed for 19 months and with none of the previous projected finish dates being met, the Monroe Park renovation is ridiculously behind schedule and over budget. The renovation has used over 4 million dollars in public taxpayer money and it is not apparent where additional funds will be found to complete the renovation. The problems are legion:

We are concerned that granite curbstones adjacent to sidewalks were not reset properly after the sidewalk was removed, as well as shoddy brickwork overall. We are also concerned about the renovation of the Checkers House, which is listed as contributing to the Monroe Park Historic District, because alterations may affect its inclusion on the National Registry of Historic Spaces.

We agree with near-by neighborhood associations that the signage that the Monroe Park Conservancy has proposed for the park is inappropriate. Superfluous signage clutters the sight lines in the park and detracts from the natural beauty. The Monroe Park Conservancy has once again applied to the Urban Design Committee to place a large (3.5 foot high) billboard for corporate donors in a prominent position at the main entrance to the park across from Sacred Heart Cathedral. Despite most of the funding for the renovation has come from taxpayers, this sign would prominently advertise corporations/institutions such as Dominion Energy and VCU at this area of our city’s most historic park, overwhelming the Department of Historic Resources’ highway marker that cites the park’s listing on the National Register of Historic Places. There are alternatives to this billboard such as engraved pavers that would not detract from the park’s natural sight lines. Alice Massie, President of the Monroe Park Conservancy, mislead the City Planning Commission by stating that permeable pavers cannot be engraved.

An ugly electrical control station was placed right next to the World War II memorial in Monroe Park, blocking it. This disturbed the site lines and sanctity of the elegant memorial, which was designed by famous landscape architect Charles Gillette in 1951 and is listed as a contributing structure to the Monroe Park Historic District as included on the National Register of Historic Places. The Memorial, renovated to U.S. Secretary of Interior Standards circa 2005, consists of a masonry structure with limestone sheets upon which names of the city’s World War II war dead are inscribed and is adorned with 2 brass eagles and features two black granite benches which were donated by A. P. Grappone and Sons, Inc. stone works, at the time of the renovation. Original 2009 work documents had located two electrical control stations in the eastern portion of the park near Belvidere and near Pine and W. Main Streets, and, while it is not apparent who ordered the change, it appears to have been done to accommodate surrounding private development. Veterans and their families have publicly complained about this insensitivity of this clunky station placement.

In December 2016, 15 healthy mature trees were destroyed without the city seeking or gaining a departmental variance. A project supervisor applied to the Urban Design Committee and Planning Commission for approval after the trees were destroyed but both bodies refused to approve the destruction post facto. Since then, more old-growth trees have been destroyed despite requests from the public and the City’s Planning Commission that the Monroe Park Conservancy consider alternatives. The stated goal of the Conservancy is for the park to serve as ‘a green living room’ that is completely self-sustainable. With trees playing such a critical role in absorbing the greenhouse gases that fuel global warming, and so much of the historic tree canopy now destroyed after having been declared in conflict with the mechanical bio-retention feature in the park, the environmental logic behind the Monroe Park restoration project is flawed.

Recently, in the location of the destroyed trees, a huge corporate tent was erected for a month that further damaged and monopolized a whole portion of the park, killing all of the vegetation beneath it. This block long tent “feature” is being actively marketed by the Monroe Park Conservancy and the management of the Altria Theatre for paid functions, effectively displacing the larger community from using this public green space.

On the same fateful evening that the Conservancy was awarded the lease to the park, City Council also unanimously approved Resolution 2014-R64-64, which called for the Conservancy to diversify their board with community stakeholders and neighborhood representatives within 60 days. Alice Massie, who is the current president of the Conservancy, signed this agreement with Council. But in the 4 years since signing this agreement, the Conservancy has consistently refused to add neighborhood representatives to the Board. The community volunteers listed on their website do not represent or report to their respective neighborhoods. The refusal to honor this agreement is especially troublesome because the 2008 Master Plan, overseen by Rhodes and Harwell, and which was celebrated for the transparency and public participation that went into it, has been ignored and altered, including the removal of a children’s resource area in order to place the huge corporate “tenting” area.

There are reports that the Monroe Park Conservancy has submitted a set of rules dictating use of Monroe Park but this draft has not been made available to the public. These rules must be approved by Richmond City Council, but the public should also have the opportunity and time to review and comment on these rules before they are arrive before City Council. Supposedly, this is currently under the purview of the City of Richmond’s Capital Projects, and (possibly) Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities Departments. The public eagerly awaits a chance to review these rules. The Sierra Club urges free and unrestricted use of this PUBLIC park at no cost by all individuals
and community groups, as has historically been the practice in Monroe Park.

Given the abandonment of a publically-approved plan, the obvious desecration of historic and natural features, the cost overruns and long-extended construction timeline, and the continuing embarrassing eyesore of a stalled construction zone in the center of Richmond, it is clear that the Monroe Park Conservancy has failed to meet its responsibilities to the City and must be held accountable for this travesty. In closing, it’s not often that the Sierra Club calls for the removal of a non-elected, non-government official, but in this egregious situation, it makes sense to demand more accountability. For this reason, the Sierra Club is asking again that the Mayor and City Council terminate all agreements with the Monroe Park Conservancy, and demands that City Council ask the Conservancy to remove President Alice Massie as a demonstration of no confidence. The Monroe Conservancy may yet accomplish a decent, renovation of Monroe Park, but it is very clear that the wooded, historic, Victorian, PUBLIC park that citizens cherished and loved has been irreparably and callously destroyed. The responsibility falls squarely on City government to correct its lack of oversight in regard to this very flawed ‘public private partnership/development’, and the Sierra Club is joining Richmond citizens to demand immediate action.

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