Category Archives: government

Letter On Proposed Tax Abatement Ordinance

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October 16, 2013

The Honorable City Council
City of Richmond
900 E. Broad St., Suite 200
Richmond, VA 23219 USA

Re: Proposed Ordinance No. 2013-219 – Tax Abatements

Dear Honorable Members of City Council,

The proposed tax abatement ordinance seems unlawful.

The Constitution of Virginia allows a tax abatement when a building has undergone rehabilitation because of age and use. (1)

The ordinance seems to allow a tax abatement for a building in excellent condition.

Shouldn’t a tax abatement be limited to a building needing rehabilitation?

Sincerely yours,

C. Wayne Taylor

(1) The General Assembly may by general law authorize the governing body of any county, city, town, or regional government to provide for a partial exemption from local real property taxation, within such restrictions and upon such conditions as may be prescribed, (i) of real estate whose improvements, by virtue of age and use, have undergone substantial renovation, rehabilitation or replacement or (ii) of real estate with new structures and improvements in conservation, redevelopment, or rehabilitation areas. Constitution of Virginia, ARTICLE X, Section 6 (h).

Copy:
Jean Capel, City Clerk
Lou Ali, Council Chief of Staff
Better Government Richmond
Press

Councilman Parker C. Agelasto to hold 5th District Meeting Next Wednesday

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City press release:

Councilman Parker C. Agelasto to hold meeting in the Richmond Central 5th Voter District

All Richmond Central 5th Voter District residents invited and encouraged to attend

WHAT (Richmond, Virginia U.S.A.) — The Honorable Parker C. Agelasto, Councilman, Richmond City Council, Central 5th Voter District will hold a district-wide meeting in the Richmond Central 5th Voter District. This is part of regular meetings he holds, which include information on his Central 5th Voter District goals and accomplishments; a thematic agenda of current interest; and, special guests. This meeting is free and open to the public and all Richmond Central 5th Voter District residents are invited and encouraged to attend.

The planned agenda/discussion topics for the upcoming meeting include:

Agenda

· Virginia General Assembly – Update
The Honorable Betsy Carr, Virginia State Delegate
Virginia House of Delegates 69th Voter District

· Richmond Code Enforcement Presentation
Mark Bridgman, Richmond Community Assisted Public Safety (CAPS)
Program Manager, Richmond Department of Planning and Development Review

· Richmond Citizens’ Request System and See, Click, Fix – Presentations
Richmond Government Administration

· Richmond Capital Improvement Plan Requests/Updates
for the Richmond Central 5th Voter District
The Honorable Parker C. Agelasto, Councilman, Richmond City Council, Central 5th Voter District

· Richmond Public Schools Update
The Honorable Mamie L. Taylor, Member
Richmond Public Schools Board of Trustees – Central 5th Voter District

· Questions, comments, ideas, suggestions and concerns

WHEN Wednesday, October 23, 2013
6:30-8:00 p.m.

WHERE Richmond Public Schools – Swansboro Elementary School
3160 Midlothian Turnpike
Richmond, Virginia

WHO The Honorable Parker C. Agelasto, Councilman
Richmond City Council, Central 5th Voter District

CONTACT For more information, please contact Councilman Parker C. Agelasto, Richmond City Council, Central 5th Voter District, at 804.646.6050 (tel), or parker.agelasto@richmondgov.com (email)

UPCOMING SCHEDULE ___________________________________________________________________

Meetings held: 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.

Thursday, December 12, 2013 (Holiday Party)
Virginia War Memorial
621 South Belvidere Street
Richmond, Virginia

Idlewood Roundabout Project Receives Funding From VCU

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This ordinance was passed by City Council last night:

Ord. No. 2013-209 (Patron: Mayor Jones) – To authorize the Chief Administrative Officer to accept $250,000 from Virginia Commonwealth University and to appropriate the increase to the Fiscal Year 2013-2014 Capital Budget by increasing estimated revenues and the amount appropriated to the Department of Public Works’ Traffic Calming/Idlewood Roundabout project in the Transportation category by $250,000 for the construction of a roundabout at the intersection of Idlewood Avenue, Grayland Avenue and an off ramp from the Downtown Expressway.

More on this here and here.

Venture Richmond’s “Temporary Events” Should Concern All Richmond Neighborhoods

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Is Venture Richmond planning to use the city ordinance that authorizes “temporary events” to circumvent zoning requirements?

Every neighborhood in Richmond should be watching this closely. Venture Richmond is proposing $500,000 in permanent alterations, which would damage the historic James River and Kanawha Canal, for its proposed “Tredegar Green” theater. But the theater is not a permitted use under current zoning. Remember, as reported in yesterday’s post, Jack Berry of Venture Richmond told the Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association that “we would probably be open to the idea of renting it.” which is not the same story that was told to the Planning Commission.

In a bizarre twist, the City Planning Commission approved the “location” of the amphitheater although it is not permitted under the zoning, and no re-zoning application has been submitted. Apparently Venture Richmond may be relying on an ordinance, intended for yard sales and other temporary events, to try to force through the project without complying with zoning laws.

If you scroll to the very end of the ordinance below you will find the section on temporary events:

http://eservices.ci.richmond.va.us/applications/clerkstracking/getPDF.asp?NO=2012-234-2013-2

It refers to the definition section of the ordinance, which defines a “temporary event” as four events annually.

At this time, aggrieved neighborhood residents cannot appeal because the zoning administrator will not rule on hypothetical situations, and Venture Richmond received approval for the “location” of the project before applying for a Special Use Permit, re-zoning, or for work permits. If Venture Richmond can receive City permission to implement $500,000 work for “temporary use” of a development not permitted under current zoning, wouldn’t that also allow someone to put in a motorcycle race track in a residential zoning so long as they said they would stage only four “temporary events” a year?

This would truly open Pandora’s Box if any developer could implement any development, not permitted by zoning, by saying they only intended to use it four days a year. (Later, after the damage was done, they probably would say that it was a hardship to only be allowed to use such a facility four days a year.)

City Water Rate Reform Work Continues

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Yesterday’s email message:

Hey everybody,

I hope you all had a great summer.

We will be ramping up the Richmond, VA water rate reform campaign again this October.

For one thing today (Sept. 30) is the day that the City utility should be presenting some options to City Council. Also, the new format for utility bills should be rolling out. You may have seen that DPU is also working on their efforts with a “Citizens’ Academy”.

Here is the “311” on that:

“The city of Richmond Department of Public Utilities introduces a four- session course to give participants a working knowledge of their public utilities provider. Each course consists of a classroom portion and ends with a tour of the utility functions discussed. Participants are encouraged to register for all four courses. Class size is limited to 20 students. Each class is scheduled on a Tuesday afternoon from 4–6 p.m. in October at various locations throughout the utility.

“Our goal is to create a better understanding of how the utility manages the important resources entrusted to us and provide our customers with an educational, interesting and engaging experience,” said Utilities Director Bob Steidel.

· SESSION 1: Oct. 1, 2013 – DPU Operations Center Atrium
400 Jefferson Davis Highway, Richmond, VA 23224
· SESSION 2: Oct. 8, 2013 – Wastewater Treatment Plant
1400 Brander Street, Richmond, VA 23224
· SESSION 3: Oct. 15, 2013 – Water Treatment Plant
3920 Douglasdale Road, Richmond, VA 23221
· SESSION 4: Oct. 22, 2013 – DPU Operations Center Atrium
400 Jefferson Davis Highway, Richmond, VA 23224
All sessions take place from 4-6 p.m.

For questions or to register, call or email DPU Public Relations and Marketing specialist Rhonda Johnson at (804) 646-5463 or rhonda.johnson@richmondgov.com.”

If you recall, the water rate reform campaign refocused on what’s called the PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) portion of the bill after Mayor Jones did address PART of the minimum payment. Over the summer, I saw an opinion by the CIty Attorney that seemed to suggest the PILOT for federal taxes was legal, going along with what the utility has said. However, I have not heard back yet about an opinion from the State Attorney’s office. State Sen. Watkins was good enough to ask for that on our behalf back in May. So, for now, we are still zero’ing on the federal taxes portion of the PILOT in the City’s water bills.

Why are Richmond customers still forced to make a monthly payment lieu of Federal income taxes on their city water bill?

The message right now:

The Sierra Club Falls of the James group helped bring to the city’s attention last year the injustice of charging every household about $60 annually for a payment in lieu of Federal income taxes. This payment, of questionable legality, is a regressive means of taxing a basic necessity to finance the city’s general fund. The city can legally charge the customer for taxes that would be paid to the city if the water works was privately owned, but no private company pays Federal income tax to the city.

The city’s base service charge is still not shown on the bill, so most customers are not aware that they must pay $26.40 each month just to be connected to the water supply. Other localities charge a far lower service charge. The monthly service charge in Norfolk is only $1.

Richmond’s STILL high service charge does not promote conservation, and it is unfair to low and moderate income residents. It is as though the city has pegged the service charge to the poverty rate. With 26% of Richmond’s residents living below the poverty level, it is unconscionable to charge $26 to be connected to the water supply.

Stay tuned, and again, thank you so much for your support.

Scott Burger

P.S. I invite you all again to join the Sierra Club Falls of the James (http://virginia.sierraclub.org/foj/) as well as Better Government- Richmond (http://bg-us.org). These groups are working hard to improve our lives.

This message was sent by Scott Burger using the Change.org system. You received this email because you signed a petition started by Scott Burger on Change.org: “Reform Richmond’s Water Rates!.” Change.org does not endorse contents of this message.

Planning Commission Votes For Venture Richmond’s Theater

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On Monday, the City of Richmond’s Planning Commission voted in favor of Venture Richmond’s theater proposal, despite strong opposition by the Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association, preservationists, and other interested parties.

Excerpt from what OHNA President Jennifer Hancock said at the meeting:

Venture Richmond is using the threat of losing the Folk Festival as a stick to beat the residents of Richmond into agreeing to a plan that many of us have serious reservations about. As the closest neighborhood to the amphitheater, Oregon Hill will be the neighborhood most impacted by the project. Neighbors have already expressed concerns about increases in traffic and noise, and the impact on already limited parking. We have asked for, but not received, an agreement describing yearly limits on the number of events and night-time curfews for evening events.

UDC Did Not Approve Of Venture Richmond’s Proposed Theater; Planning Commission Decides Tomorrow; Overlook Condos Releases Statement, and Oh Look, There Is A Lease!

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In case you did not not know already, the City Of Richmond’s Urban Design Committee did NOT approve Venture Richmond’s amphitheater, wait, sorry, THEATER plan this past Monday. Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association President Jennifer Hancock gave a great speech on behalf of the association, and Laurel Street neighbor Caroline Cox spoke in regard to the parking and noise problems associated with putting an amphitheater directly below Oregon Hill. Pine Street neighbor Bryan Green who serves on the Urban Planning Commission was one of four who voted against the plan.

Tomorrow, the proposal will be at City’s the Planning Commission (1:30pm, on the fifth floor at City Hall).

Venture Richmond, as expected, has threatened that this Folk Festival will be its last if they don’t get what they want and most of the local media is going with their storyline.

Meanwhile, the Overlook Unit Owners Association board has released the following statement:

1. Our Overlook community is made up of a wide variety of residents, including young professionals, working people of all ages, retirees, families with young children, graduate and undergraduate students.

2. We support the work that the City and Venture Richmond has done to develop the Riverfront and encourage more people to visit and live in the city.

3. Our residents enjoy the entertainment and other amenities available downtown, including concerts, festivals, parks, art galleries and restaurants.

4. We frequent and support the Richmond Folk Festival.

5. We believe that it is important that decisions made by the City and non-governmental institutions regarding the use of land be sensitive to the impact those decisions will have on neighbors living close-by.

6. We acknowledge that some alterations of the canal may be necessary. We support restoring the canal in a manner that will be both historically accurate by allowing canal boat traffic from Maymont to Third Street and the use of Tredgar Green as an amphitheater.

7. We prefer that the Tredegar Green area remain green and undeveloped, with only occasional use for amplified performances. We are concerned that a stage at the base of the Lee Bridge would disturb the peace of some members of our community if concerts were scheduled there regularly without restriction.

8. We note that loud events on a stage aimed directly at the Virginia War Memorial would destroy the peace and tranquility of that facility. The Virginia War Memorial is a sacred place for thousands of friends and family members of Virginia’s fallen veterans. We hope that Venture Richmond and the Virginia War Memorial can coordinate schedules to not have events on the same day, with priority going to the Virginia War Memorial.

9. We ask that, if approved, amplified events at Tredegar Green be limited to no more than 15 days per year and not run past 10:00PM on weeknights and 11:00PM on Fridays and Saturdays.

10. If more events are scheduled for the site at the foot of the Lee Bridge, large crowds and parking issues in our neighborhood will move from an occasional inconvenience to a frequent problem. The Overlook development was approved by the City with the assumption that reasonable street parking would be available to residents, supplemented by limited off-street parking on our land. Frequent events that draw thousands to our neighborhood would destroy that basic assumption, resulting in an unfair burden on our residents.

11. We ask that a reasonable volume limit be put on performances at the amphitheater stage.

Also, Laurel Street neighbor Charles Pool, when he has not been researching the history of the Kanawha Canal, has been asking the City a lot of questions. Under the Va. Freedom of Information Act, he requested on Aug. 26, 2013, “Any lease agreements or draft lease agreements regarding the use of City of Richmond property by Venture Richmond for an amphitheater.” His FOIA request was copied to the City Attorney. The use of City property for Venture Richmond’s proposed amphitheater is an item on the agenda of the Sept. 16, 2013 meeting of the Richmond City Planning Commission.

On Sept. 9, 2013, he received a response from a City employee on behalf of city administrator Byron Marshall, that “the City is not in possession of any records responsive to your requests nor is the City aware of the existence of any records responsive to your request.”

After receiving this response from the city administration that the lease did not exist, and after he notified all of the City Planning Commissioners that the lease did not exist, he actually received the lease agreement that someone else had independently received from the city attorney. Here is a link to the lease agreement, which the administration denied existed until two business days before the Planning Commission hearing:

http://eservices.ci.richmond.va.us/applications/clerkstracking/getPDF.asp?NO=2012-153-110

Among other things, this lease agreement is significant because it states that Venture Richmond must maintain the existing city parking for the public except for limited circumstance related to use of the property for an event like the Folk Festival. But Venture Richmond is proposing unlimited use of the proposed amphitheater which would be leased with no limit on the number of events annually.

60 Pages On Venture Richmond’s Amphitheater Proposal

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In time for the UDC Committee meeting on Thursday morning, comes this OHHIC analysis of Venture Richmond’s amphitheater proposal (Pool). (This links to a PDF that is very large and may take some time to load).

Will the City and Venture Richmond consider these 60 pages or will they continue to blow off input from Oregon Hill residents?

UDC Meeting This Thursday

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There are several items on the agenda pertinent to Oregon Hill for the upcoming City of Richmond Urban Design Committee meeting to be held next Thursday at 10:00am. These include curb extensions for Cumberland Avenue as well as new curb extensions at N. Laurel and W. Main Street as part of the Landmark Theatre renovations. UDC will be reviewing other items for the Landmark Theatre including lamposts, marquee, trees, etc. Perhaps of most interest is that Venture Richmond’s plan for what they call “Tredegar Green” is also on the agenda.