Category Archives: government

Recognition for Officer Nathanson

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Although there were no crimes in Oregon Hill on today’s Richmond Police report, there was recognition and congratulations for Officer Jonathon Nathanson, who has done a lot of work in the Fourth Precinct and Oregon Hill in particular.

Kudos to Officer Jonathan Nathanson who was named Fourth Precinct’s Officer of the Month for May! Officer Nathanson is still racking up the arrests – 42 for the month–and taking the calls – responding to 48! He’s also initiated more than 70 encounters just from his own observation while patrolling his assigned area. Officer Nathanson also seized two firearms and illegal narcotics last month; wrote 55 incident-based reports, conducted 16 field interviews and did more than 60 hours of bike patrol!

He was also selected to conduct DUI selective enforcement, resulting in numerous DUI arrests. Somehow, he still manages to find time to mentor a recruit from the 107th class and work with the Homeless Outreach Program with the Daily Planet and Richmond Behavioral Health Authority. Officer Nathanson is an all-around great officer and that’s why he’s been a frequent flier for Fourth Precinct’s Officer of the Month honors. Congratulations!

Latest Draft of Richmond Riverfront Plan

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Yesterday, the City’s Planning and Development Review announced and released “the Final Draft of the Richmond Riverfront Plan” (click here for large PDF).

Pages 26 to 29, the part of the Plan that deals with “Tredegar Green”, seem most applicable to Oregon Hill. I did not see anything about moving the Confederate White House.

The proposed 2nd Street Connector road is still in the plan, although many questions have still not been answered. More on this soon.

Cherry Street Re-Connection?

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I posted on this before, but new, conflicting information is still coming in.
Neighbors now say that they have heard this new ‘utility road’ from Riverside Park to where S. Cherry Street ends will be permanent.

In fact, Cherry Street used to be fully connected, as it looks on this old map:

Rumor is that neighbors as well as the City’s Parks and Rec Department are concerned by the lack of communication and what this road building is doing to create erosion behind Holly Street Playground.

Residents at the end of S. Cherry Street are also concerned about what this could mean for their enclave in the City, including the historic John Miller house which can be seen now from a new vantage point.

Concern Grows About Ord. 2012-74

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C. Wayne Taylor has more City government news to share:

Ordinance 2012-74 is scheduled to go before Richmond City Council on June 11th. The ordinance would give the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) additional authority to grant exceptions to the city’s zoning regulations.

The ordinance was discussed at the Council’s informal meeting held on May 29th. Councilor Samuels stated that he was getting many phone calls about the ordinance. The administration was pushing very hard for Council to adopt the ordinance without delay.

The administration kept the preparation of the ordinance a secret and did not tell the Planning Commission about it until the Commission was asked to initiate a code amendment. One commissioner is recorded in the minutes as surprised by the request.

The administration gave the Planning Commission false and misleading information. For instance, the Commission was told that it takes 4 to 6 months to get a Special Use Permit approved by City Council. The actual time is closer to 2 months. Another example: the Commission was told that the BZA cannot grant a variance under the existing standard except under very extraordinary circumstances. Actually, about 20% of the BZA approvals are for variances.

The administration repeated the “4 to 6 month” claim to City Council on May 29th. The administration also told Council that the ordinance does nothing more than expand on existing provisions. In fact, it adds several totally new subsections.

The administration repeatedly told Council that the changes are no big deal. New sub-section 17 in the proposed ordinance gives the BZA control over building heights. The BZA would be given authority to allow a building of any height in all but a few districts. Given that the BZA approved 90% of the requests it considered it 2011, one should expect most requests for additional building height will be approved. (City Council approved a 160′ tall building at the Dominion Resources site along the riverfront. The BZA would certainly refer to that.)

The Council agreed to Mr. Samuels request for a delay. Mr. Samuels wants the administration to attend a neighborhood association meeting to address citizens’ concerns.

A brief summary of the May 29th meeting can be seen by clicking here.

Re-Connecting Cherry Street to Riverside Park?

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What is the City doing?

I suspect they are just creating a service alley before they figure out what they will do with 816 Riverside Park, but could this be part of a larger plan to reconnect Cherry Street with Riverside Parkway? Who has the skinny? Anybody, Historic Richmond?

Update: According to nearby neighbors, this relates to the larger plumbing work that is being done throughout the neighborhood.

Previous Canal Bridge Gone/2015 UCI Road World Cycling Race Looms

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The previous canal bridge made from utility poles is now gone.

It is great to see people using the new canal bridge. (Though some jerk did dump a bucket of silver paint on it that had to be pressure washed off it). The Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association may eventually throw a party to celebrate the new bridge. After all, its important to remember that it was that organization that secured the funding for it.

At the same time, one wonders how this plays into other riverfront planning. Evidently there are some high level meetings happening regarding Richmond 2015, the organizing committee charged with putting on the UCI Road World Championships.

Richmond 2015 has already come up with a course but will not disclose what it is for now. Officials say they want to work out contingencies before approaching affected communities.

The races will be disruptive to some residents because of road closings and the hundreds of thousands of visitors expected to descend on the city.

But honestly, what is happening with the proposed ‘2nd Street Connector’? According to sources, C. Wayne Taylor’s questions are STILL waiting on answers from the City’s Economic Development Department.

Meanwhile In Northern Virginia…Move To Amend!

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From announcement:

Here is the work that Northern Virginia MTA has done:

Resolutions on overturning Citizens United v. FEC and combating the undue influence of money in politics passed Saturday at the Virginia 8th and 11th Congressional District Democratic Conventions. The resolutions call for the Constitution to be amended to establish that: (1) Corporations should not be entitled to the same Constitutional rights in our elections as people and should have only the powers and rights granted to them in state and federal law; and (2) Money is not speech so federal and state governments have the power to fairly regulate, without infringing the freedom of the press, any political contribution or spending. NOVA MTA helped prepare the resolutions and strongly advocated their passage.

The resolutions will help build support for passing a similar resolution at the State Democratic Convention on June 2, 2012, which in turn will help build support for passing MTA resolutions in municipalities in northern Virginia and elsewhere across the Commonwealth.

The Move To Amend movement may start small here, but it has potential to join other states’ efforts and become a reckoning force in the next few election cycles.

Lots of Meetings Early This Week

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I already mentioned the water pollution meeting on Wednesday, but there are a few other important meetings this week. Tonight the City’s anti-poverty commission seeks public feedback. While the meeting is in Gilpin Court, it would be interesting to include an Oregon Hill perspective. Tuesday, there is the monthly Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association meeting, but earlier the GRTC Task Force’s Macro Subcommittee will meet-

From City press release:

Richmond City Council GRTC and Transit Study Task Force has established and will hold two subcommittee meetings

All residents are invited and encouraged to attend

WHAT The Richmond City Council GRTC and Transit Study Task Force has established and will hold two subcommittee meetings. The subcommittees include: the Macro Subcommittee, which will focus on long range transit planning issues, and the Services Subcommittee, which will focus on bus users’ service issues.

The purpose of the Richmond City Council GRTC and Transit Study Task Force is to make recommendations to Richmond City Council with regard to enhancing mass transit in the Metro-Richmond area and the efficiency and effectiveness of the GRTC Transit System. The meeting is free and open to the public and all residents are invited and encouraged to attend.

The two Richmond City Council GRTC and Transit Study Task Force Subcommittee meetings will be held as follows:

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