Category Archives: government

Citizen Watch Dog Takes On The City’s Special Use Permit (SUP) Process

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C. Wayne Taylor, who has been doing a lot of digging’ on behalf of the neighborhood, recently sent this missive:

PLANNING COMMISSION

To the Honorable Council of the City of Richmond, Virginia
April 3, 2012

At its meeting of April 2, 2012, the Planning Commission voted (7-0) to APPROVE of:

Resolution of Intent:

To Amend the Zoning Ordinance Special Exception Provisions for the Purpose of
Reducing Reliance on the Special Use Process. All Council Districts

Summary dates:
Proposed Council paper introduction: April 23, 2012
Proposed Planning Commission public hearing: May 21,2012
Proposed City Council public hearing: May 29,2012

I recommend that all of you who are interested in sound land use policies for the city make sure you understand this proposal. While the title of the resolution sounds as if the proposal would move the city toward a more rules-based system, it would actual give the Board of Zoning Appeals broader authority to waive existing zoning and subdivision rules.

You should note that the BZA members are appoint the circuit court and can only be removed by the circuit court. Decisions of the BZA are not reviewable by City Council. The only course of action to challenge a BZA waiver would be a circuit court suit.

In my view, this is a very bad proposal. Richmond City Council is the only municipality in the Commonwealth of Virginia that has been given the authority to grant a special use permit that waives zoning and subdivision rules for a property owner. Over the years, City Council has granted thousands of waivers. As a result, the city has thousands of sets of rules for properties in the city and has failed to follow sound land use planning practices. The proposed ordinance perpetuates this situation and moves the process further from the citizens.

I submit that the fair and wise course of action is to have a set of rules that apply to everyone the way it is in all other municipalities. The city should stop granting special use permits. Unfortunately, this would require a charter amendment by the General Assembly. In the meantime, we appear poised to move further away from a rule-based system.

Please make sure you understand the immediate and long-term repercussions of this proposed ordinance. If you are concerned, please forward this information to your friends.

C. Wayne Taylor

1. Planning Commission “Letters” with notice of adopted resolution.
2. Planning Commission Agenda with full text of draft ordinance.
3. Code of Virginia § 15.2-2309. Powers and duties of boards of zoning appeals.

Read more on his blog at CityHallReview.com

Oregon Hill Parkway Closed Tomorrow

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From the City press release:

Street Closure – Oregon Hill Parkway
Traffic Advisory
Richmond, Virginia
Mayor Dwight C. Jones
For Immediate Release
March 30, 2012
For more information, contact:
Sharon North – (804) 646-5607

Street Closure – Oregon Hill Parkway

WHO: City of Richmond Department of Public Works

WHAT: Street Closure

WHEN: Wednesday, April 4, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

WHERE: Oregon Hill Parkway between Pine Street and Laurel Street.

BACKGROUND: Oregon Hill Parkway between Pine Street and Laurel Street will be closed during structural rehabilitation to the pedestrian bridge.
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Personally, I am very excited to see things happen with the new pedestrian bridge.

New Pine Street Connector Plans (May Include Street Renaming)

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The good news that emerged this week was that the controversial 2nd Street Connector proposal has been withdrawn due to strong citizen opposition. The bad news was that the alternative Spring Street connector idea has been rejected as well.

What may be seen as even worse news is that Dominion Resources is now proposing that South Pine Street be turned into their connector road. Coming off Idlewood, the street direction would be reversed from it’s current northerly flow and instead would be one-way south towards Dominion’s riverside headquarters. The street would then replace the Overlook and terminate instead with a ramp and bridge going directly to the upper floor of Dominion’s parking deck. Because it’s so very important for Dominion employees to be able to get in and out of work (and the City) quickly, the speed limit would be raised to 45 mph, and a new traffic signal light would be put in place at Holly Street and Pine Street (at Dominion’s expense, of course).

Continue reading →

Mayor’s Budget Discussion at the Va. War Memorial On Wednesday

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Paraphrasing City announcement:

The only MPACT sponsored Community Conversation with Mayor Jones regarding the City Budget is scheduled to take place at the Virginia War Memorial on Wednesday, March 28th at 6:30PM.

Let your voices be heard regarding the City Budget, Capitol Improvements, and other projects and issues that concern Precinct 4. Feel free to contact Hope Cousin, ETRP/MPACT Coordinator for the City of Richmond/Dept. of Public Works (Hope.Cousin at Richmondgov.com) if you have any questions.

Spring Street Connector?

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Laurel Street neighbor Tommy Birchett continues to ask some good questions in reference to the proposed 2nd Street connector.

His latest:

What if they built a Spring St connector instead?

Newmarket could donate land at the bottom of their hill above Tredagar and they could connect Spring through to 5th st.

No disruption to canal

No steep incline

Direct connection to west meadvaco from 2nd st

Seems like it would be better for traffic

Just a thought for an alternative proposal.

In fact, this question actually goes back farther to 1991 when Ethyl was given permission to destroy the architecturally significant 2nd Street Bridge. It should be noted that Oregon Hill residents spoke against this demolition. What’s even more interesting is that according to a 1991 Richmond News Leader article, Ethyl received permission to demolish the 2nd Street bridge on the grounds that Spring Street would be extended to increase access to the river.

Local public watchdog C. Wayne Taylor shared the thought. In investigating the question, he discovered that the city entered into a deal with Ethyl (NewMarket) to remove a planned Spring Street extension from the master plan. In exchange, Ethyl agreed to provide land and partial funding for street improvements in other areas. Part of that agreement is that if the city ever extends Spring Street, the city has to pay for the other land and give back the partial funding. In other words, Ethyl may have bought protection against having to fulfill their earlier promise to extend Spring Street.

Style Raises Questions About Landmark/Center Stage Deal

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Scott Bass has a story in this weeks Style magazine that illuminates some questionable funding plans for the Landmark Theater (previously known as The Mosque), brought on by the controversial Center Stage.

From the article:

Increasingly, the city’s cultural hubs are paid for by taxpayers. The mayor’s plan to renovate the Landmark is almost identical to the taxpayer-funded renovation of the Carpenter Theatre, which reopened as part of CenterStage in 2009. Nearly three-quarters of the $73.5 million used to renovate the Carpenter came from the public kitty: $25 million from the city; $9.7 million from state and federal grants; and $20 million in historic tax credits.

Mayor Jones proposes allocating $14 million in city money for the Landmark renovation, but that only scratches the surface. His plan involves millions more in public dollars, primarily through diversion of state and federal taxes.

There’s precedent: The CenterStage project engendered quite a bit of controversy and political mayhem, in part because of fundraising struggles and provocation from former Mayor L. Douglas Wilder. The project also remains something of a financial mystery. Despite receiving more than $40 million in city and state funds and $500,000 annually from the city for operating costs, CenterStage’s comprehensive agreement with the city exempts the foundation from the Freedom of Information Act.

While the foundation receives more than half of its revenues from taxpayers, it isn’t required to publicly disclose how it spends the public’s money.

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MPACT Meeting Cancelled/Mayor’s Food Policy/Jewell Schedules 5th District Meeting

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From email announcement:

Please note that the MPACT/CAPS Meeting for Precinct 4, scheduled for Thursday, March 15th, has been cancelled. The next round of Community Conversations with the Mayor is quickly approaching and as soon as we have a date for Precinct 4, follow-up correspondence will be sent out. In the meantime, if there are any concerns or service requests, feel free to utilize the MPACT website, call 311, or reach out to your MPACT Co-Chairs (Charles Finley, Louise Caine, Horace Anderson and Barbara Abernathy).

On that note, the Mayor’s Food Policy Task Force is meeting next Wednesday:

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Congressman Scott’s Health Care Forum On March 15

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Congressperson Bobby Scott sent notice to constituents about his upcoming health care forum:

This March marks the two year anniversary of Congress passing and the President signing into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. On Thursday, March 15, 2012 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., I will be holding a community forum in Richmond to provide an update on the implementation of the new health care reform law. The forum will be held at the General Assembly Building, Senate Room A, located at the intersection of Ninth Street and Broad Street in downtown Richmond.

Joinining me at the forum will be Ms. Joanne Grossi, the Regional Director for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and Ms. Jill Hanken, a health attorney at the Virginia Poverty Law Center. Director Grossi will provide information on what provisions of the Affordable Care Act have already been implemented and what the public can expect to be implemented in the next few years. Ms. Hanken will provide insight on what has been happening at the state level in regards to implementing the new health care law. We will also be joined by constituents who have already benefited from the Affordable Care Act.

Seating is limited, so those who plan to attend may want to contact his office.

In additional health care policy news, the Green Party had this press release (click on title for full statement):

The Green Party urges the Supreme Court to strike down the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance mandates, sees a chance for Medicare For All