Victory Not Delayed?

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Oregon Hill residents are once again left wondering what is happening in City Hall.

From latest letter:

Dear Ms. Markam and Mr. Ebinger,

The Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association requests a postponement of the Victory Apt. SUP Ordinance No. 2012-200 scheduled hearing at the City Planning Commission on December 3, 2012. This postponement is necessary because two of the plans attached and referenced in the Victory Apartment Special Use Permit Ordinance No. 2012-200 are not the latest revisions that were required by the Planning Department and because the property was not posted properly per the requirements of city code Section 114-1050.5 (4).

The wrong plans have been attached to the ordinance: the latest revised Cover and A1.00 sheets of the Victory Apt. SUP are dated 10/22/12, but an earlier, incorrect version dated 9/21/12 are attached to the Victory Apt. SUP Ordinance No. 2012-200. The correct 10/22/12 revisions of the Cover and A1.00 sheets are attached to this e-mail. (Please see attachments: “Cover-SUP.PDF” and “A1.00-SUP.PDF”).

We received these 10/22/12 revisions of the Cover and A1.00 sheets as attachments to the Oct. 23rd e-mail from Mr. Ebinger below, and we were assured in the e-mail below that these revised plans would be attached to the Ordinance: “Updated plan sheets were recently provided and have been attached. The property lines for the Victory Rug Building have been modified to exclude the alley in common on Sheet A1.00 and the area of the alley in common has been excluded from the Site Data on the Cover Sheet.”

The incorrect sheet A1.00 dated 9/21/12 mistakenly shows the property line of the Victory building encroaching upon the property of the adjacent owner at 411 S. Cherry Street, as shown in the land survey of the property. (Please see attachment: “Plat of 411 S. Cherry Street.jpg”).

Unfortunately, the incorrect Cover and A1.00 sheets dated 9/21/12 are attached to the Ordinance No. 2012-200 that is being advertised and distributed by the City Clerk’s office: http://eservices.ci.richmond.va.us/applications/clerkstracking/getPDF.asp?NO=2012-200

There are substantial differences in these two versions of the plans. The incorrect 9/21/12 version of the Cover sheet notes the wrong square footage for the Site Area, Paved Area, Open Space and Usable Open Space. The incorrect 9/21/12 version of the A1.00 sheet indicates the wrong location of the property line to the south of the Victory Rug building. This error results in a 1,405 sq. ft. difference in the “Usable Open Space” available in the plan. The Planning Commission hearing scheduled for December 3, 2012 must be postponed so that the correct Cover and A1.00 sheets may be attached and referenced in the Ordinance No. 2012-200, with ample time for public review of the correct documents.

In addition, the property was not posted properly in accordance with city code Section 114-1050.5(4). The sign posted on the lot at 811 Albemarle Street is made of plastic, whereas city code Section 114-1050.5 (4) requires that, “The sign(s) shall be of wood or metal material … ” Also, much of the lettering on the sign posted at 407 S. Cherry is considerably smaller than the 3 inch letter size required by city code Section 114-1050.5 (4): “… with black lettering at least three inches in height … ” In fact, the majority of the letters on the sign posted at 407 S. Cherry are 1-1/4 inch in height, which is less than half the required size. (Please see attachments: “Sign with small lettering at 407 Cherry St.jpg” and “Plastic sign at 811 Albemarle St.jpg”).

We fear that the applicant’s non-compliance with the technical requirements of the city code regarding posting of the property may impact the community attendance at the Planning Commission. We request that both of the signs be corrected and be re-posted for the required two week period.

Additionally, we have received correspondence from residents confused by the fact that the City Council Agenda for November 26, 2012 still lists the ordinance as being heard at that session.

In summary, we request a postponement of the Planning Commission hearing scheduled December 3, 2012 for Ordinance 2012-200. The correct, revised Cover and A1.00 sheets dated 10/22/12 must be attached to the Ordinance as promised by city staff, with adequate time for public review, and the signage must be correctly posted on the property per city code.

Thank you for your consideration of this request. Please let us know as soon as possible when the Ordinance 2012-200 has been rescheduled.

Sincerely,

Charles Todd Woodson, Treasurer
Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association, inc

BP Gas Station Robbed This Morning

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From Times Dispatch article:

Police said no weapon was displayed but a clerk saw what appeared to be the outline of a handgun underneath clothing in the robbery, which was reported at 5:55 a.m. at the BP station in the 600 block of West Grace Street.
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No one was injured.
The suspect was described as a black male, about 6 feet, 1 inch tall, weighing about 200 pounds with a tear drop tattoo under his left eye and wearing a button-up black jacket with a hood, blue jeans, black shoes and a baseball cap. The man may have had a moustache.
The suspect is believed to have fled northeast on foot.
Anyone with information can call Crime Stoppers anonymously at (804) 780-1000.

Stolen Stereo and Car Chase

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From Richmond Police:

4th Precinct
THEFT FROM MOTOR VEHICLE
11/20/12 10:30 a.m. – 1:20 p.m.
100 block of South Laurel Street
An unknown person(s) stole a stereo from a vehicle.

Also, in a different incident, from the Times Dispatch:

A man appeared to escape injury early today when he flipped his car multiple times down a steep hill near the James River in downtown Richmond several minutes after police had terminated a brief pursuit.

Richmond police Capt. Angela Greene said the man, whose identity was not immediately released, was taken to VCU Medical Center for observation but was not complaining of any pain and did not appear to be injured following the incident.

Greene said the incident began at 2:09 a.m. when a Richmond police officer at Oliver Hill Way and Hospital Street observed the man driving the wrong way at a high speed down a one-way street. Greene said the officer activated his blue lights and siren and tried to follow the man but terminated the pursuit after 26 seconds when it became apparent the man was not going to stop.
Roughly three minutes later, Greene said, the vehicle was found, wrecked, in a large field along Second Street that serves as a main performing stage for the Richmond Folk Festival.

New 5th District Politics, Or At Least Coverage

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With Election Day behind us, it is noteworthy that not only do we have a new Fifth District Councilperson and School Board representative, but we also a lot of revived interest and media coverage for the district.

I am still hoping to read notes on an organizing meeting that happened this past Friday at the Randolph Community Center. But first I may need to listen to the interviews on the latest Open Source show from WRIR. The title: “Ushering in th Age of Agelasto for Richmond’s Fightin’ 5th”.

Last, but certainly not least, now might be a good time to review a new web page from watchdog C.Wayne Taylor, which ‘wiki’s’ the City’s winning candidates. Citizens should learn and track the promises made. The campaign contact info on there might alone make it worthwhile to bookmark, given some of the past lack of response from those e-mail addresses on the city’s web page!

Assault and Death Investigation

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From latest Richmond Police crime report:

4th Precinct
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT
11/15/12 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
300 block of South Pine Street
A male reported he was assaulted by a known male. Warrants were obtained on the male.

4th Precinct
DEATH INVESTIGATION
11/17/12 10:30 p.m.
100 block of Tredegar Street
A male fell from the Lee Bridge. He was transported to VCU Medical Center with life-threatening injuries. He was pronounced dead an hour later.

Pre-Holiday Renegade Market Today

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From email announcement:

Greetings All!
For your last-minute pre-holiday farmers-market shopping-pleasure
this week’s Renegade Market vendors will offer…

Fresh, seasonally delicious foods:
Apples, Cider, Jams, Jellies, Honey…
Salad mix, Broccoli, Sweet Potatoes, Radicchio, Escarole…
Grass-fed Beef, Pork, Free-ranging Chicken – in roasts, parts, ground, sausages…
Eggs, Cheese and Noodles…
Artisan Breads, Rolls, Biscuits, Pies, Tarts and other desserts…
Raw food Dog and Cat foods and treats…
information about CSAs and Herd Shares
See you at the Market: 3pm to 6pm Tuesdays, November through April

byrdhousemarket.blogspot.com

Visit wbch.org for more doings at William Byrd Community House
—

_____________________

Ana Edwards, Manager
Byrd House Market & Library Programs
Grace Arents Library & Education Center
William Byrd Community House
www.wbch.org / 804.643.2717 ext.306

Speech to Council

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This is a speech that neighbor Todd Woodson gave to City Council this past Monday night:

Hi- I’m Todd Woodson and I’m here to speak for the Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association. I have served as treasurer for the last 11 years. We have serious concerns on an sup proposal pending on the Victory Rug Building on S Cherry St. We feel there have been serious flaws committed and don’t think that fair or due process has been served to our residents.

some background info on sup:

The Victory Rug current parcel assessment of 270K has risen 236% in last 10 years. We believe this assessment is correct and fair for a building in this condition.

The parcel was bought at auction for 660,000 by developer.

a message was sent to developer from OHNA before closing on the property outlining inherent problems in developing the building.

Consequently, hardship cannot be used to justify the aggressive density requested with off street parking limited to only 8 questionable spaces. The proposal is for 29 bedrooms which would require somewhere between 30 and 45 parking spaces. Parking is already a hardship due to our proximity to VCU. This development is 2 1/2 blocks from the mammoth VCU recreation center.

The City has received 114 letters of opposition- no letters in favor—

A main concern is that in early October, neighborhood reps met with Mr. Jewell, the developer and Mark Baker of Baker Development Resources who is representing the developer on this sup. No concessions were made and the meeting was a disappointment. On Oct 22, the SUP ordinance was introduced. Sometime between then and Oct 30, Councilman Jewell solicited help in securing campaign funds from Mr Baker and an email was sent to other developers as well as to a networking group maintained by Baker. I mean no disrespect to Mr Jewell and am not an attorney so I cant say if this is illegal. I will say that the hundreds of residents facing hardship from this sup find the appearance of impropriety of major concern.
I have included the solicitation in your package.
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we feel it to be prudent and reasonable for the Council hearing on this SUP be postponed until after our concerns are fully resolved and the new council is seated.

We are anxious for a quality reasonable development at the Victory Rug Building and hope for an enterprise that has the best interest of the community at heart.