Click here for a PDF of the City’s comments on the proposed plans for 349 S. Laurel Street.
City Comment On 349 S. Laurel Street SUP
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First Round of Storm Damage
Storm damage from afternoon storms- photos courtesy of neighbor Steve Barnes (by the way, you can hit him up on Twitter at www.twitter.com/SleevieB)
Might be a rough night with more storms on their way–
Revised Victory Rug Plans
Neighbors received a copy of revised Victory Rug plans from the City.
Concern Grows About Ord. 2012-74
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.
Photos From Hollywood Cemetery Tour
These photos were taken this past weekend by neighbor Steve Barnes (much appreciation to him for sharing).
Re-Connecting Cherry Street to Riverside Park?
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.
Team Shoebaru
Neighbor Joe Pyrek wrote in about his Shoebaru project, which adds background to this previously posted picture:
Over the past few months, I’ve been building up two Subaru Foresters to look like a pair of Chuck Taylors. Many Oregon Hill residents have stopped by and asked what we were doing and have kept up with our progress and everything. Perhaps you too have seen the shoe cars at the corner of Laurel and Idlewood.
Once we are doing “shoe-ing” the cars, we are shipping them to the UK and will then be driving from southern England to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. We are doing this under the team name “Shoebaru” and are raising money for Awassa Children’s Project, an orphanage located in Ethiopia that houses, educates, and cares for children who were primarly orphaned from parents that had AIDS.
Richmond Magazine featured one of the cars in its most recent issue and Joe will be on the Elliot in the Morning radio show tomorrow morning to talk about the trip.
Here’s a link to the project’s website: http://shoebaru.com/
From May 30 Crime Report
From Richmond Police Department:
4th Precinct
THEFT FROM MOTOR VEHICLE
5/24/12 – 5/25/12 8:00 p.m. – 8:00 a.m.
600 block of China Street
An unknown person(s) entered the vehicle and stole a purse.4th Precinct
MOPED THEFT
5/24/12 – 5/25/12 8:00 p.m. – 7:30 a.m.
800 block of Spring Street
An unknown person(s) stole a moped from the above location.
Hollywood Cemetery Article and Cannon Fire for Jefferson Davis
Mario Accordino recently published an article on Hollywood Cemetery for the website ArchitectureRichmond.com. Click here to go to the article.
Here is an excerpt:
Hollywood Cemetery sits dramatically over the James River in Oregon Hill, and many spots in the grounds have views out to the water. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, the cemetery serves as one of our major tourist attractions and, for a city that prides itself on a deep sense of history, a truly unique site. Countless Richmond stories are told in Hollywood’s grounds, a narrative of the city’s history as much as it is of individual lives.
Speaking of Hollywood Cemetery, David Gilliam would like to remind neighbors that there will cannon fire this Saturday as part of a memorial ceremony for Jefferson Davis. The ceremony is supposed to start around 9 am. There will be cannon volleys fired as a part of the memorial service. The participants have assured that the minimum amount of powder will be used in the volleys.
Happy Memorial Day
