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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04 17 2012 PC MinutesCharlottesville and Albemarle County Planning Commissions Joint Work Session April 17, 2012 Charlottesville Commissioners Present: Ms. Genevieve Keller (Chairperson) Mr. Kurt Keesecker Ms. Lisa Green Mr. Dan Rosensweig Ms. Natasha Sienitsky Mr. David Neuman Albemarle Commissioners Present Mr. Calvin Morris (Chairperson) Mr. Ed Smith Mr. Richard Randolph Mr. Bruce Dotson Mr. Mac Lafferty Mr. Tom Loach Mr. Don Franco Charlottesville Staff Present: Jim Tolbert Missy Creasy Richard Harris Michael Smith Albemarle Staff Present: Wayne Cilimberg Lee Catlin Elaine Echols Ron White Andy Sorrell TJPDC Staff: Steve Williams Amanda Burbage Matt Weaver Summer Frederick Call to Order Ms. Keller and Mr. Morris convened the meeting at 6:00 p.m. and turned the time to Steve Williams, Director of the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission and staff for the Livability Project. Status of the Livability Project — Steve Williams, Director of the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission and staff for the Livability Project provided a "big picture" view of how the four planning efforts: City Comprehensive Plan, County Comprehensive Plan, Regional Transportation Plan, and the Livability Project are being worked on at the same time. He noted the extensive efforts being made at transparency of process. Review and Conclusions from the Public Workshops — Mandy Burbage provided an overview of the workshops and conclusions from those workshops for environment, transportation, land use, economic development, entrance corridors, and housing. The Commissioners provided feedback and noted the following conclusions: there was a general desire to make sure that there is sufficient community representation in the identification of the issues that are important to the community, there appears to be underrepresentation of the full -spectrum of the citizenry, and several suggestions were made on how to increase public input or confirm that the input truly represents a cross-section of the community. Areas for County and City collaboration — Missy Creasy reminded the Commissions of the agreements to date on areas to study together: environment, transportation, and land use. She noted the recent regional Target Industry work that is providing for joint economic development efforts and that staff is still working on the entrance corridor issues. She noted that tonight there would be a discussion on City and County Housing goals and possible places to collaborate. Housing Discussion (including a review of County and City Housing Goals and housing indicators developed through the Livability process) — Elaine Echols reviewed the County's Housing goals and Kathy McHugh provided a presentation on the City's housing programs. Summer Frederick presented the current housing indicators for the City and County. She took comment from the Commissions on their thoughts about the indicators as well as observations about the two programs of the localities. Commissioners commented on a variety of issues including, green building, housing availability and type and housing affordability. It was noted that some developers try to "buy their way out" of affordable housing and there is interest in having mixed income on sites rather than separation. It was noted that tax assessments do not Joint Albemarle County & City of Charlottesville Planning Commission Work Session FINAL Minutes of April 17, 2012 Page 1 link with "affordability" of a unit and that should be addressed. Discussion on aging housing stock as well as units that still do not have adequate plumbing and kitchen facilities occurred. Public Comment — After the Commissions concluded their comments, Cal Morris, Chair of the Albemarle County Planning Commission opened the floor for public comment. Comments were received from the following seven individuals. Charles Winkler — City resident representing the Jefferson Area Tea Party. He thanked the staff for the opportunity to attend and provide public comment at the workshops. He would like the opportunity for partner groups to review and comment on the final deliverable that contains public input before it is finalized. Also, he stated that the meetings were self -selective and those that attended were people who had a particular interest in the workshop topic. Also, he noted that category summaries need to be attached to the question to tie comments to the line item on the poster. 2. Charles Battia — Stated that nothing he said was to criticize people. He stated that sustainability and livability are found in the 1998 sustainability accords. Population distribution is based on racial components and diversity is not well represented on councils and boards. He stated that the questions are stacked based on the existing plans. He stated that what has been missing from the conversation is a discussion of costs, and cost effectiveness and property rights. He stated that communities with the highest amount of regulations also have the highest problems with unemployment and a lack of manufacturing. 3. Edward Strickler — Thanked staff for engaging in the process and using the community to help gather diverse comments. 4. Scott Bandy - Disagreed that bike lanes should be designated anything other than for recreational purposes (such as a means of transportation). He felt it was inappropriate to conduct the transportation workshop right before Mia Burke spoke because that likely stacked the comments in favor of bike advocates. 5. Nancy Carpenter — Living wages are needed for affordable housing especially from large employers like UVA. 6. Dave Reddins — City resident — Appreciates the One Community project and its outreach efforts. He stated that he does use his bike for transportation riding 40 miles a week. He would like to see more bike lanes and bike paths. He suggested options for co -housing with seniors so they can remain in their homes while a younger couple lives there, too, and helps maintain the home. 7. Morgan Butler — Southern Environmental Law Center —Thanked staff for the work that has been done so far. He stated that affordable housing has a transportation component and there is a need to recognize the overlap. Development patterns affect connections to other modes of transportation which effects affordability. He also stated that an affordability indicator is the percentage of household income that goes to transportation and housing. Next steps — Elaine Echols summarized the conclusions of the Albemarle County Planning Commissioners concerning public input. Generally there is a desire to make sure that there is enough community representation on the issues that are important to the community. There appears to be underrepresentation of the full spectrum especially senior citizens. Project staff needs to find a way to test whether we have an accurate representation of community opinion and desires. One suggestion was that the final product be taken out to the community for response to see if we captured the important community issues. Another Joint Albemarle County & City of Charlottesville Planning Commission Work Session FINAL Minutes of April 17, 2012 Page 2 idea was to take the results of the workshops out to community groups. A third idea was to have a survey (representing a cross-section of the community) to make sure we got the public opinion portion correct in relations to the goals and priorities. Ms. Echols stated that next steps would be for Summer Frederick to work with the commissions individually over the summer on potential joint goals before bringing the commissions back together sometime in the fall. It was the consensus of the Albemarle County Commissioners they preferred to discuss housing issues in- house before coming together with the City again to discuss housing and it was recommended that city housing resources might be helpful for those conversations. The joint meeting adjourned at 8:07 PM. Adjournment The Albemarle County Planning Commission adjourned at 8:07 p.m. to Tuesday, April 24, 2012 at 6:00 p.m. at the County Office Building, Auditorium, Second Floor, 401 McIntire Road, Charlottesville, Virginia. V. Wayne Cilifyfberg, Secretary (Submitted by Sharon C. Taylor, Clerk to Planning Commission & Planning Boards) Joint Albemarle County & City of Charlottesville Planning Commission Work Session FINAL Minutes of April 17, 2012 Page 3