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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09 18 2012 PC MinutesCharlottesville and Albemarle County Planning Commissions Joint Work Session County of Albemarle Office Building "` Auditorium, Second Floor, 401 McIntire Road, Charlottesville, Virginia. September 18, 2012 Charlottesville Commissioners Present: Ms. Genevieve Keller (Chairperson) Mr. Kurt Keesecker Ms. Lisa Green Mr. Dan Rosensweig Ms. Natasha Sienitsky Mr. Michael Osteen Mr. John Santoski Mr. David Neuman (UVA Architect — Ex- officio). Albemarle Commissioners Present: Mr. Calvin Morris (Chairperson) Mr. Ed Smith Mr. Richard Randolph Mr. Bruce Dotson Mr. Mac Lafferty Mr. Tom Loach Call to Order Mr. Don Franco Ms. Julia Monteith (UVA Architect — Ex- officio). Charlottesville Staff Present: Missy Creasy Albemarle Staff Present: Wayne Cilimberg Elaine Echols Sharon Taylor Greg Kamptner TJPDC Staff: Amanda Burbage Matt Weaver Summer Frederick Joint County/City Planning Commission meeting was called to order at 5:31 p.m. by Calvin Morris, Chair — County and Dan Rosensweig, Vice -Chair — City in the County Office Building, Room 241, 401 McIntire Road, Charlottesville, VA. Ms. Genevieve Keller (Chairperson) arrived at 5:32 p.m. Mr. Morris invited public comment on matters not on the agenda. Carole Thorpe, with the Jefferson Area Tea Party of Charlottesville, spoke in response to an article published in Charlottesville Tomorrow on Friday, September 7 (written by Sean Tubbs) entitled "TJPDC livability planners to be let go early". (See Attachment A — letter submitted by Carole Thorpe, Jefferson Area Tea Party dated Tuesday, November 18, 2012 — date on bottom Tuesday, September 18, 2012 AOL: Patriotista) (Attachments on file with the printed minutes) There being no further comment, the meeting moved to the next item. Consent Agenda Approval of Minutes: June 26, 2012 Mr. Morris asked if any Commissioner would like to pull an item from the consent agenda for further review. Motion: Mr. Franco moved and Mr. Lafferty seconded for approval of the consent agenda. The motion carried by a vote of 7:0. Mr. Morris noted the consent agenda was approved as submitted. Joint Albemarle County & City of Charlottesville Planning Commission Work Session FINAL Minutes of September 18, 2012 Page I Work Session - Joint City -County Planning Commission — One-Community/Livability Project - Joint Goals (Summer Frederick) The Planning Commissions held a work session to set general direction and obtain feedback on the following issues: Livability Questionnaire and Joint Goals. Questionnaire Discussion Matt Weaver made a presentation on the findings of the Livable Communities Questionnaire Report. Commissioners made the following comments or asked the following questions: • Is there was a link between the questionnaire and the joint goals to be discussed later in the meeting? Staff replied that the comments from the workshop series and the questionnaire were used to help shape the joint goals. • Is it possible that the data is skewed? The small sample size may not be a representation of the population. • Focus on the City and County data only, rather than include data from the surrounding localities. • Don't eliminate the outlying counties — their residents have an impact on transportation in the Albemarle/Charlottesville area. The joint commissions thanked Mr. Weaver and TJPDC staff for the information. Joint Goals Discussion Summer Fredrick gave a presentation about work leading to the creation of the joint goals and said that she would be asking the following questions for each of the eight areas: Is goal language appropriate? Does proposed language cover all areas we discussed? Commissioners made the following comments or asked the following questions: • The goals need more detail and should reflect more specifically the City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County. • The "high level" view is appropriate. Staff commented that all of these goals are in the Comprehensive Plans now. They were provided for context with the strategies. • Have a section in the comp plans to address "One Community" and the statements about what this joint effort means for the City and the County. • Perhaps formation of subcommittees of the Commission should work through specific wording in each goal area. There was general agreement with this suggestion. The Joint Commissioners thanked staff for providing the information. Economic Development Commissioners made the following comments or asked the following questions: • Provide a better definition of economic "connections" as the relationship between the City and County. The following example was given: Agribusiness in the County is about growing the crops and maintaining the open space where as in the city agribusiness refers to the marketplace or where the goods are sold. • Provide a goal pertaining to the upward mobility of the workforce, allowing people a path out of low wage jobs. Joint Albemarle County & City of Charlottesville Planning Commission Work Session FINAL Minutes of September 18, 2012 Page 2 Change the term, "environment' as it can be construed as "natural environment" or "context for everything we do". For clarity, commissioners offered a suggestion of "foster a culture of growth." replace "foster an environment that supports a range of businesses in targeted employment sectors." Entrance Corridors Commissioners made the following comments or asked the following questions: • Change to the term "visual integrity" to something different in order to be clear on the principles of the Entrance Corridors, emphasizing functionality. • Find ways to articulate more shared guiding principles in the Entrance Corridors rather than just providing similar language. Environment Commissioners made the following comments or asked the following questions: • Change the term "Urban Areas" to Development Areas to better associate the developed portions of the County with the City. • Include the Watershed Protection areas of the County into the joint goals given the importance of drinking water supply to both City and County residents. • Add a goal for energy efficiency. • Consider expanding the list of shared waterways to include all of Albemarle County and the City rather than just the Urban Areas. Several Commissioners noted that UVA, the City, and the County were working well together on the TMDL issues. Land Use Commissioners made the following comments or asked the following questions: Provide a better definition for the term "destination" in relation to the Rivanna River. This phrase can mean different things to different people. Add "Limit Rural Area Development' to the Land Use goals as it was stated as a priority in the Questionnaire findings. Efforts to coordinate land use and infrastructure should be applied to all City -County boundary neighborhoods not just in Woolen Mills. Parks and Recreation Commissioners made the following comments or asked the following questions: • Include a statement about where parks should be located and how people will access them. • Add a statement that acknowledges federal, state, and private facilities and coordination efforts with those entities. • Why do the joint goals only address Parks and Recreation and not Community Facilities as a whole? • Look into possible coordination with UVA to use university facilities. Transportation Commissioners made the following comments or asked the following questions: • Community education on transportation options are needed such as an upgraded CHART slideshow. • End the vision statement after the word "option' as there are many reasons to promote regional multimodal transportation options. • Add a bullet noting the need for improved rail and air travel options. Joint Albemarle County & City of Charlottesville Planning Commission Work Session FINAL Minutes of September 18, 2012 Page 3 • Mention UVA in promoting multimodal opportunities as the university has a large impact on traffic and transportation. Public Comment: The following comments came from the public: Tom Olivier, - representing the Piedmont Group of the Sierra Club, said that Albemarle County and City of Charlottesville are one community. The joint goals should have sustainability as a high level goal. Mr. Olivier said that population growth is not sustainable and there should be support for local assessments of biological capacity. Mr. Olivier said that economic development should focus on better career paths for the under privileged. (Attachment B — Statement From the Piedmont Group of the Sierra Club to a Meeting of the Albemarle County and City of Charlottesville Planning Commissions Regarding Goals for Comprehensive Plans of Both Localities dated 9-28-2012) (Attachments on file with the printed minutes) Diane Weber — resident of Keswick, stated that no conclusion can be drawn from the questionnaire report. The report cannot be used because it's not scientific. There was a narrow list of priorities and there was no way to reject the priorities on the questionnaire. If the participant was allowed to reject or give a negative score to the priority it would have allowed a comparison against the favorable priorities. None of the goals should be taken seriously. She said that she believed the survey should not be used. Dr, Charles Baltic — said that the American Planning Association's article on the Benefits of Growing Sustainably/Smart Growth demonstrates that this pattern of development is not appropriate. He said that the questionnaire was based on of HUD's and TJPDC choices of topics. He said it was shallow and statistically lacking, the sample size was ludicrously small, and the questionnaire was seriously flawed. (Attachment C — Statement to Planning Commission Members of Charlottesville and Albemarle County from Charles Battig, M.D., VA -Scientists and Engineers for Energy and Environment Albemarle County dated September 17, 2012) (Attachments on file with the printed minutes) Charles Winkler — city resident and representative of the Tea Party said that he has concerns over lack of scientific validity. He said he attended a meeting of the Sierra Club where an individual supplied people with pre -filled out questionnaires. (See Attachment D — One Community Priorities Questionnaire that Mr. Marshall passed out for public use submitted by Mr. Winkler.) (Attachments on file with the printed minutes) Carol ThQMe, former chair of the area Tea Party said that the sample size is miniscule. She said that she was a champion for the protection of property rights. She asked how the commissions would integrate to protect private property rights into the Comprehensive Plan. Jim Moore — business analyst and city resident, said that the questionnaire was defective and should not to be used for establishing priorities. He said that the collection of data was flawed. Bill Emory — said that he embraced the idea of the waterfront. Richmond is undergoing a revitalization effort focused around the James River. He said there needs to be more specific language for the Rivanna River. Objectives and policies protect resources, goals do not. The City staff has an example of work flow. Audrey Wellborn — county resident and member of the community team for the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission said that she has been concerned all along about the 1998 Sustainability Accords. She wondered how the proposed goals and strategies tie into sustainability plan. She said that the questionnaire could have been easier to fill out. She was concerned about the sampling size; small size and where the questionnaire was distributed. She said that she has spoken with many County residents who have been alarmed about the Sustainability Accords. She said that she is a strong proponent of private property rights. Conclusion: The Commissioners asked for stronger language for the goals and for the goals to represent the City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County. Interdependence of the goals of two localities is to be emphasized in Joint Albemarle County & City of Charlottesville Planning Commission Work Session FINAL Minutes of September 18, 2012 Page 4 order to create goal language that complements one another rather than providing verbatim language for both localities. Next Steps: • Fall Outreach Series save the date! 1 ! 1 Join staff from the Livable Communities Planning Project for a discussion about shared community planning goals for Charlottesville and Albemarle County. The same information will be discussed at each meeting, so pick the location that is most convenient for you; All meetings will run from 6-9 pm and are open to all. 1-community.org • Continued conversations • Winter Joint Planning Commission Meeting Wednesday, October 3 CitySpace (100 5th Street NE) Thursday, October 11 JABA (674 Hillsdale Drive) Wednesday, October 24 The Lodge at Did Trail (330 Claremont Lane, Crozet) Thursday, October 25 Martha Jefferson Hospital' (500 Martha Jefferson Dr.) The joint meeting of the City and County Planning Commissions was adjourned at 7:35 p.m. New Business There being no new business, the meeting moved to the next item. Old Business There being no old business, the meeting moved to the next item. Adjournment The Albemarle County Planning Commission adjourned at 7:35 p.m. to Tuesday, September 26, 2012 at 6:00 p.m. at the County Office Building, Auditorium, Second Floor, 401 McIntire Road, Charlottesville, Virginia. (( /� e J- (Submitted by Sharon C. Taylor, Clerk to Planning C Joint Albemarle County & City of Charlottesville Planning Commission Work Session FINAL Minutes of September 18, 2012 Page 5