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2002-12-16 Afternoon(December 16, 2002 - Meeting Adjourned from December 11, 2002) (Page 1) An adjourned meeting of the Board of Supervisors of Albemarle County, Virginia, was held on December 16, 2002, at 3:00 p.m., Room 235, County Office Building, McIntire Road, Charlottesville, Virginia. This meeting was adjourned from December 11, 2002. PRESENT: Mr. David P. Bowerman, Mr. Lindsay G. Dorrier, Jr., Mr. Charles S. Martin (arrived at 4:30 p.m.), Mr. Walter F. Perkins, Mr. Dennis S. Rooker and Ms. Sally H. Thomas. ABSENT: None. OFFICERS PRESENT: County Executive, Robert W. Tucker, Jr., County Attorney, Larry W. Davis, Clerk, Ella W. Carey, and, County Planner, V. Wayne Cilimberg. Agenda Item No. 1. The meeting was called to order at 3:05 p.m., by the Chairman, Ms. Thomas. _______________ Agenda Item No. 2. Thomas Jefferson Planning District Legislative Program, Overview by David Blount. Present at this time were: Senator R. Creigh Deeds, 25th District; Senator Emmett W. Hanger, Jr., 24th District; Mr. Watkins M. Abbitt, Jr., Delegate 59th District; Mr. Robert B. Bell, III, Delegate 58th District; Mr. R. Steven Landes, Delegate 25th District; and, Mr. Mitchell Van Yahres, Delegate 57th District. Mr. Blount said he would summarize the action items contained in the Planning Districts Legislative = Program. First is Standards of Quality Funding. He said this is the PDCs top priority. = Second is the Comprehensive Services Act which is under funded. This program is facing further decreases in funding because of cuts in prevention dollars. A@ Third is Public Safety. A lot of attention has been focused on Commonwealth Preparedness and first responders. The PDC is asking the legislators cooperation in addressing the issues that affect the local level, as well as specific programs such as H.B. 599 funding for law enforcement, this funding is critical to Albemarle County. Also, funding for the Drug Court Program which has been very successful in this area. Fourth is Transportation. The PDC asks that the state attempt to fund existing priorities. There is no request for additional dollars. This position speaks to coordination and relationship between transportation planning and land use planning. Fifth is Tax Structure and Reform. The state is requested to not only broaden available revenue resources to counties, but to also resist any urge to remove or cap the authority that counties have now. The PDC is concerned about the state passing costs to local government for those programs which are a partnership between the state and localities. A statement has been developed saying that state funding reductions for state-required services and programs should be accompanied by a corresponding relaxation of the state requirements. Sixth is Land Use and Growth Management. He said the General Assembly is being asked not to circumvent any of the existing authority at the local level. The PDC also asks for any additional tools that can be given. ______________ Agenda Item No. 3a. Request for Legislative Support - Charlottesville/ Albemarle Airport Authoritys request for Charter Amendments. = Mr. Tucker said the City/County/Authority are requesting an amendment to the existing Charter. The primary amendment has to do with the creation of a separate police agency for the Authority. It ties into the new Federal Transportation Security Administration (TSA) mandate, as well as the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice. He knows that Senator Deeds, Mr. Bell and Mr. Van Yahres (who are sponsoring this amendment) have met with Mr. Bryan Elliott, Airport Manager, and been briefed on the need for this request. He hopes that all the legislators will support this legislation. _______________ Agenda Item No. 3b. Request for Legislative Support - Human Services. Ms. Roxanne White, Executive Assistant, said the Human Services category is probably the most affected by the budget cuts. These budget cuts impact the people in the community who can least afford it, the poor, the disabled, the mentally ill, and children. She said the reduction in prevention programs is important because the community has focused on prevention. The impact is being seen on the number of children going into detention and into CSA. The problems dont go away, and by ignoring them, they only = get worse. If the community does not address some problems with prevention there will be more kids back in juvenile detention, in the jails, or some of the residential treatment facilities. She said there are five areas of primary concern. 1) Virginia Juvenile Crime Control Act - She said the prevention dollars the County had received were cut 51 percent, or more than $400,000. She asked that those dollars not be cut further. She (December 16, 2002 - Meeting Adjourned from December 11, 2002) (Page 2) said that program took a much bigger cut last year than other programs. It has decimated the ability to provide prevention programs. Those are things like: intensive probation programs, the Attention Home, the group homes, and the Assessment Center which tries to give services to kids before they go into detention. They had been having a good impact on keeping the detention numbers down. 2) CSA - She said the CSA kid case load may go up when treatment is not available. There have been rumors that CSA will be on the table for a cap on state funding for mandated services, or a change A@ in the States share. Albemarle pays the highest share now, about 45 percent of the mandated services, or = $3.0+ million per year. Changing that share formula, or capping the state funding, would be disastrous to Albemarle. 3) Juvenile Detention Center - Albemarle has a new detention center which was built to overcome the crowding at Shenandoah Valley Detention Home. It was built with the full support of the state and with the understanding that its operations would be funded 50 percent by the state. The state has now changed its formula for allocation of the operational funds. That formula will be based on a utilization factor instead of on the number of beds. Albemarle is losing about $350,000, 33.4 percent, which is the highest reduction in the state for dollars being cut for detention services. Also, they are basing this on just three months of operations for the new Detention Center which was not open until July 15. The kids did not come over from the Shenandoah facility until the end of July and August. Other facilities are being measured on how many children they had over a nine-month period. Albemarle is being measured on how many there were over three months, and summer months are always the lowest in occupancy. Albemarle is suffering from this change in the formula. Ms. White said the State Code sets out the formula, which is a reimbursement for the number of beds. Staff has been working with the detention superintendents and VJJ to try and change this. It seems unfair to Albemarle because juvenile detention facilities which were overcrowded received more money because they were overcrowded. The localities which put their own local dollars into new facilities are being penalized because they did what VJJ requested of them. She said this affects Charlottesville, Albemarle, Fluvanna and Greene, and it also affects Chesterfield, Henrico and their new James River facility. Mr. Van Yahres said he understands there was a finite amount of money for these services. Then everybody around the state agreed to divide that amount up according to what Ms. White would like to see. It would not be a question of asking for more money out of the budget, but a question of how to divide that particular budget item. Is that correct? Ms. White said all of the juvenile superintendents agreed and said they would share the pain equally. Then, VJJ did not take their recommendation. Mr. Tucker said it is not being suggested that those who are now receiving what they are supposed to receive, be penalized, only that the reduction be shared, and that is a compromise. 4) Mental Health - Ms. White said this category took substantial cuts in July and again in November. Almost 70 percent of the children going into detention are diagnosed with mental health service needs. To cut the funds and to cut mental health services at the same time presents many problems. The request is that mental health funds be cut no further. 5) Drug Court Funds - Ms. White said these funds are being cut and they are prevention dollars. In the long run these funds keep someone from being put into jail. Eventually that saves money, but without those prevention dollars, more jail time will be needed. 6) Other Prevention Funds - Healthy Families, the CHIP Program. She said General Fund moneys have been taken out and TANF Fund moneys substituted for those funds. When those types of moneys are replaced it has a severe impact on a localitys ability to draw down Federal funds. When = Federal funds are substituted for state funds, the locality can no longer draw down Federal funds. If the program were cut by $100,000, it would actually amount to $150,000 because the locality would not be able to leverage Federal dollars. When those moneys are substituted, there is an impact that goes farther than just the actual dollars taken out of the program. Mr. Van Yahres asked if the Healthy Families funds were cut prior to the budget cuts taking place now. Ms. White said she thinks there was a cut last year, but not in November, and TANF funds were substituted for those funds. Mr. Rooker asked if these cuts cause the locality to lose Federal funding. Ms. White said for the Family Support Program (this program funds counselors in the schools to help at-risk kids) the County used all the Federal funds that could be pulled down, and it was over $800,000. A huge influx of money at the local level can be pulled down from various sources if these funds can be used to leverage state funds. Ms. Thomas said that today she hopes the Board can impress on the legislators that staff has some answers, and that Ms. White is available to answer questions. Ms. White said there have been rumors that Medicaid dollars will be on the table. She said reducing Medicaid dollars also reduces the A@ leveraging amount that can be brought into the state. There are a lot of Medicaid dollars which come into health facilities, Social Services, even private physicians and hospitals that can reduce that pool of money. It would have a significant impact on the people needing services, particularly when jail services are being cut. _______________ Agenda Item No. 3c. Request for Legislative Support - Education. (December 16, 2002 - Meeting Adjourned from December 11, 2002) (Page 3) Ms. White said when talking about prevention programs, and she knows the Governor has said he will not be looking at cutting funds to grades K-12, there are a lot of categorical programs, and one of the biggest for Albemarle County is the Bright Stars 4-Year Old Program. She said this is a very successful prevention program that works in five elementary schools where they try to get kids ready to enter kindergarten. She said staff also thinks the County may use some technology funds of about $600,000 which is part of School Categorical Aid. Staff also assumes it has lost School Construction Funds in the amount of $400,000. She said $200,000 of that was lost last year, and staff is anticipating that it may lose the rest of that amount. _______________ Agenda Item No. 3d. Request for Legislative Support - Provide High-Growth Jurisdictions with Growth Management Tools. Ms. Thomas said education is the major part of the Countys budget. Although the details of that = budget are the responsibility of the Albemarle County School Board, it is 65 percent of the overall County budget. She said Albemarle County belongs to the High Growth Coalition which is trying to do the right thing with growth in terms of intelligently placing it. There is talk that the Board is trying to limit growth, but it has not found any way to do that. However, this Board has good ideas about where growth should take place so it does not take taxpayer dollars to spread social services to every corner of the County. Every year the General Assembly takes away some of the Countys ability to do what the Board thinks is intelligent = to do with land use. The High Growth Coalition is asking for a couple of things. A request for Adequate Public Facilities may be introduced this year. That would allow the County to phase development so it does not get too far ahead of public facilities. It is the present taxpayers who will pay for those facilities. When they have to play catch-up they get angry at local government. The Coalition would like to be able to do A@ that in a reasonable way. Ms. Thomas said for many, many years, the Board has requested legislation allowing impact fees. She said the public has suggested using impact fees, and mentions it during budget hearings each year. She said Albemarle County has a Fiscal Impact Committee which developed a computer program to determine the public dollar impact of a development. The County has a good basis for knowing costs, but does not have the ability to assess a fee. She is not positive the Board would do it even if there were the ability to do so. However, the Board would like to have the enabling legislation to do what it can do. Mr. Rooker said there are numerous developers who have said they find the system unfair because the only time a monetary contribution is sought is when they want a rezoning of property. __________ Ms. Thomas mentioned protection of scenic areas and Sen. Hanger knows the visual overlay proposal. She said the Coalition keeps plugging along and getting increasing support for such legislation, A@ but it will probably not be introduced until the 2004 Session. __________ Ms. Thomas mentioned VDOTs efforts to work with urbanizing counties. She said the Coalition = has been encouraged that this administration has been asking what VDOT and the State should do to help local governments guide development. Albemarle has been dealing with subdivision road standards. Del. Albo proposed legislation last year and then VDOT promised that it would work on this problem. She thinks it will go through the administrative process rather than the legislative process. __________ Ms. Thomas said the hardest thing to put on paper is to just plead that the General Assembly not do anything worse to the County. The High Growth Coalition is meeting with the building trade lobbyists and making some progress on one particular process. As an example, a county (she could not remember which County) sent a memorandum to their staff reminding them that they have sixty days in which to approve subdivision plats. The implication was that they did not need to hurry because they had the sixty days, or at least, that is what the builders thought it meant. That caused the builders to get up in arms. A@ The builders went to their favorite legislators and got a piece of legislation proposed that would limit every county in the state. That is the way a lot of legislation is being made recently. The Coalition is trying to get some communication going so if there is a problem with one county they will try to work with that county. The builders agreed that if the Coalition could get that county to get their approval time down to 30 days they would not go forward with this legislative request. They think that is a better solution than adoption of general legislation which often has unforeseen consequences for most all counties and cities. __________ Ms. Thomas said there is a lot of discussion concerning proffers. There are proffer audit changes being proposed, and a cap for proffers. She is asking that the legislators check with Albemarle County before going along with these changes. Depending on their wording, they may have some drastic impact on a local governments ability to deal with land use. She said it is not local government against the = builders. Albemarle County usually deals with a room full of citizens asking that something be done, and if the County cant do it because the General Assembly has taken away its ability to respond, eventually they = will realize that local governments hands are being tied, and cant respond to its citizens. == _______________ Agenda Item No. 3e. Request for Legislative Support - Technical Adjustments so that House of Delegate Lines Coincide with Albemarle Countys new Magisterial Districts and Precinct Lines. = Mr. Davis said Albemarle County is one of a number of counties that had local elections in 2001, (December 16, 2002 - Meeting Adjourned from December 11, 2002) (Page 4) and as a result had to fast track their redistricting process at the same time that the state was doing its redistricting of delegate/senate lines. As a result, Albemarle ended up with eight split precincts where delegate lines do not align with the Countys precinct lines. As a matter of efficiency, it would be to the = Countys benefit to have that number of split precincts reduced. Last year, Mr. Van Yahres put together a = bill that would have solved six of those situations. The County does not have any preferences as to how those lines are changed, but it would be to the Countys advantage to eliminate them. He understands that = in addition to Mr. Van Yahres bill there is an omnibus bill that may be introduced. = _______________ Agenda Item No. 3f. Request for Legislative Support - Equal Taxation/ Revenue Enhancement. Ms. White said Albemarles most important request is to have equal taxing authority with cities. As = a growing, urbanizing county, it is felt that this is not fair and does not give the County the ability to be flexible in revenue sources. She said that Albemarle now has more than 50 percent of its population in the urbanizing areas, that is about 45,000 people. The City of Charlottesville has 39,000 people who live in an urban environment. There is just as much need for Albemarle to have the same type of taxing power as Charlottesville has because of the demand for urban services. Possible taxing powers are: the cigarette tax, the meals tax, transient occupancy taxes and admission taxes. Albemarle would not necessarily enact one or all of these taxes, but it would give them as options. At this time, the County is dependent on its real estate taxes. In the last five years, that tax has gone from about 43 percent of the General Fund to about 54 percent of the General Fund. More than 100 percent of real estate revenues go to schools. Other options are needed to fund services which are not education-related. Mr. Abbitt asked if the County had the meals tax on the ballot recently. Ms. White said it was on the ballot a few years ago and it was passed. Mr. Tucker said that was the third time it had been on the ballot. Ms. White said the County is now charging the maximum transient occupancy tax that it is allowed to charge, but three percent of that tax has to go to tourism activities. __________ Ms. White said the second part of this request has to do with revenue enhancement. In the last month or so, citizens have requested that the County ask the state legislators to not just look at budget cuts, but to look at revenue enhancement as a way to fund the shortfall. When localities have a budget shortfall, they are asked to look at other types of revenue enhancement such as increased user fees. Staff also looked at whether state agencies are trying to pull down all of the Federal revenues that are available. Virginia has not had a good history of doing that, particularly in the human services field. Ms. White said last is to encourage the legislators to look at the wisdom of the car tax in light of the revenue situation this year. That does not mean to do away with it, but to change the maximum value on vehicles which might help to offset the deficit. Mr. Abbitt asked if the County had increased the car tax over and above what the state reimburses; Cumberland County has done this. He said the locality can do that. Mr. Tucker said no, the real estate A@ tax rate was raised four cents a couple of years ago. Ms. Thomas said the report of the Auditor of Public Accounts shows Albemarle County as being relatively low in the fees that it charges for its own services, so a number of those fees were raised this year. Mr. Van Yahres said that in the matter of raising fees and taxes, local politicians are far more subject to pressure from their voter constituency than are the politicians at the state level. Ms. Thomas said VACO figures show that almost all local governments have had to raise their tax rates in the last ten or so years. Mr. Tucker said that is the real property tax. Sen. Hanger asked the Countys rate at this time. Mr. Tucker said it is $0.76 per hundred for real = property, and $4.28 per hundred for personal property. __________ Ms. Thomas mentioned the Fiscal Stress Index. She said Albemarle has a unique situation A@ because it shares revenues with the City of Charlottesville. Charlottesville does not count that money as income so their Stress Index is very high, and Albemarle does not get to count it as an out go so A@ Albemarle has a low Stress Index. Yet, it is uniquely the sort of thing the state is encouraging localities to do. They like the idea of revenue sharing, but Albemarle is being penalized for it in a major way. _______________ Agenda Item No. 4. Other Matters Not Listed on the Agenda. Ms. Thomas asked if the legislators would brief the Board on what legislation they may be introducing this Session, particularly anything on which the Board could help. Mr. Landes said the House members would like to get the precinct lines straightened out by next fall. The County might send ideas for precincts which could be combined, or if a new precinct must be created, the most cost-effective way to do it. Then, all the House members representing Albemarle should sit down together and discuss how it can be done. He and Mr. Bell are the most affected by any changes. __________ Mr. Landes asked who is going to introduce the Airport Charter change. Mr. Van Yahres said it is (December 16, 2002 - Meeting Adjourned from December 11, 2002) (Page 5) not controversial, so they dont see any reason to run it through both houses. Mr. Deeds will carry it in the = Senate, and then it will come back to the House. Mr. Deeds said it just conforms this charter to what other airport authorities have all ready done. __________ Mr. Van Yahres said in answer to Ms. Whites plea, he is putting in some revenue enhancement = bills. However, he has no allusions about what will happen to them. At least they will be on the table to be discussed as a way of alleviating the problem that will be faced this Friday (some tremendous cuts in the state budget). He feels that the legislature cannot just look at cuts, but must also look at revenue enhancement. He recognizes the reality that this will not go over well. One of his bills has to do with the car tax, and recommends that it be eliminated, period. He said there are two other income tax bills. Both have to do with putting a surcharge on the income tax, not raising the rate. It would spread the pain to A@ every one. He thinks everyone should feel the pain because so far the poor are the ones who have been impacted the most. The other tax bill would reduce the exemption for the elderly making it needs tested A@ instead of being a flat exemption. He said that bill probably has the least possibility of passing because it targets a group of people who have a 99 percent voting record. Retribution could set in easily if it were passed. The Morris Report indicated that was a possibility in the future. Sen. Hanger said he thinks that eventually the state will raise taxes because the money has already been spent. At some point in time, state revenues will have to be adjusted. That is in conjunction with what the state has been trying to do with its restructuring. The state backed off this year, because the Governor did not think the timing was right. Sen. Hanger said most of the local governing bodies he represents are pretty conservative in the way local government programs are administered, no matter what their political party. He said the same thing has to be done at the state level because their constituencies have said there is too much excess in state government. He supports changing the ACE deduction, and is getting a lot of support for that. He thinks that needs to be done next year as part of a comprehensive package. The sales tax base needs to be broadened. In doing that, it would negate the need to increase the rate. A component of that is Internet sales. He knows a lot of people are buying things for Christmas over the Internet. Mr. Tucker said those sales are up by 38 percent this year. Sen. Hanger said it has been reported that the state is losing $200.0 million a year by its inability to levy the sales tax on Internet purchases. They must work in concert with other states to come up with a new methodology to do so. He said the only revenue enhancement he will support (and only if he has to do so) is rolling the car tax back to 47.5 percent. Technically, that is where he thinks it should be based on the law at the time it was passed. In the localities he represents, Albemarle is somewhat of an aberration with a .62 composite index, whereas most of his other localities are in the range of about .35. Highland County is an aberration and there is a small school grant which goes to them to help with that index. It would be better for the state to roll back the car tax and eventually increase the sales tax than to try and raise that money locally through the real estate tax rate because of the way the Composite Index and other funding formulas work. He does not intend to raise this point this year because he thinks the citizenry needs to be engaged first. Mr. Perkins suggested the state consider increasing the fuel tax. He said that what happened in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads shows that people are not willing to pay a tax on food, etc., to build roads. He thinks people would be willing to pay an additional fuel tax even if that tax went for something other than building roads. Mr. Deeds said Kevin Miller proposes putting a four and one-half cents sales tax on gasoline, and it could raise $400.0 million for transportation purposes only. Sen. Hanger said if the base is expanded slightly, this could potentially be about $1.0 billion. Mr. Tucker said Virginia has one of the lowest rates on sales tax. Mr. Deeds said Virginia has the lowest rate of all states which levy a sales tax. (Note: Mr. Martin arrived at 4:30 p.m.) Mr. Van Yahres said when raising the sales tax is mentioned, he assumes it will not be raised on food, and when talking about broadening the base, that means services. Sen. Hanger said that would be just on some services. He said everybody needs to know what the Governor is going to do so they can react to his proposals. With no further discussion, Ms. Thomas thanked all the legislators who had attended this meeting. (Note: The Board took a short recess while the consultants set up the room for the following presentation.) _______________ Agenda Item No. 5. Joint Meeting with the Planning Commission to hear a presentation of the Framework Plan for the Crozet Master Plan by the consultants. Planning Commission members present at this time were: William B. Craddock, William Edgerton, William W. Finley, Tracey C. Hopper, C. Jared Loewenstein, William D. Rieley and Rodney S. Thomas. Ms. Thomas called the Board back into session. Mr. Loewenstein called the Planning Commission into order. (December 16, 2002 - Meeting Adjourned from December 11, 2002) (Page 6) Ms. Thomas said she and Mr. Loewenstein met with staff last Friday, and she asked them for a definition of a framework plan. How does this plan differ from a master plan? She said the Board will A@ hear a presentation today, and then have a decision-making session in early January, 2003. Also, at noon on each day of this week, the actual plans will be available for the Board and Commission members to see. She then asked Mr. Ken Schwartz to introduce his team. Mr. Ken Schwartz, Director of Design for Renaissance Planning Group, the technical consultants for the Crozet Master Plan, introduced the following people: Susan Thomas, Project Planner for Albemarle County Planning Department; Becky Clay Christensen, Facilitation Consultant for Renaissance; Warren Byrd, Principal of Nelson Byrd Landscape Architects in Charlottesville; Kathy Galvin, Renaissance Planning Group; Chris Sinclair, President of Renaissance Planning Group and a transportation planner by profession; and, Carol Strickland, Director of Land Use Planning from the Orlando office of Renaissance Planning Group. They are present today as part of a process begun by the Board and the Planning Commission from the report of the DISC Committee. This envisioned a new form of development for the growth areas of the County. Crozet is the first of a series of master-planned neighborhoods. They will make a presentation today of preliminary insights taking the form of a framework plan. He said they will define a framework plan because it is important that these bodies and the public at-large understand the purpose of this planning. Mr. Schwartz emphasized the issue of process. He said the work began by defining guiding principles through the Planning staffs outreach to the community. Planning staff worked with the = community to define topics of importance at the broadest level. The consultants then inventoried existing conditions. That took the form of a report to the community. They looked at topics such as existing centers and new center. They are now roughly midway through a long process that began in the Spring and early Summer and will continue through completion of the actual Master Plan. He said this is a draft master plan in order for the community to have better insight into options and possibilities. Mr. Schwartz said that each process step involved extensive public input that has been highly formative in their work. Existing conditions set the ground rules for the work they are doing in Crozet, looking at natural features, constructive features, and the history of the community. It allowed them to identify through a series of maps, and through a meeting where this information was shared with the community at large, where current activity centers exist within the community. It allowed them to formulate Task Groups (groups in the community which looked at specific topics in greater detail). Topics ranged from history, transportation, diversity, etc. He said the guiding principles represent the greater vision of the community against which they have to gauge their efforts. Mr. Schwartz said Community Meeting 1 involved a lot of hands-on work, specifically looking at features which are truly valued. He said the values of the community matter, not only in broad general terms, but also in specific terms that have a lot to do with the natural and historic features of this growth area. Neighborhood centers are the healthy pattern of growth envisioned for this growth area. He said Community Meeting 2 occurred on October 2 and the consultants presented to the community their understanding of existing centers. They heard from the seven Task Groups at this time. There were in- depth insights brought to the community and to consultants. Mr. Schwartz said the Task Group involving transportation identified the need for a north/south connection both east and west of Crozet Avenue (Route 240). He showed to the Board a diagram which identifies that point, and was used to seek affirmation from the community. There was also discussion about maintaining the scenic bypass quality of Route 250. They are still trying to figure out if there is an opportunity for maintaining some of the qualities along that corridor working from east to west. Mr. Schwartz said a month later, the consultants came back to the community with a series of three different center alternatives. They wanted to test out a number of possible patterns of development within the Crozet growth area. They were trying to model various patterns of growth in order to seek feedback from the community as a whole. They did get very specific comments from the community after this meeting. A member of County staff organized all of these notes into one document. The comments are actually included on the map which is on the Countys website. He said that after each public meeting, = County staff has been diligent in mounting all the work that has been done onto the website to afford greater access to those who may not have been able to attend the meeting. Many people have commented about the value of that form of communication. Mr. Schwartz said the feedback gave the consultants a good sense of where the possibilities lay with the framework plan. Various patterns of development within the community were modeled. That allowed the consultants to ask where the strengths and weaknesses of these diverse alternatives lay. How can the three be optimized to come up with a kind of cross-fertilization of all three possibilities? He said the three represent a banded approach, a woven approach, and a triangular approach, different patterns of development within the Crozet area. Staff was successful in getting the community to respond to particular conditions in the growth area. Mr. Schwartz said between the moment where they were testing possibilities, and the time a presentation to the Supervisors with the framework plan, it was recognized that midway feedback would be valuable. They set up a series of meetings with representatives from each of the seven Task Groups. He and Mr. Byrd shared with these people, along with a subsequent meeting with all of the interested developers in the Crozet area, everything that had been generated up to that point. He said the strength of the framework plan is due to the candid responses received from diverse members of the community. Mr. Schwartz said he would now answer the question Ms. Thomas asked earlier. What is a (December 16, 2002 - Meeting Adjourned from December 11, 2002) (Page 7) framework plan? He said it is a map showing existing conditions in conjunction with new and enhanced neighborhood centers. It is a strategy for interconnecting the community based on extensive community input and the communitys own guiding principles. It is a preliminary assessment of demographic data as a = basis for community services and implementation strategies. It is a narrative report outlining the process with the County and the community and describing key elements of the framework plan. The next question is: What is its role? It is a product of the community and of the community process. It is an early indication of where the master plan is heading. It is a draft which is intended to solicit responses from the Supervisors. It is a foundation for developers to align their development plans with the likely directions of the master plan (scheduled to be completed in late Spring or early Summer 2003). Instead of waiting to send signals about where some of the key decisions may rest, the Planning Commission envisioned a framework plan so there could be public discussion of the direction in which the master plan is heading. It is presented as an alternative approach to by-right development. The next step of work for developers in the technical consultant team will be to prepare graphic material for community interaction for an event scheduled in early February called the Community Design Day. At that time, the team will be working on specific A@ areas within specific development opportunities in Crozet in collaboration with the developers and the consultants. Mr. Schwartz mentioned service planning. He said it is part of their contract with the County to A@ model, in a master plan, the implications associated with the patterns of growth. This part of their work will take place using the framework plan as its foundation. In order to do intelligent service planning, some of the fundamental decision points must be in place in order to make different types of modeling work in specific terms. It involved issues ranging from transportation, water, parks, recreation, community facilities, schools, social services, etc. They have inventoried existing facilities. They forecast demand which has implications for traffic modeling, and they apply service standards to these in order to forecast future service needs. He said it is the consultants responsibility to help identify the improvements which are necessary to = work in conjunction with this pattern of growth, and to provide the community with options, alternatives, and recommendations. He said this is a significant segment in their work scope between now and completion of the master plan. Mr. Schwartz said based on the framework plan as it exists today, and reasonable estimates of commercial square footage, etc. put together based on the neighborhoods, they estimate there are between 4000 and 4500 households within the growth area. According to 2000 census data for the Crozet community, the population could range from 10,000 to 12,000 including existing and new residents. The number that was generated through a by-right analysis was 12,552. He said that through the employment areas built into the framework plan, there is actually a significantly greater opportunity for jobs within the growth area than would currently exist under the by-right scenario. For anyone thinking about how the ConAgra and Acme area might be redeveloped over time given its potential along Route 240, that is an important point of reference. It could have a significant impact on trip generation under a growth scenario in the growth area. Mr. Schwartz said they recognize, as do others, that a new elementary school must be part of the planning. Their assessment, and what has been learned from the community, suggests that it should be east of Crozet Avenue. There are also needs for expansion at both Western Albemarle and Henley Middle Schools under the scenario of full evolution of the growth area. From their preliminary assessment, water usage would be within the current capacity. As to parks and open spaces, there are two new parklands recommended, as well as an interconnected series of open spaces that are not just parks, but are part of the natural system of the Crozet area. The need for a new library is clear, and possible locations have been identified. The need to better understand the implications for social services, including youth, elderly, diversity, accessibility, etc. will be part of their continuing study. Mr. Schwartz said that last, the framework plan includes a series of three key roads, as well as a number of secondary and tertiary roads as part of future development. For the purpose of preliminary naming, they are called Main Street, East Avenue and West Avenue, totaling 4.25 miles, and they A@A@A@ involve four stream crossings. Of the various alternatives they developed, this is the least number of stream crossings that could be affected. He said there are other road improvements envisioned which are not shown in specific terms in the drawing, but are part of the planning effort involving sidewalks and bike lanes for existing roads and for new roads which are to be pedestrian and bike-friendly. They will be assessing the opportunities for funding possibilities with the public sector, and the private sector. They also recognize that there are community opportunities which do not involve public or private investment in a conventional sense, but involve initiatives such as those which have driven the stream assessment process that has been vital in the community all ready. Mr. Warren Byrd said he would introduce the framework plan. He said the initial work was to study Crozet in terms of conditions environmentally and in terms of built structures. He said the growth area is all about Lickinghole Creek being the center piece, with water draining to it. The growth area is defined by Route 250 on the south and Route 240 on the north. The map graphically shows the topography and indicates that the water flows to Lickinghole Creek. There is an existing centers map which was done to acknowledge to the community what they felt were important centers in place which the consultants needed to work from and reinforce. The existing downtown area is the most important center of Crozet, and no matter what is done elsewhere in the growth area, or on the edge, it should not compete with downtown. Subcenters were defined as areas around existing school areas near the intersection of Route 240/Route 250. The ConAgra/Acme employment center is one. There are smaller existing neighborhoods related to the clinic and day care on Route 240. There is Western Ridge and the pending commercial development associated with the Blue Ridge Shopping Center area and Clover Lawn on Route 240, etc. They also noted a few other smaller neighborhoods. It was hard to define these neighborhoods based on centers, so they did not include areas like the Highlands which does not have a center but is simply a collection of houses. (December 16, 2002 - Meeting Adjourned from December 11, 2002) (Page 8) Mr. Byrd said they did a series of diagrams that will lead to a preliminary master plan. They tried to find three distinct approaches to that master plan. These were presented to the community so they could comment on each one. There was no consensus for any particular plan. There were strong votes for each one, and strong negative feedback for each one also. Mr. Byrd said that the three alternatives are: 1) The banded, or layered, scheme because it reinforces downtown by stressing the northern third of the Crozet development area. They took the existing pattern and reinforced it suggesting greater densities. The middle band would be more about existing conditions particularly stressing the preservation of the greenways associated with Lickinghole Creek. A secondary band of less dense development would be associated with Route 250, the schools, and some of the green areas on either side are meant to be either open space or very low density residential. 2) The woven or quilt scheme takes the same amount of population and distributes it more incrementally so there is a quilted pattern of dense development and open space. The open space is not overly defined. At the time, they thought there could be smaller farms in agriculture preserve as part of that, but have been disabused of that notion because the idea of the growth area is that agriculture occurs outside of it, and not within in. 3) Triangular scheme. There are two large areas on the east and the west which are not developed. In this scheme they developed three centers, one on the east, one on the west, with further reinforcement of downtown. As the areas to the east and west are developed, they begin to be developed around major parks for each of the areas, not unlike the Crozet Park which now serves the downtown area. Mr. Byrd said those three alternatives, along with commentary from the community, developers and the task groups, led the consultants to the framework plan. He then explained some of the diagrams which were posted on the wall. He said ten key points of the framework plan are: 1) Reinforce the idea of Crozet as a series of both existing and proposed centers. 2) Honor downtown Crozet as the principal center. 3) Make sure that as many roads as possible lead to the downtown center. 4) Honor the existing natural systems. 5) Encourage interconnectivity and walkability throughout both existing and proposed neighborhoods. 6) Connect one neighborhood to another as well as to the greenway systems. Make new neighborhoods walkable and compact with a potential for mixed use and diverse housing types. 7) Identify places for new public facilities. 8) Identify specific employment centers. 9) Honor the history of Crozet. That includes existing buildings and settlement patterns. Recognize that there are historic components on the periphery of the area such as Yancey Mills and Piedmont Church. 10) Maintain the rural and parkway character of Route 240 and Route 250. Mr. Byrd said the framework plan has an evolution and some smaller, detailed studies which will not be discussed today. He then referred to a map which was posted on the wall and explained the different colored areas. He noted that the consultants deliberately did not design anything outside of the growth area boundary at this point, but focused everything internally. They know there are some critical issues relating to existing downtown Crozet, and issues about the roads moving toward I-64 which will have to be addressed in some way. But, they are not addressed in this plan. Mr. Schwartz said he would give an overview of the next steps. They are focusing on implementation strategies as key elements of the work going forward from the framework plan. In the next month and a half they will be working with developers in the Crozet area to look at how individual development opportunities can best align with the opportunities suggested by the framework plan. They, and the County, see this as a collaboration between the developers and their design consultants, to organize this visual information in an effective way so the community itself can get together to work on these topics. That date will probably be in early February, but it is an important step in the process to see how some of the steps can be worked through. There is also to be a midpoint review of the master plan itself in which implementation issues will be fleshed out and made available to the public for a response from the community as a whole, and also from internal stakeholders in County government. Finally, completion of the master plan is envisioned in June, 2003. Mr. Schwartz said they would like to get feedback from the Supervisors this afternoon. He introduced Ms. Becky Clay Christensen who has served as a facilitator during these community meetings, and she will serve as moderator today. First, he handed to the Board members a set of questions which came from the community meeting on December 12 (on file in the Clerks Office). He highlighted a couple = of points to acknowledge that the community gave them many observations which will feed back into the process. He said the community has been very perceptive in flagging key issues. Some of those issues relate to transportation and implementation strategies. These issues relate to the transportation infrastructure that needs to be in place in order to support the pattern of growth described in the framework plan. Chris Sinclair is present and will be happy to talk about that topic in detail. Ms. Christensen said she is a Process Consultant, and she does not have the technical understanding of how to build maps. Involving the Crozet community in this planning was done in order to have them help build the plan. They should own it and, in conjunction with the County and all the private (December 16, 2002 - Meeting Adjourned from December 11, 2002) (Page 9) and public sector partners, do it over the next 20-year period. She has worked with the technical consultant team in drafting processes to help them get the kind of feedback they need. Ms. Christensen said they want to entertain three kinds of questions this afternoon. What do the Board members need to know for clarity? Mr. Dorrier asked if water and sewer lines would have to be extended to serve the areas noted on the map. Mr. Perkins said yes. A@ Mr. Schwartz said he understands that Crozet was identified as a growth area because of the availability of water service. He said that one of their maps shows exactly where those lines presently exist. There will be additional tap-ins that new development puts into place, but the infrastructure is there. Mr. Perkins asked the locations shown for new parks, particularly the one shown on the east side of Crozet. He has received calls from the people who own that land asking why that land was chosen. He said there is an opportunity to add a minimal amount of land to the existing park. Any opportunity available should be taken advantage of, particularly to the north of Claudius Crozet Park. There is a drainage area there which could possibly be extended for a couple of soccer fields, etc. He said it makes sense to have a central park with a pool that is a recreational center for the community, and that everything possible be done to enhance that park first. Mr. Perkins mentioned the proposed location for a library. He said people looked at the possibility of putting the library in the Old Crozet Elementary School. It is hard to exclude what is north of the railroad track out of the growth area. That area is not part of the growth area, but it is part of the community and the downtown walkable area. He thinks all of those things need to be considered in the master plan. Mr. Schwartz said the consultants agree. In terms of the stretch between downtown and ConAgra on Route 240 and the area west of the high school, there are a number of fringe areas (areas outside of the growth area which have an integral relationship with the growth area) which will be a part of the master plan. Mr. Byrd said concerning Mr. Perkins questions about the park, the idea of reinforcing the existing = Crozet Park is totally consistent with the idea of reinforcing the downtown area. The other parks shown on the east and west are on higher ground, but there is a lot of beautiful land in the flood plains. They made the assumption that the addition of play field areas might be more difficult to work out in either flood plain or steep slope areas. Also, when placing parks on high ground you also have an opportunity for people to get great views of Crozet. Mr. Schwartz said that for both the eastern and the western park areas they listened carefully to developers who are interested in both areas on how to balance development opportunities and open space within their properties. In both instances, the framework plan has a smaller configuration for those parks now than in the earlier draft in November. This was in part because it was a legitimate concern about how to optimize development potential, play off the investment and cost association with that community amenity. In both instances, the bottom line is that they provide a walkable park setting within each of the respected areas which are not served as readily by Crozet Park. Mr. Perkins next mentioned transportation. He said all the maps show Jarmans Gap Road and Tabor Street out of alignment. That is a critical thing in any transportation plan. He thinks it is important to take maps to VDOT that show those roads aligned. There is supposed to be a VDOT public hearing on the Jarmans Gap Road project in February. If there are maps which show no alignment, they will say the Countys master plan did not show them as being aligned. When roads dont align, it creates a traffic == nightmare. The road project is supposed to take place in 2005. It is important to go in with a unified voice and say the streets should be aligned. There may be some people who dont want that, but probably 80 = percent of the community would be in favor. He thinks it is important in transportation planning that this be done. Mr. Schwartz said the consultants will definitely look into that topic. Mr. Rooker asked if there had been any thought as to how parking would be handled in the high density part of downtown Crozet. Would businesses have to provide their own parking, or would there be a public parking facility? Mr. Schwartz said they do not have that figured out yet, but parking is a key issue for the downtown area both north and south of the railroad tracks. There has been some work done on this topic, but some of those elements have to be fleshed out as part of the master plan in order to support the pattern of growth recommended. Mr. Martin said the framework plan shows a composite of all three alternatives. He asked if the community has bought into the framework, or are there still three sets of people supporting the three alternatives. Mr. Schwartz said there was a fair amount of positive feedback last Thursday from people who had been part of the process. He senses a good deal of understanding and awareness of the pattern of development being described. He does not know if there is unanimous agreement that this is the way to go. One of the virtues of the process is that this does not come as a surprise for most of the community especially those who have decided to be involved. There is a high level of understanding in the Crozet community and certainly within the development community about the issues that are being put on the table with the framework plan. Ms. Christensen said there was no runaway winner during the community meeting between the three. There was validation for all three of them for different reasons. Mr. Schwartz said they are trying to (December 16, 2002 - Meeting Adjourned from December 11, 2002) (Page 10) pick the positive elements from each of the three and to a large extent people understand this. He believes people will download the maps available on the website and look at them more carefully. They are sure to get more feedback. They are giving the Board members all the feedback from last Thursday. They feel it has been a very positive process so far. Ms. Thomas said the group that worked on Route 250 has expressed concern that traffic will end up on Route 250. She likes anything that gets emphasis internal, whether that is employment or emphasizing the downtown area. What she does not like are things which spin outward onto Route 250. She said the Board has some fairly specific things it is interested in, such as getting more traffic onto I-64 when people were going to the eastern or northern side of Charlottesville, so Half-Mile Branch becomes important unless there is another alternative. No alternative should make people go through the high school/middle school/grade school complex because that slows down traffic at the same time of day that people would be trying to get to work. She would need more information about the road that comes into that complex before deciding if that would serve the purpose the Board is interested in. The Federal Highway Department standards are such that an interchange on Miller School Road would not be possible. Also, Miller School Road intersects with a paved Dick Woods Road, so that becomes more of a possibility to get people to the interstate. There was a short discussion of Ms. Thomas concern, with several = explanations given. Ms. Christensen said there will be some store front sessions occurring between December 17 A@ and December 20. If there are specific intersection issues, one needs to view a map and then ask a question. Mr. Loewenstein asked how some of the historical areas in the Crozet community can be identified and incorporated into this master plan in an imaginative way. He has not seen much evidence of that yet, although it was mentioned in the presentation. Mr. Byrd said even the Task Group could not identify all of the areas. There is a map which shows about 20 properties specifically, and that is the first step. The second step is to determine their condition, and then try to make them a part of redevelopment. Mr. Loewenstein said he thinks they could be imaginatively developed into part of a plan without simply putting a glass jar over them. A@ Mr. Rieley said he wanted to discuss an issue Mr. Perkins raised which he feels is pertinent to several of the things that are seen on the map. He is not sure what their implications are to the next stage. He said Mr. Perkins indicated that the area to the north should be a part of the study if not a part of the growth area. What is done on the other side of the line is clearly a pertinent question. Similarly, the area to the southeast is so sparsely settled that it makes one wonder if that is appropriate inside the growth area. It is something several Commissioners wondered about when proposals were presented to them earlier. One of the fundamental questions is, are the boundaries correct? He thinks the consultants are correct in establishing guidelines and sticking with them. But, it may be time to start talking about adjusting the boundaries of the study area so that some areas can be included where it makes sense to include them. Taking areas that dont belong in the growth areas can also be discussed. The other thing is that he = noticed that the road that comes done and crosses Route 250, the westernmost one in the growth area, is right on the boundary of the growth area. If the growth area boundary were not there, would that road be somewhere else? Mr. Schwartz said they have had very positive interactions with the developers they have met. He mentioned to the public last Thursday that he thinks the developers involved have been very patient. They were held off from participating formally in the process until October 14 when they held a developers panel = discussion. It was a very useful way to have the public better understand market forces, issues of concern and interest to developers. He said they have now had conversations with several key developers who have significant land holdings or are interested in developing. On November 21, he and Mr. Byrd presented a list of options and strategies and got very direct feedback from all of the developers involved. He does not know if they buy-in, but there has been a very positive spirit of collaboration and good will. There are some legitimate concerns. Ms. Lee Catlin said after the storefront meetings and the next Supervisors meeting, staff wants the = Board to arrive at a place where there is a common, well-defined understanding of the status of the framework plan. Staff has drafted a resolution of support for the framework plan. It acknowledges that the Board members understand the plan and accepts it as the general direction from which the more detailed master planning will proceed. This resolution will be put before the Board for action at its next meeting. Mr. Rooker asked if any thought had been given to what Route 250 will be like through this area. Mr. Schwartz said that is an interesting question, but has not been studied yet. In some ways, the community is conflicted about this question. Some would like to see it a little more neighborhood-friendly where possible, particularly in the area of the schools. He said they have introduced another layer of interconnection back from Route 250 in order to allow day-to-day uses to function in a way they do not function today. Route 250 is not just a way to get through Crozet fast, it is also a part of the community. They have heard from many people about the importance of Route 250 as part of the scenic memory of the whole landscape throughout its entire length. _______________ Agenda Item No. 6. Matters Not Listed on the Agenda from the Board. (December 16, 2002 - Meeting Adjourned from December 11, 2002) (Page 11) Ms. Thomas said Mr. Tucker had asked for a ten-minute closed session. She suggested going into Room 241. Motion was offered by Mr. Perkins that the Board go into Closed Session pursuant to Section 2.2- 3711(A) of the Code of Virginia under Subsection (7) to consult with legal counsel and staff regarding specific legal matters requiring provision of legal advice relating to a contract concerning a public safety facility. The motion was seconded by Mr. Rooker. Roll was called, and the motion carried by the following recorded vote: AYES: Ms. Thomas, Mr. Bowerman, Mr. Dorrier, Mr. Martin, Mr. Perkins and Mr. Rooker. NAYS: None. __________ The Board reconvened into open session at 6:29 p.m. Motion was immediately offered by Mr. Bowerman that the Board certify by a recorded vote that to the best of each Board members knowledge = only public business matters lawfully exempted from the open meeting requirements of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act and identified in the motion authorizing the closed session were heard, discussed or considered in the closed session. The motion was seconded by Mr. Rooker. Roll was called, and the motion carried by the following recorded vote: AYES: Ms. Thomas, Mr. Bowerman, Mr. Dorrier, Mr. Martin, Mr. Perkins and Mr. Rooker. NAYS: None. _______________ (December 16, 2002 - Meeting Adjourned from December 11, 2002) (Page 12) Agenda Item No. 7. Adjourn. With no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 6:30 p.m. ________________________________________ Chairman Approved by the Board of County Supervisors Date: 05/07/2003 Initials: EWC