Coraggio Consulting Albemarle County Board of Supervisors Regular First Meeting, Wednesday, May 1, 2024 Date: Wednesday, May 1, 2024 Place: Albemarle County Board of Supervisors, Virginia Length: 5h 49m (video) Official meeting video (Granicus): https://albemarle.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=1006 Official agenda: https://albemarle.granicus.com/AgendaViewer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=1006 Machine transcript (speech-to-text) produced by Coraggio Consulting. Not an official county record. Names and numbers may be misspelled; check the video at the timestamp before quoting. Speech-to-text: whisper.cpp, model large-v3-turbo. Produced 2026-10-16. Timestamps are [HH:MM:SS] into the meeting video. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [00:00:01] Good afternoon. I am pleased to call to order this regular meeting of the Apple Merrill County Board of Supervisors on the first day of May, 1 p.m. in Lane Auditorium. I'd like to note at the dais we have Supervisor Mike Prude of Scottsville District, Supervisor B. Lapisto-Kirtley of the Ravana District, Supervisor Diantha McKeel of the Jack Jewett District, Supervisor Ned Galloway of the Rio District, Supervisor Ann Malick of the Whitehall District, and myself, Jim Andrews, representing the Samuel Miller District. [00:00:26] A quorum is present. We're also joined here by our county executive, Mr. Jeff Richardson, and our county attorney, Mr. Steve Rosenberg, our clerk, Ms. Claudette Borgerson, and our senior deputy clerk, Mr. Travis Morris. Also, let me please welcome police officers present, Senior Police Officer Ronnie Vanderveer and Lieutenant Angela Jamerson. [00:00:45] Thank you for your service here today and your work that you and your colleagues do every day on behalf of the citizens of Albemarle County for our safety and security. If all present, could now stand as you are able and join us in the Pledge of Allegiance. The flag of the United States of America, the new republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice. [00:01:18] Thank you. I now ask you to join us in a moment of silence. [00:01:37] Okay. Board, our first item of business course is to adopt the final agenda. I have not heard of any suggested amendments to the final agenda, in which case we're looking for a motion to adopt the final agenda. [00:01:56] So moved. Second. We have a motion from Supervisor Malik, a second from Supervisor McKeel. Without objection, if the clerk will call the roll. Ms. McKeel? Yes. Mr. Pruitt? Aye. Mr. Andrews? Yes. Mr. Galloway? Yes. Ms. Lapista-Kirtley? Aye. Ms. Malik? [00:02:12] Yes. Great. Thank you, board. Now it's time for us to do announcements, and we'll go through our order for today. Board member announcements, starting with Supervisor Pruitt. I actually have nothing at this time. Thank you. Supervisor McKeel. Yes. I just have one. It's not an announcement. [00:02:32] I just wanted to note that on April the 24th, the American Red Cross had a celebration of heroes. And I think some of us were at that meeting, and it was really fun to see some of our own recognized. [00:02:48] And I just wanted to point out that the 2024 first responder hero was Grace Foster from the Western Albemarle Rescue Squad, which was really special. And the 2024 Christopher E. Lee serving leader hero was Marty Keene from Java. [00:03:10] And we're all smiling at Marta right now. And it was a really wonderful ceremony, and there were other folks that were recognized for their service as well. It is of note, the Red Cross last year provided 167 units of blood for this community, and 138 families in central Virginia were served, which are some pretty impressive numbers. [00:03:41] So with that, that's all I had. Thank you. Thank you. Supervisor Malek. Thank you. I will take all the time really pushed by others, but some of them are quick. Several quick things. Road safety. This is a time when water and sewer agencies and highway departments are doing lots of road construction and road work. [00:04:01] And as you may have noticed, they have had to put down rumble strips all over the place because drivers are not paying attention and putting the workers at risk. So please, take a chill pill and slow down in these work zones and protect our neighbors who are doing work for us. [00:04:18] It is incredibly dry out there. If you don't live in the country and haven't seen all the earth go to concrete over the last month, please be careful with your water use in every way because all of the urban water systems is coming from the countryside and we all need to work together to conserve as much as we can. [00:04:37] I am thrilled to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Solarize Virginia, which is done in partnership with the Local Energy Alliance Program, or LEAP. LEAP was founded in 2010 and has worked for our citizens ever since. The Solarize program was started in 2014 and has helped over 1,400 households in Virginia to install solar in partnership with other funders. [00:04:59] 300 of those installations are in our local area, with over 2 megawatts of residential solar created. We're proud of helping residents to save money on their electric bills while achieving climate goals for everyone. Solarize streamlines the process by connecting participants with vetted installers, discounted pricing, and educational resources. [00:05:19] The program to sign up is now open until June 30th. Folks can sign up at solarizeva.org. Congratulations in May on 45 years of the Green Olive Tree, which was founded in 1979 by seven ladies in Crozet, some of whom are still living. [00:05:37] God bless them. The shop has provided new life and use for household goods and clothing, for use by local families with growing children or those needing to start again after a fire or other calamity. It has outgrown many succeeding locations, supported by large groups of loyal volunteers, and is now actually seeking a larger location. [00:05:56] From its modest beginning, the Green Olive Tree came to share the proceeds with over 100 organizations around the world and giving away over a million dollars in cash receipts in that 45 years. Not only have tons of clothing been exchanged, but the Green Olive Tree has become a community center where people can share love and support, ideas and worries, and come away refreshed and uplifted. [00:06:16] It is a true gathering place for our community. Over on the sign-in table are some information sheets from Veteran Services. Ben Shaw, Regional Director of the Department of Veteran Services of Virginia, has supplied those to me. Despite what you may hear on TV ads, a veteran does not need to retain an attorney to get services from the VA under the PACT Act or any of the other services that are now being advertised. [00:06:46] Ben Shaw's team with Virginia Veteran and Family Support is also co-located with the VA Claims Office, and they work for care coordination and providing better services for the entire family. So please pass that information along. [00:07:01] I will share copies of the brochure with each of you all so you can carry it in your car and distribute it wherever you go. I'll put it up in grocery stores, et cetera. So board members and the public are invited to join VFW Post 2044, which is in its 75th year, for the Memorial Day ceremony in Earliesville. [00:07:19] It is 10 a.m. Monday, May 27th at Earliesville Green. The second wind band from the center will perform. The keynote speaker will be Colonel Gary Nelson. Colonel Nelson served in the U.S. Air Force for 29 years primarily as a fighter pilot and then commanded the 63rd Tactical Fighter Squadron. [00:07:36] He has taught at aerospace studies at MIT and Boston University and was head of Joint Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Virginia. And he now lives in Earliesville, and we're glad to capture him for that event. And I hope to see you there. Thank you very much. [00:07:52] Thank you. Supervisor LePistro-Hertley. Yes, thank you very much. I just wanted to reiterate what I did last, at our last meeting, but very few were attending here. So our Pantop CAC had a really good presentation by the RWSA regarding all of our reservoirs, our water supply, what they're doing, what the county is doing to make sure we have good water in the years to come. [00:08:23] They're really doing a good job. And I will tell you, if you think it's boring, it's not. Two people presented to us. They were so enthusiastic. We did not want it to stop. If you can believe that, and that's true. That is true. It was that riveting, the presentation. [00:08:39] So I suggest to our board members, any of your CACs that want that, to, of course, check with Mr. Richardson and maybe have that set up. The other thing I just wanted to say with great pride, May 18th will be the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Stony Point Volunteer Fire Department. [00:09:01] Chief Eggleston and myself will be there. we're really excited about this. And so I just want to give a shout out to our Stony Point Volunteer Fire Department. That's all I have. Thank you. Thank you. Supervisor Galloway. Yes, thank you. I'm going to look to Mr. Richardson for a second. And Colonel Reeves is here, I know. We got the email about the follow-up to trespass this past Monday to the board. Is it okay to go ahead and review some of that information? Yes, sir. So I know all the supervisors received this, so I hope you'll be pushing that out. I'm not going to read through [00:09:38] all of this, but I wanted to clarify that the last time that we talked about this, we had encouraged people to call 9-1-1 if they had trespass. But in this piece, if it's an emergency and identified as such, that is the appropriate place to call. But if trespass is observed or encountered or some semblance of it in an emergency doesn't exist, then they should call the non-emergency line at 434-977-9041. I really appreciate having this piece out so that we can inform folks on how [00:10:11] to handle this. It did not go unnoticed in the annual report from the police department how high a percentage of trespass calls were being dealt with. So clearly this is a county-wide issue. So I'll be sending this out to the HOAs in my district and just clarifying with information I've passed along so that the appropriate place is reported to the appropriate place per Colonel Reeves. Thank you. Thank you. I just have a few announcements of things coming up for [00:10:48] people. The VDOT is asking for input on the U.S. 250 Ivy Road Improvement Study, and that's open until May 10th. You can go to the VDOT website to do their survey. We had a busy weekend last weekend at the ivy materials utilization center with the hazardous household hazardous waste collection it's been suggested we need photos and video to do it justice to show how efficiently run and important this event is to residents spring cleaning but coming this saturday may 4th is furniture and mattresses and then the following saturdays appliances on may 11th and tires on [00:11:23] May 18th. So IVMEC, your one stop to un-shop, as they say. And just another shout out, last announcement is that Batesville Day is coming up this Saturday as well, complete with a 10K, a parade, plant exchange, and much, much more. So I hope people will attend. Anyone have anything further to add? Then thank you. Our next item is proclamations and recognitions, and we have a couple. First we'll start with a proclamation recognizing May as Older Americans Month and this will be led off by Vice Chair McKeel. All right and I'm going to read this as a motion. Proclamation [00:12:02] recognizing May as Older Americans Month. Whereas May is Older Americans Month, a time for us to recognize and honor older adults in Elmorrow County, Virginia and their immense influence on every facet of American society. And whereas Almar County recognizes how, through their wealth of life experience and wisdom, older adults guide our younger generations and carry forward abundant cultural and historical knowledge. And whereas Almar County recognizes that older Americans improve our community through intergenerational relationships, community service, civic engagement, [00:12:42] and many other activities and whereas alamara county benefits when people of all ages abilities and backgrounds haven't the opportunity to participate and live independently and whereas alamara county must ensure that older americans have the resources and support needed to stay involved in their communities reflecting our commitment to inclusivity and correctness and now, therefore, be it proclaimed that we, the Elmar County Board of Supervisors, do hereby recognize May 2024 to be Older American Month and call upon all residents to recognize the profound [00:13:20] impact of meaningful interactions and social connections on the well-being and health of older adults in our community. Signed this first day of May 2024, Jim H. Andrews, Chair. Second. So we have a motion from Supervisor McKeel, a second from Supervisor. [00:13:37] From Supervisor Malik. Thank you. Without objection, the clerk will call the roll. Ms. McKeel? Yes. Mr. Pruitt? Aye. Mr. Andrews? Yes. Mr. Galloway? Yes. Ms. Lapista-Kirtley? Aye. Ms. Malik? Yes. [00:13:54] Thank you. And I believe we have Ms. Marta Keene here, a chief executive officer of the Jefferson Area Board for Aging to accept the proclamation. Welcome. Thank you for being here. I just want to thank all of Albemarle County supervisors and staff. It's not just May that you honor our older Americans. I appreciate the support you show throughout the year. This comes at a particularly [00:14:26] important time as you're at 21 percent of the population being over 60 and by 2030 it could be 25 percent if the projections are correct. So we, and I'm using we, are an important part of the population. And I think that the theme for this year, powered by connections, is so very appropriate. Albemarle really facilitates a lot of connections between agencies that work to help seniors and creating situations and activities that support seniors. So thank you. [00:15:03] Thank you. And we'll go through our order to add additional comments. I'm going to start, Put him on the spot. Supervisor Pruitt, that's the youngest of mine. Thank you so much. Everyone's laughing because I'm obviously the youngest person. [00:15:20] You mean obviously. Enjoy it while you can. Sure, sure, sure. So thank you so much for being here. I know when I was first running for this position, something I talked about a lot is my concern over the fact that trends in our economy and our community make it incredibly challenging for us to maintain a diverse community, an economically diverse community, an age-diverse community. A lot of people assume when I say that, that I'm talking about it's hard to be a young person in Albemarle County, which is true. It is costly. But the truth is, like, you know, we pinch at both ends of that spectrum. [00:15:58] It is becoming, it can become, when we let these macroeconomic forces take hold, it can become incredibly challenging to be an older American in our county. It can be easy to be priced out. It can be easy to be pushed away from the essential services that older Americans need. So I'm very excited for the work that we're doing in the county, for the work the job is doing to make this a community where you can live successfully at all stages of life, so long as this is the place where you want to be. So thank you so much for your work. And that's all I got. [00:16:31] Thank you. Supervisor McKeel. Yes. Thank you, Marta, for being here and bringing forward this proclamation and congratulations again on your recognition as one of our heroes our red cross heroes um not to be outdone by ann i just turned 74 as well so but it is certainly true that many of the people that are moving into our community i think are designated as over 55 but we are an [00:17:01] aging community. And we have to remember that both ends of the spectrum benefit from often the same facilities. And for example, sidewalks are great for women with baby strollers as well as pedestrians walking and older people. I mean, the universal design idea is really true. So it's important that we address both ends of the age spectrum and we thank java for working so hard to make [00:17:33] the connections for everybody so thank you again thanks thank you supervisor malik i think there's so many different facets of what java does for our community as a whole but what i have seen the most joy from personally is the connection of the very young with everybody older at the preschools the centers and that keeping that socialization and especially for the very elderly being with really littles is almost better it's more fun for them than somebody you know who's only 20 or 30 [00:18:12] years younger so i think that that uh their their eyes light up in the same way that they're uh that the seniors eyes light up when they're working together so thank you so much for making that happen and helping it to continue as it takes an awful lot of effort i know appreciate it Thanks, Anne. [00:18:28] Thank you. Supervisor Lupisto Kirby. Not that I would know, but I will tell you that growing older is not for the faint of heart. What really struck me on this proclamation is the intergenerational relationships and community service. I think that's what older Americans in this county have a lot to offer, and they do in many, many numbers. [00:18:51] And for that, I'm very appreciative. I'm also appreciative of all the work that Java does because you help people age in place. You help people stay here. We have a number of wonderful facilities that also help people of a certain age bracket along with independent living. [00:19:11] So I commend you for that, and this is really an honor to recognize Older Americans Month. Thank you. Thank you. And since you're no longer on the hot seat as being the youngest, we'll turn to Supervisor Galloway. I've also learned to understand whose backhand I'm in. [00:19:30] With comments, Supervisor Pruitt. Marta, it is always a pleasure to see you, and I concur with all the remarks that have been said. I thought for today, my response, and I think everybody hopefully will appreciate it. [00:19:46] Why did you look at me? I want to, like I said, I'm just being mindful of whose backhand I'm in. But I would love to share a poem by Maya Angelou called On Aging. When you see me sitting quietly like a sack left on the shelf, don't think I need your chattering. [00:20:02] I'm listening to myself. Hold, stop, don't pity me. Hold, stop your sympathy. Understanding if you got it, otherwise I'll do without it. When my bones are stiff and aching and my feet won't climb the stair, I will only ask one favor. [00:20:18] Don't bring me no rocking chair. When you see me walking, stumbling, don't study and get it wrong, because tired don't mean lazy, and every goodbye ain't gone. I'm the same person I was back then, a little less hair, a little less chin, a lot less lungs, and much less wind, but ain't I lucky I can still breathe in. [00:20:39] I love that poem, and I simply offer that in my response to this resolution today. Thank you. That is fabulous. I won't begin to try to top that, but express my appreciation. for all the job it does, and that this community is afforded for aging in place, which I think is a really important thing. I have the pleasure of actually going and running a couple times a week with a much younger crowd, and while they let me keep up, it keeps me young just to be with them, so it's intergenerational. I really appreciate that. Well, that's what I found being in the classroom [00:21:16] with children. Every day is a new day for children, whether that yesterday was terrible, but today is not going to be and that's such a wonderful thing to take to yourself as a grown-up too that makes life a whole lot more fun thank you you want to all right [00:21:29] thank you and board now we'll turn to a second proclamation that will be led off by [00:22:15] supervisor malik on public service recognition week thank you i will read this as a motion as well. Public Service Recognition Week. Whereas Americans are served daily by public servants at the federal, state, county, and city levels, these unsung heroes do the work that keeps our nation working. Whereas public service is among the most demanding and noble of professions. Whereas Public Service Recognition Week is observed annually to celebrate and recognize the valuable service that public servants provide to the nation. And whereas over 900 Albemarle County local government employees work tirelessly to serve our residents, businesses, and visitors, [00:22:54] providing them with outstanding customer service while maintaining careful stewardship of the resources with which they have been entrusted. And whereas we appreciate the many accomplishments and contributions made daily by these public servants, now therefore be it proclaimed that we, the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors, do hereby recognize May 5th through May 11th, 2024, as Public Service Recognition Week, and call upon Albemarle County community to recognize the significant and important contribution that public employees make to our community. Signed as first day of May, 2024, Jim H. Andrews, chair. Second. We have a motion [00:23:32] from Supervisor Malik, a second from Supervisor Lapisto-Kirtley, without objection, if the clerk will call the roll. Ms. McKeel? Yes. Mr. Pruitt? Aye. Mr. Andrews? Yes. Mr. Galloway? Yes. Ms. Lapista-Kirtley? Aye. Ms. Mallick? Yes. Thank you. And I believe we have Elizabeth Letta Brothers is here to kick this off, but I think we have several people in the audience who we'd like to help recognize our public servants. Thank you. Thank you all very much for this proclamation. I'd like to take a minute to thank you all for your service as public servants and [00:24:11] the time and effort that you give to this community. On behalf of the committee and our employees, we appreciate very much indeed the support of the board for the work that we do every day. Employees who are here, will you stand, please? Look at all those awesome people! [00:24:32] We're excited about having the opportunity to recognize the hard work of our employees through a range of activities next week. We have an employee picnic on Friday. We're having to go with our movie theme. We're having popcorn bars in each building and then we have some ongoing items throughout the week. Peer-to-peer recognition through fan mail and banners you'll see at both of the county office buildings throughout the week. We also wanted y'all to hear from a few of our [00:25:07] employees about why they serve. So we're going to take a few minutes to watch a video created by there she is our very own a key parker from communications and public engagement and while the video is playing i'll be handing each of you a piece of fan mail because that's one of the ways that we recognize um each other and the work that we do employees have already ordered over a thousand of these and we just wanted to share the love with y'all also so i'm going to there it is [00:25:43] I serve Albemarle County because I find this workplace to be a place where I can learn, remain active, and make a difference. [00:26:05] And you know, when I had the opportunity to become a compliance officer, I knew I found the place for me. Working for this county gives me a sense of accomplishment in knowing that I have made a measurable difference and that I've had a direct impact on the lives of others. [00:26:22] Housing is such a foundation for our lives. The stability of safe housing is the bed upon which we can build what we want for our lives. One of my favorite things about working here at the county is my colleagues. Really, if I'm working just internal to DFMB and when I'm working across the organization, there are some really fantastic people here. They're smart and kind and have really wonderful ideas. Over the last six years, I've learned a lot about my community here because of the work I get to do if I can't. I'm also constantly inspired by my co-workers, especially [00:26:59] those in community development and DSS who face insurmountable issues every single day that they are being asked to conquer with far fewer resources that are really needed. And they find creative and kind and clever engineering solutions and social solutions and community partners to Bridge all these gaps and improve our community in really any way we can. [00:28:22] Thanks, y'all. And thanks, y'all. Thank you. If you just remain for a moment, we're going to go through our order as usual. Supervisor, approve it. Thank you so much. [00:28:38] So I think something we learned from that presentation, at least, is that everyone has their own different specific motivations that are very specific to the role that they serve in county government that draws them to public service. And, you know, like for myself, a big part of that is a desire to see change. [00:28:55] So there are certainly things about our community that I might want to see change. But one thing I would never say anything negative about and that I have never had to suggest any changes are the quality of our workforce, which is truly next level. The depth of passion and of talent and commitment that you see really across the chain of command throughout the county is truly extraordinary. [00:29:19] It is not something I've seen in other local governments, and it's an extraordinary thing. It's a great team that we've built here at the county. So thank you to everyone who is here, the very large audience of public servants, and all the folks who help this county run every day. [00:29:36] Thank you. Thank you. Supervisor McKeel. To just piggyback on what Mike just said, I don't think a week goes by that someone doesn't come up to me and say, I had a deal in with the county. It could be any department. Make up the department. [00:29:52] And they said that while, sometimes they say, while I didn't get what I wanted, the employees were respectful. They went out of their way to help me. They just did an absolutely wonderful job. And I've heard that about almost every department in the county. [00:30:09] And so we're thrilled to have so many of you here today. And if you'll indulge me just a minute, I think it's sometimes for our citizens, it's easy to think, well, I haven't used the fire department. I've used the police department. [00:30:29] Maybe, certainly everybody rides on the roads at some point, but I'd just like to point out one of the greatest slides that we get every year during our budget cycle, and so I won't go through all of these. But just to point out the numbers, the folks in our career center serviced 945 visitors this year for career counseling and help with getting started on a career or a job. [00:31:04] There were $718 million worth of building permits issued. That's work. That's a lot of building permits by our employees. $345 million in valuation for certificates of occupancy so people could live in the buildings in this community, whether they're apartment buildings or single family dwellings or businesses. 371 families served by the Housing Choice Voucher [00:31:41] program. There were 887,000 visits to albemarle.org, our website. Let's see, 1,493 volunteer hours served in Albemarle parks that were supported. I'm just trying to pick and choose a few of these. [00:32:07] $116 million in social service funds utilized to support and benefit the families in Albemarle County. 73,588 police calls for service. [00:32:28] The police in this building, thank you very much. You have had a very busy year. 15,542 fire rescue calls for service by our residents and even visitors to this community that needed help. And we have lots of visitors that are making calls to 911 as they're coming into this community and needing help. 17,432 swimmers were served and used our county lakes [00:33:02] and 2,027,465 visitors to our county parks. And those parks had to be cleaned up and maintained and monitored and served for our community. [00:33:18] And 999 smoke alarms were installed for folks who needed smoke alarms for the safety and protection of their families. Just to give some statistics, and these represent... [00:33:34] services to our community, and hard work by our staff to make this happen. So thank you to everybody in the room and those people who are just listening. Thank you. Supervisor Malek. Thank you. I'm looking now at Jodi, where Jodi Filardo is sitting, because for 17 years that was my seat in the audience, watching and learning. [00:33:57] And so during those years and also in my time on the board, I've been privileged to know and work shoulder and shoulder with generations of staff members in Albemarle. We've worked hard to facilitate positive interactions with residents all across the county and on many many different issues. Different groups form around the issues of their concern and the county has been exemplary in its response and evolution of caring on all these different issues and I'm very privileged to be here with you all. Thank you. Thank you. Supervisor I want to say thank you. [00:34:37] I think we all want to say thank you. What you all have done, it says in the resolution, you're the unsung heroes that do the work that keeps our, I'm changing nation to county, to county working. I will tell you, because of you all, you make our lives easier. [00:34:55] I'm able to do my job in serving people because of you all. You make everything, you're the oil that makes everything run smoothly. efficiently. You do it with a lot of pride. You do it in keeping your eye on the ball, making us efficient and making us serving the public. That is so much appreciated. I've spent almost 29 years as a public servant here and where I used to live before. I've never seen such a well-run organization. I'm extremely proud to be part of this because of you all. [00:35:34] you all make the difference and I thank you very much for that. Thank you. Supervisor Galloway. Yeah, to build on what Supervisor Lupisto currently says, I often get asked by, you know, close other family members and close friends, why do you, why do you, why did you run? Why do you want to be an elected official? And if, you know, if you'd asked all these people to stand, there's the answer. It's because you want to be part of a team. I enjoy policymaking. I enjoy the work of government. That's why I ran to be a supervisor. But if this was an organization where the team [00:36:11] was not strong and the execution could not play out, I don't know that I would feel that way. So it's over $600 million is our total budget. $600 million that people gave us. And we've had to work together on figuring out the strategy of how to use those funds to provide services to the people that live here. And they've entrusted each and every one of us to do that. So I just hope that as a board member, and I'm sure my fellow board members agree, that we're doing right by you so that we can look our citizens in the face and go, we're doing our very best as a team to [00:36:49] deliver what we need to deliver that you expect with your hard-earned dollars that you've passed along to us. So thank you sincerely for all you do, day in and day out, and it is a joy to work with you all. Thank you. And just adding on to that, Supervisor Galloway is saying that you make us look good. And we appreciate that very much. And as people get an opportunity to volunteer to work with the county, you really get a chance to appreciate how hard the county works for you. [00:37:17] And that's something that all of you should, we want to express our gratitude to you for that. So thank you. Thank you for being here. Thank you for all you do every day. [00:38:02] We'll now turn to item seven, which is matters from the public, matters on the agenda, but not listed for public hearing or on matters previously considered by the board or matters that are pending before the board. And Vice Chair McKeel will read the rules and introduce the speakers. Thank you. Yes, thank you. We have seven people signed up today in person and we have no one online signed up. So with that, let me read the instructions. During the time set aside for matters on the agenda but not listed for public hearing, individuals may address the Board of supervisors concerning matters previously considered by the board or matters that are [00:38:41] pending before the board, other than items listed on the agenda for public hearing. Individuals are allowed one opportunity of up to three minutes to speak at each board meeting during matters from the public. A sign-up sheet is managed by the clerk's office. Timekeeping is conducted through a timer and light system at the podium. The green light will go on when you begin speaking, which begins your allotted time. The yellow light indicates you have one minute to finish speaking. [00:39:06] The red light indicates your time has expired, and you will be asked to end your comments. To give all speakers equal treatment and courtesy, the board requests that speakers adhere to the following guidelines. When addressing the board, state your name, and if you live in Almar County, your magisterial district, address comments directly to the board as a whole. [00:39:26] Any written statements or other supporting material may be given to the clerk. If representing a group or organization, you may ask others present to raise their hand in recognition. speakers may not share any unused time with another speaker back and forth debate is not permitted and do not speak from your seat or out of turn all comments are live streamed recorded and published on the almar county website and with that as i said we have seven speakers with [00:39:55] us today and the first speaker is david hannah welcome please adjust the microphone up a little bit so that we can hear you. Appreciate it. Thank you. Does that work? Yep. Okay. Excuse me. My name is David Hanna. I live in the city of Charlottesville. And thank you for the opportunity to talk to you today about the Ragged Mountain natural area. Since retiring as the natural [00:40:34] resources manager for Albemarle County in 2019, I've had minimal contact with county staff and with engagement with ongoing natural resources issues. But I feel compelled to share my thoughts with you on this topic this afternoon. I do not believe that mountain biking is an appropriate activity at Ragged Mountain. I ask that you not allow it to go forward in the future. I have no argument against biking as an activity in and of itself. On the contrary, I am very happy that many citizens are partaking that activity and enjoy it. Anything that gets people outside to [00:41:11] exercise and have fun in the great outdoors is a very positive thing, especially when children and entire families are involved. But not every natural area or park should be suitable or is suitable for every activity. [00:41:27] I believe mountain biking at Ragged Mountain is inappropriate for two main reasons. One, it will be harmful to the wildlife and natural communities found there. And two, it removes an outdoor opportunity that is uncommon here locally. The quiet, peaceful enjoyment and study of nature and the outdoors. [00:41:44] And after all, that was the original intent of the Ragged Mountain Natural Area. So Ragged Mountain has long been recognized as a local hotspot for biological diversity. Reports by the county's Biodiversity Work Group in 2004 identified it as an important site in the county. [00:42:00] The value of Ragged Mountains lies in its mostly mature, wooded, and undisturbed nature. In 2016, the Center for Urban Habitats completed a survey of Ragged Mountain to identify and describe the ecosystems found there. [00:42:15] The survey was commissioned by the City of Charlottesville and includes a list of the flora, fauna, and fungi known to occur there. Biodiversity hotspots were also identified. From this data, it's clear that Ragged Mountain is home to a diversity of high-quality and unusual plant communities and wildlife species. [00:42:33] The habitat and ecosystems are sensitive to fragmentation and disturbance and are negatively impacted by human activity. All forms of human intrusion into wild landscapes have certain negative effects. What is important is the scale of that activity, permitting mountain biking into the future will result in a perpetual level of high human activity and disturbance. [00:42:54] I want to give one quote from the Ecosystem Survey Report, "Asserting more than one path through any portion of the narrow landscape that wraps the reservoir at Ragged Mountain is not conducive to ecosystem conservation. So in other words, the number of trails as well as the level activity on them are critical to control if we want to maintain the ecological integrity of Ragged Mountain. I'm also concerned with the overall quality of the visitor experience. Thank you. [00:43:22] I'm sorry. We have your comments. I appreciate that. Please refer to the Mickey Wood. Thank you very much for your time thank you david dan beaker maybe i hope there he comes i was afraid i'd mispronounced your name great welcome thank you thank you my name is dan beaker i live in sam miller district and i will be unable to attend your meeting in two weeks when you discuss ragged mountain and so i appreciate the opportunity to address it now i will state unquivocally that i [00:43:58] am a mountain biking enthusiast i love it it's fun i'm also a wildlife biologist i've taught been employed at piedmont college for the last 40 years teaching wildlife and ecology courses and i was also president of the ivy creek foundation 25 years ago when we established dragon mountain natural area i won't repeat the points that mr hannah just made although i concur with them. I would especially refer you to the Center for Urban Habitats report, 140 pages that [00:44:31] details the unique biological richness of Riken Mountain. I can speak though to what happened 25 years ago when the Ivy Creek Foundation decided to make this a natural area. We went through public hearings, meetings with every manner of official, neighbors, staff to get this approved. It took two years it was all predicated on this area being a natural area or a nature preserve with minimal disturbance but being a public area you have to have access so how do you do that fairly you do [00:45:10] it fairly by having a limited trail system we made one trail that went around the reservoir foot travel only and to emphasize mr hannah's point the goal is to limit the scale of activity We don't want to discriminate against bikers or any other intense activities, but to put everybody on equal footing, so to speak, foot travel only. [00:45:36] We don't exclude anyone. The bikers are welcome, just on foot. I will just read some excerpts from the county's own website that states, Local government plays an important role in protecting natural resources and biodiversity. [00:45:57] Each component of biodiversity, every plant, animal, and microbe, has an intrinsic value or inherent worth independent of its value to people. Recommendations in the Comp Plan and the Biodiversity Action Plan all have statements like this. [00:46:17] To start out, develop strategies, take appropriate action, incorporate knowledge, educate and inform. Well, here's an opportunity to put those words into action by respecting the original intent of Reagan Mountain Natural Area, by saying we value these areas enough, we value them enough to welcome all, but with minimal disturbance. [00:46:41] Thank you. Thank you. Kurt Bowers. Happy Mayday. [00:46:57] Also, I appreciate your older American proclamation being one myself. So, good afternoon. And I asked for five minutes because I represent the Sierra Club. May I do that? Sorry, our rules are there. [00:47:13] Three minutes for public comment. Okay. I'm Kirk Bowers, 36-year resident of the Roodbana District. Today I speak as Conservation Chair, Piedmont Group, Sierra Club. We, the Piedmont Group, proposed use of bicycles at Ragged Mountain Natural Area for many reasons. [00:47:32] As Dan stated earlier, in 1997, Ragged Mountain was proposed by the Ivy Creek Foundation. The primary goal was to preserve a providing public natural area reserved for quiet hiking, fishing, and wildlife observation. [00:47:55] Ivy Creek managed the property until 2014 when city parks assumed management of the natural area. Then in 2016, a lawsuit was filed to resolve competing ordinances for uses in public parks. [00:48:13] In March, it was announced, and that was just a month and a half ago, that it was announced that two jurisdictions resolve the issue and that biking and horseback riding will be removed from activities at RM&A. [00:48:28] However, at your April 3rd meeting, you instructed staff to come back with a directive and information on using bikes at Ragged Mountain Natural Area. [00:48:45] So what happened was we asked, why? Why is this lawsuit, which was completed in March, yet this is still an issue eight years later? It's really a sensitive issue. It's been going on for many years. [00:49:01] We'd like to see this ended. We wrote a letter to you all yesterday, And it shows there are 30 miles of biking trails within five miles of Ragged Mountain natural area. As part of our national commitment, the Sierra Club has a national commitment to maintaining natural ecosystems. [00:49:23] We strongly support preservation of the RMA from further intrusion. Within natural ecosystems, natural diversity and abundance of wildlife and plants should best be preserved by means that involve minimum human interference. [00:49:44] And then finally, hikers and bikers move at different speeds. The motivation, desired experiences, norms, setting preferences, and other needs are not the same for hikers and bikers. The revealing concern about allowing bicycles on hiking trails is a question of safety, and I have experienced that personally since I've been hiking for over 70 years. [00:50:06] Thank you. And with that, thank you so much for paying attention. Neil Williamson. Good afternoon. [00:50:23] My name is Neil Williamson, and I'm not going to talk about Ragged Mountain. I serve as the president of the Free Enterprise Forum, a private public policy organization focused on local government here in Central Virginia. At this lectern, applicants have long highlighted the high cost of producing housing in Central Virginia. [00:50:42] Such concerns have often been met with disdain from some who believe developer profit is the root of the affordability issue. Buried deep in the details of the Piedmont Housing Alliance Affordable Housing Fund request going for you today is a project pro forma demonstrating the high cost of producing housing. [00:51:03] For the 60-unit Premier Circle Phase 2 apartments, total project costs are estimated at over $20 million. That works out to $334,166 per unit. Please note, the Free Enterprise Forum has no position on the funding of the PHA proposal and sincerely appreciates the candor of the pro forma provided. [00:51:28] In addition, we note the significant leverage, the financial leverage, Albemarle County's buy-in provides to this particular project. PHA is not alone. On February 1st, 2024, the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development published the cost of a federally supported Sixth Street Apartments Phase 1 project in Charlottesville. This $29 million plus project will produce 47 affordable units at a cost of greater than $621,000 a unit. [00:52:01] Conclusion one, producing housing is affordable, is expensive to produce. In a blog post yesterday, we highlighted a recent research paper by Shane Phillips of UCLA on the detrimental impacts of inclusionary zoning on housing production. [00:52:18] The paper's conclusion offers a roadmap, and I quote, different tools have different strengths, and land use policy may be best suited to improving affordability in the wider housing market. While public subsidies are best for producing below-market homes, IZ seeks to produce affordable homes by substituting land-use policy in the place of broadly shared taxes and public subsidies. [00:52:42] This analysis suggests that the public may be paying either way and that the costs of IZ are both higher and more regressive than the alternative. In this highly expensive housing market, the Free Enterprise Forum calls on Albemarle to continue to tweak the housing Albemarle program requirements, percentage of units, level of affordability, term, to the benefit of the entire community, and produce much-needed housing for all. [00:53:12] Once again, we call for more housing everywhere for everyone. Thank you. Thank you. Peter Krabs. Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Peter Krabs from the Piedmont Environmental Council. [00:53:32] I'm actually here to talk about bikes, but not bikes of Ragged Mountain. May is National Bike Month, and Albemarle County, Charlottesville, and the University of Virginia are all putting on many events to celebrate. Cycling promotes health, reduces stress, it prevents greenhouse gas emission, it builds social cohesion, and brings joy in communities. [00:53:59] This year, around half of the events that are being hosted are in Albemarle County, either at Albemarle County schools, parks, or on the roads of Albemarle County. There are many group rides. [00:54:15] Some of the highlights that I want to mention, and they'll be detailed in next time's consent agenda, is this evening there's actually an opportunity to try out an e-bike at Dardentow Park. There's a whole series of e-bike demonstrations. [00:54:30] So tonight at Dardan Tau Park at 5.30, there'll be another e-bike demo at Lakeside Middle School on Monday the 6th, and then one at Crozet Elementary School on the 20th. All the Fridays after 5 during the month of May are going to have a bike valet parking service, so you can drop off your bike, get a ticket, and you don't have to worry about it. [00:54:56] and there'll be a hangout tent, and then also groups that work on bike and pedestrian safety will be pouring drinks and getting some of the proceeds. So, for example, the Three Notch Trail will benefit from the Fridays after 5 on the 24th. [00:55:13] Some of my other favorite events that are coming up is on Sunday, there's a family bike fest at Ix. Wednesday the 8th is National Bike Roll and Walk to School Day. And then on the 17th is National Bike to Work Day. [00:55:33] And that brings me to the Bike Month Business Challenge, which is sponsored by our friends at Rideshare. You can sign up your business for, you know, log your miles and get potential bragging rights and even possibly win an e-bike. [00:55:51] so i've got a bunch of flyers and bike month stickers i'll give to the clerk for you all happy bike month and see you around thank you peggy gilgus hi i'm peggy gilgus i live in the jack jewett district i want to thank you for the opportunity to speak to you all today about ragged mountain i wanted to do it a month ago but i was out of town um i'm strongly in favor of continuing the agreement between the city and county that was announced in March to protect the Ragged [00:56:31] Mountain Natural Area from overuse. As you've already heard from our other speakers today, it's a biodiversity hotspot and is worthy of ongoing preservation. The established purpose of the Ragged Mountain Natural Area was not as a park for many types of recreation, but for nature appreciation and quiet pedestrian-only usage of the trails, which as an older American myself, I am very grateful for. The Ragged Mountain Natural Area is one of only two natural areas [00:57:04] in the county, and together with Ivy Creek, the Ragged Mountain Natural Area provide only about 13 miles of trails specifically for pedestrian-only use. I would like to see the Board of Supervisors defend the Ragged Mountain natural area and honor the effort behind its original establishment. [00:57:26] It may be a popular idea to build more trails there and to accommodate mountain biking, but as the Center for Urban Habitats wrote in its excellent ecosystem survey of Ragged Mountain in 2016, new trails will contribute to the degradation and fragmentation of habitats for plant communities and wildlife that should be respected as they are and protected. Albemarle County has pledged to protect our natural heritage, including our biodiversity. It's sad but true that humanity [00:58:04] is crowding out species, not just with needs, but also with our wants. And I hope there is community support from everyone to protect our natural areas with this in mind. Thank you for the opportunity to speak. Thank you. And I'm hoping that I'm pronouncing this name right, because I'm struggling to read the name. [00:58:29] Is it Helmut? I may be mispronouncing this. And he's from Ravana, and he's speaking about taxes on vehicles. Is it Kenneth? [00:58:44] Kenneth Powell. I am really sorry. I was struggling. I didn't wear my glasses, so I don't even know if I can read what I wrote here. I'm a guy with my reading glasses. Well, I apologize. Yes, I'm sorry. Also, I'm from the Scottsville district, not Ravana. [00:59:00] Oh, it says Robana. Okay. Okay, I'm sorry. I'll correct that. All right. Yeah, my concern is I've been a native here my whole life, and my wife has too. My wife became disabled about 10 years ago, and unfortunately, in 2022, I had to give my job up because I became disabled with heart and vascular issues. [00:59:20] I've been in and out with surgeries and stuff. But I had one of your representatives figure out what my taxes are going to run me on my personal property, on my vehicles. and i've got an old trailer that i've been paying like 45 a year on she said that's going up to 121.50 a year that i just use for storage now it just sits in the yard um and my vehicles are going um she said from uh one thousand let's see one thousand forty two dollars a year to three thousand [00:59:57] four hundred and sixty six dollars a year which is an increase of two thousand four hundred twenty [01:00:03] $24 a year. My wife and I are both disabled down on fixed incomes. And I know there's a lot of other people in the community that are in my situation also. I just was hoping y'all would reconsider the rate before you raise it that high because it's going to really hurt us because I'm not able to go back to work in my condition. And I just hope y'all could reconsider the amount that you're asking for. And that's all I have. [01:00:38] thank you okay thank you thank you mr one thing mr galloway um will you i don't know if i could leave my number with you you you wanted a copy of this so you could it might have been a misconfiguration from you we got and we did get the copy we spoke before the meeting so i'll make sure i share that with you said scottsville with supervisor pruitt and then with staff i'll be making some comments when we get to that item on the agenda sorry to respond all right because we've we've got to leave he's got to get back okay so is there any place i could leave my phone number with you? I could write it down over here somewhere. I appreciate y'all letting me speak on [01:01:14] that. Thank you. Actually, we have your phone number because you wrote it down. We have it. Yep. Okay. Make sure it's correct. We have your phone number. Thank you for letting me comment on that. I hope y'all do consider. Yep. Are there any other speakers? That's it. Okay. We have no other speakers signed up, so thank you. Appreciate that, and we'll move on to item eight, which is the consent agenda. [01:01:40] I'm not aware of any amendments or things requested to be removed from the consent agenda. So I'm looking for a motion to approve the consent agenda. So moved. Second. I have a motion from Supervisor Malek and a second from Supervisor McKeel without objection if the clerk will call the roll. [01:01:59] Ms. McKeel? Yes. Mr. Pruitt? Aye. Mr. Andrews? Yes. Mr. Galloway? Yes. Ms. Lapista-Kirtley? Aye. Ms. Malek? Yes. Thank you. Board, first item on our regular now parts of the meeting here is to go through a number of motions related to the budget and tax rates, adoption of the calendar year 2024 tax rates, fiscal year 2025 budget, pay scales for 2025, borrowing resolution, capital improvement plan for the next five years, and appropriations for the fiscal year 2025 budget. This will be led by Mr. Ryan Davidson, [01:02:35] the deputy chief office of management and budget um welcome mr davidson and uh i'm not sure if we're going to go through one presentation and and then and then act on all seven resolutions one at a [01:02:51] time good afternoon ryan davidson deputy chief of budget um today we're going to be going through the various items and motions for the adoption of the tax rates fy25 budget and the fy 25 to 29 [01:03:23] cip we have several items for your action this afternoon and the following slides we will go through these items one by one and for each of these items listed here i'll provide a brief introduction and background followed by an opportunity for any board questions or comments and discussion and finally the staff recommendation however i would leave it to the pleasure of the board chair that if you would like for me to go through each of these items or to go through all these items in totality and then come back and take actions after the entire presentation we can do that, or we can address them one by one. [01:03:58] It makes sense. Thank you. Okay. I will handle it in that matter. For most of my comments on these items, we'll be brief and at the summary level, as for the most part, there's no new information being provided today as staff and the board have discussed each of these items at length in over the 15-plus hours of budget work sessions, public hearings, as well as the various town hall meetings throughout the budget process. [01:04:23] I said, for the most part, no new information, because as we get to item number three, there will be two slides with some additional information since the last time we met with the board. The first item will start with the tax rate resolutions and ordinances. On the screen are the four main tax rates that are set by the board, and the proposed budget is balanced on each of these rates presented here. This afternoon, the board will adopt the rates on three of the four taxes, real property, personal property, and transient occupancy. We will start with real [01:04:59] estate taxes. The real estate taxes included in the budget are at the current rate of 85.4 cents per $100 of assessed value. Each penny on this rate would be worth approximately $2.9 million. So if the board were to adopt a rate lower, then there would need to be a corresponding reduction or offset in the budget of that amount for each penny to accommodate that change. Because the board advertised a rate of 85.4 cents per hundred of assessed value, they're unable to adopt a rate higher than that, but they could go lower should they desire. Reassessments for FY24 were a 4.07% [01:05:37] increase over FY23. We discussed this previously at our public hearings. The lowered or effective rate, as a reminder to the board and to the public, what this represents is what the tax rate would have to be adjusted to in order to bring the exact same amount of revenue in for calendar year 24 as for calendar year 25 just based on the increases in reassessments, and that would be at 82.1 cents per $100 of assessed value. Moving on, next is personal property taxes. This rate applies to [01:06:14] individual personal properties such as individual vehicles, motorcycles, and boats, but it also applies to business tangible personal property as well as machinery and tools. The FY25 budget is based upon a 54 cent per $100 valuation increase in the rate to $3.96 per $100. This increase would generate approximately $4.5 million in shared revenue that would then go through our revenue split formula with the schools, capital debt, and local government. The proposed rate increase would bring the overall revenues from the source back to where it was in fiscal year 2022, which is when the board decreased this rate in order to mitigate the effect of the rapid rise in vehicle values [01:06:52] over the pandemic. Due to continued valuation changes in general, even with this increased rate, the average vehicle bills would remain steady, although there are always exceptions in individual situations would vary as we have seen in certain cases. So we will move past this slide and come back to it when we get to the actions, but this is to set the calendar year tax rates. Moving on, the next item is an ordinance to change, an ordinance change related to increasing the rate [01:07:31] of the transit occupancy tax for FY25 from 8% to 9%. This rate applies to all rooms or spaces in hotels, motels, travel, campgrounds, other facilities, offering rooms for fewer than 30 consecutive days. Each 1% increase equates to approximately $872,000 in shared, again, shared revenue that would go through the shared revenue split with schools, capital and debt, [01:07:56] and local government. Next will be the resolutions to adopt the FY25 budget. This is the total all funds budget of $642.2 million. And these charts highlight at a high level, the sources and use of those funds. As I mentioned previously, there have been multiple, there have been a couple of changes since the proposed all funds budget was advertised, and I will go over those in the next [01:08:28] two slides. First, there are a couple of county executive recommended adjustments. We are recommending that we allocate $114,560 from the Albemarle Charlottesville Regional Jail to the Reserve for Contingencies. As is common with many of our regional partners, we were provided an initial county contribution estimate from the Alba Marshalsville Regional Jail. As they continue to work and refine their budget, they provided us with a reduced contribution amount by approximately $114,000, to which we are recommending it be added to the ongoing reserve for contingencies amount. [01:09:07] The next two adjustments are really just technical in nature and are budget neutral. First would be to allocate $100,380 from the Department of Facilities and Environmental Services to the Department of Information Technology for as part of a reorganization which was the move of a systems analyst position from Fez to IT. Next would be to allocate $164,355 from social services to the police department and $57,969 to the fire department for their portions of the human services alternative response team. When we initially budgeted this and put these into the [01:09:43] budget they were all placed into the social services and this is just moving those to the costs where those positions and that equipment would actually live. So again, all of these were captured in the original attachments provided to the board and that were posted online. The next slide is public schools adjustments. This past Thursday, April 25th, the school board adopted their final budget. What was adopted resulted in a net increase of approximately $7 million to the all funds budget amount that was advertised for the purposes of the public hearing that was held [01:10:20] on April 17th. The changes were primarily due to expected increases in state funding and the use of fund balance in both their school fund and the school's special revenue funds. These changes were not captured in attachment C or attachment E that were included in the initial published agenda item, but the revised attachments were sent to the board prior to this meeting prior to the meeting and will be published online as well. And we will come back to this slide [01:10:51] as we will with this slide as well. Okay, moving on to what will be our fifth item. The budget is just a plan, and legally under Virginia Code, the resolution of appropriations is what actually grants authority to the county to spend money. This is where the plan starts to move into action and allows us the authority to do what we have planned. Two additional things to highlight in this actual resolution. The second bullet, each year the board grants a county executive authority to transfer funding for very specific purposes. And for transparency, we will provide to the board [01:11:29] with a report as part of our quarterly reports that shows the purpose and amount when this authority is utilized by the county executive. These items are more administrative in nature than policy decisions that would be more appropriate to be brought before the board at a regular meeting. Finally, also part of this resolution is an expectation related to our establishing expectations for our external county partners who are recipients of the county funds. It sets up expectations in reporting and separation of funding, among other [01:12:02] things, for our external partners. Finally, we'll move into the adoption of the capital improvement plan. Shown here is the total five-year FY25 to FY25 CIP, with amounts totaling $335 million for that five-year period. These amounts mirror what we have brought to the board and what we have began with our discussions with the school board and with the board throughout the budget process. [01:12:37] This resolution includes the adopted FY25 capital budget, which is the only year that the board officially appropriates, and this also includes the plan for fiscal years 26 through 29. Adoption of the out-year plan really helps staff and the board with future long-range planning and will be reviewed annually during the budget development process. Again, these out years help us to inform future long-range financial planning, but are not being requested for appropriation at this time. [01:13:08] And that wraps up my official, my background comments. And now I can go back. First, I believe, yeah, we'll go through our order for questions and comments. My hope is that we can address as much as we can in this segment. And then once we start doing the resolutions, of course, look to see if anyone has a comment after a motion has been made and seconded. But for discussion, but otherwise we'll go through the seven in order from there. So starting now [01:13:41] with comments and questions, Supervisor Prove. If we're just making comments on the tax rates at this time. I did not anticipate going through the order seven times. Okay, understood. So consolidate all comments we have for this moment. I realize that's exactly what you just said, but I just wanted to make sure we said it again while I've got resolution set tax rates in front my face. I've said this before, I am broadly in favor of the tax mechanisms that we've used here and identified here. I think staff has done some really great work in kind of articulating what we thought was the appropriate way to raise the funds for the priorities that we've set. And also just [01:14:19] if this is going to be the last word on the tax rates and the budget for this year, I would be remiss if I didn't reiterate the strongly held position I've had throughout this, which is that I think we're missing a very important opportunity to increase our funding for evictions. That is not something I'm going to hold up this budget over, but I do just want to reiterate as we continue to think about what we do with any additional monies that we have over this, that this is something that was included in staff's unfunded list. [01:14:48] It is something that has had more members of the public and more vocal members of the public, literally hundreds of people, sign petitions for, come speak to us for, in favor of additional funding. is something that we know we have strong, unquestioned, demonstrated, and quantifiable need for, which is a rare set of things that we can have. This amount of certainty that the need exists, and also it is something that has potential for significant cost savings through other lines of county work. I think this is a really easy decision to increase funding for [01:15:25] emergency eviction reduction, and I am disappointed that we're not able to include it this year or at this stage at this year. And I hope my colleagues and staff would continue to look for opportunities to identify funding as we move forward. Thank you. Thank you. Supervisor McKeel. I don't have any questions. Just a comment for staff and for all the folks since last fall that began working on this budget. It's been a challenging budget season. I think we always feel like every budget [01:16:00] season to some degree is challenging, but I do think coming out of the pandemic and losing some of the sources of money that the community and we had access to has made it extremely challenging for folks. We certainly appreciate everybody's hard work. We appreciate the community being involved and chatting with us, talking to us, reaching out to us. And I don't have any other [01:16:34] comments other than 15 hours, I believe, of budget discussions that we've made. And we still have a lot we need to do. And we'll have opportunities, I think, as we go through the year to see how we might address some of those opportunities. I think six pages, eight pages of unfunded actions that were not really a wish list but really there are some very important needs on those on those pages so with that thank you thank you supervisor malik thank you very much and i certainly agree that [01:17:10] while every year i think there's an even higher attainment rate of presentation of the facts and helping us to understand the details the minutiae in a in a prompt and clear way that so then we can also explain it to others has been even higher than last year so congratulations on that so i was i guess is there some broad level of data on the personal property tax expected impacts [01:17:41] do you think that i mean were you prepared for the example which was given during public comment because that seems like a pretty big increase and i don't know if that is regular or not and I do understand that the reason that the staff brought forward and the board approved the reduction originally was because of the very broad spread of those savings amongst the populace. [01:18:07] But now that the increases are happening, the opposite is also happening. So I'm just, my question is really about is what sort of data there is about anomalies or anything else that you can share about that today. I'll take that question. Jacob Sumner, Chief Financial Officer for the county. [01:18:23] Thank you about Supervisor Malek for that question. We have looked at our data as far as the personal property vehicles that we have in our system, and it's hard to create such a large data set and boil it down into just one or two examples. [01:18:41] But on average and across the whole data set, we looked at the depreciation or the lowering of the assessed values of those vehicles from their all-time high they had back in 2022. The reduction in those assessments, coupled with the proposed tax increase, for the most part, would have an almost even tax bill from the previous year. [01:19:09] Now, that's going to vary for a couple of reasons. So not every single person will see that, but a majority of the folks would see a similar tax bill as they saw the previous year. Our personal private tax relief goes into that calculation as well. And that will vary from vehicle to vehicle based on the value because the personal private tax relief only goes up to the first $20,000 of assessed value. [01:19:32] There's also different changes on the individual vehicles. So, for instance, one vehicle may have assessed a much lower percentage than another vehicle. But on average, across the board, the data set we looked at, we would anticipate to have a very similar tax bill for most residents. [01:19:52] but there will always be exceptions here and there. But do I understand correctly from what you just said that if the assessed value of a vehicle using whatever the national standard is has fallen, then more vehicles might qualify for the relief percentage than had before when they were so high. [01:20:15] And we took that into account when we looked at the calculation for the taxes. All right. Thank you very much. And that is all the questions I had. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you very much for a very thoughtful presentation. [01:20:33] I just have a couple comments actually. I know that in the future, and I do respect what Supervisor Pruitt said, and I'm hoping that at the midpoint additional funds could be found and perhaps that could go for additional funding. [01:20:53] That's something we'll have to see whether or not there's anything that comes about. But we also have to realize that our safer grants are coming due. And as our safer grants come due within the next several years, the county, we're going to have to pay, make up that balance. [01:21:10] I mean, that's, do I know the exact amount? No, but that's, I do know it's a lot of money because we're paying for all those firefighters, the fire rescue firefighters and EMTs. So that is something we have to keep in mind for the future, that those are coming due in the next several years that we're going to have to pay. [01:21:29] And like I said, sometimes additional monies do come up in six months, and then we may be able to tweak some things. But as Supervisor McKeel said, we have, what is it, eight or nine pages of unfunded things that we would have liked to have seen in the budget. [01:21:48] We couldn't see. We're like everybody else. We have to actually balance our budgets according to state law. And I thought County Executive Richardson did a great job along with his team to balance everything. [01:22:07] And I think we have a really good budget. Do we have everything we want? No. But we didn't raise our real estate tax rate. That's been stable for, is it six years now? And I know the personal property tax has fluctuated, and there are reasons for that also. [01:22:27] So barring any relief from the state, I'm supportive of this budget. Thank you. Thank you. Supervisor Galloway. Thank you. I do have some questions. So first, you know, like Supervisor Pruitt, there are items not funded in this budget that are concerning to me. [01:22:47] And if I were to find room for them, I would go to, like he suggested for his item, the Reserve for Contingencies to pay for it. I'm not going to make that request because I think over the years I've understood how the Reserve for Contingencies Fund has worked for us. [01:23:04] I'd just like to be kind of explicit with some of the things that are missing, or I feel are missing from the budget. So whether it's Emergency Assistance Fund, whether it's a DSS position, perhaps it's a community development position that is needed to help expedite processing of applications. [01:23:21] When we have a voted on budget and it's approved, and somebody, let's say in quarter two, comes to the county executive or perhaps they go to the CFO and say, the emergency assistance fund is depleted and we still have eight months to go. [01:23:38] We've got requests coming in, and this staff position, even though it's not funded, I don't know what we're going to do if we don't fill this position. Can you just speak to the process, whoever would appropriate, whether it's Mr. Richardson or Mr. Sumner, how in the operations, year in, year out, that reserve for contingencies allows us to hit needs if the need is depleted or a need pops up that we must fill? [01:24:05] Thank you, Supervisor Galloway. I'll take that question. Yes, so we will start with the reserve for contingencies that we have. And we break those down into two categories, whether they're funded through ongoing revenues or one-time revenues. And that helps give us some direction on what the need is and where to fund that from. [01:24:26] And when we're looking at one-time needs and one-time sources, we make sure we try to line those up in particular so we're not funding ongoing costs with one-time funding. So we'll start there. What we typically do is, as we go throughout the fiscal year, we'll have additional information, whether that's our tax collection rates, how the local economy is doing, so a lot of our consumer driven taxes. We'll evaluate our revenues. We'll also evaluate our spending, make sure that we're able to stay within the currently appropriated budget. And taking that all that into context, [01:25:02] we then assess the need that's before us. So if it's a need for additional emergency assistance, or if there's additional need for a different position to help services, that's something that we'll look at in that context. We do have some ability within the county executive's authority that's a part of one of the resolutions that you'll vote on today that gives the authority for the county executive to use some of those reserve for contingency funds. We report those back to the board quarterly as part of our quarterly reports as one of our attachments. [01:25:35] and that is the the high level the process we look at starts with gathering as much information as we can obviously earlier in the fiscal year we have less information as we would later in the fiscal year we also have more budget availability at the beginning because we've just started a new budget cycle and then we'll take all the information into account and look at the need and try to take a holistic approach from county services county community needs and and then the remaining balance in our funds. [01:26:06] - I appreciate the response. I think it's important for members of the community to understand that. I presume that our department heads know that that is something that they can do if the need is pressing and something's been expended and they would come to the appropriate individual to make that request, even if it's mid fiscal year. [01:26:26] I wanna talk about the car. I've struggled with this car, with this personal property tax for the cars. I'm going to, I can't make sense of the individual who spoke today in terms of there should not be 200, 300% increases in values of cars. [01:26:44] So I'm going to make the presumption that whatever, you know, this wasn't an individual doing this on the back of an envelope. He's talked to county staff and got these answers. So I'm just going to presume that the information that was communicated was indifferent or was wrong. Because, you know, if values hold year over year, if they hold, then their tax bill should go up. But if $0.54, an increase to the tax rate, is increasing values 100%, 200%, or 300%, that doesn't make sense to me. So I'm hoping, can you just speak to that concern? Because I'm hoping [01:27:23] that's just a miscommunication of the values on a tax bill. We'll look at the specific situation, but what comes to mind is the comparison from one year to the next. So what I would be interested in is the number of vehicles, the types of vehicles that were on last year's tax bill versus this year's, and the values of those. There's opportunities. We see the data move quite a bit throughout the calendar year with people buying vehicles, selling vehicles, [01:27:57] and those adjustments happen all the time. So without having the details right in front of me, I would need to do a little more research to look at that. Well, I'm going to, I mean, I'm not going to hold up anything today relative to the vote. I'll provide you what the gentleman who spoke did, but this happens to be an area that I'm a little dangerous in. And looking at this list of vehicles, I don't understand. And I'm not just saying I don't understand because I'm clueless. I'm a little, I'm somewhat informed on this and I don't understand. So this is one [01:28:29] where I guess the follow-up question I would have specific to this, you know, car values have continued to decline somewhat. So you should, you'll probably be coming to a snatched budget cycle, even though we've increased the rate saying we maybe didn't collect the revenue that we were targeting, maybe in the second part of the year because the values continue to drop. But if the reverse happens whether values spike or something goes haywire that we don't know about and we collect more revenue than we were targeting so we've got extra money from this particular source [01:29:05] I know it turns into one-time monies that what's ended up in the end of year surplus what you know if that were to occur I will be asking the board to consider what to do with those extra funds specific on this one and I think I'm clear on what the options may be we keep it We don't keep it. And there's different ways to go about it within that basic statement. [01:29:31] You know, I'm supporting the increase. I understand the rationale behind to get to the revenue. You're basically equalizing back to a certain time. So I understand that rationale. And the items that we are using the additional revenue to pay for, I think, are critical and important. Otherwise, I was not ready to support this particular tax increase. [01:29:55] But the public safety positions in just the last 30 days, you know, Colonel Reeves and the fire chief have left. But, I mean, we've had to have hit capacity just in the last 30 days more than probably three or four times. And I'm not even sure, you know, and it's probably happened on events that I'm not aware of. [01:30:15] So those positions have to be filled. And, you know, even to the gentleman that spoke today, I'd be saying, well, this is the reason. It's important to do this, and I do believe that for all of those public safety positions. So I hope that you will give a good response to the gentleman, just because if we've miscommunicated information, that's creating some stress. [01:30:40] And that's a training item, in my opinion, that could help with other people that maybe call in and ask questions about their tax bills. It may be left a car out. I don't know. There's some fact checking that has to be there. Relative to the school amount, if the schools don't get what they're projecting they're going to get from this, I mean, the state hasn't finalized. I mean, are they eight out of 10 confident? Nine out? I mean, if they don't get that seven million bucks, we're voting on it. [01:31:05] So talk to me about what their confidence level is with their state projection. And what is their contingency plan if the state doesn't come through? That's a fantastic question. At the school board meeting, when they approved their budget, one of the things that I noted that was in the details is they have $700,000 of state revenue contingency. And what that means is if the budget that comes back from the state is $700,000 less than what they have anticipated [01:31:43] and included in this budget, they could make that reduction in their budget without impacting any additional expenditures. They would just reduce that contingency. $700,000? That's correct. And so the basis of their state revenue is what was in the conference budget that was sent to the governor. So that was their starting payment. So any difference from that amount would first go towards that contingency that they have set up. And then after that, then they'd have to look at additional expenditure reserves, should that funding be less. I mean, their hit was $8 million. [01:32:19] now they're projecting they're going to get $7 million. I don't expect they're not going to get $7 million. They'll get some portion of $7 million. But the variance could be more than $700,000. And they, I mean, all right, it's their ball field, right? And I do want to clarify one item with regards to the state amount that was increased in the school's budget. It was not the entire $7 million. Some of that was use of fund balance for them. It was closer to the $4.7 $7 million, $4.8 million increase amount, which is still a large number, but not quite the full [01:32:57] $7 million. The rest was coming from fund balance usage. Yeah, I mean, if they get down to like a $2 million, $3 million gap, that just, I mean, I'm not saying that that's unimportant, but that's doable. That's more reasonable than doing stark cuts and reductions, but they know that they're going to have to go to expenditures and make some decisions. It's not, revenue's not coming back to backfill if the state doesn't come through. Thank you. That's all I had. Okay. Thank you. [01:33:29] I actually addressed several of the questions I had, particularly relating to the state budget and the schools and how that is impacted by what we're doing now at this point, ahead of any clarity from the state on this issue. I now respect, after having been here just a couple years, that we see budget amendments throughout the year, and that's an important part of the process. And I recognize that during this entire process, we have been weighing revenues against expenditures and needs that need to be met through those expenditures. And so the compromises that [01:34:05] we've reached at this point are the ones that I'm certainly willing to live with, but would love to, you know, revisit as opportunities present themselves for us to revisit them, which I hope will happen um so i'm very supportive um at this point board um i would like to start to suggest motions and have us move forward um the first of course oh i also wanted to comment that i am very concerned about the vehicle values discrepancy because just the calculation quick calculation is that the increase should be about 15 percent not um the percentages that we were seeing but of [01:34:43] Of course, those are averages and not based on any one particular's property, whether it's real property or personal property. So with that, do we have a motion to adopt the resolution to set calendar year 2024 tax rates in the form of attachment A? [01:35:01] So moved. Second. We have a motion from Supervisor McKeel, second from Supervisor Malik. If there is no objection, the clerk will call the roll. Ms. McKeel? Yes. Mr. Pruitt? Aye. Mr. Andrews? Yes. Mr. Galloway? Yes. Ms. LaPistoe-Kirtley? [01:35:17] Aye. Ms. Malik? Yes. Thank you. We will now entertain a motion to adopt an ordinance to amend the transient occupancy tax rate in the form of attachment B. So moved. Second. We have a motion from Supervisor Malik, a second from Supervisor McKeel. [01:35:34] Without objection, the clerk will call the roll. Ms. McKeel? Yes. Mr. Pruitt? Aye. Mr. Andrews? Yes. Mr. Galloway? Yes. Ms. LaPistoe-Kirtley? Aye. Ms. Malik? Yes. Next up, Board, we have a revised budget resolution. so I'm asking for a motion to adopt the fiscal year operating and capital budget in the revised form distributed by Mr. Davidson as updated attachment C. So moved. Second. We have a motion from Supervisor McKeel, second from Supervisor Malek. Without objection, if the clerk will call the roll. Ms. McKeel? Yes. Mr. Pruitt? Aye. Mr. Andrews? Yes. Mr. Galloway? Yes. Ms. Lapista-Kirtley? [01:36:11] Aye. Ms. Malek? Yes. Thank you. Fourth, we need a motion to adopt the resolution to set the fiscal year 2025 salary scales in the form of attachment D. Aye. So moved. Second. We have a motion from Supervisor Lapisto-Kirtley, a second from Supervisor McKeel. Without objection, the clerk will call the roll. Ms. McKeel? Yes. Mr. Pruitt? Aye. Mr. Andrews? Yes. Mr. Galloway? Yes. Ms. Lapisto-Kirtley? [01:36:36] Aye. Ms. Malik? Yes. Next, if we could please have a motion to adopt the annual resolution of appropriation in the revised form distributed by Mr. Davidson as updated attachment e. So moved. Second. We have a motion from Supervisor McKeel, second from Supervisor Malek. Without objection, the clerk will call the roll. Ms. McKeel? Yes. Mr. Pruitt? Aye. Mr. Andrews? Yes. Mr. Galloway? Yes. [01:37:04] Ms. Pisto-Kirtley? Aye. Ms. Malek? Yes. Thank you. We're almost there. The next matter requires a motion to adopt the resolution of official intent to reimburse expenditures with proceeds of a borrowing in the form of attachment F. So moved. Second. Motion from Supervisor Malek. Second from Supervisor McKeel. Without objection, if the clerk will call the roll. Ms. McKeel? Yes. Mr. Pruitt? [01:37:28] Aye. Mr. Andrews? Yes. Mr. Galloway? Yes. Ms. Lapista-Kirtley? Aye. Ms. Malek? Yes. And finally, the board. Is there a motion to adopt the fiscal year 25 through 29 capital improvement plan in the form of attachment G? So moved. Second. We have a motion from Supervisor Lupisto-Curtley, a second from Supervisor McKeel. Without objection, the clerk will call the roll. Ms. McKeel? Yes. Mr. [01:37:56] Pruitt? Aye. Mr. Andrews? Yes. Mr. Galloway? Yes. Ms. Lupisto-Curtley? Aye. Ms. Malik? Yes. Thank you, board. Yes, Mr. Davidson. I was going to say, while I have the microphone, before I go, I wanted to take a minute to really recognize several people related to their work on this budget. You know, as you know, it really takes a village to bring this budget across the finish line. And so I wanted to start by thanking the board for their leadership and their guidance through this. I wanted to continue with our county executive, Mr. Richardson, and our CFO, Mr. Sumner for their guidance, leadership, and partnership, as well as the entire executive [01:38:34] leadership team, all the department heads, budget, and finance. And I especially wanted to thank the OMB staff. They're hating me right now for doing this, but Laura Van Zandt, Tia Mitchell, and Thomas Unsworth for all their hard work, dedication, and high quality work throughout the process. [01:38:50] I'd like to ask them to stand just to be recognized. Now they really hate me. party on thank you andy jacob and i may be the ones out in front of this and what people see giving these presentations and leading the discussions but none of this would be possible without the hard work dedication and long hours that these individuals put in and continue with the high quality budget work they do year after year and we're highly appreciative of that and and very thankful that to have them on our staff thank you that's all oh i very much appreciate [01:39:26] that i'm glad we took the time to do that that's extremely important but board we now have a 15 minute recess before us so we will come back at uh in 15 minutes so i guess that's uh five of [01:39:40] three are you ready great uh welcome back everyone i apologize for the slight delay in getting back [02:00:34] started again um the next three items are special exception homestays and these will be led up by leah brumfeldt the senior planner too welcome um and i guess we'll take each one in turn thank you Absolutely. Thank you very much. And good afternoon, everybody. This presentation is for special exception 2023-37 at 6712 Jarman's Gap Road. This is a 22-acre parcel in Crozet containing two dwellings. The first dwelling, a four-bedroom farmhouse built around [02:01:10] 1910-ish, is proposed for use as the homestay. The second dwelling, a two-bedroom cottage built before 1900, is the full-time dwelling of a renter who will be serving as resident agent for the homestay. The parcel is owned by the Blairbrook Farm LLC, which is in turn owned by Ms. Lori Ballinger, who lives out of state. She has the intention to retire the property eventually and hopes to rent out the house as a homestay in the meantime, thus our special exception request today. So by right, the 22-acre parcel is permitted to rent up to five guest sleeping [02:01:49] spaces within a single-family dwelling or an accessory structure built before August 7th, 2019, as long as the property is occupied by the owner. As this parcel is occupied by a renter and owned by an LLC, the owner has requested a special exception to permit her resident agent to fulfill residency requirements for the homestay. If the special exception is approved, the owner of the parcel must at that point apply for a zoning clearance, and during that process, the structure used for the homestay would be inspected for building and fire safety, and the owners would send a notice to their neighbors providing them with contact information [02:02:29] for their responsible agent who can be contacted in case of any emergencies or disturbances related to the homestay. Homestays are also required to provide guest parking on site with a rate of one parking space per guest bedroom. These two aerials which were included in the staff report show the location of the two dwellings in the parcel in the image in the left and a close-up of the structure proposed for use as a homestay in the image on the right. As you can see on the left, the parcels proposed for the homestay use is located in the center of parcel and the resident [02:03:07] agent's dwelling is located near the front entrance of the parcel off of Jarman's Gap Road. This aerial shows the siting of the proposed homestay structure with vegetation on all sides, which was also visible on the previous parcel in the GIS aerial as well. As such, staff would like to note factors to be considered for a special exception. [02:03:37] And due to the nature of our special exceptions, which do run with the land, we have analyzed the use based on the property itself and the use in the greater context of the neighborhood the the use is not permission for an individual resident agent but rather a land use decision that is for a resident agent in general and the confirmation of a resident agent living on the parcel full-time is confirmed during the zoning clearance process and then during the short-term rental registry updates every year. So as such, staff does not believe [02:04:14] that the general use of a homestay with a resident agent on this parcel proposes any adverse impacts to the surrounding neighborhood, public health, safety, or welfare, and that the proposed special exception is consistent with the comprehensive plan and is consistent in size and scale with the surrounding neighborhood. As such, we recommend the following motion, and that concludes staff presentation on SE 2337 for 6712 Jarman's Gap Road. Thank you. Board will go through our order for questions. Supervisor Pruitt. Yes. In the application, I was actually not able to find [02:04:53] a clear image of where the resident manager is staying. I see several things of the farmhouse, but not of this resident manager cottage that apparently the two people currently live in. do we have any any images of that um not in this presentation um it's a small white cottage um it's pretty small it's about two bedrooms it's very cute um i don't have any in this presentation but uh if you look on redfin they are available there got it um and have we seen um homestay [02:05:30] requests before that involve someone simultaneously being a client and an employee right this because that is the case we have here, right? You're having a tenant who presumably is paying rent and is also presumably receiving some kind of stipend or pay in their capacity as a property manager. So we have, we don't inquire as to the details of the legal transactions between them, but we do have a similar situation over near, well, the only one that I know off the exact top [02:06:04] my head um uh near the um fried chicken spot michi's tavern uh right across the street from there there is a resident agent um in a in a house there who also uh serves i believe as the resident manager for those homestays sure i guess this one kind of just gets at one of my concerns with this specific kind of special exception um it seems like we don't really have a meaningful way of validating whether or not this is really just a short-term rental and a long-term rental masquerading on the same property, if this is an actual resident manager scenario, right? Is this actually [02:06:44] getting around the purpose of having a resident manager? Is this person actually filling that role? We don't even have a letter from the proposed resident managers. We have documentation from the applicant. This is not enough for me to hold up my concerns on this, but it's just, you know, I think we always love to find new ways that we don't like the homestay regulations, and this is another way I think I don't like the homestay regulations. Also Supervisor Pruitt if we I don't know how familiar you are with the after the special exception process because that's in our [02:07:20] office doesn't come before you guys but part of that process for the homestay clearance is sending contact information for the responsible agent to all of the abutting property owners and that includes contact information where they can be reached at any point during a homestay stay so the resident agent may, in fact, not be the responsible agent. They may be somebody who is contracted out of a, for example, a State Charlottesville type of organization where [02:07:53] they're managing the property. The resident agent here is really just for the residency requirements for someone on the property. I appreciate that explanation. I think it further drives home the In fact, it doesn't make me feel better. It basically illustrates that we have worked out a way to get around the desire to have a homestay be owner-occupied in a way that is not even resembling owner-occupation. [02:08:20] It's just there is another tenant also on the property, and we recognize that they're not filling the role of responsible agent. They're just filling the specific paperwork role. There are also a number of owner-occupied homestays that use these services. Okay. Thank you. That's all I have. [02:08:39] Supervisor McHugh. So help me understand, we actually confirm, you said yearly. So tell me about that process and what are we actually confirming or how are we confirming it? Sure. So with the exemptions that are written into the state code, so if it's a registered bed and breakfast with the health department or if it was a homestay that is under a different set of legislation under the health department, they're not, they're not, they're exempt from this, but all of the ones we're talking about today [02:09:14] would not be exempt. So these go under the short-term rental registry. A applicant has to renew their short-term rental registry annually. And at that point, the fire marshal goes out to the property or one of their inspectors goes out to the property for a, for a fire inspection to make sure that the windows aren't painted shut. There's no electrical wires anywhere that they shouldn't be, that the fire extinguisher is not expired. And at that point, we confirm with the [02:09:51] resident agent, with their contact information, that they are living there. Okay. And that's by appointment? Yes. I mean, for staff, it has to be by appointment, but I get it. But we're making an appointment with them and saying to them, we're coming to talk to you about this. And we do that annually? Yes, we do that for all of our inspections are appointment-based. We don't do surprise inspections. Right, right. Thank you. That's the only question I had. Thank you. [02:10:21] Supervisor Malek. I think you, as the clarification on the short-term registry was what I was seeking, if there were a complaint from one of the neighbors, that would be a different situation, probably, as far as inspection was concerned, but maybe not. Because it's residential, maybe there is no such thing as a drop-in as opposed to a business. So I believe that inspectors, if there is a violation, can go knock on the door. They cannot trespass anymore. Lisa's coming. Lisa's [02:10:51] coming. Good afternoon, board. Lisa Green, manager of code compliance. Excuse me. If we have a complaint, we would follow the process that we do that we have for any other complaint and all complaints. And yes, we would contact the property owner and make arrangements to do an on-site inspect thoroughly. Thank you. Okay. Just wanted to make sure. And I guess always in our minds from [02:11:28] when this process began, we were talking about preserving residential components. And where it seems like this has evolved is because of what the legals demand for the LLC not being a person, that kind of thing so i'm well i i think this is a great location for this and they do i mean i hope that the true owner is going to be coming back to live in the house in a few years um i guess i'll just have to see but that's all i have thank you thank you supervisor lapisto currently yep a point [02:12:03] of clarification the the reason we have a a resident manager either the person who owns a home or someone who's living there looking after the property is so that if there are problems on the property, the neighbors can call in and say too much noise or this is happening or that's happening. But the requirement is that there has to be someone able to respond to a complaint so that we're not responding to the complaint, saving us time, but that the owner or resident [02:12:36] manager is responding to the complaint. Is that correct? So the resident agent may or may not be the responsible agent. And this is particularly comes into play when we have unhosted stays, because if you have an unhosted stay on a large rural area parcel, there is no one in residence. [02:12:57] But we have required that there be someone who is available, regardless of whether the owner is on vacation for the Christmas holidays or not, someone has to be available within an hour to respond to complaints and to try and solve the problem. So in most cases, the responsible agent is the same person as the resident of the parcel. But in some cases, it may be a different person. [02:13:22] Right. And that's because maybe the owner of the parcel owns another parcel. This was given to them through inheritance and they don't live there, but they want to be able to, you know, contribute money. You know, they want to pay taxes or they want to be able to earn some income from that to be able to keep up the property. So then we allow this, correct? [02:13:43] So the requirement that we have someone living on the property who is the resident of the property, that goes back to the concerns about this not being a residential property. So it has to be, first, a residential property. Secondly, it has to be, there has to be someone available to to address problems. Um, so that that's kind of two separate, uh, problems and two separate solutions. And sometimes they are the same person, but they are not always. Okay. All right. Thank [02:14:17] you very much. Thank you. Supervisor Galloway. I have no questions. Thank you. Um, I don't know if I have so much questions as I guess I've got concerns if I understand this correctly, that this is a uh an owner who does not live not just next door but doesn't live in the county at all but has acquired this property and they've stated that their intent is to maybe come here and live someday but at this point they just start owning property and using it to produce an income through [02:14:49] a tenant who's staying in the small house and then a homestay use for the for the main house which feels a lot like what we were trying to avoid if I'm correct. I know this is separate from the question of who's the responsible agent and who's the resident manager and I recognize that we have resident managers who are not the responsible agents but in most cases haven't we had an owner who was nearby at least or perhaps you know zoned in an LLC but the owner still was [02:15:28] it was essentially there um in most cases we have we had had we did have one situation where the resident agent was um the uh relative of someone who lived out of state right so they were yeah direct family member uh again i feel that's a different situation than when you really just it feels like an investor uh owns some property in elmorrow county and is trying to find a way to [02:15:59] make income off? I would advise caution about applying the regulations based on where the owner lives. There has been legal precedent for that to not be upheld as permissive to apply regulations differently based on where the owner lives, whether it's in state or in the area. [02:16:30] Okay. Are we familiar with whether this owner has any other properties elsewhere that they're operating as home states? I'm not aware of any. And that's not in any way in our application process that we would find that out? We search within Albemarle County, but it's not possible to know if there is something out of state or in another municipality. Okay. Right. LLC. Thank you. [02:17:04] I don't have any other questions. Chair, if I may, just before we go on, I just want to say this because, I mean, I don't think I'm going to vote in favor of this, so I feel like I need to explain that thoroughly right now. If I were to intuit an intent from the requirement for an on-site resident manager, I would intuit that when this law was created, there was a desire to not disable housing stock. [02:17:32] Right? You want it to either be housing stock that is already effectively disabled because it is a vacation home, or you want housing stock that is still being used for full residential capacity, and they also want to have this additional use. This I see as disabling housing stock, necessarily, because the home that is going to be proposed for tenant use, for Airbnb use, for Vervo use, is vacant. [02:17:59] There are two dwelling units on there. One of them is currently inhabited by a long-term tenant, and one of them is completely uninhabited. In the alternative, if this was not approved, what you then have is likely a long-term rental property available on the market, an additional five-bedroom long-term rental property available on the market. [02:18:21] And if it is approved, what you have is a bed and breakfast, which is not what it is zoned up for, and it's also not what I would intuit is the intent of the regulation as it's put forward to us. I see this as cutting against the intent of this law and also, frankly, cutting against what I see as a lot of the goals of the county in enabling housing stock in a way that is not true necessarily of all homestays that come before us. [02:18:56] Did you want me to address that, or is that just a comment? If you disagree with that characterization, I'd love to hear more. I think that that could be a concern that the board could definitely address. That was not written into the regulations themselves, and we have not applied that to previous approvals. [02:19:15] We have approved homestays for residences multiple times, and that is a by-right thing if the owner actually lived on the property. We have parcels that have more than two dwellings on them, and the owner lives in one and then rents out the other. [02:19:34] And those are dwellings. Those are dwellings that could be in housing stock. But we do not currently have a way to deny that if they live on the parcel. So this would be applying that regulation differently. Sure. Thank you. I appreciate that. [02:19:49] I'm still trying to wrap my head around where we're drawing the line. If this, I understand that I can't be concerned about where the owner actually lives. [02:20:11] We have talked about the LLC structure as not something that we were hoping would enable a company to go and buy up properties throughout the county and put a tenant on who served as resident manager and then start using them as homestays. [02:20:29] So how do we make that distinction? I am not prepared to propose new legislation at this time. I didn't mean for it to be new legislation. I meant simply as far as our authority to draw this distinction between an entity that does this as a business as opposed to a convenience for an owner to be able to use their property for some additional income. [02:21:06] I'm not going to stay quiet on this. Some of us, when we voted on the home state regulation, disagree with a lot of the things being said here. and the special exception process was a way forward to get us the ability to allow property owners to use their property in a way they desired. So there is some level of that, that is the property owner's right and their right to use the property as they wish, and a lot of the restrictions that were put in place, and there were a lot more restrictions that were not put in place that the board wanted, but the final agreement was special use permits was a way to [02:21:44] at least contemplate it so it came back before the board. It just seems like every time one of these homestay things come to us, we're rehashed. We're wanting to rehash the ordinance. If we need to do that, then we need to get back into the ordinance doorwork and not put these applicants through this process every single time. I would think come July 1, Mr. Herrick's review of the change in state code would allow, would probably alleviate some of the concerns because then at least you can tie it to the property owner and not the property but you know I'm not I'm in the minority I was in the minority then I'll be in the minority now but the fact is is that this is a [02:22:21] person who's purchased property they can use it as a long-term rental they can use it by right for whatever purpose they have the ability to do if we deny it then they can't use it as an Airbnb I suppose but it's still their property and they'll have to find another way to use it as Supervisor Pruitt said. But I think that goes against what somebody bought this property for a reason. [02:22:43] The homestay use is restricted even on them for different things. The responsible agent is to handle the impacts if they're addressed. I mean, some of us were in favor of just a responsible agent because the impacts were the, everybody was yelling about the impacts. Oh, well, what if there's a party or what if there's noise violations or whatever, there's this or that. [02:23:03] If you have a responsible agent, and if you remember, Supervisor Randolph was the one using, I think it was Aspen's homestay regulation about that they only require a responsible agent to deal with impacts, not the use. So, I mean, I get it. [02:23:19] We can have this debate every single homestay special exception that comes forward. But if you all are unhappy with the ordinance, then we need to get back in and deal with that. Go ahead. Supervisor, Mr. Craig. [02:23:35] I agree with what Supervisor Galloway said. And I think we do have, they have come before us as LLCs. I think none of us want to have a company that comes in and does purchase a lot of properties. But a lot of people, there are a number of people that do have LLCs for their protection. [02:23:56] They put their homes in an LLC, not to purchase multiple properties, but to protect themselves. So we have agreed with that. We have done that. we have allowed that I have seen where we have allowed resident agents because there is a rural area we have a rural area urban area and we have all kinds of exceptions to the rule and I think that's why we have the people come before us so we can judge it on an individual basis but this is something we have approved before unless there's something that I'm not aware of and we're not [02:24:34] always assured of someone putting it for sale. We don't know the circumstances of why they own this home. Was it inherited? Did they purchase it? Are they meaning to come back? We don't know that. So we can't say they purchased it for a business opportunity. I appreciate the distinction and I do want to say that, you know, I'm actually not, I don't think I'm against this particular case in part because you said that this is something you've looked into the, whether they're doing this elsewhere in the county. I'm simply asking the question with the ordinance that we have, if they were doing this, if I hadn't asked that question, or if we found out that, oh, this [02:25:14] is one of 12 that they do throughout the county, have we addressed this in our ordinance? If we haven't addressed this in our ordinance, and I agree with Supervisor Galloway, we can't address it now. We're not asking that question. But I wanted to hear the answer to understand whether we're asking the question, are we looking at an owner who has just got this one property, or are we looking at an owner that's doing this throughout? And I've heard that question asked many times in connection with these homestays in the past, so I want to make sure I understand. [02:25:45] It would definitely, oh, sorry. Go ahead. It would definitely require some in-depth study. We also have a number of family LLCs in the county that are owned by entire generations of people. I have no problem with the LLC concept. And that LLC may own five different properties that they have homestays on that each individual family member lives on, and then they have another guest house or a basement they rent out. So this would be something we would have to consider very, very carefully. Thank you. It gets complicated. It does. To get back to the rotation. So. Okay. [02:26:18] Yeah. Sorry. That's okay. And I appreciate everything that everybody said. I just don't, I was just going to ask Steve as our, or Andy, do you all have any comments on any of this discussion, I'd like, I'd be interested in hearing from one of our attorneys. I'm going to invite Mr. Herrick to address the issue. Good afternoon, Supervisors. Andy Herrick, Deputy County Attorney. [02:26:45] I would encourage the supervisors to take a look at our draft resolution. The staff recommendation was for approval, and therefore our draft resolution is for approval. However, it lists out what the considerations are, and I believe Ms. Brumfield in her presentation also had there were four specific considerations. So regardless of whether the board chooses to approve or deny this, I would encourage the board to articulate its reasons for that using the considerations that are in the ordinance. So for example, if the board wishes to deny this, it should find that it's inconsistent with the comprehensive plan or that it's adverse to neighboring parcels. Again, those [02:27:24] are the considerations that are in the ordinance. So as long as the board's findings are framed in that context. That would be my suggestion. Just trying to bring us back to where with this particular. Now, if we want to have a discussion about the ordinance at some other time and agree to do that, then we can do that. And if the board chooses to deny this, again, the resolution that staff has prepared is a resolution for approval. If the board wishes to deny it, we may want some additional time to draft up a resolution to deny that would include those findings. That's great. [02:27:57] Thank you very much. Thank you. Appreciate it. And I would say just, thank you, Andy, I appreciate it. Just to sort of, Mike, I understand your concerns that you expressed about taking away properties out of the, taking them away from our stock. [02:28:18] And this really is not, I'm not being critical of this particular one. I would just simply say that my experience and my thoughts are, this is a rural area. I am much more concerned about the Airbnbs or the short-term rentals in the development area where we've been losing affordable housing stock as they roll over to short-term rentals. [02:28:43] And that's not the case here at all. So with that, I'm comfortable. I don't have any more questions. Supervisor Melvin. Thank you. So I guess at the grounding of my thought on this, that we have to address this application based on the rules today. [02:29:03] And I definitely have concerns and lots of memories about other debates going forward. I remember Amelia talking about how for the owner, you can only have one property in which is your primary residence. That's why the number of days, blah, blah, blah. [02:29:20] So then we got into the trap with the LLC, which has never been able to quite mesh as well, except for those family things and the house here and the house there. That have, I guess, means that then that creates the trap for the other ones that don't really meet those characteristics. [02:29:40] So in the solutions category, I would just ask our attorney staff to think about going forward and respond whenever they could. Do we have authority to say that this is only for only occupied going forward, that we have to make it more restrictive than we used to have? [02:30:02] Is that a solution that prevents what I think I read about nationally is an overwhelmingly used way to just hedge fund people are owning thousands of these properties all over the place and give each one a different LLC and nobody's asking or doesn't have any way to check. [02:30:24] So I guess I don't have enough expertise on this to know what opportunities we could have to get better information to begin with. And I guess the main attorney question is, do we have the authority to require an affidavit that says you must list all of your other residential LLC things in Amar County? [02:30:45] Because that would be at least a way to know. I think people, many of the applications which we've had, the one on the back of, over there behind Cloverfields in Ravana, there are others, the one we did in Crozet last time. [02:31:00] They were very upfront about the fact that this is our family LLC, and one child lives here, and a grandchild lives there, and that's the way we're doing it. This one is not quite as clear, and I'm concerned about that. But I also think that when looking at the four criteria in attachment F, it meets every single one of them. [02:31:18] So there's no way I can vote no on that because it's not fair to change the rules in the middle of the stream. But anyway, this is, I really look forward to trying to think about it going forward. And there'll be more questions raised in some of the others where there's a much more recent building that has been all of a sudden proposed to build a brand new structure for something that is sort of bringing back earlier discussions of no, no, no, it had to be standing before 2019. [02:31:45] So we'll talk about that in the next one. Thank you. Thank you. Any further comments? Supervisor Galloway. I'm good as well. We're looking for the Whitehall District here, so I will turn to Supervisor Malik. Very good, and I will move approval of the resolution to approve SE 2023-37-6712 Jarman's Gap Road Homestay with the criteria as described in the resolution F. Second. We have a motion from Supervisor Malik with a second from Supervisor Galloway without objection if the clerk will call the roll. Ms. [02:32:24] McKeel? Yes. Mr. Pruitt? No. Mr. Andrews? Yes. Mr. Galloway? Yes. Ms. Lapista-Kirtley? Aye. Ms. Malik? Yes. Thank you board. Thank you for your patience on that one and we'll move on to the next which I believe is in the Jack Jewett district. Ms. Brompton? Thank you. So moving on we are looking at special exception 2023-14 at 2020 Wingfield Road. It is a 2.65-acre rural area parcel in the [02:33:03] Ivy Creek area in the Jack Jewett District. The parcel contains a single-family dwelling and a guest cottage. The guest cottage was previously outfitted with a kitchen and served as a long-term rental, but this was a conversion that was not in line with the development rights of the rural area. The parcel is occupied by the owners, and they are requesting a special exception to use the guest cottage, which is an accessory structured on a rural area parcel less [02:33:33] than five acres, as a location for a two-bedroom homestay. So by right, the 2.65-acre parcel is permitted to rent up to two guest sleeping spaces within the single-family dwelling. The applicants are requesting to use the existing structure as the homestay location for the two-bedroom homestay. Parking would be located off street and the property owners would be required to be on site during all rentals as no unhosted stays are permitted on parcels of less than five acres. [02:34:12] If the special exception was approved, the owners would then apply for a homestay zoning clearance and during that process, the structure would be inspected for building and fire safety and the owners would send notice to their neighbors, providing them contact information with a responsible agent. And as we have discussed with the applicant, and they have confirmed they are aware, the structure would need to be returned to an accessory structure before the homestay clearance could be approved. As the full kitchen that was added for the long-term renter makes the cottage into a full dwelling, and a 2.65 acre parcel may only legally contain one dwelling. [02:34:51] The cottage was built as an accessory structure. That was the permitting in the building process that it received but did not receive approval as a full dwelling, a single family dwelling. There is currently a zoning violation on the parcel for the structure as a dwelling as it is in violation of the development rights allowance on the rural area parcel. So this aerial shows a location the pros host homestay at the yellow star in relation to the owner's dwelling which [02:35:27] is marked by the red star. And you can also see the internal circular driveway that would be directly in front of the homestay. Zooming out a little bit, we see the location of the proposed homestay, again, marked with the yellow star in relation to neighboring dwellings. [02:35:46] The parcel directly to the left of the homestay location is not occupied. It contains only equipment sheds. We did, after the staff report was submitted to the board on the Granicus process, we did receive comments from neighbors who were concerned about homestay uses. [02:36:09] They noted that they preferred the structure be used as a full-time rental, which is unfortunately not permitted. And they were concerned about the general character of the neighborhood. They were very clear that they did not have specific complaints or concerns about the individual property owner, or the overall use of the individual cottage, just in general not in favor of homestays in the neighborhood. And as such, we would again like to note the factors to be considered for a special exception, whether there are adverse impacts to the surrounding neighborhood, [02:36:46] adverse impacts to the public health, safety, and welfare, whether the special exception is consistent with the comprehensive plan and whether the exception is consistent in size and scale with the surrounding neighborhood. So as we are reviewing this application as a land use decision with permission for use as an accessory structure, it is already existing. The proposed use of a two-bedroom rental is permitted by right on the parcel and as such we do not believe that it does [02:37:19] pose the adverse impacts, which are to be of concern for special exceptions. Staff recommends the following motion, and this concludes presentation for 2023-14, 2020 Wingfield Road homestay. Thank you. We'll go through our order. Supervisor Pruitt. I don't think I have any questions on this one other than to just observe the distinction from the previous parcel and how that kind of inverts my concerns here, right? [02:37:50] Here we're actually creating like additive capacity as opposed to a negative capacity, right? This is something that is currently unusable for human occupancy in any sense, right? It cannot be used currently as a homestay. It cannot currently be used as a long-term rental. [02:38:05] And this is proposing because I think they're currently using it as a homestay and got the zoning violation. Am I intuiting that? That was, yes, that was how we reached out to them. So this is creating a new capacity. It's not taking anything from any stock that exists, and so I'm broadly supportive. [02:38:21] Supervisor McHugh. Yeah, and I will say that, oh, sorry, I was surprised when I saw, when I read the packet, because I'm very familiar with this property. Matter of fact, I will tell you that I've been knocking on this door for years and years and years, and of course these people just purchased in 19. [02:38:43] I can tell you that in one of those trees for many years, there was a fake bird that was motion censored to chirp when you walked up to it. Because I can remember walking up to that tree multiple times over the last 27 years and looking to see if that bird was going to chirp at me again. [02:39:05] And he often did. I mean, it's just a little funny story. That's how I remember that house. Often, though, the people were not home. So it was me and the bird. Having said that, having said that, I have no problem with this in theory. [02:39:21] I guess my concern is, so when they purchased in 19, it was a ban. I'm just trying to figure out the zoning violation. And help me a little bit with that. So this is going to rectify, bring them into compliance. Were they the ones that, do you even know the history of the zoning violation? [02:39:42] I'm trying to. So the zoning violation was logged very recently because when we looked at the homestay listing on Airbnb, which was just part of the homestay work, we saw there was a kitchen. And at that point, we checked to see whether the parcel had development rights, which it did not, and the history of the building. [02:40:06] And the cottage was built as an accessory structure. The current owners have said that previously there was a full-time tenant there before they bought the house and that when they bought it, it had a kitchen. So the zoning violation is new because we weren't made aware of it, but the situation, it seems, has been in place for a long time. [02:40:30] One of the neighbors who did call in talked about one of the renters who was there full-time and how she lived there for years and years and years with with her her offspring as well so it was a full-time dwelling for multiple people right well before these owners purchased it right and this and I will say this is a good example of how our process is working to some degree because you caught it as it so that's really good I do remember vaguely that particular but I never paid the attention I was more attracted to the fake bird [02:41:05] in the tree rather than trying to figure out what was going on in that accessory uh building but um but having said that so it's good that they're coming into compliance right and the property to the left that you talked about has a shed on it there are occasionally horses in that field i've seen horses there very often i may not you know i mean but actually within the last year i've seen horses there it doesn't really matter um okay thank you very much those are all my questions I'm going to go back and see if the bird's still there sometime. [02:41:40] Supervisor Malik. Me too. I have had all my questions answered with the discussion. Thank you. Supervisor Lupito-Curley. So what I understand is that they're going to be required to remove the kitchen. Yes, they will. And then that way, then you can't have it as long-term rental, which is kind of sad, frankly. [02:42:02] But I understand. Pardon? I'm sorry. No, but I mean, I understand that. I mean, because we, you know, we can't allow that. So the only thing that they really could do then is a homestay situation. [02:42:18] Yes. I think I heard you say, and I might have misunderstood you, parking is on site for that dwelling, right? Yes. Okay. It's a circular driveway, and it's in the driveway in front of the structure. Okay. I misunderstood you, so thank you very much for that clarification. [02:42:35] No other questions, thank you. Thank you. Supervisor Galloway. Mine's just a process question. Why would an application come before us for approval if they're not in compliance with the current zoning? Why wouldn't we wait until they were in compliance? Or is it just such a simple fix that we're rolling with it? [02:42:53] We don't. This might be, again, a Ms. Green question, but we have following our process for a violation, and the violation was logged after we received the application. So I believe that we're continuing to follow the normal process of working with the applicant, working with the property owner to pursue the clearance. [02:43:17] But we did need to get this before the board. And just to be clear, it says in the writing, removal of the kitchen stove. So just the appliance. That is the definition of a kitchen per community development. This is an easy fix. [02:43:33] Yes, it's a very easy fix. But, I mean, I would think if there's a property in violation, it's not like our approval fixes it. They have to do something to fix it. So if they're not in compliance and they're asking for something new or different, why wouldn't it have to comply before they come forward for us and get permission for something else? [02:43:52] Okay. So Lisa Green, manager of co-compliance. In the process of this application is when it was found that this dwelling, it's a definition of dwelling, existed instead of just an accessory structure. [02:44:09] And so that's where the violation came forth. And we are in the process, and they do know that they have violated the ordinance. And so it is a simple fixed based off of the definition of dwelling in our ordinance, which says that to be a dwelling, it has to have permanent provisions for cooking, eating, sleeping, and sanitation. [02:44:33] And so one of the fix for something like this generally is removing the permanent provisions for cooking. So it is a simple fix, and this was kind of already in the process. [02:44:51] And so we're trying to expedite the application and provide good customer service. But if it was a bigger violation, I would think it would be on hold before it came to us for approval of the next step until step one is completed. So it has been until we reached the understanding with the property owner about the removal of the kitchen. [02:45:12] This was actually submitted quite some time ago in 2023. Got it. I mean, in the past when some of these have been declined, it was because of compliance issues. And this one sounds like it's not the fault or at least unknowingly or unwittingly not the fault of the current applicant. [02:45:30] And that's what I was getting at. Thank you. Thank you. I have no questions. I share the recognition that, well, we had housing that was not in compliance and now we're taking away the permanent housing for temporary, but that's the way it works. [02:45:47] So, thank you. This is in the Jack Jewett District. If anyone has any further comments or questions. I'm happy to make the motion. I move that the board adopt the resolution attached to the staff report as attachment F. Kathy, your voice is very small. You might want to repeat. [02:46:03] Oh, I was away from my, I'm sorry. I move that the board adopt the resolution attached to the staff report as attachment F. Second. And I probably should say, and I'm sorry, let me just say, I move that we approve SE 2023-14-2020 Wingfield Road Homestay Recommended Action as an attachment F. [02:46:23] Second. Maybe that's clear. Motion from Supervisor McKeel, second from Supervisor Lupisto, currently. Without objection, the clerk will call the roll. Ms. McKeel? Yes. Mr. Pruitt? Aye. Mr. Andrews? Yes. Mr. Galloway? Yes. Ms. LaPista-Kirtley? Aye. Ms. Malik? [02:46:39] Yes. Thank you. And you're back on with home state number three in the Jack Drew. This is exciting because I have so little development in my district, and I have two coming before us. It's exciting. All right. [02:46:58] So lastly, we have Special Exception 2020-402, located at 1030 Woodlands Road. As noted, this proposal is also for an accessory structure. This is on a 5.35-acre rural area parcel in the Jack DeWitt District. [02:47:14] This parcel currently contains a single-family dwelling and a garage built around or shortly after 2019, and it previously contained a shed to the rear of the property, which was recently removed. The applicants who reside in the property in this single-family dwelling are proposing to build a three-bedroom structure for use for their family members and also as a homestay. By right, the 5.35 acre parcel is permitted to rent up to five guest sleeping spaces within a single family dwelling or a [02:47:50] previously existing accessory structure as of August 7, 2019. The applicants are requesting to build a two-story structure that they have noted in their application materials is the same footprint as their existing garage and which they have also noted will be built on the site where a shed previously stood. As the owners do reside on the parcel and it will meet setbacks, the use itself is by right and the only exception required is for the new structure. [02:48:19] If the special exception is approved, the homestay owners would then apply for a zoning clearance. During that process, the structure used for the homestay would be inspected for building and fire safety. The owners would send a notice to their neighbors providing contact information for their responsible agent and as we have discussed with the applicant and they have confirmed they are also aware this structure would also not be able to be constructed as a full dwelling as the property may only legally contain one dwelling as it only has one development right which is in use [02:48:52] for the single family dwelling. So this aerial shows the location of the proposed homestay structure in relation to the existing property owner's dwelling. The property owner recently underwent driveway construction projects. So you can see the driveway now comes from the actual street on Woodlands versus from the neighbor's driveway. You can see where the neighbor's driveway previously went directly to the property owner's property border. This aerial shows the proposed homestay location in relation to neighboring dwellings, zooming out a little bit. [02:49:32] This is an older aerial from before the shed was removed, but you can see that its location very clearly here. And as noted in conversations with the property owner, the proposed homestay structure would be located slightly further away from the property boundary than the shed was in order to meet setback requirements for the homestay use. So as such, again, staff would like to note the factors to be considered for a special exception. And due to the nature of the special exceptions, which from the land, we have analyzed this use based on the property itself and the use in greater [02:50:11] context of the neighborhood. Reviewing this application as a land use decision with permission for use of an accessory structure built after August 7, 2019 on a Borrelia parcel of greater than five acres, the accessory structure is comparable in size to existing accessory structures on this parcel and additionally on neighboring parcels. And the proposed homestay use of the three-bedroom rental is permitted by right on the parcel within the primary dwelling or an existing structure. The applicant has also noted that they may, regardless of homestay approval, build the [02:50:49] structure for their personal use, as it is something that they intend to use heavily. With the permission of a buy-ride accessory structure for any use other than a homestay in mind, staff does not believe that this general use of a homestay would propose any adverse impacts to the surrounding neighborhood, public health, safety, or welfare, and that the proposed special exception is consistent with the comprehensive plan and consistent in size and scale with the surrounding neighborhood. [02:51:25] And we recommend the final motion for approval. Thank you. Thank you. Supervisor Pruitt? I don't have any issues with this one. I will say, as all of these have, it kind of makes me think about what we are more broadly accomplishing with our homestay ordinance and how we're altering what is economically the highest and best use of property. [02:51:52] We already know that like a rural area home that is sitting on 3.9 acres is going to be significantly less expensive on the market than a rural area home that is sitting on 4.1 acres because the highest and best use of that plot economically is significantly different because you have an additional development right. [02:52:12] When we normalize, make it easy to have accessory use as an Airbnb for that additional unit, you are further altering what the highest and best use economically is in that now, and this one would expect is going to be reflected in home prices. [02:52:32] I would expect that if this becomes something that we approve more frequently, if this becomes a much more normal pattern of business, what we're going to see are much more costly home prices that would be eligible for an easy and effective Airbnb as an accessory development to the point where maybe we're functionally compelling people to, if they have a four acre or more plot, that they are going to basically be economically compelled into being a petty landlord because the home prices are going to start reflecting that as a likely use. This was definitely my biggest concern with the first [02:53:10] problem, with the first piece we, I shouldn't describe someone's application as a problem, with the first application that we approached today. That was very much my concern, right, how it changes the highest and best use of the land. And that's something I also see here implicated, and frankly, with the previous one, which I did support. So this is all just to say, I would like to foreshadow what I hope will be an interesting discussion if and when we revisit that based on the changes to the enabling legislation. Thank you. If I may address one thing, Supervisor Puritt. You described a four-acre parcel as having two development rights. [02:53:50] In many cases, parcels over two acres still only retain one development right based on the division of the parcel in history. This parcel is over five acres in size, but it can still only have one dwelling because when the larger parcel was divided to create this parcel it was not afforded multiple development rights i appreciate that clarification i'm still getting much more comfortable with how development rights in the rural area work it's surprisingly complicated that is absolutely true supervisor mckeel yes um just a couple of questions um there's a gravel pad [02:54:29] in the back, and I'm assuming that the gravel pad is where that existing structure was that they took down. That is where the shed was, yes. Okay, so they're going to be adjusting that. Yes, if they, the building permit approval process, we'll look at that, and then we will just, as a note on there, make sure that they are building it to meet the primary structure setbacks. If they're not, then they can build it but they will not receive the homestay clearance gotcha so that's yeah but i assumed that that was a location when i was out there of where the um and they are living in this [02:55:08] house yes that was the indication and um that will be confirmed during the homestay clearance process so you'll confirm that yes um but they they said this is this is going to be their primary structure their primary home this is their mailing address on the application all right thank you thank you supervisor malik thank you the only question i have is is can you give a little sort [02:55:44] of amplification of the time of construction issue because this is the one that was everything was basically built after the ordinance went in which specifically said existing structures prior to blah, blah, blah. So how do I reconcile that with this issue? So the ordinance permits a homestay to be in a single-family dwelling or an accessory structure built before August 7, 2019. So if they were doing a homestay in a room in the basement, for example, in their single-family home, that [02:56:22] would be permitted by Wright. Because they are building a new accessory structure, that is what triggers the need for the special exception. So even if the home were built after 2019, that's where I was making my mistake. Yes. Then it would be allowed to do it in the home building with people there. Yes. Got it. Okay. So then the former shed, former garage now becomes rebuilt. [02:56:51] Okay. Thank you. Supervisor Lupita Curley. Yeah, I have no questions. Thank you. Supervisor Galloway. No questions. And I have no questions, which I think brings the matter back before us. Yeah, I'll make a motion. I move that we approve SC 2024-021030 Woodlands Road Homestay as presented in the attachment F. Second. We have a motion from Supervisor McKeel. Second from Supervisor Malek. Without objection, if the clerk will call the roll. Ms. McKeel? Yes. Mr. [02:57:25] Pruitt? Aye. Mr. Andrews? Yes. Mr. Galloway? Yes. Ms. Lopisto-Kirtley? Aye. Ms. Malik. Yes. Thank you, board. We always make those a little longer than we might have anticipated, but I think we're there. Our next item is number 13, recommendations for affordable housing fund presented by Dr. Stacey Pethia, assistant director of housing. Welcome, Dr. Pethia. [02:57:56] Thank you for your patience. Good afternoon, Stacey Pethia, assistant director for housing. [02:58:21] And this is a request for support through the housing fund for two projects. The first is a project by Piedmont Housing Alliance at Premier Circle, and that is in phase three. So if you remember, there were three phases to Premier Circle. [02:58:39] The first is the Virginia Supportive Housing Project to create 80 units of permanent supportive housing. The second phase would be some commercial space that fronts along Route 29. The third phase is additional affordable housing built by Piedmont Housing Alliance that will be targeted towards families and seniors that have incomes at or below 60% of AMI. The second funding request comes from the city of Charlottesville and from Chief Dimmick, and that is looking at [02:59:14] a joint study to look at homeless services assessment in the city and county. So looking at Piedmont Housing Alliance's premier circle project. Again, this is targeted affordable rental housing for households with incomes at 60% AMI or less. Just a reminder, on April 1st of this year, the median income increased to $124,200 per household. So this 60% AMI level really opens things up to more families than it used to. The project itself is looking [02:59:53] to build approximately between 40 and 60 units of affordable rental housing, again, targeted to families and senior households with incomes between 30 and 60 percent of area median income. That will be an average across those, so units can go to just about anybody in that income range. [03:00:12] The units will remain affordable for 30 years in compliance with the low-income housing tax credit regulations. Again, it is part of a larger affordable housing project comprising 140 affordable units, and it is done in partnership with Virginia's Supportive Housing and the Blue Ridge Area Coalition for the Homeless. Their total project cost is $22.05 million approximately, and Piedmont Housing Alliance is requesting $2,025,000 towards the project. [03:00:44] Staff is recommending that we provide the full amount for the project. That would give the total funding commitment to this project of $2.025 million, or 10% of the total project cost. [03:01:01] It is in alignment with county policies. It aligns directly with Strategic Plan Goal 4, Quality of Life, and also Objective 2 in Housing Albemarle, which is to increase the supply of long-term affordable and workforce rental housing in Albemarle County. Excuse me. Moving on to the second request from the City of Charlottesville. [03:01:25] Again, this is to perform a homeless services assessment, looking not just at the number of shelter beds that are appropriate for our area in the city and the county, but also looking at the total, how effective the current system is in general. The assessment goals would really evaluate the operational effectiveness of the current continuum of care system. So that would include Blue Ridge Area Coalition of the Homeless, or BRAC, along with the other homeless services, supportive services along that, including Pacham and The Haven. And again, identify the number of [03:02:02] shelter beds needed to effectively serve our area. The consultant for the project would be done through a joint procurement process, and the City of Charlottesville will match the county's contribution to the project of $100,000. Again, these are in alignment, in alignment with county policies, so strategic plan goal four, quality of life, and specifically implementing Housing Albemarle, and Objective 10 in Housing Albemarle, which is work to end and prevent homelessness. [03:02:38] Staff does recommend fully funding both requests from the Housing Fund Reserve, and it's now open to you for any questions or comments. Great. Supervisor Proof. Thank you. I have a few. So we don't often have the opportunity to look so closely at the capital stack, which I really enjoyed and appreciated here. So I have actually a few questions on this, which I realize this is coming from PHA, not from us, but I'm hoping you can help us understand kind of what's typical and what might be unusual for this project type. So something that really [03:03:12] leapt out at me is only about half of the capital stack is actually like loaned capital to the developer, right? It's heavily grant-driven, and I'm under the impression that that is not normal. So is that normal? Is this more a function of just how deeply affordable it is, so it needs a very high grant portion of the stack? Yes, so most affordable housing developers use a variety of funding sources. A really good example is looking at the crossings of 4th and Preston [03:03:45] across the street. They had, at the final stage, 17 different funding sources, the majority of which were grants coming from state and federal and local sources. And kind of related to that, we're also getting like a one to 10 leverage out of this, which is whack with how good it is. Is that also, again, just because of it's a really good project for LIHTC money, it's so deeply affordable or are there other factors? No, you hit it on the head. It's really, it's a lot easier [03:04:21] to get that really good leverage when low-income housing tax credit financing is used and awarded in a project. Can you remind me, we have two mil additional program to the housing fund. I'm of course concerned by how many digits are left in the housing fund at the end of this disbursement. [03:04:40] Can you just remind me, I know this has come up many times during budget season, but can you remind me when that money actually comes online for y'all? That additional $2 million that has been approved through the budget would appear on July 1st. And so the one other thing I'm thinking, right, because this is not the shelter beds that we're funding today. This is the transitional housing for low-income folks, and I imagine theoretically people who are transitioning out of shelter and into the near-site housing. I know our neighbor, our surrounding neighbor, [03:05:18] physically surrounds us right now um has a few different programs to help uh transition as in financial uh programs to help transition they have the the family something program that's an acronym that's done through crha and they also have their uh their local voucher the cis rat voucher which is uh i think half of that is uh for homeless interventions do we have any kind of i'm just worried that i don't know how you make that financial leap and i'm curious if we have tools that i'm not aware of that are helping people make that financial leap from [03:05:54] zero cost shelter to um to living in that uh heavily subsidized but still has a cost um home and frankly you know still has a not insignificant cost right like 30 to 50 percent of ami for albemarle is still expensive it's it's not nothing right i think this is still going to to be four-digit homes, right? Or four-digit rents? I believe so. I don't... It'd be, sure. [03:06:21] Yeah. It's a little seem to tell what that is at the moment. I will say in the permanent supportive housing portion of the project, the county has awarded quite a number of housing choice vouchers that will be project-based. Currently, we have about 25 of traditional vouchers that we are project basing there. And so that would be the resident who was awarded one of those vouchers would pay 30% of their income and the voucher would pay the remainder, the balance of the rent due. We are going to award an additional, I believe, 15 vouchers that [03:07:00] would really be targeted. They're mainstream vouchers. They would be targeted towards persons with disabilities. Piedmont Housing Alliance has not yet come and asked the county for any project-based vouchers in their portion of the project. However, they must, as a federally funded development, accept housing choice vouchers. So we will have quite a few people in our community that can utilize their vouchers there when the project is finished. Beyond that, we partner with a lot of local organizations to help move people out of shelters into traditional housing. [03:07:36] Thank you. I do always have a slight just tickle of concern in the back of my mind when I learned that part of how we're making a project successful is by project basing our vouchers because I recognize the ways in which that is an admission of defeat for how we're managing our housing stock. [03:07:58] i don't mean to to i'm saying an admission of defeat from our perspective as the people who are making sure that we actually have places in our community that you can uh locate a mobile voucher um the desire to project-based more vouchers i see coming out of the difficulty in in locating people with mobile vouchers and maybe that's an unfair characterization but that is something i feel when you tell me that we're project-facing a voucher i will say having worked for a housing authority in a larger city in the past. We made certain, so housing authorities can [03:08:34] project base up to about 20% of their vouchers that they're awarded. And most housing authorities make a concerted effort to do that, not because they're concerned about housing costs and being able to utilize vouchers, but because that, it's another tool, right? And so it makes it easier for some people to not have to go out and search they may not be savvy enough to do that on their own and so it just secures a good number of of units for a longer term as opposed to [03:09:07] many families who for many reasons not just high housing costs but are not necessarily skilled always at being able to secure their own units they're not in a place that they need um and so we cycle through those vouchers so this guarantees a number of units over the long term um units that we have that people can use their traditional vouchers um that's only a one term a one-time thing guaranteed so you know if i i have a voucher and i run a unit from you and i move out it's no guarantee that you'll run it to another voucher holder so this just [03:09:43] guarantees that we have units available for people who need them thank you so much appreciate that Thank you. Supervisor McKeel? And I appreciate that explanation, Stacey. Thank you. Two million is a lot of money for us. [03:10:01] Having said that, I really do think that this shows why it's good to have flexibility with the cash, not cash, but the money that we have on hand so that we can use it as we need it for different opportunities that come up. [03:10:18] So I think I'm appreciative of that. I also like the, again, we go back to financial coaching and housing counseling services. So the support services are going to be there for the folks that have these, obtain these units so that they are successful. [03:10:39] Correct. Virginia Supportive Housing is definitely going to provide those services to the residents who live in those 80 units reserved for permanent supportive housing but have agreed to make the services available to people who move into those additional units the Piedmont Housing Alliance is building. [03:10:58] Yeah, I think that's wonderful. I really am appreciative of that. I would like to say thank you for that. And I guess I don't really... Help me a little bit with the study. So the city and the county together are going to hire a consultant. [03:11:15] Correct. So you don't have to do the study. Correct. i just want it on the record that it's not you and your time that is correct doing this study so the money is paying for a consultant and the and the recommendations will come back to the two to city council and board of supervisors correct uh it's really a way to there's um if you remember a lot of talk about whether or not we have enough shelter spaces for for homeless people experiencing homelessness in our community and there's been some debate as to the appropriate number that we need. So this is one way to get to that number, make sure that we don't just guess about how many [03:11:53] additional shelter beds we need, and a way to see what other things we may need to do to help bolster the services that are currently applied, provided, not applied, sorry, and can use that to make a longer-term plan. I think information is a good thing, and I know over the years City Council has reached out to us trying to help trying to figure out that space those beds and how we can so this will get us off of square one with some data which would really be nice as opposed to just yeah and and we'll most likely look at best practices across not just Virginia but the [03:12:30] country so to give us some ideas of how to move forward right well I really like this because it really does target a group of folks that we've not been reaching very well in the past and so this is all good. Thank you very much. Thank you. Supervisor Malek. Thank you very much. [03:12:48] Questions on my list are sort of scattered all over the topics. So how do we know when will it be decided if they're going to be 40 units or 60? Because that is a big difference as far as the deliverable for the money that we're expected to put in. Some of it will be based upon how much low-income housing tax credit financing they're awarded, and some of it will come down to just [03:13:17] simple site plan issues, really. So will the funding be phased as well so that it's based upon what the deliverables will be, or is it just handing over the money and we're going to see what we get? Funding will be conditional upon, one, the award of a low-income housing tax credit award and then we will work out in general for all of the projects we have funded this way in the past the agreement has been that we we do not provide the money up front in 90 of the cases [03:13:52] that's special exceptions for those it is really providing us with invoices for very specific stages of the project okay that's terrific as i remember when the 80 units vhs was approved That was described as the ending functional homelessness in Elmore County as we know it. [03:14:18] And there was a study involved in that as well. And so I would like to know a little bit more about what this new study is all about and how the procurement is going to, what will be the deliverables. I mean, you sort of generally mentioned how it's effectively serving the area. [03:14:35] I mean, that's almost an unknowable question. So I guess I'd like to know a little more about that just while we're going through things. So the details of what that study will include are currently under discussion, and that is between the city manager, Sam Sanders, and Kaki Dimmick, chief of human, I forgot her title, human services officer. [03:15:01] Chief of social services, yeah, okay, or whatever, director. Okay, so Kaki and Sam are working on that. And so there'll be a report back to us at some point on what those details will be. and you just so one of my questions in all caps is what happens if tax credits don't get sold so that you've answered that is that's part of the deliverable before the money would be handed can you repeat that my question was what happens to this project or funding if the tax credits don't are not successful correct we would not the county would not provide funding unless the project moves [03:15:39] forward and um i really appreciate all the information you provided about the project-based vouchers and i think that one thing i find very appealing about this is the long-term nature and the fact that but i was confused about it was called transitional housing but it's expected that not all the people will leave i mean they may be there for years long-term tenancy that that is correct um the the general virginia supportive housing has is really successful is in helping people move from chronic homelessness into permanent housing. There are some individuals [03:16:18] who just may not be able to move forward. Sometimes it's due to their age. They may have chronic health issues, which make it difficult to move on to more independent living. So Virginia Supportive Housing and Permanent Supportive Housing projects do not ever make anyone leave if they don't feel they're ready to. That would be self-defeating to the program and for the individuals themselves. [03:16:43] So now in my brain, I've conflated, but you're really talking about the people living in phase one. Correct. Not phase three. So the people in phase three is where it's going to stay for a while. Phase three would be just traditional housing. So that short-term should not be applied to that. [03:16:59] Correct. Okay, that was an important distinction. Yep. Thank you. All right, that's all for me. Thank you very much. Supervisor Wilkito Kirby. Yeah, I'm interested in hearing the details later regarding the study. And I understand that the $2 million for Premier Circle, that's coming out of the current housing fund that we have, correct? [03:17:18] Correct. And that entire amount will be used to make sure that the Premier Circle comes to fruition? Correct. Okay. That's not part of the study? Correct. Two separate. [03:17:34] Good. Thank you. I have no other questions. Supervisor Calloway. Supervisor Malek mentioned a study. Has the study been done before, and this is an update, or is this going to be a new study that goes beyond any previous attempts or reports? [03:17:50] Attempts was a bad word. Yeah, I'm not aware of which study was done before. So this would be a new study with very specific. I do not believe the previous study, the ones that I know of, let's say, put it that way, actually looked at assessing and evaluating our current system of care for homelessness. [03:18:11] So that will be a big part of this study itself, as well as looking beyond that to see exactly how many shelter beds will effectively serve our area. So it's a bigger study than just looking at a very specific topic. [03:18:28] Thank you. Thank you. I don't have any additional questions. I'm very interested in the study and how they go about doing the study, but I'll save that for future discussions. At this point, you're looking for a motion to approve the funding requests from Piedmont Housing Alliance for $2,025,000 and the City of Charlottesville for $100,000 using funds from the Housing Fund Reserve. [03:18:57] So moved. I'll second it. Okay. So we have a motion from Supervisor McKeel, second from Supervisor Malik. Without objection, the clerk will call the rolls. Ms. McKeel? [03:19:13] Yes. Mr. Pruitt? Aye. Mr. Andrews? Yes. Mr. Galloway? Yes. Ms. Lapista-Kirtley? Aye. Ms. Mallick? Yes. Thank you. Thank you. That takes us to Board Item 14, which is our closed meeting. [03:19:28] And Supervisor Pruitt, I believe you have a motion for going into closed meeting. Yeah, it's a doozy, so here goes my auctioneer's hat. All right. I'd like to move the Board of Supervisors to convene a closed meeting pursuant to Section 2.2, TAC 3711A of the Code of Virginia, first under subsection 1, to discuss and consider appointments to various boards and commissions, including, without limitation, Crozet Community Advisory Committee, Albemarle County Board of Equalization, Historic Preservation Committee, Jontz Board of Directors, Piedmont Family, YMCA Board of Directors, Places 29, Perron's North Community Advisory Committee, Police Department, Citizens Advisory Committee, Albemarle County Social Services Advisory Board, and Village of Rivanna Community Advisory Committee, and to [03:20:07] discuss the assignment, appointment, promotion, performance, demotion, salary, disciplining, or resignation of a specific administrative employee of the county appointed by the Board of supervisors, and under subsection three, to discuss or consider the acquisition of real property for transportation improvements, a public purpose in the Whitehall Magisterial District where discussion in an open meeting would adversely affect the bargaining position or negotiating strategy of the county, and under subsection eight, to consult with legal counsel regarding specific legal matters requiring legal advice relating to the possible [03:20:39] exercise of authority under Perrins I, Virginia Code, subsection 15.2, TAC 1901.1, to acquire real property for transportation improvements, and Perrins II, Virginia Code, subsection 15.2, TAC 1716.1, imposing liability for expenses incurred in response to terrorism, hoax, incidents, bomb threats, or malicious activations of fire alarms. [03:21:08] Second. Second. We have a motion. Supervisor Pruitt and second from Supervisor Malik without objection if the clerk will call the roll. Ms. McKeel? Yes. Mr. Pruitt? Aye. Mr. Andrews? Yes. Mr. Galloway? Yes. Ms. Lapista-Curtley? Aye. Ms. Malik? Yes. Thank you. [03:21:28] You'll never know. She will be on the other side. All right. Welcome back. First order of [04:59:58] businesses to come out of closed session. Do we have a motion from Supervisor Pruitt? As soon as I log in my apologies chair yes i would like to move that the board of supervisors certified by recorded vote that to the best of each supervisor's knowledge only public business matters lawfully exempted from the open meeting requirement of the virginia freedom of information act and identified in the motion authorized in the closed meeting were heard discussed or considered in the closed [05:00:36] meeting second we have a motion from supervisor prude a second from supervisor malik without objection if the clerk will call the roll ms mckeel yes mr pruitt hi mr andrews yes mr galloway Yes. Ms. Lapista-Curdy. Aye. Ms. Malik. Yes. Thank you, board. [05:00:54] Next up, I believe we have boards and commissions. We do. And I have a list of appointments to boards and commissions, and I'm just going to read through and then we can have a vote. As a motion. As a motion, right. I move that we appoint to the Crozet Community Advisory Committee, Andrew Bowers. [05:01:15] To the Equalization Board, Leonard Malou, David Norford, and David Mitchell. To the Historic Preservation Committee, Carter Montague. To the Piedmont Family YMCA Board of Directors, Elizabeth Engel. [05:01:38] To the Village of Ravana Community Advisory Committee, Renee King. Second. We have a motion from Supervisor McKeel. Second from Supervisor Malek. Without objection, the clerk will call the roll. Ms. McKeel? Yes. Mr. Pruitt? [05:01:53] Aye. Mr. Andrews? Yes. Mr. Galloway? Yes. Ms. Lapisto-Kirtley? Aye. Ms. Malik? Yes. Thank you, board. And that brings us to item 17 from the county executive. Is there a report this evening or comments? No, sir, not this evening. [05:02:10] Thank you. Thank you. Which brings us to item 18, matters from the public, matters on the agenda but not listed for public hearing, matters previously considered by the board, or matters that are pending before the board. [05:02:22] I will read our request for the rules of procedure. [05:02:59] During the time set aside for matters on the agenda but not listed for public hearing, individuals may address the Board of Supervisors concerning matters previously considered by the Board or matters that are pending before the Board other than items listed on the agenda for public hearing. [05:03:15] Individuals are allowed one opportunity of up to three minutes to speak at each board meeting during matters from the public. The sign-up sheet is managed by the clerk's office. Timekeeping is conducted through a timer and a light system at the podium. The green light will go on when you begin speaking, which begins your allotted time. [05:03:32] The yellow light indicates you have one minute to finish speaking. The red light indicates your time has expired, and you will be asked to end your comments. To give all speakers equal treatment and courtesy, the board requests that speakers adhere to the following guidelines. [05:03:47] When addressing the board, state your name and if you live in Elmar County, your magisterial district. Address comments directly to the board as a whole. Any written statements or other supporting material may be given to the clerk. If representing a group or organization, you may ask others present to raise their hand in recognition. [05:04:05] Speakers may not share any unused time with another speaker. Back and forth debate is not permitted. Do not speak from your seat or out of turn. And all comments are live-streamed, recorded, and published on the Albemarle County website. And tonight we have one person who has signed up in person, and there's no one online. [05:04:28] So with that, and I'm looking at the name. Come on up. Sorry. Well, I was just struggling. [05:04:45] Tell us again clearly when you come up so we can catch your name, please. My name is Adrienne Eichert. And pull the mic down for you. Pull the microphone so that we can hear you. Thank you. That's right. Okay, is that better? That's great. Okay. So I got an email before this meeting saying that decisions were already finalized. [05:05:09] And I was aware from a phone call with Jimmy Andrews yesterday that the 1 p.m. and the 6 p.m. meeting would be considered and then decisions would be made after that. So I was very disappointed that you sent out an email saying we've already made decisions. [05:05:27] So number one, I was wondering how the $2 million budget was decided upon for the affordable housing and how it will be used. Should I just read my questions and then you'll answer them? Because I only have three minutes. [05:05:43] As you heard, there's no back and forth. There's no back and forth. So how do I get answers to questions? because you don't answer my phone calls. You asked me, why did I even call you? So when I asked you about affordable housing and dirty water in Charlottesville. So my questions are, how many emergency shelters does Albemarle County have? None. Jim Andrews yesterday, I asked him, how many shelters does Albemarle County provide? He said, I can't find any. I said, that's true. There aren't [05:06:20] tinny you donate funds to two shelters in town they are overloaded they are not successful they are not using their funds properly and i know for sure that one of them is turning down hundreds of women a year to not have shelter in emergency from their domestic partners and i was turned away as well twice so it's been a very difficult year for me uh do you know what um do you know that the social services office is closed i talked to them today because jim andrews suggested i [05:06:59] talk to social services and i spent about six hours with social services they don't even have an office i can go to to talk to them all of them are remote one girl wouldn't even tell me she was working from home uh do you know that the airbnbs that you're allowing to happen in charlottesville and homes and townhomes. Right over here on Charlotte's Solomon Road, I photographed a home that is empty with no pictures in it, no personal items at all, because it is a full rental for Airbnb, and you're allowing it, and you know about it, and we've talked about this, and you continue [05:07:34] to allow it to happen. This is why there's an affordable rental problem. We're not able to rent those they're just sitting empty until strangers come into normal neighborhoods that i grew up on i grew up on solomon road it really hurts my feelings that you're allowing strangers to just randomly rent them when we could be living there for affordable housing and then um i also want to know what non-profits you're donating to for affordable housing help thank you and emergency shelter. So you guys didn't answer my phone calls and I left you three voicemails. So how do we get [05:08:13] in touch with you? Do I need to come to your offices? Do you even have offices? Sorry, we have to continue. Yeah, but you're not, there's no one else talking. Mr. Chair. Oh, and I saw your notes that you won't even allow me to have more time if no one else is here to talk to you. Mr. Chair, we've got several staff with the social services department that we would be happy to let those folks meet with you if you'd step away we would walk out and we'll sit down we'll capture your questions that are more broad about the budget or anything that you have there we'll follow up with you and the staff that are here they will address your questions specific to housing homelessness or [05:08:50] anything else regarding and you do realize that they will say that they don't have enough resources mr chair we've got our staff that are ready for uh this citizen if if you could they're ready please uh yeah if you step back thank you board that's it that's it okay which brings us to our two public hearings this evening um the first sp 2023-16 charlottesville climbing gym and this [05:09:23] is being led by mr sid shoff senior planner one welcome good evening my name is sid shoff and i'm a senior planner with the planning division for the county tonight i'll be giving staff's presentation for special use permit SP 2023-16, Charlottesville climbing gym. This is a request to amend an existing special use permit for an indoor climbing gym on a 0.94 acre lot in the development area. The subject property is located west of the Charlottesville city limits after the intersection of Ivy Road and Old Ivy Road. The tax map parcel is 60-46C and the site's address [05:09:59] is 2200 Old Ivy Road. The entire parcel is approximately 0.94 acres and contains an existing structure. The site is a commercial office and is affected by the steep slopes managed overlay district and the entrance corridor. In the comprehensive plan, it is part of neighborhood seven of the southern and western neighborhoods master plan and is designated as community mixed use. The existing building is approximately 13,378 gross square feet. It is mixed use with office space, retail, and a portion of the building site is used for an indoor athletic facility for up to 2,000 square feet that was approved with SP2012-1. Additionally, there are 49 [05:10:36] existing parking spaces on the site. The proposal is a special use permit to amend SP2012-1 for an indoor climbing gym. As I mentioned in the last slide, the current special use permit allows indoor athletic use for up to 2,000 square feet and the applicant is proposing to increase the use for up to 6,125 square feet. This is a screenshot of the concept plan that was provided as an attachment in the staff report. The applicants proposed minimal changes to the site itself. The proposed building footprint will remain the same. However, the applicant is proposing to raise the existing two-story building to three stories. The existing 49 spaces is also [05:11:13] compliant with the required parking spaces for the requested recreation use. Additionally, the applicant is proposed to remodel the bicycle parking area and to add additional landscaping to the site. As I mentioned in the last slide, the existing footprint of the site will remain the same. However, the applicant is proposing to raise the existing two-story building from 16 feet one inch to a three-story building at 32 feet and four inches. Old Ivy Road is not in the entrance corridor. However, the Architectural Review Board reviewed the proposal due to its potential impacts to Ivy Road, which is an entrance corridor. The Architectural Review Board had no objections, and Albemarle County's fire rescue had no issue with the increased height as well. [05:11:52] The special use permit application was reviewed under the factors for consideration as outlined in the zoning ordinance. Staff believes that the proposed special use permit will not be detrimental to adjacent parcels, will not change the character of the nearby area, will continue to be in harmony with the commercial office zoning district, and is consistent with the comprehensive plan. [05:12:11] There is one recommended condition, and that is the indoor athletic facility use shall not exceed 6,125 square feet. So in sum, there are three factors that are favorable. The first is it's consistent with review criteria for special use permits contained in the zoning ordinance. [05:12:27] The second is the use is consistent with the land use plan. and third, it provides an additional athletic facility option for people who live and work in the area. Staff found no factors unfavorable. Staff recommends approval with the condition as recommended in the staff report, and I'm happy to answer any questions regarding this application. [05:12:45] Thanks. Thank you very much. We will go through the order for questions before opening the public hearing. I do want to remind the public if anyone wants to sign up, the sign-up sheets are under the window to my left. Board, Supervisor Pruitt? I do not have any questions on this application. [05:13:02] Thank you. Supervisor McKeel. I don't think I have any questions. I do have a comment, and I'm not sure whether it's better for you or for the applicant, but I'll just, the only, as the supervisor of record for that area, the only complaint or concern I've ever had about that particular area is that at one point we had businesses in the facility, in that building that we're parking along Old Ivy Road. [05:13:35] The police put up no parking signs to stop it because the visibility was not good when people were pulling out. I just want to make sure that those no parking signs stay there, right? Because there are two parking lots, but just to reiterate for somebody that those no parking signs need to stay there because it's very dangerous if anybody starts parking along the edge there of Old Abbey Road. [05:14:02] That's the only thing that I've been thinking about with this applicant, to be honest with you, in this application. Yeah, I guess the applicant would be a better person to validate if those parking signs are still there. And if this were to be approved, there would be a minor amendment or a letter of revision, and we can confirm if there was no parking signs or still located on the property. [05:14:19] I just wanted to put it on the table because it was a real concern at one point. Thank you. Supervisor Malek. Yes, thank you. Is there any update since the staff report on a provision of a sidewalk across the frontage? There is no update. [05:14:38] VDOT has, I guess, released draft recommendations for the old Ivy Road corridor study. From my understanding, there's a couple proposals that are out there for the public to comment on. So nothing's finalized yet. But speaking with the applicant, they're very receptive to whatever recommendations do come out of this and are willing to work with the county and VDOT with whatever comes out of it. [05:15:02] So to the, perhaps, of donating right away or something like that to make it possible? Yes, if something were to be required, they would work with staff. Thank you. Supervisor Lupisto-Kerfi? I have no questions. Thank you. Supervisor Galloway? [05:15:18] No questions at this time. And I have no questions at this time as well. We will be opening the public hearing. I first ask if we have anyone signed up to speak. We do not, so we would just have the rules for the applicant. Right. So I will read the rules for the applicant. [05:15:38] Applicants are limited to a 10-minute presentation of their proposal and are allowed a five-minute rebuttal at the close of the public hearing. Timekeeping is conducted through a timer and light system at the podium. The green light will go on when you begin speaking, which begins your allotted time. [05:15:53] The yellow light indicates you have one minute to finish speaking. The red light indicates your time has expired, and you will be asked to end your comments. All comments are live streamed, recorded, and published on the Elmar County website. Thank you. And I believe the applicant is represented by Mr. Eric Woolley of Woolley Engineering, and I guess Mrs. Mike Kinnick as well. [05:16:16] Welcome. Adjust the microphone so you can be heard. Happy to hear about your proposal. Good evening. Not that one. [05:16:48] Okay. Good evening, Mr. Chair, members of the board. My name is Eric Woolley with Woolley Engineering. We are the design consultant for this project, for the climbing gym. Joining me this evening is Mike Kinnick with Rock Revolution. And if you could speak a little closer. [05:17:04] I have that same problem. I tend to step back, but getting the microphone closer would be better. Thank you. Okay. Is that better? Uh-huh. That's good. All right. So anybody that's not familiar with a climbing gym, an indoor climbing gym, I wanted to provide an image so that you could see what a representative gym might look like. [05:17:24] Attached to the wall, you see these columns. multiple objects, those create what are called holds, which allows the climber to simulate what it's like to climb a rock in the wild, but it's in a little different, you know, environment. It's safer, there's manning, and it's more controlled. [05:17:43] Sid's already, Mr. Schoeff has done a great job already describing what it is we're asking for. We feel that it's an appropriate use of this structure. It's currently unoccupied. The footprint would remain the same. While we are increasing the volume by raising the height of the structure, one correction, we are going three stories high in height, but we're actually not including another floor. [05:18:09] The floor area actually will be reduced because in a slide you'll see in a few moments, we're actually reducing by eliminating some of the floor area. Before I get into all that, I'd like to give Mike a second to talk about Rock Revolution and who they are. [05:18:24] Good evening, everyone. Thank you for your time. And I apologize for my congestion, that green blanket of pollen in my car has finally got the best of me, so I apologize. So good evening. I'm Mike Kinnick. I'm the co-founder of Rock Revolution. My wife and I founded the company in early 2023 to bring a new modern climbing facility to the community. [05:18:44] Excuse me. And the idea came from my love of the sport and even more so from the benefits we saw the sport provide our six and eight-year-old daughters. Rock climbing isn't just about scaling walls, it's about conquering fears, building strength, and fostering a sense of camaraderie. [05:19:01] And as we watched our daughters challenge themselves to reach new heights on the walls, we witnessed the development of their resilience, problem-solving skills, and mental fortitude, and it's our desire to provide those benefits to the broader community. So Rock Revolution promises not only exhilarating experiences, but also profound community benefits. [05:19:19] The impact of Rock Revolution will extend far beyond our climbing walls by providing a safe and inclusive space for all ages and backgrounds and with promoting physical and mental well-being in the community. And we believe that investing in activities like rock climbing can help combat sedentary lifestyles, reduce stress, and promote overall health. [05:19:38] And we also plan to actively engage with local schools, organizations, and charities to promote outdoor recreation, environmental stewardship, and youth development through programs that will introduce the sport of rock climbing indoors with the goal of getting people to eventually climb outdoors. where the benefits of being in nature, except if you have allergies, will only enhance the positive impact of the sport. And we're also planning partnerships that will provide opportunities for underserved populations to experience the thrill of climbing and help them to discover their own potential. Within the gym, safety will be our top priority. Our staff will be certified [05:20:16] through the Climbing Wall Association certification programs, and will also adhere to industry-leading safety standards produced by the CWA the leading indoor rock climbing gym association in the country to ensure that everyone every visitor can enjoy their experience with peace of mind so in conclusion rock revolution won't just be a gym it'll be a catalyst for positive change in the community by promoting active lifestyles fostering community engagement and prioritizing safety we're paving the way for a healthier happier future for our members guests and staff alike thank you thanks mike all right so here's the structure uh if you look at the left hand side [05:20:55] of the screen here if you're coming from the city through the underpass under the railroad first thing you see is the southern face and what's exposed is two stories as you crawl to the right of the page you'll see those lovely no parking signs they're still there this is McKeel and what you can see is on the north side you've got one story exposed because there is a significant grade change across across the site. There's a heavy stand of existing vegetation. We really [05:21:31] want to do everything we can to save every bit we can. We have no intention to do much of any site work. We're really going to be confined to changing the footprint itself. So here's a look at the site plan. Again, Mr. Schoeff told you a lot already. I will just point out this is old ivy and this is ivy. [05:21:53] Again, this is the entrance corridor, so there was ARB review of the project. These two existing parking lots, we have no intention of changing anything there. There's already enough spaces to, one, satisfy county code minimums, but more importantly, we believe we have an excess of parking for what Mr. Kanek actually needs. [05:22:19] We will be augmenting the existing vegetation by adding a few more shade trees to offset those parking spaces. that weren't necessarily to county code at the time when this was constructed. And then we're also including a bicycle facility for indoor storage or for at least sheltered storage of bicycles to promote that as well. [05:22:44] So the current use is commercial office. Changing it to a climbing gym will bring more people. So the actual number of trips will increase. However, the peaks will be declining because they'll be open for a longer period of time and having more back and forth visitors versus having everyone coming and going at the same time. [05:23:05] So the offset is virtually nil to the current system. And again, this is the section. So this is the south face, as we were discussing. This is the existing roof. [05:23:21] This is the north face, one floor exposed. So the idea is to remove this roof and raise it up to three stories. But the volume of space will actually be open in these areas. The first floor will be removed in this portion thereby allowing a nice open tall climbing wall facility. Again this is the architectural rendering that you've already seen. It's been through ARB review we feel that it it does fit the character of the neighborhood. They'd be adding a nice little feature here that kind of demarks the arrival point. There'll be [05:24:01] screening of any mechanicals and it fits the character with what's close by and across the street as well. And with that, we'll open up to any questions. We do have some slides available of the VDOT study. As you guys are all aware, VDOT and the city and the county cooperatively are looking at ways to improve the Ivy Corridor. So this will have, you know, direct impact on this site at some point. We have looked at it. We've studied these documents and the applicant is well prepared to, you know, they're excited to see what comes out of this study. [05:24:39] But we have the slides in case you guys would like to speak about it. And with that, we'll leave it open. Give you a couple extra minutes. Thank you. I appreciate it. And we'll go through our order with questions. Supervisor Pruitt. Thank you so much. Cool project. I have no questions. [05:24:55] Supervisor McKeel. I don't have any questions. I will just comment that you presented to my citizens' advisory committee. And they were very enthusiastic about the project. Yes. But I don't have any questions right now. Thank you. I just want to make sure there's no parking signs, at least until VDOT deals with that road. [05:25:14] Yes. And I think there will be some changes to that road. Absolutely. But you're prepared for that, so. We are. And I think, you know, the area that you're talking about specifically, where it is kind of wider on that, you know, that southern side of the roadway, in all the presentation exhibits that I've seen from the VDOT study, in each one, they're proposing a 10-foot-wide shared-use path right in that area. [05:25:39] So I don't think there'll be any opportunities for parking in the future, hopefully. That's right. Thank you. Supervisor Malek. So this is probably a premature question, but understanding that what might likely be happening, that may be years away. [05:25:54] So do you have any, or will you perhaps consider going forward, making some temporary path or whatever there on your frontage so that people wanting to access your business would have a safe place to walk, to get there? [05:26:10] I don't expect you to solve the underpass problem. That's been there since I was, I mean, the whole entire, my whole entire life. Right. So that's not your problem. But it would be great to see how various participants along the road can participate. [05:26:28] Thank you. Well, in response, I mean, we, and Ms. McKeel brought it up in the CAC meeting, I threw out a ridiculously low number of what it might cost to improve that underpass. Well, I would love to see it. I'm sure you guys would, too. [05:26:44] We definitely have talked about that, the applicant and I, about what we can do. I don't think it makes a lot of sense to put concrete or hardscape, necessarily, but maybe another type of use pathway, whether it's mulch or, you know, like a fine gravel that's more defined. [05:27:02] Thank you. Supervisor Lupisto-Curdly. Could you go back to the photo where it shows how close it is to the railroad crossing? Okay, so, right. Yeah, so it's down here. I mean, they're really... [05:27:20] We have another one. That's better. Okay. All right, so, I mean... This is us right here. Yes, so, in essence... This is the... I mean, are you planning on a crosswalk or not a crosswalk? Is sidewalk right in front of your building or not? [05:27:37] No, we are not. Because it would be a sidewalk to nowhere, right? Yes, that's... Well, it is... Yes, it would be a sidewalk that would end abruptly. And this is also... This is where the critical slopes lie. Right. So if you've driven through there, you can sense that it's kind of cavernous. [05:27:52] It's pretty steep right here. I see. Well, hopefully maybe other developments can, to the left of that, can put in a sidewalk, which would be nice for everybody. Well, if you want, I can just scroll through and show you. This is what's on the current VDOT study. Ah, good. [05:28:07] What they're proposing in every one of the scenarios is the sidewalk on the use path? no no that's there's the shared use path is this one on 2200 side of the road right through here okay on the south side of old ivy the sidewalk is being proposed on the north side so in a couple of scenarios they're they're reducing and necking down the underpass even more narrow and allowing only one-way traffic uh thereby having a stoplight on each end this is one of the proposals just to [05:28:43] to have a stoplight on each end, having one-way traffic and then having a raised sidewalk under the pass. Okay. So that's one of the proposals. That's one of the proposals. Okay. Got it. Got it. Okay. Thank you. The second one is to completely block it. And in this scenario, you would only have traffic coming in this direction under the pass. And then there would be a do not enter from here, which turns their parking lot into a quasi turnaround area. But I think this is my favorite of the two on the survey. I put my two cents in. Okay. Thank you. Thank you for that clarification. [05:29:21] No other questions. Thank you. Supervisor Galloway. Mine are just general curiosity. So a facility of this size, not knowing rock climbing, I would imagine you have to cap it at the amount of users can be in there at one time. I mean, do you do this in like half hour increments or hour increments or not? Maybe you don't. Maybe you just let them all get them. I mean, I think obviously there's fire code and we divide by that, but it's typically there's busier times early in the morning is slightly busier before work and then you know throughout the day it's not as busy and then in the evenings it is busier and there's actually some counters that are shown on the [05:29:57] website for people that want to look to see how busy it is so maybe that can help offset some of that. I just think of the parking like your busy times you could be just knowing the location it could be difficult. I think one thing we have in our benefit is if you've ever spent time on that road and I've spent quite a bit of the last several months there's a lot of people that walk and bike and scooter there's student housing right across the street several student houses in development so there's actually a lot of foot traffic despite the the issues yeah with the with the overpass and the safety issues but there is a lot of foot traffic and I think especially from the the university students will come either on bike or scooter or foot so great that's the hope [05:30:35] thank you yeah I I think that there are there are several new housing developments that are proposed for that area as well, including within the city limits, and it provides a great opportunity for those people to use your facilities. I'm excited by it. My kids did a lot of rock climbing growing up. I will say, and my grandchild even does rock climbing now, I will say that safety [05:31:08] is key. My son's best friend is paraplegic because he slipped on a gym doing rock climbing. It's not properly set up. So are there any other comments or questions? [05:31:24] No, just a comment in that Ivy Road, Old Ivy Road, is a focus of VDOT, obviously because of the congestion, and it's a pipeline study for them, which means that VDOT considers that area of urgent need. [05:31:41] Now, it doesn't mean that their recommendations are going to happen overnight, But I think they will happen faster than the average project for VDOT because it is targeted as a pipeline study. And that's an expedited study. Expedited for them may mean five or six or seven years as opposed to 10 or 12. [05:32:00] I'm just saying. We'll be paying close attention to that. But that's right because there are other, Jim's right, that Ivy Gardens area is going to be completely, the density that's there now is nothing like what the density will be. But there will be another exit out onto Leonard Sandridge. [05:32:21] So not everybody will be coming out onto Old Ivy Road. Anyway, we don't have to really deal with all of that. But I'm just saying a lot of changes are coming. Yes. Thank you. You have five minutes for rebuttal. We'll give our time back. [05:32:40] Thank you. If there are no other questions for staff or the applicant, I will close the public hearing. The matter is back before the board. For final comments, Supervisor Pruitt? I have nothing more to add. Supervisor McHugh? [05:32:55] I'm fine, thank you. Supervisor Malek? No questions. Supervisor Lupisto Cridley? No questions. Supervisor Galloway? No, nothing additional. Comments and questions, but I'm supportive, so we can, I think, be ready for a motion. [05:33:12] Yeah, I'm happy to make the motion. Let's see. Do we have a motion for the screen? Yeah, can you put the motion slide up, please? i mean i can find it in my packet but i moved on there we go um i moved to approve special use permit sp 2023 000 16 um a move that the board adopt the resolution attached to the staff report as attachment d second we have a motion from supervisor mckeel second from supervisor malik without objection if the clerk will call the roll ms mckeel yes mr pruitt hi mr andrews yes Mr. Galloway? [05:33:50] Yes. Ms. Lapista-Kirtley? Aye. Ms. Malik? Yes. Thank you. Thank you. That completes that. We'll next go to a public hearing to consider an easement to the ACSA across Parcel 61A-03-0000B1. [05:34:10] And this is presented by Mr. Cameron Plangell. Welcome. I believe there's no applicant on this one, so we're simply going to have a public hearing for the public comment. Go ahead. [05:34:26] Thank you, Chair Andrews, and good evening, everyone. My name is Cameron Langell, and I'm a principal planner with the Community Development Department, and tonight I will be giving you the staff presentation on a request that we have to establish an ACSA sanitary sewer easement on a piece of land that's actually owned by Albemarle County. [05:34:43] So just to get into some specifics of this proposal, again, it's an ACSA sanitary sewer easement, and the tax map parcel is 61A-03-0B1. You'll see it on a map in a moment, but this is in the Rio Road East area. [05:35:00] This easement will allow the installation of sanitary sewer lines across the county-owned property to allow future connection of sewer utilities to the Rio Point development, which is located approximately 260 feet to the north. That development is working its way through site plan review at the moment. [05:35:19] Again, it's at the intersection of Rile Road East and John Warner Parkway. Under Virginia Code Section 15.2-1800, anytime there is a disposal of county land or an easement that is conveyed to any entity, it requires a public hearing by the elected body of that locality. [05:35:39] So that's why we're having a public hearing on this item tonight. So quickly, this is an aerial view of the property itself. i'm going to use my laser pointer so the properties here highlighted in yellow with the star john warner parkway is to the west rio road east is over here and so our property is actually i guess you could say it's located at the west end of the village square neighborhood which is this whole neighborhood right here immediately to the east it's a private school the waldorf school the rio point project will be on this property it's actually two properties one of them is off screen that you [05:36:18] you can't see. On this slide, this is an actual subdivision plat that we have under review right now that shows where this ACSA sanitary sewer easement would be located on the property. So the nearest existing sewer lines are actually located in Village Square. There's an open space parcel right here and there's an existing easement. We have another easement plat under review at the moment that's going to enlarge that easement right in this area to allow this connection to be made to the county parcel. The ACSA easement is 20 feet wide and it runs south to north. There's [05:36:55] a third easement plat on this property, which is undeveloped, where that ACSA sewer line will be extended further north and actually get to the Rio Point project. In total, the area of the easement on the county piece of land is 4,649 square feet, which is 0.107 acres. So the staff recommendation for this item. We recommend approval of the request to authorize conveyance of the proposed easement on tax map parcel 61A-03-0B1. It is consistent with the infrastructure and placemaking [05:37:32] goal of the county's strategic plan for fiscal years 24 to 28. The developer of the Raya Point project is also proposing to reimburse the county fair market value for the area of that easement, And that comes out to $5,337.49. [05:37:49] We've worked with the county assessor to verify that that's the estimated fair market value for it. There's an attachment. I think it's attachment A, some correspondence directly with ACSA staff, where they confirm that they've worked with the Rio Point developers, consultants, specifically civil engineers and surveyors, to evaluate different routes where the sewer lines could be extended. [05:38:16] Ultimately, this one, just to keep it brief, it has the least environmental impacts. Basically, any other alignment that would be possible would require a crossing of Meadow Creek, which runs near these properties. There's 100-year floodplain, WPO stream buffers, preserved steep slopes, and ACSA has indicated that in order to cross the creek, it would actually have to be an aerial crossing. [05:38:43] So there's, you know, some security concerns with having a pipe exposed like that. Nevertheless, this alignment would allow it to be buried entirely. And so, yeah, staff recommends approval of this request. And if the board has any questions, I am available to answer those now. [05:38:59] Thank you. We'll go through our order. Supervisor Pruitt. Thank you. So I do notice that the whole reason we own it in the first place is because it's reserved for potential use as a road extension at some point in the undiscered future. Is this going to be deep enough that there is not a frustration of uses? [05:39:19] I frankly don't know. It seems like that could be a potential frustration of uses. So this piece of land, the county came into ownership of it, I believe, in 1985. And there was a plot done for that village square neighborhood where it called out this parcel and said, to be part of the future John Warner Parkway, essentially. [05:39:41] As we all know, John Warner Parkway has been constructed, and it's a bit further to the west. And then we have, of course, the Greenway system, which is on the east side of John Warner Parkway between the actual road and this parcel. So we own it. I don't think that there's any realistic expectation that there's going to be some sort of spur coming off of John Warner that would connect into this project. [05:40:04] And so I don't anticipate any roads actually being built there. And, you know, the applicant has been working with civil engineers. And yes, the pipes would be buried to a depth where it's safe. that's all I got. Thank you. Supervisor McHugh. No questions. Thank you. Supervisor Mellor. [05:40:25] Thank you. I'll follow up. I think that the right-of-way for the Warner Parkway was four lanes originally and only two have been constructed. So as long as you're certain that we're still outside that, so that could be done in 20 years or something like that without having any other utility issues, that's the only important clarification I need. Yes. Okay. Thank you. [05:40:48] Thank you. Supervisor Lupisto-Curtley. No questions. Thank you. Supervisor Cadillac. Yeah, pretty straightforward. Thank you. And I have no questions as well. So we can open the public hearing. There is no one signed up to speak, so we can close the public hearing. [05:41:10] And the matter is back before the board for any additional comments. Supervisor Pruitt. No additional comments. Supervisor McKeel. No, I'm fine. Thank you. Supervisor Malek. Supervisor Lupisto Kirtley. Nothing, thank you. Supervisor Galloway. Good. [05:41:25] And we are ready for the motion. If you could put that up on the screen. I move to adopt the resolution, Attachment C, to authorize conveyance of the proposed easement upon final review and approval as to form. [05:41:41] Second. We have a motion from Supervisor Galloway, a second from Supervisor Malek. Without objection, the clerk will call the roll. Ms. McKeel? Yes. Mr. Pruitt? Aye. Mr. Andrews? Yes. Mr. Galloway? Yes. Ms. Lapista-Kirtley? Aye. Ms. Malik? Yes. Thank you. [05:41:59] Thank you for that. That concludes our public hearings. Board, we're on to item 21, which is matters from the board, committee reports, and matters not listed on the agenda. We'll go through our order. Supervisor Pruitt? [05:42:15] Sure. So I would, just for the rare member of the public who might happen to listen to the end of the recording, I always like to include here, you know, whatever we got. So I would like to remind everyone that we do have, as of now, our first new member of the Village of Rivanna CAC. [05:42:33] We are looking forward to meeting as soon as possible this summer. So I would encourage anyone listening, if you live in the Village of Rivanna CAC catchment area, explore applying. I know some material about that has been made available. So please look into that and reach out to me if you have any questions. [05:42:50] Additionally, I would like to shout out a brainchild of Supervisor Galway's that has taken wing recently. The RHP has started convening small groups on different key focus areas. There's rural housing, urban housing, and homelessness that are going to be convening individual focus groups for different stakeholders and electeds. [05:43:12] The first one that I'm going to be attending happened, I believe it was yesterday. Was it yesterday? Yes, yesterday. Very exciting conversation with a lot of different stakeholders. You had developers, you had county electeds, you had a lot of people who have hands in the pot around urban housing, all kind of identifying their individual problems that they saw in the realm of housing. [05:43:34] And it was, I know something Supervisor McKeel and I both hit on, was how we kind of coalesced to things based on where we sat, that heavily informed what we saw as important priorities. but it was interesting to see how these priorities really did seem surprisingly consistent when we were asked to identify what we saw as the three most important things in this list of like 35 that we put together. [05:44:00] It was pretty clear what some of the most important things were. So that was, I thought, very valuable. I see Supervisor Galway also just invited me to another one. Thank you. That's all I have. [05:44:16] Thank you. I see him typing over there. Supervisor McHugh. Yes. The only thing that I want to let you all know is that Ann Wall and I have been invited to join representatives from the city of Charlottesville and specifically CAT and some of the city councilors. [05:44:38] And I'm not sure whom all else is going, to be honest with you. but we're joining them to go to Champaign-Urbana to take a look at mass transit. Evidently, and I didn't know, but Champaign-Urbana partners with public and private sector, and they have implemented hydrogen fuel cell technology. [05:45:04] And it's fascinating. I would urge you to look it up because I was Googling it. After more than 50 years of service, they are continuing their longstanding commitment to environmental sustainability with low to zero emission fleet of hybrid and hydrogen fuel cell electric buses. [05:45:24] So Ann and I have been invited to go, and so we're joining them. I think we leave, I think it's May 17th, something, it's this month. So I'm looking forward to coming back and telling you all about hydrogen-fueled electric buses, and it sounds pretty exciting, actually. [05:45:45] So thank you. That's all I have. Thank you. Supervisor Malloy. I don't have any announcements, but I would ask Ms. McKeel to find out about their combined university and urban transit, because UI is huge, and that would be a really important thing to copy. [05:46:01] And you're exactly right, because they are just like we are. They're a university town. And my understanding is that the university, they're working together, obviously, and they have their transit all figured out. So we need to model something like that. We want that 40,000 riders a day to put in our data. [05:46:19] Exactly, to get our federal dollars. Thank you. Thank you. We're at Supervisor Lupisto Kirtley. Yes, I'm sensing a theme here. Go ahead. So to carry on that theme, when I was in Finland and Helsinki, I took a picture of an electric bus and sent it to Garland and Williams, but they have electric buses over there. [05:46:43] They're battery operated, so I'm really very anxious to hear what's being done. And I bet it gets pretty cold over there. Oh, tell me about it. Oh, yeah, freezing. Thank you. Supervisor Galloway. Just as a reminder, I believe at a prior meeting I mentioned the long-range transportation plan is still open to receive feedback through the 21st of May when the policy board will take final action. [05:47:08] So you can view that plan at the TJPDC or the MPO website. If you haven't, take a look, take a look and see what you think. Please also remind us, the corridor study for Ivy is open until the 10th of May. Is that right? 10th of May, yes. [05:47:24] I haven't done my yet. I need to hurry up. I think that's right. On the VVAD website. and i have uh i guess report we did have a uh agricultural forestal district committee meeting on monday and we'll hear more about that on the 15th because it's subject to uh board discussion but uh one of the things that was concerning is that i think believe we had uh four members able to be there but that was a quorum because they're only now down to seven and and there's been some concern expressed that some of the people who had served on that for a long time are term limited [05:48:01] out. They've been serving for so many years, and now the term limits are up. There are ways I know around that to some extent, but I also think it's something at some point we may want to revisit to make sure we don't get ourselves in a situation like this where we don't have the people that we really need to advising us on something, enough people. So I'll just bring that up for comment. [05:48:25] I will look, if there's nothing else, I'll look to the county executive if he has anything further for this evening. No, sir. Thank you. Sure. In that case, board, we will adjourn to May 15th, 1 p.m. in Lane Auditorium. [05:48:43] Opportunities for the public to access and participate in this meeting are posted on the Alpermodel County website, on the Board of Supervisors' homepage, and on the Alpermodel County calendar. Participation will include the opportunity to comment on those matters for which comments from the public will be received. Thank you, and good night. [05:48:59] Thank you. And for all those people in the audience, thank you for coming. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Coraggio Consulting ยท aguyonx.com