Ann Mallek

After twelve months of meetings and conversations to get the Crozet library design development process restarted, I am happy to report that it is happening. The building was pulled from the CIP or Capital Improvement Program a year ago, and at that point the final phase of design was halted by the Board of Supervisors. In order to learn a bona fide cost to build the library, final plans are needed.

The architect, Melanie Hennigan of Grimm and Parker, has met several times with county staff, me, and recently with members of the Architectural Review Board (ARB). These meetings have focused on complying with the ARB guidelines for buildings in the County’s entrance corridors. Work is ongoing.

The site plan for the parking lot is also moving through the process of zoning, planning, and ARB review. Originally the parking lot was proposed to the east of the building, thus the library would screen the lot from Crozet Ave. The extent of landscaping for a short (hopefully) time is one of the topics under discussion.

I believe that the library is essential to the private growth and redevelopment of downtown Crozet. The library will be a signal to landowners and to bankers that downtown is the core of the Crozet growth area, not just the old part that is to be left behind as growth occurs on Rt. 250.

In my opinion we are NOT in need of new growth area at this time. There is a huge inventory of approved projects which have not been built because of the economic slowdown . There has also been a dilution of demand because so much was approved in a short period of time. There are not enough customers to go around.

A market analyst told me that in a thirty mile radius of Charlottesville there are only 175,000 people, not enough for unlimited stores and housing developments to succeed.

Urban planners from other areas say that our growth area is too large for effective service provision, that it does not grow from the center out in an organized way, but development hop scotch jumps all over the place whenever a landowner wants to do something. This leaves the service authority chasing its tail to provide sewer and water services.

First should be growth in the area already designated, as highway improvements are made.

In the comprehensive plan the main reason to make change is when change is NEEDED for the community. At a time when there are more than 3 million square feet of already approved commercial space and thousands of houses for sale (with more thousands already approved), we do not NEED to add more empty houses and stores.

The light industrial land inventory will be presented to the Board of Supervisors on February 3. The existing LI zoned properties will be shown and evaluated for usefulness. There will certainly be a debate about the addition of more LI land.

An essential part of that discussion will be the multitude of uses allowed in our current LI zone, including office space. Standalone office buildings bring a higher return than warehouses and more typical light industrial uses. Many of the recent rezonings have taken LI land off the map, turning it into residential and commercial.

There is no point in increasing the area of LI without fixing the definitions which create the problem. For example, the Yancey property which had been proposed for light industrial property, contractor storage, and warehouse uses is now being called a Business Park and could contain more than one million square feet of office space.

How would that affect the revitalization of downtown Crozet which has been a target of county infrastructure investment with more than 4000 dwelling units approved there since 2000? What would be the effect to the road capacity of Route 250 west?

Important call to action – Crozet Master Plan meeting! Share your ideas for your community; the Master Plan guides growth, change, and investment in Crozet for the next FIVE years.

Hot Topic: light industrial areas in Crozet

Thursday, January 28
Field School Auditorium (Old Crozet School on Crozet Ave)
7 pm

If you cannot attend the meeting, please share your thoughts with the Supervisors at bos@albemarle.org.

You may also write just to me at amallek@albemarle.org.

As we begin a new year, I want to invite residents to raise their level of involvement in county affairs.

Supervisors represent our voters, their concerns and preferences, as well as we can. Through town hall meetings, emails, and phone calls, voters can share their ideas with their representatives.

Your ideas count, your solutions are needed. Please know that there are many different views in the White Hall district, and the prevailing view at one gathering may not be the same as that at another meeting or in another conversation. But I do listen and try to find areas of agreement, areas of common ground, on which we as a county can progress.

There are many opportunities for you to share your thoughts and ideas:

• Crozet master plan meetings are every third Thursday of the month through the spring.
• There will be round table discussions on farm stand regulations and work sessions and hearings on the adoption of the Places 29 master plan.
• There will be budget work sessions or public hearings on March 8, 10, 15, 17, and 31 which will provide lots of opportunities for citizens to share.

Check on albemarle.org or at 296-5843 for agenda information. You can sign up for emails about county doings at www.albemarle.org.

Thank you in advance for your time and interest in the well being and quality of life of Albemarle County and its citizens.

The Industrial Land Survey Report is now available on the Community Development webpage and is scheduled for a work session with the Planning Commission next week 1/19.

For those interested in the Yancey proposal and the need for more light industrial land, this report will provide good background for the discussion.

The Crozet Citizens Advisory Council (CCAC) will host the Master Plan meeting on this topic on Thursday, January 21, at 7 p.m. at the Field School.