Most of the groups who work on the Rivanna have a wealth of printed and online information about the Rivanna, but for sheer history, nothing tops Mr. Jefferson’s River, a book about the Rivanna by William E. Trout and Minnie Lee McGehee. A resident of Palmyra, McGehee and her husband Henry were largely responsible for […]
Most of the groups who work on the Rivanna have a wealth of printed and online information about the Rivanna, but for sheer history, nothing tops Mr. Jefferson’s River, a book about the Rivanna by William E. Trout and Minnie Lee McGehee. A resident of Palmyra, McGehee and her husband Henry were largely responsible for […]
In 1998, Moore’s Creek, which drains parts of Albemarle County and the City of Charlottesville and forms much of the southern boundary of Charlottesville, was placed on Virginia’s Impaired Waters list for levels of fecal coliform bacteria that indicate the creek is unsafe for swimming and fishing. The next year, the Thomas Jefferson Planning District […]
There are some simple ways to help the Rivanna, but the most efficient method may be installing a Rooftop Runoff Collection System. According to the Thomas Jefferson Soil and Water Conservation District, an average of 34,300 gallons of rain falls on a 30′ x 40′ roof in Central Virginia each year. That could potentially provide […]
As Charlottesville’s economy moved from an agricultural base to an industrial one, the threat to the Rivanna shifted. Suddenly there were impervious surfaces like the asphalt parking lots that spread like smallpox after World War II. They created an incredible storm runoff, a wave of filth that cascaded down into the streams and rivers. “It’s […]
The Rivanna hosts a number of species of wildlife, from mammals like beaver, otter and mink to birds like heron, osprey and the bald eagle, and, of course, fish, with bass and perch chief among them. Of all the species, the most treasured is the James River spiny mussel. Globally rare and federally endangered, the […]
One recent afternoon, a friend and I put in on the Rivanna and for the next three hours floated down its mellifluous waters. Up in the front of the canoe, my friend acted as guide
Biscuit Run developers took six hours worth of lumps in March from the Planning Commission. But they’ve used the criticisms from the public and from the Commission to come back with a higher offer. “We went above and beyond what we thought the Planning Commission’s expectation was,” says Steven Blaine, the LeClair Ryan attorney who […]
The Charlottesville Newsplex, which operates CBS 19, ABC 16 and Fox 27, has only been in town since 2004, but already they’ve grown too cramped in their current quarters. On April
“Development isn’t paying its fair share.” So goes one of the primary arguments against allowing developers to build new houses. Assuming new houses usually bring new people, each sprawling subdivision brings more cars for the roads and more kids for the school system and more bodies in the parks and more books from the libraries […]
Perhaps it would have taken genius to have written perfect zoning when the city reworked its code to encourage high-density mixed-use development throughout the city’s corridors in 2003. After a series of plans for tall buildings has come forward for Downtown, as well as some inappropriately small structures, city planners are hunting for the Baby […]