When 180 acres are flooded to make way for the long-planned Ragged Mountain Reservoir expansion, the city will lose acres of public hiking trails. City Councilor Kevin Lynch wants replacement public land, but finding a location could prove tricky.
Lynch says a number of locations in the city are being considered—areas with steep slopes that would not be good for development—but he would not specify where these places are for fear of driving up the prices once the City decides to put in an offer.
Another possibility, says Lynch (and one that the Department of Environmental Quality prefers), is to put the land that the City already owns at Buck Mountain into easement. Lynch, however, worries that such a move could be short-sighted. The property was originally purchased to serve as a reservoir, and excluding that as a possibility for the future could cramp Charlottesville’s water usage 50 years down the road.
Representatives from the DEQ say that they have yet to see the City’s permit application on the matter, and therefore do not have a comment.—Nell Boeschenstein
Lynch says a number of locations in the city are being considered—areas with steep slopes that would not be good for development—but he would not specify where these places are for fear of driving up the prices once the City decides to put in an offer.
Another possibility, says Lynch (and one that the Department of Environmental Quality prefers), is to put the land that the City already owns at Buck Mountain into easement. Lynch, however, worries that such a move could be short-sighted. The property was originally purchased to serve as a reservoir, and excluding that as a possibility for the future could cramp Charlottesville’s water usage 50 years down the road.
Representatives from the DEQ say that they have yet to see the City’s permit application on the matter, and therefore do not have a comment.—Nell Boeschenstein
