At its August 19 meeting, Charlottesville City Council delved into a number of hot-button local issues, including council salaries and ranked-choice voting. Under new legislation from the Virginia General Assembly, city governments can now vote to increase salaries, with pay limits determined by locality population size. A proposed salary ordinance would increase councilors’ annual pay […]
At its August 19 meeting, Charlottesville City Council delved into a number of hot-button local issues, including council salaries and ranked-choice voting. Under new legislation from the Virginia General Assembly, city governments can now vote to increase salaries, with pay limits determined by locality population size. A proposed salary ordinance would increase councilors’ annual pay […]
In November, newly appointed Charlottesville City Manager Marc Woolley quit the job—the day before he was supposed to start work. It was the low point in a three-year period that had seen five people, not counting Woolley, serve as the city government’s lead executive. In response, City Council addressed the desperate situation by hiring a […]
Marc Woolley was introduced as Charlottesville’s interim city manager on November 5. During a virtual press conference that day, the former Harrisburg and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, bureaucrat claimed he was used to “high-stress environments” and was not fazed by Charlottesville’s recent high-profile departures. “I’ve been doing this for many, many years, and I’ve been in almost […]
City Council voted unanimously on Monday night to approve a new Comprehensive Plan. The plan, which has been in the works since 2017, will guide Charlottesville’s growth and development in the years to come. The most controversial element of the plan is the Future Land Use Map, which shows the neighborhoods in the city that […]
Earlier this year, Charlottesville City Manager Chip Boyles was brought in to stabilize a shaky local government, but after eight months on the job, he resigned last week. Following a closed session with City Council, Boyles said he believes he shored up city leadership and boosted employee morale during his tenure, but that his process […]
Map moves ahead The process of rewriting Charlottesville’s Comprehensive plan—and, subsequently, reevaluating the zoning for the entire city—took a major step forward last week, when the Planning Commission unanimously recommended that City Council approve the most recent draft of the Future Land Use Map. The Future Land Use Map shows which areas of the […]
By Geremia di Maro Charlottesville’s government faces a wide array of big issues: A housing crisis. Ongoing criminal justice system inequities. A bureaucracy that’s had difficulty getting on the same page. This summer, three candidates are competing in the Democratic primary in hopes of securing the party’s nominations to run for two contested seats on […]
After years of heated debate and public backlash, Charlottesville City Council seems to have decided to shelve a proposed multi-million dollar downtown parking garage, opting to explore cheaper—and potentially greener—options. During a May 25 work session, the councilors discussed how the city should fulfill a 2018 promise to provide 90 parking spots to Albemarle […]
Vaccine scene Charlottesville Fire Department Captain Lance Blakey was the first to receive a coronavirus vaccine at the Blue Ridge Health District’s new vaccination facility in the Kmart parking lot last week. The city continues to move through phase 1A of vaccinations, which includes doctors, nurses, EMTs, pharmacists, social workers, and other frontline health care […]
Grinding to a halt Last week, a final warning was issued to all skaters: If more than 25 people were seen gathered at the Charlottesville Skate Park—or other city parks and recreation areas—over the weekend, the city would consider shutting down all of its outdoor facilities until the declaration of emergency is lifted. Officials stopped […]