Get out of the zone: Outdated zoning in Rose Hill leaves some lots vacant

Back in 2013, Julie (who asked that we not use her last name) bought a house in Rose Hill, a small, historically African American neighborhood roughly bordered by Preston Avenue, Madison Avenue, and Harris Street. The house had gone into foreclosure during the housing market crash, and had been neglected for a while.  After determining […]

Housing divided: Critics say new budget puts parking over people

“By failing to fund affordable housing in your city, you are quite literally causing and creating homelessness,” said Alliance for Interfaith Ministries director Kimberly Fontaine at the Planning Commission’s public hearing for the city’s Capital Improvement Plan last week.  The Capital Improvement Plan covers non-recurring projects that last for five or more years and cost […]

Affordable option? Church apartments could be a godsend

When a church in the Belmont neighborhood proposed converting underused space into 15 apartments, with a third of them specifically for people with disabilities, some community members were quick to call it a development idea that they could finally get behind. Others? Eh, not so much. “Public feedback has not been supportive,” planning commissioner Lyle […]

Opportunity gap: How your city neighborhood defines your life

The neighborhoods where poor children grow up can have a huge impact on their future earnings, a new analysis of census data shows. Here in Charlottesville, children growing up in Westhaven, the public housing complex in the 10th and Page neighborhood, have the least chance of escaping poverty, while equally poor children who grow up […]