Affordable housing remedies include land purchasing and city-funded rental assistance

City Council is forging ahead with a multi-pronged attempt to stymie the affordable housing crisis in Charlottesville. The moves call for building new affordable housing, while also creating incentives for existing landlords to rent at rates affordable for lower-income families, and developing a city-funded rental assistance program for residents who are most in need. “The […]

City budget up 6%: Affordable housing, parking are priorities

City Manager Maurice Jones presented his $170 million draft budget for fiscal year 2017-2018 at the March 6 City Council meeting, citing the city’s significant growth as a main reason for the 6 percent increase over the current adopted budget. “City Council and staff have identified two critical areas that must be addressed in order […]

Space invaders: City promises more parking downtown

Charlottesville officials held a press conference November 15 to announce their latest step in solving the city’s parking crisis. “We hear you and we want to help,” Mayor Mike Signer said before announcing the city’s acquisition of a $2.85 million half-acre parcel currently housing Guadalajara and Lucky 7 and located on the northeast end of […]

Hell no: City responds to parking center proposals

In the ongoing melodrama between the city and Charlottesville Parking Center owner Mark Brown, a letter from City Manager Maurice Jones says there’s no way the city will sell its Water Street Parking Garage shares to or even work with Brown, who, perhaps not coincidentally, announced plans to sell the Main Street Arena and take […]

Stopped light: Long wait at downtown signal triggers questions

On Water Street, buses regularly back up at a traffic light at Third Street SE that has the Water Street Parking Garage on one side and a half street dead-ending on the Downtown Mall on the other. Water Street traffic can idle at this light for nearly a minute, by this reporter’s count. The Charlottesville […]

$84K assistant: Human rights office not being gutted, says Jones

Three years ago, local activist Walt Heinecke was elated when, after years of task forces on human rights, City Council finally approved a human rights commission with enforcement power and put $197,000 into funding an office. Today, Heinecke accuses City Manager Maurice Jones of “killing” the Office of Human Rights by cutting its staff while […]

How to spend $162 million: The city’s budget increases 3.5 percent

Charlottesville City Manager Maurice Jones presented his proposed budget for fiscal year 2017 to City Council on March 7. The $161,871,784 budget is a 3.5 percent increase over 2016’s fiscal year budget, which was approved at $156,391,435. The latest budget is Jones’ sixth version. “The biggest chunk is going to the schools,” he says, and […]