Residents petition BOS to slow comp plan amendment

People living around the property at the Interstate 64/U.S. 29 interchange, which the Albemarle Board of Supervisors is considering adding to the growth area to attract a West Coast brewery, are circulating a petition to slow the process. “We started being concerned about a factory across the street surrounded by a rural and residential area,” […]

The sound of Costco: Neighbors fret over unwanted noise

“It’s like a twin-engine plane” is how an Albemarle County resident and local teacher describes the noise that now overpowers the quiet bustle and birdsong of his once-peaceful backyard. Donald Healy and his wife live in a townhome on Commonwealth Drive, behind the recently opened Costco in the Stonefield shopping center. Their home is situated […]

Post traumatic: Proposed shooting range stresses refugees

U.S. citizenship meant a new beginning for Tilahun Goshu and his family—one where they would no longer live in fear and they could begin building their dream home, which Goshu envisioned being passed down to his children and his children’s children. But no sooner than he moved into his new place, he learned that a […]

Movable type: Virginia Arts of the Book Center makes a shift

If you only know one thing about the Virginia Arts of the Book Center, it’s probably that its tagline is “Beneath The Art Box.” This hints at the rich history of underground presses but also provides a literal reminder to help geolocate the community printmaking studio in its off-the-radar location. However, that motto needs an […]

Trust us: Albemarle jumps through hoops for mystery company

    The preservation of Albemarle County’s rural beauty can directly be attributed to its comprehensive plan, the holy grail of where development can occur and where it may not. That’s why some are surprised the Board of Supervisors is fast tracking an amendment that moves 223 acres from rural to growth area for a […]

Off the grid: A model for environmentalism made easy

It’s affordable, actually sustainable and certainly not the modern American lifestyle most have become accustomed to, with multiple cars per family, smart phones for everyone and streaming video on demand. The 5-year-old project called Living Energy Farm is an off-the-grid, zero-fossil-fuel-emission community in the works in Louisa County, described in two words by its creator: […]

City Council approves William Taylor Plaza

The controversial development that puts a Fairfield Inn on the corner of Ridge Street and Cherry Avenue, nixed by the Planning Commission 5-0 and rejected by more than 500 petition-signing residents, got a 3-2 go-ahead from City Council July 21. The Southern Development project was in front of council a few weeks ago, and a  […]

‘Switcheroo’? William Taylor Plaza developer stuns City Council

The darling of 21st-century community design is the “planned unit development,” which typically combines commercial and residential for high-density, pedestrian friendly living. So when the developer of the already controversial William Taylor Plaza PUD told City Council July 6 there was no requirement for a residential component, councilors put the brakes on a rezoning amendment […]

Big box bickering: Why some locals are wailing over Wegmans

The Fifth Street development project, now known as 5th Street Station, is soon to be a big box retail sanctuary with almost half a million square feet of space, an abundance of parking and a buffet of popular brands—and it only took about two decades to build on this historically sought-after plot of land previously […]