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tonight’s the first council meeting with the new clerk of council, kyna thomas. we’re underway now, with councilor signer not present (but en route, according to heather)
hey @CvilleCityHall, where’s the livestream?
councilor bellamy read a proclamation announcing african american history month, noting that it was signed by the city’s first african american female mayor
pre-consent agenda public comment: the executive director of partner for mental health speaking on the home to hope program (funding for this program is on the consent agenda)
she asks council to consider housing this program with an existing entity.
she asks council to consider housing this program with an existing entity.
she also notes they reentry services are medicaid billable and many service recipients are medicaid eligible.
the next commenter is also in support of home to hope, but is in favor of keeping it within the city, unconnected to existing programs. says it should be free to succeed or fail on its own, not in connection with another organization.
roy van dorn from the downtown business association started to speak, but mayor walker interrupts to clarify that this comment period is only for items on the consent agenda. (his comments are unrelated)
councilor bellamy acknowledges the expertise and experience of the second commenter - the man who wants home to hope to remain an independent program.
councilor bellamy now emphasizing the importance of the consent agenda items recognizing friendship court, crescent halls, and south first street as revitalization areas. 
re: item j, amending the tourism board agreement, nikuyah says it’s important to focus on the whole city & all its residents, not just rebranding to deal with the summer of 2dailyprogress.com/news/local/tou…dAjF
consent agenda passes unanimously, 5-0 (signer finally showed up)
city manager’s response to matters by the public: mike murphy says there is a plan to change a trolley route (this is related to a comment from mary carey at the last meeting)
a more specific description of the trolley situation:
someone whose name i missed (i’m sorry!) is here accepting the proclamation on african american history month. nikuyah recognizes his & his organization’s effort to put on the back to school bash the weekend of A12, 2017.
“i just wanted to make sure the community was aware of something positive that happened on that day,” mayor walker says.
and now on to matters by the public. i think we’re gonna hear from the green grannies again tonight.
a representative from the sierra club reminds us that climate change disproportionately harms low income families.
increased funding for weatherization & energy efficiency should be top priorities.
increased funding for weatherization & energy efficiency should be top priorities.
next: a man who says he wants council’s attention & time, “i don’t want any money.”
the milton hershey school was founded for white male orphans. it now serves students of all races & genders.
“it’s a school designed for families that are in need.”
(it’s also in pennsylvania 🤷♀️)
the milton hershey school was founded for white male orphans. it now serves students of all races & genders.
“it’s a school designed for families that are in need.”
(it’s also in pennsylvania 🤷♀️)
i’m genuinely confused.
“what can we do in central virginia, what can we do in charlottesville, to make leaders like yourselves” aware of that school & its opportunities.
he wants help making people aware of a school in another state.
“what can we do in central virginia, what can we do in charlottesville, to make leaders like yourselves” aware of that school & its opportunities.
he wants help making people aware of a school in another state.
next up: a representative from the people’s coalition speaking on disproportionate minority contact by our police department.
she notes that the issue is not unique to charlottesville and not unique to this police chief. pointing out the problem in our department is not an attack on the character of individual officers or chief brackney. but it has to be addressed.
the city will face serious challenges when it comes to funding the CIP because of the number of significant projects... but funding for affordable housing is non-negotiable says city council candidate @MPayneCville
he says city council shouldn’t be afraid of raising taxes one or two cents if it means being able to fully fund necessary infrastructure projects.
ms katrina, a member of the police civilian review board, says her son was stopped outside her home by police on friday night for allegedly running a stop sign. when she spoke to the officer, he called for backup. three squad cars were required to handle a traffic ticket.
ms carey says she talked to city manager mike murphy about the trolley issue & was satisfied with the conversation, but that he promised her someone from transportation would call her & she’s received no call.
there’s been a lot of talk tonight about the turning radius of the downtown trolley vehicles. riveting stuff, friends.
“i’m sick and tired of the way my city is going.” ms carey has lived here 72 years. “there’s gotta be some change coming,” she says. it sounds like she’s talking about the november election.
tanesha hudson says she recently received a certified letter about a complaint she filed with the police department a long time ago. but she says no one has ever received any response to complaints about the police in august 2017.
“there used to be benches on the downtown mall,” says tanesha.
“you say you’re a world class city. that means for all classes.”
she shows them a picture of the benches that used to be under the trees, which are long gone.
“this says if you don’t spend money you can’t be here.”
“you say you’re a world class city. that means for all classes.”
she shows them a picture of the benches that used to be under the trees, which are long gone.
“this says if you don’t spend money you can’t be here.”
it’s the green grannies. check the livestream to hear their song.
no response from the dais to this public comment
city council candidate john hall is at the mic talking about how the city should commission a portrait of heather heyer and susan bro. he’s been asked by the city to stop telling artists the city will pay for this.
c-ville.com/unauthorized-c…
c-ville.com/unauthorized-c…
next up, brandon collins from the public housing assoc of residents. “the time has come to enthusiastically embrace the idea that we could have a different future”
the wrongs of the past must be addressed. residents have been working for yrs toward redevelopment “the time is now”
the wrongs of the past must be addressed. residents have been working for yrs toward redevelopment “the time is now”
A12 survivor star encourages the council to fully fund the community unity days project on tonight’s agenda. she is glad to see the project includes community activists like ms katrina andms rosia.
on the subject of changing street names (preston ave is back on the agenda tonight), star points out that thomas jefferson was a slave owner and a rapist - maybe we should address all the things in this town named after him.
we’re all the way through the speakers who signed up, so additional spots are open to anyone who wants to speak. this has happened a few times recently, after a long period of waiting lists.
next speaker is speaking on the rechristening preston ave in honor of asalie preston, rather than thomas preston. she points out that many enslaved people had surnames that came from their masters & wonders if asalie preston’s name is rooted in slavery.
the guy from the downtown business association is back. re: tanesha’s comment about benches, he says “does the downtown business association not like benches?” and says DBAC has been asking for more benches for 6 years but the BAR won’t let them have them.
“we would like more benches and we’ve asked for them. that is the truth.” he says the benches are sitting in storage, “in limbo.”
color me skeptical.
color me skeptical.
“if the DBAC feels uncomfortable, they ought to be.” nancy says the benches were removed because business owners didn’t want houseless people on the mall. even the benches in storage are the ones with dividers designed to keep people from sitting comfortably.
nancy is talking about a program in richmond that provides mediators in eviction cases & financial literacy reaources for people who go through eviction proceedings.
there’s one slot left & john hall tried to go again but was told no.
councilor bellamy on benches: everyone wants more benches but the board of architectural review is the one preventing that?
mike murphy says there’s a lot of history to this.
councilor bellamy on benches: everyone wants more benches but the board of architectural review is the one preventing that?
mike murphy says there’s a lot of history to this.
murphy: “there was a lot of movement afoot...” a lot of talk about the benches being “a little too comfortable” for homeless individuals.
the metal, backless benches in front of city hall are ugly & uncomfortable. BAR wouldn’t allow them to be placed on the mall.
the metal, backless benches in front of city hall are ugly & uncomfortable. BAR wouldn’t allow them to be placed on the mall.
so they found a bench that pleased the capitalists (anti homeless benches - very uncomfortable and impossible to rest on) but the board of architectural review found them too hideous to befoul our downtown mall? so now we just have inadequate seating.
city council candidate paul long snagged the last public comment spot. he’s talking about the northam picture. “he must’ve been in his late 20s” & approved his yearbook spread. “he had over 30yrs to correct that.”
“he’s unfit to be governor and he’s disgracing the commonwealth of virginia.” paul long asks the council to endorse a resolution asking for northam’s resignation.
kathy galvin says the local democratic party committee unanimously endorsed a resolution asking for his resignation.
mayor walker says she’s not surprised & is always taken aback when people are surprised by things like this. “people will see it when it’s a yearbook photo but they don’t see it in the everyday policies that are made.”
“we keep missing the day to day policies that fuel that behavior.” that is the real issue, “not some yearbook photo,” says nikuyah.
“yes the photos are out there. am i surprised? i’m not surprised.”
we need to challenge systems of oppression & we’re not doing a good job of that.
“yes the photos are out there. am i surprised? i’m not surprised.”
we need to challenge systems of oppression & we’re not doing a good job of that.
and now a public hearing on a special use permit at 901 river road to allow increased residential density and a self storage facility. the planning commission voted in favor of the SUP.
kathy asks how many jobs the storage facility would create. the presenter says he does not know.
now hearing from the developer. there’s a powerpoint!
now hearing from the developer. there’s a powerpoint!
kathy galvin is an architect by day. she has some issues with the drawings the developer presents. she’s concerned that sometimes council is shown illustrations that don’t match the final product.
the storage facility will create “4, maybe 6” full time jobs.
nikuyah asks about the affordable housing implications of the project. developer says the project doesn’t meet the threshold that would require them to have any affordable units.
nikuyah asks about the affordable housing implications of the project. developer says the project doesn’t meet the threshold that would require them to have any affordable units.
nikuyah asks again, more directly, if it is their intention to include any affordable units. the developer says they’re going to be all market rate.
kathy galvin says they’re working on revising the code to require it, acknowledges that it isn’t currently required for this project, but that the lack of affordable units is a concern for her with this special use permit.
no takers for public comment on this public hearing. a looooong pause before wes makes the motion to approve the SUP. kathy makes a friendly amendment: adding language to include the information & illustrations presented tonight.
wes says he’s in favor of the project and notes that the planning commission voted unanimously in favor of the SUP.
kathy says she was uncertain about this project in the beginning. she was concerned about the proximity of the warehouse to the housing, but the drawings convinced her there is sufficient distance & an activated streetscape.
kathy does voice concern that the project doesn’t do enough to create jobs. “5 jobs isn’t making a dent in people’s economic prospects.” she gives it a qualified yes, given the illustrations shown tonight are linked to the requirements for the project.
“this is an underutilization of this site,” says kathy. she wants to see more community benefit corporations, more jobs created.
nikuyah again says just because they aren’t required to provide affordable units doesn’t mean they can’t & won’t vote in favor for that reason.
“it’s irresponsible at this point for any developer not to include affordable units.”
“it’s irresponsible at this point for any developer not to include affordable units.”
signer also voices support, citing the planning commission’s support for the SUP & building on wes’s comment that this will bring needed change to the neighborhood.
wes says he does hear & value nikuyah’s comments.
wes says he does hear & value nikuyah’s comments.
kathy says we need comprehensive zoning reform & small area plans. the current system is “wasteful, exhausting, and it always ends up being somewhat mediocre.” she says this will hopefully be addressed by hiring a long range planner (on tonight’s agenda)
the SUP is granted, 4-1 with nikuyah dissenting.
now a public hearing on the emmet street streetscape.
now a public hearing on the emmet street streetscape.
stop putting this much stuff on your slides
i walked this stretch of road every day for a year when i lived at lambeth but i honestly can’t even remember what it looks like now. i guess i’m old now.
public commenter on the streetscape is in favor of the project. “we’re not gonna reach our climate goals” unless we rethink the way we do transportation.
public comment closed. kathy moves to accept the proposal. heather seconds. kathy says “this is an excellent project” and a good example of cooperation between the city & university. signer is talking but all i hear is the charlie brown teacher sound.
the resolution passes unanimously. now on to the ridge mcintire multimodal corridor & another powerpoomfu
omfuyikes
signer asks if there’s been any collaboration with the county - not because the road touches the county proper, but the county office building is on mcintire rd. the presenter says the project won’t affect access to the building.
shout out to the woman sitting next to me who appears to have just had a pizza delivered to council chambers. i’m impressed.
now public comment on what was apparently a 20 minute presentation? i must’ve spaced out pretty intensely. same public commenter as the last agenda item is voicing support for this project.
next public commenter says she doesn’t have a very strong opinion on the matter but is concerned about barrett early learning center (a preschool on ridge mcintire near dice st). parents are picking up and dropping off kids during busy times of day.
next speaker asks council to increase safety on harris at fifth street. she references this terrible accident i saw the other day
heather moves they adopt the resolution, kathy seconds. kathy says the comments about barrett daycare center & progressive stormwater management are very important.
heather asks about the safety concerns at harris.
a city staffer says there are plans to restripe the road but the majority of the problems are “just drivers not following the rules of the road.”
resolution passes unanimously.
a city staffer says there are plans to restripe the road but the majority of the problems are “just drivers not following the rules of the road.”
resolution passes unanimously.
now on to the lease agreement at the historical society. wes brings up the presence of these monument fund donation boxes at historical society
historical society executive director coy barefoot says he’s never heard of such a thing. he sounds shocked. he says the past leadership hasn’t had anything to do with the organization “for years” (the picture is 18 months old)
barefoot says neither he nor the organization have any opinion on the statues but that he could see the historical society “facilitating a conversation” about them.
as a nonprofit, the historical society cannot have political opinions.
barefoot says he’s glad wes made him aware of the history of soliciting donations to the monument fund. he’s protesting a bit too much.
barefoot says he’s glad wes made him aware of the history of soliciting donations to the monument fund. he’s protesting a bit too much.
nikuyah is nervous about tying the next city manager’s hands by signing a long term lease now with only an interim city manager at the helm.
i usually limit my participation to tweeting & heckling, but here’s the text of my public commoOhv
oOhvcity council candidate @MPayneCville says the past leadership of the historical society was corrupt and incompetent. the new leadership seems to indicate a positive change. he says they have potential to use that space for public benefit.
the commenter between me & michael asked to see pictures of this donation boxkXNo
signer asks how many other institutions lease city property. the only other one he can think of is the discovery museum. kathy says the mcguffey center. mike asks if the city rents to any private tenants at market rate. no one can think of any.
city attorney john blair says the only comparable thing would be the parking garage.
it’ll go on the consent agenda at the next meeting. it’s basically a done deal, but voicing dissent is important anyway 🤷♀️
nikuyah says asking the housing authority to pay back funds at this stage, just on the eve of redevelopment, is something that needs to be discussed. waiving it would be an investment in families who live in public housing.
both nikuyah and wes frame this in the context of the historical society lease.
wes floats the idea of forgiving the amount in part or in whole.
wes floats the idea of forgiving the amount in part or in whole.
someone is chewing ice cubes and it has fully destroyed my ability to concentrate on what’s happening in this meeting.
“ultimately we want the housing authority to be self sustaining,” says kathy. wes agrees.
kathy wants to see a plan for the housing authority to be self sufficient.
kathy wants to see a plan for the housing authority to be self sufficient.
the cop sitting in the back of the room needs to turn down his radio a little. i can hear the dispatcher over the councilors.
“the housing authority cannot become self sufficient without development,” wes says.
signer wants to hear more about that. he says he wasn’t aware redevelopment was intended to guide the housing authority toward self sufficiency.
signer wants to hear more about that. he says he wasn’t aware redevelopment was intended to guide the housing authority toward self sufficiency.
nikuyah is concerned about framing the conversation this way. “this is a very scary path for us to be on,” making all housing developments mixed income. she advocates capping AMI in these communities.
she has a real point. we don’t talk about this enough. but if you put low income families in a mixed income development with rich people, those rich people are gonna call the cops & social services on those poor people. we aren’t prepared for the consequences of that.
it is sad to me that there is so little discussion of doing the right thing because it is right in favor of trying to find a way to make the profitable thing into the right thing.
the executive direction of CHRA is up now. kathy has asked if these amounts are sufficient to provide a comprehensive site plan for the south first street project. he says they can’t be sure yet, but almost certainly
it’s gonna be a long year. i’m already extremely done hearing mike signer talk. he hasn’t announced yet whether he’ll run for reelection, but it doesn’t matter. we already know this is his last term.
“your return on investment *can* include ‘hey these are the lives we helped,’” signer says, doing his best impression of a human being who can experience compassion.
there is a lot of confusion on the dais about what the resolution says and does.
no meeting should ever be longer than 4 hours. things really deteriorate after a few hours. no one is bringing their a-game to the latter half of the agenda on nights like tonight.
i’m confused about what just happened but it carried 5-0
the last few meetings ended so early (read: before 11pm) - i got spoiled. we have three more agenda items and closing matters by the public after this recess.
now discussing creating a position & hiring a long range planU1cE
U1cEdiscussion of this agenda item starts on p 199 of the agenda background
charlottesville.org/home/showdocum…
charlottesville.org/home/showdocum…
“we’ve been hurting seriously for a long time” because our zoning is so out of sync with our community’s needs says kathy galvin.
been sitting here for five hours and i gotta be honest with you, my attention span has been stretched to the breaking point. i sat through three hours of docket call this morning to hear one particular date get set and my ability to sit and listen is just maxed out.
for the record, a circuit court docket call of over 100 people is really troubling! robert tracci is overcharging in a big, scary way & turning a lot of people into felons unnecessarily.
anyway, back to the meeting i’m sitting in right now...
anyway, back to the meeting i’m sitting in right now...
heather moves to adopt the resolution. kathy seconds. it passes unanimously.
now ok to the honorary renaming of preston avenue. city attorney john blair says there has been some confusion on social media - the city won’t put up new green street signs that say preston ave, they’ll be adding the BROWN signs that indicate an honorary name.
here’s the brown honorary street sign for heather heyer way on 4th street, for reference. this resolution would allow the city to add honorary signs noting preston ave would be in honor of asalie preston.
the city is open to conversations about renaming other things - streets, buildings. nikuyah notes that this one is easy (the actual name won’t change), but they won’t all be easy.
mayor walker says her great grandmother, born in 1912 in louisa county, bore the name of the family who owned her ancestors. she thanks the woman who spoke about this issue at public comment earlier tonight, but says they worked hard to transform what that meant for them.
a white woman sitting in the back of the gallery is irate that there is no public comment on this issue before the vote (this isn’t a public hearing, sorry becky)
the resolution to rechristen preston ave to honor asalie minor preston, rather than confederate officer and slaveholder thomas preston, passes unanimously.
now on to the last agenda item: designating “unity days” - declaring certain days this summer city events, marking the dates of the events of the summer of hate.
first anniversary planning emphasized public safety. the goal of the unity days is to honor the community and promote healing, says communications director brian wheeler.
my first thought when i saw this was pretty cynical — that the city was mainly trying to preempt ANY permit request for any city space on those delicate dates. this appears to be a primary motivator.
charlene green from the office of human rights is talking about events the city would hold throughout the summer, starting in may (when the first torch march happened in 2017)
charlene says july would focus on honoring community leaders. (this has potential to be meaningful and good. i hope it is. i hope the continue to consult and work with the community on this.)
charlene talks about reclaiming the narrative, that charlottesville isn’t just about white supremacy or thomas jefferson.
heather is very impressed with the proposal. kathy agrees. signer is, unfortunately, also speaking.
it sounds like a lot of focus grouping went into making this proposal. it’s fascinating they were able to keep it so quiet throughout that process. many people i talked to were shocked to see this agenda item when the agenda was posted last week.
i’m hopeful that whatever plan they’re making for this summer doesn’t involve over 1000 cops and the national guard.
discussion of this proposal starts on page 210 of the agenda background
charlottesville.org/home/showdocum…
charlottesville.org/home/showdocum…
the resolution carries 5-0
now a resolution to put on a future agenda a proposal to rename other city locations. staff will put together information about locations that could be named/renamed.
the timeline for this would allow council to be renaming things this summer.
now closing matters by the public. first speaker says he appreciates the level of community involvement that went into the unity days proposal but is concerned this reflects an attempt to deflect calls for accountability for the events of 2017
mayor walker says “i would like accountability, too.” she says there are “levels of government” involved & we may never get the answers we want.
next speaker says her comments are less for the people on the dais and more for the people watching at home - “those of us who feel we are trapped between white guilt and black rage”
she says city hall is a sacred space, “we can come here and have our voices heard.”
she says city hall is a sacred space, “we can come here and have our voices heard.”
she calls the street renaming process a slippery slope. “the pendulum of power swings both ways,” saying nothing is stopping a future council from renaming the street again.
the fact that good can be undone is not a good reason to do nothing. this woman’s comment is deeply depressing.
nikuyah calls her back to ask her what her suggestion is.
she isn’t answering the question, but is talking about the tom tom festival, which is named for thomas jefferson.
she isn’t answering the question, but is talking about the tom tom festival, which is named for thomas jefferson.
she says putting up the brown plaque to honor asalie preston is easy work. the hard work is saying no to tom tom.
nikuyah says she refused invitations to attend tom tom for the very reasons outlined.
nikuyah says she refused invitations to attend tom tom for the very reasons outlined.
she says changing the name of auschwitz wouldn’t change what happened there... but that is not at all comparable. this is more akin to changing the name of a street honoring heinrich himmler or something.
her feelings are extremely valid but she isn’t making a ton of consistent or logical arguments.
nikuyah says this isn’t just happening here. it’s happening all over the country. names have power.
it would be awfully rude if i just walked out during this exchange but jesus h christ it’s after midnight and this has far and away run over the time limit for public comment.
heather just pulled her mic close like she was about to start talking... while nikuyah and wes were talking about what it means to be black. heather, maybe sit this one out.
wes says the black community is not a monolith and it’s normal and healthy to disagree and deal with things differently. nikuyah says “what just happened was good,” but that she doesn’t feel like that conversation is safe to have in public in our community as it currently exists.
signer is weighing in and probably should not have.
“that is not trying to reframe history. that is just writing other people into history,” nikuyah says about honoring new people in our public spaces.
and with that, meeting adjourned. goodnight. see you in the morning - one of our repeat offenders is back in court for brandishing a firearm on august 12, 2018
