Charlies’ Letters

Posted on June 2, 2012 by Scott

Neighbor Charles Pool’s letter got printed in the Times Dispatch today:

Proposed water and sewer hikes are outrageous

Editor, Times-Dispatch:

While commuters are protesting the proposed $1 monthly service charge for the E-ZPass, there is little notice as the city of Richmond quietly hikes the minimum monthly service charge for water and sewer to $49.40 per month.

How many cars would use the toll roads if those monthly service charges were raised to $49.40 a month? Unlike the toll roads, water service is a necessity and the city knows that no one will be digging a well in his backyard to avoid the rate hike.

We don’t have the option of turning off the water, but we can vote. Every candidate for city office in this election cycle should be challenged to explain why Richmond’s outrageous, minimum water and sewer bill is the highest in the country.

Charles Pool.

Richmond.

At least one other Charlie and City Council candidate is speaking up:

Let’s Reward Conservation of Our Resources
An opinion piece appeared in the Times Dispatch on May 24, 2012 addressing what we are charged for water and sewer in Richmond. After reading Scott Burger’s piece over many times, I tried to write a blog post in reference to the minimum fee method of charging us for the water we do or do not use. As I tried over and over, I realized that the only fair thing to do was to share the opinion piece with you, my supporters and potential supporters, in its original form.
It is simply unfair for a person who uses 1 CCF of water per month to pay an amount equal to or slightly less than the person who uses 10 CCF per month. People should be rewarded for their conservation, not punished for it.

Editor’s note: This does not constitute an endorsement of Diradour (…But what are other candidates saying?)

Drip, drip, drip…here we go again.

Posted on May 24, 2012 by Scott

I thought the message had already been sent, but I guess not. Hello Anti-Poverty Commission.

Excerpt from today’s Times Dispatch:

On an annual basis, Richmond’s minimum charge for water really puts a dent in the budget of a low-income resident. While in Norfolk the minimum annual cost per consumer for water/sewer service is only $12, in Henrico annually it is $195.24, and in Richmond annually it is a whopping $564.36!

This is a conservation issue: There is little incentive to conserve water in Richmond because the city finances the lion’s share of its water works through the minimum service charge. The cost per CCF of water is kept artificially low so you don’t feel much of a pinch when you use more water. It would encourage conservation if Richmond slashed the minimum service charge while raising the cost for each CCF of the resource.

This is a social justice issue: Richmond’s outrageous minimum water/sewer service charge shifts the burden of financing the city’s water supply disproportionally onto those who use the least water, and often unto those who can least afford it. For a senior citizen on fixed income, the water bill will often be the largest bill of the month, even if minimal water is used. It is unjust to require low-income residents of Richmond to pay a whopping $564.36 in minimum service fees annually just to be connected to the water supply. Water is a necessity that no one can do without.

Here is a revenue-neutral proposal. Let’s revamp Richmond’s water rates by lowering the minimum monthly charge for water and sewer service to $15 per month, while raising the cost per CCF of water in line with the neighboring counties. As sure as the spring showers, the summer droughts will follow. Richmond should have a price structure in place that encourages conservation of this important resource while giving those on fixed income a fair deal.

(Sorry if you are tired of editorials on this site this week. I did not have any control on when the TD piece would come out.)

Best of the Best

Posted on May 23, 2012 by Scott

Congratulations to Mamma ‘Zu and Pescados China Street for their recognitions in the latest Style magazine for Best Italian Restaurant and Best Fresh Seafood Restaurant, respectively.
Combined with previous honors (and that includes 821 Cafe!), Oregon Hill is known as a dining destination.

It would be nice if the Hill had picked up other awards as well, but it is not always easy for the smaller neighborhoods to register in these reader polls. The only mention in the Richmond Times Dispatch’s recent Discover Richmond magazine was at the end under Dog Parks, where there was a snide remark about how “the old days of Oregon Hill mutts run amok have given way to a more courteous approach to sharing our spaces with four-footed friends”.

But hey, perhaps its just as well to leave the rest of Richmond to its self-accolades, and just go get a bite to eat, while being happy where you are at. Maybe I will grab a sandwich at Mojo’s, maybe I will share part of it with my dogs.

Meanwhile In Northern Virginia…Move To Amend!

Posted on May 23, 2012 by Scott

From announcement:

Here is the work that Northern Virginia MTA has done:

Resolutions on overturning Citizens United v. FEC and combating the undue influence of money in politics passed Saturday at the Virginia 8th and 11th Congressional District Democratic Conventions. The resolutions call for the Constitution to be amended to establish that: (1) Corporations should not be entitled to the same Constitutional rights in our elections as people and should have only the powers and rights granted to them in state and federal law; and (2) Money is not speech so federal and state governments have the power to fairly regulate, without infringing the freedom of the press, any political contribution or spending. NOVA MTA helped prepare the resolutions and strongly advocated their passage.

The resolutions will help build support for passing a similar resolution at the State Democratic Convention on June 2, 2012, which in turn will help build support for passing MTA resolutions in municipalities in northern Virginia and elsewhere across the Commonwealth.

The Move To Amend movement may start small here, but it has potential to join other states’ efforts and become a reckoning force in the next few election cycles.

Boards and Billboards

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Scott

Supposedly, the following ordinance will be put up for vote at the City’s Planning Commission meeting on Monday:

Ord. No. 2012-74 (Patron: Mayor Jones) – To amend and reordain City Code §§ 114-402.2, concerning permitted accessory uses and structures, 114-620.5, concerning division of lots to accommodate existing dwelling units, and 114-1040.3 concerning additional exceptions granted by the Board of Zoning Appeals, for the purpose of discouraging the use of the special use permit process by expanding the special exceptions available under the zoning ordinance.
(Planning Commission, Monday, May 21, 2012, 1:30 p.m.)

One interpretation of this is that Mayor Jones has introduced the ordinance to expand the authority of the Board of Zoning Appeals. It allows for additional sign height except for billboards. Will the next step be to add billboards?

This ordinance is one that caused blogger C Wayne Taylor concern in the past. Last year the BZA decided 32 cases and only denied 3.

Anyone following the latest proceedings in the illegal Mayo Island billboard saga?

“Save Richmond’s canals, again”

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Scott

A Times Dispatch guest editorial by Jack Pearsall makes a strong case for making Richmond’s historic canals a priority. There have been previous posts here on the proposed 2nd St. Connector, but Pearsall is more knowledgeable of the planning history that should negate it.

Here’s the beginning of his piece, but I urge readers to click here to see the rest of it.

Our historic canals should be saved so their future development can put Richmond on the map, as in San Antonio and Georgetown. But this opportunity could be mooted by well-intentioned pending schemes, which injure the canals in five places. There need not be this choice between canal and improvements.

In 1988, a canal committee of leading citizens designed a waterway for tour boats from the James River at the Great Shiplock to Maymont. The navigable James River & Kanawha Canal would be spliced with the millrace Haxall Canal. Renowned architect Carlton Abbott prepared plans and cost estimates.

Thanks to smart planning, much of the restoration was accomplished as part of the city’s Combined Sewer Overflow project. The rest remains unfinished, but possible.

Editorial on New VCU Building

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Scott

From the Times Dispatch article (also on the FanoftheFan site):

Located at the corner of Broad and Belvidere, near one of the most-traveled entrances to the city, the ICA will be a signature building for the School of the Arts and VCU, representing the best in international contemporary architecture and art, and a valuable community resource for Richmond. The ICA, which is expected to be about 32,000-square-feet, will feature approximately 8,000-square-feet of gallery space, an outdoor installation space, a 210-seat auditorium with tiered seating, classrooms, a gift shop, a café with a catering kitchen and an entry hall suitable for exhibitions, installations and social events.

This announcement was expected for a while now. The new building is certainly going to improve the look of the intersection- anything is an improvement over the parking lot that’s there now. However, I hope Richmond considers all the ramifications thoughtfully.

Continue reading →

Citizen Watch Dog Takes On The City’s Special Use Permit (SUP) Process

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Scott

C. Wayne Taylor, who has been doing a lot of digging’ on behalf of the neighborhood, recently sent this missive:

PLANNING COMMISSION

To the Honorable Council of the City of Richmond, Virginia
April 3, 2012

At its meeting of April 2, 2012, the Planning Commission voted (7-0) to APPROVE of:

Resolution of Intent:

To Amend the Zoning Ordinance Special Exception Provisions for the Purpose of
Reducing Reliance on the Special Use Process. All Council Districts

Summary dates:
Proposed Council paper introduction: April 23, 2012
Proposed Planning Commission public hearing: May 21,2012
Proposed City Council public hearing: May 29,2012

I recommend that all of you who are interested in sound land use policies for the city make sure you understand this proposal. While the title of the resolution sounds as if the proposal would move the city toward a more rules-based system, it would actual give the Board of Zoning Appeals broader authority to waive existing zoning and subdivision rules.

You should note that the BZA members are appoint the circuit court and can only be removed by the circuit court. Decisions of the BZA are not reviewable by City Council. The only course of action to challenge a BZA waiver would be a circuit court suit.

In my view, this is a very bad proposal. Richmond City Council is the only municipality in the Commonwealth of Virginia that has been given the authority to grant a special use permit that waives zoning and subdivision rules for a property owner. Over the years, City Council has granted thousands of waivers. As a result, the city has thousands of sets of rules for properties in the city and has failed to follow sound land use planning practices. The proposed ordinance perpetuates this situation and moves the process further from the citizens.

I submit that the fair and wise course of action is to have a set of rules that apply to everyone the way it is in all other municipalities. The city should stop granting special use permits. Unfortunately, this would require a charter amendment by the General Assembly. In the meantime, we appear poised to move further away from a rule-based system.

Please make sure you understand the immediate and long-term repercussions of this proposed ordinance. If you are concerned, please forward this information to your friends.

C. Wayne Taylor

1. Planning Commission “Letters” with notice of adopted resolution.
2. Planning Commission Agenda with full text of draft ordinance.
3. Code of Virginia § 15.2-2309. Powers and duties of boards of zoning appeals.

Read more on his blog at CityHallReview.com

Happy World Water Day….and local water issues

Posted on March 22, 2012 by Scott

I hope everyone has had a nice World Water Day.

While there are a lot of international water issues, its as good as time as any to bring up water as a local issue.

So, a couple of things:

Despite all the earlier attempts to bring attention to the City of Richmond’s water rates, as far as I can tell this city still has the highest minimum residential water rate in the country.

Richmond continues its regressive water rates, offering a discount to those using vast amounts of water while maintaining the highest minimum water/sewer service charge in the country. Meanwhile, Henrico County’s minimum service charge is a third of Richmond’s while promoting conservation by offering a one-third discount in water/sewer volume charge for those using 6 ccf (hundred cubic feet) or less.

Continue reading →

MARCH to End Dominion’s Power MADNESS This Coming Saturday

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Scott

Given some earlier editorials, it makes sense to follow up with an announcement from the Chesapeake Climate Action Network:

On Saturday, March 24th, hundreds of Virginians will take a stand against fossil fuel corruption. Will you join us at the MARCH to End Dominion’s Power MADNESS?

For years, Dominion Virginia Power executives have been raking in millions while using their dirty energy money to buy political power. They’ve been making backroom deals to rig the rules for fossil fuels and for themselves. They generate ZERO electricity for us from wind or solar power but they’ve bamboozled our state-mandated electricity rates to include a whopping $76 million renewable energy reward.

We are outraged and Dominion needs to know it. If this is what business as usual looks like, then business as usual isn’t acceptable and has to stop before the planet cooks. It’s time for Virginians to stand up to Dominion’s exploitation and fight for a massive shift to wind and solar power.

Momentum is building for this action. Last week, leading climate activist Bill McKibben released a video urging Virginians to sign up for the MARCH. Will you join us?

When: Saturday, March 24th, noon
Where: Richmond, VA- Kanahwa Plaza across from Dominion’s corporate headquarters, which takes up an entire city block
What: A rally and march to take a stand against Dominion’s dirty energy money and for a massive shift to wind and solar power

Just last week, Dominion displayed its fossil fuel madness in a number of ways: Dominion lobbyists blocked a bill to expand solar power access for schools and churches, Dominion CEO Tom Farrell unveiled a proposal for another humongous carbon-polluting power plant and we learned that company executives sent a letter to the federal government opposing a transmission backbone for offshore wind power.

Please sign up to join us on the 24th. Together, we can fight back against Dominion’s corporate greed and take a stand to stop climate change!

Oregon Hill

News For Oregon Hill, in Richmond, VA

Category Archives: editorial