City Council Votes Against Neighborhood To Pass Richmond300 Plan

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Last night Richmond City Council voted unanimously in favor of the Richmond 300 plan, which changes Oregon Hill’s future land use from residential to mixed use.

This happened during holidays when most people are pre-occupied with family matters, in a pandemic emergency, during which the Virginia Attorney General has called on municipalities to suspend all non-life-threatening business, and specifically land-use issues.

City Council voted for this despite opposition from many different parts of the City, but especially from this neighborhood, which has taken part in the process from the beginning, put up with bad online ‘presentations’, and has consistently asked for changes in the plan.

Laurel Street neighbors Scott Burger and Charles Pool wrote prominent letters to the editor in the past few weeks, and outgoing Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association president Todd Woodson wrote a very heartfelt editorial in Style magazine.

It’s worth noting that as a City Council candidate Stephanie Lynch wrote:

“I absolutely pledge to defend the Oregon Hill Community from inappropriate encroachment from surrounding entities like VCU. One of my top priorities will be to work with Oregon Hill residents and the administration at VCU to enter into a longer term agreement regarding future development that is respectful of the needs and wishes of Oregon Hill residents. As a two time VCU grad, I understand all that VCU brings to the Richmond Community, but I also have close ties to Oregon Hill and I recognize that VCU could be a better neighbor to the Oregon Hill neighborhood and its residents. I think it’s imperative that before we approve future expansion plans from VCU, we work with them to enter into MOUs with surrounding communities like Oregon Hill. I additionally support the requests laid out in the OHNA’s written submissions to the Planning Commission and the RVA 300 planning committee. I’m looking forward to working with everyone in Oregon Hill to make sure that the neighborhood is protected and kept intact, housing needs are met, and the neighborhood character is preserved.”

And as Oregon Hill’s elected City Council representative, Stephanie Lynch did write to the Richmond300 planners, sharing neighborhood concerns. So some residents were surprised and taken aback that Lynch did vote for the unchanged Richmond300 plan last night.

What Councilperson Lynch has indicated is that she would be joining other Council members in putting forward amendments in the new year that may help the neighborhood’s cause.

All that said, questions abound. What will these proposed amendments consist of? Will they really get passed by City Council? If passed, will the Planning Commission accept them?

Is this setting up the neighborhood for success (to use Woodson’s wording) or failure?

Trash/Recycling Pickup Tomorrow

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This Wednesday is a “Red Wednesday”, which means trash and recycling pickup. Please go over what can be recycled. Ideally, rolling recycling containers are stored and deployed in the back alleys along with trash cans. Please make sure you pick up containers after pickup tomorrow night.

If you have not done so already, don’t forget to sign up for your Recycling Perks.
In order to take your recycling to the next level, read this: 10 ways to improve your recycling.

In recycling news, Chesterfield County is planning to scrap its existing curbside recycling program and adopt a subscription-based service model when the current contract expires in 2023.

Dominion’s Proposed Solar Array Would Block Overlook View

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The zoning administrator rubber stamped the request from Dominion ignoring the signed declaration of restrictive covenants that restricted the height at that location. Evidently Dominion’s agreements are not worth the paper that they are printed on. The Sierra Club and Scenic Virginia and many other neighborhood and community groups were part of the covenant that Dominion and the City of RIchmond are now ignoring and breaking.

Trash/Recycling Pickup Tomorrow

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This Wednesday is a “Red Wednesday”, which means trash and recycling pickup. Please go over what can be recycled. Ideally, rolling recycling containers are stored and deployed in the back alleys along with trash cans. Please make sure you pick up containers after pickup tomorrow night.

If you have not done so already, don’t forget to sign up for your Recycling Perks.
In order to take your recycling to the next level, read this: 10 ways to improve your recycling.

In recycling news, municipal recycling programs have struggled for the past several years as China tightened contamination standards, processors increased fees and recyclables dropped in resale value. The uncertainty of city finances during the coronavirus pandemic further unbalanced already teetering programs. A partial solution many experts are pointing to is more local collaboration.

Oregon Hill 1891

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Thanks to Tom Elliott who located this 1891 photo of Belle Isle. An enlargement of the background shows Oregon Hill in 1891. Most of the buildings on the 700 blocks of Laurel and Pine were demolished by Ethyl Corporation (now NewMarket). One of the few buildings shown that is still standing is the house now at 810 Riverside Park that was moved from the end of Laurel Street where it is pictured in this photo.

Message From Outgoing OHNA President Todd Woodson

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Dear Friends and neighbors

Thanks to all that came out to the OHNA meeting last night. For those of you that were not there, I stepped down from all my official positions with OHNA (19 years as treasurer and 3 years as president). A new, exciting group of officers was elected that will be led by president Bryan Green. I will do all that I can to make the transfer smooth. My wish is that they will have much good fortune in the future and that they continue to protect our neighborhood, continue the dialogue and relationships with our schools that have been my focus, and bring forward a more congenial and productive energy to the association. It has been my honor to serve you and I thank you for all the well wishes.

I will not be going away though, and in fact 2021 will be the busiest year of my life. I will continue to advocate for the Richmond community as a member of the City’s Urban Design Committee and will retain my position as Fourth Congressional District Leader for the Humane Society of the United States, also keeping my day jobs at VCU (22 years) and UR (11 years). I will continue to advocate for responsible environmental laws as well and along with an independent Committee, will have a big announcement coming soon on an historic environmental initiative. My American Chestnut project continues to grow and next Fall I hope to have well over 100 blight resistant American Chestnut hybrid trees grown organically from seed to donate to Richmond Parks and other appropriate open spaces in Virginia. I sent trees just this week to Highland County. My music will also continue and im filming a jazz/blues special program tonight at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts that can be seen on their website soon.

So as this will be my last email, I will leave you with the Style Weekly Back Page editorial I wrote as a neighbor that published yesterday:

https://www.styleweekly.com/richmond/opinion-let-us-succeed/Content?oid=16786088

Very Best Wishes for a terrific and safe Holiday!

Todd.

Break-In and Gunshots This Morning

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From alert.vcu.edu:

Reported offense:On November 23, 2020, at 6:50 AM, a home invasion was reported to have occurred at 115 South Laurel Street.

Brief description of how the crime took place:Victim reported that two suspects made entry into his home after kicking in the back door. Once inside the residence the victim reported being struck in the head during a brief scuffle. As the suspects were leaving several gunshots were fired at the residence. One victim sustained injuries to his fore head during the initial scuffle.

Suspect/s:Suspect #1 Hispanic male, 6’2”, 210 lbs, with red hair “braids”, and wearing red sweatpants. Suspect #2 – White male, 5’^”, 180 lbs, wearing a gray hoodie, and black pants. Last known direction of travel is unknown.

Investigating agency:Richmond Police are leading the investigation.

OHNA Meeting

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Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association president Todd Woodson sent this email today:

Dear Neighbors

The November meeting will take place this coming Tuesday,Nov 24 at 7pm in Pleasants Park. We will be holding elections for the upcoming year and considering two proposed changes to the bylaws (see below). Tuesday’s forecast is clear and 52. Not ideal but doable. Please dress accordingly! We will try to keep things on track so the meeting will be as short as possible.

It has been brought to my attention that some statements I never made were included in a post on the community facebook page by a person in the neighborhood. This is regarding the meeting format for the association upcoming meetings. This Tuesdays meeting will be in weather that is not overly harsh so meeting outside is the plan. OHNA traditionally does not meet in December. I made NO statements regarding format after the first of the year because I might not even be re elected so it wouldnt be my decision to make. I respectfully request that you do due diligence if this person or someone else releases official statements i “have made”. Sending out emails to you with the agenda was first started 3 years ago when I was elected president. I do it to be courteous, transparent and to encourage neighbor participation in the meetings.

Here is my REAL take on format options that are POSSIBLE during the new year:

1. Virtual through Zoom. Not ideal but available through City channels at no cost. Volunteer Jenny Friar will be setting that up should that be the desired format in the coming year.
2. Meeting in person during colder months at a Parks Dept venue such as Randolph Community Center or Byrd Park Roundhouse. It is my understanding that Business Meetings are exempt from the 25 person limit. Strict distancing with masks should always be observed.
3. January and February are not usually busy months for neighborhood business so a cancellation could be a possibility should there be nothing to discussed.

We do what we have to to get through this pandemic and I wish you all good health and blessings for the new year.

Hopefully, after December 14, we will have the Richmond 300 issue behind us.

Thanks,

Todd.

Proposed bylaw change to membership requirements: two amendments addressing membership were introduced.
As per bylaws, as a bylaw change, can be voted on at the next scheduled OHNA meeting, 24 November 2020.

Current
Article III- Membership
Section 1: Eligibility. All residents of Oregon Hill at least 18 years of age, and only such residents, shall be eligible to become members of OHNA.

Section 2: Members. Those eligible for membership shall become members of OHNA by attending at least two OHNA meetings within one year and then registering their membership with the Association’s Secretary.

Proposed bylaw change I
ARTICLE III- Membership
SECTION 1: Membership in the association shall be granted to any person 18 years of age or older, residing in the designated Oregon Hill boundaries. Additionally, membership is extended to one vote for each business, school or church within the designated Oregon Hill boundary.

SECTION 2: Membership shall be granted to a resident or a business, school or place of worship in Oregon Hill. Each business, school or place of worship shall designate a sole representative to vote in all matters presented to the association voting membership. Members can register with the association secretary.

Proposed bylaw change II
ARTICLE III- Membership
Section 1: ELIGIBILITY. All residents of Oregon Hill at least 18 years of age, residing within designated Oregon Hill boundaries shall be eligible to become members of OHNA.

Section 2: MEMBERS. Membership in the association shall be granted to any person 18 years of age or older, residing in the designated Oregon Hill boundaries who has attended at least one ONNA meeting out of the previous twelve meetings held. This change is for the year 2020 only, in recognition of the impact of the pandemic.

During 2021, the Bylaws should undergo a systematic revision and update, and membership requirements should be evaluated comprehensively at that time.