From email announcement:
Dear Friends and Neighbors
Our Monthly neighborhood association meeting will be held at St Andrews Church at 7pm this Tuesday, June 25th. Really, other than our important updates, there is not much on the agenda except perhaps electing a new Vice President as our sitting VP has moved out of the neighborhood. If you are interested, come state your case.
Please stop by.
Todd Woodson, President
The Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association is meeting tomorrow night, April 23.
From announcement:
Hey everyone! Please don’t forget that our next Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association meeting will be Tuesday, February 26th at 7pm inside St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church. Below is the agenda sent by OHNA President Todd Woodson. Hope to see you all there!!!
“First, for those of you that have cats or small dogs that go outside, there is a grave danger to them existing within and adjacent to the neighborhood. 16 months ago, I was “adopted” by two mated feral cats. The male I could eventually pet while the female always ran at the sight of humans. They were not coming inside so I built an insulated house on my porch with an outdoor heating pad and fed and watered them. They went under the house during bitter cold. The female went missing 1 1/2 weeks ago, then yesterday at 5am, my indoor cat woke me up screaming but not wanting to go out. I checked the porch and my other outdoor cat was gone. A night watchman at Hollywood Cemetery confirmed last night that there are at least 7 coyotes in the cemetery that they have seen and are aware of. Right now is mating/gestation season so there will be even more coyotes coming. There was a confirmed sighting some months ago a couple alleys east of me of a coyote with a cat in its mouth. Coyotes will establish a “prey profile” of the easiest, most available food source available which they will seek with keen senses of sight, sound and smell. After research on the internet, I determined loss of cats to coyotes as well as attacks on small dogs is at an epidemic rate in the city and being near the river and an open space like Hollywood compounds the problem. Coyotes are classified as nuisance animals by the Va Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and can be killed at any time (with the exception being with a weapon on Sundays). They are not native to Virginia but populations have exploded since they have moved here. PLEASE take all measures available to safeguard your pets! I am shocked and saddened by my horrible loss and don’t want to see it spread.
Our meeting will start at 7pm with the usual updates from Police and VCU. I will then introduce Dr. Ghazala Hamshi who will speak regarding her candidacy for Virginia Senate in our district, a position currently held by Senator Glen Sturtevant. Dr. Hamshi is a lifelong democrat and she has worked as a college professor and administrator as her career calling.
I would then like to discuss the 2000 Riverfront apartment building’s Special Use Permit Application for an illuminated “2000” sign on their building. This is the apartments next to the river directly across the Lee Bridge from us. Concerns have been noted in the past on light pollution, especially near the river, and the need for such illuminated signage.
We will also have updates from Councilperson Agelasto’s office.
Take care and I look forward to seeing you Tuesday.”
From Todd Woodson, Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association President:
Dear Friends and neighbors
A reminder that there will be no OHNA meeting in December.
We look forward to a fruitful year in 2019 and wish you the same. We have a lot of irons in the fire. I’ve been told 2 picnic tables should be delivered to Pleasants Park tomorrow! I have also resubmitted a request for street trees as our wish wasn’t granted last year. The projected procurement budget for tree planting in 2019 is $479,000 so we certainly should get some attention. The Richmond Tree Stewards should be coming through pruning anytime, they told me, so say hi if you see them.
Be safe and enjoy the holidays! Try and reach out to a neighbor if you can, especially the elderly and infirm and enjoy our wonderful community.
See you in January!
Todd.
From message:
Dear VCU Rector Hall,
In good faith the Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association has engaged in the VCU master planning process. We have repeatedly and respectfully made the request for written commitments that: 1). VCU will not encroach further south of W. Cary Street into the Oregon Hill Historic District, and 2). VCU will respect Oregon Hill by limiting the height of any buildings across Cary Street from the Oregon Hill Historic District to 3 or 4 stories.
Unfortunately, at this point VCU has not agreed to this reasonable request. We note VCU has made similar written commitments to the Fan and Carver neighborhoods. We do not understand why VCU is unwilling to offer a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with your adjacent neighbors to the south at the same time that VCU does have a MOU with the nation of Cuba. You are probably aware of the long history of encroachment into Oregon Hill by VCU.
We, therefore, respectfully ask that the VCU Board of Visitors agree to the reasonable request for these two written commitments so that the “Town/Gown” relationship between Oregon Hill and VCU can continue to prosper with mutual good will.
Sincerely,
Todd Woodson, President
Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association
From online announcement:
Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association meeting tonight at 7pm at St Andrew’s Church!!! Here is the agenda:
-7:00pm Meeting called to order.
-7:05 Proposed Minutes of October meeting considered for acceptance
-7:10 Update from RPD
-7:15 Update from VCU Police
-7:20 Update from VCU liaison
-7:25 Update from Councilman Agelasto’s office
-7:35 Presentation from Know Your Rights training group- Elizabeth Hunt
-7:45 Discussion and update on picnic tables and new plants for Pleasants Park aand volunteering to clean up Holly Street Playground (still waiting on update on stabilization procedure for Holly Street Playground).
-7:55 Discussion of Drainage issues in the alley between 300 blocks of Laurel and Pine.
-8:05 Discussion of initiative- possibly installing a dog run in Parsons Linear Park next to wall.
-8:10 Election of officers for 2019
-8:30 Meeting adjourned.
The Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association has released this statement, following the meeting last month…
Dear Oregon Hill Neighbors,
The Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association (OHNA) is the neighborhood civic association. Separate from OHNA, is the Overlook Unit Owners Association (HOA) at Outlook Townhomes (south of Holly Street). All residents are invited to join OHNA’s monthly meetings on the 4th Tuesday of the month at St. Andrew’s Church on the corner of S. Laurel and Idlewood at 7pm. Since we meet during dinner hours, neighbors host a potluck. Please feel free to bring something small to share if you can.
Over the years, multiple neighbors have approached OHNA to discuss a Residential Restrict Parking Zone similar to what The Fan and Carver have due to parking pressures. Residential Restrict Parking Zones must be backed by the neighborhood civic association. You can learn more about Restricted Parking Districts using the link below. It is highly recommended that you review the city website before taking the survey. You will see that The Fan and Carver’s restrict parking zones are different. Oregon Hill’s will also be unique based on the community’s feedback via the survey and at the meeting.
Restricted Parking Districts: http://www.richmondgov.com/Parking/RestrictedParkingDistricts.aspx
At the July OHNA meeting, President Todd Woodson made the decision to throw out all previous signed petitions. This decision was made to increase community awareness through a paper flyer campaign, online survey, and posts on Facebook and Nextdoor.
Website: www.oregonhill.net (Editor’s note: This website is an independent community news site that does not necessarily represent OHNA)
Facebook (closed group): Search “Oregon Hill Community”
Nextdoor: www.nextdoor.com
Online Survey: https://goo.gl/forms/BO98EfQ4GYCAUsbz2Please take 5-10 minutes to complete the online survey (longer is you explore the links within the survey). Due to financial and time restraints the survey will only be available online. This data will be on display at the next OHNA meeting on Tuesday, August 28, 2018 at 7pm to help determine the details of the petition. Please note the survey will close on Tuesday, August 21, 2018 at 11:59pm so the data can be compiled. Filling out the survey does not replace the requirement of the paper petition. Results from the survey do not stop neighbors from continuing with a new paper petition (see sample).
The DPW Parking Division will be on hand at the next OHNA meeting to walk Oregon Hill through the process of determining the petition’s language. Your feedback through the survey will greatly speed this process up. The requirement for the Department of Public Works (DPW) Parking Division is 60% of a block face (one side of the block) must sign in support of the restricted parking zone. The neighborhood must have 10 block faces with 60% or more signing the petition for the Parking Division to conduct a parking study. (One block equals two block faces.) There is no need for a second petition stating a neighbor is in opposition, the neighbor just does not sign the support petition. After the parking study is complete the Parking Division will help draft an ordinance to bring before City Council to be adopted. The parking ordinance cannot be edited for an entire year.
Several of you have asked what the Randolph Neighborhood Association is proposing. You can learn more on their website. They have been listening to Oregon Hill’s discussing for four years. Due to their parking pressures, they plan on moving forward whether Oregon Hill does or does not. They will be handing out flyers over the next week too. Website: https://randolphrva.com/2018/06/02/restricted-decal-permit-parking-zone/
If you have any questions that the links above or in the survey do not answer OR are willing to help flyer the neighborhood, please email OHNArva@gmail.com.
Thank you all for your time,
Oregon Hill Neighborhood AssociationP.S. Richmond residents with local government service questions & non-emergency requests are reminded they can call 311 (804.646.7000), use the www.rva311.com web portal, and/or the RVA311 app to report such things as: potholes, streetlights, illegal dumping, abandoned vehicles, overgrown lots, etc. The RVA311 mobile app is available on SmartPhones via the Google Play or Apple Stores.
Richmond’s previously used apps/portals, such as RVA One, See-Click-Fix, MPACT website, and the Citizen Request System are no longer in use as of June 15, 2018.