There remains something ominous about the number 13 especially when it’s used to describe a day’s relative position in the month. Does Thursday the Thirteenth strike fear in your veins or is it just another adjective to be used as a placeholder in a sentence? Thank goodness the scope of Charlottesville Community Engagement does not cover such philosophical questioning. I’m Sean Tubbs and I shall be careful to not step on a crack this or any other day.

On today’s program:

* The deadline is extended for firms who want to operate Albemarle County’s microtransit pilot on behalf of Charlottesville Area Transit 

* The Charlottesville Planning Commission gets a very brief look at three words in the third zoning module

* Charlottesville will hire a firm to provide lifeguards and other staff for one of their outdoor pools

* More on the University of Virginia’s critique of a funded transportation improvement near their Fontaine Research Park 

A perhaps unreliable source of fake holidays tells me that today, April 12, is Hamster Day. It has been over forty years since my last two hamsters escaped from their cage and fled to freedom. I don’t really want to know for sure the fate of Blondie and Dagwood, two creatures whose time with me was brief and memorable. But this is Charlottesville Community Engagement, and our time is also brief and I hope you remember a few things that I’ve put together this time. 

On today’s program:

* Charlottesville City Council adopts a $230.4 million budget for FY24

* The federal measurement for inflation increases by a tenth of a percentage point

* Albemarle Supervisors learn about a series of transportation projects, including a shelving of a plan at Fontaine Road and U.S. 29 / 250

* The cost to complete the Berkmar Drive extension has risen enough to create a shortfall 

I did not anticipate when I played Dungeons and Dragons and other role playing games when I was a young child that a love of obscure manuals would somehow translate into the work I do now. I help interpret the rules of development to people who aren’t familiar with them. This is especially important at a time when those rules are being changed. That’s a key feature of every single edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement, but especially today. 

On today’s program:

* There’s only one topic and that’s a review of the second module of the Charlottesville’s draft zoning code 

* There will be no parking requirements in Charlottesville under the draft new zoning code, though larger developments will require a transportation demand management plan

* Commissioners and Councilors pushed back on an option to still allow developers to pay into a fund rather than build affordable units 

* Public comment for this module as well as the first will be taken through April 30

Many of us know what 10-4 is supposed to mean, but does 4-10 represent anything else other than a height? Perhaps it signals a punt? Neither of these things would make any sense to the handful of British readers of Charlottesville Community Engagement, who may think today is okay. I’m Sean Tubbs and perhaps it would have been better if I had just said that this is the 100th day of the year. 

On today’s program:

* The ballots are set for local races in the June 20, 2023 Democratic primaries 

* Charlottesville City Council agrees to raise building permit fees when a new system comes online later this month

* Albemarle County Supervisors are briefed on requests from the area’s two major transit providers

Infanta Maria. Arvid Horn. Athenagoras I of Constantinople. These are but a few of the people who were born on April 6 in decades and centuries gone by who perhaps none of us have heard about before. Yet, anyone could do a deep dive into any subject matter with just a little research. That’s more or less what every installment of Charlottesville Community Engagement seeks to achieve, just on a more concentrated set of topics closer to the here and now. I’m Sean Tubbs, curious to know what we’ll all learn about today. 

On today’s program:

* Home Depot has filed plans to build a new store at the site of the former Sears and the Fashion Square Mall property they own 

* A new drive-through franchise is coming to Pantops Shopping Center

* The window is open for applicants to apply for housing choice vouchers offered by Albemarle County

* The University of Virginia will move forward with a study of potential locations for second-year student housing as part of a $2.5 billion capital plan 

* Charlottesville City Council approves a new lease for Unity Field

* But Council wants more staff analysis before approving a regional plan to prepare and respond to natural disasters

Chroniclers of fake holidays have marked today down as Bell Bottoms Day, commemorating a style of trousers that dates back to the early 19th century that are perhaps best known as a way of making fun of the fashion of the 1970’s. Charlottesville Community Engagement has no position on any fashion choice, but as host, I should inform you that I am very interested in any attempt to define a style of the 2020’s and hope the chronicler of fake holidays will take this into account. 

On today’s program:

* Charlottesville City Council holds the first reading of the budget for FY24 and it is slightly larger than what was presented in March 

* Charlottesville officials have denied preliminary site plan for an apartment complex planned for the floodplain along the Rivanna River

* Charlottesville City Schools have hit pause on the naming of city schools 

* More items from the latest report from interim City Manager Michael C. Rogers

* An update on the ongoing transit governance study

Today is a rare day when readers and listeners on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean can agree that this is 4/4/23 as well as being 4/4/23. Such a day is one of harmony with hopefully less confusion as two distinct naming systems come into convergence for just a short time. Will this affect the content of this edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement? You will have to read or listen to the end to find out. I’m Sean Tubbs, keen to get to the bottom of this meaningless question.

On today’s show:

* Natalie Oschrin has entered the race for three Democratic nominations to City Council

* Charlottesville may soon drop restrictions that have prevented in-person meetings of many boards and commissions

* City Council gets an update on how it pays its employees and if its enough 

* A narrow waitlist window is open for people to apply for a federal housing choice voucher operated through the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority 

* Charlottesville seeks firms to come up with a master plan for the Parks and Recreation department 

Hello and welcome to a rebranded edition of this newsletter and podcast, now to be called Albemarle Community Engagement. This decision to change the focus represents a sincere look at what really matters to this community, and this name change reflects a hope that this outlet will be a true ACE for the future. I’m Sean Tubbs, confident that this will really hit home for so many of you here in this City of Albemarle. 

On today’s program:

* The Town of New London declines to approve annexation agreement

* Sewer upgrades are in the works for Albemarle’s public housing sites

* Former gas station to become residential building 

* A preview of Monday’s meeting of the Albemarle City Council 

Today’s first shout-out: JMRL Book Sale 

What better place for a book sale than Albemarle Square Shopping Center? Today marks the official beginning of the JMRL Friends of the Library Spring Book Sale from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day in the former Northside Library space. Book Sale Manager Peter Manno and a mighty team of staff and volunteers have worked hard for weeks and all year long sorting books and setting up the sale which will feature all kinds of books. Shop early and often, as the sale is restocked daily. Half-price days are April 8 and 9.

We are now in the antepenultimate day of the first quarter of 2023, meaning the water rabbit has only nine more months to celebrate their rotation in one of the zodiacs that provide narrative for many of the eight billion people on the planet. Not enough research has been done to determine if that system or any other system has any effect on the creation of this or any other installment of Charlottesville Community Engagement. But I’m Sean Tubbs, always trying to keep an open mind. 

On today’s program:

* The second set of draft rules for future zoning in Charlottesville are out 

* A new working group will be formed to look at community safety in the region

* Charlottesville is updating pedestrian signals to make them safer with those with visual impairments

* The Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority shares details of its plans to prepare to provide affordable units for decades to come 

March 27 is apparently National Joe Day, which means that is the day I introduce myself as Sean Joseph Tubbs, the host of Charlottesville Community Engagement. On any given day, there are a lot of things to celebrate, commemorate, and honor and this introduction could cite any one of them. For today’s introduction, I choose National Joe Day to honor my father, Joe Tubbs, though now I suspect he’ll expect payment just for mentioning his name. 

On today’s program:

* Charlottesville City Council may consider a zoning amendment to allow a mixed-use project on Ivy Road to proceed

* The Charlottesville Board of Architectural Review took a look at a new hotel proposed for West Main Street

* The CvilleBioHub has been awarded $100,000 for a new wetlab