Category Archives: Land use & development

Diamonds Aren’t Forever

Posted on April 15, 2024 by | 46 comments

by Jon Baliles

The entire saga of the development of the Diamond District project in Richmond has come full circle in the last 18 months, as Mayor Levar Stoney, desperate for an economic development win after the failure of his Navy Hill boondoggle and two failed casino referendums, has rounded the bases trying to get a baseball stadium built before the franchise was going to be moved by the powers at Major League Baseball (MLB). Finally scoring a run, however, will come with a cost: $170 million to be exact, because that is how much debt the city will issue  to pay for building the stadium and surrounding infrastructure for the rest of the Diamond District development.

The big news broke last week about the new plan to build the baseball stadium but is also being accompanied by a new financing and development structure and procedures. The announcement unfortunately pre-empted the planned Part 3 of our baseball stadium series, which explained that, at this late date, the only option left to get the stadium built in time and not have MLB yank the franchise was for the city to issue general obligation (G.O.) bonds. That was the only evidence MLB was going to accept to prove the money to build the stadium was actually there and construction could actually begin, because all the talk from the city had been just one missed promise after another, and delay after delay.

The bomb was set to explode and the Mayor and Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) played the last card they had left. They will put the onus of the debt and risk all on the city’s shoulders, issue the debt quickly and get the shovels turning to meet the deadline. But that is not at all how this process began, and it has changed drastically in the many months the city spent dithering. Continue reading →

46 Comments

Posted in Budgets, Business and Economy, Economic development, Infrastructure, Land use & development, Politics, Taxes

Tagged

Small Parcel; Significant History

Posted on April 1, 2024 by | 2 comments

by Jon Baliles

There was some great news last week as the Capital Region Land Conservancy (CRLC) scored another big win on behalf of the city when it announced the successfully negotiated purchase of 4.5 acres along the James River from Norfolk Southern near Ancarrow’s Landing. The parcel will be placed into the James River Park System conservation easement, transferred to the City of Richmond, and become part of the park system.

According to the CRLC, the property is 130-feet wide and 2,300-feet long with more than a quarter mile of frontage along the river, and much of the property is part of the Richmond Slave Trail. As part of the Riverfront Plan in 2012, the acquired property was noted as an essential parcel that was shown on some maps as part of the James River Park System and included part of the Slave Trail that was formally dedicated in 2011; but it was still owned by the railroad, and users technically (and legally) were trespassing. Norfolk Southern had owned the property since 1849 through its predecessors, the Richmond and Danville Railroad Company (1847-1894), and Southern Railway (1894-1982).

The transfer will now guarantee public access to this part of the Richmond Slave Trail, which was born from the Richmond Slave Trail Commission begun in 1998 and is a three-mile path with 17 historical markers between the Manchester Docks from which slaves disembarked and were led to the slave jails in Shockoe Bottom, most notoriously Lumpkin’s Jail. Continue reading →

2 Comments

Posted in Land use & development

Tagged

Like It or Not, Solar Farms May Be On Their Way

Posted on January 23, 2024 by | 37 comments

by Kerry Dougherty 

I know it’s winter and Virginia is not looking her best. But if you have nothing else to do this weekend, may I suggest you take a drive into the rural corners of the commonwealth and soak up the bucolic scenery.

Check out those cotton fields along Route 58 west toward Danville, even though most of the cotton has been harvested. Check out the farmland of the Middle Peninsula and the Northern Neck. Then head out toward Lexington and north to the orchards of the Shenandoah Valley. Don’t forget to take a drive up the Eastern Shore past the thousands of acres that in summer give us potatoes, tomatoes and corn. Lastly, zip out to Pungo where the fields will be full of strawberries in a few months

While you’re driving, take a gander at the beautiful old growth forests that blanket much of the Old Dominion.

In fact, take a good, long look. Drink it in. Vow to never forget the beauty that was once Virginia.

Because next time you pass through these areas you may see nothing but the glare of solar panels. The wildlife that once inhabited the land? The birds that nested in the trees? The produce that flourished in the fields? Gone.

If Democrats in Richmond have their way, that is. Continue reading →

37 Comments

Posted in Central planning, Environment, General Assembly, Land use & development

Tagged ,

Keep Carytown Safe for Cars

Posted on December 19, 2023 by | 67 comments

by Jon Baliles

The debate about making Richmond’s Carytown a car-free zone is edging closer to the forefront in recent months with strong opinions, interesting suggestions, some good ideas, and some bad ones.

The Times-Dispatch Editorial Board weighed in with its opinion, and it was vocal. It’s worth the entire read and filled with stats you probably never heard of, such as that of the 250 or so pedestrian malls created in the U.S. since the 1960’s, only about 10 remain. The piece is filled with great information and two quotes worth noting:

Making Richmond a walkable paradise is certainly a worthy goal. But turning Carytown into a pedestrian mall, and undercutting the businesses that have made it into a regional shopping destination — is not.

The editorial points out that making Carytown car-free could lead many shoppers (who come from near and far) to go elsewhere, and worries that the owners of the unique mix of shops and merchants could be driven out of business, which is also a way of making it a car-free zone. It also points out that many in Carytown are open to new ideas, and certainly to making it safer, but skeptical of closing it to cars. Continue reading →

67 Comments

Posted in Business and Economy, Land use & development, Transportation

Tagged

Virginia Beach Nixes Kitty Hawk Wind Cables

Posted on December 1, 2023 by | 17 comments

Site map for the first phase and cable connection route for the proposed Kitty Hawk Wind project.

by Steve Haner

The political leaders of the City of Virginia Beach have informed an offshore wind developer that they oppose its plan to bring power cables ashore at Sandbridge Beach. No formal vote was taken on the application, however, according to media reports.

The story appeared in The Virginian-Pilot and on local television station WAVY around Thanksgiving. When Bacon’s Rebellion last visited this matter, Virginia Beach City Council had conducted a May public hearing at which most speakers strongly opposed the power cable location. Continue reading →

17 Comments

Posted in Business and Economy, Energy, Environment, Land use & development, Regulation, Utilities

Tagged

Whose Water Is It?

Posted on September 25, 2023 by | 101 comments

The Rappahannock River. Photo credit: Va. Dept. of Conservation and Recreation

by Dick Hall-Sizemore

There are some issues that seem to be baked into public policy and, because they affect sensitive and important areas, tend to lead to controversies periodically.

Many years ago, one of the hottest controversies was the “inter-basin transfer of water.” Because Virginia is a “riparian rights” state, folks who live next to rivers can withdraw water from the river, but are not supposed to divert it to use by other people who do not live on the river. To do so would diminish the water available for those other riparian landowners. The Virginia Supreme Court in the 1942 case of Town of Purcellville v. Potts declared a per se prohibition against inter-basin transfer:

While a riparian owner is entitled to a reasonable use of the water, he has no right to divert it for use beyond his riparian land, and any such diversion and use is an infringement on the rights of the lower riparian proprietors who are thereby deprived of the flow. Such a diversion is an extraordinary and not a reasonable use.

The field of water law is a very complex one and that is as far as I am willing to dip my toe into it. Suffice it to say that inter-basin transfer of water is an important concept. For a more in-depth discussion, see here. Continue reading →

101 Comments

Posted in Economic development, Infrastructure, Land use & development, Property rights, Water-waste water

Tagged ,

A Small Victory – So Far – for Common Sense and Flood Mitigation in Virginia Beach

Posted on September 1, 2023 by | 33 comments

The central Great Neck Corridor drainage system Virginia Beach

by James C. Sherlock

Sometimes things work. Perhaps they will this time.

There was a time in Virginia Beach when a partnership between a developer and a church to build new houses would have breezed through the Planning Commission and the City Council.

That kind of open season on clearing and building on Virginia Beach’s very low-lying land brought with it lots of problems, including flooding.

The citizens of Virginia Beach, tired of flooding in every heavy rain and even under a clear sky with a full moon, a couple of years ago passed a very large property tax increase on themselves to create a huge pot of money to deal with it.

One of the natural flood control systems already in place is a series of contiguous lakes along Great Neck Road in the eastern part of the city. They handle runoff from that major corridor. That system flows into the Lynnhaven River and the Chesapeake Bay.

To that place comes a developer and a local church with a proposal. Continue reading →

33 Comments

Posted in Environment, Flooding, Governance, Land use & development, Water-waste water

Deja Vu, All Over Again

Posted on August 22, 2023 by | 50 comments

Cluster development in western Loudoun Co. Photo credit: Washington Post

by Dick Hall-Sizemore

Today’s Washington Post has an article about efforts to preserve farmland in Loudoun County.

That headline instantly took me back to the late 1970s and early 1980s when there was a flurry of activity regarding the need to preserve farmland and provide landowners incentives to keep their farmland from being developed.

Loudoun County was in the center of that activity. At that time, the population of the county was about 57,000. Development in the area near Dulles Airport and the Rt. 7 corridor was in the early stages. A large part of the county was open land, consisting of large estates, as well as medium and small farms. The tools for preserving that land that were being discussed, sometimes heatedly, were conservation easements and transfer of development rights. A sample report of some of those studies is here. Continue reading →

50 Comments

Posted in Agriculture & forestry, Land use & development, Planning, Property rights

Tagged

Virginia Beach’s Bad Habit: Reckless Spending on Wasteful Projects

Posted on August 7, 2023 by | 2 comments

by Kerry Dougherty

Feckless leadership, wasteful spending and escalating taxes have plagued Virginia Beach for decades.

Despite new faces on city council, the game of spending tax dollars on insane projects that “will pay for themselves” continues.

But let’s back up.

Here’s one prescient story from The Virginian-Pilot in 2007. The headline: “Virginia Beach Sportsplex Misses Its Goal” soft pedaled what was going on. It was yet another pricey project, dreamed up by developers and approved by their political puppets.

And it was failing. Continue reading →

2 Comments

Posted in Business and Economy, Economic development, Government Oversight, Land use & development, Leadership, Politics

Tagged

RVA History: Quintessential Preservationist

Posted on July 10, 2023 by | 11 comments

by Jon Baliles

Historic preservation is important for many reasons, like helping us better understand our past and how to improve it for future generations. One great advocate of preserving Richmond’s history to convey stories forward was Mary Winfield Scott, who passed away in 1983, but whose legacy lives on in neighborhoods across Richmond, and who was the subject of a great piece by Greg McQuade at CBS6.

Scott was a preservationist who helped save the 18th Century structure known as Linden Row on Franklin Street across from the city’s main library.

“[She] quickly recognized that we were losing places that made Richmond unique,” said Will Glasco, with Preservation Virginia, a group that was born from Scott’s efforts.
Continue reading →

11 Comments

Posted in Land use & development, Uncategorized, Virginia history

Tagged

Mountain Valley Pipeline Back Thanks to McCarthy-Biden Debt Deal

Posted on June 6, 2023 by | 6 comments

by Shaun Kenney

As part of the debt ceiling deal, the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), long thought dead, is now suddenly back in the cards.

But don’t expect bulldozers back in Virginia anytime soon, as the 4th Federal Circuit Court of Appeals is not expected to grant permission to cross any streams or wetlands before 15 June. From The Roanoke Times:

Efforts to obtain the permit — the last major approval needed to restart construction that has been stalled since the fall of 2021 — were underway well before the Mountain Valley provision was added to the debt ceiling bill at the urging of Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.

Most importantly for Mountain Valley, the bill prohibits any legal challenge of the Army Corps permit or any other government approval.

Since work on the pipeline began in 2018, the Fourth Circuit has thrown out about a dozen permits, siding with environmental groups who argued that agencies failed to take adequate steps to limit muddy runoff from the construction sites.

A pending lawsuit over the fate of endangered species in the pipeline’s path, and a potential legal challenge of a permit allowing its passage through the Jefferson National Forest, will be rendered moot as soon as the law takes effect.

Continue reading →

6 Comments

Posted in Culture wars, Energy, Environment, Land use & development, Politics

Tagged

The Song’s Not New Just Because You Haven’t Heard It Before

Posted on May 23, 2023 by | 1 comment

by Joe Fitzgerald

When I was a younger man and indulged in that lowdown southern whiskey, I would sometimes sum up the next day by saying, “I don’t remember church bells.”

Astute observers will immediately recognize literary allusions to Little Feat’s “Dixie Chicken,” one of the great rock-and-roll story songs.

Now, 41 years sober, I hear the song differently. It’s the story of someone finding out that an experience may have been unique to him, but wasn’t unique.

Which leads me back, to the surprise of no regular reader, to Bluestone Town Center. BTC is an ill-advised development based on empty promises, misguided good intentions, and governmental obtuseness. Those wishing to know the other side of the story are welcome to Google it.

I was struck during the discussions of the project by how often supporters of the project fell back on baseless accusations of racism and privilege or answered objections that hadn’t been raised. I also noticed things in the city’s deeply flawed housing report that had little to do with building or selling housing.

Come to find out, any discussion of housing faces an underlying set of assumptions. And as any student of left-leaning politics knows, many of those assumptions lead to the expectation that anyone opposing any housing issue must prove their motivations and intentions are not racist, classicist, ageist, or ableist. Continue reading →

1 Comment

Posted in Economic development, Efficiency in government, Governance, Housing, Land use & development

Tagged

Hearing Held, No Vote Taken on Beach Wind Cables

Posted on May 10, 2023 by | 28 comments

Joe Bourne of Protect Sandbridge Beach opens the May 4 hearing on the Kitty Hawk North request to bring major power lines ashore in Virginia Beach.

by Steve Haner

One four-hour public hearing was not enough. Virginia Beach City Council wants another such debate before it votes on a wind company’s request to bring power cables ashore at Sandbridge Beach.

Last week’s hearing on Kitty Hawk North’s application for an easement to bury cables apparently was not covered by any Hampton Roads news media. Almost half of the time (watch it here) was used by the company’s speakers, both before and after the public spoke. Parent firm Avangrid Renewables LLC personnel were at the podium for so long because of questions from council members. Continue reading →

28 Comments

Posted in Energy, Environment, Land use & development, Regulation, Utilities

Tagged ,

What’s in a Name?

Posted on May 5, 2023 by | 4 comments

by Joe Fitzgerald

I have previously written much about the Bluestone Town Center from a logistical and political standpoint, much of which can be summed up by saying the people planning and approving the project do not understand logistics or politics. The planners and approvers show an understanding of and ability to manipulate governmental processes, which is a skill on the level of getting a stubborn toddler to give up a favorite toy if you could pick and choose your toddlers through low-turnout elections and rampant cronyism.

Today, however, I am writing about design, marketing, and labeling. First, some background.

The Harrisonburg Redevelopment and Housing Authority (HRHA), has formed a partnership with EquityPlus (EP) to build Bluestone Town Center. That partnership is an LLC, a limited liability corporation, a legal entity designed to protect the owners of a project from responsibility. The entity is owned 51 percent by HRHA and 49 percent by EP. A wild guess about the split is that having a government entity as the (barely) majority owner adds the shield of sovereign immunity as well as the exemptions to government rules that government entities give to themselves.
Continue reading →

4 Comments

Posted in Blogs and blog administration, Business and Economy, Central planning, Economic development, Land use & development, Planning, Uncategorized

Tagged

Unaffordable Housing, Redux

Posted on April 19, 2023 by | 10 comments

by Joe Fitzgerald

Proposed housing construction in the city of Harrisonburg could add about 1,200 students to the Harrisonburg City Public Schools, with housing already under construction in Rockingham County possibly adding 400 more.

A quarter of the 1,600 potential students could be absorbed by the opening of Rocktown High School, leaving the city to build however many new schools it takes to educate 1,200 elementary and middle school students.

This projection is based on my using other people’s multipliers on a compilation by the invaluable Scott Rogers on HarrisonburgHousingToday.com. The housing count is Scott Rogers’; the school estimates are mine.

The multipliers in question come from Harrisonburg City Public Schools (HCPS) and from Econsult Solutions Inc. (ESI). HCPS came up with its numbers based on who lives where in the city, and ESI does it for a living. They vary, somewhat. ESI thinks a townhouse will generate .52 students and the HCPS method forecasts .45 students.
Continue reading →

10 Comments

Posted in Central planning, Children and families, Education (K-12), Housing, Land use & development, Schools and Public Recreation, Uncategorized

Tagged