• TJPDC Assists Towns with Grant Proposals
• BMP Monitoring Highlights Environmental Happenings
• Transportation Plans Under Review
• Local Projects
• TJPDC Staff Present Transportation Housing Toolkit; Receive Funds for Update
• RideShare News
• Disability Services News
• TJPDC Office News: Training Center, LEAP and New Staff

TJPDC Helps Mineral Get CDBG Planning Grant

TJPDC partnered with the Town of Mineral in its successful quest for a $35,000 planning grant from the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, administered by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). TJPDC staff continues to work closely with the Town to prepare the multiple reports, meetings and application needed to obtain a final construction grant of $700,000 to $1 million. The purpose of the planning grant is to plan for a future revitalization of the main street corridor, Mineral Avenue. TJPDC staff has conducted two needs assessments that identified specific issues to be addressed in the community to revitalize the downtown and local economy, and completed elements of an Economic Restructuring Plan, Marketing and Branding Plan, a Physical Improvements Plan and Design Guidelines. TJPDC also conducted two separate surveys to gather public input and data for these reports, and held multiple public forums where staff presented findings, gathered public input and coordinated efforts with the community. TJPDC is looking to submit the construction application by the end of March, 2011. For more information, contact Will Cockrell at wcockrell@tjpdc.org or 434-979-7310 x 440.

TJPDC Works with the Town of Columbia to Seek Housing Grant
The Town of Columbia is pursuing CDGB funds to improve housing conditions for its residents. With the heart of town sitting close to the confluence of the James and Rivanna Rivers, Columbia has been challenged by the threat of flooding for the past two centuries. The Town hopes that focusing attention on the main corridor through the flood plain will alleviate some of the most pressing housing needs and catalyze revitalization of the whole town. TJPDC staff has helped the town convene a management team, survey residents, assess all of the buildings and infrastructure in the town and collect material needed for a planning grant application to DHCD. For more information, contact Daniel Nairn at dnairn@tjpdc.org or 434-979-7310 x290.

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BMP Monitoring Equipment Installed
Equipment for a TJPDC best management practices project has been installed. TJPDC contracted with environmental consultants, Environmental Systems Services, to complete the installation of a suite of water quality monitoring equipment at the Charlottesville High School bioretention filter (see pictures below). TJPDC will continue to partner with the Rivanna River Basin Commission (RRBC) and a team of University of Virginia professors and students to collect data on the performance of the biofilter during storm events over the next year, using automated flow meters, autosamplers, a rain gauge, and associated equipment, all of which is powered by solar panels at the site. This data will be analyzed to determine the ability of the biofilter to remove pollutants and reduce the volume of stormwater running off the four-acre drainage area. RRBC contracted the TJPDC to manage the biofilter monitoring project, which was funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation with grant money provided by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. For more information, contact Erin Yancey at eyancey@tjpdc.org or 434-979-7310 x 320.

Solid Waste Green Procurement Guide Released
The Thomas Jefferson Solid Waste Unit Committee, staffed by the TJPDC and which helps oversee the regional solid waste planning process, has made “environmentally preferable purchasing” a priority in recent months. It has released Buying Green, a guide to environmentally preferential procurement within the Thomas Jefferson Planning District. This green procurement “cheat sheet” is a guide for local government staff with either occasional or routine procurement duties to use on a voluntary basis. It provides advice on how to determine whether a product is actually environmentally preferable, or is just “green washed” with clever marketing. It guides the user on decoding labels and icons that make claims about a product’s environmental performance based on either a single attribute, such as energy efficiency, or all of its attributes over the entire lifecycle of the product. The cheat sheet also provides sample language for inclusion in contract documents to require environmental performance from contractors. Buying Green can be found in the Environment section of the TJPDC website or by clicking here. The TJPDC has led and/or participated in solid waste planning since the early 1980’s. For more information, contact Erin Yancey at eyancey@tjpdc.org or 434-979-7310 x 320.

Eco-Logic Advisory Team Created
The TJPDC has created a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) to guide its Federal Highway Administration-funded Eco-logical project. The TAC is comprised of representatives from the Departments of Conservation and Recreation and Game and Inland Fisheries; the Thomas Jefferson Soil and Water Conservation District; the Rivanna River Basin Commission; planners from Albemarle, Fluvanna, Louisa and Nelson counties, and Charlottesville’s environmental staff. The TAC will inform the TJPDC on decisions related to the Eco-logical model for identifying and prioritizing transportation mitigation projects. For more information, contact Erin Yancey at eyancey@tjpdc.org or 434-979-7310 x320.

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CHART Embarking on Public Participation Plan
The CHART Citizen Advisory Committee, staffed by the TJPDC and an advisory group to the Metropolitan Planning Organization, has embarked on a public participation initiative to enhance how the public participates in transportation planning. The CHART committee has created a presentation designed to educate and allow comment from members of the public. This presentation is focused on regional transportation issues and the local and state forces that affect transportation planning. The goal of this initiative is to educate members of the public about the financial and political influences that govern transportation planning, and then provide an opportunity for members of the public to make informed comments about regional transportation. Such proactive comment would allow transportation planners to consider the public perspective at the beginning of the planning process, instead of seeking public comment at the end of a planning process. Members of the CHART Committee and MPO staff will present this initiative to various groups and organizations throughout the region. For more information, contact Sarah Eissler at seissler@tjpdc.org or 434-979-7310 x360.

RLRP Draft Out for Review
TJPDC is working closely with the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and its consultants, Parsons Transportation, to develop a Rural Long Range Plan (RLRP) for the region. This work is part of a statewide initiative intended to create regional rural plans that compliment those in the state’s metropolitan areas. Each regional plan will have a 20-year planning horizon and is intended to address the anticipated effects of population and employment growth on an area’s transportation system. A primary function of the RLRP is to coordinate state and regional transportation priorities to ensure that future resources are allocated effectively. While the RLRP lacks a fiscally constrained project list, it is intended to help identify priorities for funding. Data from these plans also feed into the State Highway Plan, which is a major component of the Statewide Multimodal Transportation Plan known as VTrans 2035.

Much of the work on the RLRP has been accomplished by the TJPDC-staffed Rural Technical Committee, which includes planning staff from the region’s five counties. Through a series of meetings, local priorities were finalized and incorporated into a draft plan prepared by Parsons, which the Committee unanimously recommended. The TJPDC will hold a public hearing on the plan this fall before granting final approval. For more information, contact Will Cockrell at wcockrell@tjpdc.org or 434-979-7310 x440.

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Albemarle, Charlottesville OK Berkmar Drive Study

The Charlottesville-Albemarle Metropolitan Planning Organization Policy Board has approved the Berkmar Drive Extension Study. The analysis shows traffic conditions on Route 29 North could be greatly improved by increasing the roadway’s capacity or extending Berkmar Drive as a parallel route. The combination of a six-lane widening and Berkmar Drive Extension will provide the greatest benefit, leading to a 7.5-minute reduction of travel time from Lewis and Clark Drive to Rio Road (approximately 5.4 miles) when compared with conditions in 2035 without the proposed improvements. According to a benefit/cost analysis, the alternative with all proposed improvements except the new Berkmar Bridge across the Rivanna River is the most cost-effective strategy while balancing local and regional transportation improvements. To review the final report please click here. For more information, contact Steve Williams at swilliams@tjpdc.org or 434-979-7310 x110 or Johnny Han at yhan@tjpdc.org or 434-979-7310 x260.

Greene County Adopts 2010 Comprehensive Plan
The Greene County Board of Supervisors has unanimously adopted the 2010 Comprehensive Plan recommended by the Greene County Planning Commission. TJPDC staff has worked with Greene elected and appointed officials and county citizens over the past 1 ½ years to formulate the plan. A major emphasis in this work is future land use, but the plan also provides goals and implementation strategies for other areas of county life for the next dozen years. For more information, contact Bill Wanner at wwanner@tjpdc.org or 434-979-7310 x390.

Village of Rivanna Master Plan Adopted
The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors has unanimously adopted the Village of Rivanna Master Plan. TJPDC staff assisted in the preparation of the plan, having helped with the public participation process, map making and the preparation of the final product. The approved plan will be added into the County’s Comprehensive Plan. The Village of Rivanna is located east of Charlottesville at the intersection of Route 250 and Glenmore Way and is within one of Albemarle’s designated growth areas. The plan can be viewed here. For more information, contact Bill Wanner at wwanner@tjpdc.org or 434-979-7310 x390.

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TJPDC staff members Will Cockrell and Bill Wanner conducted a workshop at the Virginia Chapter American Planning Association annual meeting in May. The presentation focused on the Transportation and Housing Alliance (THA) Toolkit and how to use it to plan for the needs of people with disabilities, including during the process of preparing a local comprehensive plan. The THA Toolkit has been used in communities throughout the state and has proven to be very effective. In order to ensure the continued success of the Toolkit as 2010 Census data is released, the Virginia Housing Development Authority has awarded $5,000 to TJPDC to update the Toolkit.

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Long Range TDM Plan Formulated
As the region’s designated Transportation Demand Management (TDM) agency, RideShare is responsible for TDM planning and works to incorporate TDM into regional planning as a voting member on urban and rural transportation committees. The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) now requires all agencies receiving TDM grant funds to prepare and submit a Long-Range TDM Plan.

The purpose of the Plan is to identify and detail TDM programs currently provided in the region, to outline potential improvements to be carried out in the Plan’s timeframe, and to illustrate financial resources necessary to implement these programs and improvements. It establishes the scope and benefits of RideShare’s programs and provides information for DRPT to incorporate RideShare’s TDM plans into the State’s overall TDM plans, funding decisions, and programs.

The document also serves as a management and policy document for RideShare; documents current and proposed future operating budgets for RideShare; and provides information necessary to include RideShare in the Six-Year Improvement program (SYIP), Statewide Transportation Improvements Program (STIP), Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), and Constrained Long-Range Plan (CLRP). RideShare’s Long-Range TDM Plan incorporates relevant information from existing transportation planning documents and available TDM-related research studies. While many documents and studies were utilized in preparing RideShare’s Long-Range TDM Plan, the 2007 Virginia State of the Commute Survey (VSOC Survey) is a key information source. The VSOC Survey was the Commonwealth’s first statewide assessment of work-related commuting and included a large number of residents from the TJPDC-RideShare region.

More information on the VSOC Survey is available here. The draft Long Range TDM Plan is available here. For more information, contact Lisa Horanyi at lhoranyi@tjpdc.org or 434-979-7310 x330.

Clean Commute Day a Big Success
RideShare and the Commuter Information Team sponsored the 20th annual Clean Commute Day in the Central Virginia region on May 7th. Area commuters were encouraged to take the “Clean Commute Pledge,” promising to use a commute option other than driving alone for at least one day. Participants making the pledge were eligible to win prizes from local sponsors. A total of 120 pledges were received, including online entries and those received during the event. Jill Hance of Barboursville won the Grand Prize, which was two tickets on Amtrak’s new Northeast Regional Service, good for travel to any location along the route from Charlottesville to Boston. In addition, Target, Whole Foods and Zipcar donated runner-up prizes for the event.

Clean Commute Day is sponsored by the Commuter Information Team (CIT), which is composed of RideShare, JAUNT, CAT, UTS and Greene County Transit. CIT works to enhance the quality of life and mobility of people in the Thomas Jefferson Planning District by promoting the use of alternatives to single occupant vehicles to reduce traffic congestion, through private-public partnerships, community outreach and individualized service.

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Local Government Employment Awareness Training
Through a grant from the Virginia Association of Disability Services Board, the Jefferson Area Disability Services Board (DSB) conducted two Local Government Employment Awareness training sessions this past quarter: The first was held April 28 for Nelson County staff, and the second on June 8 for staff from Albemarle County and the City of Charlottesville. The training sessions build awareness on hiring practices, available resources through the Department of Rehabilitative Services (DRS), and reasonable accommodations. They include an overview of DRS services, disability awareness and etiquette, assistive technology in the workplace, and testimonials by employees with disabilities. Two additional trainings are being planned for late summer. For more information, contact Billie Campbell at bcampbell@tjpdc.org or 434-979-7310 ext 230.

BRHBA Home and Garden Show
The Jefferson Area DSB and the Livable for a Lifetime (L4L) Steering Committee joined together to sponsor a booth on Universal Design at the Blue Ridge Home Builders Association (BRHBA) Home and Garden Show, held at JPJ Arena April 9-11. The exhibit titled “How Do You See Your Future?” gave visitors the opportunity to see, touch, and learn more about Universal Design in homes.

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Regional Training Center in the Works
Construction work is underway to create a Regional Training Center adjacent to TJPDC’s office space on the ground floor of 401 E. Water Street. The goal for the center is to provide specific training opportunities for member government elected and appointed officials and staff on issues of concern, with the goal of enabling them to better serve their communities. TJPDC staff is in the process of developing a training schedule for FY11. The space is expected to be complete and available for training beginning in September.

LEAP Co-located with TJPDC
The Local Energy Alliance Program (LEAP) is currently co-located with TJPDC at 401 E. Water Street. LEAP is a community-based nonprofit whose mission is to facilitate unprecedented energy and water savings through energy efficiency retrofits in residential and commercial buildings. LEAP currently is offering a $250 rebate toward the cost of a home performance assessment (energy audit) and $1,000 toward an energy retrofit when a homeowner participates in the Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program. This residential program helps homeowners save money on their utility bills while also creating a healthier and more comfortable indoor environment. Both the rebate and incentive can be bundled with the ENERGY STAR tax credit ($1,500) and other incentives to save even more money. LEAP serves all six localities in the TJPDC region. You can visit LEAP at www.leap-va.org for more information.

New Staff Members
The TJPDC has hired Daniel Nairn, who worked as a TJPDC intern this past year, as a full-time planner. He recently completed his studies in UVA’s Department of Urban and Environmental Planning. Daniel has been helping with community development projects and updating the region’s long-range transportation plan. Daniel can be reached at (434) 979-7310 ext. 290 or dnairn@tjpdc.org.

The TJPDC also has hired Sara Damron as the new RideShare Outreach Specialist. Sara received Bachelor and Master Degrees from Marshall University, where she most recently has worked as a Coordinator of Recruitment and Advising. She will focus on servicing RideShare participants that live or work in the TJPD, as well as promoting the RideShare program. Sara begins work at TJPDC on August 2. If you would like to personally welcome her, you can reach her at (434) 295-6165 or sdamron@tjpdc.org.

Cassie Powers is interning at the TJPDC this summer and next school year. Cassie is a graduate student in UVA’s Department of Urban and Environmental Planning, with an interest in how community design and alternative transportation impact human health and the environment. During the past year, she was a research assistant at UVA, where she researched environmental factors contributing to the economic vitality and high quality of life of a city. At TJPDC, Cassie is working on economic redevelopment projects and a bike plan for Charlottesville-Albemarle.

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Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission
PO Box 1505 - 401 East Water Street
Charlottesville, VA 22902
www.tjpdc.org
(434) 979-7310