The General Assembly and Governor Kaine have worked together to reach a compromise on a transportation package that provides new state dollars and expands impact fee authority to include localities in our region. Impact fee authority was the top priority in the 2007 TJPD Legislative Program. Under the approved plan, road impact fee authority similar to that which has existed only for Northern Virginia and a handful of other high growth localities, will now apply to Albemarle, Charlottesville, Fluvanna, Greene, and Louisa.

The package also includes a $3 billion bond package. After set-asides for transit (20%) and rail (4.3%) capital, the remaining proceeds will next be allocated to match federal highway funds in order to make additional state construction funds available to the primary, urban, and secondary systems; to provide necessary matching funds for the local revenue sharing program; and to fund the costs of statewide or regional projects.  The text of the bill can be found at http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?071+ful+HB3202H4 and additional information on the specific policy and funding items are available at http://www.governor.virginia.gov/MediaRelations/NewsReleases/viewRelease.cfm?id=365

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Many members of the public attended the sixth Places29 workshop on February 26 where they were posed with the question, “Did we get it right?” Consultants and staff from TJPDC and Albemarle County presented the “Preferred Framework,” which was drafted from feedback from previous workshops and further analysis. Neighborhood meetings were also held on March 5 for the northern portion and on March 8 for neighborhoods in the southern portion of the study. Places29 combines the master planning of Albemarle County’s four Northern Development Areas with a transportation study of the US 29 North Corridor. At the main workshop, small groups worked with maps and questions to comment on the plan in the following areas: Land Use/Green Infrastructure, Transportation, and Implementation: Phasing and Priority Areas. The Albemarle County Planning Commission will review the master plan in Spring 2007. The Places29 Master Plan will feed into the County’s Comprehensive Plan. The 29N Transportation Study will continue to be reviewed as part of Places29, but will also be discussed by the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) as part of the regular project development process to determine priority transportation projects. For more information, visit http://www.albemarle.org/ or contact TJPDC at (434) 979-7310 or info@tjpdc.org.

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The Thomas Jefferson Area Coalition for the Homeless (TJACH) collected the fifth annual point-in-time census of the homeless in the region January 23-25, 2007. The process included a count of people in homeless shelters, transitional housing, and various street and outdoors locations. 226 adults and 22 children were found to be homeless on January 24, the “point in time” for the census. Most of these were residing in emergency or transitional facilities, with no children and 24 adults unsheltered. The numbers have increased from last year.  Some of the increase is attributed to improved survey methods and counting more shelters, but providers agree that the number of homeless people in the area has actually grown. The total of 248 who were physically located represents the least possible number of people in our region meeting the HUD definition of homelessness on a single day. Schools, who use different reporting criteria, reported 303 children and 17 adults homeless (in shelters, doubled up, in motels, or in substandard housing). Based on generally accepted statistical analysis of the survey and shelter count, this census result predicts a population of 992 people homeless in the area over the course of a year.  For more information contact Jeffrey Cornelius at TJPDC at jcornelius@tjpdc.org or (434) 979-7310 x440 or visit TJACH’s web site at http://www.avenue.org/tjach/.

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Each year the HOME Consortium and the City of Charlottesville develop an Acton Plan to guide the use of federal HOME funds (funds provided by HUD for affordable housing initiatives) in the Thomas Jefferson Planning District (City of Charlottesville and counties of Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, and Nelson) and federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds in the City of Charlottesville. The draft Action Plan for 2007-2008 is now available for public comment until April 25, 2007. The plan needs to be adopted early in May by the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission and City Council, and submitted to HUD by mid-May. Beginning July 1, 2007 the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission expects to receive $923,624 in HOME/ADDI (American Dream Downpayment Initiative) funds and the City of Charlottesville expects to receive $546,657 in CDBG funds.  More information and the draft plan is available online at www.tjpdc.org. To obtain a printed copy or submit comments, contact Amy Kilroy at the City of Charlottesville, (434) 970-3182 or Billie Campbell at TJPDC, bcampbell@tjpdc.org or (434) 979-7310 x230.

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As part of the March 3, 2007 symposium sponsored by the Steering committee of the 2020 Plan: Community on Aging, TJPDC Senior Planner Bill Wanner and Mark Watson of the Piedmont Housing Alliance (PHA) presented on behalf of Livable for a Lifetime, a partnership between TJPDC, PHA, and JABA. The presentation covered the features that are important in making or constructing homes to be “Livable for a Lifetime” and design for neighborhoods to be dynamic places for people of all ages and abilities. If you are interested in participating in this effort or would like copies of the white papers on homes and communities, visit http://www.tjpdc.org/housing/index.asp or contact Bill Wanner at wwanner@tjpdc.org or (434) 979-7310 x390.

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In February, the City of Charlottesville and the County of Albemarle adopted resolutions to each contribute $50,000 to the development of a Regional Transit Authority (RTA) Plan.  Developing the RTA Plan builds upon the work done at the November 2006 Transit Work Session during which participants discussed the challenges and opportunities associated with regional transit.  The consultant selection process is currently underway, and staff estimates that the RTA Plan project will kick off in early May.  To download the materials from the November 2006 Transit Work Session or other materials related to regional transit in our area, please visit http://www.tjpdc.org/transportation/rta.asp.  For more information contact Kellem Emanuele at kemanuele@tjpdc.org or (434) 979-7310 x260. 

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The Piedmont Workforce Network Board and the Department of Business Assistance (DBA) will partner to coordinate the pilot Piedmont Workforce Network (PWN) Retraining Program for employers that are looking to upgrade the skills of their employees. The partnership with DBA will allow the PWN to provide a more comprehensive and streamlined retraining program and be more responsive to the needs of the employer community. For more information, contact Todd Palmquist at tpalmquist@tjpdc.org or (434) 979-7310 x250.

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RideShare participated in the “Reality Store” at Louisa County Middle School on March 23.  The “Reality Store” is a project of the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service, designed for eighth graders to learn about the real costs of living and the need to prepare for the future.  RideShare hosted a transportation booth along with representatives from JAUNT and local car dealerships.  Students were shown the true costs of transportation and were given the options of carpooling and public transportation to reduce expenses.  Many students learned that transportation is one of the highest expenses for working families, along with the cost of housing.  For more information on transportation costs and the benefits of carpooling and other options, visit www.rideshareinfo.org.

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TJPDC is pleased to highlight three new recycling and re-use opportunities available to businesses and individuals in the region.

Computers for People with Disabilities: Technology Tamers, which offers technology training for people with disabilities, is accepting working computers running Windows 98 or better to give to people with disabilities who need them for job training or working at home. Contact Doug Owens at (434) 293-3377 for more information.

Goodwill: Goodwill has recently launched a computer recycling program, working in partnership with Computer Recycling of Virginia. Simply bring old computers to the donation center of either the Rt. 29 or Pantops stores.

Freesale: The Charlottesville Albemarle Freecycle group is hosting a freesale at the Earth Day Festival on Saturday, April 28. This will be an event at which anyone may drop off or claim unwanted but reusable items. To find a Freecycle group near you, visit http://www.freecycle.org.

For more information on these and other opportunities, contact Rochelle Garwood at rgarwood@tjpdc.org or (434) 979-7310 x320.

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Rivanna Conservation Society Brown Bag Lunch
April 19 from 12:00-1:00 p.m. at the Central Branch of the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library – Rochelle Garwood, TJPDC’s Senior Planner – Environment, and Rick Parrish of the Southern Environmental Law Center will speak about TMDLs (Total Maximum Daily Loads), a type of water quality study now underway in the Rivanna and Hardware River watersheds.

Rivanna River Basin Commission Meeting
April 25 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at the TJPDC office will mark the inaugural meeting of the Commission, which includes representatives nominated by the TJPDC from each of the four localities that make up a major portion of the watershed.

Earth Day Festival
April 28 from 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. at the picnic shelters in McIntire Park – come see the TJPDC’s displays on recycling, green infrastructure and RideShare, participate in the freesale, and enjoy the many other activities and displays the festival has to offer. Full information on the festival is available at http://www.earthweek.org/.

Natural History Day
April 29 from 1:00 -3:00 p.m. at the Ivy Creek Natural Area – The TJPDC’s green infrastructure display will make another appearance at this event, which also features the Virginia Native Plant Society’s annual plant sale.  For more information, visit http://ivycreekfoundation.org/calendar.html.

2nd Annual Piedmont Youth Connections Conference
The Piedmont Youth Council is hosting the 2nd Annual Piedmont Youth Connections Conference for job seekers ages 16-24 on May 2 at the Doubletree Hotel in Charlottesville. The conference will provide out-of-school youth with resources on local employment and training opportunities. Job seekers will be able to hear first hand from employers what they are looking for in a candidate and what it takes to move up the career ladder. For more information or to register for the conference, visit www.piedmontworkforce.net.

Clean Commute Day
RideShare, along with the Commuter Information Team is hosting the 17th annual Clean Commute Day event on May 4 from 11am-1pm on the Downtown Mall in Charlottesville.  An exhibit will also be part of the Fridays After Five event from 5pm-6pm.  Participants can expect activities, refreshments, and chances to win prizes, including a grand prize of a family-friendly getaway at Massanutten Resort.  For more information or to take the “Clean Commute Pledge”, visit www.commuterinformation.com. 

Green Parade of Homes
The Blue Ridge Home Builders Association will be hosting a show of homes built using green building techniques, to be held on two weekends in June: June 9-10 and June 16-17, with a kickoff event planned for June 8. Each of the homes on the tour is built to EarthCraft green building standards. EarthCraft is a nationally recognized standard for green residential building and is endorsed by the Blue Ridge Home Builders Association.  For more information, contact Bill Wanner at wwanner@tjpdc.org.

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