Category: politics

Maurice

Maurice D. Cox was appointed Commissioner of the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) by Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot and confirmed by the City Council  on October 16, 2019.
Celebrated for his experience merging architecture, design and politics through multiple public, private and elected positions, Cox is responsible for leading DPD’s economic development, planning and zoning functions while fostering community-improvement initiatives throughout the city. His primary focus is under-invested neighborhoods on the South and West sides.

• Residents’ voices should be heard for all major development decisions involving new policies and projects at the local level.
• Planning efforts should ensure weaker housing markets should be equitably incorporated in the fabric of stronger markets without causing displacement or gentrification.
• Public safety is essential around the buildings in which people live, requiring the cooperation of social service agencies, schools, youth-oriented agencies and other groups, in addition to traditional law enforcement agencies.
• Policy improvements that aim to ensure neighborhood affordability should include homeownership programs, repair programs, rental assistance programs, and related education efforts.
• Housing efforts should not focus exclusively on units and costs, but also local amenities that overlap with We Will’s other pillars.–We Will Chicago

Cville Plans Together

west view Carlton Avenue 2003
March 1 City Council endorsed the affordable housing plan, the lead piece of the three part Cville Plans Together effort. The three easy pieces, the housing plan, a rewritten “Comprehensive” plan and a rewritten zoning ordinance. Who will make the money from this effort? Who will loose?
Carlton Views III under construction
The 4.86 acre H.T.Ferron plant, once zoned for manufacturing, is now zoned for PUD. No one agrees what PUD is. That is what is so wonderful about PUD. You see what you want to see. Possibly we’ll rezone the entire city PUD?

Community meetings

Once upon a time the public stage was an open place to see and be seen
Sometime the being seen was without a particular message. Maybe one’s presence expressed support? Maybe it expressed a watchfulness.
LanCoVa BOS
There is information available from body language and the context in which it is thrown down
signs
There are means, within the physical space, even if it is not your turn to be heard to be heard.

Now there are all forms of electronic meetings. Have they increased accessibility? Have they increased effective citizen participation in governance?

Heel Dust

Dr. Tarron Richardson
Dr.T’s shoes, March 6, 2019

Charlottesville’s City manager, Dr. Tarron Richardson, resigned today. Will we ever know the who, what, where, why, when and how?

Sandy Hausman of WVTF asked:

Is there something particularly difficult about managing in Charlottesville. I know in general local government management tends to move around a lot, but it is a tough situation when you are reporting to both the Council and to the voters in a sense but is Charlottesville particularly challenging, is it a bunch of people who are too smart for their own good? Why would you say that we have had so much turnover? I’d like to hear from both the manager and the Mayor on that…

And so, the City Manager leaves the city in his heel dust. Leaves with a $205,000 severance check and his health insurance paid for the coming twelve months.