{"id":5829,"date":"2014-06-30T12:43:31","date_gmt":"2014-06-30T16:43:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/billemory.com\/blog\/?p=5829"},"modified":"2014-07-01T14:21:24","modified_gmt":"2014-07-01T18:21:24","slug":"rivanna-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/billemory.com\/blog\/2014\/06\/rivanna-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Rivanna River Planning"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"upstream
\nAlbemarle County on the right, Charlottesville City on the left
\n
\n\"canoe
\nA decade ago it was unusual to see people recreating on the Rivanna. I saw ten boats yesterday.
\n
\n\"riverbend\"
\nPeople in the river
\n
\n\"runner
\nPeople next to the river.
\n
\n\"scout
\nThere are two formal access points to the river along the shared 3.7 mile County City waterfront. The stairway at Riverview Park<\/a> was built by Eagle Scout Chris Keeling<\/p>\n

July 1 the City Council and the County Board of Supervisors meet. Item F on their agenda:<\/p>\n

F. Rivanna River Planning
\nHistorically, Charlottesville’s and Albemarle County’s economies grew in relation to the major roads and the James and Rivanna rivers. The smaller Rivanna River had manufacturing mills and a system of dams, locks, and canals for navigation. Nine miles of the Rivanna River and its south fork between the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir and Woolen Mills are designated as part of the state Scenic River system. Both Charlottesville and Albemarle County are responsible for regulating land use along the Rivanna, and both governments are now recognizing the growth potential of the river as a shared asset. Both planning commissions have advocated for, “creation of a plan that incorporates a unified vision for land uses adjacent to the Rivanna River which supports the river corridor as a destination; and that develops a shared vision for parks, trails, and recreational opportunities associated with the river.” There is potential for valuable synergy in the City and the County further developing the riverfront as a place to play and live.
\nAlbemarle’s draft comprehensive plan states, “The City and County will create a unified vision for land uses adjacent to the Rivanna River that supports the river corridor as a destination while ensuring the protection and improvement of the river\u2019s water quality.” The City has a River Initiative and River Corridor Plan which notes the need for coordinated planning, and the City’s comprehensive plan states, “Work with regional partners to draft and implement a plan that better utilizes and protects the Rivanna River as an environmental, recreational and economic amenity.” By working together, the Board and Council can help to make the riverfront more beautiful and valuable.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

http:\/\/billemory.com\/blog\/2013\/01\/16\/watershed\/<\/a>
\nhttp:\/\/billemory.com\/blog\/2012\/07\/26\/rivanna-river\/<\/a>
\nhttp:\/\/billemory.com\/blog\/2010\/10\/18\/clean-water-2\/<\/a><\/p>\n

(letter from the Woolen Mills Neighborhood Association Board to City Council)<\/p>\n

October 3, 2013
\nRe: Rivanna River Corridor Plan
\nDear Charlottesville City Council,
\nCongratulations on your recent adoption of the update to the City\u2019s Comprehensive Plan. The
\nnewly updated Plan, like the versions of the Comprehensive Plan that preceded it, prioritizes
\nrestoring the health of the City\u2019s most under-appreciated asset: the Rivanna River. In light of the
\nclear, urgent interest throughout the community on planning for appropriate land uses along the
\nRivanna corridor, we are writing to urge you to take the necessary first steps now to ensure that
\nmeaningful and productive planning can occur along the City\u2019s portion of this invaluable natural
\nresource.
\nGoal one of the new Comprehensive Plan\u2019s Environment chapter reads:
\nValue the Rivanna River as a major asset in the life of our City and region and restore it
\nto a healthy condition within our ecosystem in order to improve habitat, watershed health
\nand water quality.<\/em>
\nAchieving this important goal will remain elusive unless and until our community develops a
\nunified plan for land uses, green infrastructure projects, and best management practices along the
\nRivanna corridor. This is because haphazard review and approval of individual development
\nproposals as they are submitted precludes any real consideration of how each proposal fits into a
\nbroader vision for the river and its restoration. A Rivanna corridor plan has been contemplated
\nat least as far back as 1998, when the very first recommendation of the Rivanna River Basin
\nRoundtable\u2019s State of the Basin<\/strong> report was to \u201c[d]evelop a Corridor Plan to guide decision
\nmaking related to preservation and use of the Rivanna River.\u201d
\nDue to the absence of focused action from our elected officials in the City and County, the
\npressure for such a plan is bubbling up in other places, as seen in the UVA Architecture School\u2019s
\nrecent Rivanna River Vortex project, as well as the joint discussions between the Charlottesville
\nand Albemarle planning commissions that were conducted as part of the TJPDC\u2019s Livable
\nCommunities Planning Project, and which culminated in a call for the \u201c[c]reation of a plan that
\nincorporates a unified vision for land uses adjacent to the Rivanna River that support the river
\ncorridor as a destination; and that develops a shared vision for parks, trails, and recreational
\nopportunities associated with the river.\u201d
\nThe need for a Rivanna corridor plan is stronger than ever. Impairments to the Rivanna remain a
\nsignificant environmental and health problem for our community, and development pressures
\nalong the river are only bound to increase as the economy gradually improves. To have any
\nrealistic chance of achieving the Comprehensive Plan\u2019s goals of restoring a major asset of the
\nCity to a healthy condition, our community must get started on a Rivanna corridor plan as soon
\nas possible.
\nAs the critical first step in developing a meaningful plan, we request that the City issue a
\nrequest for proposals to map and inventory the natural, cultural and built resources
\nlocated along the 3.7 miles of the City\u2019s waterfront.
\nWhat do we stand to lose if we do not plan? The Police suggest that homeowners inventory and
\nphotograph their valuables; we suggest the same approach be taken with the Rivanna corridor as
\nit passes through the City.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Albemarle County on the right, Charlottesville City on the left A decade ago it was unusual to see people recreating on the Rivanna. I saw ten boats yesterday. People in the river People next to the river. There are two formal access points to the river along the shared 3.7 mile County City waterfront. The … Continue reading “Rivanna River Planning”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[28,42,44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-riverine","category-urban-planning","category-zoning"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/billemory.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5829"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/billemory.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/billemory.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/billemory.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/billemory.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5829"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/billemory.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5829\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5847,"href":"https:\/\/billemory.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5829\/revisions\/5847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/billemory.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/billemory.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/billemory.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}