Greetings all to the James Exchange. I am Nancy Gill, your host. This podcast is all about Scottsville’s work session on Monday, January 9.
First things first, here is the link.
Town Council’s January 9th work session.
Meeting ID: 880 5989 4673
Password: 1744
Meetings are recorded and uploaded to Scottsville Community Channel on YouTube.
On the agenda:
Downtown parking
Factory rezoning
Progress report on budget
Community Foundation and Town reserve funds
Factory Rezoning
Timeline:
At their March 21, 2022 Town Council Regular meeting Council voted on a 3 to 3 vote on the 36 units on the Upper Bird property. The mayor voted in favor of the application.
On March 25, 2022 a Memorandum of Contract related to Real Estate was recorded in the Albemarle Clerk’s office listing several conditions in the purchase contract between Virginia Land and Southern Development. (Instrument #202200003640)
An email exchange with Charlie Armstrong on the Memorandum of Contract with his answers in bold text.
1: Is the rezoning of the plant contingent on Southern purchasing the property? Did you intend for the words in the question to be reversed? The rezoning is not contingent on Southern purchasing the property. Zoning is tied to the land, not the owner. But if you intended to ask if Southern’s purchase is contingent on a successful rezoning, the answer is also no.
2: Is the creation of the partnership between Echelon and Southern contingent on the rezoning? Not specifically, but in our agreement there is a time limit. If Echelon cannot get certain things done within the time limit to make the apartment project possible then the partnership would dissolve and Echelon is out. Those things cannot occur without zoning.
3: In the above referenced document, is the tire plant property the second of four settlements? Perhaps, but not necessarily. We have some leeway to decide which of Dr Hurt’s properties to buy at each settlement. We will buy ¼ of his Scottsville property at each settlement. We have already purchased the first quarter.
4: Is Southern legally committed to purchase all of the properties listed on page 2 of 4? I am not sure that “legally” is the best word choice here. But to answer what I think you intended, yes, we are contractually obligated to purchase all of the properties listed, and Dr. Hurt is contractually obligated to sell them to us. The contract spells out the price, terms, timing, etc, but again, if what you’re really asking is whether our purchase is contingent on zoning or plan approvals, the answer is no. Whether industrial or apartments, we are buying it, and excited to do so.
On June 3, 2022, Scottsville Community Investments LLC was registered with the Virginia State Corporation Commission.
On July 29, 2022, Scottsville Community Investments purchased the Upper Bird property ($327,875) and Lot 1 in Mink Creek Estates ($25,000).
There isn’t a clear date when Echelon Resources first contacted the Town of Scottsville regarding the tire plant. What we know is they toured it prior to the contract between Virginia Land Company and the Southern Development Group.
On August 20, 2022, Echelon Resources acting as the agent submitted a zoning request for 800 Bird Street. The owner of record on the application is Lower Bird Street, LLC.
On November, 7, 2022, the Scottsville Planning Commission voted 3 to 1 to recommend the rezoning/sup application to Town Council with the following voluntary proffers:
1. Applicant will contribute $200,000 to the Town, to be used for construction of a sidewalk along Bird Street and/or to expand the Town’s future trail network. Such payment shall be made upon the issuance of building permits for the project or on July 1, 2024, whichever is later. (This equates to the 20% match the Town has to have for sidewalks).
2. Applicant will provide at least three electric vehicle charging stations.
3. Applicant will provide covered bicycle parking with at least 20 electrical outlets for charging bicycles.
4. Applicant proffers to maintain, for at least 10 years, that at least 20% of the apartment units shall have a monthly affordable rent to households earning 60% of the Area Median Income published by HUD for the Charlottesville MSA. (More on this later in this podcast).
5. Applicant will reserve 5000 square feet for commercial use. (This came out of the Planning Commission’s discussion during the public hearing on November 7, 2022. The Commission with input from Town Administrator Matt Lawless granted a parking waiver for the 5000 square feet. The waiver was to decrease the parking requirement from two cars per residence).
The December 12, 2022 Special Meeting Take Aways.
Echelon Resources offered a voluntary proffer on Friday, December 9 which was for a TIF or basically a County of Albemarle tax rebate. If this was not approved then they would make a one time donation $100,000 to cover the pump replacement.
Due to legal implications of the voluntary proffer, the scheduled public hearing was postponed until January 16, 2023. Unfortunately, the Town office did not communicate this change until after the meeting on December 12 began.
Instead of a public hearing, the meeting became a chance for the public to speak. Important information and clarity came out of the session.
Yes, there is plenty of water for increased residential dwellings, but when there is a fire, there is a problem. Tim Karr of the Scottsville Volunteer Fire Department brought this message to light when he stated that the current availability of water in the tanks will last an hour and a half of firefighting. The upshot is representitives from the fire department, town staff, Echelon Resources, and the Albemarle Service Authority met to discuss the issue.
The other issue that came up was whether or not the town could financially sustain the increased population the apartment project could bring to Scottsville. Kevin Quick researched several of Echelon Resources projects in other localities and found that they all had a local real estate tax in addition to the county’s. The question for Town Council to grapple with is how to pay the bills as increased services are required whether the Echelon Resources rezoning/sup application passes or not.
Speaking of services, what about police coverage? This question was raised and the suggestion was to get an impact study from the Albemarle Police Department. Police Chief Jenkins retired from Albemarle and had already completed an impact study on what would be needed for Scottsville.
Floating bonds was also mentioned. Scottsville does not have a mechanism in place such as an economic development authority which could provide a loan to a developer or business entity. Also, Scottsville does not have the financial base to even consider this.
It was mentioned that South Boston had floated a $5.6 million bond for Echelon Resources. This information was based on a 2017 newspaper article. According to Tom Raab, South Boston town manager, Echelon Resources paid the loan off in 2020.
So where is Town Council on all of this? Well, they have a work session on Monday, January 9 starting at 7:00 pm in Council Chambers on the second floor of Victory Hall. This will be the first time they have sat as a group to discuss the application before them. There is also an updated voluntary proffer that was offered in December.
I will have more on this regarding the community sessions Echelon Resources held in December.
Podcasts I have done relating to Virginia Land Company, Southern Development, and Echelon Resources:
As always, if you have a story, a song, an event, or an issue, perhaps it is time for a conversation.
A New Year Begins...