In a town hall meeting called by Albemarle County staff members to address infrastructure projects currently underway in Crozet, more than three hundred Crozet residents gathered at Western Albemarle H.S. Thursday night to listen and express concern for the status of the
Crozet Master Plan
. The meeting was an opportunity for county staff to make presentations and answer questions specifically on road projects, downtown sidewalks, downtown parking, green infrastructure, and the Crozet Library project. It was also an opportunity for staff to comment on the recent population figures that has caused public outcry from the Crozet community.
Earlier this year, County staff delivered a report estimating Crozet’s maximum population could reach 24,000. During 2002-2004, Crozet residents worked tirelessly with county officials during a master planning process to set the stage for a twenty year plan that would increase Crozet’s population from its current population of 3,600 to 12,000. At the town hall meeting this week, County staff restated their analysis that a “twenty-year build-out” population of 12,000 isn’t the same as the “theoretical ultimate build-out” which could reach closer to 24,000 sometime beyond 2024. County staff’s expectations and the public’s expectations have now diverged on this critical interpretation of “build-out.”
Assistant County Executive Tom Foley responded by saying “that confusion is really the result of the county’s work on the Master Plan. And we really accept responsibility for that confusion. I don’t think there is any question that there are some things that could have been more clear about the population projections.” Foley also stated: “We don’t think 24,000 is realistic.” Supervisor David Wyant (White Hall) declared to audience members that the Board of Supervisors has confirmed “the twenty year population is 12,000, for Crozet.”
Charlottesville Tomorrow has produced two podcasts of the meeting. The first is the bulk of the evening’s session featuring county staff’s infrastructure presentations and the question and answer period following.
Listen to podcast #1:
Download CrozetTownMTG20060209.MP3
Presenters can be found at these times in the recording:
David Wyant – 6:02
Tom Foley – General comments 9:40
Susan Stimart – Library 25:05
Juan Wade – parking 30:04
David Benish – roads 35:24
George Shadman – sidewalks 42:47
Pat Mullaney – Greenways 52:43
question and answer – 1:08:03
Hugh Meagher – 1:25:00
The second podcast is the recording of community member comments which concluded the evening.
Listen to podcast #2:
Download CrozetTownMTG20060209b.MP3
