By Sean Tubbs
Charlottesville Tomorrow
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
 Bill Emory |
Woolen Mills resident
Bill Emory
has resigned from the
Charlottesville Planning Commission
, effectively immediately. Emory cited “personal reasons” for his abrupt exit.
Emory was appointed to the Commission in September 2008 to fill a vacancy left when
Hosea Mitchell
declined to seek an additional term.
In an e-mail to Charlottesville Tomorrow, Emory acknowledged he resigned in a letter to Mayor Dave Norris but did not elaborate.
Commission Chair
Jason Pearson
said he would be missed.
“He consistently brought a unique and valuable voice to our deliberations,” Pearson said. “As a careful student of public process, he never failed to highlight voices and perspectives that might otherwise have been overlooked.”
Emory was absent at a meeting when the Commission
approved a 28-unit housing development
at the site of the historic Timberlake-Branham home. Before joining the commission, Emory had sued the city claiming that a rewrite of the city’s zoning ordinance in 2003 mistakenly removed a protection that guarded vacant land around the house from development.
The city will announce the opening and begin accepting applications in the near future for Emory’s replacement. City Council will interview candidates and make a selection later this year.
“I encourage any citizen who cares about the future of this City to consider applying to serve as a Commissioner,” said Pearson. “Our job as Commissioners is to advise [City] Council in translating the long-term ambitions of the community into meaningful regulations that can guide Charlottesville’s future development.”
