March 2019 Announcements

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Thomas Jefferson Community Land Trust – Christine Jacobs, Executive Director of the Thomas Jefferson Community Land Trust, is about to launch a strategic email communications campaign to help educate folks further on the land trust model and share the work that they are doing on Nassau Street.  You can email Christine directly at cjacobs@tjpdc.org to be added to their mailing list.

Charlottesville to Continue Deer Population Management Program – Deer culling began February 18th and will continue during March.  The program comes after successful initiative in 2018. City Council approved the program in response to numerous and sustained complaints about hazardous driving conditions, health concerns stemming from Lyme disease, landscapes being impacted by an overabundant deer population, and the health of the local herd.  The operation will take place in City of Charlottesville parks during nighttime hours. It is expected that approximately 125 deer will be culled as a result of the program. The operation will be carefully coordinated with the Emergency Communications Center and the Charlottesville Police Department.  In 2018, the program produced the following results:

  • The program occurred over 11 nights between February 20 and March 8.
  • 125 deer were culled on nine City of Charlottesville-owned properties.
  • 2,850 pounds of venison were donated to the Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry.
  • Instructions were given to our selected wildlife management firm to avoid shooting Charlottesville’s albino/white deer and the program ended with that guidance being honored.

The answers to Frequently Asked Questions can be found at: www.charlottesville.org/deer.  General questions about the deer culling program can be left on the City’s Public Input voicemail line at 434-970-3109.

Regional Housing and Homelessness Summit 2019 – April 19th at the Omni Hotel.  The Regional Housing Partnership of the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission is proud to present the Charlottesville Regional Housing and Homelessness Summit 2019: Opening the Door. This event will bring together elected officials and other leaders from the public, private, and non-profit sectors to discuss policy and programmatic tools designed to Open the Door to housing opportunities for all residents of our region. Please join us and your colleagues for a day of information sharing, discussion, and networking as we begin to coordinate our efforts to address housing challenges throughout our region.

 City/County/UVA Announce Regional Coordination on Climate Initiatives and Invite Public Participation – The City of Charlottesville, Albemarle County, and the University of Virginia – building upon a history of commitments on sustainability and climate action – will be embarking on a collaborative community outreach effort as each entity begins to update their greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets and develop climate action plans (CAPs). The results of these efforts will serve to guide climate action in the Charlottesville area for the next 10-30 years.  To enable broad community engagement and participation in informing these commitments, the three organizations are coordinating their outreach efforts across their sustainability offices. Residents, businesses, and area stakeholders are encouraged to get involved and participate in this collaboration – starting today.  The community is encouraged to go to www.ClimateActionTogether.org to learn about specific participation opportunities, previous regional climate action efforts, and more information about each organization’s efforts.

Charlottesville Skate Park and McIntire Park Pedestrian Bridge – The new Charlottesville Skate Park and the pedestrian and bicycle bridge, both located in McIntire Park, will open to the public on Saturday, March 2, 2019. Both projects are part of the implementation of the East McIntire Park Master Plan.

 Dockless Scooters and Bike Share – In November 2018, the City adopted a dockless scooter and bicycle policy to strengthen the City’s transportation network and meet the City’s environmental and mobility goals.  This temporary pilot program is planned to last until July 31, 2019.  Under the pilot program, the City has now granted permits to Lime and Bird to operate dockless mobility devices in the City.  The program does not require City personnel to assume responsibility for the devices.  Nonetheless, as part of the temporary program, the City will be evaluating the positive and negative impacts that these devices have in Charlottesville.  Customers are able to use smartphones or prepaid cards to access these devices.  Riders are required to use the street and bike lanes and are not allowed to ride on City sidewalks.  Riders must obey all safety rules and laws.  The City urges riders to follow the directions for responsible riding and parking and also urges drivers and pedestrians to be more aware of these new transportation devices.  For more information about the City’s Dockless Pilot Program please visit: www.charlottesville.org/dockless. To learn more about Lime and how to access these devices, please visit www.bird.co and www.li.me.

Daylights Savings Time – The Charlottesville Fire Department would like to remind the community when changing your clocks to change your smoke alarm batteries.  The Charlottesville Fire Department also offers free inspections and free smoke alarms!  Call 434-970-3245 to arrange an appointment.

Home Improvement Incentives, Credits and Rebates

MyCville App -MyCville is a simple and intuitive online and smart phone application that enables the residents of Charlottesville to request services and identify quality of life and environmental issues and report them to the appropriate department for quick resolution.  Learn more at: http://www.charlottesville.org/community/mycville-service-request.

Charlottesville City Crime Map – The new crime map can be accessed at: https://gisweb.charlottesville.org/CrimeMap/.  You can enter your zip code at the upper left to zoom into your neighborhood and select a range of dates on the upper right.

Next Scheduled Meeting: April 10th, 2019, 6:30 to 8 pm at the Cherry Avenue Church.

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