BY JOHN BORGMEYER AND NELL BOESCHENSTEIN

December 6 – 12, 2005 C-VILLE Weekly 25

Growth. The word alone is enough to start an argument.

We need more! We need less! Hardly anyone seems to

think things are just right as they are.

Despite all the concern about growth, no one seems

to know exactly how much new development is in store for

Charlottesville and Albemarle County. But after poring

over many City and County documents, C-VILLE has a

pretty good idea of what’s coming. We added up

square footage, acreage and proposed housing

units to get a picture of what’s planned for area

development in the foreseeable future.

What did we find? In the near

future, Albemarle County

could see up to 15,879 new residential units and 5,655,701

square feet of commercial development—for a total of

10,916 developed acres in the county. That’s equal to an

unimaginable 9,906 football fields. Expressed another way,

it’s 17 square miles out of a total 723 square miles in

Albemarle County, or 2.4 percent of county land.

The city is growing, too. Charlottesville

could see 2,846 new residential

units in the near future, and

planners estimate that 579,750

new square feet of commercial

space could be coming to the

city as well.

Starting soon, construction could begin on as many as 18,725new homes—plus lots of commercial development—in this area.

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2006 DEVELOPMENT continued on page 26

Shock to the systems?In Charlottesville, the news is a crop ofhigh-density residential complexes mar-keted toward upscale hipsters, young fam-ilies, and retirees fed up with long com-mutes and gated neighborhoods—peopleknown as “suburban refugees,” in plan-ning parlance. These new developmentscome on the heels of recent zoning changesthat allow developers to put up tallerbuildings with higher densities and fewerparking spaces, especially Downtown,along W. Main Street and around UVA.

Recently Charlottesville has seen 477new residential units go up, with placeslike Coran Capshaw’s Walker SquareApartments on W. Main Street, or FrankStoner’s Belmont Lofts setting the tone forthe thousands of new units that are on theway. Much of the city’s new commercialspace will be combined with residentialspace, a trend known as “mixed-use”development. Part of the City’s plan is forsuburban refugees and Wahoos to be ableto walk instead of driving their cars.

In Albemarle, C-VILLE’s developmentforecasts point to the designated growthareas: Pantops, Crozet and Route 29N willcontinue exploding with new apartmentbuildings, subdivisions and big-box shop-ping centers.

County planners have orchestrated pub-lic “master planning” sessions to help cre-ate a sense of buy-in from residents on thealways-controversial topic of new growthin their neighborhoods. The first of these

The brew is percolating, so to speak,with recent news of one of the area’sbiggest land deals ever. Last month theBreeden family sold its 1,353-acre farm,known as Forest Lodge, for more than $46million. Developer Hunter Craig, rumoredto be backed by the giant Toll Brothershomebuilding company, purchased theparcel and could put nearly 5,000 homesjust south of Charlottesville. Craig had notreturned calls by press time.

Hard as it might be to believe with num-bers that big, Forest Lodge is but one brickin the area’s McMansion wall.

How we gotthe numbersGiven the amount of money the City andCounty hand over to planning consultantsand pump into their community develop-ment offices (Charlottesville’s planningdepartment budget is just more than $2 mil-lion and Albemarle County’s is nearly $5million), you would think that somebodycould punch a few buttons on a computerand tell you, for example, how many resi-dential units are in the planning pipeline.You would think that, but you’d be wrong.

In fact, when you ask City or Countyplanners how much growth is coming tothe region, the answer you get is: There’s noway to know. Planners can tell you whichrezonings and site plans they’re consider-ing; however, there’s no way to predictwhether development will actually come tothose sites. Sometimes developers will getsite-plan approval for a piece of property,

26 C-VILLE Weekly December 6 – 12, 2005

2006 DEVELOPMENT continued from page 25

In the near future, Albemarle County could seeup to 15,879 new residential units and 5,655,701square feet of commercial development.The city could see 2,846 new residential unitsin the near future, and planners estimate that579,750 new square feet of commercial spacecould be coming to Charlottesville.

planning sessions took place in Crozetback in January 2002; now that the masterplans are coming to fruition, some partici-pants say the County has not lived up toits end of the bargain.

Tom Loach is a systems analyst at UVA.In recent years he has sat on variousAlbemarle development committees andparticipated in Crozet’s master plan. Hesays that the County does a fine job ofplanning for development, but “the imple-mentation sucks.”

In Crozet, Loach says, the County hasnot invested enough money to renovatethe roads, sidewalks, schools and otherpublic infrastructure that new growthdemands. This despite community andconsultant recommendations that calledfor infrastructure funding.

“What good is having a master plan ifthey weren’t going to listen to the recom-mendations?” says Loach.

The County admits that it’s been behindon funding for development. “We’re learn-ing how to grapple with the logistics offunding,” says County spokeswoman LeeCatlin. “We’ve always been a mostly ruralcounty, so we don’t have the experience ingovernment doing major public works.”

All that’s changing, though. Whetherthe government is ready for it or not,C-VILLE’s research shows that big com-mercial and residential developments willbe coming to 29N, Crozet and the urbanring around Charlottesville. That meansmore traffic, more kids in the schools andmore tax money for increased social serv-ices. “Growth area residents should wakeup and smell the coffee,” says Loach.

then sell it at an inflated price because anapproved site plan adds value. (In a recenthigh-profile example, when Region Tenbought the apartment complex at 1111-1113Little High St. from developer RichardSpurzem, it paid $2 million not only for theland and two apartment buildings, but alsofor a City-approved site plan for new con-struction.) Or, a developer may simply runout of money or give up on a project forother reasons (paging Lee Danielson).

C-VILLE’S estimates of county growthrepresent all the site plans and rezoningthat are currently under review by theCounty planning department, or that havebeen approved in 2004 and 2005.

Estimating city development was a littleeasier, because of our lucky timing.Charlottesville is preparing to make revi-sions to its master plan, and so the City’soffice of Neighborhood DevelopmentServices has produced a map called“Charlottesville’s Recent, Current andFuture Development Projects.” We calculat-ed the city’s future residential developmentusing that map, and we asked City plannersto estimate the amount of commercialdevelopment in their neighborhoods.

Therefore, C-VILLE’s estimate of cityand county development shows whatcould happen in the next few years.Readers should keep in mind that our esti-mates include not only single-familydetached housing, but all types of devel-opment—office buildings, condominiums,apartment complexes…the whole she-bang. It’s an inexact science, but this pro-vides a hypothesis that only time can testfor actual results.

December 6 – 12, 2005 C-VILLE Weekly 27

W. Main Street/The CornerIn Charlottesville, big changes are coming to UVA.A new zoning law allows buildings up to nine storeystall, so developers are cranking up the density onstudent-housing projects. The idea is that studentswill leave their cars in parking garages and walk orbike around town, but skeptics wonder whether thisis a recipe for more traffic in the heart of the city.Also, don’t be surprised to see major redevelopmentcoming to Westhaven, the city’s first housing project,just north of W. Main Street.

Route 29 NorthIn the war between trees and bulldozers, themachines are kicking ass and taking namesalong the highway between Charlottesville andRuckersville. Huge as it is now, Wendell Wood’sHollymead Town Center is only partially com-plete—Wood has plans for more residentialdevelopment and at least one additionalbig-box retailer there. Great EasternManagement’s North Pointe will turn another269 acres into apartments, stores andparking lots. The County is currently “masterplanning” this area, but critics say theirefforts have come about 10 years too late.

PantopsSmaller projects like banks and fast-foodrestaurants are sprouting along Route 250east of Charlottesville, prompted by the Giantsupermarket and the relocation of MarthaJefferson Hospital. After a legal battle withthe County, Richard Spurzem just got courtapproval to build a new shopping center on37 acres near 250 and I-64.

CrozetThe County’s decision to designate Crozet asa “growth area” is changing the town into abedroom community for Charlottesville. Themajor development here is Gaylon Beights’250-acre Old Trail subdivision that will bring2,000 homes, 250,000 square feet ofcommercial space and a golf course to whatwas once a farming village. Now the questionis whether the County will pony up the doughto improve Crozet’s schools and roads, andkeep pace with the impending growth. Southern Albemarle

The rolling hills and abundance of open landmake the county south of Charlottesville ripefor subdivisions. Hunter Craig has askedthe County for a green light for nearly 5,000new houses on the 1,300-acre Forest Lodgeproperty on Old Lynchburg Road, while a NewHampshire company called Qroe promises tobring “preservation development” to the2,200-acre Bundoran Farm near Route 29S.The County seeks ways to provide affordablehousing, but developers seem to think thatbig homes on big plots will turn McMansion-sized profits. As in Crozet, critics fear thatroad and school infrastructures are not readyfor the nouveau riche, and warn of higher taxbills to come.

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GrowthspurtsIn 2006, new development willbe concentrated in five areas

• CROZET

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CHARLOTTESVILLE

JEFFERSON PARKAVE.

UNIVERSITYAVE.

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at Mechums River, Western Ridge inCrozet and the Norcross Station apart-ments. But he’s making news now with arecent acquisition that could be the crownjewel in his holdings empire: 1,353 primeacres just five minutes south of town. Theproperty, known as Forest Lodge, previ-

ously belonged to the Breedenfamily and Craig paid them ahefty $46.2 million for the par-cel. He has already submittedplans with the County torezone the land to accommo-date 4,790 units.

Coran Capshaw

He already owns a string ofrestaurants—Blue Light, Mas,Mono Loco, Starr Hill, NorthernExposure and Three Notch’d Grill—and high-profile propertiessuch as the old SNL building onthe Downtown Mall, the for-mer ConAgra building inCrozet, and the Ivy Industriesproperty south of the Mall,apartment buildings on W. MainStreet and the Technicolor plantin Ruckersville, but there’s moreto come. According to the City,there are up to 300 new resi-dential units in the works forthe coal tower site at the eastend of Water Street, another ofCapshaw’s many properties.

Charles Hurt, VirginiaLand Company

Hurt owns huge swaths of landin both Charlottesville and Al-bemarle. He is currently in onthe Hollymead Town Centerproject with fellow developerWendell Wood. In addition, thecompany is working on a 55-lot subdivision in Earlysvillecalled Fray’s Grant.

Don Wagner /CharlesRotgin, Jr., GreatEastern ManagementCompanyAlso responsible for Pantopsand Seminole Square ShoppingCenters, Great Eastern’s latestbrainchild is the proposed NorthPointe community, 265 acres onthe east side of 29N betweenProffit Road and the North Forkof the Rivanna River. Plans forNorth Pointe show 893 unitsand 841,000 square feet of com-mercial space in the pipeline,which will join Albemarle Placeand the Hollymead Town Cen-ter and complete a 29N mega-development trifecta. While somewarn the County is building toomuch retail, Rotgin says there’snot enough. “The market forlarge, competitive, convenientshopping is being severely un-derserved in Albemarle Coun-ty,” Rotgin says. “We have beenexporting retail sales to Rich-mond, Fredericksburg, Wash-ington and Harrisonburg foryears.”—N.B. and J.B.

Frank Stoner, Stonehaus

Stonehaus has developed more than $100million worth of real estate in CentralVirginia. After years of back-and-forthwith County planners over his Belvederesubdivision, Stoner this fall finally wonapproval to build about 750homes—phase approved is750—off Rio Road. If theMeadowcreek Parkway is fin-ally built, it will provide Bel-vedere residents a straight shotinto the city, no doubt boostingStoner’s home prices. As forthe possibility of oversupply,Stoner’s not concerned aboutthat. “I don’t think anyone’sworried about an oversupplyof single family houses,” hesays. “A lot of plans are in theprocess, but you don’t knowhow many are going to make itthrough the process…or ifthey’re going to get built, and ifthere’s a downturn in the realestate market, then fewer ofthose [possible houses] willcome to market.”

Wendell Wood, UnitedLand Corporation

Wood owns much of the Route29N growth area. His Holly-mead Town Center is alreadyenormous, but more homesand shopping centers are in theworks. Wood never met a bigbox he didn’t like, making hima villain to environmentalistsbut a hero to shoppers in thenorthern suburbs. As Woodpursues more retail on 29N—including a big box on 29Nnear the Carrsbrook neighbor-hood and another near Holly-mead—Bill Edgerton, chair ofthe County’s planning commis-sion, has warned that develop-ers could oversaturate the localretail market, and we couldsoon see abandoned big boxes.“I hope my fears are never real-ized,” Edgerton said at a recentmeeting. “But these are bigissues we have to think through.”

Gaylon Beights,Beights DevelopmentCorporationAlso having developed theRedfields community, Beights’latest endeavor is the Old Trailproject that includes about2,000 homes, 250,000 squarefeet of commercial space and agolf course on 250 acres inCrozet. The project’s size hasmade Old Trail a target forCrozetians who say the Countyis not doing enough to keep itsinfrastructure in line withrapid growth.

Hunter CraigCraig’s the man behind the MillCreek South, the Highlands

28 C-VILLE Weekly December 6 – 12, 2005

Money changeseverythingA look at some local developersbuilding up their bank accounts

Don Wagner

Charles Hurt

Coran Capshaw

Wendell Wood

Frank Stoner

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Developer Hunter Craigwants permission to putup to 4,790 housing unitson the bucolic parcel justsouth of town.

Since the late ’70s David and ElizabethBreeden have lived the artsy-liberaldream: making sculptures, havingcommunal potluck suppers and makingArt In Place at their 1,500-acre farm,Biscuit Run and Forest Lodge, just off OldLynchburg Road, five minutes south oftown. As a result, that area of Albemarlehas remained largely underdevelopedwhen compared to other positions on theAlbemarle County compass.

However, as C-VILLE first reportedthree months ago and other media con-firmed late last month, the pastoral land-scape of Old Lynchburg Road is due for afacelift courtesy of local developer HunterCraig. Craig recently purchased 1,353 acresof the Breeden property for the eye-pop-ping price tag of $46.2 million. (TheBreedens are keeping some acreage forthemselves.) Dubbed Fox Ridge, the sitecurrently has 900 by-right lots, but Craighopes to rezone the property to allow for4,790 units—roughly one-third the number

Thirty-one projects willconsume three-quarters ofAlbemarle County’s newlydeveloped land, but only4 percent of the housing.That’s 6,643 acres andthe possibility of 553 newhouses, an average of 12acres per unit.

December 6 – 12, 2005 C-VILLE Weekly 29

The call of the wild will be hushed whendevelopment begins on the untouched southcounty acreage that David and ElizabethBreeden sold last month.

Southern exposureThe Breeden family sells their prime piece of propertysouth of town for $46.2 million

of dwellings within the city of Char-lottesville. At 2.5 people per household,that’s room for roughly 12,000 people whocould be living in the south county.

Developing south of town is in line withthe County’s comprehensive plan. For themost part, the Breeden property falls with-in the County’s designated growth area,and while the County may not usherthrough Craig’s plans immediately,according to Jeff Werner, a land-use fieldofficer with the Piedmont EnvironmentalCouncil, it’s likely to happen eventually.

Moreover, says Werner, as developmentgrows denser south of town, the retail

his 2,200-acre Bundoran Farm in the coun-

ty’s designated rural area to a New

Hampshire-based development company

known for “preservation development.” In

other words, Bundoran will be divided into

large lots, and large houses will be built on

those large lots and sold for a pretty penny,

given that people will pay top dollar for

sweet views.

Sorting through the County’s list of

upcoming projects, C-VILLE noticed that

a lot of what’s in our pipeline, especially for

Albemarle’s rural areas, is of this McEstate

variety—developments that take up a lot of

acreage with relatively few houses.

C-VILLE counted 31 projects that will

consume three-quarters of newly developed

land, but only 4 percent of the housing. That’s

6,643 acres and the possibility of 553 new

houses, and an average of 12 acre per unit for

the McEstates. The overall county average is

0.6 acres per residential unit.—N.B.

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Covering a lot of groundIn rural areas, potential development claims a big pieceof the acreage pie

Fred Scott recently sold his 2,200 acre Bundoran Farm to the Qroe company of New Hampshire, knownfor “preservation development” that maintains the pastoral landscape.

Not all development is big development. Nor

is all development the brainchild of Wendell

Wood or Charles Hurt, two of Albemarle’s

biggest developers. But that doesn’t mean

smaller projects don’t make a big impact.

For example, one of the big land deals

of the past year was Fred Scott’s deal to sell

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spaces to serve that population will startpopping up.

It’s been the Breedens’ plan from thebeginning to eventually sell off the proper-ty. David’s father, I.J. Breeden, bought theland in the mid-’70s, confident that itsvalue would skyrocket. It was the elderBreeden’s master plan to develop the landand split the profits among his heirs.

As for Craig, he’s hardly a newcomer tothe local development scene. Craig hasbeen involved with, among other projects,Mill Creek South, the Highlands atMechums River, Western Ridge in Crozet,and Norcross Station Downtown.—N.B.

30 C-VILLE Weekly December 6 – 12, 2005

For six years the local housing market has

been booming, with prices rising each year in

the double digits, and demand surpassing

supply. However, in the past six months both

the national market and the local market

have showed signs of slowing.

On the national front, at the beginning of

November, the nation’s largest luxury home

builder, Toll Brothers, announced plans to

scale back its original building forecasts for

2006. Their announcement cited the effects

of Hurricane Katrina and rising oil prices as

reasons buyers are growing more cautious.

The company has developments in Louisa and

Culpeper counties and, as C-VILLE reported

in November, has been rumored to be back-

ing Hunter Craig’s purchase of the Breeden

property. [See “Southern exposure,” page

29.] Craig has not confirmed the rumor.

Locally, statistics from the Charlottesville

Area Association of Realtors (CAAR) tell

much the same story.

“We’ve been at a record-setting market pace

for the last five or six years,” says CAAR pres-

ident Dave Phillips. “It’s unsustainable. We are

starting to see signs that the marketplace is

becoming more normal, getting more healthy.”

According to Phillips, the luxury housing

market is an early gauge of things to come.

As previously reported in C-VILLE, in the

third quarter of 2004, 50 homes in the area

sold for more than $1 million. In the third

What’s all the fussabout, anyway?Complaints about “development”highlight many different issues

Food for thoughtHousing market?What about a supermarket?

A s a former resident of the Down-town Mall, I can tell you that themost common complaint—alongwith parking and the setlists of certainstreet musicians—is the absence of a realgrocery store.

It doesn’t make sense. The reason thatCharlottesville’s Downtown Mall has pros-pered where others have failed is the City’ssuccess in courting residents. Many of thepeople who eat in the restaurants and drinkin the bars, and who give Downtown itsenergy and flavor, actually live within walk-ing distance of the Mall. If a Downtowner’sshopping list includes a paperback copy ofMoby Dick, a ridiculously overpricednotepad and a microbrew…he’s set. But he’sout of luck if he needs pancake syrup,bananas and cottage cheese.

I know what you’re thinking, but it’s notonly loft-living yuppies singing the no-grocery blues, either.

“We really need a grocery store not onlyin terms of new residential housing, butalso for the established low-income neigh-

borhoods,” says Mayor David Brown.There’s not much the City can do to bringin a grocer, however.

“As people come in with ideas for proj-ects, Aubrey Watts [the City’s chief operat-ing officer/chief financial officer] empha-sizes that a grocery store would be appreci-ated,” says Brown. “As people come in withideas for projects, Watts tries to let peopleknow what the needs are in the city.”

Now a group of local Downtowners aremaking their case directly to grocerychains. Joey Conover and Lexie Boris, whowork for the development team that’s ren-ovating the 250,000-square-foot Frank Ixbuilding on Elliott Avenue, are circulatinga petition encouraging the hippie grocerychain Trader Joe’s to set up shop in Ix.

“We wanted a grocery store that isaffordable and appealing to people inCharlottesville,” says Conover. “It’s amaz-ing how many people say they want aTrader Joe’s.”

Hurry, please. We’re hungry downhere!—J.B.

quarter of 2005, 34 percent fewer, or 33 mil-

lion-dollar houses, changed hands.

“It’ll be interesting to see the fourth quar-

ter results,” says Phillips. “We’re starting to

see the pendulum starting to swing back the

other way.”

Moreover, supply is catching up with

demand. Here is a graph that charts the

number of houses on the local market for the

past two years. According to Phillips, the

trend appears to be returning to a market

more similar to that of the mid-’90s than of

the past five years. Ten years ago there was

an average of 2,000 houses on the market at

any given time, says Phillips, and buyers and

sellers were on equal footing.—N.B.

Pop! goes the bubble?Local and national housing markets show signs of slowing

Fancy hair spray and stationery be damned: What do we have to do to get a grocery store Downtown?

The “record-setting” market pace of the pastfive years is “unsustainable,” says Dave Phillips,from the real estate association. “We are startingto see signs that the marketplace is becoming

more normal.”

If a Downtowner’s shopping list includes a paperbackcopy of Moby Dick and a microbrew…he’s set. But he’sout of luck if he needs pancake syrup or cottage cheese.

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•1,892•1,534

•999 •1,092•1,368

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Loudoun County (everything fromDulles Airport to the horse farms ofMiddleburg) is the fastest-growing countyin the United States. Before 1962, Loudounhad a population of about 25,000 and wasprimarily rural. By 1990, its populationwas 86,000. In the last 15 years, the popu-lation has tripled, swelling to an estimated247,000, according to County reports.

But when slow-growthersthreaten Loudounification forAlbemarle’s future, what ex-actly are they talking about?What exactly should be con-trolled or prevented? Whatare we talking about when weargue about “development”?

First, population. In thecase of Loudoun, the popula-tion boom provided someshocking numbers, and advo-cates like Jack Marshall, pres-ident of Advocates for a Sus-tainable Albemarle Popula-tion (ASAP), say develop-ment is synonymous withpopulation growth. He likenswhat he sees as the threat ofoverpopulation in Albemarleto cancer.

“For a healthy mature per-son, any growth beyond [hishealthy body] is either fator cancer,” says Marshall.“Up to a point a person growsand anything beyond that isdysfunctional.”

Second, there’s sprawl. Whether thepopulation comes first and the housingand commercial development follow orvice versa, sprawl is a significant compo-nent of the development question. JeffWerner of the Piedmont EnvironmentCouncil defines sprawl as growth “scat-tered across the landscape.”

On the other hand, Neil Williamson,executive director of the Free EnterpriseForum, lays the blame for sprawl with the

County. He says that the current policiesmake it so hard to build in the growthareas that developers have no choice but todevelop the rural areas.

“If [the County] makes it easier to devel-op in the development area, then develop-ment will occur” more densely, saysWilliamson.

Third, there are natural resources, infra-structure and transportation issues.Inevitably, population growth and con-struction create a pressure cooker for theresources already in place. For example,according to Werner, there are kids in

Loudoun who have gone to adifferent school every yearand “people around here areterrified of that.” Issues likeschool redistricting andwhether there are roads todrive on are aspects of thedevelopment issue that areeasy to grasp, says Werner.

Lastly, there’s aesthetics.Without naming names orpointing fingers, we got ugly.The track-housing trend ofhouse after house after housethat look, if not identical, thenawfully similar, offend theaesthetes. However, asidefrom academic treatises aboutthe importance of buildingbuildings that will elevate thequality of our architecturallandscape, this complaint isthe most superficial develop-ment threat. Ultimately, it’s afree country and (unfortu-nately) taste is not somethingthe law dictates.—N.B.

In Loudon County, theepitome of NoVa develop-

mentitis, some kids go to adifferent school every year,

says Jeff Werner of thePiedmont EnvironmentalCouncil. “People aroundhere are terrified of that

happening,” he says.

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means an influx of new residents whomight be looking for a place to worship.

Several miles away, on Garth Road, the400 members of Olivet PresbyterianChurch are settling into their own nearly10,000-square-foot addition, which wascompleted in September.

The third and final phase of a construc-tion project that dates back to the 1980s,this latest addition includes education andoffice space. “We’ve never had a music orchoir room, or a dedicated nursery, andthis is first time I’ve had an office that’s notalso a classroom and a meeting room,”says Pastor Albert Connette.

And although “we’re not in one of themost dense-growth areas, we’ve seen asteady increase in church membership dur-ing the past 10 years,” he adds. He points

to new home-construction projects and thechurch’s proximity to The Colonnades, aretirement community that provides trans-portation to the church and whose resi-dents often arrive from areas outsideCharlottesville and Albemarle County.

As the congregation, currently number-ing about 400, has grown, Connette saysthe church has also been able to offer moreof what people are looking for program-wise. “In the past, they may have felt theyneeded to go to a larger church in town toget a certain size Sunday school or youthprogram, but that’s not the case anymore,”he explains. “Over time, people’s expecta-tions have changed, and now that we havemore space, we’re better able to addresstheir needs.”—Susan Sorensen

The way things work ‘round here, it’s not

unusual to hear people complaining about

development only after projects have been

approved. Well, coulda, shoulda, woulda.

The time to raise your concerns is before

the roar of growling bulldozers drowns them

out. Here’s the schedule for the two planning

commissions, City Council and County Super-

visors. The representatives from the City serve

at-large; the County representatives serve

districts and are so noted. Be there.—N.B.

City of CharlottesvillePlanning Commission

Meets: Second Tuesday of each month,

6:30pm, City Council Chambers, second floor,

City Hall, east end of the Downtown Mall.

Next meeting takes place December 13.

Contact: 970-3182, higginsro@charlottesville.

org, www.charlottesville.org

Members: Karen Firehock (Chairman), Jon

Fink (Vice Chairman), Craig Barton,

Michael Farruggio, Cheri Lewis, Bill Lucy,

Kevin O’Halloran

City Council

Meets: First and third Mondays of each

month, 7pm, City Council Chambers, second

floor, City Hall, east end of the Downtown

Mall. Next meeting takes place December 19.

Contact: 970-3113, coxj@charlottesville.org,

www.charlottesville.org

Members: David Brown (Mayor), Kevin

Lynch (Vice Mayor), Blake Caravati, Kendra

Hamilton, Rob Schilling

Albemarle CountyPlanning Commission

Meets: Most Tuesdays, 7pm, in Meeting

Room 241, second floor, County Office

Building, McIntire Road. Next meetings

take place December 6 and 13.

Contact: 296-5832, egrace@albemarle.org,

www.albemarle.org

Members: Bill Edgerton (Chairman*, Jack

Jouett), Rodney Thomas (Rio), Marcia Joseph

(at-large), William Rieley (Samuel Miller),

Calvin Morris (Rivanna), William Craddock

(Scottsville), Jo Higgins (White Hall)

Board of Supervisors

Meets: First two Wednesdays of each

month (first Wednesday at 9am, second

Wednesday at 6pm), Meeting Room 241,

second floor, County Office Building,

McIntire Road. Next meetings take place

December 7 at 9am and December 14 at 6pm.

Contact: 296-5843, bos@albemarle.org,

www.albemarle.org

Members: Lindsay Dorrier, Jr. (Chairman*,

Scottsville), Sally Thomas (Chairman*,

Samuel Miller), Dennis Rooker (Vice

Chairman*, Jack Jouett), David Slutzky

(Rio), David Wyant (White Hall), Kenneth

Boyd (Rivanna)

*Holds current position until December 31

December 6 – 12, 2005 C-VILLE Weekly 31

Grow with GodAs the local population expands,so do area churches

I t was pretty clear on a recent Sundaythat there’s a baby boom going on atChestnut Grove Baptist Church. Afterdedicating three infants during the 11amservice, Reverend Andrea Jones remindedthe Earlysville congregation, which totalsalmost 300, that several more bundles of joyare scheduled to arrive before year’s end.That kind of rapid growth—both withinand outside church walls—prompted theformation of a new-building committee inthe late 1990s to explore the possibility of anaddition to the existing structure. AndChesnut Grove isn’t alone. At least 10 coun-ty churches have expansion projects in theworks, according to County documents.

Attendance at worship services andSunday school is up substantially over thepast several years, but the larger numberscame as no surprise to the congregation. Ademographic study it commissioned sev-eral years ago showed that the populationin and around Earlysville was growingmore rapidly than Albemarle County as awhole. This statistic prompted then-pastorDavid Washburn to take a look at theCounty School Board’s long-range planbecause it showed the placement of futureschools, which, he says, indicated wherethe board anticipated growth to occur.

“I shared the information with churchleadership and said, ‘We need to beready,’” he recalls, adding that it was pret-ty obvious that “Earlysville is only goingto continue to grow and become aCharlottesville bedroom community.”

In September, ground was broken, andconstruction began on a two-storey,12,000-square-foot church addition, whichwill include eight classrooms and a largefellowship hall. As of the end ofSeptember, more than $800,000 had beencontributed by members of the congrega-tion to “Heritage and Hope,” ChestnutGrove’s building fund.

“We’re not thinking, ‘If we build it, theywill come,’” says Reverend Jones. “They’realready here, and our church is building outof necessity. We have to have more space tomeet our current needs.” Jones is quick toadd, though, that everyone is also keenlyaware of the continuing development innorthwestern Albemarle County, which

Democracyat workGot some thoughts onlocal development?Here’s who to call

“We’re not thinking, ‘If webuild it, they will come,’”says one Albemarle Countypastor of his church’sexpansion. “They’re alreadyhere, and our church isbuilding out of necessity.”

Albert Connette is a pastor at Olivet Presbyterian Church, which just added a 10,000-square-footaddition in September. “This is the first time I’ve had an office that’s not also a classroom and a

meeting room,” Connette says.

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