Cultural landscape

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like a bad penny

What’s happening?

In June 2025, the Board of Supervisors denied a request to dump fill in the Moore’s Creek floodplain.
The developer has fast-tracked back with a revised plan: 4 buildings + parking on a site zoned Light Industrial (not residential, not mixed-use).

The developer is already approved for and building 160,000 sq feet of light industrial space on the foot hill that drains into this flood plain and into Moore’s Creek, which outlets into the Rivanna just beyond the Woolen Mills.
Board of Supervisors meets Wednesday, January 14 at 6 PM (Lane Auditorium, 401 McIntire Rd) to hold a public hearing and vote on this matter.

Visit for more information and sign petition

Jean Visits at the Mill with Nellie Melton Annie Baltimore’s oldest sister (nee Marion) and Ethel Leathers Marion, uncle George’s wife. Both had worked at the mill.


When the rules fail

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Sec. 4.17.1 – Purpose.
The purposes of these outdoor lighting regulations are to protect dark skies, to protect the general welfare by controlling the spillover of light onto adjacent properties, and to protect the public safety by preventing glare from outdoor luminaires. To effectuate these purposes, these regulations regulate the direction of light emitted from certain luminaires, and limit the intensity of light on certain adjacent properties, as provided herein.

The County of Albemarle has a lighting ordinance. The building pictured above is at 475 Franklin Street, in the County.

1. The spillover of lighting from luminaires onto public roads and property in residential or rural areas zoning districts shall not exceed one-half foot candle. A spillover shall be measured horizontally and vertically at the property line or edge of right-of-way or easement, whichever is closer to the light source. (Amended 10-17-01)
2. All outdoor lighting, regardless of the amount of lumens, shall be arranged or shielded to reflect light away from adjoining residential districts and away from adjacent roads. (Added 10-17-01)

The residence pictured above is located in the City of Charlottesville across Franklin Street from the building with poorly designed lighting. Maybe the County rules only apply to light that falls in the County?

Labor Day

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Preservation Piedmont
invites you to join them for their third annual Labor Day Open House at the Woolen Mills Chapel, 1819 East Market Street, Monday September 1, 11:00am to 1:00pm.
Bring a bag lunch, enjoy the traditional Irish Music of King Golden Banshee.
Preservation Piedmont will provide drinks and desert.

Roy Jackson Baltimore

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My neighbor Roy. I met him in 1990. I was on the roof of my house and this 75 year old guy climbed the 32 foot extension ladder and introduced himself.


Two pages excerpted from: FROM PORCH SWINGS TO PATIOS
An Oral History Project of Charlottesville Neighborhoods1914 to 1984.
Prepared By The Department of Community Development, Charlottesville,Virginia, 1990

download pdf

download pdf

Woolen Mills walking tour

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Sunday May 11 thirty bipedal folk showed up for BPAC’s monthly neighborhood walking tour.

We walked and talked. Didn’t manage to go everywhere and see everything. But we did see where Woolies worked, where they went to Sunday school…

Where they were laid to rest.

Ben Chambers and Tommy Safranek of the City planned the route. Julie Basic of the Historic Resources Committee supplied an excellent historic fact sheet. The weather was perfect.

We talked about asphalt, sidewalks, fire engines, life in the 19th century, zoning, flood plain fill, alleys, easements, right sized streets, cut through traffic, historic rehabilitation, affordable housing, sewer sheds, water treatment, giant sequoias, trespassing. We talked about Dominion Power, the Railroad, Bagby Circus Grounds, Parks and Rec, the car jumping the railroad track, the car hitting a house. The senior silo. The young people taking care of the old folk. It was a hardy group. We had an excellent time.

Transmutation. Gold to lead.

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Photo from above the site looking south-west, Franklin Street wetlands to the left, City neighborhood to the right.

Photo from above the site looking north-west, working peoples’ homes.

Photo from above the site looking north-north-east

Photo from above the site looking down. Franklin street wetland to the left, a portion of the proposed site in the middle, Carter’s Breads to the right.

Photo from above Carter’s Breads looking south

I write regarding SP202400026, a request to grade and fill 1.5 acres of the Rivanna floodplain adjacent to the seven acre Franklin Street wetland conserved by the RWSA.
Biodiverse land adjacent to river systems, land which provides inestimable environmental services being zoned as “industrial” is an obsolete and ill-informed and destructive practice.
For decades the County’s policy has been to protect wetlands and floodplains wherever possible. Retaining and restoring land cover near streams is fundamental for biodiversity, water quality and the common good. Such conservation is a first rate example of the purpose and benefits of planning. https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title15.2/chapter22/section15.2-2223/
Typical site-specific studies and models almost always show flooding changes are projected to be minimal. However, the cumulative effects of reducing floodplains exact a price professional planning can avoid.
Just say no.

 

signage

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sign #1 west of Meade Avenue
For decades Woolen Mills neighbors have asked the City for relief from “cut through” traffic, vehicles using neighborhood streets to avoid traffic lights. The step in that direction from the city has been signage. We are a City of literati and surely, the written word should suffice. The above is the first sign on E Market warning truck drivers.
sign #2 west of Meade
The second sign strongly suggests that tractor trailers turn right…
3rd sign east of Meade
Dead end! This third sign is within the area the City designates as the Woolen Mills neighborhood.
truck at the county line
And so, vehicles proceed. Maybe they didn’t understand? Maybe they thought the warning applied to others?
damage to local infrastructure
I think the yellow signs are advisory. They are a suggestion. I don’t think the drivers get tickets for their incursions or suffer financial penalties for the items they break.
RTF sign
Recently the TJPDC voted to raise the Federal Classification of our neighborhood streets to a more intense category “minor collector”. Will that help?

Possibly employ a different advisory sign?

50 years later

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A page from the 1975 Street Tree Plan


The City of Charlottesville builds great paper castles.
Fifty years ago, in the spirit of Lady Bird Johnson, Charlottesville had a plan. Ours is a southern city. Walking in the summer can be insufferable. Let’s plant some trees! A great idea. It costs about ten dollars to plant a tree. The plan was to plant about 72 trees along Market Street between Meade Avenue and the county line. The outcome was one tree planted. Yes! Give that child a gold star.
Download the plan

Labor Day

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Join Preservation Piedmont for the second annual Labor Day Open House at the Woolen Mills Chapel on Monday, September 2, 9:30 AM -11:00 AM!
Enjoy coffee, donuts and conversation with friends and neighbors, and a chance to hear the latest on Preservation Piedmont’s work to repair and revive the chapel.
Additionally, ReLeaf will be at the Chapel Open House to provide you with information on this fall’s Woolen Mills neighborhood free tree planting program.