Category: Land use & Development
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Like It or Not, Solar Farms May Be On Their Way
by Kerry Dougherty I know it’s winter and Virginia is not looking her best. But if you have nothing else to do this weekend, may I suggest you take a drive into the rural corners of the commonwealth and soak up the bucolic scenery. Check out those cotton fields along Route 58 west toward Danville,…
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Keep Carytown Safe for Cars
by Jon Baliles The debate about making Richmond’s Carytown a car-free zone is edging closer to the forefront in recent months with strong opinions, interesting suggestions, some good ideas, and some bad ones. The Times-Dispatch Editorial Board weighed in with its opinion, and it was vocal. It’s worth the entire read and filled with stats…
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Virginia Beach Nixes Kitty Hawk Wind Cables
by Steve Haner The political leaders of the City of Virginia Beach have informed an offshore wind developer that they oppose its plan to bring power cables ashore at Sandbridge Beach. No formal vote was taken on the application, however, according to media reports. The story appeared in The Virginian-Pilot and on local television station…
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Whose Water Is It?
by Dick Hall-Sizemore There are some issues that seem to be baked into public policy and, because they affect sensitive and important areas, tend to lead to controversies periodically. Many years ago, one of the hottest controversies was the “inter-basin transfer of water.” Because Virginia is a “riparian rights” state, folks who live next to…
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A Small Victory – So Far – for Common Sense and Flood Mitigation in Virginia Beach
by James C. Sherlock Sometimes things work. Perhaps they will this time. There was a time in Virginia Beach when a partnership between a developer and a church to build new houses would have breezed through the Planning Commission and the City Council. That kind of open season on clearing and building on Virginia Beach’s…
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Deja Vu, All Over Again
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Today’s Washington Post has an article about efforts to preserve farmland in Loudoun County. That headline instantly took me back to the late 1970s and early 1980s when there was a flurry of activity regarding the need to preserve farmland and provide landowners incentives to keep their farmland from being developed. Loudoun…
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Virginia Beach’s Bad Habit: Reckless Spending on Wasteful Projects
by Kerry Dougherty Feckless leadership, wasteful spending and escalating taxes have plagued Virginia Beach for decades. Despite new faces on city council, the game of spending tax dollars on insane projects that “will pay for themselves” continues. But let’s back up. Here’s one prescient story from The Virginian-Pilot in 2007. The headline: “Virginia Beach Sportsplex…
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RVA History: Quintessential Preservationist
by Jon Baliles Historic preservation is important for many reasons, like helping us better understand our past and how to improve it for future generations. One great advocate of preserving Richmond’s history to convey stories forward was Mary Winfield Scott, who passed away in 1983, but whose legacy lives on in neighborhoods across Richmond, and…
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Mountain Valley Pipeline Back Thanks to McCarthy-Biden Debt Deal
by Shaun Kenney As part of the debt ceiling deal, the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), long thought dead, is now suddenly back in the cards. But don’t expect bulldozers back in Virginia anytime soon, as the 4th Federal Circuit Court of Appeals is not expected to grant permission to cross any streams or wetlands before…
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The Song’s Not New Just Because You Haven’t Heard It Before
by Joe Fitzgerald When I was a younger man and indulged in that lowdown southern whiskey, I would sometimes sum up the next day by saying, “I don’t remember church bells.” Astute observers will immediately recognize literary allusions to Little Feat’s “Dixie Chicken,” one of the great rock-and-roll story songs. Now, 41 years sober, I…
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Hearing Held, No Vote Taken on Beach Wind Cables
by Steve Haner One four-hour public hearing was not enough. Virginia Beach City Council wants another such debate before it votes on a wind company’s request to bring power cables ashore at Sandbridge Beach. Last week’s hearing on Kitty Hawk North’s application for an easement to bury cables apparently was not covered by any Hampton…
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What’s in a Name?
by Joe Fitzgerald I have previously written much about the Bluestone Town Center from a logistical and political standpoint, much of which can be summed up by saying the people planning and approving the project do not understand logistics or politics. The planners and approvers show an understanding of and ability to manipulate governmental processes,…
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Unaffordable Housing, Redux
by Joe Fitzgerald Proposed housing construction in the city of Harrisonburg could add about 1,200 students to the Harrisonburg City Public Schools, with housing already under construction in Rockingham County possibly adding 400 more. A quarter of the 1,600 potential students could be absorbed by the opening of Rocktown High School, leaving the city to…
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Is the Commanders Stadium Coming to Loudoun?
by Jeanine Martin The deal for Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder to sell the team to Josh Harris hasn’t even been inked and yet speculation begins again that the team may move to eastern Loudoun County. Supervisor Tony Buffington (R-Blue Ridge), is opposed to the stadium moving to Loudoun. He said today that he and…
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Troubled Times for Turtles: Habitat Loss, Poaching Threaten the Ancient Reptile in Virginia
by Bob Hurley The next time you see a turtle think of what life on Earth might have been like 220 million years ago. Turtles have been around for that long. They saw dinosaurs come and go; survived the Ice Age; and with their distinctive shells, have defended themselves against a variety of predators. And…