There comes a time in every community when we need united group action. Too many times we complain about things that our federal, state, and local governments have done to our way of living after the fact. But in the case of the proposed 160 unit Breezy Hill development that will increase the commuting traffic on Rt. 250 by 6-8%, we have a chance to influence the result..

We have a very strong Master Plan that was unanimously approved by the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors in 2010. The 2015 update was again unanimously approved. Why is it strong? Chapter 5, Implementation, page 43 of this document states “it is essential that all of the 250 improvements be constructed before new development occurs in the Village.” Then further in this chapter, there are two pages devoted to the implementation strategy for Rt. 250.

There may be some confusion among the newer residents about the Village of Rivanna. It is one of 8 development areas in the county where building activity is subject to zoning laws. The Village of Rivanna is bounded on the north by Route 250, on the west by an unnamed stream at Camp Branch (east of Shadwell Estates), on the south by the Rivanna River, and on the east by the center of Running Deer Drive. The development areas fall under the purview of the Albemarle County Sewerage Authority.  The Breezy Hill area is off the south side of Route 250 approximately one mile east of the auto repair building.

Route 250 has been designated as a road that has been operating beyond capacity during morning and afternoon peak hours since 2005. An East Albemarle Sub Area traffic study published in 2008 confirmed this, but the County went ahead and approved the development of Rivanna Village in spite of the many community pleas to wait until a Master Plan was developed. And since that time we have seen Glenmore expand 50%.

Most of us have experienced the frequent horrendous traffic jams at Shadwell going up to the I-64 interchange. I have seen tie-ups back to Black Cat Road when an I-64 accident occurred.  We were convincing to the Planning Commission who voted unanimously to turn down the Breezy Hill application. Now the Board of Supervisors will conduct a Zoom hearing to hear the applicants for a final time on September 2 at 6 PM

A group of us have been fighting the fight for the Master Plan for many years. Now I am pleading with all of you to step up and let the County Supervisors hear your voice.

  • You can send a message to the Board by emailing them at BOS@albemarle.org. You do not have to get into the weeds; speak from the heart and let them know your experiences with the traffic situation.

  • If you check on NextDoorNeighbor on Wednesday or Thursday, Lynda White  will include a link on a post that she will put on this site. This will give you a direct link to the Zoom meeting. She will also include a phone number of the County Clerk to call in order to speak. We need at least 30 people to speak at the meeting for around two minutes each to tell the County about the traffic situation. Your name will be called when it is your turn to speak.

  • Your can also go to albemarle.org on Thursday and hit “Government” at the top. Then look at the left side of the screen, and under “Board of Supervisors” hit “Participation Guide for Public Meetings”. On the list of Frequently Asked Questions you can choose the question that starts with “I am joining via Zoom online… all of the questions on this page contain useful information.

One more request…..if you sign up to speak, please email me at dennis2037@comcast.net with your name and the message “signed up”
Thank you.
Dennis Odinov