Our concerns about UVA interfering with the city’s efforts to address its affordable housing crisis continue to escalate. Now a member of the Board of Visitors is suggesting the city’s efforts are in opposition to UVA & spreading inaccurate information.🧵
dailyprogress.com/news/local/gov…

First, Board member John Nau said “The amount of construction going on is amazing.” It’s not clear what he’s referencing, but the largest projects going on are by far are UVA developments. There is minimal non-UVA development in the city right now and the county isn’t far ahead.

Second, Nau appeared to indicate that allowing more people to live in Charlottesville will create more traffic and negatively impact the view shed. While it’s again unclear what exactly he’s referring to, student centered developments will generate minimal traffic impacts.

Furthermore, if people are not allowed to live close to school, their jobs, and amenities, they will be forced to live in outlying areas. This will generate more car miles traveled and greater car dependency. This is a basic level of understanding that UVA leadership should have.

Third, Nau does not appear to appreciate that Charlottesville’s new zoning code is an historic effort to address housing inequity and dysfunction in the city that has continually had broad community support. livablecville.org/zoning-coaliti…

Fourth, it’s concerning that apparently Nau was being fed this perspective by UVA staff, naming Collette Sheehy, Senior Vice President for Operations and State Government Relations and co-signer of UVA’s letter opposing 2117 Ivy, as one of his sources of information.