2005-11-21 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

476 He said his role is to carry Council's agenda whatever that might be. He asked that Mr. Schilling strike the comment from his remarks. Mr. Schilling said he does not disagree with Mr. Toscano. He said that he had a discussion with Mr. Toscano following the election and Mr. Toscano congratulated him on the results of the referendum. Following that comment Mr. Toscano said if there was any legislation that Council wanted to put forward he would be happy to carry it. He said that since the comment came immediately after being congratulated and he had no other legislative agenda, that is how he took the comment. He said he is happy that Mr. Toscano made the clarification. Mr. Toscano asked that the comments be specifically deleted from Mr. Schilling's comments since they are going to be sent to the Justice Department. He said it is one thing to make a comment, but it is another thing for those comments to be taken as truth. He said that is very important to him. Mr. Schilling said he is happy to strike the comments, and thanked Mr. Toscano for the clarification. Council agreed to send the verbatim transcript of the portion of the meeting dealing with the legislation requesting a Charter amendment regarding School Board elections as an amendment to the application to the Justice Department by the following vote. Ayes: Dr. Brown, Mr. Caravati, Ms. Hamilton, Mr. Lynch, Mr. Schilling. Noes: None. PUBLIC HEARING/RESOLUTION: CHARTER AMENDMENT RE: AUTHORITY FOR PROGRAMS TO PROMOTE AFFORDABLE HOUSING Mr. Brown said that this Charter Amendment request was included in Council's legislative package and Council is required to hold a public hearing on it prior to submitting the request to the General Assembly. Mr. Brown said that the legislation is similar to one used by the City of Alexandria which uses a grant program that acts as a credit against real property tax for low and moderate income persons. The public hearing was opened. Mr. Dave Norris, 1409 Early Street, said that ten years ago Charlottesville was facing a different situation, with fears about a weakening tax base and loss of the middle and upper class. He said the down side now is that the working class and working poor have been left behind. He said he is pleased Council is taking steps to play catch up, but is disturbed that the proposal only applies to deserving home owners and home buyers. He said renters should be included. He said the shortage of affordable rental housing in Charlottesville is a crisis. He said Council should think bolder and bigger about housing needs. Ms. Tatiana Patton, 2209 Jefferson Park Avenue, asked Council to look at other options. She said she is a renter and cannot afford to buy a house on her salary. She asked Council to think broader. Mr. Peter Loach, representing Piedmont Housing Alliance, expressed support for moving in this direction. He said it is important to get more flexibility. He said home ownership leads to stabilization of neighborhoods. He said the need for down payment assistance is great. He said Piedmont Housing Alliance stands ready to help implement the new program. Mr. Blair Hawkins, 614 Rockcreek Road, said there is no such thing as a new house that is affordable. He said affordable houses need expensive repairs. He said there are incentives now for building affordable housing and Council should not be able to further regulate developers. Mr. Hawkins asked that Delegate-Elect David Toscano vote against this legislation. Ms. Joy Johnson, 823-B Hardy Drive, asked who would benefit from the charter amendment, and which developers are going to benefit. She asked who is speaking for