I’m reprinting this verbatim…
The Coalition for Hanover’s Future just received notice that there will be a work session tomorrow by the Planning Commission on the Comp Plan update. To keep you informed, here are the details:
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Hanover County Planning Commission Work Session: Comprehensive Plan Update
Tuesday, September 19, 2006, 7 p.m.
Board Room of the Hanover County Government Building
Hanover Courthouse, Hanover, Virginia
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This work session is to receive public comment on the comprehensive plan. Although the notice is short for tomorrow night please try to come and provide input on the issues important to you. We have also been told that there will be another work session on Oct. 5. We will send those details to you as soon as they are available.
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The Coalition for Hanover’s Future supports:
- sustainable population growth,
- preservation of agricultural and forest lands,
- long-range planning for green infrastructure,
- a greater variety of housing options,
- a variety of transportation methods,
- balanced economic growth,
- treating Hanover as an integral part of the greater Richmond region,
- protecting the prosperity of Ashland and other small population centers, and
protecting historic assets
Visit http://www.hanoversfuture.org/ For more information on these issues.
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The Real Estate front page story of Saturday’s Washington Post (Divided They Study) is nice vignette of how a Maryland mega-developer community was split in half by school zoning. Imagine buying a mcmansion in Twin Hickory, then being asked to send your kids to, say, Hermitage High (not there’s anything wrong with that. Egads, Buffy, what’s next? Giving up Ukrops for Food Lion or, rather, Fresh Market for Ukrops). Anyone can tell you the absolute, direct correlation between school district and home value, and this is the heart of the matter. This article reminded me of the mini-brouhaha a couple years back when rich Wyndham kids were getting “bused†to Tucker High (as opposed to their manifest destiny of Godwin).Â
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This week’s NY Times real estate section noted a number of new and, in my opinion, linked developments:
Could these developments be a precursor to a new trend? Of course, we’ve seen golf communities pop up ad nauseum. Will the concept of creating communities targetting other specific niches catch on (artistic, religious–see Ave Maria | MSNBC, political, hobbies, etc)? And is this a good thing (ie, the further balkanization of our culture)? Â
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Style Magazine reports on two new restaurant developments (Tarrant’s Drug at 1 W. Broad St and Popkin Tavern at 121 W. Broad St) in the Downtown First Walk Friday Arts District bringing yet “another option to a neighborhood that’s quickly becoming known for destination drinking and dining.â€Â It’s true…Contained within a few city blocks, you now have:
- Comfort—Perhaps, Richmond’s finest restaurant.
- Chez Foushee—Richmond’s best power lunch and caterer
- Lift—A super cozy, authentic, indie coffee shop.
- Twenty-Seven—Solid Italian restaurant from the La Grotta people
Consider VCU recently breaking ground on a massive 11 acre, $228 residential campus expansion into this district (TD: Plans for new VCU campus approved). This neighborhood is quickly going to be the “it†neighborhood in Richmond.
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Apologize for the extended quiet period…been working on my book…soon come…Â
The Wall Street Journal has a pretty funny article about new website services where consumers critique homes that are on the market (Snippy Things Folks Say About Your Home Are Now Also Online). Flame wars commence…Also, it seems ripe for mischief, especially in cases where multiple competing houses are listed in the same neighborhood. The two services (Zip Realty and Reply) aren’t really that big in Richmond. Having searched briefly, it looked like Reply had zero comments.
While we are reviewing the WSJ, there is a good article on converting your ARM to fixed that should be of interest to 30% of my home-owning readers: Refinancing From an ARM To a Fixed-Rate Home Loan