Council says no Western Bypass

The Charlottesville City Council voted Monday night to oppose the Western Bypass of U.S. 29, with some members strongly criticizing the manner in which Albemarle County has revived the project.

“Even if I thought this was a good idea, I certainly feel like it’s being rammed down our region’s throat in a strange way,” said Councilor Kristin Szakos.

Councilors expressed concern that the $250 million-$300 million project would draw funds away from other local priorities, including Hillsdale Drive Extended and the replacement of the Belmont Bridge.

Councilors voted 4-0 to oppose the bypass if it comes up for a vote at the Charlottesville-Albemarle Metropolitan Planning Organization, but expressed a desire to listen to public input before coming to a final conclusion. Councilor Satyendra Huja abstained, saying he’ll wait for more public input.

“If Albemarle County is not going to be good stewards of tax dollars, even its just a symbolic gesture on our part, we need to stand up for fiscal common sense,” said Mayor Dave Norris.

The vote sets up another city-county showdown over a large-scale regional project.

In the MPO voting process, the county and the city each get two votes, and a state appointee gets one vote.

The MPO plans to hold public hearings on the bypass on July 14 and July 27, with a vote to take place after the process.

The controversial Western Bypass transportation project – a 6.1 mile road intended to ease congestion on U.S. 29 north of Charlottesville – was first hatched more than 20 years ago, but it has lingered on the backburner due to a lack of funding and political support.

The plan was revived earlier this month when the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors voted 4-2 to direct the Charlottesville-Albemarle Metropolitan Planning Organization to allow the state to allocate money for the road’s construction.

The unannounced, late-night vote occurred at the end of the board’s June 8 meeting, when Supervisor Lindsay G. Dorrier Jr. changed his vote after he said he received assurances from state officials that the bypass would be fully funded.

County resident Martha Wilhelm on Monday commended the council for having a public discussion of the topic, which she said some members of the Board of Supervisors were too “cowardly” to do.

“There are politicians in Richmond who are now attempting to force this project on our area by subverting the political process with backroom deals and midnight subterfuge,” Wilhelm said.

In other action, the council approved rate increases for water and sewer utilities. For July consumption, water rates will increase .028 percent and sewer rates will increase 5.08 percent. The new rates will show up on August bills.

On Monday afternoon, Norris held an event in front of City Hall to applaud an anti-war resolution passed by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Norris said he was one of the first mayors across the country to sign on to the resolution, which was drafted by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

“Today, for the first time since the Vietnam War, the United States Conference of Mayors, representing the 1,200 American cities with populations of 30,000 or more, overwhelmingly endorsed a resolution calling for the president and Congress to bring a speedy end to military entanglements in Afghanistan and Iraq so we may shift those resources to addressing the critical challenges we face here at home — including reducing our national debt,” Norris said in emailed remarks.

Though local politicians don’t hold great sway over the nation’s foreign policy, Norris defended the action.

“Now, some might argue that it’s not appropriate for local elected officials to take a stand on a national issue like this. But the fact is, it is our constituents who are being sent off to fight and die in these wars. It is our citizens who are being asked to fund these wars with their tax dollars. And it is our communities that struggle when huge sums of money are being diverted from local priorities to military adventurism and ‘nation-building’ activities abroad,” Norris said.