The owners of the Amtrak gravel parking lot, whose surface is rampant with dips and grooves, submitted another round of plans that add more “green” features but that effectively pushed back the date at which it can be paved.
City officials said the property owners submitted new plans for the lot — after other final plans had already been OK’d — that make it more environmentally friendly.
“We said, that’s your right to do,” said Jim Tolbert, director of Charlottesville’s Department of Neighborhood Development Services. Noting that the changes included more landscaping and a few rain gardens, Tolbert said, “They’re good changes. We were happy to see them, but we also want to see the lot paved.”
The rutted lot has been the subject of complaints from residents, West Main Street business owners and supporters of Charlottesville’s new Amtrak passenger rail service. City government officials also have expressed their desire to have the lot paved over as soon as possible.
The West Main property that also includes the Amtrak train station and Wild Wings Café building is owned by local developers Gabe Silverman and Allan Cadgene.
In January, the city signed off on final plans and indicated that, based on talks with the owners, the lot seemed to be headed for a smoother fate when the weather warmed. But then new plans were given, the final version of which had not been submitted and signed as of last week, meaning the lot’s status has gone back to not yet being qualified for paving.
The city government only has the preliminary version of the plan.
Asked if whether submitting new plans was viewed as a delay tactic, Tolbert said, “I don’t know what they’re doing.”
Even after the new final plans are approved, under state law the owners will have up to five years to make the changes before they would have to bring plans back to the city, city spokesman Ric Barrick said. The city cannot legally force the lot’s owners to pave over the property — rather, if they did, they would have to follow the city-approved plans.
Albemarle County resident Ann Harrod said that she chooses not to park in the lot because, “I don’t want my car parked in such a dusty mess.” Harrod added that the first major winter storm Charlottesville saw in December actually helped the lot’s condition.
“It actually filled up all those chug holes,” she said. “The parking lot was as smooth and clean as it had ever been.”
Silverman did not return a message for comment last week and J. Page Williams, the lawyer who has discussed the Amtrak lot’s paving with the city, said he would not comment on the situation.
City Attorney Craig Brown said he spoke with Williams about three weeks ago, and at that time, Williams said they had gotten bids for the paving and were negotiating with one of the bidders.
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