Public Participation and Community Input
Community participation in the process of preparing a plan for th Belmont Neighborhood has involved a three-level process. The first level of the process has involved a series of working meetings with the Belmont Neighborhood Task Force. The second level of participation has been through a series of one-on-one interviews with neighborhood residents, business people and City officials. The third level of input has come through two open public forums with the Belmont Community.
The following are some of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats and key issues that were presented by members of the Belmont community.
Strengths:
- Diversity—people, housing
- Community spirit—”porch neighborhood”
- Parks—Rives, Belmont, Quarry, Jordon
- Convenient to downtown and rest of Charlottesville
- Breathtakingly beautiful
- Interest in children
- Working community
- Number of churches
- Number of single family homes
- Good convenience stores
- Historical heritage—railway focus, Belmont Mansion
- Undeveloped land “stock”
- Affordable housing
- Neighborhood school with many innovative and unique programs, quality teachers
- Density of community
- Accessible transportation
Weaknesses:
- Tolerance for crime by police
- Gangs—drug traffic
- “Closeness” of houses
- Poor image of Belmont
- Passivity—lack of sense of ownership
- Livestock market
- Not a good food store, drug store, dry cleaner, or restaurant
- Lack of good connection to downtown
- Increased traffic—Avon/Monticello
- Convenience stores “hang outs”
- Lack of facilities for kids and adults
- Drainage
- Lack of enough quality sidewalks
- Street lights
- Entrance off I-64 thru traffic
- Large trucks thru neighborhood
- Code Issue—Keeping Properties up
- On street parking
Opportunites:
- Community and recreation facilities
- Greenbelt expansion along Moore’s Creek
- CSX property
- Economic development “vacant land”
- Traffic management
- Affordable housing
- Small business
- Improve entrance from downtown
- Cleanliness—trash removal—street cleaning
- Community center
- Renovation Opportunities
- Historic Presentation – Build off Historic Nature of Neighborhoods
- Ability to live and work in neighborhood
- Bicycle routes
- Connection to Greenbelt
- Auxiliary Citizen Police Force
Threats:
- Too much rental property
- Additional traffic and parking
- Infill housing not compatible
- Apartments and towns
- Incompatible character of new housing
- Students
- Zoning too broad
- Development of urban ring—county
- Avon Street extended
- Crime—drug/violence
- Real estate speculation
Key Issues:
- Safety
- Traffic flow thru
- Community education
- Encouraging “ownership” of community
- Zoning controls
- More vibrant community
- Facility for children and family activities
- Belmont too big to be one neighborhood
- Need to respond to changing socio-economic groups
- Absentee landlords
- Need for better policing