Last night’s candidate forum was packed wall to wall and once again the residents of Crozet responded to the call for civic responsibility. Despite a not so perfect sound system, I believe most were able to hear the responses from the candidates. The moderator and those presenting questions did a very good job with a wide variety of questions covering multiple topics. To be sure my interest was hearing from the candidates for White Hall Supervisor. At this point I must admit to some bias, as I believe Brad Rykal is the candidate who I will support for the position. I believe the fact Ann Mallek voted for the most recent Master Plan Update was a disservice to Crozet, which in the long run, if not corrected, will be to the detriment of Crozet. It’s not just the fact Ms. Mallek voted for a plan which includes a change to the zoning map for Crozet which will drive more growth in Crozet then recommended in the original Master Plan, but sets a bad precedent for allowing staff to make zoning changes without the benefit of public hearings or votes by the Planning Commission or Board of Supervisors. Ms. Mallek was clearly informed how the residents of Crozet felt by the feedback from CCAC members. The fact, this new higher density zoning is nothing more then the county trying to make up for their failure to monitor and provide the 15 percent affordable housing proffer, which should have been closely monitored by Ms. Mallek. One other big difference between Ms. Mallek and Mr. Rykal, is the fact I believe Mr. Rykal, who lives in Crozet will be more responsive to the issues in Crozet, since he will be directly impacted by any changes. More importantly, he will react sooner to issues and head off any problems before they get to the board where votes by other supervisors may very well cause grievous harm to Crozet as was the case with the last master plan vote.
For those of you new to Crozet or those interested in what really happened during the discussion at the CCAC Master Plan meeting on land use I direct you to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCUKw8b4Mb0 9/23/2020. It is especially interesting to hear the response of Mike Marshall, Crozet Gazette editor, and his presentation of the history and facts surrounding growth in Crozet as well as input from multiple other members. After viewing the presentation, you tell me you would have voted for the changes.