University of Virginia Library

Stuart Pape

Fighting The
Encircling Monstrosities

Progress is one of those tricky
words that plague the users of the
English language. It's like
motherhood, peace, law and order,
justice and so forth. No one is
really against it, but many people
have serious reservations that the
mere invoking of one of these God
terms automatically results in
desirable goals, and should destroy
opposition.

The SST is a good example. Its
chief proponents wore the banner
of technological progress as if it
were an impregnable shield.
Irrespective of other considerations,
they said, you have to be for
progress and by a simple
transposition for the SST.
Obviously the book indicated that
there are indeed other
considerations of a more substantial
and therefore consequential nature.

"Progress"

The City of Charlottesville,
more particularly its Planning
Commission, is faced with one of
those "progress" type decisions at
its meeting tonight. A proposal is
before it at the request of Charles
Hurt and the Virginia Land
Company to turn the property
across from Cabell Hall on
Jefferson Park Avenue into another
"Corner." The Virginia Land
Company, which owns a great deal
of land in the City and County and
has support from many of the most
individuals in this area,
proposes to build "parking, motel,
restaurant, offices, shops, and
dormitories."

In order to do this they must
obtain a change in the zoning from
a residential classification, which at
most would allow eight-story
apartments or dorms, to the B-1
classification, a general business
one. At this point, both the
Student Council and the local
residents have indicated their
opposition to the plan.

A Little History

The history of this piece of
property is interesting. According
to Werner Sensbach, Director of
University Planning, the University
did engage in the bidding for the
land along with Hurt and only
withdrew when it became evident
that Hurt valued the property
highly and would continue to bid as
long as necessary. Correspondence
between Kevin Mannix and the
President's office indicates that the
University has had no further
relationship with the land, although
its interest in the character of the
development will be such that
Jerry Gardner, an assistant to
President Shannon and Mr.
Sensbach will attend the Planning
Meeting at 7:30 this evening, as
observers.

It is unfortunate that some ten
years ago when the University was
in the land market (this is when the
Birdwood tract was purchased),
that it did not have the foresight to
grab this land also. Its location
makes it ideal for additional
classroom buildings and faculty
office space, both rapidly
disappearing commodities. The
hard facts are, though, that Hurt
owns the property, not the
University. What then can be done?

It is certainly arguable that
Hurt's proposal is a reasonable
realistic and potentially lucrative
plan. There is a need for
commercially zoned land near the
University. There are no stores
catering to the shopping desires of
the women students within real
walking distance of the school for
example and space at the Corner is
at a premium. In addition, if more
housing units are to be built there
an casing of the housing problem
may be effected, although there is
reason to believe that Hurt's
concept of dormitories differs from
the University's.

Traffic

If that is the chief argument in
favor of the proposal and few
others appear to be in the offing
then the opponents would seem to
have the best of the battle in this
case. The impact on the traffic
situation and parking will be
devastating if this plan is approved.
The volume of automobiles that
would be generated by this kind of
complex is extremely large and
beyond the current or projected
capacity of Jeff Park. Additionally,
the parking included in Hurt's plan
would be for the use of the
residents, occupants of the motels
and patrons of the shops and
restaurant not students attending
class. In effect, the number of
available parking spots in that are
would be decreased.

Granting for the moment the
validity of the argument about
commercially zoned land near the
school, the question still remains
as to whether that locale is best
designed to fulfill that need. O'Neill
Enterprises, another land
development company which is
currently building the "Towers" at
the corner of Main and Jeff Park
has purchased land behind the
"Corner" presumably to construct
a complex of shops and so forth.
This would be an expansion of the
existing facilities at the "Corner"
and more in line with a concept of
orderly, planned development.

Out of Character

The Hurt proposal is
conspicuously out of character with
that portion of the City. It faces
directly on the University to one
side and to residential areas on the
other. The request for a rezoning
indicates that it is a departure from
the previous intended use

Planning is no easy task, either
on a City or University level. There
are so many intricacies that the
complexity of the problem may
pass beyond the comprehension of
the human mind. The failure to
plan rationally is evident all over
America; Charlottesville being no
exception. "Neon Row" on Route
29 North is a monument to rapid
growth and negligible planning.

Those opposed to the Hurt plan
generally do not deny that
expansion is a reality and future
development of presently unused
land a nuisance the
opponents do contend is that
unbridled development by business
interests must be checked by those
with a stake and valid interest in
the area. The University
community the local residents, and
the entire Charlottesville
community qualify as interested
parties.

Your Opportunity

The opportunity presents itself
tomorrow evening at City Hall at
7:30 for the people to speak up,
hopefully to offer rational
alternatives to what is presently a
damaging and disastrous plan, it
behooves the University and
members of the community-faculty
and students particularly, to do
more than sit idly by while they
become surrounded by commercial
monstrosities.