iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

"Michael Monaco" @mmonaco.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

"is Albemarle High School located in the development area," the greatest thread in the history of albemarle county, locked by a moderator after 12239 pages of heated debate,

a map of the Places29 south development area boundary, showing a big bubble enclosing Albemarle High School

totally insane screenshot of the places29 south development area boundary, showing a hard red line at the top of the image, leaving the high school in the rural area

screenshot from albemarle GIS showing Albemarle High school as "comp plan area: Rural Area 1"

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"Michael Monaco" @mmonaco.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

IDK about Cory Farms but the June 14, 2006 hearing for Liberty Hall (almost exactly 20 years ago!) has some real gems

Mr. Tony Vasinonti addressed the Board, stating he was dismayed to find this developer is going
to be dropping a section right behind his house. He said he owns the house right next to the new homes
proposed next to his fence line, stating that there is a nice line of trees there. He said the connector road
planned goes right across his property and two other people’s property. He does not see how a road
could be put in there, and he sees a lot of patchwork proposals. He thinks that putting two traffic lights
close together on Route 250 would cause the type of traffic congestion the County is trying to avoid, and
his house is down to where the other houses are going to be built – causing drainage and silt problems.
He is going to have another neighborhood dropped right behind him, and there are no other developments
like that in the area. He just does not see how the Board could rezone this property the way they would
like it done. It just does not look workable to him. It’s not in character with anything in the area.

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"Michael Monaco" @mmonaco.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

I wish NBC29 would link the source here, esp. because there's even more to this: the 29 article is about the City, but if you expand it to the Cville metro area, we're down 6.5% year-over-year! it's a little hard to see on this map but we're unusual! www.apartmentlist.com/research/nat...

line graph showing year-over-year rent growth for the Charlottesville metro area, from Apartment List data; latest August-to-August year over year change was negative six point five percent!

year over year rent change choropleth map of the united states. a little hard to see in detail, but charlottesville is a dot of dark blue, where darker blue indicates a drop in rent. other metro areas are colored pink and red, where darker red indicates an increase in rent. Virginia beach is very red.

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"Michael Monaco" @mmonaco.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

I went back to read the BOS minutes from when my neighborhood was approved. I would ask that the board today take the same approach as the board 20 years ago: acknowledge there may be hurdles to figure out during site planning, but approve the rezoning & leave the engineering to the engineers.

Mr. Rooker said that he thinks it is a good plan that provides an alternative form of housing that has worked elsewhere. He added that the stormwater issues could be worked out at the site plan level, and encouraged staff to work with the applicant on some of the alternative means that have been worked on elsewhere even though the proffers can’t be changed at this point. Mr. Rooker encouraged the applicant to continue working with staff to do more than the minimum. Ms. Thomas stated that in her district she had something not exactly called co-housing, that fell apart, and she is leery of what is being set up, especially so close to Beaver Creek. She emphasized that while the applicant has agreed to work out the stormwater measures, there is no guarantee of that. Mr. Rooker responded that stormwater is usually worked out at the site plan level. Ms. Thomas stated it is in a delicate location for this density. Mr. Boyd commented that he is on the fence about this, citing his concerns about the stormwater management and stating that the Board would direct staff to work with the applicant on it. Mr. W yant said that he is not against co-housing, as it provides variety, but he believes the difficulty will be coming up with a road maintenance agreement, given the need for easements. He emphasized that the applicant has some major hurdles to overcome in the site plan approval. Motion was then offered by Mr. W yant, to approve ZMA-2007-012, as proffered dated November 14, 2007 and application plan dated October 19, 2007 which reflects waiver of building separation requirements of Section 19.8. Mr. Slutzky seconded the motion. Roll was called, and the motion carried by the following recorded vote: AYES: Mr. W yant, Mr. Boyd, Mr. Dorrier, Mr. Rooker, and Mr. Slutzky. NAYS: Ms. Thomas.

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"Michael Monaco" @mmonaco.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

because i was facilitating the meeting i did not livetweet our update on AC44 implementation, but it was an interesting one. the county shared an infographic w/the % completion of various master plans. it's not particularly inspiring - crozet sitting at 0%, with places29 at 37% after fifteen years.

crozet master plan status update - in progress. the bar chart sucks and is hard to read, but the crozet master plan has 0 complete projects, 47% are in progress and 51% are not started.

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"Michael Monaco" @mmonaco.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Presents on the bike lanes - five foot lanes on the road portion, seven foot wide lanes on the bridge due to some curb/gutter factors. The road design matches the existing Eastern Ave right now. Scheduling as follows - RFPs due October 14, if I'm hearing correctly. Total cost for eastern ave: $27.3m

Photo of schedule - public hearing today, rfp october, construction completion sept 2030

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"Michael Monaco" @mmonaco.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

well well well look what finally made it to the Albemarle Board of Supervisors agenda for 8/5: a housing advisory committee. just a draft for review right now, but it actually exists!

Resolution R-XX-26
August 5, 2026
Charter
The Committee established by Resolution [Enter number] shall be known as the “Albemarle County
Housing Advisory Committee” (ACHAC), hereafter referred to as the “Committee.”
Purpose. The purpose of the Committee shall be to serve in an advisory capacity to the Board of
Supervisors and County staff regarding housing-related issues in the County. The committee may work
with County staff to provide recommendations to the Board of Supervisors to address issues related to
housing affordability and housing policy implementation.

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"Michael Monaco" @mmonaco.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

spot the difference, Housing Albemarle edition

Strategy 3d: Develop mechanisms (such as deed restrictions) to ensure affordable
for-sale units developed with county incentives and other types of county support
remain affordable for a minimum of 40 years with the long-term goal of creating a
stock of permanently affordable for-sale housing units.
Strategy 3e: Develop mechanisms (such as deed restrictions) to ensure affordable
for-sale units developed with county incentives and other types of county support
remain affordable for a minimum of 40 years with the long-term goal of creating a
stock of permanently affordable for-sale housing units (*implementation of this
strategy will follow approval of a package of developer incentives for affordable
housing).

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"Michael Monaco" @mmonaco.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

damn that's crazy i can't believe it

bluesky search of warren.senate.gov's posts for the word "prarieland." no results are found

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"Michael Monaco" @mmonaco.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

one of the many reasons A Feast for Crows is my favorite ASOIAF book is the treatment of the death of Tywin Lannister.

A Feast for Crows - Jaime I
Dawn caught Jaime almost unawares. As the glass in the dome began to lighten, suddenly there were rainbows shimmering off the walls and floors and pillars, bathing Lord Tywin's corpse in a haze of many-colored light. The King's Hand was rotting visibly. His face had taken on a greenish tinge, and his eyes were deeply sunken, two black pits. Fissures had opened in his cheeks, and a foul white fluid was seeping through the joints of his splendid gold-and-crimson armor to pool beneath his body.
The septons were the first to see, when they returned for their dawn devotions. They sang their songs and prayed their prayers and wrinkled up their noses, and one of the Most Devout grew so faint he had to be helped from the sept. Shortly after, a flock of novices came swinging censers, and the air grew so thick with incense that the bier seemed cloaked in smoke. All the rainbows vanished in that perfumed mist, yet the stench persisted, a sweet rotten smell that made Jaime want to gag.

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"Michael Monaco" @mmonaco.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

Well well well, Eastern Avenue rears its head once more. That which is not dead can eternal lie, and with strange aeons even death may die.

ALBEMARLE COUNTY DESIGN PUBLIC HEARING EASTERN AVENUE EXTENSION
TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2026 | 5:30 PM TO 7:30 PM
The County of Albemarle will conduct a design public hearing to provide information and receive public comments related to a new section of Eastern Avenue including a bridge over Lickinghole Creek.
Eastern Avenue is an existing road extending from Park Ridge Drive toward Westhall Drive in Crozet. Eastern Avenue provides access to residential properties including Westlake at Foothill Crossing. As additional residential developments are expected to continue North of Lickinghole Creek, an extension of Eastern Avenue is needed to improve connectivity to the Crozet development area and Route 250 (Rockfish Gap Tpke).
The Design Public Hearing will take place on Tues, Aug11, 2026, from 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM at the conference room in the Meadows Community Center at 5735 Meadows Drive, Crozet, VA 22932. A brief presentation will be followed by an opportunity to review the preliminary engineering design plans, the schedule and right-of-way acquisition info
The public may preview the design plans at the Department of Facilities & Environmental Services office, 401 McIntire Road, Room 420, Charlot- tesville, VA 22902, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM, Monday-Friday. Please contact Senior Project Manager, Steve Hoff- mann at 434 995-9479 or shoff- mann@albemarle.org to coordinate viewing the preliminary plans or an- swer questions you may have.
The public may submit written comments about the design plans at the meeting, by mail, or e-mail. Those desiring to comment on the projects, but who will be unable to attend the meeting, should submit their written comments to Mr. Steve Hoffmann, by e-mail to shoffmann@albemarle.org by Tues Aug 10, 2026.
The County of Albemarle ensures nondiscrimination in all programs and activities in accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Action of 1964. For more information or special assistance call 434872-4501.
State Project# 9999-002-R21 (UPC# 121389)

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"Michael Monaco" @mmonaco.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

man if i had the time i would love to run Red Hand of Doom again. truly one of the greatest adventure modules ever. i learned so much about DMing by just reading this over and over, let alone by running it.

the cover of the D&D adventure Red Hand of Doom - an adventure for characters of levels 6-12. the cover features a group of fantasy heroes hopelessly outnumbered by hobgoblins, bugbears, and dragons. the book is by richard baker and james jacobs.

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"Michael Monaco" @mmonaco.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

[extremely smart guy voice] perhaps the secret to Stopping Crime is Sad Police,

table of part 1 crimes from the ACPD 2025 annual report (their most recent report. total crimes against people were down 23% year over year, total property crimes down 13% year over year.

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"Michael Monaco" @mmonaco.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

also very much felt like a continuation of both "The Voucher Promise" by Eva Rosen and "Sunbelt Blues" by Andrew Ross, both of which i would also recommend to anyone looking to understand the fragility of housing in america.

a hand holding a paperback book titled "The voucher Promise - Section 8 and the fate of an american neighborhood" by eva rosen.

a hand holding a book titled "Sunbelt Blues: The Failure of American Housing" by Andrew Ross

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"Michael Monaco" @mmonaco.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

this book is extremely powerful; I also really loved the way the author wrote about solutions at the end - we gotta build housing, for sure, but also we need a complete shift in how government builds/invests in housing.

Preventing families from becoming homeless is an urgent task. Getting them into housing they don't yet have is just as critical. A range of practical interventions would ease their burden: Banning extortionate application fees, capping security deposits, outlawing biased tenant screening practices, prohibiting discrimination against voucher holders (and enforcing those rules) - these are but a few ideas. Expanding HUD's definition of homeless is another. But the biggest challenge by far is the housing itself: there's not enough of it, certainly not the kind that's affordable for millions of low-income renters. Restrictive land use policies have contributed to this mess. With an estimated 75 percent of land in the nation's major cities zoned exclusively for single-family homes, it's no surprise that the supply of housing has failed to keep pace with demand.
Yet simply deregulating private development is insufficient, because the market, on its own, will never be incentivized to build and maintain truly affordable housing for those in need of it. Recognizing this fact,

there is a growing consensus that, as in other times of national emergency, all levels of government - federal, state, and local - must intervene directly.
These interventions can take many forms, but the most promising is a model known as "social housing." Commonly described as a public option for housing, this model takes housing permanently off the private market, beyond the reach of speculators and profiteers; it can be owned and operated by nonprofits or municipal governments, or, as with limited-equity cooperatives or land trusts, residents can own a stake in their homes at subsidized rates. In recent years, Finland has made international headlines for virtually ending homelessness. Their secret? Building tens of thousands of social housing units on government-owned land, ensuring that even the most economically marginalized have access to safe, affordable homes. But it's in Vienna, where a whopping two-thirds of city residents live in high-quality, publicly owned apartments and spend about 22 percent of their post-tax income on rent and utilities, that social housing has particularly thrived.
"If people don't have to struggle all day long to survive," a Vienna resident who has livd in the city's social housing for several decades told journalist Francesca Mari, "you can use your energy for much more important things." Imagine if America's public housing - those "bright cheerful buildings" that first arose in downtown Atlanta a century ago and then spread to the rest of the nation - hadn't been set up to fail. imagine if public housing hadn't been drastically underfunded and fallen into decreptitude; if it hadn't been treated as an option of last resort, concentrating poverty and becoming stigmatized as a result. What if, today, public housing were appealing enough that people across income levels would want to live there, not only because of the quality of the apartments but because rents would never exceed a quarter of their earnings? That's social housing,

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"Michael Monaco" @mmonaco.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

Finally getting around to There Is No Place For Us. Really really good + challenging book.

A hardcover copy of "there is no place for us: working and homeless in america" by brian goldstone

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"Michael Monaco" @mmonaco.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

FRED data has updated with 2025 numbers for new residences by building permit, and that means we can now point at the numbers for housing price index, population, and new homes and go "HUH, seems bad"

Housing Price Index, New Residences by Building Permit, and Resident Population, Albemarle County (Index, 2016=0)
housing price index shoots up as new private housing structures jaggedly falls. population growth is increasing moderately.

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"Michael Monaco" @mmonaco.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

As far as I can tell, that extra $$ is purely because of larger median lot sizes*, not because of larger square footage. The difference in minimum lot size and price between R4 and R6 zoning in Albemarle County changes who is able to afford and more likely to purchase those homes.

median fin sq ft, homes built between 2016 and 2025
R4 residential: median 2,262
R6 residential: median 2,112

bubble charts
Median lot size homes built between 2016 and 2025
R4 residential: median 5,885
R6 residential: median 3,202

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"Michael Monaco" @mmonaco.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

Not to harp on this specific comment over and over, but, aside from R3 zoning not existing: here's the median total assessed value in the county GIS for homes in each zoning category built in the last 10 years. going down to R4 adds $125k to the total value.

bubble chart of median total assessed value, homes built between 2016 and 2025. relevant to this post: R4 residential median value is $725,800; R6 residential median value is $500,450

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"Michael Monaco" @mmonaco.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

I'm sorry - R3 zoning? R3? Albemarle County doesn't have an R3 zoning designation.

partial screenshot of Albemarle County Code showing a handful of zoning codes:
Section 13 - residential - r1
section 14 - residential - r2
section 15 - residential - r4
section 16 - residential - r6
section 17 - residential - r10
section 18 - residential - r15
section 19 - planned residential development - PRD
section 20 - planned unit development - PUD

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"Michael Monaco" @mmonaco.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

If this has stirred in you a passion to advocate for this project, and you have the time, take a look back through the minutes from that Chestnut Grove meeting (page 87+) to see why people want these homes in the county. albemarle.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=...

Mr. William Frasier, Jr. said that he was a 73-year-old resident of Albemarle County, born and
raised here. He said that he currently lived on Social Security. He said that about a year ago, he was
living in a motor home in Carlton Trailer Court, but his home caught on fire. He said that he could not get
a new home there because they were selling the property, so he had nowhere to put a home.
Mr. Frasier said that as a result, 51 more families will have to find a new place to live within the
next three years. He said that for the past year, he had been living at different locations, including with his
nieces on Chestnut Grove Road, Porter's Road, and President Road, and currently, he was staying in the
basement of his sister's home on 250 Boyd’s Tavern. He said that despite being in this area his whole life,
he was facing a difficult situation.
Mr. Frasier urged the Board to take the time to vote for this matter, as he feared he would not
have a home. He said that Social Security was not a guarantee, and he had struggled to find affordable
housing. He said that the cheapest apartment he could find was $1,800 a month, and even a lower
payment option was unaffordable. He said that he was simply trying to survive.
Mr. Frasier said that if he were to get a trailer, he might be able to move in. He said that when he
purchased his trailer, he paid $16,000 for it, and after paying it off in four years, his monthly rent was
$350. He said that with his Social Security, he would be able to make ends meet. He said that he was
here to ask for the Board’s vote in support of the application.

Mr. Ronald Morris said that he was in full support of the Chestnut Grove Park. He said that as a
resident of Greene County, he had a personal connection to the issue. He said that growing up, he lived
in a mobile home park his entire life. He said that his father worked hard to save money. He said that his
father purchased his first trailer on Harris Street when he was just four years old, and they lived there until
he was 16. He said that during that time, his father paid off the trailer and saved enough money to buy a
piece of land.
Mr. Morris said that he then moved their mobile home to that land, and today, he still resided in
that home. He said that he was content with his decision, and he believed it was a crucial factor in their
family's stability. He said that if it were not for the mobile home park, he was not sure what their family
would have done. He said that they started out in poverty, but they had a roof over their head. He said
that he was 100% in support of the park, and if it was approved, he may even consider moving there
himself.

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"Michael Monaco" @mmonaco.bsky.social · 26/04/2026

now i'm not a conspiracy theorist or anything, but 1-800-COME-ON-NOW

reporting from Maggie Haberman, white house reporter for the new yorks times: Trump said this was “not a particularly secure building.” He then said that the episode underscored why the White House needed beefed up security, and its own ballroom.

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"Michael Monaco" @mmonaco.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

Crozet & Albemarle neighbors: next Thursday, Livable meetup at Bar Botanical in Crozet! Hoping for a beautiful rooftop evening. Come chat about biking, walking, land use, or *literally anything else* with friendly, cool people.

Livable Cville Crozet Meetup! Thursday April 23 5-7 pm. Bar Botanical 2025 Library Ave Crozet All are welcome!

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"Michael Monaco" @mmonaco.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

"The Kingslayer" by Michael Komarck

jaime lannister stands bathed in golden light, white cloak billowing, his sword reddened, staring down at the body of the wicked dotard who nearly plunged hundreds of thousands of innocents into hellfire.

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"Michael Monaco" @mmonaco.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

notably, a Habitat application for $1.45m and a Woda Cooper application for $900k, despite scoring above the funding threshold, were *not* approved for funding, b/c there wasn't enough in the AHIF to fund both projects.

Supervisors were expected to vote on the recommended projects on March 4 but had questions about the scoring process. Staff went back and altered their criteria after confirming there was a math error that had been pointed out by Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville. That group had sought $1.45 million for a homeownership project at Southwood Village, but did not initially score high enough to be eligible.

Once the new calculations were made, the Habitat homeownership project cleared a scoring threshold of 75 percent and was eligible for funding, but four other projects scored higher.

Another project not funded was one from the group Woda Cooper, which filed a rezoning for 92 affordable units on U.S. 29 close to Vista 29. It had asked for $900,000 to help with financing.

Supervisor Michael Pruitt said the only reason the Woda Cooper and Habitat homeownership programs were not being funded was a lack of funds. Later in the meeting, he tried to convince his colleagues to support a 1-cent increase on the real estate tax rate to add more funding for housing, but failed to get a majority.

Supervisor Sally Duncan supported both tax rate increases.

“I’m happy to see that more money was put towards this, but we clearly need a lot more housing and a lot more money for it,” said Duncan.

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"Michael Monaco" @mmonaco.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

Last up: affordable housing. These are the asks for all six county supervisors.

What's our ask?
We are asking Albemarle county supervisors to commit to
Work with us to improve the housing fund's guidelines
Work to ensure at least $10m is allocated to the housing fund in fy27
Directing county staff to publicly present a plan for long-range, reoccurring funding for the housing fund by the start of budget planning for fy28

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"Michael Monaco" @mmonaco.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

Next issue is community safety and gun violence. These asks will be presented to Joe Platania and Michael Kochis.

What's our ask?
We are asking our local officials to commit to:
Engage with the national network for safe communities to conduct the problem analysis as the first step towards the implementation of GVI in cville
Meet with IMPACT by the end of august 2026 to discuss next steps

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"Michael Monaco" @mmonaco.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

First issue up is transportation in the City - specifically bus transit. Here's the ask that will be presented to Wade and Oschrin.

What's our ask?
We are asking city councilors to support the following:
Support current budget proposal for fy27, adding 10 cat drivers
Supporting resolution from councilor Payne re: implementing transit plan
Asking city staff to publicly present options to accel timeline of transit plan no later than 2026 calendar year

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"Michael Monaco" @mmonaco.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

Doors are open at the IMPACT Nehemiah Action!

Photo of an auditorium, from the seats; the qudience is beginning to fill in

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"Michael Monaco" @mmonaco.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

crazy how the fluvanna supervisors seem to have a standard for an unreasonable amount of noise, and that standard is: any noise directed at us by our constituents is unreasonable.

The board votes on the motions were 4-1, with only Cunningham District Supervisor Chris Fairchild voting “no” on the project, which will be built in his district.

Opponents argue the plant causes health risks for those who live near it and that it creates an unreasonable amount of noise.

Following the votes, some power plant opponents were ordered removed from the Fluvanna County High School auditorium where the meeting took place by Board Chair and Rivanna District Supervisor Tony O’Brien after they loudly protested.

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"Michael Monaco" @mmonaco.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

Spot the difference between Trump musing on how he can "have" Cuba and Charles Trevelyan musing on what he really wanted to obtain from the famine.

In a private correspondence, Trevelyan explained how the famine could bring benefit to the English; As he wrote to Edward Twisleton:

"We must not complain of what we really want to obtain. If small farmers go, and their landlords are reduced to sell portions of their estates to persons who will invest capital we shall at last arrive at something like a satisfactory settlement of the country".

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"Michael Monaco" @mmonaco.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

oh I hadn't seen that, you're right. Jeeze!

George Mason University

Mason Alert: The Fenwick Library on the George Mason University Fairfax campus is closed until further notice to allow University Police to investigate a potential bomb threat. Please leave the Fenwick Library and stay away from the area. This threat has not been confirmed. An investigation is being conducted out of an abundance of caution and in the interest of public safety. Please follow the direction of law enforcement and/or emergency personnel.
More information will be provided once it is available.
An event such as this may impact people in many ways, and support is available. If you are a student and are experiencing emotional distress related to this event, please contact Counseling and Psychological Services at 703-993-2380. #MasonNation

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"Michael Monaco" @mmonaco.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

so Bridgewater College is also under a bomb threat rn, along with UVA?

Bridgewater College
Bomb threat at FLC 03/13/2026 12:47:15 PMBomb Threat-evacuate (FLC) immediately. Follow instructions from authorities. Avoid area. Call 911 for help.

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"Michael Monaco" @mmonaco.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

albemarle county kinda doing a dril candles tweet but with cops

table of numbers, albemarle county re-engineering. all departments show reductions in FTEs except Economic Development Fund (Rivanna Futures), Sheriff, and Police

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"Michael Monaco" @mmonaco.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

The NLIHC Gap report is updated for this year - great resource for showing people how much affordable rental housing we are missing in this country. Of note locally: Virginia ranks 8th in the nation for the highest percent of extremely-low-income renters who are cost burdened. nlihc.org/gap

Table of numbers.
columns are State, Extremely Low Income Renter Households, Number of Affordable and Available Rental Homes Per 100 Extremely Low-Income Renter Households, and Extremely Low-Income Renter Households with Severe Cost Burden.

Rows:
Nevada - 92,484, 16, and 88%
Florida - 576,381, 26 and 82%
Arizona - 176,206, 26 and 82%
Oregon - 146,026, 24, and 81%
Texas - 957,151, 26, and 79%
Utah - 61,345, 28 and 79%
California - 1,303,650, 25 and 79%
Virginia - 247,466, 35 and 77%
Washington - 253,846, 28, and 77%
Georgia - 324,452, 37 and 76%

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"Michael Monaco" @mmonaco.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

There's a *total* of $6.4m in the draft FY27 budget for the affordable housing fund. Only $1.3m of that will come from dedicated funding; the rest is a combination of 1) transfer from the General Fund Balance and 2) basically rollover from the FY26 balance for this fund.

FY 27 Recommended: An increase of $93,941, or 7.6%, in the Transfer from the General Fund for a total of
$1,333,144. This amount is based on a recommended dedicated 0.4 cents per $100 assessed value for the real estate
property tax rate. Combined with a projected FY 26 reserve of $5,067,706 that would be recommended to be reappropriated to FY27, the anticipated Affordable Housing Fund Reserve would be $6,400,850, intended to support
housing initiatives that are one-time costs and will support the County’s strategic and housing goals.

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"Michael Monaco" @mmonaco.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

yeah basically, but only $1.2m is dedicated

"investment in action: affordable housing"
$5m affordable housing investment fund
dedicated 0.4 cent tax rate + $3.7m one-time investment
20% increase to the elderly and disabled tax relief program

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"Michael Monaco" @mmonaco.bsky.social · 28/02/2026

damn that's crazy, i wonder what other opinions this guy has

reddit post "Local c-ville business owner sells ICE the software they use to hunt you down"

Top comment from SirSpeedyCVA, -124 points:
"Here we go again. Let’s just cut to the chase and start painting gold 6 pointed stars on businesses we think dilute our ideological purity and are deemed a threat to our way of life Kristal nacht much?"

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"Michael Monaco" @mmonaco.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

but in terms of content - the first thing i went looking for was affordable housing. once you scroll past the 3 new ACPD officers and 3 new sheriff's deputies, you find $5m for the affordable housing investment fund. multiple supervisors have committed to pushing for $10m in the past. we'll see!

"INVESTMENT IN ACTION: AFFORDABLE HOUSING"
Supports goals 2 and 4
$5m Affordable Housing Investment Fund
Dedicated 0.4 cent tax rate + $3.7m one-time investment
20% increase to the elderly and disabled tax relief program

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"Michael Monaco" @mmonaco.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

reading through the albemarle county budget presentation pdf and i have two immediate questions 1) why is the document's page title "start a business in brazil" 2) why would you have two lines on a chart that are near-identical shades of gray albemarle.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=...

text reading COMECE UM NEGÓCIO NO BRASIL

a line chart, the substance of which does not matter for this post; the point is that the two lines, "revenue" and "expenditure" are supposedly color-coded but are really just slightly varying shades of gray.

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"Michael Monaco" @mmonaco.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

hey at least this one is free, unlike the farmville event which features a "$25 minimum donation at the door," presumably to compensate one DJ Baddog for services rendered

a truly dog shit flyer advertising a meet and greet with john mcguire and derrick van orden on february 22 at 3 pm at the barn at poor house farm, 3286 poorhouse road, rice VA. the flier features a big DJT endorsement.

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"Michael Monaco" @mmonaco.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

Anyway, if it helps to see it visualized, here you go. On the left, what's already in the pipeline. On the right, what hypothetically remains.

A bar chart, divided in two sections vertically. On the left are two blue bars. One is labeled "Homes in pipeline," and totals 15,216. The other blue bar is labeled "affordable homes in pipeline," and totals 3,051. On the right are two orange bars. One orange bar is labeled "theoretical remaining buildout," and totals 6,428. The other orange bar is labeled "remaining affordable homes needed" and totals 4,789.

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"Michael Monaco" @mmonaco.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

One of the action items in the 2021 Crozet Master Plan is a NOAH study (and subsequent action to preserve NOAH stock). It's been back-burnered as the comp plan revision took over the county offices, but now may be a chance to kick it back into action.

Goal 3: Provide a variety of housing options that
meet the needs of community members at all
income levels.
A. Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing Survey
and Recommendations (2 Phases):
i. Phase 1: Conduct a survey of Naturally
Occurring Affordable Housing (NOAHs)
within Crozet.
ii. Phase 2: Identify programs and tools to
support maintenance/preservation of
NOAHs, such as a Housing Rehabilitation
Zone.

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"Michael Monaco" @mmonaco.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

On the PC meeting: Windy Knoll is a proposed 18-unit development about a thousand feet as the crow flies from the front doors of the Crozet Harris Teeter. Most immediate neighbors oppose the development; staff is recommending denial with the following reasons. I...don't really agree with these.

Staff have identified the following concerns with this request:
1. The proposed rezoning is not consistent with all recommendations of Housing Albemarle,
specifically with regard to AMI for for-rent units and minimum affordability periods.
2. The proposal does not provide interconnected streets or pedestrian/bike connections.
3. The student enrollment at Western Albemarle High School is overcapacity and the proposal
would contribute to the current overcapacity enrollment.

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"Michael Monaco" @mmonaco.bsky.social · 21/01/2026

Crozetians! (And really all Albemarle/cville neighbors). We'll be hosting another Livable meetup at Bar Botanical next week, assuming the snows haven't completely shut central virginia down. Come chat about affordability & transit, make grand plans, connect with neighbors - a guaranteed good time.

Livable cville crozet meetup!
Thursday, jan 29, 5-7pm

Bar botanical
2025 library ave
Crozet

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