Author: Dawn Rosenberg

Aging in the Woodland Heights Community: A Woodland Heights Village

In 1991, a concept of living in community was introduced in a Boston neighborhood and was called Beacon Hill Village. Since then numerous “villages” have been established around the country, including in Richmond, in order to help older community members to age in place more easily. Visit the Fan District Association’s Fan Village to see what’s happening there.

Aging in Community involves a group of volunteer residents, younger and older, who provide assistance to older residents. Assistance may range from simply changing a light bulb or small tasks around homes or gardens to providing support during a temporary illness or injury. Aging in Community can also provide social programs (games, speakers, hobbies, etc.) bringing the experiences and wealth of knowledge older adults have to offer.

This concept was introduced to Woodland Heights at April’s civic association meeting. The Woodland Heights Baptist Church and our civic association, as well as several residents, have indicated interest in exploring this concept further. This is a project for all interested residents, and we would like to establish a committee of volunteers to determine how a Woodland Heights Village might work and what it would offer to our residents.

Our next steps is to set a date and invite a few speakers to share their experiences. Thanks to Woodland Heights Baptist Church that has offered meeting space; we are looking to set a date in May, so look for notices here and on social media for more details coming soon.

Interested in serving the Greater Richmond community?

From the Richmond Office of the City Clerk:

Each year, Richmond City Council regularly appoints members to serve on approximately 50 local and regional government and non-government boards, commissions, committees and task forces, which range in responsibilities or scope from advisory to policy to governing. Those appointments provide important additional intellectual assistance on behalf of subjects and undertakings that help shape the quality of our lives, neighborhoods and community.

Membership and service on these entities provides individuals with additional opportunities to participate with and learn more about local and regional government and other non-government entities. Service on an entity enables individuals to use their education, experience, skills and abilities on behalf of their community. All interested individuals are invited and encouraged to apply to serve!

The City of Richmond’s various boards and commissions have a number of vacant positions, and applications are being accepted for these vacancies until May 15, 2019. To see a list of current boards and commissions vacancies, visit here.

Invasive plants in our neighborhood

Thank you to Ryan Ginsburg, Bill Shanbruch and Mary Wickham for presenting on behalf of the Invasive Plants Task Force to our members at the April 11, 2019 Civic Association meeting. Neighbors were interested to learn more about the invasive plants in our nearby parks and the impact our personal choices in outdoor plants can have on these parks.

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Share your thoughts on the City’s draft short-term rental regulations

Short-term rental (STR), also referred to as an Airbnb or VRBO, is the transient occupancy of a dwelling unit for a period of less than 30 consecutive days. Short-term rentals are currently not identified as a permitted use in the City of Richmond’s Zoning Ordinance.  Planning and Development Review (PDR) along with the Department of Finance and the City Attorney’s Office has crafted draft regulations to permit short term rentals under certain terms and conditions. PDR is seeking extensive community input on the proposed regulations, which were drafted after a review of legislation in other localities and of the current operations of short-term rentals in the city of Richmond.

City of Richmond staff will be hosting two public meetings to provide you with an opportunity to learn more about the draft regulations and share your thoughts:

  • Public Meeting #1: Saturday, May 4, 2019, from 10:30 am – 12pm in the basement auditorium of the Main Library, 101 East Franklin Street
  • Public Meeting #2: Tuesday, May 14, 2019 from 6-7:30pm at the Richmond Central DMV, 2300 West Broad Street

For more information and to complete a survey on the draft regulations, visit:http://www.richmondgov.com/PlanningAndDevelopmentReview/ShortTermRentals.aspx

Please contact Marianne Pitts at Marianne.Pitts@RichmondGov.com or by phone at (804)646-5207 with any questions.

Bike Walk RVA offering yard signs for safe neighborhood streets

Bike Walk RVA is a program of Sports Backers that advocates for comfortable and connected places to bike and walk for people of all ages and abilities. They work to promote the construction of more sidewalks and crosswalks, multi-use trails, protected bike lanes, and safe neighborhood streets so that walking and biking are part of daily transportation in every part of the Richmond region.

While construction of this infrastructure is in progress, they also seek to help reduce traffic fatalities, especially of people walking and biking, by promoting yielding to pedestrians, driving slower, and increased roadway awareness. Bike Walk RVA is offering free Vision Zero Yard Signs to neighbors who wish to promote pedestrian and motorist safety in our neighborhood. Sign up here for your sign.

Join us for our first Civic Association meeting of 2019

Woodland Heights Baptist Church, 611 W. 31st St.
6:30 pm – Neighborhood Social for Current Members
7:00 pm – Business Meeting

Make sure you’ve registered or renewed your membership prior to the meeting so you can join us for a neighborhood social for current members before our meeting begins. Grab some pizza and salad from DaVinci Pizza, and take advantage of the opportunity to get to know your neighbors! Meeting attendees must be members to vote on business items during the meeting.

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