Supervisors Rescind November Decision

Supervisors unanimously voted Wednesday to remove the connection from Arden Place to the Woodbrook Lagoon as shown here in red.

To the relief of many Woodbrook residents, Albemarle County Supervisors rescinded their November decision to extend the Arden Place path as far as the Woodbrook Lagoon. In a unanimous decision Wednesday, Supervisors decided to nix the path to Woodbrook while keeping the Arden Place portion of the path at 8 feet in width. Supervisors also approved the construction of a fence at the Carmike connection point to block all pedestrian traffic from entering Woodbrook via the lagoon.

About a dozen Woodbrook residents attended the meeting. In addressing the Board Woodbrook Community Association President Susan Reed said "Calling it a lagoon does not take away from the fact that really it is a steep wooded area that used to be the cess pool of our neighborhood." Reed concluded her comments by saying "Woodbrook would like to be able to quote another StarTrek character and say of this plan 'He's dead Jim'". "Please kill this plan and put it back the way the planning commission had it."

Previous WCA president John Gallagher summed up the feelings of many Woodbrook residents by saying "The Woodbrook neighborhood worked closely with the planning commission and the developer. We came to a mutually agreeable solution. It doesn't get better than that."

Woodbrook resident Gerry Petencin said "The idea that somehow a waste water control project then became a park, and then that park became the justification for a bigger trail than anybody anticipated – I think a lot of us just got uncomfortable with that entire process."

For those of you who missed Wednesday's meeting, here is the complete audio:

Listen: Supervisor's opening comments (6m)
Listen: Woodbrook residents address the Board (17m)
Listen: Supervisor's consideration of the matter (11m)
Listen: Vote (2m)

Thanks go out to everyone who attended the meeting, especially those who addressed the Board on behalf the neighborhood.