Richmond City Council to debate driveway request

Richmond's City Council could decide tomorrow whether a resident can keep her driveway on Stuart Avenue.

Citing safety concerns, Councilman Bruce W. Tyler is seeking to revoke a permit allowing a curb cut to serve the concrete driveway at 3304 Stuart Ave., near St. Gertrude High School. Roberta Crowell got the permit last summer and built a carport.

The council is set to vote on the issue at tomorrow's 6 p.m. meeting at City Hall, 900 E. Broad St.

Crowell has declined interview requests but told the council's land-use committee last week that she had "acted prudently within the framework of the process."

However, Tyler said the driveway is such a concern that he tried last year to broker a compromise that would have had the city eliminate the driveway and reimburse Crowell's costs to that point -- an amount he estimated at $20,000.

He said he believes it's only a matter of time until an accident occurs when a car backs out of the driveway in the middle of the busy, tree-lined block. It's an area with few other driveways.

"As far as I'm concerned, this is a public-safety issue," said Tyler, whose 1st District includes the West End neighborhood.

Representatives of the Museum District Association oppose the driveway, citing safety concerns, as well as aesthetics and the loss of on-street parking spaces. Robert Orlowski, a representative of the association, said there was no compelling need for the city to approve the driveway because Crowell could access her carport from an alley.

"This is not a case of need -- a compelling need," he told the committee. "This is a case of want."

City administration officials would not discuss the matter, but a right-of-way manager with public works told the committee that the curb-cut permit was approved because a building permit for the carport had already been issued by the Department of Community Development.

Despite concerns about the approval process, the land-use committee voted 2-1 to recommend against revoking the driveway permit. Council members Ellen F. Robertson and Douglas G. Conner Jr. voted against Tyler's request to revoke, while Councilman Charles R. Samuels supported it.

Council President Kathy C. Graziano did not vote but said she believes Crowell proceeded in good faith once she got her permit. Graziano said the council would be wrong to revoke the permit just because some people are objecting.

"This is not public need," she said, "this is public opinion we're dealing with."

Contact Will Jones at (804) 649-6911 or .