PSG in the News!
PSG in the News: Dominion Energy submits request to City of Richmond to withdraw from ‘clean energy park’ proposal
ABC 8 | June 1, 2023
“Around the time of the announcement, the project faced some pushback from Partnership for Smarter Growth, a local advocacy group, that claimed the project went against the City’s Richmond 300 development plan. “While we support EVs, this is still a parking lot –albeit with some green space — in a city seeking to become less car-dependent,” the group said in a release at the time. “The proposal by Dominion does nothing to help achieve a more vibrant downtown area, and encourages more cars choking our urban core.”
PSG in the News: Parking regs repeal clears City Council
Bizsense | April 26, 2023
“Barry Greene Jr., a Ninth District resident, was among several speakers in support affiliated with Partnership for Smarter Growth, a local planning group that backed the policy change. Noting an abundance of empty parking lots along Midlothian Turnpike, Greene said in the hearing, “Parking lots should not have this much power over our city, they shouldn’t possess this much land in our city, and most importantly, it shouldn’t be prioritized as much in our city.””
PSG in the News: Richmond City Council approves change on requiring parking minimums
NBC12 | April 24, 2023
“In Richmond, where a housing crisis was just declared, removing parking minimums can lower development costs, potentially free up land for additional homes, and lower the price of housing for residents,” a speaker said.” Amy Guzulaitis, Policy Coordinator
PSG in the News: A Delicate Balance
RVA Magazine | March 21, 2023
“Stewart Schwartz, founder and president of the Richmond-based Partnership for Smarter Growth, finds the Arcadia approval troubling. He notes that the county is still creating its comprehensive plan and hasn’t completed the small area plan from the previous comprehensive document. “I think these process arguments are significant, with the county not waiting for the comprehensive plan to play out,” he says.”
“Amy Guzulaitis, lead coordinator for policy and administration for the Partnership for Smarter Growth, describes a possible alternative for aging arterial roadways, such as Midlothian and Mechanicsville turnpikes, Broad and Hull streets and Chamberlayne Avenue. Although they are not blank canvases or green fields, their structures can permit change. What it takes is a little imagination, a decent amount of gumption and municipal will, and a lot of funding. “They have the space to support dedicated bus lanes, safer pedestrian and cyclist infrastructure, commercial and retail redevelopment, mixed residential,” Guzulaitis says. “You can put in resilient trees and other landscaping.”
PSG in the News: Could plans to redevelop Richmond’s Coliseum include reparations?
Greater Greater Washington | February 1, 2023
“Many of these displaced people are still living in the city today and can remember exactly where their homes and businesses were,” said Gray-Sparks, a board member of the Partnership for Smarter Growth. “There is this huge opportunity for us to address this injustice head on. Other places are doing that and our planners here in Richmond should be doing this as well.”
PSG in the News: What's new in revised plans for Varina's 250-acre residential project
Richmond Times-Dispatch | February 1, 2023
The project faced strong opposition from such groups as the Partnership for Smarter Growth and the Route 5 Corridor Coalition. Some also raised concerns during a Jan. 24 Henrico Board of Supervisors meeting about the possible environmental impact and increased congestion. “We know the region needs more housing,” said Amy Guzulaitis, policy coordinator for the Partnership for Smarter Growth. “We don’t think we should have to cut through all of our rural lands to do it.”
PSG in the News: City Council offers suggestions on Richmond 300 plan
VPM | January 24, 2023
“Affordable housing is also one of the concerns the Partnership for Smarter Growth brought up in Monday’s meeting. Stephen Wade, vice president of PSG’s board, saw good and bad in the master plan. “While there's so much about this Richmond 300 plan that we think is fantastic, from increasing density — and in the right places — to making the city more socially and environmentally equitable, we are deeply concerned about the lack of clear affordable housing goals and expectations within new development,” Wade said in a Tuesday interview.”
PSG in the News: City Council offers suggestions on Richmond 300 plan
Greater Greater Washington | January 11, 2023
“The promise of new apartments, improved public transit, and better access to amenities sounds appealing to Barry Greene, a Southside resident and board member of both the Partnership for Smarter Growth and RVA Rapid Transit. All too many Richmonders rarely venture south of the James to explore local eateries or support small businesses, but he believes it doesn’t have to be that way. “We have to make Southside a place people want to come, spend their money, and stay a while,” he said. “What would make a coffee shop or a record store want to open south of the river?”
PSG in the News: GRTC wants your opinion on extending Pulse route into Short Pump
ABC8 | December 7, 2022
“The organization Partnership for Smarter Growth (PSG) said the extension would help Henrico residents travel to jobs in the city of Richmond, and vice versa.”
PSG in the News: ‘It won’t make things safer’: Organization pushes back against proposed interchange in Henrico
ABC8 | November 9, 2022
“However, Stewart Schwartz with Partnership for Smarter Growth said this interchange could actually have the opposite effect. “The concern is it won’t necessarily make things safer,” Schwartz said. “It will certainly add more driving and traffic.” In addition, Schwartz said the project will bring more development north of Interstate 64, meaning more infrastructure costs for taxpayers. Instead, Schwartz suggests the county should aim to fix what is already in place.”
PSG in the News: Will Richmond’s plan to remove mandatory parking minimums pass?
Greater Greater Washington | November 3, 2022
“Whenever you spend money on parking, you’re directly increasing the cost of the housing it’s attached to,” said Stephen Wade, vice president of the Partnership for Smarter Growth. “Every dollar spent on housing a car is a dollar not spent on housing people.”
PSG in the News: Concerns grow over Dominion’s announced plans for a clean energy park
ABC8 | October 25, 2022
“Partnership for Smarter Growth, a local organization, is calling the project a “glorified parking lot” that “encourages more cars, choking our urban core”. The organization feels the company could make use of the site in a way that would better align with Richmond’s 300 plan for smarter growth.”
PSG in the News: From Parking Lots to Living Plots
Style Weekly | March 1, 2022
“All of the new housing in Chamberbrook is a win-win to Stewart Schwartz, the president of the Partnership for Smarter Growth. “There are tremendous environmental and equity benefits to building more housing close to our city’s two big universities and its major job centers," he says. "People who can find housing close to jobs and public transit in the core of our region are much more likely to walk, bike, and ride the bus instead of driving everywhere. They have significantly smaller carbon footprints and can realize lower combined housing and transportation costs — in particular, because they have to spend so much less on cars and gas.”
PSG in the News: Central Virginia Transportation Authority: recipe for more sprawl and traffic?
Virginia Mercury | February 19, 2020
“The Richmond region spends far too little on transit, and we have a lot of ground to make up. The Greater Richmond Transit Company’s annual budget is only about $60 million per year – very little when compared to spending on highways and the key role transit now plays in economic competitiveness. While the legislation will reportedly generate up to $14 million per year for transit, this pales in comparison to $154 million per year in bondable funds for roads. While it’s good the bill also allows funds to go to maintenance, past experience with new transportation funding indicates that officials often short-change fixing potholes in favor of road expansion.
Our concerns go deeper. Only recently have Henrico and Chesterfield started to focus on revitalization of older communities through walkable, mixed-use development and limited transit expansion. Most approved developments are still overwhelmingly sprawling and 100% auto-dependent. Fueled by taxpayer subsidized infrastructure, sprawl is marching ever westward, with additional pressure to the north in Hanover.”