The Charlottesville City Council is currently rewriting the rules on where students can live. The uptick in recent discussions about construction projects and luxury apartments in the areas surrounding Grounds has prompted the city to conduct a formal review of the Affordable Dwelling Unit Monitoring and Procedures Manual, and it is asking citizens to share their opinions. While permanent citizens weigh in, the discourse of University students is notably absent from the conversation. The truth is that students are a central part of the Charlottesville community for four years, which means they must step up to voice their opinions, whether they want to or not. Silence in this moment is not neutrality — it is an abdication of responsibility.
The ADU Manual is Charlottesville’s official guide for implementing its affordable housing requirements. While their proposals for housing developments are still under consideration and not finalized, the city is actively encouraging citizens to participate in online discussions between March and May. This pivotal three-month period offers a unique opportunity for input as decisions have not been set in stone and no actions have been finalized. In other words, speaking up still has an influence.
Anonymous Charlottesville citizens have been unafraid to weigh in on the conversation, raising concerns about current laws that permit the construction of enormous building complexes in residential neighborhoods near Grounds — which completely change the communities’ value and lifestyle. Moreover, the rules governing what infrastructure can be constructed around the University have long required large housing developments to include at least 10 percent affordable units. As a caveat to that rule, student housing within half a mile of the University that leases on a per-bedroom basis has historically been exempt, paying an in-lieu fee instead of including affordable units — rules that allow and incentivize student housing construction near Grounds. If the council decides to change these rules in the ADU Manual to make new construction more difficult, hidden consequences will become tangible for students, including decreased affordability and availability of units. These massive transformations absolutely necessitate engagement from all sides of the community.
Charlottesville is not just allowing input — it is outright asking for it. Permanent citizens are engaging. Students are not, either because they are unaware of the changing tides, because they think it does not pertain to them or because they are genuinely disinterested. In reality, being a “temporary” resident of Charlottesville does not absolve students of their civic responsibility to engage in these forums and offer their thoughts. Because University students live on- and off-Grounds for four years, spend time in neighborhoods and use city infrastructure, they continually shape the housing market.
Even further, four years in a community — three of those typically lived off-Grounds — is not a trivial number that allows students to be aloof to what is happening around them. Three years is longer than some residents stay in Charlottesville and much longer than many leases last, meaning most University students will apartment hunt at least once during their time here. Therefore, students who assume the role of passive visitors to the city and completely ignore the reality that they are active, constant presences who dictate housing availability, pricing, expansion and more are naive. Whether students view themselves as temporary residents or not does not justify completely tuning out of the conversation.
Furthermore, silence from students on this matter will have consequences later down the line. There are three main areas where proposed changes to the ADU Manual will hit students — affordability, availability and accessibility to Grounds. If zoning or construction limits change, there will be fewer new construction projects and fewer units available, as students scramble to secure the remaining housing, thereby driving up prices. The University has more than 25,000 students searching for housing — only first-years are currently guaranteed housing on Grounds, which is a situation that only amplifies the issue. Availability of apartments will shrink as class sizes increase. Accessibility to Grounds will shrink as housing construction is pushed farther from the school. And, if there is no engagement from students now, it is possible that opportunities from the city to comment in the future will shrink, too.
Regardless of what take University students have on this issue, it will affect their future. You do not have to be the first in line at City Council, ready with a speech, and you do not have to be combing through Reddit forums, studying the nuances of ADU manuals. But, you do have to take accountability for your impact on the Charlottesville community and acknowledge that it is your responsibility to engage when the community asks you to.
Residents’ concerns over neighborhood communities, overdevelopment, affordability and land value are valid. But, engaging with this discussion as students does not mean taking a stance against Charlottesville citizens. Rather, it ensures that student perspectives are part of the balance that the policies aim for, while encouraging dialogue with residents in Charlottesville. Four years is not a footnote. It is enough time to show up, have a voice and have a stake in future developments. Do not act like “temporary” residence excuses you from that responsibility. Do not act like your silence is neutral, or that these decisions are not going to affect you. You live here — act like it.
Lucy Duttenhofer is an opinion columnist who writes about academics for The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at opinion@cavalierdaily.com.
The opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of The Cavalier Daily. Columns represent the views of the authors alone.
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