A guest post by Deanna Lewis.

According to a recent review of the The Virginia Public Access Project, Margaret Freund, owner of Fulton Hill Properties, has been donating and raising a lot of cash for former 7th District Councilwoman and current State Delegate, Delores McQuinn.

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The anticipated appeal against City Council’s decision to overturn CAR’s decision on the Oakwood Heights project has been filed. Though the appeal was filed with one individual as “Petitioner” (PDF), opponents of the project say that “the petition speaks for us all as home owners, renters and investors in this neighborhood” and that “the document [...] touches strongly on the protection of the historic fabric of this community and the Old & Historic areas of Richmond.”

The RTD weighs in on the Oakwood Heights saga with an anonymous and ill-informed editorial today:

The neighbors’ objections are primarily aesthetic. They consider the condo project insufficiently gracile, and not in keeping with the character of the neighborhood. In some respects we might incline to agree. But that objection does not override the more salient issue at hand: The project is permitted under existing zoning, which has called for multi-family use of the site for several decades.

Neighbors have complained that the developer did not give sufficent consideration to their demands. After the City Council vote, some pledged to pursue the issue in court. Before doing so, they might want to reflect on this consideration: Why should their mere aesthetic displeasure give them veto power over someone else’s property rights?

High interest votes from tonight include YES on a conservation easement along the James River and an vote to OVERTURN CAR’s rejection of the most recent Oakwood Heights design.

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The agenda for the City Council meeting on Monday (PDF) contains items of local interest including a conservation easement along the James River and either affirmation or denial of CAR’s rejection of the most recent Oakwood Heights design.

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We’ve been forwarded a few messages about “a flier outside of the flower shop on 25th Street regarding an Oakwood Heights Public Meeting today at 5PM at the Franklin Military Academy (701 N 37th St. at M St.)”. Given reports of shenanigans regarding generating support for Oakwood Heights at the last CHA meeting, this quiet meeting is interesting. Can anyone confirm or share more info about the meeting?

Two hundred or so residents turned out for the Church Hill Association meeting on Tuesday evening. The membership voted 62-44, with a handful of abstentions, against the Shockoe Center proposal. The main concern seemed to be the finances of the project, though mention was also made of the historic nature of the area of the development.

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James Hill, secretary for Committee of Architectural Review (CAR), recently sent out a letter giving notice (PDF) that on Tues.Feb.17, City Council’s Standing Committee of Land Use, Housing, and Transportation will consider an appeal of CAR’s recent denial of the most recent Oakwood Heights application. Council will vote on the issue at the Feb.23 meeting.

An ad-hoc Church Hill Association membership meeting will be held at St. John’s Parish Hall on Dec.2 @ 7PM. The 2009 CHA budget, new zoning for the area, the proposed plan to build a baseball stadium in Shockoe Bottom, and the Oakwood Heights project are all part of the agenda. (previously)

On Friday, September 12, 2008, the Commission of Architectural Review (CAR) will hold two special meetings, to discuss the Oakwood Heights project located in the 3600 blocks of Broad and Marshall streets. The first meeting will begin at 2:00pm with interested members of the public. The second meeting will begin at 3:30pm with Fulton Hill Properties and their architect. Both meetings are open to the public. [via]

The folks at Fulton Hill Properties have made available the new drawings for the proposed Oakwood Heights condo project (72.8MB PDF) prior to their upcoming CAR presentation on Tuesday.

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The Church Hill Association has announced a special meeting for 7:00PM on Monday, August 25 to get “membership’s input, comments and perhaps a vote to define a position for CHA” on the proposed Oakwood Heights condominium project. The Commission of Architectural Review will be taking up the next iteration of the Oakwood Heights project the next day.

The agenda for the August 26th CAR meeting (PDF) includes work at: 2110 East Broad Street, 2407 East Grace Street, 813 North 28th Street, 619 North 25th Street, 3302 East Marshall Street (demolish two-story mixed-use frame building), 509 North 26th Street, 2213 East Broad Street, 519 North 28th Street, 420 North 24th Street, 501 North 29th Street, and 3618-3626 East Broad Street and 3609-3611 East Marshall Street (construct 33 condominium units).

New plans for the proposed Oakwood Heights condominium project have been submitted to the Commission of Architectural Review. Fulton Hill Properties has announced an open house on August 20 from 5-6:30PM at their office at 1000 Carlisle Avenue to share the new design with “anyone who would be interested in showing support for our beautiful project”. RSVP to Kristen Heckman at (804) 226-9555 or kheckman@fultonhillproperties.com.

Seventh District Representative and Council VP Delores McQuinn hosted a lively but sparsely attended meeting this morning at Mt.Carmel Baptist Church. Kristen Heckman and Pam Jones of Fulton Hill Properties gave an update on the proposed Oakwood Heights development, McQuinn gave updates on some upcoming events, and the community voiced concerns and shared information.

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7th District Representative and City Council VP Delores McQuinn will be hosting a 7th District Community Meeting this Saturday, May 17th from 11AM–1PM at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church (3200 East Broad Street). Agenda items include the Oakwood Heights Condominium Project, 7th District Community Concerns, and a 7th District Police Report update.

The Commission of Architectural Review meeting began on time with about 25 people in attendence. Except for the Oakwood Heights condo proposal, the remainder of the 11 items on the agenda, if not trivial, seemed at least routine: removal of vinyl siding, replacement of exterior doors, construction of an addition, the painting of a facade. The commission ultimately voted unanimously to both deny the Oakwood Heights application to relocate 3626 East Broad Street and the current design proposal for the 33 condominiums.

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Today’s CAR meeting went off to a packed room. I came in just after 4PM into an ongoing meeting and 6 members of the CAR at a table in a horshoe around a podium and a screen & projector. A few smaller issues were discussed and resolved or not, and then last on the agenda was a discussion of the proposed Oakwood Heights condo development. The commitee was being asked to consider 2 things today: to review the relocation of the lone house on Broad Street, and the construction of the condominiums.

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The Commission of Architectural Review monthly board meeting will be held today, Dec.18 at 3:30PM, 5th Floor Conference Room, City Hall. On the agenda is discussion of the controversial proposal for the Oakwood Heights condo development.

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According to the City’s online Land Use Logbook (PDF), a Plan of Development (POD) has been submitted to construct a 33-unit condo complex called “Oakwood Heights Condos” at 3618 E Broad St. The property is zoned to allow this, though the address is within a City Old and Historic District and will require approval from CAR.