As a result of steadily decreasing water levels in the James River, the City of Richmond Department of Public Utilities (DPU) Director Chris Beschler announced effective today the implementation of mandatory water conservation measures for all City of Richmond water customers. This follows the recent announcement of new rates intended to encourage conservation.

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With judges and City Council members present, Mayor L. Douglas Wilder Thursday officially kicked off the expansion of the Manchester Courthouse with a groundbreaking ceremony at 102 E. 10th Street. The $23.3 million expansion will more than double the size of the existing courthouse, from 27,000 to 58,000 square feet, including three General District courtrooms and support facilities.

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The City of Richmond Planning Commission will discuss further revisions to and consider adoption of the June 2008 Draft Downtown Master Plan on Monday, July 21. The meeting is open to the public, but there will not be a public hearing.  The discussion on the Downtown Master Plan will be held at the end of the regular meeting agenda and will begin no earlier than 6PM.  The meeting will be held in the fifth floor conference room of City Hall.

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There are 2 local items on the agenda for Monday’s city council meeting:

Ord. No. 2008-155 - To rezone *** 500 Stockton Street and 510 Decatur Street from the M-2 Heavy Industrial District to the B-6 Mixed-Use Business District.

Ord. No. 2008-157 - To conditionally rezone *** 815 Perry Street (also known as the Acme Paper Company Site) from the OS Office Service District to the B-6 Mixed-Use Business District ***.

There will be a rally for independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader at the Virginia Holocaust Museum this Saturday from 1-3PM. Suggested contribution: $10/$5 student.

Having been following the process since the beginning, John Sarvay over at Buttermilk&Molasses has a timely update and recap on the Richmond Downtown Master Plan. The City of Richmond Planning Commission will hold a public hearing Monday, July 7 @6:30PM on the June 2008 Revised Draft Downtown Master Plan @ the 5th floor conference room in city hall.

Buttermilk & Molasses has the scoop on Thursday’s “listening forum” at Plant Zero:

… the listening forum did create quite the laundry list of issues of interest to the 150 or so audience members — education, transportation, regional cooperation, public housing, affordable housing, code enforcement, assessments, council/mayor relations, economic development, the Downtown Plan, environmentalism, energy efficiency, public spaces/parks, minority economic development, small business development and animal control.

If people could agree on what the mayor is supposed to do, the next one might actually tackle sixteen or seventeen of those issues.

The City of Richmond Planning Commission will hold a public hearing Monday, July 7 @6:30PM on the June 2008 Revised Draft Downtown Master Plan. The public is encouraged to attend the public hearing to share thoughts on the plan with the City Planning Commission.

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In the contest for the 7th district council seat, it will be Ricky L. Johnson vs incumbent Ellen F. Robertson. Three candidates will vie for the school board seat: Arthur L. Burton, Kelly Denise Evans, and incumbent Chandra H. Smith. [via]

Something like a mayoral debate has been announced for June 19 Plant Zero on Thursday, June 19, from 6:00 until 8:00 p.m. Via Buttermilk & Molasses:

Those who file by the June 10 deadline are expected to be invited to a Town Hall “listening forum” organized by the Coalition for a Greater Richmond at Plant Zero on Thursday, June 19, from 6:00 until 8:00 p.m. The forum is being touted as a space where “concerned citizens speak and Richmond mayoral candidates listen,” but I expect that former TV anchor Lisa LaFata will find ways to bring the candidates into the conversation.

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Paul Goldman, candidate for mayor, says that the Wilder-backed Echo Harbour marina project is not in the best long-term interests of the city, and that he will oppose it. The candidate also says that backers of the marina project “have left many important fiscal and other questions either unanswered or incompletely answered”. [via email]

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GRTC will be holding a public meeting today at 6PM at the Children’s Museum on West Broad Street on their proposed rapid transit system and the transfer station possibly slated for Main Street Station. [via]

The agenda for the April 28th City Council meeting has a number of rezoning requests and other items relevant to Shockoe, Manchester, and areas along the canal.

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Style Weekly’s Main Street Station Bus Plan Riles Up Bottom Merchants has the details about GRTC’s plans to put the central transfer station in the unused warehouse space behind Main Street Station. GRTC sees this city-owned property as central and efficient; some local business owners have concerns.

The regularly scheduled 6th District Town Meeting will be today, Saturday April 12, from noon to 1PM at the Bank of America building (12th & Main Streets) 18th Floor. This event repeats every month on the second Saturday. For more information, call (804) 646-7964 or (804) 646-5348.

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From the Office of the Press Secretary: Mayor L. Douglas Wilder announced today the beginning of a month-long “Give Us the 4-1-1″ campaign to help the City improve its new 311 Call Center to handle citizen requests for municipal services. Residents can dial 311 to report potholes, downed trees, utility issues, request social services, and other City matters. The campaign, which will run from March 11 through mid-April, is an invitation for City residents who have used the phone system and encountered problems to let the City know what those problems were so they can be corrected and the system improved.

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Interested neighbors from around the East End are invited to a meeting on traffic, roads, congestion and future thoroughfares in and around our community. The March meeting of the Church Hill Association will feature Tom Flynn (City’s Traffic Manager) and Brooke Harding (Community Planning) as guest speakers. This meeting is open to the public. [via]

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A brief interview with Acting Director of the Department of Public Works Rosemary Green outlining the new ordinance regarding city residents responsibilities for timely removal and placement of Supercans and recycling bins from the public rights of way.

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A neighborhood walk-through has been set for this Saturday, as part of the police department effort to identify citizen concerns about the area. A representative from Sector 112 will accompany citizens on a tour of potentially troubled areas. Meet at 11AM @ the Farmers Market. Once problems have been identified, including crime and environmental issues that could contribute to crime, the sector lieutenants and officers will develop action plans to address the problems and resolve them within a specified time period. [via]

Representatives of the Wilder administration presented the outline of a marina project to the city council yesterday. Wilder’s proposal includes land also spoken for by the proposed Echo Harbor project and would include a marina with more than 150 boat slips. The project is estimated to cost around $17.7 million, with much of the cost expected to be made-up by selling nearby land and from developer fees. [via]