A Vanished Mural, the Best of Richmond, and Tree Canopy Replacement
Cheers RVA!
Today will be sunny with a bit of an afternoon breeze, with a high of 73 and a low of 44.
the pulp:
The ‘Greetings from Richmond’ mural on Broad Street has been painted over, according to Sabrina Moreno at Axios. The mural was originally painted in 2016 by muralists Mickael Broth and Ross Trimmer, and was later updated in 2020 to include imagery from the BLM protests.
Local startup Humanitru has raised $3 million in additional venture funding according to Bizsense. The firm creates cloud-based management software for mid- to large-scale non-profits.
Cast your vote for Styleweekly’s Best of Richmond once per day through March 31. There are over 100 categories ranging from best film festival to best doughnut to best bookstore.
the dive:
The Virginia Mercury dives into two bills the General Assembly has sent to the Governor regarding how localities can conserve trees amid development.
Evan Visconti for the Mercury writes:
The current law allows only some localities within planning district eight in Northern Virginia to adopt slightly higher tree canopy replacement percentages after a piece of land is developed compared to the rest of the state. Tree canopy replacement requires that a certain percentage of each lot must contain trees 20 years after it is developed or redeveloped.
In certain localities in Fairfax and Arlington, fees are collected from developers who cannot meet the requirements for tree canopy replacement and placed in a tree canopy fund.
The fund is then used to plant trees or donate to nonprofits that plant trees.
But localities (other than those in Northern Virginia) cannot require more than the bare minimum replacement percentages.
For example, for a site zoned as business, commercial, or industrial, the current ordinance cannot require a developer to replace more than 10% of the canopy.
Many localities have expressed support and interest in Virginia setting a floor, not a ceiling, on its tree canopy replacement percentage.
HB268 aims to conserve and replace trees during development by allowing localities to set their own canopy replacement percentages, with bill sponsor Patrick Hope emphasizing the ordinance is entirely optional for localities.
Governor Youngkin vetoed an identical bill last year.
Read the full article here.
the vibe:
Have a growthful day RVA!
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