AGENDA DATE: 8/6/2020
TITLE:
Title
Court Square - Civil War Monuments and Memorials
BODY
SUBJECT/PROPOSAL/REQUEST: To receive public comment on the Board of Supervisors intent to remove, relocate, contextualize, or cover the following monuments or memorials for the veterans of war located on the County-owned portion of Court Square - the statue known as "At Ready", cannons, and the stacked cannonballs.
ITEM TYPE: Regular Action Item
STAFF CONTACT(S): Richardson, Kamptner, Walker, Russell, Kilroy
PRESENTER (S): Greg Kamptner, Siri Russell, Emily Kilroy, Liz Russell
LEGAL REVIEW: Not Required
REVIEWED BY: Jeffrey B. Richardson
BACKGROUND: Until July 1, 2020, Virginia Code ? 15.2-1812 made it unlawful for localities to "disturb or interfere with" any war monuments or memorials. "Disturb or interfere with" included removing, damaging, or defacing the monuments or memorials.
Senate Bill 183 and House Bill 1537 (2020) amend Section 15.2-1812, effective July 1, 2020, to authorize a locality to remove, relocate, contextualize, or cover war monuments and memorials from its public property, provided that the locality complies with the procedures required by the new law.
At its July 1, 2020 meeting, the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors took an action to advertise a public hearing to receive public comment on the Board of Supervisors intent to remove, relocate, contextualize, or cover the following monuments or memorials for the veterans of war located on the County-owned portion of Court Square - the statue known as "At Ready", cannons, and the stacked cannonballs.
According to state code, after the public hearing, the Board may vote on whether to remove, relocate, contextualize, or cover the monument or memorial. If the Board votes to remove, relocate, contextualize, or cover the monument or memorial, it must first offer for a period of 30 days the monument or memorial for relocation and placement to any museum, historical society, government...
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