Week Ahead for January 6, 2025: Fluvanna Supervisors to consider meals tax; Charlottesville City Council to amend human rights ordinance

The year begins with a week where government meetings will likely be impacted by the winter weather

Places everyone! It’s time once again to begin a new year in local and regional government. While this is not the year after an election, many elected and appointed bodies will select a new chair and vice chair. And then the decisions begin to get made!

One note: None of the meetings scheduled for Monday are happening!

If you’re new to the newsletter, every Sunday I write a long summary of what’s happening at local government meetings in the Thomas Jefferson Planning District. This is the start of my work cycle each week as I try to determine what I want to write about for the regular newsletter. My aspiration is to write as many articles as I can each week and that’s the future I am trying to build toward.

Here’s what is coming up this week:

• Charlottesville City Council will get more information on a potential extension of MicroCAT project to a small sliver of the city as well as the final number for the surplus for fiscal year 2024.

• Louisa Supervisors will hear a request possibly Tuesday Monday from a developer who wants to build additional units in a future condominium building at the Lake Anna Resort.

• Fluvanna County Supervisors will provide direction Wednesday on levying a meals tax now that they can do without holding a referendum.

• On Wednesday, the Albemarle County Supervisors will review the draft rural area land uses chapter of the Comprehensive Plan update.

• The day before, the Albemarle Board of Zoning Appeals will consider a land owner’s request to create a lot in the rural area under the two acre minimum

• There are no meetings in Greene County this week but the Board of Supervisors will be back in action on January 14, 2025.

• There are no meetings in Nelson County but the Economic Development Authority met on January 2. No meeting packet was posted.

Thanks as always to the Piedmont Environmental Council for their financial support in the form of a sponsorship that dates back to the very first edition of this weekly Week Ahead!

Monday, January 6, 2025

Charlottesville City Council to learn about MicroCAT pilot, review FY24 audit

Note: This meeting has been postponed to January 21, 2025 due to winter weather

The Charlottesville City Council will not have an organizational meeting because the Mayor and Vice Mayor are selected every two years. That means Juandiego Wade and Brian Pinkston will serve in those positions in the year they run for re-election. (meeting overview)

The 4 p.m. work session has two items. The first is a presentation on the possible extension of the MicroCAT on-demand transit pilot into the Meadows neighborhood. There are no materials in advance but City Manager Sam Sanders gave a preview to Council in December as I reported at the time. He said it would cost $475,000.

“It is not citywide,” Sanders said. “It does not serve every single person in this community. It is a small geography near the Best Buy. That’s the best way for me to describe it. And it’s an opportunity for us to ensure that that service, which has really, really been extraordinarily above all expectations, it’s a chance for us to try to distinguish bus service in this area.”

The second is a presentation from Charlottesville City Schools on their capital improvement plan. Those materials are also not available in advance. The School Board and City Council met on December 19 and the presentation does not address capital issues. (meeting overview)

The consent agenda has a few items of note:

• There is a second reading of a resolution to appropriate $393,456.60 in grant funds from the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation for the Pollocks Branch Pedestrian Trail and Bridge. (learn more)

• There is second reading of a supplemental appropriation of $7,571,300 in federal, state, and local funds for Charlottesville Area Transit. I wrote about the first reading and public hearing here. (learn more)

• There’s a resolution to allocate an additional $15,000 to the Meadow Creek Valley Trail and Bridges capital project. (learn more)

• There’s a resolution to return $10,679.96 to a business for their license tax payment. City policy is not to identify the business, but this one moved to another jurisdiction in March 2023 and didn’t notify the Commissioner of the Revenue. (learn more)

There are four action items.

The first is on proposed amendments to the Charlottesville Human Rights Ordinance to allow city staff to conduct some fair housing investigations on behalf of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. This was to have happened already but HUD wanted some changes and Council will review those changes. Additional staff has already been hired to do the job. A question for the near future will be what changes the incoming Trump administration might want to make. (read the memo)

The second is a report on the audit of Charlottesville’s books for fiscal year 2024. There are no advanced materials but this will tell everyone how large the surplus for FY24 will be.

The third is a report on the work plan for the Department of Neighborhood Development Services. Director Kellie Brown gave a preview to the Planning Commission in December as I wrote about at the time. (read the memo)

The fourth is to set dates and times and places for Council’s meetings this year.

Louisa Supervisors to consider request for more apartments at Lake Anna Resort

(The Louisa County Supervisors meeting scheduled for January 6 has been tentatively rescheduled to January 7)

The seven-member Louisa County Board of Supervisors meets at 5 p.m. for a closed session followed by an open session at 6 p.m. That begins with an organizational meeting.

There are several items on the consent agenda worth noting:

• There is a resolution to approve a letter of support for a grant for small modular reactors at the North Anna power station. Dominion Energy Virginia is seeking funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations. Specifically under “DE-FOA-0003485the Generation III+ Small Modular Reactor Pathway to Deployment, Tier 1.” (read the letter)

• There is a resolution to direct staff to conduct an update of the dogs running at large ordinance. (read the resolution)

• There is a resolution to authorize assignment of $4,712,538 from the fund balance to a reserve fund for local government and school capital projects. Most of it is going to the schools. (read the resolution)

• There is a resolution to authorize a memorandum of understanding with the Louisa County School Board related to the use of the county airport for emergency parking. (read the resolution)

• There is a resolution to approve a contract for a company to develop event, wayfinding, and gateway signage. This will go to Centaur Holdings, Inc. (read the resolution)

• There is a resolution to authorize a budget transfer for the Sheriff’s Department for an additional $36,000 for an upgrade of the Carolina Recording System Upgrade. (read the resolution)

There will be a presentation from Piedmont Virginia Community College, an update from the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee, another presentation on gateway signs, and an update on regional electrical transmission projects that affect Louisa County. Only the latter is available in advance and you can look at a bigger version here.

A map of forthcoming projects (Credit: pjm)

Under new business, there is a resolution related to requests for applications for a Louisa Grant program for tourism partnerships. A committee recommends the Louisa County Fair get up to $26,699 with $20,000 to be used to hire musical acts. The Louisa County Historical Society is to receive up to $19,000 for three projects including $6,000 for the Sargeant Museum and $12,000 for integrating various maps and tours into the county’s tourism app. (read the memo)

There are four public hearings:

• The first is on proposed amendments to the Land Development Regulations including one that would remove the Virginia Department of Transportation’s involvement in review of county site plans. There’s a story here I have on a long list of ones to pursue. (read the memo)

• The second is for a rezoning application for LA Resort LLC to seek an increase from 96 units to 124 units for a planned unit development at Lake Anna. (read the memo)

• The third is related to abandonment of public right of way for public use that was dedicated as part of the Cutalong Consolidated. (read the memo)

• The fourth is related to a proffer amendment requested by the owner of Cutalong Consolidated. (read the memo)

ARB to review Mercedes dealership, new location for Ferguson, High School Center 2

(This meeting has been postponed due to the winter weather)

The first meeting of the Albemarle Architectural Review Board begins at 1 p.m. in Lane Auditorium of the county’s office building at 401 McIntire Road. (meeting info)

There are two regular review items and one work session at this meeting.

In the first regular item, the car dealership that had been at 1313 Richmond Road is moving to Seminole Trail. What had been Flow Hyundai is now slated to be Flow Mercedes-Benz and the renovations need a certificate of appropriateness.

“Flow Automotive has continued to strengthen its presence in Charlottesville by acquiring and developing dealerships such as Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, CDJR, Porsche, Toyota, Subaru, Volkswagen, Mazda, Kia, and Honda,” reads the introduction to the architectural drawings.

A rendering of the proposed renovations (Credit: Design Develop)

The second review item is a proposed renovation of a commercial space at 400 Rio Road West.

“Ferguson Enterprises, a wholesale plumbing business, proposes to occupy the existing office building and to establish outdoor storage, display, and sales (storage) of equipment and plumbing materials,” reads the staff report.

The outdoor storage and sales requires a special use permit and the ARB is being asked to provide feedback on the conceptual plan.

The work session is on the design for High School Center 2 and to go through revisions made after the November 18, 2024 review by the ARB. This pertains to the color of some of the metal used in the building that will be located in the Lambs Lane Campus.

The latest rendering for the High School Center 2 (Design: Quinn Evans)

Tuesday, January 7, 2025

Albemarle Board of Zoning Appeals to consider request for smaller lot size

While that may not seem like the most exciting headline, this one goes out to the small percentage of people who are thrilled about the intricate details of Albemarle’s land use policy.

The minimum size for a lot in the county’s rural area is 2 acres. The owner of a 7.01 acre property in Keswick wants to subdivide a portion that would total 1.3867 acres. Staff found they could not approve this because the exception did not meet any of the county’s guidelines for granting a variance.

The applicant seeks to sell off the parcel upon which a house stands. They want to “save a pastoral sight line” and retain some of the existing land for livestock.

Fluvanna Planning Commission to hold public hearing on subdivision loophole

The five-member Fluvanna Planning Commission will in the Morris Room of the Fluvanna County Administration Building at 6 p.m. for the organizational meeting followed by a work session at 6:15 p.m. The regular meeting begins at 7 p.m. (meeting packet)

The work session is on ordinance changes for special events as well as subdivisions. For special events, the staff report points out what policies on special events are on the books in neighboring counties. For instance, Louisa began a process to regulate the process in 2018 but never completed it. Places allowed to hold special events are determined by a conditional use permit.

There are two public hearings. The first is on amending the county’s subdivision ordinance to further clarify language related to a change recommended by the Planning Commission in December. That resolution would “eliminate the five-year resubdivision work-around, so that any subdivision activity yielding six or more lots must go through the major subdivision review process.” This public hearing would update language as seen below.

This link will take you right to the staff report (Credit: Fluvanna County)

The second public hearing is on a property owner’s request to remove their land from the North 640 Agricultural and Forestal District. (learn more)

There are two resolutions to initiate changes to Fluvanna’s zoning ordinance and to authorize a future public hearing. One is to add a definition of agritourism. This is the proposed language:

• Agritourism activity: Any activity carried out on a farm or ranch that allows members of the general public, for recreational, entertainment, or educational purposes, to view or enjoy rural activities, including farming, wineries, ranching, horseback riding, historical, cultural, harvest-your-own activities, or natural activities and attractions. An activity is an agritourism activity whether or not the participant paid to participate in the activity.

The other is on amending the definitions for “solid waste material recovery facility” and “solid waste collection facility” to remove the word “municipal.”

“This amendment broadens the definitions of ‘Solid Waste Material Recovery Facility’ and ‘Solid Waste Collection Facility’ to include non-municipal waste,” reads the staff report.

There will be reviews of a site development plan for Suntribe Solar / Carysbrook Solar “to construct a 3-MW ground-mounted solar facility on approximately 27 acres of 361.3-acre parcel to be accessed from Route 615.”

Under unfinished business there will be a further discussion of the Comprehensive Plan.

In other meetings:

• The Charlottesville Retirement Commission will meet at 2 p.m. and will have a closed session on investment strategies. (meeting info)

• The Charlottesville Tree Commission will meet at 5 p.m. in the Parks and Recreation Office in the basement of the Market Street Parking Garagement. (meeting info)

Wednesday, January 8, 2025

Albemarle Supervisors to review draft Rural Area Land Use chapter of comprehensive plan update

The six members of the Albemarle Board of Supervisors get to work for the year at 1 p.m. in Lane Auditorium of the county’s office building at 401 McIntire Road. (agenda) (meeting info)

They begin with an organizational meeting at which they’ll pick a chair and vice chair and adopt procedures for the year. Jim Andrews served as chair in 2024 and Diantha McKeel served as vice chair. Here’s a story I wrote last year about the policy adopted for public comment periods.

The first item of the year is a work session on the update of the Comprehensive Plan. If I had the resources to conduct a poll, I would want to know what percentage of Albemarle residents know what AC44 is. It stands for Albemarle County 2044, which is the 20 year horizon for a Comprehensive Plan that was last updated in 2015. The county is now is in the fourth year of review that I suspect very few people are paying attention to and that I’ve struggled to keep up with.

Yet, before this meeting I will write a story in the regular newsletter that tries to give an overall update of where things are in a review process that changed last summer. This one is on the Rural Area Land Use Chapter and my next story will try to take a look at the Planning Commission’s work session on the topic from November 19, 2024. (staff report)

Supervisors will have a regular first meeting on January 15 followed by a second regular meeting of the month on January 22.

A snapshot from the Albemarle Comprehensive Plan 2024 chapter on Rural Area Land Uses (Credit: Albemarle County)

Fluvanna Supervisors to consider levying of meals tax now that referendum no longer required

The five members of the Fluvanna Board of Supervisors will meet at 5 p.m. in the Circuit Courtroom in the Fluvanna Courts Building. They will begin with the organizational meeting for the year

They’ll receive two presentations in the regular meeting.

The first is an update on the Fluvanna Forward economic development strategic plan. Supervisors adopted the document in September 2022. (take a look)

One strategic goal under “People” notes the relative affordability of real estate in Fluvanna County.

“The affordability of real estate and rental properties have a positive impact on talent attraction,” reads a portion of this section. “Creating a blend of real estate options at various price points, near schools and recreational amenities, attracts and retains workers and industries on a larger scale.”

This document also lays out Fluvanna County’s target industries

• Business and Financial Services

• Light Manufacturing

• Transportation and Logistics Agribusiness,

• Food Processing

• Technology Health Services

• Forest and Wood Products

Last year, Fluvanna County adopted a Comprehensive Plan to meet a state guideline to do so in a certain time period but immediately began work on a new one to find ways to protect the rural area from development. How will that influence the economic development strategy?

In other meetings:

• The Piedmont Virginia Community College Board of Visitors will meet at 4 p.m. at 501 College Drive. The agenda is not yet posted. (meeting info)

• The Crozet Community Advisory Committee will meet at 7 p.m. at the Crozet Library. They’ll discuss topics for 2025. (meeting info) (agenda)

Thursday, January 9, 2025

Louisa Planning Commission to review capital improvement plan

The Louisa Planning Commission will hold a work session at 5 p.m. on the capital improvement plan. They meet in the Louisa County Public Meeting Room. Under old business they’ll discuss their by-laws, discuss proffers, and discuss focus area plans. (work session agenda)

At the CIP work session they’ll get a presentation from Louisa County Public Schools, Louisa Fire and EMS, General Services, Parks and Recreation, Economic Development, the Louisa County Water Authority, the Louisa County Airport. (learn more)

The regular meeting will begin at 7 p.m. with an organization meeting. (regular meeting agenda)

Under unfinished business they will resume a conversation about amendments to the county’s solar siting agreements. (read the memo)

Under new business there will be a review of whether a conditional use permit for a project called Arcola Towers is compatible with the Comprehensive Plan. This is for a 197-foot cell tower to be located on land zoned Agricultural-2 in the Patrick Henry District.

Albemarle Solid Waste Alternatives Advisory Committee to meet

One of the topics I would like to cover more in the future is what to do with solid waste. In November, the executive director of the Rivanna Solid Waste Authority gave a briefing on challenges facing the industry in an era where new landfills are not likely.

“Whether the regulations are going to continue to become more stringent or there’s going to be a relaxing, there is going to be a reality check that we’ve got to put this stuff somewhere every day, where are we going to put it?” Mawyer said. “And if the regulators say, wait, there’s no landfills, we’ve really got to think hard to be creative on what we’re going to do with the products.”

That’s one reason there is an Albemarle Solid Waste Alternatives Advisory Committee and why I hope to build the resources to write stories about what is being done to reduce waste. At their meeting at 4 p.m. in Room 246 of the county’s office building at 401 McIntire Road. (meeting info) (agenda)

There’s not a lot of material in the agenda but they’ll get an update on the Albemarle Comprehensive Plan Update for 2044 as well as the county’s for how to use revenue from the plastic bag tax to pick up litter. For the rest of the agenda, I resort to an image.

In other meetings:

• The Fluvanna County Electoral Board will meet at 11 a.m. for the canvas of votes in the special election for Senate District 10. They meet at the registrar’s office at 265 Turkeysag Trail, Suite 115. For more on the special election, take a look at this article on Information Charlottesville. (calendar item)

• The Albemarle County Electoral Board will meet virtually at 9:30 a.m. There is no agenda but the meeting info page says “members of the public who wish to attend the meeting virtually (online) should call (434) 972-4173 for log-in instructions.”

• The Places29-North Community Advisory Committee will meet at 6 p.m. in the North Fork Discovery Park in Building 4. Like the Crozet group, they will discuss topics for the year that is this one. (meeting info) (agenda)

Friday, January 10, 2025

Charlottesville Historic Resources Committee to discuss work plan for 2025

The Charlottesville Historic Resources Committee will meet at 10 a.m. in the Neighborhood Development Services Conference Room in City Hall. (meeting info)

This meeting will focus on the group’s work plan for the year.