Week Ahead for January 13, 2025: Solar policy changes go before Albemarle Planning Commission; Ice Rink proposal to go before Greene County Planning Commission
Plus: Nelson County Supervisors to hold public hearing on lowering speed limits
Last week’s winter storm has set the tone for a year that will be anything but normal. Charlottesville and Louisa postponed their first meetings of the year, and the General Assembly convened but recessed due to the water crisis. This second week of the year feels like a very slow one on paper, but there’s a lot happening that’s worth mentioning in the final week before the second Trump Administration truly begins.
Albemarle County authorized utility-scale solar uses in 2017 and this week the Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on proposed changes including more definitions on energy storage
Nelson County Supervisors will hold a public hearing on getting the power to lower speed limits below 25 miles per hour and rezoning a property to business
Greene County Supervisors will formally vote to end the study of rural enterprise centers as an approved use
The Greene County Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on a special use permit for an ice rink on U.S. 29 by the Food Lion
There are no meetings in Louisa County this week.
There is also no meeting of the Charlottesville Planning Commission, a group that used to regularly meet on the second Tuesday of the month but does so less often following the adoption of the new Development Code.
Thanks as always to the Piedmont Environmental Council for their continued sponsorship of this Sunday edition of the newsletter.
Monday, January 13, 2025
Places29-Hydraulic group to get update on joint resilience project
Albemarle has several appointed bodies that were created to serve as forums for issues in the development area. On Monday, the Places29 Hydraulic Community Advisory Committee will meet at 5:30 p.m. in the Greer Elementary School for their first meeting of the year where they’ll get an update on one particular initiative.
“Resilient Together is a County, City, and UVA collaborative planning and implementation process designed to ensure our community is strong, safe, and healthy in a changing climate,” reads the agenda for the meeting.
The Albemarle and Charlottesville Planning Commissions had a joint work session on this topic back in late October which I wrote about at the time.
Albemarle Fire EMS executive committee to meet
In a world where calamity is seemingly ever-present, there is a major role to be played by public safety agencies. A big portion for the growth of Albemarle County’s budget has been the hiring of new firefighters and medics to provide coverage of a growing community.
The executive committee of Albemarle County Fire and Emergency Medical Services will meet in Fire Rescue Conference Room at 1630 hours, or 6:30 p.m. at 460 Stagecoach Road, Suite F. (meeting packet)
They will review policies governing the use of the burn building, live fire training in acquired structures, and the February work session.
Some facts about live fire training. The maximum duration of each live fire training is 20 minutes and the maximum sustained temperature is 1200 degrees F with a maximum spike up to 1500 degrees F.
Tuesday, January 14, 2025
Nelson County Supervisors to discuss jail utilization, hold public hearing on ability to lower speed limits
The five-member Board of Supervisors in Nelson County begin the year with an organizational meeting that kicks off at 2 p.m. in the General District Courtroom in the Courthouse in Lovingston. (agenda packet)
Three of the five seats are on the ballot this year. They are the East District seat currently held by Jesse Rutherford, the North District seat held by Tommy D. Harvey, and the Central District seat held by Ernie Reed. .
One of the items on the consent agenda is a resolution of support for repairs and strategic plan implementation funds for the Blue Ridge Parkway. The 469-mile road begins at Afton Mountain and travels to the Qualla Boundary in North Carolina.
“The Parkway generates approximately $1.4 billion in visitor spending and $1.8 billion in total economic output for the 1,799,000 residents of the surrounding corridor of twenty-nine counties, seven independent Virginia cities, and numerous municipalities in North Carolina and Virginia,” reads the resolution.
Many areas along the Blue Ridge Parkway were damaged in Tropical Storm Helene and an organization called the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation is coordinating efforts to prioritize repairs. They’re seeking $2.5 million in federal funds from the Appalachian Regional Commission to implement the Blue Ridge Rising Action Plan.
There are three presentations. The first is from the Virginia Department of Transportation. The second is on the general reassessment planned for 2026. The third is a report on how Nelson County utilized the regional jail it shares with Albemarle County and the City of Charlottesville. The study tracks 3,174 inmates from Nelson County that were booked into the ACRJ from 2014 to 2023.
“Nelson intake volume in 2023 remains lower than pre-pandemic numbers,” reads one slide in the presentation. “However, the percent change from 2014 to 2023 of the number of Nelson-responsible inmates entering ACRJ increased by 17 percent.”
There are two items under new and unfinished business. The first is on billing rates for ambulance transport and a staff recommendation to increase the rate in order to bring in more revenue. The second is on a funding request from the Rockfish Valley Community Center.
In the evening session there are two public hearings.
The first is on a rezoning request for 10761 Thomas Nelson Highway for the property to be converted from A-1 Agricultural to B-1 Business.
“This property is commonly referred to as the ‘Sunny Mountain Store’ which operates as a convenience store, gas station, and restaurant (Indian Oven); all legally vested nonconforming uses,” reads the staff report. “The owners are proposing to rezone the property from A-1 Agriculture to B-1 Business to align the zoning designation with the current uses.”
The second is to give the Board of Supervisors the power to lower speed limits below 25 miles per hour in certain areas.
There are also three unfinished items related to the Wild Rose Solar facility, including an appeal of the Planning Commission’s determination on June 26, 2024 that the project is not in accord with the Comprehensive Plan. The Board of Supervisors had public hearings in December but did not take a vote.
Greene Board of Supervisors to end consideration of Rural Enterprise Centers
The Greene County Board of Supervisors will meet at 5:30 p.m. in the administration building in Stanardsville and will immediately select a chair and vice chair. Then they’ll go into a closed session for an hour before coming back to start the open meeting. (meeting packet)
There are several presentations to start the meeting including a review of the FY2025 audit as well as a review of the Freedom of Information Act as it pertains to meetings. There’s also a review of a draft policy on the use of social media and an update on the new public safety radio system.
One item on the consent agenda would rescind the Board of Supervisors’ previous support to study the zoning code to add “Rural Enterprise Centers” in the rural area.
“The proposed amendment was met with significant dislike from citizens and the Planning Commission recommended denial of the new ordinance and even after the two work sessions did not feel that the proposed amendment fit within the goals of the Greene County Comprehensive Plan,” reads the staff report for the resolution.
Another item on the regular agenda is a review of 2024 and a year in which Supervisors lowered the Real Estate tax rate by two cents and the personal property tax by 50 cents.
Albemarle Planning Commission to hold public hearing on changes to solar ordinance
The seven members of the Albemarle County Planning Commission will have their first meeting of the year at 6 p.m. in Lane Auditorium located in the county’s office building at 401 McIntire Road. They’ll pick new officers. (agenda) (meeting info)
Albemarle County first amended its zoning code to allow solar energy systems in the summer of 2017, as written about by Charlottesville Tomorrow at the time. For over two years, county staff have been reviewing amendments such as additional definitions and requiring facilities over two acres to be Virginia Pollinator Smart certified.
“The development of the proposed ordinance was guided by addressing the land use impacts potentially caused by solar and battery energy facilities,” reads the staff report. “The ongoing review and update of the Comprehensive Plan is the appropriate place for the discussion of the relative merits of solar and battery energy facilities.”
The second public hearing is on a special use permit for Charlottesville Community Church to have a 500-seat religious assembly place on a property at 26 Pebble Drive in the Scottsville Magisterial District. (staff report)
“The existing Pebble Drive is along the northern border of the subject parcel and Avinity Estates,” reads the staff report. “Currently, the private right-of-way is a steep gravel driveway in poor condition. The applicant has proposed to reconstruct and upgrade Pebble Drive to meet the future needs of the church and the parcel to the rear.”
In other meetings:
The Albemarle Police Citizens Advisory Committee will meet at 8:30 a.m. in the county’s office building at 1600 5th Street in Conference Room B. There’s no agenda.
The Charlottesville Sister Cities Commission will meet at 4:30 p.m. in the Small Conference Room in CitySpace in the Market Street Parking Garage. They’ll discuss goals and programs for 2025 and 2026.
The Fluvanna Planning Commission will have a brief meeting at 6 p.m. to get its organizational business done for 2025. Last week’s meeting was canceled due to the snow storm but the public hearings scheduled for January 7 will all have to be re-advertised. (learn more)
Wednesday, January 15, 2025
Albemarle Board of Supervisors to review proposals for Lambs Lane Loop Road
The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors will meet for the second time of the year but the first regular meeting. They meet at 1 p.m. in Lane Auditorium at the county’s office building at 401 McIntire Road.
After a proclamation recognizing Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Supervisors will take an action related to a critical slopes waiver to accommodate a private central sewerage system for Innisfree.
“The proposed system will replace multiple conventional onsite sewage systems with a centralized wastewater treatment and disposal system permitted with the Virginia Department of Health as an alternative onsite sewage system,” reads the request.
Next, Supervisors will get an update on the real property reassessment for 2025. State law requires all localities to assess property at fair market value. In 2024, the rise was just over four percent after two years of higher increases.
A second presentation will be on a potential project to submit through the Virginia Department of Transportation’s Revenue Sharing program. The county created a master plan for Lambs Lane, a roadway that currently supports three Albemarle public schools and will soon host a fourth.
“In FY23, the Board of Supervisors used funding from the Board’s strategic reserve to fund an alternatives analysis for a Lambs Lane campus loop road, as well as to identify multimodal safety improvements along the Hydraulic corridor between Lambs Road and Georgetown Road,” reads the staff report.
Staff recommended staff not pursue revenue-sharing funds in 2023, as I reported at the time. The Board will be asked if they want to proceed and if so, what scenario.
Last week, the Charlottesville City Council was to have had a work session on a potential expansion of MicroCAT into the city. City Manager Sam Sanders has previously briefed Council on this possibility, and there’s a hint of what’s to come in the staff report for the Albemarle Board of Supervisors’ conversation scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
“The presentation is focused on providing the Board an update on the service as it enters its second year of operations,” reads the staff report.
Albemarle County secured funding from the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation for a pilot program that began service in the fall of 2023.
“This portion will cover the 2nd year of service currently underway, options for after the two-years of service of that has been agreed on in the DRPT Demonstration Grant, potential expansion opportunities that have been discussed with the City and VIA, and the opportunities for additional grants to continue the service into the future,” the report continues.
After a break that could involve a closed meeting, Supervisors will reconvene at 6 p.m. There are three public hearings.
The first is on an amendment to the county ordinance on real estate tax relief for the elderly and disabled. This would increase the maximum annual income threshold from $88,800 to $97,650 and increase the net worth threshold from $305,000 to $312,000. (staff report)
The second is for a special use permit to establish a new Dominion Energy Virginia electric substation off of Old Lynchburg Road. (staff report)
The third is for a proposed lease of a section of land adjacent to the Yancey Community Center to Firefly Fiber Broadband. (staff report)
Greene County Ice Rink to go before Planning Commission
The Greene County Planning Commission gets 2025 off to a start with election of officers followed by two public hearings. They meet in the county meeting room at 40 Celt Road. (meeting info)
The first public hearing is for a special use permit for an indoor recreation facility off of Deerfield Drive adjacent to a shopping center.
“The proposed Ice Park facility should be a desirable neighbor,” reads the staff report. “Rather than competing against the existing businesses, it should bring new customers and traffic from areas beyond their current service areas.”
The second public hearing is for the creation of a new zoning district to be called the Technology, Flex Research and Development District.
“The district would encompass uses that are high-tech enterprises, including information technology, national security, advanced specialty manufacturing, and biotechnology,” reads the staff report.
The creation of the district builds on the designation of 562 acres in the Future Land Use Map for these purposes. At the December 18, 2024 work session, Planning Commissioners stated they did not want to attract data centers.
“There was also a discussion about the infrastructure that it takes to run a data center and that Greene currently does not have the power and water resources usually required,” reads the minutes.
In Louisa County, Amazon is footing the bill for about $89 million in extending water and sewer infrastructure to two data center campuses.
In one other meeting:
The Charlottesville Housing Advisory Committee meets at noon. There’s no agenda released on the day of publication so I’ll write that up in a future newsletter.
Thursday, January 16, 2025
Just two meetings today and both are bulleted points.
The Charlottesville Minority Business Commission will meet at 3 p.m. but the calendar doesn’t list a location nor is there an agenda. (meeting info)
Charlottesville Human Rights Commission will meet at 6:30 p.m. in CitySpace. They’ll hold elections for officers and will have a work session on the work plan for staff and the commission. In 2024, there were a total of 13 complaints from 1,842 total incoming contacts with a total of 242 individuals served. Ten of the complaints are open and three are closed. (agenda) (agenda packet)