Week Ahead for June 23, 2025: Greene Supervisors to see reduced scope for water supply plan implementation
Plus: Nelson Supervisors will talk zoning with the Planning Commission
Summer is definitely here. For many it’s too hot to think about policy. Then again, very people get excited about what happens at government meetings. I know I’m not alone, though, so every week I provide this guide of what’s happening at meetings in the six localities of the Thomas Jefferson Planning District.
Some highlights this week:
Nelson County Supervisors will meet the Planning Commission for a joint work session to go over an updated “use matrix” included in the draft zoning code.
Greene County Supervisors will see the results of a value engineering study of the plans to build a reservoir and new water treatment facility.
There are several transportation related meetings this week and the MPO Policy Board will discuss a “transportation demand management” study to help reduce the number of people who drive in single-occupancy vehicles.
Albemarle County continues to recover from a cybersecurity attack with at least one meeting moved to a different location. Both scheduled meetings of the Board of Equalization have been canceled, but that could very well be for a different reason.
There are only a handful of meetings in Charlottesville, and I’m most interested in the Board of Zoning Appeals but there’s no agenda yet.
There are no meetings in Louisa County until July 7
Thanks as always to the Piedmont Environmental Council for their continuing sponsorship of this weekly look ahead to what’s happening in local and regional government.
Monday, June 23, 2025
Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority Board to meet
Now more than ever, the meetings of the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority’s Board of Commissioners give an important glimpse into what’s happening at a public entity that has moved forward with modernization efforts across their many properties.
The Board of Commissioners meet at 6 p.m. as we can learn on their meeting calendar and from the placeholder page on the city’s live-meeting streaming service.
But what’s on the agenda? The materials are not on the website so I uploaded them to a storage place on Information Charlottesville.
Albemarle Historic Preservation Committee to meet
The Albemarle Historic Preservation Committee is expected to meet at 4:30 p.m. in the Fifth Street County Office Building in Room C. That’s an unusual location. At times the group has struggled to make quorum. (meeting info) (agenda)
The group did meet in March and the minutes indicate a discussion about Sugar Hollow and trails to the other park, a review of a local historic marker for both Yancey Elementary School and Esmont Colored School, and a plaque at the Levy building.
The minutes for the April meeting indicate there was no quorum but presentations were given anyway.
The Board of Supervisors approved the marker at their meeting on May 7, 2025 according to the action memo. However, there’s no further information in the staff report except the location marker below. The item was on the consent agenda.
At this meeting, the group will discuss potential historic preservation topics and the demolition report.
In one other meetings:
The Social Services Board in Fluvanna County will meet at 3 p.m. in the 1st floor conference room at 8880 James Madison Highway in Fork Union. There’s no agenda posted. (learn more)
Tuesday, June 24, 2025
Greene County Supervisors to review reduced scope for water infrastructure
The five members of the Greene County Board of Supervisors will meet at 5:30 p.m. in the county meeting room in the administration building at 40 Celt Road in Stanardsville. (meeting overview)
They will immediately go into closed session and then return at 6:30 p.m. The agenda does not include the specific citation of Virginia code that allows a private meeting but cites a wide range.
The first action item relates to a revision to the water supply plan requested by the Board at their meeting on January 28. This involves a smaller reservoir at White Run and a new water treatment facility with less capacity. That could being the overall cost down from $87 million to $65.5 million.
The second relates to an approval of bonuses for eligible employees. There’s no information in the staff report.
In other meetings:
The Commonwealth Transportation Board will have a workshop in Richmond beginning at 8:30 a.m. These are worthwhile if you’re really interested in learning about transportation policy in Virginia. (agenda packet)
The Single Exit Stair Study Group will meet at 10 a.m. at the Virginia Housing Center in Glen Allen. Charlottesville Planning Commissioner Lyle Solla-Yates wants to change the building code to only require one exit for a multifamily structure out of a belief that will reduce housing costs. Solla-Yates claims this will reduce construction costs by seven percent. Here’s a story I wrote for C-Ville Weekly last April. (agenda)
Wednesday, June 25, 2025
Nelson Supervisors to hold joint meeting with Planning Commission on new zoning ordinance
There appear to be three components to the Nelson County Board of Supervisors meeting Wednesday. The first is a continued meeting that begins at 4:30 p.m. in the General District Courthouse. There’s no information about this other than the calendar item. (meeting info)
At 5 p.m. Supervisors will begin a joint meeting with the Planning Commission for a work session on the update of the zoning code.
“Nelson County has partnered with the Berkley Group, a local government consulting firm, to update, modernize, and restructure the Zoning and Subdivision Ordinances,” reads the opening page of the staff report.
This particular meeting will look at the “Use Matrix” as well as “Use Performance Standards.” In zoning terms, a use matrix is a chart that states what can happen on what properties and whether a use can be unlocked by a special use permit or a special exception.
For instance, if you want to have a meat processing facility on land zoned Agricultural-1, you need a special use permit. There would be use standards that would have to be met in your site plan.
Under the draft changes, multifamily dwellings would be allowed by-right in the new R-3 High-Density Residential zones. You would need a special use permit in the Village Overlay and Route 29 Overlay district, but not allowed at all in the Route 151 overlay.
Short term rental units would require a special use permit on Agricultural-1 land, and by-right in R-1 and R-2 zones. They would not be allowed anywhere else.
I’m not plugged in enough to know how transformative these changes would be, but I do know there has been a lot of talk. I don’t believe this meeting will be televised. Maybe I’ll actually attend?
After the work session, the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors will hold a joint public hearing on a zoning amendment to change language in regulations over floodplains.
“Proposed amendments would keep the County’s floodplain management ordinance and enforcement procedures in compliance with [National Flood Insurance Program] requirements,” reads the public notice.
MPO to discuss travel demand management study, weigh in on city grant application
There are many different places where you can go to watch people talk about transportation policy. One of them is the meeting of the Charlottesville-Albemarle Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), a federally-mandated body that makes local decisions about federal funding.
The Policy Board meets at 4 p.m. at the headquarters of the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission at 407 East Water Street. The meeting materials can be found here, but I can’t provide a direct link.
One of the first items on the agenda is a review of a transportation demand management program. The MPO Technical Committee discussed the matter this past week and I’ll try to get a story out before Tuesday. I wrote up a preview last week but I’ve not had a chance to write up the recording.
The MPO will also be asked to support the City of Charlottesville’s grant application for the competitive “Low or No competitive grant program” to help finance the cost of either battery-electric or hydrogen buses. I’ll write up what happened last week Monday or Tuesday, but I refer you back to a series of stories I wrote:
Charlottesville Area Transit to study alternative fuels, March 14, 2022
Sanders addresses community feedback on fuel for public transportation, September 11, 2023
Charlottesville Area Transit fuel study recommendations delayed until January, November 10, 2023
CAT fuel study recommends purchase of two battery-electric vehicles in 2024 for pilot, January 16, 2024
Charlottesville to pilot two types of alternative fuel buses beginning with two battery-electric vehicles, March 19, 2024
Area delegation travels to Illinois to tour hydrogen production used by Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District to power a dozen buses, June 14, 2024
In other meetings:
Fluvanna County has several groups meeting to advance the Comprehensive Plan review. The Economic Development Advisory Group will meet at 4:30 p.m. but the meeting page does not say where.
The Albemarle Broadband Authority will meet at 6 p.m. in Room 241 of the county’s office building at 401 McIntire Road. The agenda is not available as of this publication. (meeting info)
The Albemarle Fire EMS Board will meet at 6 p.m. in Room 235 of the county’s office building at 401 McIntire Road. The agenda is not available as of this publication and neither are the minutes. (meeting info)
Thursday, June 26, 2025
Charlottesville Board of Zoning Appeals to meet
As Charlottesville continues to implement the new zoning code, the role of City Council and the Planning Commission plays in the land use process will continue to diminish. A main theme is to reduce subjective decisions in favor of rules that favor density and more building space.
However, both the Board of Architectural Review and the Board of Zoning Appeals will continue to play important rules. The former has so far had several preliminary approvals for projects related to height and massing. In May, the Board of Zoning Appeals granted an administrative modification for a project at 2030 Barracks Road.
As of this moment, the city’s calendar tells me that the Board of Zoning Appeals will meet at 4 p.m. in the Neighborhood Development Services conference room in City Hall. That’s a different from May when they met in CitySpace. There’s no agenda but I will follow up during the week.
Lunch and Learn event a chance to catch up on Albemarle’s Comprehensive Plan
Albemarle County has been reviewing its Comprehensive Plan since November 2021 in a process known as AC44. With so many stories to write about what’s happening, I’ve neglected to review the many hours of meetings as the third of four phases has played out. The last story I wrote from the review process was in April.
You can see all of the stories I’ve written here at Information Charlottesville.
With only a handful of meetings this week, it’s highly likely I’ll report from the webinar county staff will hold at noon on Thursday as part of their Lunch and Learn series. This particular event will be on the Cultural Resources and the Resilient Community chapters. There will be a update on the process to date.
“This session is designed to share knowledge and encourage your active participation in shaping the future of our community,” reads the meeting info page. “Don’t miss this opportunity to join the conversation!
You can access all of the draft chapters here. But realistically, how many of you will?
Places29 Rio group to get update on Albemarle County Public Schools capital plan
Albemarle County’s Comprehensive Plan calls for designated growth areas, each of which has a dedicated community advisory committee. The Places29 Master Plan was adopted in February 2011 and originally there was one committee to review an area stretching from Hydraulic Road to Airport Road.
That got to be too unwieldy and the Places29 area was split into three. The one in the middle is the Places29-Rio Community Advisory Committee. They will meet on Thursday. (meeting info) (agenda)
The main item on the agenda is an update on capital projects from Matt Wertman, the director of building services for Albemarle County Public Schools. This is not available in advance. More information about school capital projects can be found here.
Charlottesville Parks and Recreation Advisory Board to discuss funding for master plan
The Charlottesville Parks and Recreation Advisory Board meets at 5:30 p.m. at the Carver Recreation Center at 5:30 p.m. Members are appointed by the City Manager and not City Council. (meeting agenda)
“The Advisory Board shall serve as a liaison to the Charlottesville City Manager between Charlottesville Park & Recreation and citizens of the City of Charlottesville,” reads the board’s website.
There is not a lot of information about the meeting. There will be a discussion of the recently adopted master plan as well as the Capital Improvement Program. There will also be a presentation on the history of the Father Daughter dance.
Then there will be a discussion of potential new members.
The minutes from the meeting from May capture a sense of what the advisory board actually votes on.
Regional Transit Partnership to meet
In addition to running the MPO, the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission also runs the Regional Transit Partnership. This advisory body was created in 2017 to resume an initiative to increase the frequency of public transportation.
One of its purposes was to create the Regional Transit Authority, an entity allowed through legislation that passed the General Assembly in 2009 but not actually created until late last year. Albemarle and Charlottesville are now members, but the body is initially intended to be for planning for the future rather than running operations.
The Regional Transit Partnership continues with a meeting at 4 p.m. at the TJPDC’s website. They’ll get an update on the budgets for Charlottesville Area Transit, Jaunt, and the working group created to create the Regional Transit Authority. I can’t provide a direct link to the meeting materials, but you can probably find it here.
In other meetings:
The Virginia Passenger Rail Authority will meet virtually at 11 a.m. (agenda)
Fluvanna County has several groups meeting to advance the Comprehensive Plan review. The Historic Preservation Advisory Group will meet at 3:00 p.m. but the meeting page does not say where.