January 21, 2026: Council debates presence of more student housing buildings on West Main Street, potential for zoning changes
Plus: Real property assessments have increased in Albemarle County for 2026
Today’s edition is sponsored by the Ragged Mountain Running and Walking Shop
Is conflict between members of humanity inevitable? Look back at any particular day in history and you’ll see examples of struggle between different factions. For January 21, there are many to choose from ranging from the Battle of Bakhamra in 763 to demonstrations against the government in Albania in 2011 that left four people dead. Charlottesville Community Engagement stems from the impulse for peace and stability. I’m Sean Tubbs, and there are many reasons why.
In this edition:
Property assessments are up 6.17 percent in Albemarle County
A quick look at the first ten executive orders from Governor Abigail Spanberger including one seeking to reduce obstacles to build housing
Councilor Michael Payne repeats his call for restrictions on building housing in Charlottesville’s core neighborhood during a work session on student housing
First shout-out: Livable Cville hosting webinar on Belonging in Charlottesville
What are some strategies that can be employed in Albemarle County and Charlottesville to allow more current residents to remain in their own homes while the cost of housing continues to rise? How can changing neighborhoods maintain a sense of place amidst more residential development?
Livable Cville has invited Dr. Karen Chapple of the University of Toronto to provide some potential answers at a webinar on January 21 at 6:30 p.m. called “Belonging in Charlottesville: Effective Strategies to Prevent Displacement”. Chapple is the Director of the Urban Displacement Project, which aims to understand issues like displacement and exclusion and identify policies that support equitable development.
Register to attend on Wednesday, January 21 from 6:30-7:30pm and learn more from Dr. Chapple and ask questions about her research and recommendations. Need more info? Take a look a white paper Chapple co-authored in 2021.
Albemarle assessments have increased by 6.17 percent in 2026
The average value of real estate in Albemarle County continues to increase, a metric confirmed with the release today of property assessments for 2026.
Assessor Peter Lynch told the Board of Supervisors this afternoon that the county’s tax base has increased by 6.17 percent.
“Albemarle County is a great place to live and people want to live here,” Lynch said. “So values going up is actually a really good thing.”
This is the 13th year in a row that average property values increased in Albemarle with the high-water marks coming during the pandemic. The increase was 8.4 percent in 2022 and 13.46 percent in 2023 before settling down to 4.07 percent in 2024 and 5.09 percent in 2025.
The average median home value in Albemarle is now $516,000.
By Virginia law, property must be assessed at a fair market rate and the figure is based on an evaluation of recent sales and conditions. The county breaks down the averages by property type as well as magisterial districts.
Urban Residential increased 5.4 percent
Residential up to 20 acres increased 8.1 percent
Rural between 20 and 99 acres increased 7.5 percent
Rural over 100 acres increased 7.1 percent
Commercial properties were up 3 percent
Multi-family property went up 4.6 percent
The Samuel Miller District saw the highest increase with a 9.8 percent jump while the Rivanna District saw the smallest with 3.6 percent.
Jack Jouett values increased 8.3 percent
Scottsville District assessments were up 5.8 percent
White Hall assessments were up 5.3 percent
Rio District values increased 4.5 percent
Assessments were up 4.1 percent in the Town of Scottsville
Assessments will be mailed to property owners this week and the information will be on the county’s GIS beginning on January 24.
Lynch said he knows Supervisors will be contacted by constituents concerned about their assessment.
“Please just direct them to my office,” Lynch said. “We would certainly love to talk to them and share what we have on their property. The quality of the value that we have created is based on the quality of the data that we have for their property. So if that data has not been updated for some time, it could be stale, it could be, it could be incorrect.”
For those who want to appeal, the first step is to submit an administrative review that will be available at this link as of January 23. It must be filled out by March 2.
The second step if that doesn’t provide a remedy is to request a review by the Board of Equalization.
“The Board of Equalization appeal can be filed by contacting the assessor’s office for an application that must be submitted by March 30, or 30 days after the results of an Administrative Review, whichever is later,” reads an information release sent out by the county.
Lynch also said revalidation of properties in land use taxation is complete and 130 properties did not finish the process. Those have since been returned to the full tax rolls.
The tax assessments are related to but not directly connected to the real estate tax rate. The current rate is $0.894 per $100 of assessed value after Supervisors agreed to County Executive Jeffrey Richardson’s request for a four cent increase in 2025.
Supervisors will informally adopt a tax rate for 2026 early in the budget development for FY2027 after seeing Richardson’s proposal.
Supervisor Ned Gallaway said he wants to have a discussion of how assessment increases often lead to higher rents for those who live in multifamily buildings.
“I think it’s a 15 minute, 20 minute piece that may be during one of our work sessions in the budget this year,” Gallaway said.
Richardson is expected to present his recommended budget on February 25.
Spanberger signed ten first executive orders on first day in office
Within hours of being sworn in as Virginia’s 75th governor on January 17, Abigail Spanberger set the tone for her administration by signing ten executive orders on matters ranging from general affordability to law enforcement.
The first executive order requires all Cabinet secretaries to write a report within 90 days outlining ways that a wide variety of consumer costs might be reduced.
“Whether it’s cutting red tape within the government or enacting policy that provides relief, we must address high housing costs, health care, childcare and energy costs,” Spanberger said.
The second delves deeper into the costs of healthcare by creating an interagency task force to review changes coming at the federal level with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, to look for potential overlaps in service, and identify areas that are underfunded. This group has to complete their report by May 1.
The third order establishes the Commission on Unlocking Housing Production to find ways to speed up the development of new living spaces.
“We need more homes that Virginians can afford to rent or to buy and I am confident that we can eliminate or change some unnecessary requirements, that we can streamline approvals, and ultimately we can build more,” Spanberger said.
Executive Order Four has the title “High-Quality Public Education Directive” calling for improvements to the public education as well as implementation of a 2025 report from the Joint Legislative Audit Review Committee. Take a look at that report here.
The fifth executive order returns to the ongoing shift in the federal government away from public investment and the impacts that continue to be felt in Virginia.
“In 2025, the Commonwealth experienced a significant reduction in federal jobs – with estimates showing a drop of more than 20,000 positions – directly affecting these workers and their families,” reads the fifth order.
The order establishes the Economic Stabilization Task Force.
“This Task force will coordinate a statewide and long overdue response to DOGE federal funding cuts, lost research dollars, reckless tariff policies and more,” Spanberger said.
“We need a full assessment of the Federal funds that have been cut, delayed, reduced or potential projected impacts that we may see in the future and we need recommendations for how we can mitigate the damage.”
The sixth relates to the reformation of governance of Virginia’s public colleges and universities.
“We are responding to the challenges of political interference that we have seen at our world class public universities,” Spanberger said.
The order seeks to create recommendations for legislative changes to alter the way members of Board of Visitors are appointed. University of Virginia President James Ryan resigned last June after a federal investigation and his successor was appointed in December after Spanberger asked the Board to pause a search.
The next three are related to government personnel and government recognition of people.
The seventh executive order relates to the chain of command during emergencies or disasters.
The eighth order relates to powers held by the Governor’s Chief of staff and you can read that here.
The ninth is intended to ensure equal opportunity.
The tenth executive order repeals former Governor Glenn Youngkin’s Executive Order 47 which directed state and local law enforcement officers to work with federal immigration enforcement efforts.
“Virginia State and local law enforcement officers must be able to focus on their rapport responsibilities investigating crime and community policing,” Spanberger said.
What will any of these mean for implementation? The tone has been set for coverage on a great variety of things.
Spanberger also named ten new people to the UVA Board of Visitors and some of the new members’ biographies are online.
Mike Bisceglia — President and Co-Founder of the Stauer Watch and Jewelry Company
Robert Bryon — Chairman, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Blue Vista Capital Management
Peter Grant — Founding partner of Anchormarck Holdings
Victoria Harker - Former Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of TEGNA
Elizabeth Hayes — Retired attorney
Rudene Mercer Haynes — Attorney
Evans Poston — Director at Troutman Strategies
The next meeting is still listed as being held on March 5.
Second shout-out: Friends of JMRL Fall Sale Results
The Friends of the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library are pleased to report another successful book sale! For Fall 2025, the group raised almost $180,000 during their Fall Sale!
They want to use this shout-out to give a big thank you to all the donors and customers who made the record breaking Fall 2025 sale possible. The funds will support JMRL programs, library materials, reading programs and more!
Now it’s time to get ready for the next sale in the spring. You can help by dropping off books at the Gordon Avenue Library. But not only books: DVDs, CDs, LPs, puzzles, games, sheet music and ephemera! For more details and hours of operation, visit the Friends of the JMRL Library website. The group is also looking for volunteers!.
Charlottesville City Council weighs in on student housing changes
Governor Abigail’s third executive order seeks to increase the number of places to live across Virginia by finding ways to streamline the development process. One obstacle to doing so are decision systems that allow for appointed and elected officials to make decisions about where housing should go and on what scale.
Charlottesville undertook the Cville Plans Together initiative in early 2020 to recommend ways to do that within the city. The Development Code adopted in late 2023 has survived a legal challenge but faces another as a growing number of voices are calling for Council to restore legislative control of apartment buildings in certain parts of the city.
In recent months, groups like the Public Housing Association of Residents and others have demanded Council eliminate development rights granted in the new zoning code to stop an 11-story building at 843 West Main Street and a seven-story building at 208 7th Street SW. In December, the BAR denied a certificate of appropriateness required for that project to move forward as is and Council will soon hear an appeal.
Before then, City Manager Sam Sanders arranged for a discussion to take place at the January 20 Council meeting on potential ways of addressing the issue.
“There’s a lot of work still to be done as the zoning ordinance was adopted,” Sanders said. “It was adopted with the notion that there would be things that we would have to go back and take a look at.”
Any work to review the Development Code is governed by the work plan for the Department of Neighborhood Development Services and reform of the zoning code is underway. On January 13, the Charlottesville Planning Commission had a public hearing on dozens of minor changes that NDS refers to as Tier 1 and Tier 2. To learn more, I covered that for the January 21, 2026 C-Ville Weekly.
Tier 3 changes which require more work and community engagement.
Fees associated with student housing comprise one of those Tier 3 issues. According to the University of Virginia’s Office of Institutional Research and Analytics, there were 17,848 undergraduates and 8,837 graduates enrolled in the fall of 2025. There are about 7,000 beds of student housing on campus according to NDS Director Kellie Brown.
“Currently there are a number of projects under construction off grounds totaling about 3,500 beds,” Brown said. “So all told, this means that about 17,000 students will continue to find housing off grounds and in the city and in the county.”
Last March, the Academic and Student Life Committee of the Board of Visitors learned undergraduate enrollment is expected to remain flat through 2031. (read my story from the time)
In recent years there is a trend toward national firms managing student housing complexes such as the Scion Group operating both the Lark on Main and the newly renamed Yugo Crestline. Both were constructed under the previous rules which required Council to approve a special use permit first.
Under the Development Code adopted in 2023, Brown said there are no restrictions about where student housing can be built and there is no overlay district.
“The concept of student housing really only comes into play with regards to requirements for affordable housing,” Brown said.
Under the 2023 code, developers are required to guarantee that one in ten units are reserved for households making under 60 percent of the area median income (AMI). On top of that, developers can get permission from staff for additional height if another ten percent of units are income-restricted to households making less than 50 percent of AMI. A payment-in-lieu fee can be made to buy out those obligations on-site.
“The in lieu fee for residential construction is equal to the average total cost per unit of developing a residential unit in the Charlottesville market based on a bedroom count up to three bedrooms,” Brown said.
There is also a special consideration for units within a half-mile of Central grounds that pay a slightly less in-lieu fee.
A study of these payments is being added to the NDS work plan for this fiscal year. Brown wanted to get input from Councilors about what else should be reviewed. Brown also announced there’s a survey available on the city’s new Connect Charlottesville website.
“We are looking to do engagement through February and then hoping that we can develop guiding principles and policy recommendations and potential recommended manual updates and development code amendments, if appropriate, in the spring of this year for your review and consideration,” Brown said.
City Councilor Michael Payne has lead the charge against the current crop of student housing buildings, even appearing before the Board of Architectural Review in December to urge them to deny a certificate of appropriateness. On January 20 he explained his concerns while some members of the audience snapped their fingers in support.
“I’m concerned with the economic impact of these projects in 10th and Page, Fifeville and Rose Hill,” Payne said. “And to me, our primary goal should be trying to stop displacement and economic harm done in those core neighborhoods.”
Payne said that the Development Code has made student housing the “highest and best use” of property in Fifeville and said that wealthier people living there will lead to displacement. He said students living in the Mark on 7th Street might want to spend money on Cherry Avenue changing the character.
“Once that gets built, Cherry Avenue will transform into an area of buy and for UVA students and we will completely lose our ability to have a black owned business district there and build community wealth,” Payne said to more snapping fingers.
Payne wants NDS to study expansion of the Core Neighborhood Overlay District that was added to the Development Code late in the discussion to require developments in parts of Cherry Avenue and Preston Avenue to demonstrate additional community benefit. This was put into place as a reaction to the Stony Point Development Group’s plans for a third phase of Dairy Market.
More Dairy Market: Stony Point Development Group files plans for the third phase, C-Ville Weekly, July 19, 2023
Third phase in the works for Dairy Market, July 12, 2023
Sanders weighs in on Dairy Market Phase 3, August 8, 2023
Less Dairy Market? Planning Commission set to vote on new zoning code recommendations, C-Ville Weekly, October 18, 202
A brief update on Dairy Market Phase 3, Development Code, November 19, 2023
Under this process, height would be capped at seven stories and developers and construction would only be possible after Council approved a special exception that meets at least two of several requirements.
City Councilor Natalie Oschrin said the reason West Main Street is attractive for developers of student housing is location. She said one strategy could be to encourage developers to actually build affordable units on-site, perhaps through a tax abatement policy.
“I think we should be able to have integrated incomes throughout the city,” Oschrin said, adding she also wants commercial mixed-use to be allowed across more of Charlottesville as another way to help neighborhoods.
Oschrin expressed skepticism about the overlay district, adding it might have unforeseen consequences for existing property owners.
“We have to not just lock neighborhoods in amber, but give them strategies, give people strategies to make it workable to live and stay in their neighborhoods,” Oschrin said.
Oschrin said the large apartment buildings bring in additional tax revenue that go toward a growing list of government needs ranging for more requests for housing subsidies as well as the hiring of more bus drivers.
No one snapped fingers to Oschrin.
Councilor Jen Fleisher said she would like to see a creation of an overlay district for student housing areas as well as expansion of the Core Neighborhood Overlay District. She would describe it as a “UVA Servicing District.”
“Can we move student housing, for example, to an overlay district that seems protective of core neighborhoods and at the same time funnel the current in-lieu fees directly back into supporting anti displacement measures in core neighborhoods as a requirement of student housing?” Fleisher asked over the sound of more snapping fingers.
Brown said a central theme of the Comprehensive Plan is to encourage more housing across the entire city by-right. The standard leasing practice is for students to rent by the bedroom.
“‘If we wanted to restrict housing that you couldn’t develop products… that were rented out by the bedroom, that would have the potentially unintended consequence of restricting other sorts of housing that we need in this market,” Brown said.
Mayor Juandiego Wade said he always knew changes would need to be made to the Development Code after the new rules had been tested out. He said he wants a focus on small area plans that were to have been developed.
“And I would like to elevate, you know, the studies of the neighborhoods as soon as we can, as soon as possible,” Wade said. “That’s what I would be in the camp of doing as soon as possible.”
Toward the end of the work session, Sanders said he heard that Council wants to investigate a student housing overlay district and wants staff to study expansion of the core neighborhood overlay.
“I want to make sure that those are two distinct actions,” Sanders said. “They’re not the same thing because I want to make sure we’re not conflating the issue.”
Payne was clear he wants a zoning text amendment to be made soon to direct the Planning Commission to study expansion of the Core Neighborhood Overlay District.
Brown said that could not happen immediately and would require further study.
“We would have to look at the potential legal ramifications of essentially down-zoning what is currently allowed by right to lower heights, and you know, what kind of the parameters are for that sort of consideration,” Brown said.
Payne said 843 West Main Street would interfere with the Charlottesville Redevelopment Housing and Authority’s plans to redevelop Westhaven. Council has agreed to provide $15 million in financing for a project that will more than double the amount of units there from 126 to 266 units plus create a three-story mixed-use building on 10th Street.
Several people spoke to the issue during matters from the public. Some of their comments will be incorporated into this article as a version is posted to Information Charlottesville.
Articles by other journalists (and me in another publication!) you are encouraged to read next:
Greene may get federal funding for water infrastructure improvements, CBS19, January 20, 2026
Trump administration claims offshore wind poses a threat but it won’t say how, Michael Copley, NPR News by way of WHRO, January 21, 2026
Albemarle Supervisors approve permit allowing floodplain fill-in, Sean Tubbs, C-Ville Weekly, January 21, 2026
How did #988 get made?
We’re at the end of another edition of a newsletter that routinely comes out in the afternoons, hopefully by 5 p.m. If I had another hand working on this, they’d be providing edits and pasting up the material for publication.
I would like to take that time to produce the audio version because that helps a lot in the editing process, and hopefully speeds up time.
One reason I don’t have anyone helping is I don’t know if anyone’s interested in doing this kind of work and doing it in a way that seeks to depict multiple sides of a conversation. I do not want to take positions, unless that position is one seeking transparency government processes.
The increasing number of subscribers allows me to test out my theory that people want to solve problems, and they can do so if there’s information out there that’s allowed to be presented. My goal is to produce as much as I can from the conversations.
I really had hoped to cover the Planning Commission’s discussion of the student housing discussion yesterday, but I ran out of time. I did cover the tax abatement study. None of these articles are intended to be definitive or the only version of what happened. But, I believe by continuing to document the nuts and bolts, more people can join the conversation.
I’m writing this at a point when I still have to complete a story on West Main Street for C-Ville Weekly. I want to incorporate some of the January 20 conversation into that story, as well as some of what people said at the public comment period. There are very passionate people that want changes.
But are there votes to make the change Councilor Payne has requested? And could the city stand the inevitable legal challenge that would arise?
Those are questions that I ask to guide future stories, and to hopefully get you thinking about certain things. I’ll spare you more but perhaps one day I’ll get up the courage to hold an event on West Main Street to discuss some of these things with you in person.
Until then, here’s a very important LCD Soundsystem track that makes me think of Mercutio.