Week Ahead for July 21, 2025: Charlottesville City Council to refer 2024 Development Code to Planning Commission for eventual readoption; Two big meetings for area transit
Plus: Greene County Supervisors to hold public hearing on changes to solar ordinance
I cringe a little when I see I’ve had no new posts for six days, so posting this edition of the newsletter comes with a sense of relief.
There are supposed to be benefits that come from taking a break and perhaps they will manifest themselves. I’ve come back to Charlottesville after a very small time away to a similar community in Michigan. I actually had one day where I didn’t even turn a single computer on!
And now I’m back, placing my eye back on local governments in the community I’ve written about for over 20 years, though not all of that was full-time. I moved here in 2002 to take a job at what is now known as Virginia Humanities.
For five years now, I’ve been the publisher and president of Town Crier Productions. I didn’t make the cut for public radio, so I ventured out on my own. Thanks to a mixture of paid subscriptions, sponsorships, and my work for C-Ville Weekly, I’m able to devote a good chunk of my life to whatever it is I’m doing.
One of those sponsorships is the Piedmont Environmental Council. For five years now, they’ve helped support my work by funding my time to do the research into what is coming up in meetings of local government.
Here are some of the highlights for this week:
Charlottesville City Council will get an update Monday on how much additional funding Charlottesville Area Transit needs to fully implement a plan to increase service and restore Sunday routes
Council will also refer the voided Development Code back to the Planning Commission for eventual readoption pending legal clarity and circumstances
Albemarle County’s Economic Development Authority will hold a special meeting Tuesday to consider the update of the economic development strategic plan
The Greene County Board of Supervisors will hold a joint work session with the Planning Commission on placing restrictions on events at farm wineries and other agricultural operations, as well as a public hearing on changes to the definitions for solar arrays
The Charlottesville Albemarle Regional Transit Authority will meet on Thursday
There are no meetings in Fluvanna County or Louisa County this week
Monday, July 21, 2025
Charlottesville City Council to refer zoning code to Planning Commission for readoption
The five member Charlottesville City Council will meet for a work session at 4 p.m. followed by a closed session followed by a regular session at 6:30 p.m. (agenda)
The work session is on transit service. City Council is the governing body of Charlottesville Area Transit. Albemarle County contributes funding but Supervisors have no formal oversight in the service’s operations.
At the end of the last budget cycle, the group IMPACT demanded that the budget for CAT be increased to allow the hiring of 80 drivers. That’s the number that CAT Director Garland Williams said is needed to allow for full implementation of a Transit Strategic Plan. While additional funding was found to hire more drivers, the number fell short of IMPACT’s request.
This work session will present scenarios for funding CAT would need in order to move forward.
“The City's adopted Transit Strategic Plan calls for a range of service improvements over time, including expansion in service hours, increased frequency of service for many routes, and the re-introduction of Sunday service for certain routes,” reads the staff report.
The actual materials are not available in advance. Some readers may be interested in previous coverage. I place it here to refamiliarize with the story so far.
Studying the expansion of transit in Albemarle County, August 11, 2021
Next steps for Charlottesville Area Transit route changes outlined at partnership meeting, June 24, 2022
Charlottesville drivers to get pay increase, October 4, 2022
Governance study: A primer on regional transit systems, December 15, 2022
Albemarle Supervisors hear from transit providers at budget work session, April 10, 2023
Council hears first reading of appropriation for Charlottesville Area Transit, April 17, 2023
More planning in the works for Charlottesville Area Transit, July 9, 2023
Charlottesville City Council learns more about transit governance study, August 17, 2023
CAT Director Williams briefs City Council on transit budget, December 6, 2023
Charlottesville’s bus system seeks input on transit strategic plan, May 18, 2024
Charlottesville City Council briefed on increasing costs for public safety and transit, December 20, 2024
Council adopts $265.2 million budget after another conversation about transit funding, April 18, 2025
Albemarle County Supervisors adopt budget for FY26 after one more long conversation, May 13, 2025
The budget for CAT has increased steadily in the last years as taxpayers in both Albemarle and Charlottesville are paying an increased share.
In FY2022, CAT had $11,351,694 in revenues including $1 million for Albemarle. For FY2026, total revenues are anticipated to be at $15,879,891 with $2,656,559 coming from the county.
The budget for FY2024 authorized 94 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions for Charlottesville Area Transit. That increased to 99.75 in the FY2025 budget and the last-minute campaign from IMPACT allowed that number to be raised to 108.75.
In FY2022, CAT paid just under $6 million in total personnel costs. That figure has increased to nearly $10.4 million in FY2026. In the past calendar year, service has increased on both Route 4 and Route 6.
According to the most recent report filed with the Federal Transit Administration, CAT had a ridership of 1,147,018 in 2023. Compare that to a ridership of 2,405,151 in 2013. I tried to pull more recent numbers from CAT’s Public Dashboard but my brain began to hurt.
One thing I would like to know is what effect additional service has had on ridership on the 4 and the 6.
After the work session, Council will go into closed session to consider appointments to the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority. They’ve done that three times so far with no resolution. The terms of Wes Bellamy and Laura Goldblatt expired on June 30.
One item on the consent agenda is worth noting. Charlottesville was awarded three Smart Scale projects from the Commonwealth Transportation Board in 2016. None have gone to construction and one of them required an additional $1.47 million in local funding. This is for the Emmet Street streetscape project which now has a total price tag of $23 million. A related public hearing was held on June 16. The funding will come from a capital account reserved for undergrounding utilities. (staff report)
There are four action items.
The first is a public hearing on the issuance of a maximum of $38 million in general obligation bonds. About $23.5 million would go to general government projects while another $13 million will cover the cost of water, sewer, and stormwater improvements. (staff report)
The second is a resolution to appropriate $6,666,809 in various federal, state, and local grants for Charlottesville Area Transit. Some of the funding will pass through to Jaunt, a separate entity from CAT. (staff report)
The third is a resolution to send the Development Code adopted in December 2023 back to the Planning Commission. On June 30 of this year, Charlottesville Circuit Court Judge Claude Worrell granted a motion for default judgement which voided the new zoning.
“In that case, Plaintiffs challenged the City's Development Code adopted by City Council on December 18, 2023, arguing the City did not gather or consider required information prior to Adoption,” reads the staff report.
While the city awaits a written order from Judge Worrell, they want to take the formal step of referring the Development Code back to the Planning Commission.
“No immediate action is required from either body, but initiation ensures City Staff and elected officials can respond swiftly to re-adopt the 2024 Development Code, if the need arises,” the staff report continues.
The Planning Commission has 100 days to hold a public hearing.
The fourth item is related to the recent closure of the Office of Community Solutions.
“The FY 2026 Budget Ordinance, approved by City Council on April 14, 2025 set forth a budget for the Office of Community Solutions in the amount of $1,057,736 which has since been closed,” reads the staff report. “This resolution seeks authorization for the City Manager to reallocate the OCS budget to the other City departments or offices that have assumed the responsibilities or personnel of OCS.”
Under general business, there are written reports from the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority as well as the annual report from Charlottesville’s Sister Cities Commission. Sadly, the latter has no mention of Pleven, Bulgaria, the lapsed twin.
Tuesday, July 22, 2025
Greene County Supervisors to hold public hearing on changes to solar rules
The five-members of the Greene County Board of Supervisors will begin their second meeting in July at 4:30 p.m. for a joint work session with the Planning Commission. They’ll talk about potential changes to county rules on agritourism. The meeting takes place in the county meeting room in the administration building in Stanardsville. (meeting agenda)
The Board has previously asked the Planning Commission to study regulations for events at agricultural operations, farm wineries, and farm breweries. Under Virginia code, localities cannot ban these events but they can regulate them. (staff report)
The Planning Commission has held five work sessions and is suggesting multiple changes such as requiring a special use permit for any outdoor amplification, reducing the allowed size of structures to be used for events, and restricting the number of attendees. You can see all of the proposed changes in the redline version.
Then Supervisors will go into a closed session with no specific citation of state code to tell the public what they’ll discuss.
Supervisors will reconvene at 6:30 p.m. There will be a recognition of the 75th anniversary of the Greene County Lions Club followed by matters from the public. (view the resolution)
There are two public hearings both related to definitions in the zoning ordinance. The first relates to the use of manufactured homes as accessory structures and the second relates to “solar energy generation facilities.”
“Solar Energy Generation Facilities are only allowed by Special Use Permit,” reads the staff report. “New definitions have been created for Rooftop Solar Facilities and Ground-Mounted Solar Facilities.”
The consent agenda includes a resolution to accept an additional $683,958 in state funding for the school system.
Albemarle EDA to hold special session on strategic plan
Albemarle County has been updating its Comprehensive Plan since November 2021 and I’m disappointed in my inability to have kept up with the review. The locality has also been updating its economic development strategic plan over the last year and it’s likely that document will be approved before a public hearing is ever held on what the county refers to as AC44.
To catch up on the economic development strategic plan, here are a few stories I’ve been able to write:
Albemarle moving ahead with update of economic development strategic plan, August 2, 2024
Albemarle seeking input on new economic development strategy, January 30, 2025
Albemarle Supervisors briefed on economic development plan, June 19, 2025
The Albemarle Economic Development Authority’s Board of Directors will hold a special meeting at 3:30 p.m. to discuss the plan. (agenda) (meeting info)
Will they take action? The agenda is not clear, but they will take public comment. There’s also no link to the draft, but that’s over on the Engage Albemarle platform.
The 43-page strategy document has been produced by the firm Resonance and the mission is worth review.
“The mission of the Albemarle County Economic Development Office is to strengthen and diversify the County’s tax base, support business scale-up and redevelopment, and expand career-ladder job opportunities — ensuring a vibrant, innovative economy that delivers lasting prosperity for all residents,” reads the mission.
“This five-year economic development strategy builds directly on the foundation established by the County’s Comprehensive Plan, supporting its long-term vision for place-based opportunity. The plan works in concert with land use, housing, and infrastructure goals, and serves as the County’s blueprint for advancing economic opportunity over the next five years,” reads the executive summary.
The Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia estimates that Albemarle had a population of 117,790 in July 2024. The executive summary points out that about 250 community members participated in the development as well as more than 100 stakeholders.
The summary claims that the local economy is strong but could be better leveraged.
“While its national security and life sciences sectors are surging, too many businesses still struggle to find space, talent, and/or capital to grow and scale,” the summary continues.
Here are the goals and statements for each one:
Goal 1: Lead in Intelligence and National Security — We will lead Virginia’s intelligence and national security innovation economy
Goal 2: Discover in Life Sciences — We will grow into the Mid-Atlantic’s premier destination for biotechnology and life sciences innovation
Goal 3: Grow a Modern Agribusiness Economy — We will transform Albemarle’s agricultural legacy into a modern agribusiness economy
Goal 4: Empower Talent — We will make Albemarle the place where talent and entrepreneurs stay, scale, and succeed.
Goal 5: Compete for Investment — We will position Albemarle as Virginia’s most investment-ready county—ready to compete, build, and lead
The Board of Supervisors will have a joint session with the EDA on August 13.
In one other meeting:
The Albemarle Department of Social Services will meet at 3:30 p.m. in the county office building at 1600 5th Street. The agenda is not available for publication. (meeting info)
Wednesday, July 23, 2025
There do not appear to be any major meetings today. Here are three meetings I do know about:
The Charlottesville Retirement Commission will meet at 8:30 a.m. in CitySpace. There will be a presentation from Sageview on an “Experience Study” as well as a discussion on investment options for defined contribution plans. (agenda packet)
The Nelson County Planning Commission will hold a work session at 6 p.m. in the General District Courtroom at 84 Courthouse Square. The agenda is not posted as of publication. (meeting info)
The Albemarle Fire EMS Board will meet at 6 p.m. They’ll discuss recruitment and retention as well as the new pharmacy policy. The minutes from the June 25 meeting reflect how the recent cyberattack affected EMS systems. The minutes from the July 9 executive committee meeting reflect an appearance by former Supervisor Sally Thomas who wanted fire and rescue officials to be aware of congestion issues on Old Ivy Road. (meeting info) (agenda)
Thursday, July 24, 2025
Charlottesville Albemarle Regional Transit Authority to meet
Will the Charlottesville Albemarle Regional Transit Authority lead to increased public transportation in the area? That’s the idea beyond its creation late last year as the Albemarle Board of Supervisors and Charlottesville City Council both agreed to join.
CARTA’s Board of Directors will meet at 5 p.m. in the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission’s offices at 407 Water Street in Charlottesville. There are currently four voting members. (agenda) (meeting info)
After a public comment period, there will be a legislative update from the TJPDC’s David Blount.
Then there will be an update of a prioritization study that has been funded by the Commonwealth Transportation Board. The board will vote on the scope of work for a process that will go through the Regional Transit Vision adopted in 2022 as well as the Regional Transit Governance Study adopted in February 2024. A consultant will be hired.
There will also be an update on the transition from the Regional Transit Partnership (RTP) to the Regional Transit Authority. The former was created in 2017 and has overseen a series of studies. Now the time is coming for a sunset.
“Staff recommend that the last meeting of the RTP take place in December 2025, during which members will reflect on the Partnership’s accomplishments, formally recognize its contributions to regional transit advancement, and support the transition of responsibilities to CARTA,” reads the staff report.
CARTA’s next meeting will be on September 25.
Friday, July 25, 2025
Hearing in Fairfax County Circuit Court for injunction to block Cuccinelli from UVA Board of Visitors
We live in times when political norms are being challenged at the federal level as well as at the state level.
Governor Glenn Youngkin appointed former Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli to the University of Virginia Board of Visitors in late March but his nomination did not make it pass a Virginia Senate Committee.
Current Attorney General Jason Miyares wrote a letter to former Rector Robert Hardie insisting that Cuccinelli could still serve because his nomination was not taken up by the full General Assembly. Members of the Virginia Senate Privileges and Elections Committee sued in Fairfax County Circuit Court and the court will hold a two hour hearing at 1:30 p.m.
Members of the public can review basic actions in the case but do not have online access to the court documents. I am hopeful that will eventually change so that the community at large can have a great understanding of the role the judicial branch plays in Virginia.