Week Ahead for May 12, 2025: Albemarle PC to hold public hearing for permit for private school on Dudley Mountain Road in the rural area
Plus: There’s a community meeting Thursday for a rezoning to add 165 more units at the Attain on 5th development
We’re in the spring and there’s no time for flowery writing about the importance of local government. The weather has remained mild and not too hot. The rain has meant an explosion of growth in my neglected yard, and my hope is to finish early today and spend some time outside.
Or clean inside? Either way, this is a more quiet week but there’s plenty to note.
Albemarle County’s Planning Commission on Tuesday will hold a public hearing for a rezoning for Congregation Beth Israel for a private school in the rural area off of Dudley Mountain Road
A rezoning to allow more units at the former Cavalier Crossing development in Albemarle County has a community meeting on Thursday
Nelson County Supervisors will hold a public hearing Tuesday on a budget for FY2026 that doesn’t look too different from the current year
Albemarle County Supervisors will meet with the Scottsville Town Council on Wednesday night
There is an information meeting Monday for a proposed state and federal historic district for the unincorporated village of Shipman
The Greene County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday will hold first discussion on a proposal to remove a requirement that indoor fitness uses like gyms need a special use permit
The Fluvanna County Planning Commission on Tuesday will take up two specific sidewalk waiver requests and also will consider a proposal to remove their requirement in business and industrial districts
There are no meetings in Louisa County this week.
Thanks to the Piedmont Environmental Council for their sponsorship of this weekly look at local and regional government.
Monday, May 12, 2025
Information meeting for Shipman Historic District in Nelson County
An ongoing theme to watch in the City of Charlottesville is the role that historic and architectural design-control districts will play as the relatively new Development Code is implemented. Here are some storylines I’m watching:
Heirloom Development seeks to replace a movie theater on the Downtown Mall with an 184 foot tall apartment building. The Board of Architectural Review will play a role in deciding the final height allowed and have already voted to approve a Certificate of Appropriateness on demolition of a contributing structure in the Downtown Architectural Design-Control District. On January 21, Neighborhood Development Services Director Kellie Brown told City Council there would be a further study of the issue.
Earlier this month, City Council voted 3-1 to overrule the Board of Architectural Review on an appeal over the demolition of a 1905 schoolhouse in the Corner ADC District. This is the second time in three years that Council has granted an appeal for demolition.
The owners of 1301 Wertland Street have filed for a CoA to demolish one of the oldest houses in Charlottesville. The house built by William Wertenbaker around 1830 will be on the BAR’s May 20 agenda. (this paragraph updated after posting)
Anyone interested in how these districts are formed might want to take a look at the process underway in Nelson County. On Monday, the Virginia Department of Historic Resources will hold an information meeting on the creation of a historic district in the village of Shipman. The meeting will be held at 2 p.m. at the Shipman Community Center at 22 Nelson Avenue in Shipman.
“The village of Shipman is located in south-central Nelson County, around the convergence of James River Road (State Route 56) and the rail line,” reads a description from the paperwork required to list the district on both the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places.
The proposed district is around 100 acres and captures an area that became populated before the Civil War when the Orange & Alexandria Railroad completed a line to Lynchburg with this being a stop in Nelson County.
“Located at the strategic intersection of James River Road and the railroad, the village organically evolved over the years from a depot known as ‘Nelson Station’ to a community comprised of the full complement of building types that provided for the commercial, educational, religious, and domestic needs of its residents and those of the surrounding rural area,” the description continues.
It should be noted that being listed in a federal and state historic district does not come with any requirements.
“Owners remain free to do what they wish with their property within existing laws and regulations and are not required to restore or maintain a property in particular ways as a result of listing,” reads page 5 of the meeting packet.
However, a property in a district may be eligible for federal and state rehabilitation tax credits.
The Board of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources will consider adding this district to the Virginia Landmarks Register at its meeting on June 12.
In other meetings:
The Albemarle Board of Equalization will meet at 8:30 p.m. in Room 241 of the county’s office building at 401 McIntire Road. There is no agenda available online. (meeting info)
The Places29-Hydraulic Community Advisory Committee will meet at 5:30 p.m. in the Media Center at Greer Elementary School at 190 Lambs Lane. They’ll get a presentation on demographic trends from Hamilton Lombard of the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia. (agenda) (meeting info)
The Economic Development Authority of Fluvanna County will meet at 5 p.m. at 132 Main Street in Palmyra. There will be a presentation from Liz Povar of the Riverlink Group on Rural Economic Development. They’ll also continue to talk about their proposed mission statement. (meeting packet)
The Economic Development and Tourism Advisory Council goes next at 6 p.m. On their agenda: An update on the Historic Courthouse Restoration, an update on the Fluvanna VA250 Committee, and the Black History Project. (agenda)
Tuesday, May 13, 2025
Nelson County Board of Supervisors to hold public hearing on FY2026 budget
The five members of the Nelson County Board of Supervisors are expected to convene at 2 p.m. in the General District Courtroom at the Courthouse in Lovingston. North District Supervisor Tommy Harvey has not attended since May 2024, according to a report from Justin Faulconer of the Nelson County Times (paywall).
Four is a quorum and the meeting will feature three proclamations:
May is Older Americans Month (learn more)
May 15 is Nelson County Garden Club Day in honor of that organization’s 90th anniversary (learn more)
May 11 through May 17 is National Police Week (learn more)
There are four presentations.
The first is on the audit of Nelson County’s books for FY2024. (learn more)
The second is from the Virginia Department of Transportation and the Secondary Six Year Road Plan. (learn more)
The third is the final approval of the design of the new Social Services building as well as an authorization to put the project out to bid on May 16. Bids are due by June 26 and the county hopes to go to construction soon afterward. The current cost estimate is $8,270,212. (learn more)
The fourth is on financing options for the Social Services Building as well as the High School Renovation. Nelson County is issuing around $22 million in bonds through the Virginia Public School Authority for the school project. (learn more)
Under new business there is an update on the Move Safely Blue Ridge plan as well as an authorization to hold a public hearing on updates to the floodplain ordinance. The Federal Emergency Management Agency requires localities to update their maps on a periodic basis for the purposes of flood insurance. (learn more about the floodplain ordinance)
Then there are a series of reports before a closed session. The agenda packet includes a copy of the entire motion allowing for elected officials to meet without the public present.
The evening session begins at 7 p.m. is solely dedicated to the $51,088,536 total budget for Fiscal Year 2026. The budget is based on a real estate tax rate of $0.65 per $100 of assessed value and a personal property tax rate of $2.79 per $100 of assessed value. The transient occupancy tax is at seven percent and county budget staff anticipate a decline in revenues due to “a possible decline in the number of short term rentals or overall bookings.”
Greene Supervisors to consider dropping special use permit requirement for indoor fitness
The five members of the Greene County Board of Supervisors will meet at 5:30 p.m. in the Administration Building in Stanardsville for a closed session followed by a regular session at 6:30 p.m. (meeting overview)
There’s no specific citation for the closed meeting motion. Just this:
“Matters pursuant to Section 2.2-3711 (a, 1-7) of the Code of Virginia”
That’s seven categories with no specific reference. Not the best of practices.
Before the main items of business there is one recognition and one proclamation.
The recognition is for Bradley McDaniel for his nearly 30 years of service in the Stanardsville Volunteer Fire Company. (read the resolution)
May is Older Americans Month. (read the resolution)
There will be a public hearing for the proposed secondary six year plan for FY2026 through FY2031. There’s a total of $1.68 million over that period for the purposes of paving rural roads.
After this public hearing, the resident engineer of VDOT’s Charlottesville residency will give an update on various projects.
One item on the consent agenda is the appropriation of $80,000 in funds from the Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) for the Greene County Sheriff’s Department’s participation in the Operation Ceasefire Forensic and Analytical Technology grant.
“The purpose of this initiative is to support the use of technology that will result in reducing violent crime within the Commonwealth while implementing effective and sustainable solutions to intercept and eliminate local cycles of violence,” reads the grant application on the DCJS website.
The resolution does not state what technology the $80,000 will cover.
Supervisors held a public hearing on the budget on April 22 and will formally adopt the document at this meeting. (resolution)
After that Supervisors will authorize staff to formally review the zoning code to amend some of the language in the definition for indoor recreation to remove a step in the land use process.
“Health and Fitness Centers or ‘Gyms’ are retail in nature and have similar or lesser impacts than many of the other by-right retail uses,” reads the staff report. “Requiring a special use permit does not seem to match the Comprehensive Plan goal of encouraging a diversified tax base by being a business-friendly community.”
Fluvanna County PC to hear two requests to waive sidewalk requirements
The Fluvanna County Planning Commission will meet at 6 p.m. at 132 Main Street in the Fluvanna County Administration Building. The event begins with a work session followed by a regular meeting. (meeting packet)
The work session is a review of the “Village Residential District” zoning. I think. There is no information in the packet about this topic. Currently there is no district with that name according to a quick look at the Fluvanna County zoning code.
The regular meeting is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.
There will be a public hearing on an amendment to the county’s zoning ordinance to officially recognize the county’s GIS system as the official zoning map for Fluvanna County. (learn more)
There are two site development plans.
The first is a review of a sidewalk waiver for Project Hoops which relates to a 108,102 square foot distribution center to be constructed on U.S. 15. The Planning Commission reviewed the sketch plan at their meeting on March 11. Since then, the applicant (Samet Properties on behalf of the Vaughn Property Group) submitted the waiver. Project Hoops is the code name for what could be an economic development project.
“Project Hoops is situated in a predominantly rural area with minimal pedestrian activity,” reads an April 11, 2025 letter from Samet Properties to the Planning Commission. “With the absence of nearby pedestrian destinations and infrastructure, the sidewalks requirement would have a practical purpose for this development.”
The second is a review of a sidewalk waiver for the future Artful Lodger site at 2428 Richmond Road. This is within the Crossroads Community Planning Area.
“There are no sidewalks no either side of the road in the vicinity of the site and therefore construction of a sidewalk along the front of the property would not connect to or continue any existing sidewalk network and no meaningful pedestrian connections will be made,” writes Polina Andreeva of Shimp Engineering in a March 21 letter to the Planning Commission.
There are two resolutions seeking a public hearing on zoning amendments. One is to amend the definition in the zoning code related to solid waste. One public hearing for this was already held on March 11, 2025 but the Planning Commission deferred action. Changes have been made following the public hearing and so a new one will need to be held on June 10, 2025. (learn more)
The second is to remove requirements for sidewalks in industrial zoning districts.
“Fluvanna County Code currently requires sidewalks on both sides of any public roads in all districts, including I-1 and I-2 Industrial,” reads the staff report. “However, for developments in I-1 and I-2, a sidewalk waiver is usually granted making such properties exempt from this requirement.”
I would be interested in knowing why the requirements were put into the code in the first place.
There are four items under unfinished business.
The first is on revisions to the landscaping ordinance.
The second is an update on the Comprehensive Plan.
The third is for a special use permit for an archery and sporting goods store. The Planning Commission had a public hearing on this on April 8, 2025 and deferred action. (learn more)
The fourth is a discussion of food trucks. There was a lengthy conversation on this topic at the March 11 meeting.
Albemarle PC to hold public hearing on special use permit for private school in rural area
The Albemarle County Planning Commission will meet at 6 p.m. in Lane Auditorium of the county’s office building at 401 McIntire Road for a meeting with one item. (agenda) (meeting info)
There will be a public hearing for a special use permit for a private school to be located off of Dudley Mountain Road in Albemarle’s rural area. Congregation Beth Israel is seeking permission to build what they’re calling the Forest School on 156 acres. There would be a maximum of 144 students and 29 staff members. There were at least 120 people at a community meeting for this permit held on November 19, 2024.
“This proposed use is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan in that it is a supportive use within the community, it is a low impact and reversible use, conservation efforts are implemented throughout, and the rural character of this property is preserved,” reads the narrative from the firm Line + Grade. “The Forest School helps to serve a huge need for childcare in the Charlottesville and Albemarle area, including the rural areas, especially for the 18 month – kindergarten age range.”
Staff is recommending denial.
“Staff believe Dudley Mountain Road is not suitable for the expected vehicle trips that would be generated by the proposed school,” reads the staff report.
Charlottesville Economic Development Authority to review efforts to train a diverse work force
The Charlottesville Economic Development Authority meets at 4 p.m. in CitySpace and their agenda is another chance to play Guess The Acronym! What’s an EDSP? What’s a VEDA? What about AFID or VBAF? What about IRB? (agenda packet)
Under new business there is a resolution to approve amended rules and procedures. From the minutes of the March 11, 2025 meeting, we learn that these are being updated to reflect an update in the fee schedule for Industrial Revenue Bonds. (view the amended rules)
EDSP stands for Economic Development Strategic Plan and the Authority’s Board of Directors will go through Goal 3.
“We will create pathways of opportunity for all Charlottesville residents,” is the title of Goal 3. You can view that here.
This chapter is all about how the city can help increase workforce development efforts to make sure people from all backgrounds can be part of the economy.
Next up is a recognition from the Virginia Economic Development Authority. I tried to find out what this was but the hour is getting late.
Then there will be an update and a discussion on the “working capital / bridge loan fund.” No explanation.
Under other business, there will be a discussion of an Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development (AFID) grant for the recently opened BEACON Kitchen. There will also be an update on a grant applied for through the Virginia Brownfields Restoration and Economic Redevelopment Assistance (VBAF).
In another meeting:
Albemarle County’s 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 is no agenda available in advance. (learn more)
Wednesday, May 14, 2025
Albemarle County Supervisors to meet with Scottsville Town Council
Virginia has fewer political subdivisions than most states. Cities and counties are independent of each other, though counties can have towns within.
Scottsville is a town within Albemarle with a portion in Fluvanna County. Towns set many of their own policies and have the ability to levy real estate tax. There’s also separate zoning and separate governance in the form of a Town Manager and a Town Council elected by residents.
The Albemarle Board of Supervisors will check in with the Scottsville Town Council at 7 p.m. in Victory Hall. The event will be live-streamed with that link in the meeting info page.
The agenda includes a memo that sets out all of the areas of collaboration between county and town.
In other meetings:
The James River Water Authority will meet at 9 a.m. in the County Administration Building at 132 Main Street in Palmyra. There’s no agenda listed on the meeting info page.
The Crozet Community Advisory Committee will meet at 7 p.m. in the Crozet Library meeting room at 2020 Library Avenue in Crozet. They’ll get an update on the Comprehensive Plan update as well as the Resilient Together Community Conversation Kit. (agenda) (meeting info)
Thursday, May 15, 2025
Community meeting for rezoning for Attain on 5th
The 5th and Avon Community Advisory Committee will be the venue for a community meeting for Bonaventure’s rezoning for Attain on 5th. The company purchased the former Cavalier Crossing apartment complex last summer and announced they would be investing in the property to increase rents.
Charlottesville Tomorrow broke the story late last August, and I wrote up my own version soon afterward. The company recently filed a rezoning seeking higher density to build an additional 165 units in areas that are currently used for parking. I wrote about that last week for C-Ville Weekly and Maggie Glass has this story for WVIR 29 News.
The materials themselves are on Albemarle’s new “Civic Access” portal at this link.
The CAC meeting will be held at 7 p.m. in Room B of the county’s office building at 1600 5th Street Extended. (meeting info)
Kick-off meeting for planning process for Three Notched Trail
Under a different presidential administration, Albemarle County received a $2 million grant to plan for a 24-mile shared-use path between the Blue Ridge Tunnel and Charlottesville. The official kick-off for the event will be held at 6 p.m. at Crozet Elementary School.
“This is a planning-only effort—no land will be purchased or construction initiated at this stage,” reads the meeting info page. “Your input will help identify potential trail routes and guide priorities for future development. Families, neighbors, property owners, and trail users of all kinds are encouraged to attend.”
For more information, visit Engage Albemarle.
In other meetings:
The Albemarle Agricultural and Forestal District Committee will meet at 5:30 p.m. in Room 241 of the County Office Building at 401 McIntire Road. (meeting info) (agenda)
The Charlottesville Parks and Recreation Advisory Board will meet at 5:30 p.m. at 233 4th Street in Charlottesville. That’s the Carver Recreation Center. On the agenda is a discussion of the “Central Little League Lightning Project” which might possibly be “lighting” instead. There’s also a further discussion of rules for garden plots. There is no information about either item available in advance. The current rules for garden plots are here. (agenda)
The Charlottesville Human Rights Commission will meet at 6:30 p.m. in City Space. Both Delegate Katrina Callsen and Senator Creigh Deeds will be present. (agenda)