Cville Area Land Use: Week Ahead for November 30, 2025

Posted on by Sean Tubbs

There is one more month left in the year and what kind will it be? Local government is beginning to wind down for 2025 with an eye on what will happen in the 2026 Virginia General Assembly. Two holidays have taken place and there are two more to go.

Let’s get right into it!

Highlights for this week:
  • Albemarle Supervisors will meet Monday with area legislators in advance of the General Assembly with transportation funding being one of the questions
  • Supervisors will meet with the School Board on Wednesday to hear details about a five-year capital request that includes construction of a fourth high school by 2031
  • Charlottesville City Council will have a work session Monday on transportation funding and will hold a public hearing on using eminent domain for the Barracks-Emmet Streetscape
  • The Louisa County Board of Supervisors will consider a performance agreement Monday with the company that will set up data centers at the Shannon Hill Regional Business Park
  • On Wednesday, the Fluvanna Supervisors will approve the hiring of a firm to conduct the county’s next property assessment
  • There are no meetings in Greene County or Nelson County this week

Thanks to the Piedmont Environmental Council for their ongoing sponsorship of this newsletter. Check out their website to learn more about what they do.

Monday, December 1, 2025

Albemarle Supervisors to meet with area legislators

The next regular session of the Virginia General Assembly gets underway in six weeks just a few days before Democrat Abigail Spanberger is sworn in as Virginia’s 75th Governor. The first few bills have been filed including second reference of four amendments to the state constitution.

Around this time of year, Albemarle Supervisors meet with area legislators to explain their priorities and explain a little about what’s happening. This year’s event will take place at 10 a.m. in Room 241 of the county’s office building at 401 McIntire Road. There are four topics. (meeting info) (agenda)

First, let’s take a look at the legislators with links to the Virginia Public Access Project and the Legislative Information System if you want to know more.

Albemarle County is within Senate District 11 which is represented by Senator Creigh Deeds. Deeds was first elected to the House of Delegates in 1991 and the Senate in 2001. Nine bills that he carried as chief patron were adopted into law in the 2025 regular session and another three were vetoed. Take a look here.

House District 54 includes all of Charlottesville and Albemarle County’s urban ring. Delegate Katrina Callsen is about to enter her second term. In 2025, nine bills she carried as chief patron became law including one to direct the Virginia Department of Taxation to amend the way affordable housing projects are assessed. Three bills were vetoed. .

House District 55 covers Albemarle County and Delegate Amy Laufer is entering her second term. Six bills that she carried as chief patron in 2025 became law including an amendment to the Dam Safety Act. Two were vetoed including one that would require public institutions of higher learning to have a non-voting faculty member on their governing board.

What shall 2026 bring? Albemarle County wants to continue positioning Rivanna Futures for funding to help with economic development goals. The first item on the agenda is a briefing on how the county’s investment yielded a $4.5 billion investment from AstraZeneca.

The second item is a discussion of transportation funding. There’s no advance information but the topic came up at a recent discussion of the Smart Scale program. Albemarle has committed nearly $34.6 million to a leveraging fund to help match state dollars, but some Supervisors have concerns about the overall process.

The third item gets into the details of the county’s legislative program for 2026 as well as legislative positions. The latter is a list of desired legislation and continued funding.

Albemarle would like the following:

  • Enable localities to enforce the Virginia Landlord-Tenant Act
  • Expand authority to use photo speed monitoring devices
  • Enable a referendum on a local option one-cent sales tax for school division capital projects
  • State funding for Biscuit Run Park– Monacan Indian Nation Tribute Park Connector Greenway Trail project

This meeting will conclude with a chance to hear from the legislators about what their priorities will be for the 2026 session.

Fluvanna Supervisors had a similar meeting on November 18 and you can read the minutes to learn what happened.

Albemarle’s legislative positions offer some insight into what may be discussed at the transportation conversation. (Credit: Albemarle County)

Charlottesville City Council to have deep conversation about transportation

Charlottesville City Council has made a priority of transportation projects in a way to make streets safer for non-motorized modes of travel as well as improving a transit system with significantly fewer riders than 15 years ago.

We’re now in the season when City Manager Sam Sanders is seeking direction for the next budget.

The opening hour of a City Council is reserved for work sessions on various matters and transportation takes center stage for the first meeting of December.

“The discussion is a high level overview intended to touch on the different transportation related investments being considered in order to meet Council’s identified objectives,” reads the staff report. “Enhancing transit by increasing the frequency of service has been a major area of conversation. The overview will also look at existing programs and accomplishments including the safe routes to school program, bus shelter construction, and the remarkable number of VDOT funded projects breaking ground over the next year.”

At least one of those projects, the Fontaine Avenue Streetscape, was transferred to the Virginia Department of Transportation. Funding was initially awarded in 2015 and the project and many others stalled during an era of extreme dysfunction in city government.

There are no advance materials but I suggest taking a look at two resources:

The regular meeting begins at 6:30 p.m.

The first action item is a public hearing on acquisition of right of way through eminent domain for the Barracks and Emmet Streetscape. According to the above transportation page, this project would see construction of a “shared use path extending up the hill from the intersection, will install a 6’ wide sidewalk with variable width buffer to maintain the existing hillside without the need for retaining walls.”

There are eleven properties along the pathway and the city has been successful in obtaining property from nine of them. The holdouts are the Meadowbrook Shopping Center owned by Clara Belle Wheeler and Greenshire Holdings. The latter owns a strip of land less than an acre in size and has an approved major development plan to build 24 units under the new zoning.

At the Meadowbrook Shopping Center, the city needs 206 square feet of land for a permanent easement and another 2,617 square feet for a temporary easement during construction. They have offered to pay $36,411.

On the Greenshire Holdings land, the city needs 1,5321.19 square feet of right of way and another 1,627.04 square feet in “prescriptive” right of way. Another 2,836 square feet in temporary easement is required. The city has offered to pay $36,067.

There’s no mention in this staff report about the major development plan. The project at 2040 Barracks Road is below the threshold required for a transportation management plan to be developed.

A series of photographs in the presentation depicting the right of way the city needs for the Barracks – Emmet Streetscape project. View more in the presentation. (Credit: City of Charlottesville)

Next up is an amendment to the ordinance for School Zones to reflect new names for elementary schools. Learn more in the staff report, the ordinance, or the School Board’s request from October.

The third item is the latest amendment to the Charlottesville Supplemental Rental Assistance Program which was approved in June 2017 and went into effect the following April. The Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority administers the program which provides additional funds over what CRHA receives from the federal government.

“CSRAP currently serves sixty-eight (68) households, all of which have a household income at or below thirty percent [Area Median Income],” reads the staff report.

Among the changes in this eighth amendment is an increase in the amount CRHA can use for administration from ten percent to 12.5 percent in order to support more staffing to run the program. CRHA can also use $20,000 from this year’s allocation to purchase software to better manage the program.

The fourth and final item is adoption of a mutual aid agreement between Charlottesville, Albemarle County, and the University of Virginia.

The Parties acknowledge and agree that the continued operation and collaboration of the Parties are necessary to respond effectively to emergencies, threats to life, property, and public safety and to enhance the general welfare of the public throughout the region,” reads the staff report.

The Board of Visitors got a briefing in September.

Louisa Supervisors to consider performance agreement with data center company

The seven members of the Louisa County Board of Supervisors will meet at 5 p.m. for a closed session followed by a regular meeting at 6 p.m. The reason for the closed session is not given in the agenda packet. This may be the final meeting of this body for the year as the next scheduled event is January 5, 2026. (meeting overview)

I want to write more stories from Louisa and am limited by capacity. One place to go for thorough coverage of this locality is Engage Louisa by Tammy Purcell.

To keep up, I read draft minutes and learn from the ones for November 17 that Supervisors did not take up a request from the Louisa Chamber of Commerce for county funds for a map or area attractions. A request to use funds to augment the stage for the Louisa County Fair did go through.

One item on the consent agenda is a letter of request to the Commonwealth Transportation Board to rename sections of Route 208 and Route 22 for Colonel Samuel “Nelson” Drew.

“Colonel Drew passed away while in service to his country, and his life exemplified leadership, honor, and devotion, earning recognition through numerous articles and commendations, and leaving an enduring legacy of integrity and dedication that continues to reflect positively on Louisa County,” reads the resolution.

There are three items up for information and discussion.

There are five items under new business.

  • The first is a resolution to approve a local performance agreement with Edgecore, the data center company that will occupy the Shannon Hill Regional Business Park at a cost of $42 million. (read the resolution)
  • The second is to advertise a public hearing on a proposal to exempt the Fluvanna Louisa Housing Founcation from real property taxes. (read the resolution)
  • The third is to authorize a budget supplement for the Holly Grove Volunteer Fire Department for a replacement of concrete pads in front of their station. The fire department already received $37,010 from the county for this purpose but there were cost overruns. (read the resolution)
  • The fourth is to transfer additional money for the purchase of a ladder truck for the Louisa Department of Fire and EMS. The current year’s capital improvement program anticipated $1.5 million but the actual cost is $1,987,310. (read the resolution)
  • The fifth is a resolution to purchase an additional 450 acres of land adjacent to the Louisa County Landfill for a potential expansion. This is one I hope to write about. (resolution) (contract)

The final item on the agenda is a public hearing for a rezoning of a 20.553 acre split-zoned property that is currently a mix of Agricultural-2 and General Residential-2. The request is to add more land to the R-2 portion and change the A-2 to General Commercial-2. This will be for a place that sells recreational vehicles. The Planning Commission recommended approval on October 9, 2025.

In other meetings:
  • The Virginia State Board of Elections will meet in Richmond at 1 p.m. to certify the recent elections. There is also an appeal from Stacia Rush, the winner of the School Board race for the Central District. (meeting info)
  • Fluvanna County is updating its Comprehensive Plan and has several committees conducting the work. The Housing Advisory Group will meet at 3 p.m. but I’m not sure where or what the agenda will be. (learn more)
  • The Albemarle Fire EMS Executive Committee meeting will take place at 4:30 p.m. in the Albemarle County Fire Rescue headquarters at 460 Stagecoach Road. (meeting info) (agenda)

Tuesday, December 2, 2025

MPO Technical Committee to meet

The Charlottesville-Albemarle Metropolitan Planning Organization is a federally-mandated body of local officials that make decisions related to transportation funding. They are advised by a Technical Committee that meets at 10 a.m. at 407 Water Street. (MPO Tech page)

This meeting will give the latest information about transportation projects in the works and potential candidates being considered for the Smart Scale funding process. There’s also a resolution of support for the dissolution of the Regional Transit Partnership as well as another discussion about the future of the Citizens Transportation Advisory Committee.

The current slate of potential Smart Scale projects for Round 7 which are due in the summer and will be scored in January 2027 (Credit: Virginia Department of Transportation
In other meetings:
  • The Albemarle Board of Zoning Appeals will meet at 2 p.m. in Lane Auditorium for a public hearing on an appeal of a determination of zoning violation related to parking of vehicles over the weight limit. (meeting info) (final packet)
  • The Charlottesville Tree Commission will meet at 5 p.m. in the Parks and Recreation Office on the mall level of the Market Street Parking Garage. (agenda)
One of the exhibits taken by an Albemarle zoning inspector related to the appeal (Credit: Albemarle County)

Wednesday, December 3, 2025

Albemarle School Board to present capital request to Supervisors including funding for new high school

On November 19, the Albemarle Board of Supervisors held a work session on the five-year financial plan, a key step in the development of a budget for the next fiscal year. This allows for elected officials to contemplate how to pay for large projects.

A key second step is a work session with the School Board which will happen at 1 p.m. in Lane Auditorium in the county’s office building at 401 McIntire Road. This work session is the only item on the afternoon agenda. (meeting info)

At their meeting on November 13, the School Board adopted a five-year capital improvement program request that includes $215.3 million in out-years for construction of a new high school including the costs to acquire land. This would be for the northern feeder pattern with a capacity range between 1,400 and 1,600.

The request also seeks $24.6 million in FY2027 for improvements to Albemarle High School and $12.7 million for an addition at Western Albemarle High School. There’s also $10.8 million for a loop road to serve the three schools considered to be part of the Lambs Lane campus and $19.8 million for an addition to Stony Point.

The five-year capital request from the Albemarle County School Board. See the whole presentation here.(Credit: Albemarle County Public Schools)

If you want to speak at public comment at this meeting, you’ll have to do that at 6 p.m. when Supervisors convene after a closed session. The agenda does not specify what they will discuss. (evening agenda)

There are several public hearings.

The first is for several appropriations including the $5,815,437 that makes up the fund balance from FY25. There are specific uses proposed for how this would be spent in FY26. For instance,

the Community Development Department wants $36,688 to go into the fund for dealing with blighted structures as well as “ $166,084 to support implementation of Strategic Plan initiatives, which may include items prioritized by the Board of Supervisors in the CDD’s work program that are one-time costs.” (read all the details)

The second public hearing is on a modification to the tax relief program for elderly and disabled households. The details are in the staff report and in the proposed ordinance.

The third public hearing is on changes and additions to various Agricultural-Forest Districts to reflect a relatively new county policy that parcels with no further development rights no longer be included in such districts. (item materials)

Some items on the consent agenda:

  • Albemarle Supervisors are getting much better about approving minutes. They’ll take action on approving the meeting from October 30, 2025.
  • Supervisors will endorse a resolution of support for an application to the Virginia Business Ready Expedited Permitting Program for the AstraZeneca project. (item materials)
  • Albemarle Supervisors will vote to dissolve the Regional Transit Partnership. The group is making way for the Charlottesville Albemarle Regional Transit Authority as I reported last week.

Albemarle Supervisors will meet again on December 10.

Fluvanna Supervisors to hire a firm to conduct next real property assessment

The five member Board of Supervisors in Fluvanna County will meet at 5 p.m. in the Circuit Courtroom in the Fluvanna Courts Building. (agenda packet)

One of the first items on the meeting is an update from the Virginia Department of Transportation. Unlike Louisa County, this is not available in advance.

There are three items up for action

  • The first is an approval of a contract with Cowan Services LLC to conduct the general reassessment. The company was one of two bidders. There are three tiers of service in the staff report. (learn more)
  • The second is a series of requests to carry funds over from the FY2025 to the FY2026 budget. These are all detailed in the staff report. (learn more)
  • The third is a request to ask Virginia Tourism to designate the area as a distinct “Piedmont Region.” I’ll explore that in a future story. (learn more)

There are no public hearings.

The consent agenda contains over a dozen open space agreements.

In other meetings:
  • The Charlottesville Retirement Commission will meet at 8:30 a.m. in CitySpace. (agenda)
  • The University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors begin their meeting at 4 p.m. with a tour of the Fontaine Energy Plant and a tour of the rest of the research park. I’ll have more information about what else is on the agenda in future newsletters this week. (meeting info)

Thursday, December 4, 2025

Preliminary routes for Three Notched Trail to go before the public

Albemarle County is planning for a future shared use path called the Three Notched Trail.

“This proposed 24-mile trail will connect western Albemarle County, from Charlottesville to the Blue Ridge Tunnel, providing residents with safer, healthier transportation and recreation options,” reads the calendar item for a 6 p.m. meeting to be held at Western Albemarle High School.

Attendees will be able to take a look at proposed routes and provide feedback. The item notes that this is strictly a planning project and that right of way for the future trail is not being purchased at this time.

Some previous articles:

For more information, visit the county’s Engage Albemarle site.

The Crozet Community Advisory Committee will convene a special meeting so they can have more than two members attend.

The map for the study area for the Three Notched Trail (Credit: Albemarle County)

Albemarle Natural Heritage Committee to meet

Longtime readers of the newsletter might know that I record more government meetings than I actually use in my stories. I would record even more if they were still held online such as Albemarle’s community advisory committees.

So this month’s meeting of the Natural Heritage Committee will be one I hope to record for future stories. This will be held online at 5:45 p.m. (meeting info) (agenda)

“The mission of the NHC is to maintain and restore the County’s native biological diversity and provide a healthy environment for the citizens of Albemarle County,” reads the county’s website.

The meeting will begin with an announcement from the Botanical Garden of the Piedmont. What will it be? I’ll try to get a story out on Friday.

The NHC will also discuss deer culling in county parks, plastic landscape netting, and the expansion of a conservation mowing program, and an update on biosolids.

Under new business there will be information on the zoning modernization underway in Albemarle as well as a discussion of a special use permit to fill in the floodplain. The agenda does not specify which application, but perhaps it is this one in the Woolen Mills?

Slate Hill Baptist Church conversion to lodging use focus of preservation lecture

Several groups have come together to create a lecture series to educate members of the public about how older structures can be reused. This includes the Albemarle Historic Preservation Committee, the City of Charlottesville Historic Resources Committee, Preservation Piedmont, and the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society.

At 6 p.m. in Lane Auditorium there will be a discussion of the former Slate Hill Baptist Church which has been adapted into a new use.

“Developed and operating as Monticello Inn & Cottage, with Commonwealth Contractors, Inc. serving as the preservation builder, this effort showcases how historic rehabilitation can protect rural heritage while meeting modern needs,” reads the item entry on Albemarle’s calendar.

The property is part of the Southern Albemarle Rural Historic District listed with the National Park Service and under consideration to be listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register.

In other meetings:
  • The Charlottesville Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board will meet at 5 p.m. in the Neighborhood Development Services conference. No agenda is on the calendar at publication time. (meeting info)
  • The Albemarle Fire EMS Board will meet at 6 p.m. in Room 241 of the county’s office building at 401 McIntire Road. (agenda) (meeting info)
  • The Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission will meet at 7 p.m. at 407 East Water Street for their final meeting of the year. (meeting info)

This post was contributed by Sean Tubbs. Sean is a journalist working to build a new information and news outlet centered around Charlottesville and Virginia. In 2020, he launched a daily newscast and newsletter and also created a semi-regular podcast on the pandemic.

Support for Sean’s “Week Ahead” update comes from The Piedmont Environmental Council.