Our Region

PEC focuses on nine counties and one city in the northern Piedmont of Virginia: Albemarle, Charlottesville, Clarke, Culpeper, Fauquier, Greene, Loudoun, Madison, Orange, and Rappahannock.

We also team with local organizations to promote thriving communities and healthy natural resources in a much larger region, including the Shenandoah Valley, the central Piedmont, and the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Corridor. In addition, we are proud to serve as fiscal sponsor of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, an organization that focuses on land use and policy in the greater Washington D.C. area.

AC44 Update: Feb. 16, 2023

Posted on by Rob McGinnis

The following text was sent out via email on February 16, 2023. Sign up for PEC email alerts →

Dear Supporter,

Hold on, while we catch our breath! It’s been a busy week in the world of the Albemarle Comp Plan but we want to provide an update and encourage you to participate in the final Planning Commission work session on Feb. 27, focused exclusively on the Rural Areas Land Use and Transportation chapter. You can download the updated Topic Report that includes background information, the draft Goals and Objectives, and equally important, an updated Growth Management Policy in the link.

Since the beginning of this process, we have been strongly advocating for the protection of the resources and communities in the Rural Area, which encompasses 95% of Albemarle County. The Rural Area draft Goals and Objectives have thankfully been given more time and attention than originally scheduled, so to take advantage of this opportunity, we hope to see you there. 

Ways to provide comments before Feb. 27 or right before the Work Session:

  • Submit Comments in Writing: Public comment will be accepted in writing at the meeting, or by emailing comments to PlanningCommission@albemarle.org and [email protected].
  • Speak Up Tuesday, Feb. 27, at 4 p.m.: Community members have three minutes to speak directly to the Planning Commission prior to the start of the work session. Come to Lane Auditorium in the County Office Building or comment virtually to have your voice heard. 
  • Attend the Work Session: Showing elected and County officials that their community members are paying attention to the decisions that impact them is significant. Tell your friends and family what you heard after the work session.
  • Answer the Questionnaires: All chapters have questionnaires open for review and responses are presented to the Commission and Board. 

With less than a week’s notice–a process that normally has approximately three weeks of review time–the draft Goals and Objectives for the final three topics of Phase II were released to be presented at the Feb. 13 Planning Commission Work Session. We rapidly reviewed the draft and were prepared to make a statement about the Rural Area Goals and Objectives only to find out on the morning of the 13th that the Planning Commission’s review and discussion of the Rural Areas Land Use and Transportation Goals and Objectives was rescheduled to a separate work session on Feb. 27. 


Instead, the Planning Commission reviewed the draft Goals and Objectives for the Development Areas Land Use and Transportation chapter, which includes topics such as when, where, and how to expand the Development Areas boundaries, activity centers, and multimodal transportation networks. They also reviewed the draft Goals and Objectives for the Community Facilities chapter, focusing on topics like expanding public sewer and water and the siting of large-scale solar facilities. 

Map showing many historic, scenic, and water resources in Albemarle County’s Rural Area, including conserved and publicly owned land. View in Flickr. Map by Watsun Randolph/PEC.

PEC supports many elements in the draft Goals and Objectives for the Rural Area, the Development Areas, and Community Facilities. However, we have strong concerns about some elements of the draft Goals and Objectives. Stay tuned for our talking points as we get closer to the meeting! 

If you know anyone who may wish to receive these AC44 email updates from PEC, please forward this email to them and let them know that they can sign up for the list here. You can also find our past AC44 alerts here. We hope to see you next week!

Thank you!

Rob McGinnis, PLA FASLA
Senior Land Use Field Representative
Albemarle & Greene Counties
[email protected]
(434) 962-9110

Join Us for a Community Meeting in Charlottesville

Join Us for a Community Meeting in Charlottesville

Posted on by Faith Schweikert

The following text was sent out via email on January 24, 2023. Sign up for PEC email alerts →

Data center in Ashburn location. Photo by Hugh Kenny/PEC. View the video, “The Hidden Costs of the Cloud: Data Centers in Virginia”.

Dear Supporter,

You might have heard some of the recent buzz about data centers and surging electricity demand. We invite you to attend a community meeting to talk about potential impacts on our community and on the state’s ability to meet its climate goals Tuesday, February 6 at 6:30 p.m. at the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center in Charlottesville, Va.

The explosive growth of this energy-intensive sector, the only growing sector of electricity demand in Virginia, is requiring historic expansions of our energy grid and will thwart our ability to get off of fossil fuels – all of which will likely be funded by Virginia ratepayers like yourself. 

We’ll also share what we’ve learned about the potential for new transmission line projects proposed in our area, especially the proposed “wreck and rebuild” expanded transmission line through Albemarle and Charlottesville (mapped below), as well as new power generation – and prolongation of dirty legacy sources – to supply the projected demand.

This sweeping project will cross through and impact scores of community neighborhoods and schools from Gordonsville and Charlottesville to Crozet and Waynesboro, parcels of permanently conserved land, the Historic Southwest Mountains, the Historic Greenwood-Afton area, Shenandoah National Park and Skyline Drive, several Albemarle County parks including McIntire and Darden Towe Parks, and the treasured views of the mountains throughout. 

The unprecedented development proposed for our state will erase hard-won conservation and climate gains in Virginia, on top of the local impacts. We are working to develop solutions to this new challenge for Albemarle and beyond.

Map of potential new transmission line projects as of Oct. 16, 2023. Zoom in for specific properties. Credit Watsun Randolph/PEC

Space is limited, so please register in advance for this significant and timely conversation. I hope to see you there!

All the best,

Faith Schweikert
Communications & Policy Fellow
[email protected]
(434) 977-2033 x7026

AC44 Update: Dec. 12, 2023

AC44 Update: Dec. 12, 2023

Posted on by Rob McGinnis

The following text was sent out via email on December 12, 2023. Sign up for AC44 email alerts →

Dear Supporter,

It’s official! The County has decided to prepare standalone Rural Area and Development Areas chapters in the AC44 Comprehensive Plan, reversing course on their initial proposal to combine the two into a single Land Use and Transportation chapter. This is a big win! Thanks to all of you who helped advocate for this change.

Three decades of community survey results and recent feedback from public engagement specifically related to the AC44 Comprehensive Plan have consistently revealed, with great clarity, that a majority of County residents highly value and want to prioritize the County’s Rural Area. The County has done this in the past two comprehensive plans with the inclusion of a Rural Area chapter. A separate chapter is required to adequately address the complex interrelationships of natural and cultural resources and Albemarle’s unique rural communities.

At the time of our last AC44 update, we were encouraged by the direction that the AC44 process was going after hearing that a standalone Rural Area chapter might happen. Now, armed with confirmation of this milestone achieved, PEC’s sights are set on the next Planning Commission work session next Tuesday, Dec. 19. We are advocating for the adoption of six other recommendations for the AC44 Comp Plan to ensure that Albemarle County is planning with respect for the environment and the people who are impacted by it.

PEC’s Recommendations for the AC44 Comp Plan

  1. Include a Rural Area chapter to address the complex interrelationships of natural and cultural resources and the County’s unique rural communities. 
  2. Include a strong recommendation for the creation of a Rural Area Plan that addresses the specifics within that chapter with the same intentionality as the master plans for the Development Areas. 
  3. Include a recommendation for the establishment of a Development Areas Task Force to overcome the obstacles to accommodating projected growth in the current Development Areas.
  4. Do not map/identify potential expansions of the Development Areas because it would draw attention away from currently feasible strategies that direct growth into the Development Areas.
  5. Limit future planning of the I-64/US250 Yancy and I-64/US250 Shadwell interchanges to protect the Rural Area and its important resources. 
  6.  Include strong recommendations for consistent and dedicated funding for the land conservation and purchase of development rights programs to protect aspects of the Rural Area, including drinking water supplies and biodiversity. 
  7.  Include a recommendation for an updated Historic Preservation Plan and a Historic Preservation Ordinance to preserve and revitalize our important places and communities.

AC44’s timeline was adjusted to accommodate the Rural Area / Development Areas chapter change. The next work session on Tuesday, Dec. 19, will still cover land use, transportation, and feedback on the County’s specific planning priorities, called Toolkits. But instead of releasing the goals and objectives prior to this meeting, as they have in the previous work sessions, they will be presented in early 2024 at an additional Planning Commission work session to review Rural Area Land Use and Transportation, Development Areas Land Use and Transportation, and Community Facilities. Questionnaires for these topics and their draft goals and objectives will likely be shared with the public in January. We will share them when they are made available.

Until then, we strongly encourage you to engage with the Planning Commission in writing, in person next week, or virtually – it’s up to you!

Ways to Provide Comments Before or During the Work Session:

  • Submit Comments in Writing: Public comment will be accepted in writing at the meeting, or by emailing comments to [email protected] and PlanningCommission@albemarle.org 
  • Speak Up Tuesday, December 19, at 6 p.m.: Citizens have three minutes to speak directly to the Planning Commission at the start of the session. Come to Lane Auditorium in the County Office Building or comment virtually to have your voice heard. 
  • Attend the Work Session: Showing elected and County officials that their citizens are paying attention to the decisions that impact them is significant. Tell your friends and family what you heard after the work session.

If you know anyone who may wish to receive these AC44 email updates from PEC, please forward this email to them and let them know that they can sign up for the list here. You can also find our past AC44 alerts here. We hope to see you next week!

Thank you!

Rob McGinnis, PLA FASLA
Senior Land Use Field Representative
Albemarle & Greene Counties
[email protected]
(434) 962-9110

Take Action: Protect Local Government Accountability

Take Action: Protect Local Government Accountability

Posted on by John McCarthy

We need your help opposing House Bill 1459 (Owen), which will be voted on by the full Counties, Cities and Towns Committee this Friday morning at 9 a.m.