Last year, landowners partnered with The Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) and other land trusts and conservation agencies to permanently protect 6,651 acres of land in Albemarle, Clarke, Culpeper, Fauquier, Greene, Loudoun, Orange and Rappahannock counties.
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.
Eleven properties protected in Albemarle County
With over 1,700 acres of land protected this past year and 111,305 total acres conserved, Albemarle now has more lands under conservation easements than any other locality in the Commonwealth.
4-3 vote to approve Amazon’s Warrenton data center
Thank you to all who came to speak out against the Amazon data center proposal in Warrenton at last night’s public hearing.
SELC & PEC Joint Letter to Orange County Planning Commission
Read our joint letter with the Southern Environmental Law Center in advance of the Orange County Planning Commission’s third work session on REZ 22-03, Wilderness Crossing.
While the applicant’s current proffer language agreeing to ‘enter’ DEQ’s Voluntary Remediation Program represents some positive movement (as recently as September, the applicant was stating publicly that they have “no knowledge” of contaminants on site), PEC and our partners at SELC believe this language does not go far enough to ensure that the contaminated site will be cleaned up.
Wilderness Battlefield Coalition Letter to Orange County Planning Commission
Read the Wilderness Battlefield Coalition’s letter in advance of the Orange County Planning Commission’s third work session on REZ 22-03, Wilderness Crossing.
Week Ahead for February 13, 2023: Crossroads Tavern expansion up for review in Albemarle; Greene PC to hold public hearing on Comp Plan
Decisions that are made affect everyone and I’ve spent a good chunk of my career trying to show people where and when they are going to happen.
Reminder: Amazon data center hearing Feb. 14
Just a quick reminder that the Warrenton Town Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the proposed Amazon data center Special Use Permit application next Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023 at the Fauquier High School Auditorium.
2023 General Assembly Crossover Update
This Tuesday marked the halfway point of Virginia’s 2023 General Assembly Session, a date known as ‘crossover.’ The House and Senate have each finished voting on the bills their members put forward, and now move on to consider legislation passed by the opposite body.
Getting ready for the 2023 season at the Community Farm at Roundabout Meadows
Preparations for the 2023 season are well underway at the Community Farm at Roundabout Meadows! We can’t wait to have volunteers back out in the wake of Spring and to start planting.
Week Ahead for February 6, 2023: Public hearing for Council replacement in Charlottesville; Albemarle holding traffic town halls; Fluvanna PC to review Zion Crossroads Gateway Plan
It’s another busy week on local and regional government, so let’s get right to it!