So far there have been 18 weeks in 2022. What significant things have happened already? This regular weekly newsletter is only concerned with what’s coming ahead ahead in the next several days, and always, there’s a lot.
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.
Madison County plans May 15 event to announce and present newly digitized Madison County land condemnation records related to creation of Shenandoah National Park
In partnership with James Madison University, and with funding from the Madison County Historical Society, The Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) has completed the digitization of thousands of legal documents related to the Commonwealth’s 1930s-era condemnation of private lands in Madison County for the creation of Shenandoah National Park (SNP).
PEC Signs Letter Asking National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board to Reduce Transportation Emissions, Sprawl
On May 1, PEC joined 34 other groups around Virginia, D.C. and Maryland in signing on to a joint letter from the Coalition for Smarter Growth (CSG) to make necessary and feasible changes to the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TBP)’s Visualize 2045 plan.
Week Ahead for May 2, 2022: City Council to be briefed on homelessness; Albemarle design review panel to review Premier Circle projects to provide homes
For the first time in a while, the first week of a month lands in such a way that there are meetings of both the Albemarle Board of Supervisors and Charlottesville City Council.
Earth Day Tree Planting at the Volgenau Property
Last week, with the help of 56 volunteers, we planted 550 trees along the banks of Thumb Run on the Volgenau property in Fauquier County.
Lessons from Loudoun: What can Albemarle County learn from Loudoun County’s Rural Roads Program?
As Albemarle takes another look at its own future—and how to preserve what it has historically done well—now seems like a good time for local advocates to hear from their counterparts in other localities, who have been successful in similar socio-physical landscapes.
True North Developer Requests Changes
The proffer adjustments would help limit harm to a globally-rare ecological community called the Northern Piedmont Mafic Barren.
Amazon Data Center Would Force New Transmission Line to Warrenton
Dominion Energy says it would be required to build new 230-kV transmission lines if the Amazon data center on Blackwell Rd in Warrenton moves forward.
Week Ahead for April 25, 2022: New reservoir for Greene County to move forward; Albemarle Supervisors to decide on athletic fields
What defines whether a week is slow or busy? After producing this newsletter for over three years, I’ve lost an ability to know for sure. I do know that in an area with nearly 250,000 people, there will always be a government meeting that will affect people’s lives.
Documenting the Freetowns of the Southwest Mountains
PEC is working with community members in Albemarle County to research and document the history and associated historic resources of African American communities in and around the Southwest Mountains.