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.

Albemarle Completes Land Use Buildout Analysis

Albemarle Completes Land Use Buildout Analysis

As PEC wrote in April, Albemarle County is in the midst of updating its Comprehensive Plan (known as AC 44). The first part of this process is a review of the County’s current Growth Management Policy. This step will investigate how the currently designated Development Areas could support future growth and if changes are needed.

Albemarle Climate Action Videos

Albemarle Climate Action Videos

The following video interviews with local residents and experts will introduce you to the #ClimateConversation happening in Albemarle and arm you with the knowledge you need to take action in your community.

Week Ahead for June 6, 2022: Albemarle panel to consider easement amendment for large structure; Charlottesville Council to be briefed on regional transit vision

What’s in a week? For me, usually that means a lot of meetings and I want to know what’s going to happen! That’s the point of this regular newsletter in a nutshell. Sometimes there are patterns and commonalities between the meetings and I hope you’ll share what you see.

Regional traffic congestion, pollution in the Occoquan?

Regional traffic congestion, pollution in the Occoquan?

Last November, PEC wrote about the threats posed to Prince William County’s long-standing Rural Crescent by three major land use decisions.

Prince William County Considers Land Use Changes That Encourage Sprawl

Prince William County Considers Land Use Changes That Encourage Sprawl

Prince William County is evaluating three different land use changes that would introduce industrial and residential sprawl into the Rural Crescent, to the detriment of water quality, wildlife habitat, agriculture, historic resources, tourism and the rural atmosphere.