If passed, Senate Bill 255 would effectively prevent localities from denying cell tower proposals under 150 feet in height, making it extremely difficult to protect important cultural, scenic and environmental resources.
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.
Week Ahead for January 24, 2022
Somehow, we are on the fourth week of the year and a lot seems to have happened. A pair of winter storms has brought a lot of attention to the how of government. This particular newsletter is more about the where and when of government meetings that also seeks to explain some of the context behind the what and the why. To what extent? The next five days.
Culpeper Reviews Its Comprehensive Plan in 2022
Every five years, each locality in the commonwealth is required to conduct a review of some part or all of its comprehensive plan. For Culpeper County, which last adopted its comprehensive plan in September 2015, that five-year review will take place over much of 2022, after a pandemic-related pause to a review process that began in 2019.
PEC Weighs in on Dulles Airport Solar Project
In December, PEC, along with Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy and Northern Virginia Conservation Trust, submitted comments on an application by Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) to develop a utility-scale solar project at Dulles Airport.
2021 at the Community Farm
2021 was our best year yet at the Community Farm at Roundabout Meadows! Thanks to the help of more than 750 volunteers over the course of the year, we were able to donate approximately 35,000 pounds of fresh produce to our friends at Loudoun Hunger Relief!
Week Ahead for January 17, 2022: Pivotal week for transit’s future; Scottsville Town Council holding public hearings on downtown development
It’s another strange start to the week with another winter storm having moved through yesterday. The uncertainty of weather as well as today’s holiday for the local government caused me to delay publication until today.
Eyes Turn Toward Richmond: What To Expect This Session
Beyond the biennial budget bill, where PEC plans to help lead the charge for increased and dedicated funding for natural resource preservation, there are a few key issue areas we’ll be watching closely over the next two months.
Webinar: Smart Growth Protects What We Have!
On January 6, 2022, Prince William Conservation Alliance hosted a panel discussion on data centers… from the Rural Crescent to the Occoquan Reservoir.
Week Ahead for January 10, 2022: Albemarle to discuss CenturyLink issues; Charlottesville may pick an interim manager
In many ways, this is the real start of the new year. In addition to the opening of the 2022 General Assembly session, Virginia’s new governor takes office on Saturday. But this newsletter has a focus on what happens at the local level. This is the week where things really get going with the first of many full weeks. This is a rare one in which the elected bodies of all six localities I cover will meet.
Warrenton Seeks Massive Boundary Line Adjustment
In December 2021, Fauquier County released maps of an area the Town of Warrenton proposed for addition to the Town in closed session discussions. These maps reveal that the Town of Warrenton seeks to expand its boundaries by 1,750 acres—a full 60% increase in land area.