Loudouners! An online comment period is open now through Friday, May 21, 2021 for residents to weigh in on design alternatives for the Route 15 South corridor (e.g. roundabout vs. turn lane at various intersections or preferred locations for multi-modal trails). There was a virtual public meeting in April to review various options, and the presentations and materials from that meeting are all available for comment. This is a chance to share your support for maintaining the rural character of the road while improving the safety and operations of the corridor.
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 May 10, 2021
Charlottesville’s Comprehensive Plan moves into a more public phase this week as a consultant hired by the city to oversee its update seeks input on the latest revisions. Even if you don’t live within city limits, the discussions will give insight into what sort of a consensus there may be about the kind of community that will be in place in the future.
Video: Meadows Farm Tree Planting
WATCH: PEC staff and volunteers planted 300 trees at Meadows Farm in Fauquier County on Earth Day!
Week Ahead for April 26, 2021: Natural burial grounds in Albemarle? PCRB to ask for enhanced police oversight in Charlottesville
With the exception of a couple of community meetings in Albemarle, land use does takes a back seat this week. The most important meeting is perhaps the long-awaited joint work session between the Charlottesville City Council and the Police Civilian Review Board. In all, this edition lists 20 meetings and provides links so you can learn more.
Video: Free Flow
A must-watch!! We’re so excited to bring you this video about our largest trout stream restoration project to date, on Bolton Branch in Rappahannock County on the border of Shenandoah National Park.
Week Ahead for April 5, 2021: Charlottesville to consider Starr Hill Vision plan, $192.2 million budget; Both city and Albemarle consider COVID emergency
After a relatively quiet week, local government gets back to full speed with meetings of the elected bodies in Albemarle, Charlottesville, Fluvanna, Greene, and Louisa. Sorry, Nelson County! It’s been a very active year so far. Budget season is coming to a close. There’s been a lot of movement on transportation projects. Both Albemarle and Charlottesville will consider whether to keep COVID restrictions that are more stringent than Virginia’s.
Week Ahead for April 19, 2021: Greene PC to take up Villages at Terrace Greene; ARB to review Biscuit Run park site plan
More than a year into the pandemic, most of this community’s public realm continues to operate virtually. While our community begins to open up more and more, this is still a time when local government meetings are accessible from anywhere. This is a good time to begin paying closer attention.
Video: Restoring Access to the Rivanna River
To help the public safely access the Rivanna River, PEC teamed up with the City of Charlottesville Parks and Recreation, Rivanna Conservation Alliance, and Rivanna River Co, to update the boat landing at Riverview Park!
Rangel Communication Proposes 199-ft Tower in Thoroughfare Gap
We have learned that Rangel Communication Inc. will be filing an application with Fauquier County for a 199-foot monopole tower and tower compound in Thoroughfare Gap, just east of the Broad Run Post Office along the south side of Rt. 55. This area, steeped in history, is the gateway into Fauquier County from Haymarket to the east.
Appalachian Conservation Corps blaze new trail at Rappahannock County Park
Rappahannock County Park has been visited recently by the Appalachian Conservation Corps (ACC), an AmeriCorps program of Conservation Legacy. The Piedmont Environmental Council, PEC’s Krebser Fund for Rappahannock County and Friends of the Rappahannock (FOR) have partnered with the ACC to bring a crew of 6 young adults to the Piedmont region for tree plantings and trail maintenance projects.