We enter the second season of 2021 while Virginia localities are engaged in review of their budgets. All of them are anticipating what the American Rescue Plan might mean for their revenue as the pandemic continues to throw in surprises to every aspect of our public and private lives.
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.
Spring Update from the Community Farm
Our third season is underway with more than 12,000 seedlings in the greenhouse.
A Win for Goose Creek
The Loudoun Board of Supervisors voted to reject an intensive development proposal along Goose Creek, reversing a decision from earlier in the month. It’s a win for the public, the creek and drinking water protection!
Week Ahead for March 15, 2021: Albemarle Supervisors and Greene Planning Commission to review Comprehensive Plans; many communities, many budgets
We are now at the point where budget season significantly increases the number of meetings each week. There will also increasingly be more campaign events for the many races on the ballot this November. With all gatherings geared toward virtual platforms, it’s easier to keep an eye on all of it than before, though I am beginning to really miss being around the many people I’ve gotten to know over the years.
Important Comp Plan Chapters Up for Discussion in Greene
I hope this finds you well and looking forward to a fast-approaching spring! As we move deeper into 2021, I am writing to highlight another opportunity to learn about and engage with the ongoing review of Greene County’s comprehensive plan.
As I wrote earlier this year, Greene County is currently undertaking a review of its comprehensive plan. The comprehensive plan is a critically important document that represents the community’s vision for its future and guides all decisions and regulations regarding growth and development.
President’s Letter – Spring 2021
The arrival of Spring 2021 brings with it a special sense of rebirth and reopening as we emerge from the incredible challenges we faced together in 2020. As the weather warms, the spring ephemerals emerge, the amphibians meet in cool pools, and bird migrations begin, we are also hopeful for the return to the places, people and events that confirm our sense of community and shared mission.
On the Ground Updates – March 2020
A series of short updates from around the PEC region – Albemarle & Charlottesville, Clarke, Culpeper, Fauquier, Greene, Loudoun, Madison, Orange & Rappahannock.
The Long Road to Waterloo Bridge
When I saw “replacement” of the circa 1878 Waterloo Bridge—the oldest metal truss bridge still in service in Virginia at the time—on the Fauquier County Transportation Committee agenda back in October 2013, I knew exactly who to turn to.
A Final Wish Granted
Carl and Elise Siebentritt’s 29-acre “mountain oasis,” two miles west of Lucketts along the Catoctin ridge and 3.5 miles northeast of Waterford in Loudoun County, was the hub and the heart of their large family for more than 30 years. Daughter Heidi and her husband held their wedding party there. Eldest son Carl III was married there and made it “home base” between overseas assignments with the State Department. Two other siblings, in Maryland and Georgia, moved their families in for a few years to help care for Elise and Carl in the years before each passed away. All 13 grandchildren and one great grandchild knew the woods like the backs of their hands from years of hiking, foraging, and camping.
History at the Top of Bull Run Mountain
Stretching 15 miles from the village of Aldie in Loudoun County south to New Baltimore in Fauquier County, the Bull Run Mountains have stories to tell. The mountain range is home to 10 unique plant, forest and woodland ecosystems supporting uncommon and threatened plant and animal species. Its hills were the scene of the Battle at Thoroughfare Gap during the Civil War. The rocky ridges and quartzite cliffs on its western side, along with the shadow of its eastern toe and its hollows, are said to have once guided slaves fleeing bondage via the Underground Railroad.