As is typical with an election week, meetings are relatively light.

Highlights this week:

• Charlottesville City Council will get a briefing on the new zoning code on Monday afternoon and will hold a public hearing on the vacation of a cul-de-sac that the Jefferson Scholars Foundation would like to purchase.
• Louisa County Supervisors will adopt a legislative agenda for the General Assembly that seeks to protect localities from paying for what the federal government used to cover
• Albemarle Supervisors will get an update on transportation projects as well as the MicroCAT services
• Fluvanna Supervisors will get an update on the recently adopted food and beverage tax
• There are no meetings in Greene County or Nelson County this week.

Special thanks to the Piedmont Environmental Council for their ongoing sponsorship of this research.

Monday, November 3, 2025

Jefferson Scholars Foundation wants city to sell them a roadway; city staff says hold off

The Charlottesville City Council will meet at 4 p.m. in City Council Chambers for a work session followed by a regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. (meeting overview)

There are two items at the work session.

The first is a presentation from the Community Attention Youth Internship Program which is “an opportunity for youth ages 14–21 years old to learn workplace readiness skills, assist with career exploration, identify their skills and build resilience, and connect young people to positive adults and resources in the community.”

This past summer, 265 people applied and 150 were selected after submitting an essay. They’re matched with places of interest including “art, barbering, camp counseling, childcare and early education, clerical, college administration, cosmetology, culinary arts, customer service, environmental science, facility maintenance, gardening, graphic design, health and fitness, legal services, local government, marketing and outreach, music engineering, nursing, small business management, sports management, and technology.”

The second work session will offer City Council the chance to weigh in on the review of the Development Code that is underway by the Department of Neighborhood Development Services. Four of the sitting Councilors voted to approve a new zoning code in December 2023 and they’ll get a refresher.

Charlottesville recently settled a lawsuit against the Development Code at the same time others are calling for reform to limit the size of buildings on West Main Street and around some neighborhoods. Read my story for more background.

The regular meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. after the public comment period, there will be a vote on the consent agenda including the second reading of $650,000 from the city’s contingency fund to hire a consultant for a “infrastructure study and model.” The intent is that this work will satisfy the terms of a settlement agreement that ended a lawsuit against the city’s zoning code.

The work will be conducted by the firm 3TP Ventures, which has now merged with the firm Line and Grade.

“As the Charlottesville population grows, it is incumbent upon city government to both consider and assess the impacts that this projected growth is likely to have on critical city infrastructure systems such as transportation, stormwater management, sanitary sewers, water, school facilities, parks, etc,” reads the staff report.

The first action item is a public hearing on the vacation of Clarke Court as a roadway maintained by the City of Charlottesville. The Jefferson Scholars Foundation owns property in the area and they want to close the cul-de-sac to be able to have flexibility as they consider implementation of their strategic plan. They have not yet stated what their future plans might be, but they’ve recently consolidated two parcels into one.

“[Department of Neighborhood Development Services] staff has conducted an evaluation of the request and communicated to the Applicant that it does not meet the criteria for a NDS Staff Recommendation to vacate the street,” reads the staff report.

The city has water, gas, and sewer mains in the public right of way, one of the reasons they’re hesitant to recommend the vacation. Another would be the loss of five public parking spaces. Council has the final say.

Then Council will consider endorsement of the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission’s regional legislative program. You can peruse that document here. More on it in the Louisa Supervisors’ write-up.

The third item is consideration of a franchise agreement with Lumos Networks / Segra for telecommunications equipment in the public right of way. There is no staff report. Take a look here.

The fourth item is the re-alignment of an easement the city holds from the Locust Meadows Owners Association for a future trail. The engineering work has been done and a portion has to be moved to avoid a wetland. Learn more here.

The fifth and final item of regular business is the first of two readings on an amendment to the ordinance that created the Police Civilian Oversight Board. This includes the creation of a new Office of Police Civilian Oversight and to provide more clarity.

“Since adoption, the application of this model has been hindered by structural inconsistencies, conflicting provisions, and procedural burdens that limit the Board’s effectiveness and

Legitimacy,” reads the staff report. “Critical gaps include unclear delineation between Board and Director responsibilities, misalignment with state law and [Charlottesville Police Department] policies (including general orders and collective bargaining), conflicts with city procurement and operational procedures, and unrealistic expectations placed on volunteer Board members.”

What else will come out of City Council? What campaigns will be active at the public comment period this time?

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Louisa Supervisors to adopt legislative program, consider future of cell tower

The seven members of the Louisa County Board of Supervisors will meet at 5 p.m. in the Louisa County Public Meeting Room for a closed session followed by a regular meeting at 6 p.m. (meeting overview)

One of the first items on agenda is the draft minutes from the October 20 meeting. Supervisors learned about a proposed expansion of the Louisa County landfill.

“The landfill currently receives an average of 22,819 tons per year, representing an annual growth rate of approximately 4.62 percent with a notable 16.99 percent increase recorded from 2023 to 2024,” reads the draft minutes.

Two cells are expected to be full by 2031 and the current plan is to expand Cell 4 to accommodate at least 34 years at a cost of $2.8 million.

This is a relatively quiet meeting with four items under new business and one public hearing.

One of those items under new business is to approve the legislative program put together by the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission. There have been some changes since the October 20 meeting related to programs that have traditionally been funded by the federal government.

“New language stresses that the state 1) not shift costs to localities of programs previously supported by federal funds; and 2) should collaborate with local governments to implement required changes to programs with shared responsibility,” reads an overview of the changes.

The other items are authorization of a budget supplement for roof repairs at the Holly Grove Volunteer Fire Department, a contract for towing services for inoperable vehicles, and authorization to allow staff to apply for grants up to $20,000 without seeking Board approval.

The public hearing is for an amendment for a conditional use permit for a cell tower built by Southwestern Bell Mobile that was approved in 1994. I freely admit I’m reusing copy from the Week Ahead for October 6, 2025 when this matter was before the Planning Commission.

One of the conditions of approval was that the permit for the tower could not be transferred to another owner.

“It has come to Staff’s attention that the tower operator and landowner has changed over the years,” reads the staff report. “The requested updates to the Conditional Use Permit would allow the tower to remain in operation.”

The Louisa County Planning Commission recommended approval at its meeting on October 9.

The Board of Supervisors will next meet on November 17.

In other meetings:

• A special committee of the University of Virginia Board of Visitors will meet at 10 a.m. to discuss the process of selecting a new president after the forced resignation of Jim Ryan this summer. This meeting will not be live-streamed. (meeting info)
• The Albemarle Architectural Review Board will meet at 1 p.m. in Lane Auditorium at the county’s office building at 401 McIntire Road. The main item on the agenda is a discussion of changes to the form-based code. There’s no information in the packet but you can find out more information on Engage Albemarle. (meeting info)
• The full UVA Board of Visitors will meet at 2:30 p.m. in the executive boardroom of the Pavilion at the Boar’s Head Resorts. This will be a closed session with one of the items to discuss a procurement contract in excess of $5 million a year. This is for a contract with Janssen Biotech, Inc. for CAR T-cell therapy products. None of this will be live-streamed and there is limited seating. (meeting info)
• Fluvanna County is updating its Comprehensive Plan using multiple committees including the Economic Development Advisory Group. They meet at 4:30 p.m. I would send you to the appropriate documents, but they don’t seem to be available. (calendar item)

Tuesday, November 4, 2025

Traditionally there are very few meetings on Election Day. Every now and then a Planning Commission might meet. Thankfully that is not the case with this time around. Unless I missed it, which is very possible.

Wednesday, November 5, 2025

Albemarle Supervisors to get updates on transportation projects, MicroCAT

The Albemarle Board of Supervisors meets at 1 p.m. in Lane Auditorium in the county’s office building at 401 McIntire Road. (agenda)

One of the first items on the agenda is a proclamation honoring Veterans Day on November 11.

“On this day, and every day, we remember the millions of patriots who have served and sacrificed for the betterment of our nation,” reads the resolution. “Many veterans continue to serve their country in public schools and government as public officials, teachers, police officers, fire rescue, and other professions providing services to all community members.”

The first action item is a request from the Miller School to upgrade and extend their private central sewerage system and private water supply. Supervisors approved a special use permit in August 2023 allowing for an expansion of the school.

“This request seeks approval to upgrade and extend the central sewerage system and central water supply to serve 22 buildings, 18 existing and 4 proposed (three dormitories and one gymnasium),” reads the staff report.

The second action item is only allowed to proceed because of a recent rules change by the Albemarle Board of Supervisors. On October 1, they approved an amendment to the county zoning ordinance to allow buildings higher than 65 feet in industrial districts with a special exception rather than a rezoning.

Now Albemarle is the first applicant seeking permission under the new rules to allow a tall building at the Rivanna Futures site where AstraZeneca will invest $4.5 billion. You can see all of the materials here.

“The County of Albemarle requests a special exception be granted to allow for a maximum height of up to 140 feet to provide flexibility in design that meets the needs of modem industrial users in the national security and biopharmaceutical manufacturing sectors,” wrote County Executive Jeffrey Richardson.

A site plan has already been filed.

Under Virginia law, special exceptions do not require a public hearing.

Afterward, Supervisors will hear from transportation planners about the status of several projects including details of the project that made it through the sixth round of VDOT’s Smart Scale project to build seven specific projects on U.S. 250 on Pantops. Take a look at the report here and I’ll prioritize telling this story this week.

The next item is an update on the MicroCAT service that Albemarle has paid for to offer free rides to people in two of the county’s growth areas. The service came from a recommendation from a 2022 study of transit in Albemarle County. Charlottesville Area Transit hired the company VIA to run the service. Albemarle’s budget for fiscal year 2026 has $1.3 million designated to cover the cost through June 30, 2026.

Fluvanna Supervisors to get an update on new food and beverage tax

The five members of the Fluvanna County Board of Supervisors will meet at the Circuit Courtroom of the Fluvanna Courts Building at 5 p.m for a regular meeting. (meeting info)

There are three presentations to begin the meeting.

The first is from the Blue Ridge Health District and the 2025 MAPP2Health Community Assessment.

“Assessing our community’s health is critical for understanding our community’s strengths and opportunities for improvement,” reads a description of the MAPP2Health program on the Virginia Department of Health’s website.

The second is an update on economic development projects underway. This information is not available in advance.

The third is an update on the food and beverage tax recently levied by the Board of Supervisors.

“The food and beverage tax is a four percent tax levied on food and beverages sold by restaurants as the term is defined in the Code of Virginia,” reads a guide to the program which is included in the packet.

There are two action matters. The first is an endorsement of the Thomas Jefferson Planning District’s legislative program.

The second is to approve a deer hunt on December 19 at Pleasant Grove Park for hunters with disabilities.

“The Sheriff’s Office continues to believe that it is necessary to reduce the numbers of deer on Pleasant Grove and that the best means of such control is through a managed hunt under the auspices of Wheelin’ Sportsmen, a group affiliated with the National Wild Turkey Federation,” reads the staff report.

There are no public hearings.

In other meetings:

• The Albemarle County Electoral Board will meet at noon for a canvas of the general elections results and provisional ballots. These will happen frequently throughout the week so check the county calendar for more. (meeting info)

Thursday, November 6, 2025

Quiet day, but the first week of November is often like this with elections and all. I’ll likely do longer previews for some of these as this week continues.

In other meetings:

• The Quality Subcommittee of the UVA Health System Board will meet at 8 a.m. in Conference Room B of the UVA Health Education Resource Center at 1240 Lee Street. This meeting will be live-streamed. (meeting info)
• The Albemarle Charlottesville Community Policy Management Team meets at 9 a.m at the county office building at 1600 5th Street. They’ll be in Room 231. This group oversees local provision of the Children’s Service Act. (meeting info)
• The Natural Heritage Committee will meet at 5:45 p.m. in the county’s office building at 401 McIntire Road. An agenda has not been posted at publication time. (meeting info)
• The Charlottesville Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee will meet at 5 p.m. in the Neighborhood Development Services conference room in City Hall. An agenda had not been posted at publication time.
• The Charlottesville Human Rights Commission will meet virtually for a special meeting at 6:30 p.m. An agenda had not been posted at publication time.
• The Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission has a Board that meets monthly at 7 p.m. at the entity’s headquarters at 407 Water Street in Charlottesville. Meeting materials for the November meeting can be found here.

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This post was contributed by Sean Tubbs. Sean is a journalist working to build a new information and news outlet centered around Charlottesville and Virginia. In 2020, he launched a daily newscast and newsletter and also created a semi-regular podcast on the pandemic.

Support for Sean’s “Week Ahead” update comes from The Piedmont Environmental Council.