June 30 is the end of the fiscal year and July 1 is the beginning of the new one. This week in general is a fairly slow one reflecting the summer and the middle of the calendar year.

• Fluvanna County Supervisors are the only top-level meeting in this slow week and they have six public hearings including one for the return of the Fork Union Drive-In movie theater.
• A community meeting on data center regulations is one of two items on Albemarle County’s calendar this week. The Albemarle Board of Supervisors will skip the first scheduled meeting of the month.
• Three Charlottesville meetings are held this week, but the agenda is only posted for one of them. Which one? You’ll have to read on!
• There are no meetings in Greene County or Louisa County this week.

Thanks as always to the Piedmont Environmental Council for their sponsorship of this newsletter.

Monday, June 30, 2025

Albemarle County to hold information session on data center regulations

Last week, a Phoenix-based data center operator purchased Louisa County’s Shannon Hill Regional Business Park for $42 million. Amazon Web Services is building two data center campuses in the county and there’s a conditional use permit on the table for a third.

With that backdrop, Albemarle County is reviewing data center regulations in the zoning ordinance.

“As demand for these facilities increases, the County is taking a proactive approach to ensure that any potential data center development aligns with our community’s values and priorities,” reads a section of the Engage Albemarle website.

The Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution to initiate this study in May 2024. Under current rules, data centers up to 40,000 square feet on land zoned for industrial use as a by-right use. If someone wants to build one bigger than that on industrial land, they need a special use permit. Commercially-zoned land can also have a data center with a permit.

“The existing regulations require a 200-foot setback from all lot lines and a 500-foot setback from the Rural Areas zoning district,” Engage Albemarle continues. “All data centers must be served by public water and sewer, and if water cooling is used, the system must be a closed loop.”

Albemarle will hold a community meeting on data center regulations at the 5th Street County Office Building at 1600 5th Street Extended in Room A. (meeting info)

Tuesday, July 1, 2025

Charlottesville Tree Commission to meet

The Charlottesville Tree Commission will meet at 5 p.m. in the Parks and Recreation on the street level of the Market Street Parking garage. What do they do?

“The Commission works to enhance the diversity and health of the City’s tree canopy, educates the community about the critical importance of trees, and advocates for public and private resources and engagement,” reads the website. “The Commission remains informed about local changes and intentions involving trees as well as plans for public lands and City infrastructure.”

On this agenda, the Tree Commission will get an update on the city’s urban forest management plan, an update on invasive plant control, and updates on tree preservation at Kindlewood. They’ll also learn about the work being done by an seasonal maintenance worker employed by urban forestry.

In another meeting:

• The Charlottesville Sister Cities Commission will meet at 4:30 p.m. in City Space. An agenda is not available at publication time. (meeting info should be here when posted)

Wednesday, July 2, 2025

Fluvanna County Supervisors to hold six public hearings including one for Fork Union Drive-In

The five members of the Fluvanna County Board of Supervisors will meet at 5 p.m. in the Circuit Courtroom at 72 Main Street in Palmyra. (agenda packet)

There will be a special presentation recognizing School Superintendent Peter Gretz for being named Superintendent of the Year by the Virginia Association of School Superintendents. Learn more about from Heather Michon in this press release posted in the Fluvanna County Review.

Treasurer Debbie Rittenhouse will make a presentation on “bank balances, TACS collections, general Treasurer’s office information.”

There are four action items:

• The first is to advertise a public hearing on August 20 for the Fork Union Drive-In’s request for a waiver for signs. The designs submitted are in excess of the county’s requirements. (learn more)
• The second is on the 1.5 percent bonus for Constitutional officers and Compensation Board funded employees. There’s a memo from the executive secretary of the Compensation Board that explains what’s going. (learn more)
• The third is to advertise a public hearing on August 20 related to increased rates for the Fork Union Sanitary District. Rates were also increased last year, but do not cover the full costs and the agency considers itself in financial stress. (learn more)
• The fourth is related to a performance incentive grant for the Coves at Monticello affordable workforce housing complex. This is going on my list of stories to write. (learn more)

Then there will be a closed meeting with no indication on the agenda over what the topic will be.

The Board is scheduled to reconvene at 6 p.m. after a dinner break.

Then there are six public hearings.

• The first is for a special use permit for the Fork Union Drive-In. (learn more)
• The second is on a change to the county ordinance to allow for lifetime dog licenses. (learn more)
• The third is for a rezoning of 36 acres from Agricultural-1 to Industrial-1 being sought by Fluvanna County with the BHL Group serving as the consultant. This is being done preemptively as an economic development effort. The Planning Commission recommended this on a 5 to 0 vote at their meeting on June 5. (learn more)
• The fourth is on an amendment to the zoning ordinance to add a definition for “solid waste” and to eliminate the word “municipal” from the definitions of Solid Waste Material Recovery Facility and Solid Waste Collection Facility. (learn more)
• The fifth is for an amendment to the county’s lease agreement with Cellco Partnership for land owned by the Fork Union Sanitary District. (learn more)
• The sixth is on bonuses for state-funded employees in the Department of Social Services, the Registrar’s Office, and the Electoral Board. (learn more)

One of the items on the consent agenda is a grant application for Virginia’s Agricultural and Forestal Industrial Development for infrastructure. Fluvanna County has already applied for $7,374 for the commercial kitchen and the award was announced this past week. (learn more)

We also learn from the minutes that the Commissioner of the Revenue, Mel Sheridan, will retire on December 31. That means the county must seek a writ of special election for a replacement in the November 4 election.

Fluvanna County Supervisors will skip their second meeting in July and will return on August 6.

In other meetings:

• The Virginia Department of Agricultural and Consumer Services will host a training program on the spotted lanternfly as well as fire ants. This will take place at 10 a.m. in the Nelson Center at 8445 Thomas Nelson Highway in Lovingston. (learn more)

Thursday, July 3, 2025

Charlottesville bike group to meet

The only meeting scheduled that I can find is of the Charlottesville Bike and Pedestrian Advisory Committee. There’s no agenda at publication time. The meeting info should be posted here.

“The Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee is a voluntary advisory group within the City of Charlottesville dedicated to improving bicycle and pedestrian facility design and safety for all road users,” reads that website.

They will meet at 5 p.m. in the Neighborhood Development Services Conference Room. You can access these via Zoom which makes me wonder if I should start recording them.

Oh wait! These are online! Here’s a link to the June 5 meeting. The agenda isn’t posted, though.

Oh wait again! I found another meeting as I came close to the end of this edition!

In the other meeting:

• The Albemarle County Natural Heritage Committee meets at 5:45 p.m. in Room 235 of the county’s office building at 401 McIntire Road. They’ll get an update on the solar ordinance review and the data center regulations review as well as their recommendations on Dark Sky in the Albemarle County Comprehensive Plan Review.

---

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.