CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) — Albemarle County principal planner James Wilkinson told the Board of Supervisors that the five work projects outlined in the county’s comprehensive plan for this year represent an integration of key concepts including economic development, housing, climate and equity.

“We tried to put together five work projects that reflect that,” Wilkinson told Cville Right Now after Wednesday’s work session presentation to the board.

The goal of Wednesday’s discussion was for staff to present plans for five work projects focused on AC44 implementations. Those projects are zoning modernization, activity center plans (ACPs), multimodal transportation planning, rural area priorities and the rural area plan and AC44 administration, all part of the overall plan the board passed in October.

Each project aims to tackle a different area of the county, but may overlap in some areas. Zoning modernization will provide a comprehensive update to the county’s ordinance to make regulations clearer and more aligned with the county’s plans for the future.

ACPs will identify potential mixed-use spaces in prioritized development areas, which could fill a variety of uses for local residents.

The multimodal transportation planning project will create a system plan for the county’s transportation system with maps of current and future including modal networks, including vehicular, transit, bicycle and pedestrian.

Proposed priorities for rural area planning will focused on zoning modernization in rural areas, with plans to allow updated uses in existing non-residential structures, consider permitting agricultural operations, restaurants and events like weddings and continued work on allowing craft artisan uses in the area.

The final project, AC44 administration, focuses on the CDD providing updates and support to other county departments throughout the plan’s implementation.

Wilkinson said Wednesday’s meeting was designed to receive feedback from the board on those projects, with Rio District Supervisor and Chair Ned Gallaway providing the most of that feedback.

In his comments, Gallaway focused specifically on the implementation of housing and economic development. He highlighted that while updates to the county’s housing policy are apart of the AC44 plan, he believes housing and economic development should not be treated as two separate issues, and the updates to Housing Albemarle should be apart of AC44’s major initiatives.

“There [are] communities that are doing both economic development and housing in a way that they’re really treated as the same topic,” he said.
”Intertwined and inseparable. Brittle. And that’s a mentality that I think that I’d love to start getting to.”

Wilkinson said he heard Gallaway’s message “loud and clear,” and they will continue to think about how they can address priorities like affordable housing in all of the implementation areas they will be working on.

During his presentation, Wilkinson said targeted community feedback has been one of the department’s focuses this year, and Samuel Miller District Supervisor and Vice Chair Fred Missel gave suggestions on how the CDD could communicate its plans for AC44 to the community.

Wilkinson said after the meeting that county residents can expect to hear more about the plan in the coming months as the department continues to plan and implement all four of its projects.

The department has already begun work on zoning modernization, and will continue to identify potential areas for ACPs, prioritize current transportation projects and continue its work on short-term priorities in the rural area.

Wilkinson described the department’s outreach efforts as, “helping the community understand that all of the feedback they provided in the development of AC44 is now resulting in implementation activities moving forward.”