CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Charlottesville City Council will consider revisions to the Police Civilian Review Board, among other items, at its Monday meeting.

The council will consider modifications to the board’s governance, shifting it to an oversight model, focused on monitoring, auditing and reviewing, according to an information packet for Monday’s work session. The proposed changes also emphasize public reporting of the board’s findings.

The board was originally formed in 2018, then revised in 2021. Minor adjustments were also made in November. It has been rendered ineffective, in part, due to instability in its membership.

The board is now at full membership, but is still under an interim executive director James Walker since Inez Gonzalez resigned back in August.

The Virginia General Assembly has changed authorities granted by the state to such boards, repeatedly throwing Charlottesville’s ordinance out of alignment with statewide guidelines.

The revision council will consider, according to the policy briefing, “restates the Board’s purpose as supporting community well-being and safety by advancing the quality of policing in the City of Charlottesville through civilian-led transparency and accountability under a “Monitor, Audit, and Review” model of oversight. This transition preserves every function the Board currently performs effectively while removing authorities that cannot be implemented within existing legal and operational constraints. Rather than narrowing oversight, the revision solidifies it by expanding underdeveloped authorities into fully articulated functions with clear procedures and public reporting obligations.”

Following the PCOB report, Council will also hear a report from Neighborhood Development Services Deputy Director Missy Creasy on, according to the policy briefing, “a comprehensive study of its Home Stay/Short-Term Rental (“STR”) regulations to evaluate how these uses impact housing availability, neighborhood qualities, and community safety”.

City staff is recommending Council stick with the current ordinance regarding home stays, but the city will work to strengthen monitoring of compliance. permitting requirements, and better educating property owners about home stay requirements.

The City Manager’s report includes the Youth Council Annual Presentation, and a quarterly city financial report that City Manager Sam Sanders instituted at the start of his tenure.

Among action items for public hearing Monday night is authorization of the City Manager to execute a Solar Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) and associated Site Access Agreement for Charlottesville Middle School.

According to a policy briefing, among the city’s climate action plan actions t0 reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030 over 2019, is “installation of solar energy production systems on suitable municipal properties as a key implementation strategy to generate clean energy, reduce electricity bills, and reduce greenhouse gases”.

PPAs are part of that strategy.

There is solar powering parts of Charlottesville High School, and CHS and CMS are the largest city properties in the portfolio for solar targeting.

The last action item on the agenda is City Council considering authorizing the artwork being constructed under the auspices of the Jefferson School from the melted down Robert E. Lee statue to be place in city park spaces.

Staff specifically recommends Market Street and Court Square parks as potential locations.

According to the policy briefing, “City Council is being asked to endorse the use of City parkspace for this purpose in advance of the completion of the artist selection and final design process, after which City Council would make a decision as to whether to formally accept the resulting art work into the City’s public art collection. This endorsement does not bind the City Council to accepting the final art piece, but does allow the design process to proceed with the understanding that the City is willing to consider incorporating sculptures into the parks endorsed by this resolution.”

The business meeting starts at 6:30 p.m.