The head of a pro-business group representing area real estate developers has told the Albemarle Board of Supervisors that one of its tools for funding new infrastructure is flawed. “Cash proffers are not helping you achieve your Comprehensive Plan,” said Neil Williamson, president of the Free Enterprise Forum. In October ...

A new location for the Northside library became a reality Wednesday when the Albemarle  County Board of Supervisors voted to spend $11.8 million to purchase and redevelop a building on West Rio Road. “After years and years of researching and trying to find a spot, and after exhausting all ...

In the latest phase of the Albemarle’s Comprehensive Plan update, the county Planning Commission heard public comment Tuesday focused on Monticello, the county’s vision of itself and its economic vision for the future. The comprehensive plan is the document that directs a locality’s land use and planning ...

A new report produced for Advocates for a Sustainable Albemarle Population says that continued population growth in Charlottesville and Albemarle County would only increase the fiscal challenges faced by local government.  It also argues that “smart growth” strategies and economic development efforts to recruit even targeted industries are “doomed to ...

The Environmental Protection Agency has recommended that the Virginia Department of Transportation consider alternatives to the proposed Western Bypass of U.S. 29 to make sure the project is in compliance with federal law. The National Environmental Policy Act requires that VDOT conduct an environmental assessment of the bypass so ...

Traffic forecasts used in the Virginia Department of Transportation’s Environmental Assessment of the Western Bypass of U.S. 29 were based on data the agency knew to be flawed, according to a consultant hired by the Southern Environmental Law Center. The area’s Metropolitan Planning Organization was made aware ...

The Albemarle Board of Supervisors deferred a vote Wednesday on proposed changes to the process by which by-right developments are approved after some of its members asked for more details on how they would be implemented. “Our final site plan review process has always been a bit disjointed and frankly ...

Opponents and supporters of the Western Bypass of U.S. 29 spent time last week reviewing a document that is central to the future of the proposed four-lane highway. In order to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act, the Virginia Department of Transportation was required to complete an environmental ...

The Albemarle Planning Commission decided Tuesday to defer its recommendation on proposed changes to the county’s development review process in order to give staff more time to revise the proposal. The changes are intended to make the review of development plans more efficient by increasing oversight earlier in the ...

The Metropolitan Planning Organization’s policy board will consider today whether to expand its boundaries to include Lake Monticello, Ruckersville and other growing communities located outside of Albemarle County. “Important transportation decisions will be made about the highways that connect those areas to Charlottesville via U.S. 29, Virginia Route ...

Two organizations opposed to the Western Bypass of U.S. 29 in Albemarle County have produced a three-minute video to encourage citizens to consider alternatives to the 6.2-mile, four-lane highway. “We put this video together to highlight better approaches to solving traffic problems on U.S. 29,” said Morgan ...

Albemarle’s Planning Commission is working to improve the way the county can best provide affordable living choices to its residents. The commission’s recommendations will be reviewed by the Board of Supervisors later this year as it considers changes to the 2005 Affordable Housing Policy and whether to make ...

Planning staff and officials in the city of Charlottesville and Albemarle County will spend this summer identifying joint goals to include in their respective comprehensive plan updates. Earlier this year, officials identified seven shared priorities: historic preservation, entrance corridors, environment, housing, economy, transportation and land use. In separate meetings Tuesday ...

Detailed plans for the Western Bypass of U.S. 29 are now available to the public for the first time following the Commonwealth Transportation Board’s decision Wednesday to award a $135 million contract to design and build the four-lane highway in Albemarle County.    Technical drawings and construction plans have ...