Charlottesville residents with an interest in helping guide city-level decisions can apply to serve on one of the city’s many boards and commissions.
Each board has its own unique role, from advising City Council on best housing practices to setting policies for the public library, and all have the opportunity to shape the community’s future.
At least two dozen different boards and commissions currently have open seats, or seats that will be opening soon, according to a city news release from April 20. Board and commission appointments are volunteer positions, and most are made at City Council’s discretion. Some, like the Board of Zoning Appeals, are appointed by the Circuit Court.
Take action
Apply to serve on a Charlottesville board or commission
View a list of Charlottesville boards and commissions, including which ones have current or upcoming vacancies. Click on the name to learn more about its purpose and membership requirements, and to apply.
Applications, which require a resume and a cover letter explaining qualifications for and interest in the position, are due by 5 p.m. on May 1, 2026, unless otherwise noted.
Applications can be completed online via the board or commission’s page, or mailed to the Clerk of Council Office, P.O. Box 911, Charlottesville, VA 22902. To submit an application in person, contact the Clerk’s office at 434-970-3113.
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More about Charlottesville boards and commissions
Proposal for 11-story luxury student housing building next to Westhaven becomes focus of city’s past and its future
“This is not repair. This is not healing. This is exclusion dressed as development,” Latricia Giles, executive director of the Public Housing Association of Residents, told the Board of Architectural Review during its Tuesday, Aug. 19 meeting.
Charlottesville to unveil new historical marker, Green Book plaque, on site of the former Carver Inn
In addition to giving Black individuals and families a place to stay during segregation, the inn hosted famous guests such as jazz musicians Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington.
Community members clash in tense meeting over whether to remove slaveholding presidents’ names from Jefferson Madison Regional Library
“This is not about preserving or erasing history it is about acknowledging it.” said Charlottesville parent Laura Sirgany. “I can tell you that the Black and Brown youth of this community suffer the trauma of the legacy of the people whose names are borne out on this library system.”
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After another vote, Charlottesville City School Board moving ahead with school resource officers
During an April 16 work session, Board member Zyahna Bryant made a motion to rescind the Board’s March 2025 decision to bring police officers back to school campuses, but the motion failed.
Safely dispose of unwanted medications on April 25
Anonymous drop-off locations in Charlottesville and Crozet will accept medications, vape pens and e-cigarettes as part of National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.
If you have a story to tell, you won’t want to miss this community conversation at the Tom Tom Festival
Charlottesville Tomorrow is hosting a conversation with some of our strongest local storytellers — and you.
As defense demand surges with Iran war, Orange County defense contractor invests $1.27 billion to expand
L3Harris Vice President Mark Farley said that the expansion of the Orange County facility, which produces solid rocket motors, is part of a broader effort to increase production across the country “to support the urgent defense needs of our nation.”
