AC44 Newsletter: October 2024

Welcome to the AC44 monthly digest for the County’s Comprehensive Plan update. This is where we regularly share our work, feedback, and upcoming participation opportunities.

As we enter Phase 3 of the AC44 Comprehensive Plan update, we are excited to relaunch the AC44 monthly digest, your go-to source for updates on our progress, the feedback we've heard, and ways to get involved in shaping Albemarle County’s future.

We’re thrilled to let you know that you will have plenty of opportunities to provide feedback on the draft Comprehensive Plan recommendations, both in person and online.

The AC44 website now features a dedicated Phase 3 page, where you’ll find details on upcoming engagement opportunities, questionnaires, and draft chapters as they become available. The Development Areas Land Use chapter is ready for review, with more chapters rolling out through early 2025.

What We Did

Phase 2 of the AC44 Comprehensive Plan update concluded in the spring with a series of work sessions by the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors to review draft Goals and Objectives for each Plan topic. These first draft Goals and Objectives incorporated priorities we heard from the community, focusing on opportunities, challenges, and priorities based on each topic. The draft Goals and Objectives have been revised based on community and Commission feedback and direction from our Board of Supervisors.

Revisions include:

• Consolidating multiple goals per topic into one unified goal statement for each. This approach articulates a more cohesive vision and reflects that the Goals cover multiple objectives.
• Some objectives have been updated to be actions. Objectives should incorporate ways to measure Plan progress; draft Objectives now include more measurable language. Additionally, some previously shared objectives were more oriented toward Plan implementation and have been reclassified as actions. Revisions also ensure that Objectives are consistent with the level of detail across Plan topics.

The content underway in Phase 3 is built upon the work done in Phases 1 and 2, including the Objectives drafted in Phase 2. Public feedback is incorporated into each phase of the project.

Looking Ahead

The Objectives developed in Phase 2 provide a foundation for developing the Plan Actions in Phase 3. The Actions create bold but realistic steps for the County, the private sector, community organizations, and other partners to implement the Plan’s Guiding Principles, Goals, and Objectives. Actions include policies, updates to local regulations, programs, projects, studies, and partnerships. They are currently being developed and refined based on:

• Community, Planning Commission, and Board input heard to date
• Technical expertise and feedback from staff across Albemarle County and partner agencies and departments (e.g., ACSA, RWSA, ACPS, and others)
• Research of best practices
• How best to leverage private sector, community organization, local, state, and federal resources and partnership opportunities
• Review of the current (2015) Comprehensive Plan
• State Code requirements

Plan chapters, with Actions for each, will be shared throughout late 2024 and early 2025.