Project Update: May 2026

Board of Supervisors Public Hearing Scheduled for 6/17/26

What will be considered at the public hearing?

At the hearing, the Board of Supervisors will receive a presentation from staff, hear public comment, and consider adopting the proposed amendments.

The draft ordinance addresses permitted uses and activities within riparian buffers, as well as related procedures. As proposed, buffer locations will remain the same as those in the current Water Protection Ordinance, but performance standards will be set in the Zoning Ordinance. Agricultural and silvicultural uses would still be exempted from the ordinance requirements.

Why is Albemarle County proposing an update to riparian buffer protections?

This proposal comes from the County’s Stream Health Initiative, which aims to improve water quality. The Board of Supervisors began this ordinance amendment process in 2022, following the Stream Health Initiative’s 2021 recommendations.

Why is this important?

Healthy riparian buffers protect drinking water, reduce flood impacts, support wildlife, and improve stream health. Current rules only apply when land disturbance is 10,000 square feet or more, leaving smaller projects unregulated. The new rules would apply to all vegetation changes in these buffer areas, whether or not there's a development project.

What are the community benefits?

Enhanced protections for water quality and stream health
Enhanced floodplain and wildlife habitat protection
Helps meet goals in the County’s Comprehensive Plan

Key updates in the proposal

Move riparian buffer rules from the Water Protection Ordinance to the Zoning Ordinance
Keep the buffer boundaries the same as before
Create clear standards for managing vegetation in buffers
List what activities are allowed in buffers:
- Allowed by right: farming, forestry, utilities, water-related facilities, passive recreation, historic preservation, and planting native vegetation
- Allowed with approval: certain uses that require a mitigation plan
Require site-specific buffer boundary determinations by professionals
Establish the role of a Riparian Buffer Administrator to enforce rules
Provide a process for special exceptions
Update the County’s Design Standards Manual for guidance on planting and vegetation management

*Note: The ordinance amendments for the Riparian Buffer Protection Standards include changes to four separate chapters of the County Code. The bulk of the new additions to the buffer standards are in the proposed Zoning Ordinance. The draft Water Protection Ordinance includes the deletion of the old stream-buffer standards, which are being replaced, as well as housekeeping changes. The Health and Safety and Subdivision chapters are being amended to update terminology ("riparian buffer" rather than "stream buffer") and to refer to the updated regulations.