New director hired to oversee planning and zoning in Charlottesville

Charlottesville’s Deputy City Manager for Operations has appointed a successor to the job he previously held. 

“We have a new NDS director,” said James Freas, who was hired to lead the Department of Neighborhood Development Services in the spring of 2021. 

Shortly after City Council adopted a new Development Code, Charlottesville City Manager Sam Sanders promoted Freas in part because of work to oversee the completion of the Cville Plans Together initiative. Now a person who last worked in Arlington County will run the NDS department. 

“Kellie Brown started with us on Monday,” Freas told the Planning Commission on September 10. “She is in the process of getting grounded in the department and in the city.” 

Brown said she is happy to be working in the city after her time in Arlington County. 

“I was a planner there for 16 years,” Brown said. “I worked on a variety of programs and projects and initiatives. Most recently I was involved with in the county’s efforts to expand housing options so we have a very kindred relationship with the City of Charlottesville in terms of expanding housing options in areas that previously only allowed for single detached homes.”

Since the Development Code went into effect in late February, there have been at least two major development plans for additional density in such areas and two are currently under review.

• Evergreen Home Builders purchased 303 Alderman Road in the Lewis Mountain neighborhood and will replace a single family home with six townhomes. (read the story)
• Greenshire Holdings purchased 2030 Barracks Road and have filed to subdivide the lot in order to build a total of 24 units, 12 of which will be guaranteed “affordable” under the city’s guidelines. (read the story) 

A lawsuit seeking voidance of the city’s Development Code is still pending in Charlottesville Circuit Court. Both sides in the White v Charlottesville case last appeared in court on June 27, 2024 regarding a motion on whether the matter should proceed to a trial.  Judge Claude Worrell asked counsel for both the city of Charlottesville and a group of city landowners to submit written closing arguments. (read the story)

Two months later, both followed the instructions. 

“Plaintiffs disagree with a policy decision, made by the elected members of the Charlottesville City Council, carefully designed to address a severe housing shortage in Charlottesville,” reads the introduction to the closing argument in the city’s defense. (read the document on cvillepedia) 

“The City failed to follow the process mandated by the General Assembly in adopting the Zoning ordinance by failing to submit the Zoning Ordinance and the Comprehensive Plan on which the Zoning Ordinance is based to VDOT as required by Virginia Code,” read the response from the firm Flora Pettit. (read the document on cvillepedia)

Time has restricted my ability to write up that case in detail in these digital pages but I believe my story in the September 4, 2024 C-Ville Weekly is the only other one written so far. 

Brown said she is excited to implement the new Comprehensive Plan and the Development Code.  

“I’m also really focused on continuing to create a culture of very collaborative and inclusive community engagement, efficient development review, and strong interdepartmental and inner agency coordination,” Brown said. 

The Planning Commission will have a work session on September 24 to go over how the new Development Code has been put into operation.

There will be a joint work session with the Albemarle Planning Commission on October 30 on climate action and resilience projects. 

Before you go: The time to write and research of this article is covered by paid subscribers to Charlottesville Community Engagement. In fact, this particular installment is from the September 13, 2024 edition of the newsletter. To ensure this research can be sustained, please consider becoming a paid subscriber or contributing monthly through Patreon.