Albemarle Supervisors briefed on AC44’s implementation chapter

Albemarle County has been updating its Comprehensive Plan for nearly four years and staff are now working to get everything ready for public hearings before the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors.

A complete draft will be published in early August with another round of work sessions. The Planning Commission is expected to hold their public hearing on September 23 followed by the Supervisors’ public hearing on October 15.

On July 8, the Planning Commission had a chance to learn about the implementation chapter and the idea to prioritize actions according to what staff refers to as six “big moves.” The Board of Supervisors had their work session on July 16.

“These big moves are strategic groupings of key initiatives organized around common themes that have the greatest potential to advance the goals of AC44 over the next five years,” said Tonya Swartzendruber, Albemarle’s planning manager. “They span across multiple policy areas and often involve collaboration across multiple city departments and external partners.”

For a longer review, take a look or a listen to a story I wrote about that meeting. This story’s going to focus on what the elected officials had to say during the same presentation.

Supervisor Ann Mallek wanted to know how the six big moves connected to the individual chapters that the Board and Planning Commission have been reviewing for the past year. She said some important topics appeared to be missing.

“You know, water protection is not here at all and if you don’t have clean water, you can’t have any of these other things,” Mallek said.

Supervisor Ned Gallway said he supported the six big moves, but said he felt there could be at least one more. He mentioned a conversation he had with Rio District Planning Commissioner Nathan Moore where they discussed a potential seventh big move to encourage creation of places for humans to interact with each other in a physical community.

“There are key needs for physical safety [and] economic security, but the idea of social belonging and social enterprise and the appreciation of the aesthetic beyond just what’s there in nature is not really addressed,” Gallaway said.

In their conversation, Moore had referred to a 2023 report by the U.S. Surgeon General called “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation.” Big Move 3 calls for continued investment in the county’s growth area and what staff refers to as “activity centers.” Gallaway said the county could keep this in mind as those are developed.

“We’re developing and building out Biscuit Run Park. I think it would be important to have that idea mentality involved when we’re programming and figuring out that park,” Gallaway said. “And as we think more and more about, like the Rio Small Area Plan and these activity centers, that the jurisdiction should take some responsibility in providing these places and inform the design of not just providing, but what then is there once it is provided?”

Supervisor Diantha McKeel supported that concept and said there should be an emphasis on arts and culture, as well as supporting an aging population.

“When I talk about community health and our social fabric, it’s not just the aging folks that need that,” McKeel said. “But when we’re talking about transportation, many of our residents really can’t walk a quarter of a mile.”

McKeel said the Comprehensive Plan should be a document that communicates Albemarle’s willingness and motivation to take steps to make the locality a better place.

“We’re not about creating walls to keep people out,” McKeel said.” We’re about building community. And that should be obvious through our comp plan.”

Supervisor Jim Andrews said he felt many of the aspects of social belonging called for by Gallaway could be implemented as part of Big Move #3.

“I see the activity centers as incorporating some of the social gathering components that have been talked about as an additional number seven,” Gallaway said. “But I also heard from the Planning Commission a request that somehow not just be compact and connected, but it be welcoming and green.”

Supervisor Mike Pruitt said he had some concerns about the big moves. He said they were useful in terms of telling Albemarle’s story, but fell short.

“My concern is that as constructed, they are not useful for an accountability purpose,” Pruitt said. “And I can think of that in two different directions. Accountability from board to staff and also accountability from public to board. I don’t think we can actually use this document as a priority tool.”

There’s more to come on AC44 as we get closer to those public hearings. Have you taken a look at the draft documents? While the full draft isn’t available to the public in one document yet, individual chapters and sections are available for review at Engage Albemarle website under the Phase 3 section.

Before you go: This story was first published in the July 24, 2025 edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement and then posted here the next day. For more information about Town Crier Productions, take a look at this page!