Charlottesville Community Engagement only came into existence because of the COVID-19 pandemic and a prohibition of in-person gatherings that began soon after a state of emergency was declared in March 2020.
Meetings of both elected and appointed bodies moved online with Zoom becoming a household name and the long-predicted video calls from science-fiction lore became ubiquitous.
One of the categories of meetings I particularly enjoyed covering were those of Albemarle’s community advisory committees. These bodies are called for in various master plans intended to bring about compact development.
The Board of Supervisors adopted the Places29 Master Plan in February 2011 and made an amendment in June 2015. The plan’s geographic scope covers around 14.5 square miles of land extending from Hydraulic Road up north to slightly beyond Boulders Road. (read the plan)
“The P29CAC’s role is to advise staff and the Commission on matters related to land use and development in the Places29 area,” reads a description on page 172 of the Places29 Master Plan.
Initially there was one advisory committee for the entire area but in one of their final acts of 2014, the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors disbanded that body at the direction of former Rio District Supervisor Brad Sheffield as reported at Charlottesville Tomorrow.
In its place, Albemarle created three different committees including the Places29-North Community Advisory Committee. This group met virtually on March 12 giving us an opportunity to drop in.
“We are going to talk about topics for the year today,” said Allison Wrabel, the county staff liaison to the body. “So what have we talked about last year and what could you guys talk about this current year?”
For the past four years, all active community advisory committees have been involved with adoption of a new Comprehensive Plan called AC44 that went into effect on January 1 after being adopted by the Board of Supervisors on October 15, 2025.
Wrabel said the Places29-North group also got a briefing last year on the relatively new economic development strategic plan adopted by the Board before AC44.
Anthony C Pagnucco has been on the Places29-North CAC in the past and began a new term last August after some time away. He wanted to know more about the county’s investment in affordable housing.
“I’m really interested in this because the county has shown an interest in increasing affordable housing but I don’t know if we are reaching those goals or if we need to do more things,” Pagnucco said.
Wrabel said that would be a good topic for an update this year.
These meetings also provide an opportunity for elected officials to respond to questions. Rivanna District Supervisor Bea LaPisto-Kirtley said that Housing Director Stacy Pethia had briefed Supervisors on March 11 during their third work session on the FY2027 budget.
“She said, we don’t have enough because what has been approved is coming, is slowly coming,” LaPisto-Kirtley said. “It’s not online yet, so it’s not ready to go. So we still, you know, have that concern. With our population increasing, we’re going to need more.”
Bill McLaughlin wanted to talk about an issue that Wrabel said might not be germane to the CAC.
“The first thing I had on this list was data center policy,” McLaughlin said. “I just think everybody’s very interested in that.”
Wrabel said that members of the Board of Supervisors have indicated that might not be an area of concern for the community advisory committees because that’s not something addressed in the master plans. LaPisto-Kirtley said the county is no longer reviewing policies to allow ones larger than 40,000 square feet.
“All that has been placed on an indefinite hold,” LaPisto-Kirtley said. “And so that’s not even in the foreseeable future to talk about. And honestly, my personal belief, just personally, I think that the fact that we got AstraZeneca has kind of knocked that out. The data centers. We don’t need the data centers and frankly, we don’t want them.”
McLaughlin also wanted to know more information from Albemarle County Public Schools about their plans for future construction, how implementation of AC44 is going, and updates on economic development.
Keith Reed joined Places29-North earlier this year. He said both of the previous meetings he has attended featured developers seeking rezonings to add more residential and decrease commercial space. I covered the meeting from January for C-Ville Weekly.
“And so I’m not sure exactly what, like a way to say this in a bullet format, but just like making sure like the development is like, still like retail restaurants, like activity spaces, and not just more housing, but actually things for people in the houses to do,” Reed said.
Supervisor LaPisto-Kirtley said much of those decisions are up to the market and a 21st century that ravaged the retail sector.
“Amazon has really done a number on this,” LaPisto-Kirtley. “I mean, you can see Fashion Square, Albemarle Square, you know, all the others and everything. You can see all the stores closing, even at Stonefield.”
Gary Gonyar joined the Places29 North group in August 2024. He said he would like the committee to brainstorm how to provide more customers to some of the shopping centers.
“There’s a lot of opportunity there to eat and to shop and to do things like that,” Gonyar said. “I think the challenge is the mobility. You can’t get to a lot of places unless you drive a car. You can’t get there on your bike, and you can’t. It’s really hard to walk, particularly when you come up to 29, trying to get across 29.”
Toward the end of the meeting, the group got an update on a rezoning at North Pointe to allow for more residential. The Planning Commission voted earlier this month to recommend approval and the Board of Supervisors will take that up in April. Read my story in C-Ville Weekly for more information.
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