In an email to a concerned city resident, Charlottesville Mayor Juandiego Wade has announced a plan to move people who are living in tents at Free Bridge and along the Rivanna River into other housing arrangements before the end of the summer.
“The City and our community partners are already working directly with people staying in the riverfront encampments to assess individual needs and connect them with available housing, healthcare, behavioral health, and other support services,” Wade wrote in an email sent to Robin Hoffman on July 11.
The message comes at a time when groups in the federally-recognized Continuum of Care are working on an operations plan for a low-barrier shelter at an office building at 2000 Holiday Drive. The city paid $6.2 million for that property last October.
On June 15, City Manager Sam Sanders told City Council that work was underway for PACEM to open an overnight shelter as soon as possible but there was no specific update when asked last week.
In the email, Wade said anyone who wants to move from the camp into another place can do so immediately using available community resources. He added that others will be required to leave by a fixed point to be decided.
“The coordinated transition of all people from the encampment area is planned to begin on or around September 1, following several weeks of outreach to ensure every individual has been offered services, assessed for their needs and given the opportunity to connect with available resources,” Wade wrote.
Wade said the city hopes everyone will accept help but no one will be allowed to stay at the encampments after a certain point.
“After the transition is complete, camping in this area will no longer be permitted,” Wade said. “City staff will continue coordinating with service providers to encourage connections to available resources while managing the area in accordance with City policies and applicable laws.”
Wade said more details would be made available in the coming week.
In September 2025, Charlottesville City Council declined to adopt an ordinance to make it a misdemeanor to camp on public property.
Hoffman had sent a message to Wade on Saturday morning expressing concern about a report of a sexual assault at the encampment on the evening of July 9.
In his response, Wade said this is not a situation with easy answers.
“We remain committed to treating every person with dignity while also fulfilling our responsibility to maintain safe, clean, and accessible public spaces for everyone,” Wade said.
This is a developing story.
Before you move on: Thank you for reading this story. You did so because you are interested in the details of how civilizations attempt to solve really difficult issues. Town Crier Productions was created to try to shine a light on discussions about tough topics. This is a story being published here on this website first and will then be updated in the newsletter Charlottesville Community Engagement.
Discover more from Information Charlottesville
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
