In 1990, the Albemarle Board of Supervisors adopted an ordinance that gave the county the power to review building designs along major highways leading into Charlottesville. Since then, the Architectural Review Board must grant a “certificate of appropriateness” for projects within designated entrance corridors.
“They were established as overlay zoning districts to help ensure that the character of new development in the corridors is consistent with the historic character of the county,” said Margaret Maliszewski, a planning manager in Albemarle County.
For about 20 years, the ARB had to review every item which added time to the approval process. In 2010, Supervisors approved a change that allowed some items to be reviewed by staff.
“That was done establishing a new category of ARB application called a countywide Certificate of Appropriateness,” Maliszewski said. “At that time, countywide certificates were made available for 11 types of development. They are types of development that are relatively small in scope and that are expected to have less visual impact.”
In 2021, a 12th category was created for projects in the Rio Road / 29 form-based code area and in 2023 a 13th category was added for public-private partnerships. A 14th went before the Board on July 15.
“This new category would be for rooftop solar installations,” Maliszewski said. “Adoption of this amendment would allow the streamline review for rooftop solar installations in the entrance quarters.”
Last year the ARB approved solar installations on top of High School Center 2 near Albemarle High School as well as a business off of Avon Street Extended. The ARB is currently reviewing what the criteria would be for staff approval. The Planning Commission endorsed the idea on May 26 as I reported at the time.
Two people spoke at the public hearing, both representing advocacy groups.
Sadhbh O’Flynn is Climate Justice Policy Manager with the Community Climate Collaborative.
“Documents in the agenda note that this ordinance is aligned with the county’s climate goals,” O’Flynn said. “I think it’s important to note we won’t know how the addition of a rooftop solar category will align with the climate goals until we see the design requirements from the ARB but the discussions that have been held so far signal calls for optimism.”
Neil Williamson is President of the Free Enterprise Forum, an organization that has called for the elimination of entrance corridors and elimination of the Architectural Review Board. Nonetheless, Williamson supported the new countywide CoA.
“I am hopeful that the ARB, in crafting their regulations, will consult with the local solar community and with Sadhbh who just spoke, because I think there’s a lot to be gained from by understanding the technology behind it and the impacts to the entrance corridor,”
Supervisor Ned Gallaway of the Rio District said he hopes the spirit of the Climate Action Plan will outweigh the intent of the entrance corridor. He said the criteria cannot be too restrictive.
“If a business, especially in the development area, wants to put rooftop solar up there, limiting it to a certain amount of square footage could make it not viable for them and that would go against the Climate Action Plan,” Gallaway said. “So I’m going on the record of saying that I would want the climate action Plan to be the higher concern and priority, not the aesthetics.”
The motion passed 5 to 0. Jack Jouett District Supervisor Sally Duncan was not present.
Before you go: The goal of Town Crier Productions is to increase awareness about what is happening at the local, regional, state, and federal government levels. Please share the work with others if you want people to know things. Paid subscribers cover the cost of conducting research for this article which was originally published in the July 30, 2026 edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement. You can either subscribe through Substack or make a charitable contribution.
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