Voices speak out against upcoming ending of Rivanna River encampments

Charlottesville City Council voted on August 3 to spend $4 million from a surplus fund to be used in part to hire Central Arizona Shelter Services to run a temporary emergency shelter at 2000 Holiday Drive, an office building purchased in October 2025 using $6.2 million from the same surplus fund.

While there was no public hearing associated with that vote, several people took the opportunity to voice their opposition at the public comment period. Because Mayor Juandiego Wade was absent, Vice Mayor Natalie Oschrin ran the meeting. She began by thanking those who were about to speak but offered a reminder of the rules of engagement.

“We do want to remind folks that this meeting is for residents and neighbors to hear from the city and to address the city’s representatives,” Oschrin said. “Those of us up here on the dais are here for that feedback. Our small D democratic values mean that we welcome commentary on all sorts of subjects and a diverse array of opinions.”

Oschrin asked those in the audience to refrain from heckling, interrupting, or doing anything to intimidate speakers.

The first speaker was Donnas Chambers, a resident of the encampment under Free Bridge. He said he has participated in a workgroup for the public space but said the service providers have not listened.

“I was thinking y’ all was gonna get our ideas, figure out what we need and build the shelter to support us, but obviously y’ all don’t care what we say y’ all don’t care what we think,” Chambers said. “And y’ all just building a shelter just to throw us in there. There’s no way all these people is gonna be side by side laying on cots in a shelter that makes no sense at all.”

Chambers said he will not be going to the emergency shelter.

Albemarle County resident Andrew Gray said he had two family members who spent their entire adult lives on the street and recalled how neither wanted to stay in a shelter and preferred to live outside when they could. He said the city needs to continue to invest in housing.

“People say housing issues are complicated,” Gray said. “I don’t think they are. Human beings have a right to housing. At the same time, the people of Charlottesville have a right to walk through parks without sexual harassment. The businesses have a right to not be stolen from our adults and our children have a right to recreation near the river without worrying about environmental hazards like needles.”

Gray said the forced removal will only be a temporary measure and people will find another place to live outside.

Isis Neumann accused the city of lying about their intentions and using the death of an encampment resident to justify the transition.

“What the city is doing is disrespecting his death,” Neumann said. “Imagine that you died, and in response, the city evicted all your friends. That is more than I would do to my worst enemy. Do not lie in our faces and tell us that you care.”

Jennifer Grant, another resident of the encampment, said she would consider the shelter but wouldn’t go until she has the answers to several questions.

“The building is not even up to structure,” Grant said. “You can’t even give us an idea of what we’re going to be sleeping on. You cannot even give us an idea of what is going to be in there. You can’t. We don’t have anywhere to put our stuff storage wise.”

Anne Coughlin, a professor at the University of Virginia, had concerns about what she called the criminalization of the space where people have been living. She said they have due process rights that may be in danger of being violated.

“Since I’m a lawyer and I think a lot about optics, I’m not sure that there will be lawsuits brought against you but you would want to think about what those lawsuits would involve, the amount of resources that they would take, the attention that they would garner, and the way that that would distract us from the really important thing that we need to do, which is to provide housing, a basic human right for people,” Coughlin said.

In March 2021, Charlottesville City Council adopted an affordable housing plan as part of the Cville Plans Together initiative. Among the recommendations was that Council spend at least $10 million a year on housing programs, a level that has been met and exceeded ever since.

Resources:

• Affordable Housing Plan adopted in March 2021
• Comprehensive Plan adopted in November 2021
• Development Code amended and readopted in February 2026

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