On June 20, 2023, PEC’s Rob McGinnis, Senior Land Use Field Representative for Albemarle, presented to the Cville100 Climate Alliance on PEC’s AC44 Comprehensive Plan Update platform, which is informed by our Climate Change Platform and 2023-2028 Strategic Plan.
Our recommendations include ways to maximize the potential of designated Development Areas while preserving rural and natural lands, protecting lives and livelihoods, increasing energy efficiencies and adopting smart renewable policies, and incorporating climate-ready planning processes and nature-based solutions into Albemarle’s local land use planning framework. In addition to building resilience, our recommendations also create new and expanded economic and leadership opportunities and enhanced quality of life for all residents.
In developing these priorities, our goal is to work with Albemarle County and many other partners to make sure the County and the people who call it home are prepared for the climate impacts we are currently experiencing and the ones we know are coming.
In 2020, the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors crafted and adopted the first phase of its Climate Action Plan. In 2022, Albemarle County partnered with The Piedmont Environmental Council, Resilient Virginia, climate modeling engineering firm Sobis, and Richmond-based marketing firm Green Fin Studio to analyze the risks and vulnerabilities of climate changes within Albemarle County. The study examines extreme heat, drought, flooding, fire, disease and pestilence, and the intersections of all of these hazards. It also views their impacts through the lens of people, the natural environment, our built environment and the economy.