When I begin to write these each week, I always think they will be short. But then I find myself writing much more than I expect. There is always so much going on, and my job is to provide the context. The main item this week is a Charlottesville City Council meeting that could be quite long.
Sean Tubbs
Week Ahead for Dec, 2020: Charlottesville Climate Action, redeveloping Red Carpet Inn for those in need
This is the last big week of 2020 for local government but even this week is showing the signs of a community at year’s end. A winter storm is forecast for Wednesday, and I think how strange it is that even if the area is blanketed with snow, meetings and school won’t be canceled because most of them are already happening virtually. Strange days, indeed.
Week Ahead for Dec 7, 2020: Albemarle officials to review draft housing strategy that seeks thousands of additional homes
This week, one major item to watch is the joint meeting of the Albemarle Board of Supervisors and the Planning Commission. They’re set to discuss the county’s draft housing plan, which calls for changes to county policy to allow more housing to be built.
Week Ahead for November 30, 2020 (Albemarle/Cville)
Weeks that begin with the last day of the month somehow always feel somewhat off to those of who observe government meetings. For example, Charlottesville City Council and the Albemarle Board of Supervisors usually meet in the same week, but only the latter shall gather in the next week. There are only a few city government meetings in the next five days.
Week Ahead for November 23, 2020 (Albemarle/Cville)
There has been so much going on the past two weeks that I have been unable to pay attention to any of the many webinars put together as part of the C’Ville Plans Together initiative. As a refresher, the City Council in place in February 2019 opted to hire a consultant to complete the Comprehensive Plan review while also writing an affordable housing plan. One of the major planks of the draft affordable housing plan is an annual commitment of $10 million for ten years in order to help build more affordable housing units.
Week Ahead for Nov 16, 2020: A Starbucks on Charlottesville’s Main Street?
Halfway through the month, but this is the last full week in what has been a very busy month. Though this Thanksgiving will be like none other we’ve ever experienced, there will still be downtime next week as government meetings slow down around the holidays. I look forward to spending my downtime catching up and documenting a lot of what I missed, outside of the news cycle.
Week Ahead for November 9, 2020 (Cville/Albemarle/Greene)
We’ll have plenty of time to get into the specifics as 2021 approaches, but as you read this week’s installment, note that this is a major week for the Cville Plans Together initiative, which you will see pops up a lot this week
Week Ahead for November 2, 2020 (Alb/Cville/Greene)
Everyone’s attention is on the national election and what will happen. This is an unprecedented and somewhat uncertain time. Yet, action at the local level does not stop. Perhaps this quick summary of what’s coming up this week in local government will give you some sense of normalcy and hope. Of course, nothing is normal anymore, not during a pandemic. There is just the need to know what’s coming up.
Week Ahead for October 26, 2020 (Alb/Cville/Greene)
The meeting I most look forward to this week is the joint meeting of the Albemarle Board of Supervisors, Charlottesville City Council and top officials at the University of Virginia. A year ago, the two localities agreed to dissolve a public advisory body called the Planning and Coordination Council. The PACC was created after a 1986 agreement between the three entities about how they would coordinate land use planning. The plan was to meet a year later in a joint meeting.
Week Ahead for October 19, 2020: An important week for affordable housing
The community has called for more affordable housing, and several major projects are on the dockets at local meetings this week.