AC44 Monthly Digest: August 2022

Welcome back to the AC44 monthly digest for the County’s Comprehensive Plan update! This is where we’ll share the work we’ve done over the past month, the feedback we heard, and upcoming opportunities to participate.

Because the Comprehensive Plan involves so many different interests, this monthly newsletter is being shared with everyone who has subscribed to one or more County email lists. More frequent AC44-specific updates will be sent to AC44 subscribers.

To subscribe to the AC44 list, please visit this webpage and check the box next to "Albemarle 2044 - Comprehensive Plan Update"

Share Your Feedback on Big Ideas

AC44 Roundtables

Join us for an upcoming community roundtable:

Thursday, September 15 from 6 pm – 7:30 pm at B.F. Yancey Community Center: Register here
Tuesday, September 20 from 6 pm – 7:30 pm via Zoom co-hosted with Zion Hill Baptist Church: Register here

Online Questionnaire

Can’t make it to a roundtable? We have similar content in an online questionnaire for you to share your feedback. The online questionnaire will be open through Sunday, September 18.

Host Your Own Meeting

Consider helping us reach new people by hosting your own meeting. Our Meeting Kit includes a how-to guide, participant materials, and notetaker forms. You can schedule and host a meeting to connect with your neighbors, friends, walking club, or other networks to discuss and provide input on the Big Ideas.

Download the Meeting Kit

Listen to the Community Voices Audio Project

The Weldon Cooper Center predicts that Albemarle County’s population will grow by 30,000 residents in the next 20 years. A growing community faces many challenges and opportunities that have wide-ranging implications for the future. Listen to a variety of perspectives from community members on this topic.

Listen on Apple Podcast, iHeart, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, or our website.

August: What We Did

In August the project team focused on analyzing and incorporating input from the community and Planning Commission. Feedback from previous engagement opportunities on the current Growth Management Policy and Growth Management Options was used to identify major themes.

Based on the community input, the team recognized a need to identify high-level guiding concepts or “Big Ideas” for the future to guide our work. The four Big Ideas are intended to help guide and focus work in future AC44 phases as we look to identify specific policies and action steps for topics such as transportation, land use, and resource protection.

The AC44 Working Group held its fourth meeting in August, where they helped the team digest and pull themes from the community feedback. The Working Group meeting materials and minutes can be found on the AC44 Working Group page of the project website.

On August 29, we kicked off our third round of engagement for Phase 1 of the AC44 process by hosting our first Community Roundtable at the County Office Building. Approximately 30 community members participated in a dialogue about the four Big Ideas and shared input on whether they guide us toward a more equitable and resilient community.

Looking Ahead

Mark your calendars to listen in during these important discussions.

Learn More

All community members are invited to participate. Please take advantage of these tools to get started:

Listen to the Let’s Talk Albemarle podcast episode about the Comp Plan. This is a great introduction to understanding what the Plan is, how it's developed, and what it’s used for. You’ll also get some insight into the project team’s role in the process and some of the challenges associated with such a big (comprehensive!) community project.
Visit the Introduction to AC44 webpage to learn about the background of the project, why we have a Comprehensive Plan, and what the Plan is used for in day-to-day life.
Visit the Planning for Growth webpage to learn the background of the Growth Management Policy (a component of the Comp Plan) and review the initial ideas about ways we might update the Policy.
Sign up here to receive email updates and participation opportunities. Select the "Albemarle 2044 - Comprehensive Plan Update" box and any other topics you are interested in.

About the Comprehensive Plan

AC44 (or Albemarle County 2044) is the project name for the County’s Comprehensive Plan update and is one of the ways the County is planning for an inclusive and resilient future. The Comprehensive Plan sets priorities and serves as a guide for the future physical development of Albemarle County. The Plan includes recommendations for how and where the county should grow, supporting local businesses and industry, protecting and enhancing natural resources, providing transportation options for walking, biking, taking transit, and driving, and allowing and encouraging a variety of housing types.

The goals for the project are to:

Update plan content to reflect recent county-wide strategic initiatives including climate action planning, economic development, and multi-modal transportation planning.
Ensure that equity is integrated into the engagement process and the updated plan content, consistent with the County’s recently added “Community” organizational value.
Improve Plan usability by articulating clearly prioritized goals, incorporating metrics for tracking progress, and applying a modern, streamlined document design.

The Comprehensive Plan will be updated in a four-phased approach, with the adoption of the final Comprehensive Plan expected in late 2024. We are currently in Phase 1: Plan for Growth, which will be focused on the County’s Growth Management Policy.

Why the name 'Albemarle County 2044 (AC44)’?

The process to update the Comp Plan kicked off in early 2022 and is anticipated to be completed by the fall of 2024. When adopted, the Comp Plan will be in effect from 2024 to 2044 with periodic updates, in response to changing conditions and trends in the county. 'AC44' is an abbreviation of the full project name.

Meet Our Team

We have a talented, multidisciplinary team working on AC44. Contact us by phone or email: AC44@albemarle.org -or- (434) 296-5832 ext. 3272

Rachel Falkenstein

Planning Manager

Tori Kanellopoulos

Senior Planner II

Mariah Gleason

Urban Designer

Ben Holt

Senior Planner II

Serena Gruia

Public Engagement Coordinator

Have You Visited Our Online Engagement Center?

We are looking forward to providing you with a variety of robust tools designed to enable you to share your expertise, ideas, and feedback with us on a regular basis.

Please visit the site and register to access current and future projects.

We have a new podcast! The Let’s Talk Albemarle podcast seeks to foster community participation through the exploration of important topics in Albemarle County. Listen free on Apple Podcast, iHeart, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, or our website.