Charlottesville Comprehensive Plan Update Attracts Opponents

Charlottesville planners have released an updated version of the city’s comprehensive plan after wrapping up public comment on an initial draft in June.

Last Planetizen checked in with the “Charlottesville Plans Together” process, the public had completed a contentious round of feedback, with opponents speaking out about the new residential density and mixed-use development capacity included on the plan’s future land use map.

According to sources quoted in an article by Joe Armesto for the Daily Progress, not much has changed between the previous draft and current draft. Public opinion also remains split. “In conversations The Daily Progress has had with community leaders and members of the public, the consensus on the proposal is there is no consensus,” writes Armesto.

Opponents quoted in the article cite overstrained infrastructure and risks for homeowners in single-family neighborhood as concerns. City staff, however, aren’t concerned about the city’s infrastructure capacity. “In a July memo, the city concluded that its infrastructure systems ‘have sufficient existing capacity to handle the likely development that could occur under the new zoning ordinance,’” reports Armesto.

Matthew Gillikin of “Livable Cville” is quoted in the article saying that the plan’s elimination of zoning requirements will “drive up housing costs and increase reliance on cars instead of other more affordable and environmentally responsible modes of transportation,” which is pretty much the opposite of the intended and demonstrated effects of parking reform.

Armesto also notes that the current revision is not the final version of the comprehensive plan. Both the city planning commission and the city council will have a chance to adjust the comprehensive plan based on public feedback in the coming weeks.