Albemarle County surrounds the city of Charlottesville, VA, and has a long history of responsible planning that has consistently channeled growth into designated Development Areas (approximately 5% of the County’s land area) in order to protect rural character, facilitate economical service delivery and promote traditional neighborhood development. Since the latest Comprehensive Plan was adopted in 2015, Albemarle County has grown and changed. Several new plans have been adopted, including a Climate Action Plan and an Affordable Housing Policy, and the Board of Supervisors adopted a “Resolution in Support of an Equitable and Inclusive Community.” EPR is leading a multidisciplinary consultant team in support of County staff to: 

• Update plan content to reflect recent County-wide strategic initiatives 
• Ensure that equity and climate resiliency are integrated into the engagement process and the updated plan content 
• Improve Plan usability and apply a modern, streamlined document design. 

In the first phase of the update, EPR assisted staff in developing a “Framework for an Equitable and Resilient Community,” an aspirational view of Albemarle County in the year 2044 that prioritizes the key principles of equity and resilience to guide County policies and practices for the next 20 years. The Framework is intended to serve as a guide for future phases of the plan update that will focus on topics such as land use, housing, transportation and resource protection. The Framework approach was designed to find common ground among different interests and build a foundation of community support for future policy development. 

Throughout Phase 2, EPR helped staff define Activity Centers and identify multimodal improvements using the DRPT Multimodal Systems Design Guidelines, assisted with GIS mapping of important natural and cultural resources, and supported public engagement efforts. 

 Phase 3 will begin in the summer of 2024.