City awarded $360,000 from Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund for capacity building

The Charlottesville Office of Sustainability told City Council on Sept. 15 that the city received a $360,000 grant from the Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund to support capacity building and an update to the 2023 flood resilience plan.

What the grant covers: Crystal Rittervold, director of the Office of Sustainability, said the award—administered by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) and the Virginia Resources Authority—aims to fund a three‑year program review and plan update. The scope includes a gap analysis of floodplain management policies and practices, development of best‑practice recommendations, integration of funding and an execution plan, and public preparedness and communications strategies.

Background and funding source: Rittervold explained that the Community Flood Preparedness Fund is capitalized by proceeds from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) auctions and is allocated for capacity building and projects that reduce flood impacts. She noted Virginia is not currently participating in RGGI pending litigation and administrative decisions, but funding from past auctions remains available for grants.

Why it matters: City staff said flood risk is a priority in the city’s hazard planning documents and that mitigation now is less expensive than recovery after disasters. Staff underscored the need to review local floodplain regulations and recommended the city use the grant to examine potential policy or ordinance changes.

Next steps: Staff asked council to appropriate the grant funds and to authorize the grant agreement; if council proceeds staff will develop a scope of work, retain consultants and convene an interdepartmental team to execute the work. Rittervold said the project will include outreach and coordination with utilities and emergency management.

Ending: Council members asked follow‑up questions about photo dates and when watershed modeling (Moores Creek, Meadow Creek, Rivanna) would be completed; staff said some watershed modeling was near completion and that the grant recommendation would be returned to the council for appropriation on Oct. 6.