Albemarle planning commission recommends approval of AC 44 comprehensive plan update

The Albemarle County Planning Commission voted unanimously on Sept. 30 to recommend that the Board of Supervisors approve CPA 20-21-2 (AC 44), the county's comprehensive plan update. The commission approved a resolution with several commissioner-suggested amendments and forwarded the plan to the board for its public hearing and anticipated adoption on Oct. 15, 2025; staff said the plan's proposed effective date is Jan. 1, 2026.

AC 44 is a countywide policy document that updates Albemarle's growth-management policy, consolidates land-use categories for the development areas, refines future land-use maps and identifies a set of implementation actions the county will pursue after adoption. Ben Holt, with the county's Long Range Planning Division, told the commission staff organized the document into four parts, reduced the main document from 406 pages in 2015 to 278 pages in the draft, and incorporated two buildout analyses (2022 and 2025), new emphasis on equity and climate action, and revised activity-center mapping. Staff said public engagement has included more than 40,000 website visitors and roughly 2,700 participants through surveys, meetings and other input.

Public commenters at the commission hearing expressed a mix of support and concern. Neil Williamson, president of the Free Enterprise Forum, said the plan is a missed opportunity…