In any given year, Albemarle’s community development department processes thousands of documents that are used to determine what gets built throughout the county.
As 2025 begins, the county has launched a new way for residents and businesses to access those documents via the internet. Monday morning saw the debut of Civic Access.
“This portal provides the community with an easy-to-use system for managing community development needs,” said Albemarle County Community Development Director Jodie Filardo in a release. “Civic Access offers residents and businesses a convenient way to interact with community development services, making processes more transparent and easier to navigate.”
The portal, built by Tyler Technologies, is designed for the many builders, planners, and other industry representatives who need approval before they can begin the work. The release did not mention the role of the media, but this column and land-use reporting in general relies on access to public information.
For instance, Albemarle requires business owners to apply for zoning clearances to determine if a new space they are moving into is suitable. A look at the county’s former document system brings up the fact that Schwarzschild Keller & George Jewelers will be moving from Millmont Street to The Shops at Stonefield.
The new portal shows that the application was approved on December 17, 2024, three days before an answer was due.
In another zoning clearance application, Eastwood Farm and Winery is seeking to take over a space on Avon Street Extended that was once occupied by Michael Shaps Wineworks. The winery will use the spot to incubate wine in five specially designed suites, but so far the clearance has not been granted.
“The suites will provide a space where independent winemakers can anchor a license and make their wines,” reads the website of Virginia Wine Collective, which says it will be open this spring.
The new portal makes it easier for anyone with a browser to learn about projects—the former CountyView system was less-than user-friendly. One can also see a range of information, such as the number of rezonings filed in a given year. The new portal displays that eight were filed in 2024.
Only one rezoning has been approved, and that was a county-initiated rezoning of land around the Rivanna Station military base to prepare for a future defense and intelligence campus. Less than three months passed between the application and action by the Board of Supervisors, according to the portal.
One long-time observer of Albemarle government hopes the new system can help the county speed up the time it takes for a building permit to be approved and to accelerate rezonings.
“I must admit, we do feel a little like Charlie Brown watching Lucy put down the football because we have heard such promises on new platforms in the not-so-distant past,” says Neil Williamson of the Free Enterprise Forum.
There were 19 rezoning applications in 2023, nine of which were approved, with another eight under review. Two are on hold, including a proposal to rezone the site of the Cville Oriental grocery store for up to 165 units. That project stalled after the Planning Commission reluctantly recommended a rezoning last summer after several members expressed it was not large enough.
However, there is nothing in the portal that explains why the project is on hold. There’s also nothing in the portal with the status of another rezoning for 33 acres in Crozet that has an application date of February 21, 2023. The Albemarle Planning Commission agreed to a deferral at its December 17 meeting.
