Sean Tubbs, Author at C-VILLE Weekly

Despite ruling, Charlottesville has resumed taking applications under voided zoning code

The development community has filed dozens of applications under a new zoning code Charlottesville City Council enacted in late 2023 in order to increase the number of residential units that could be built and address what housing activists argue is a shortage. That future was put in doubt by a ruling in Charlottesville Circuit Court […]

Sean Tubbs | July 16, 2025

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Charlottesville seeking to continue climate action work as federal funding dries up

The second presidency of Donald Trump has come with many sudden transformations in policy as efforts are made to both limit the size of the federal government as well as eliminate efforts to move away from the use of fossil fuels. On July 7, Charlottesville City Council heard an annual report on local efforts to […]

Sean Tubbs | July 12, 2025

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Protesters demand a halt to federal influence at UVA

University of Virginia President Jim Ryan’s last day in office is July 11, and Executive Vice President J.J. Davis will take over the position on an acting basis while a search committee does its work. On the afternoon of July 4, around 400 people gathered near the Rotunda to protest Ryan’s resignation and the demand […]

Sean Tubbs | July 9, 2025

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Charlottesville pledges to restore new zoning code

The City of Charlottesville has stopped taking any applications for new development while officials figure out how to move forward after its zoning code was thrown out by Judge Claude Worrell on June 30 for a technical error. On July 1, the city’s Department of Neighborhood Development Services let builders and developers know that all […]

Sean Tubbs | July 4, 2025

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Judge throws out Charlottesville’s new zoning code after city fails to respond to order on time

After 18 months of legal procedures over the city’s new zoning code, Charlottesville Circuit Court Judge Claude Worrell has granted a default judgment throwing out the new rules. A group of Charlottesville property owners filed suit against the city in January 2024 arguing that it had not done enough to study the potential impacts additional […]

Sean Tubbs | July 2, 2025

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One West Main Street commercial establishment closes while another goes private

When Charlottesville City Council granted permission for three student apartment buildings to be constructed on West Main Street in the 2010s, the zoning rules at the time required that the ground floor have space for commercial establishments. Since then, several of the required spaces have remained vacant while other businesses have struggled to stay afloat. […]

Sean Tubbs | June 27, 2025

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Planning Commission will look at plans for five-story Seminole Trail apartment building

Charlottesville’s new development code is intended to encourage the construction of new places to live across the city. However, there are still a few remaining large-scale residential projects being reviewed under the old rules. For instance, plans are moving forward to build 267 units on U.S. 29 at the site of the Hibachi Grill under […]

Sean Tubbs | June 25, 2025

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UVA Health unveils concept plan for Oak Lawn

Since the University of Virginia purchased the Fifeville estate known as Oak Lawn in October 2023, officials have pledged to include the neighborhood in the discussion of how the 5.2-acre property will be used. A concept plan for the future of Oak Lawn was shared with members of the Fifeville neighborhood during a June 18 […]

Sean Tubbs | June 23, 2025

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Albemarle hopes to become Virginia’s ‘next innovation economy’

Albemarle County is in the fourth year of updating its Comprehensive Plan, a document intended to guide the future. But work on a new economic development strategic plan is happening much faster. “We’re not working on an economic development plan for a community that’s in decline,” said Steven Pedigo of Resonance, the firm hired […]

Sean Tubbs | June 18, 2025

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Preliminary plans filed for seven-story apartment building in Fifeville

Three apartment buildings marketed to University of Virginia students sprung up on West Main Street in the 2010s, taking advantage of a zoning code from 2003 that encouraged residential density along major corridors. On June 17, Charlottesville’s Board of Architectural Review had a first look at a proposal that would utilize a new zoning code […]

Sean Tubbs | June 18, 2025