In brief

The end zone A group of Charlottesville homeowners filed suit on January 16 to stop implementation of the city’s new zoning ordinance next month.  In the court filing, local law firm Flora Petit asserts that the zoning ordinance is invalid because it exceeds the powers afforded to the city by the Virginia General Assembly, fails […]

Up less

Albemarle County is reporting another increase in average property values for 2024, but its not as high as in the past two years.  “This year what we’re looking at is a 4.07 percent overall increase to the tax base based on the reassessment,” says Peter Lynch, Albemarle’s assessor.  Albemarle switched to annual assessments in 2009, […]

Digging in

On January 12, the Piedmont Housing Alliance broke ground on the Hickory Hope apartments at Southwood. The apartments will add 121 new affordable units to the community, and are the latest step forward in Southwood’s years-long resident-led redevelopment effort. Hickory Hope apartments—a joint effort of PHA, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville, Albemarle County, and […]

Filling it in

Things are getting messier in the rollout of the 2024-2025 Free Application for Federal Student Aid, with a form error potentially reducing the amount of aid students will receive. As students navigate the FAFSA, C-VILLE asked area colleges and high schools how they’re advising both current and prospective enrollees on the financial aid process. At […]

Now what?

Nearly a month has passed since Charlottesville City Council approved a new development code intended to increase the number of places for people to live. But the city still has several finishing touches to put in place before the code goes into effect on February 19.  One of them is the adoption of a manual […]

The doctor is in-person

By Laura Vogel Imagine that finding a skilled primary-care doctor in Charlottesville was a snap, that the monthly cost of a dedicated physician was less than four yoga classes, appointments were never rushed, and your doctor was available to you 24/7.  To the doctors who practice it, Direct Primary Care is a return to health […]

In brief

Looking within Sen. Creigh Deeds joined the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia in support of Second Look legislation at the Virginia State Capitol on January 16.  The event—held by a coalition of the ACLU, the Humanization Project, Nolef Turns, and Sistas in Prison Reform—featured a number of speakers who support the legislation. In addition […]

More beds at ABC

Rezonings for large, mixed-use complexes include a legally binding document called a “code of development” that lays out what can be built in a given project and how much the public can expect.  In October 2020, the Board of Supervisors approved the Albemarle Business Campus, a mixed-use development on Fifth Street Extended that allowed for […]

In brief

Primed and ready Voting season kicks off soon, with early in-person voting for the March 5 Democratic and Republican presidential primaries starting on January 19.  Early voting in the city will be held at the Office of Voter Registration and Elections in Room 142 at City Hall Annex, 120 Seventh St. NE, on weekdays from […]

Capitol-ized

Charlottesville’s lawmakers are in Richmond for the start of Virginia’s new legislative session, which is scheduled to run for 60 days, beginning on January 10. The legislators’ priorities run the gamut, from abortion access to restoration of voting rights. For state Sen. Creigh Deeds, the start of the session comes with a new district number—11—and […]