Board of Supervisors Regular First Meeting   8/6/2025

I am pleased to call to order this regular meeting of the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors on the 6th of August at 1 p.m. in Lane Auditorium.

I'd like to note at the dais we have Supervisor Mike Pruitt of the Scottsville District, Supervisor Bea LaPisto-Kirtley of the Rivanna District, Supervisor Ann Mallek of the White Hall District, and myself, Diantha McKeel of the Jack Jouett District.

A quorum is present.

Board, taking note of the two empty seats,

Supervisor Ned Gallaway will be joining this meeting this afternoon remotely.

And Jim Andrews of the Samuel Miller district is requesting now to participate remotely in accordance with the applicable board rules of procedure, rule number 8B1D enacted pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act.

Good afternoon.

Yes, thank you.

All right, thank you.

I will now entertain a motion to allow Supervisor Andrews to participate in the meeting remotely.

So moved.

Second.

We have a motion from Supervisor Mallek and a second from Supervisor Lea LaPisto-Kirtley.

Ms. LaPisto-Kirtley?

Aye.

Ms. Mallek?

Yes.

Welcome, Supervisor Andrews.

As you can see, based on Chair Andrews' remote participation, I will be chairing the meeting today, and I will add that Chair Andrews leaves big shoes to fill, and I'll do my best.

We are joined on the dais by County Executive Jeff Richardson, County Attorney Andy Herrick, and to my far left is our Board Clerk Claudette Borgensen and our Senior Deputy Clerk Travis Morris.

To my far right are Albemarle County Deputy County Executives Ann Wall and Trevor Henry.

I'd also like to welcome Albemarle County Police Officers present, Master Police Officer Jerry Shank and Police Officer Enzo Azari.

Now, if all present, could stand as you are able and join us for the Pledge of Allegiance.

Thank you.

Would you please join us for a moment of silence?

Our next item is adoption of the final agenda.

I do, thank you.

Under amending the agenda, due to my error, neglecting to copy all board members on my request to the clerk to add these items to the printed agenda by Monday deadline, I would like to add them now.

In the end of the meeting, matters from the board or after.

First would be Earliesville truck traffic from fill activities on and off Earliesville Forest Drive, and the second is presentation of petitions from the Crozet Community Association.

Okay, thank you Ann.

Board, per our rules and procedures, adding Ann's items to the agenda needs unanimous support.

I'm looking around at everyone and I don't see Jim, but we need unanimous support, Jim.

There he comes.

Alright, so if everyone's fine with that then, hearing no objections, let's add Supervisor Mallek's two items, the Earliesville Forest Truck Traffic from Phil Activities and the Presentation of Petitions from the Crozet Community Association as items 21 and 22.

Thank you.

And then our adjournment will become agenda item 23.

So at this time, the floor is open to a motion to adopt the final agenda as amended.

So moved.

Second.

All right.

So we have a motion from Bea LaPisto-Kirtley and a second from Ann Mallek.

Ms. LaPisto-Kirtley?

Aye.

Ms. Mallek?

Yes.

Mr. Pruitt?

Aye.

OK.

Very good.

All right.

Our next agenda item is

announcements by board members.

Thank you.

I would just like to begin with a personal announcement and a clarification just for the public.

So a lot of y'all have heard I've announced a campaign for Congress.

I don't want to talk about that campaign here from the dais.

I don't think that's my role.

I have gotten the question from several people about whether or not I intend to continue to serve in this capacity while running.

And the answer is yes, I will resign.

I will resign once I win, which will be before the conclusion of my term.

In the meantime, I was elected to do a job.

I think I'm still capable of doing that job.

And also, I ran because I think my perspective is valuable on this board, and I think that is still true.

So I'm going to continue to serve in this role.

Um...

I do sometimes hear from members of the public, from some of my peers, differing opinions on what our role as a supervisor is.

There's a common thing you hear that, oh, we're nonpartisan, or oh, we're not politicians, we're public servants.

I don't agree with that.

I am partisan, and I'm a politician.

And that is the capacity in which I serve on this board.

And I think that should be reflective in the way I conduct myself, not as a neutral arbiter, but someone who is here to have opinions about things.

That being said,

the work that I'm going to be doing across the 5th district as a candidate and the work that I do as a politician on this board do not have significant overlap most of the time.

And so I say this for the public, for people who would try and reach out to me about things related to that campaign.

Do not do so on my

Government means of communication.

Please do not call my county phone.

Please do not reach out to my county email with things related to public office.

And I will not do the same.

I will not email you or conduct business related to my campaign from this perspective.

Oh well.

We can come back to you if you think about it.

Yes, I just wanted to announce I, and I saw Supervisor Mallek, I don't know if others were able to attend last night's night out.

That is

It's something that is national and it enables the relationship between neighbors and law enforcement to become stronger.

So it's really a wonderful event.

Yesterday from 3.30 to 6.30 at Putt Putt Golf.

You did not have to bring your own putter.

They had putters there.

But it was really a wonderful event attended by many, many, many people, many residents.

And what was really nice is you had not only police, Albemarle County police force, you also had Albemarle County sheriffs and Albemarle County fire rescue.

So it was really a wonderful event that I had the honor of attending.

and also last Thursday I attended the Albemarle County Fair.

I don't know if anyone else was able to go out there.

It was last Thursday, Friday, Saturday.

It was held at Highland, Monroe's home.

Really a wonderful event with all kinds of animals, sheep, ducks, chickens, and a bunch of other animals they don't even recognize.

But it was really a wonderful event because you see all the little children and then they bring in

There are animals for, you know, to see if they can win awards and everything like that.

To me, they were all winners.

But anyway, it was a great event.

If you get a chance, oh, and good food.

So if you get a chance to go next year, please do.

Sorry, I digress.

Supervisor Mallek.

Well, it seems I've been following Ms. LaPisto-Kirtley around the county.

I also enjoyed very much at the County Fair at Highland the mobile museum of the BA 250 history project for the sesquicentennial next year.

The exhibits are very well done.

It's great for all ages, handicapped accessible, and Carla Mullen, who was there representing

the VA 250 local effort said they are really seeking living history participants to have presentations during 2026 talking about what it was like or how the news of the Declaration of Independence actually arrived in Albemarle.

So there are lots of different things York County is doing stuff based on their battles

and New England, of course, has been doing stuff since Lexington and Concord last year, early this year.

So I think it's really important for people to give themselves a little chance to try out some history and make sure that they take advantage of all these things because I won't be around for the next big anniversary, that's for sure.

And it was very, very well done.

Secondly, at the Putt-Putt, I had a great conversation with Michael Downey at the Forestry Department.

And he's talking to me about the wildlife, wild land mitigation, wild fire.

Wildland wildfire mitigation programs and they have grants now through the Department of Forestry for neighborhoods and clusters of people who live near each other who can get assessments of their fire risk and suggestions of ways that they could make themselves a little safer to prevention.

He said the biggest cause of

Spreads and structure loss is flying embers and there are ways that you can protect yourself on that so I will leave the brochure and his card with the clerk and people can or contact the board the Department of Forestry to get that information and Also, thanks to Mark Wood and his entire family for hosting the night out again It was a great spot and nice and cool lots of fun Lots of children.

It was great.

Yes, definitely because they prefer a cluster of things, but they're also willing to do high-risk places that are on their own in the rural area.

But you do not have to have an organized neighborhood association.

I'm going to mention it to several that I know.

That's great.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

I very much appreciate that information.

I have no announcements.

Okay, then I do have a few things.

I just want to recognize for those that may not be aware that Albemarle County was awarded a $9.7 million grant from the Virginia Business Ready Sites Program.

Glad to see you clapping.

And we are really just to express our gratitude to the Commonwealth of Virginia for its continued investment in Rivanna Futures.

Really wonderful.

I have a couple of other items.

I want to just remind folks that every year the NAACP

has sponsored the Freedom Fund Banquet, which is really their main fundraiser of the year.

This year it is scheduled for Friday, September the 19th at the Omni.

Tickets are available right now, they're on sale, and you can just notify or call the Albemarle, Charlottesville NAACP for information.

and I have it as well if you want to reach out to me.

I go every year and it's really a great party and a good event.

And I did attend the 16th Annual Albemarle County Public Schools National Society of Black Engineers Summer Academy Graduation.

That's a mouthful, but there were six graduates, or seven graduates, I'm sorry,

and it was held over at the engineering school at the University of Virginia.

It was wonderful to see these seven young people who are planning to go into STEM arts and it's a course that bridges engineering with the arts, which is really an interesting concept.

They presented

aerospace engineering models that they had produced and built.

One was an F-22 fighter jet and the other one was an F-35 fighter jet, but of course they were models.

But it was really a great graduation and I enjoyed it a great deal and I want to thank Ms. Pearl Early and Georgia Garcia for the work.

And the only other item that I wanted to point out today was, and I keep hearing about this and it's very concerning, parked cars are now the leading source of stolen guns.

We have to do better than this.

We have to do better.

So cars being broken into, in parking garages, in neighborhoods along the streets.

So those people that have guns that are carrying their guns legally, I'm sure most of them are legal, but they need to be locked up appropriately because we just can't continue to have these guns being stolen and then used in

in bad ways.

And that information was from the Council on Criminal Justice, which released five years of gun theft data reporting.

So we've got to do better.

I did.

It was, again, very self-serving.

Well, first, I was also thinking about the county fair.

Double tap everything that was already said.

Specifically, I want to thank our local rural tenants in 4-H who do a lot of work to get that fare off the ground.

But also, what I was going to say is consistent with everything else about the congressional announcement, I did want to just say

For the public, I'm currently working three jobs.

It is quite challenging for me to be very responsive in a timely way to people right now until I quit my main job in September.

So my 9 to 5 that I actually get paid for, I am stepping away from in September, at which point I will hopefully be much more caught up on my county emails.

Is that the beginning or end of September?

It's mid-September.

Mid-September.

Yep.

All right.

Our next agenda item is a proclamation recognizing the soul of Seville Festival.

Whereas Soul of Seville is a celebration that honors the rich cultural heritage, vibrant arts, and community spirit that make Albemarle County unique, and Whereas Soul of Seville serves as a platform for fostering unity, promoting diversity, and supporting local business, the 2025 theme being firmly planted, fiercely flourishing, and Whereas the low cost to free, family-friendly Soul of Seville festival

returns to IxArt Park from August 10th to 17th, 2025, uniting residents and visitors from all backgrounds and walks of life to enjoy a diverse array of performances, food, award recognition, scholarship, giveaway, and activities.

And whereas the 2025 celebration marks the fifth anniversary of Soul of Seaville, a collaborative effort with the IxArt Park and various black-owned businesses,

that seek to amplify the voices of local artists, musicians, and entrepreneurs and engage community members and contribute to the economic development of the city and county.

Second.

All right.

So we have a motion from Supervisor Pruitt, a second from Supervisor Mallek.

Ms. LaPisto-Kirtley?

Aye.

Ms. Mallek?

Yes.

Mr. Pruitt?

Aye.

Yes.

Mr. Andrews?

All right.

Very good.

I believe that Kalila Jones is here.

There she is in the very back.

I was looking for you.

Would you come forward?

And we'd love for you to make a few comments.

And then I imagine the supervisors would like to add some comments as well.

And make sure you address the mic so that we can hear you clearly.

There you go.

You can't hear me?

All righty.

Well, hello, and what an honor.

On behalf of the entire Soul of Seaville team, Chic and Classy Image Consulting, Beyond Fitness with Sabrina, and 101 Jams, I just want to say thank you for this beautiful proclamation.

As someone who has worked for Albemarle County for over five years and simultaneously co-founded and organized Soul of Seaville, I can truly say this moment fills full circle.

What started as a seed, an idea rooted in culture, connection, and celebration has grown into something that has not only shaped our community, but also has shaped me.

This work has pushed me, stretched me, and grown me in ways I couldn't have imagined.

It's been one part public service, one part community organizing, and all parts passion.

and as we celebrate our fifth year, this year's theme, firmly planted, fiercely flourishing, couldn't feel more real.

The body of work that we've created, the partnerships, the programming, the scholarships, the economic development, the people, we're living proof of what happens when you stay rooted and still make room to rise.

To the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors, thank you for your support.

Thank you for seeing value in what we do.

And to the Office of Equity and Inclusion, Communications and Public Engagement, thank you for always making space for us to show up and share our vision, whether that's through tabling opportunities or real community conversations.

We appreciate you.

We know you all are the ones making things move behind the scenes.

Receiving this recognition during our fifth year feels incredibly special.

It's a milestone, and it's a reminder that what we're doing matters.

That joy, style, resistance, and community are not only worth celebrating, but are necessary for us to continue flourishing.

Solar Seaville kicks off Sunday, August 10th through August the 17th and I invite you all to come out.

Go ahead and head over to ICS Art Park website to view the full lineup.

We have a lot going on this year.

Come through, bring a friend or five.

You're all welcome and let's flourish together.

Yes, thank you so much for the work you do.

It is not that far in our distant past.

It is relatively recent in our community's history that when encountering black businesses, this was a community that sought to stifle them and uproot them.

and we are now in a place not that long later where we're seeking to celebrate and uplift them.

I think that's an incredible progress story for this community and I know that wouldn't be possible without the work of yourself and the many black-owned businesses in this community that are continuing to try and thrive in a community that has not always welcomed them.

So I'm very grateful for the work that's gone into this.

I'm also, you know, it says Seville in the name, but I know there are quite a lot of Albemarle County residents who are benefiting from this and who are engaged in this.

You know, Best of Black Seville just earlier this week recognized Deja, who owns We Grow in Scottsville, who I believe will be part of the festival.

You know, that's away from Seville.

That's in my district.

That's my people.

That's all I got.

Extraordinary.

Hi, Kalila.

So Kalila and I met about six years ago as part of 100 Black Women at Seaville and Albemarle.

You continued, you amazed me then and you continue to amaze me all the things that you do, all the organizations you support.

I probably shouldn't say this, but also your elegant dress.

I take advantage of that.

I see how you are.

And it's like, OK, that's what I aspire to be.

I haven't made it yet, but anyway, I can always aspire.

But you have done so much for the community.

And I so enjoy always seeing you and working with you.

And thank you for doing this.

It's really, really appreciated.

When is the ix?

Thank you and thank you so much for your work which has really contributed and your organizations to the evolution of our local culture here.

I, in the 50s, would drive down with my father who was a rural veterinarian to visit contractors who were helping him or with whom he did business who were on Vinegar Hill.

So I have personal memories of those situations and

their prosperity.

And it's taken a while to get back to where we were.

But I'm very grateful.

Culture connection, and you mentioned something else, and I lost it.

Such wonderful words, because they benefit and carry that message out to everybody across the community.

So we all need to rise and thrive together.

And I'm so grateful for your work.

Thank you.

Yes, yes, thank you.

Thank you, Kalila.

And congratulations on this fifth anniversary.

I look forward to many, many more.

I was struck by the juxtaposition of fostering unity and promoting diversity, which I would argue are compatible and necessary endeavors to put together.

I love the theme, firmly planted, fiercely flourishing.

Thank you.

Thank you for being here, and I certainly agree with everything that's been said.

And it's lovely to see you again.

And personally, I really enjoyed working with you, both my citizens' advisory committee.

We miss you, but you've gone on to bigger and better things.

And I agree with Bea about the way you dress.

We women have to acknowledge that.

You are a fashion model, that's exactly right.

Regardless, I think Mike has the proclamation for you.

The presentation, there you go.

Alright, thank you.

Alright, Supervisors, our next agenda item is public comment regarding matters on the agenda but not listed for public hearing or on matters previously considered by the board or matters that are pending before the board.

Do we have anyone signed up to speak?

Oh, you already have it.

It came behind me, I guess.

Supervisor LaPisto-Kirtley will read the rules and introduce the speakers.

We do have three speakers today.

During the time set aside for public comment on matters previously considered or currently pending before the board, other than scheduled public hearings, individuals may address the board of supervisors concerning matters previously considered by the board

or matters that are pending before the board, other than items listed on the agenda for public hearing.

Individuals are allowed one opportunity of up to three minutes to speak at each board meeting.

A sign-up sheet is managed by the clerk's office.

Timekeeping is conducted through a timer and light system at the podium.

The green light will go on when you begin speaking, which begins your allotted time.

The yellow light indicates you have one minute to finish speaking.

The red light indicates your time has expired and you will be asked to end your comments.

In order to give all speakers equal treatment and courtesy, the board requests that speakers adhere to the following guidelines.

When addressing the board, state your name and if you live in Albemarle County, your magisterial district.

Address comments directly to the board as a whole.

Any written statements or other supporting material may be given to the clerk.

If representing a group or organization, you may ask others present to raise their hands in recognition.

Speakers may not share any unused time with another speaker.

Back and forth debate is not permitted.

Do not speak from your seat or out of turn.

All comments are live streamed, recorded, and published on the Albemarle County website.

Good afternoon.

I'm Peter Krebs from the Piedmont Environmental Council and the Albemarle County Parks Foundation.

Last night I submitted a petition with around 300 signatures calling for the county to make Free Bridge Lane permanent.

Freebridge Lane is a wonderful outdoor space for walking, biking, running, strolling, teaching a kid to ride a bike, roller skating, whatever you do along the Rivanna River.

You did the right thing last fall by closing the road on a trial basis.

Since then, different groups like the Pantopsy AC,

the hospice of the Piedmont and Sentara have stepped up and improved the space, helped take care of it and added cool temporary installations.

I see the future of Free Bridge Lane unfolding in a very similar way with different groups stepping in and making contributions once the county goes ahead and permanently closes the road and makes some minor upgrades for safety, access and stabilization.

This will unleash the community and the private sector to fundraise for the promenade and other permanent improvements.

That includes the Parks Foundation, by the way, in that commitment.

We don't have to wait until we meet the goal to get started, though.

The county's engagement page is already full of pretty cool ideas of improvements ranging from obvious things like benches, creative trash cans, stuff like that, to other things like roller rings, bike gardens, planters, audio tours, food trucks, and even festivals.

It begins today with some specific actions from you.

While I have your attention about today, I'd also like to turn our thoughts toward tomorrow a little bit.

The county's budget currently doesn't envision any meaningful spending for parks' CIP infrastructure.

I don't think that's what most people expect.

I don't think it's what will happen.

So as you think about your budget planning for this next year, please include startup monies for Free Bridge Lane, but also other cool and shovel-ready projects along the Rivanna River, such as Brookhill Park, which is right off at 29, and also an extension of the Old Mills Trail out to Milton and even Glenmore.

Really cool stuff that is actually eligible for a match funding.

I'd like to conclude with some just huge thanks to the Pantops CAC really for having the vision to include this in the master plan.

You all, the county staff who got us where we are today, so lots of good news to go around.

Fruit Bridge Lane isn't only one of the coolest places in the county.

It also embodies the best approach where citizens, businesses, groups, and government all work together to make the community better.

Thank you.

You might need to adjust the mic.

I'm not really sure.

I think that'll do.

Okay.

Hello, everyone.

I'm Stuart Overby.

I live in the Samuel Miller district.

I'm a member of Don't Spread On Me.

We're a group of people who understand that spreading sewage sludge on farms and forest lands is a really terrible idea and a really harmful practice, and we're doing what we can to stop it.

The sewage sludge is also known as biosolids by the waste industry that spreads it.

And hopefully by now you all have taken a few minutes to review all the information on DontSpreadOnMe.org, which I've sent to you in the past, including the files we received from a FOIA request regarding a Cinegro reissue permit that's now pending before the Department of Environmental Quality.

And you understand that sewage sludge from Washington, D.C. and other places is on its way to Albemarle County if this permit is approved

Even though it's a reissue permit, some new land is allowed to be included.

So there's 1,649 new never before spread upon acres included and the total 5,770 acres that are in the southern and eastern half of the county.

There's a whole other permit for the other side of the county.

So even more acreage, but that's a different time and issue.

This one is just kind of up in the air right now.

We're not sure what the timeline on it is, but the clock is ticking.

So counties in Virginia can't ban the land application of sewage sludge, but there are a few things that you can do.

And the most important one is to pass a biosolids ordinance, which you can use to uphold a current law and explicitly

according to the state, create a program for testing and monitoring of biosolids.

So, as I said, the clock is ticking.

We've taken the liberty of writing an ordinance for you.

It's based primarily on the successful Rappahannock County ordinance and we'd love to meet with you all to discuss it.

We also can bring some subject matter experts here to

to elucidate the subject further.

Notably, the scientist from Stroud Water Research Center in Pennsylvania has agreed to come.

Her name is Diana Oviedo Vargas and she did a study that was referenced in some of the New York Times reporting recently.

looking at 10 farms that had had biosolids spread on it and surprise, she found a lot of PFAS in the ones that happened and some other disturbing findings.

So I'm going to follow up with an email to all the supervisors with that study and you can reply if you'd like to look at a copy of the draft ordinance and I will look forward to speaking with you all more about this soon.

Okay, alright.

Hi, I'm Denise Tarver Belfan, and I am from the Georgetown Green community.

You might not smile after I'm telling you about everything going on.

So we have a couple of things going on, and we have come to speak to you all before about the construction at the Albemarle County High School.

and today I'm here to speak to you about the rats and about the 24-hour construction.

So when the original building was destroyed, it was not treated for the rat infestation that it had previously that you all were treating it for.

on a regular basis.

And so the rats that were living in it then came into our community that is directly next door.

And so we are currently fighting those rats.

And because our attics are connected, when one unit does an extermination, it doesn't matter because they then go to the next unit.

We are battling that.

These aren't field mice.

These are actual rats.

And they are destroying our AC units in our attics.

They are eating through plastic and rubber.

They are causing flooding in our attics because when you turn on the AC and they've eaten through the

Pipes, they are eating through the PVC, they then cause the overflow of the water to then come through and you don't know it until the water is coming through your ceiling.

We are asking the county to help us.

We need help.

They're burrowing in our backyards.

We need help.

We're at a point right now where the construction is going on 24 hours.

We need help.

We can't do it.

Are you all going to allow that to continue to happen when the kids are going back to school?

The building is not going to be completed by the time the kids go back to school.

There's no reason that the construction should be going on at 11, 12, 2 o'clock, 4 o'clock in the morning.

We need to be able to sleep as well.

We have a man on hospice next door to us and he can't even rest.

He's 96 years old and we need to be able to rest.

We're desperate at this point in time.

Thank you very much.

And that is all we have.

Okay.

Thank you.

We'll now move on to

Item 8, which is our consent agenda.

I'm not aware of any amendments or anyone that has wanted to bring anything to our group, so if not, I would entertain a motion to approve the consent agenda.

So moved.

Second.

So we have a motion by Supervisor Mallek and a second by Supervisor LaPisto-Kirtley.

Ms. Mallek?

Yes.

Mr. Pruitt?

Aye.

Yes.

All right.

Our first action item is next, item nine, recommendations for use of the Affordable Housing Investment Fund.

Stacey Petha, Assistant Director of Housing, is presenting.

Welcome.

I'm Stacey Pethia, Director of Housing, and we are here today to talk about potential funding for two different programs in the county through the Affordable Housing Fund.

These two programs are really housing related, not specifically affordable housing, but the first is Albemarle County's Energy Improvement Program support and also the Housing Navigation Partnership with Piedmont Housing Alliance and their Financial Opportunity Counseling Center.

And a little bit about the housing fund.

There will be a total balance as of today for FY2026 of $5.2 million.

If the board remembers last month or two months ago, I forget the exact meeting date, I'm sorry, staff came before you to talk about changes to the way the housing fund is administered.

And so the funds for this year will be put into three different pots.

One is grant funding to non-profits or for-profit developers who are providing projects with 100% affordable housing.

Also low-cost loans, which would be available to for-profit and non-profit developers.

And then a third bucket of funding, which we are calling emerging housing needs, and those are needs that are staff-identified.

So these two projects fall into that last bucket.

Both of the programs are really focusing on housing for households earning between 50 and 80 percent AMI.

Those are the sort of main target categories.

And the first is the energy improvement program.

This is a county program that is run with the climate action team.

I believe it was in 2022 the board authorized or approved funding of $250,000 to match funding for that program that was provided by the county.

It effectively doubled the program at that time.

Today we are recommending that the board approve $150,000 from the housing fund again to match what the climate access team is putting into that program and again doubling the reach of the program.

and it enhances the housing affordability by reducing the cost of household utilities and it really helps to keep low and moderate income homeowners in their homes.

So it helps those homes continue longer into the future than they would have without this assistance.

The other program staff is recommending funding for is the Housing Navigation Partnership.

Again, that is a partnership with Piedmont Housing Alliance and their Financial Opportunity Center.

The program assists low and moderate income county residents to locate and secure affordable rental housing.

It also connects them with credit counseling and financial counseling, really helps address the issues that they may have being able to search for and secure housing on their own.

Thank you very much, and before I ask the supervisor to see if they have any questions or comments, I want to let you know that as the sitting chair today I am awarding you a promotion.

Congratulations.

Thank you.

And it was fun showing off my power here.

Just teasing.

So with that, comments or questions?

Yeah, congratulations on the actual promotion.

Thank you.

So with the PHA housing navigator,

This, I know the person who does the job.

They do great.

That I am not sure of.

OK.

I do just wonder.

It is a service that you can avail of if you're in the city and I think even if you're in other outlying counties and it would be interesting to know if we're getting any contribution from any other localities out of that.

I also, and this is me more waxing poetic, I'm not trying to critique the program here, but when we have an ecosystem that becomes more complex, I sometimes wonder if we're doing ourselves any favors.

I know, for example, someone who's a recipient of a voucher will often have someone assisting them at the county level, and then they will also have a housing navigator

And it makes the environment for the individual potentially more complex.

This is always something I think would best live in government rather than in a nonprofit.

But again, this is me waxing philosophical.

I'm not trying to solve this issue right now.

Similarly, and this is, I think, something that you might have predicted coming from me, because this is a drum I banged a few times, I do like the way that we're breaking down the future needs of the Housing Trust Fund and still having something set aside for emerging housing needs.

Because I know the transition to a competitive grant-based program and loan-based program, there was the concern that that would remove our ability to be quick on our feet.

With that being said, and again, this is not me opposing the proposal before us today, but these aren't emerging needs.

These are needs that are predictable and calendarable.

And I think I would raise this for the staff that are here that are involved in the budget process, that these would more appropriately live in our long-term budget planning rather than come as individual discretionary actions from the AHIF.

because these aren't emerging needs.

These are things that we could have predicted and we could have calendared and budgeted into our 2025 budget.

And the last thing, this is just me thinking out loud.

Probably not the right forum for it, but I don't often have the right forum for it.

AHIF, as you put it, does really good work in making sure that owner-occupied housing, particularly in the rural area, remains affordable.

There is a problem.

I was actually recently discussing this with Supervisor Mallek in an event we had with the folks doing the housing study for the region.

The problem is we have a whole generation of people who have affordable housing in our rural area, and that housing lives as long as they do, or as long as they continue to desire to live in their home that they own.

And then the moment they sell, or the moment they pass and it is sold by their estate, it stops being affordable because the value of that home has increased significantly underneath them.

I am curious if AHIF, I'm almost certain they don't, but if they would be interested in starting to consider with their disbursements, which are primarily serving older residents, having some kind of resale provision tacked to it to do actual affordability preservation that goes beyond, right?

It would have to be a contractual agreement that they would enter into with beneficiaries.

And I could see arguments against this also, but I see that as being critical if we want to actually maintain affordability that outlives the tendency.

All right.

Supervisor LaPisto-Kirtley?

Well, I do support what you're proposing.

I do have a question.

The uses, the one-time use, I think, was the $80,000 that was used from ARPA funds.

And then now we want to put it into a different fund to continue it, to make sure it continues.

It was pretty successful.

I don't have the exact numbers.

We are compiling the totals from the different reports that they've given us over the years, and I just don't have that final amount.

But it is something that Albemarle County residents take advantage of regularly.

I think the last couple of months there was about 80 or so residents that were in the last two months, off the top of my head, that have received services.

They're pretty good but they can't help everyone move into housing but through that process they can help them identify what barriers they have to reaching that on their own beyond just simply needing affordable housing.

So for many of them it's a bad credit.

It's helping them not just locate housing, they also will help negotiate with landlords to maybe potentially lower the rent or lower security deposit.

So it's actually helped people get into housing as opposed to being $80,000 for bureaucratic paperwork.

Correct.

OK, good.

That's the answer I wanted.

Thank you.

Supervisor Medley.

Thank you very much.

So catching up here, the energy improvements, the match was with Dominion dollars,

Okay, so it is weatherization.

Yes.

Okay, very good.

And that's with partners who have been doing this for a long time, the AHIP people.

And LEAP.

And LEAP, yes.

Okay, very good.

Now, next question on the navigation partnership.

very intrigued by comments made already about we have county staff who are paid to do this and now we're going to be giving money to a non-profit to do the same thing and that that troubles me so I would like to learn more about this

And the reports, I think there's been discussion and requests for reports for years.

And they're always right around the corner.

And maybe you have them, it's just that maybe we have not seen them.

But I think this kind of accountability is becoming more and more needed because the dollars, it's not

incidental.

And anything that we put to this cannot then be going to something else, which may be a crisis as well.

So 80 people in the last month that you have heard of who have had help.

But through the PHA partnership as opposed to CSS.

Correct.

Correct.

So our housing counselors, the housing office provides housing choice voucher households with a list of affordable, where we know there are affordable units available or offered.

So they're simply providing them with the name of a property and a telephone number and potentially a contact name.

Through the program we cannot actually negotiate with landlords to get residents into those units.

So all we can do is provide them with the rental assistance voucher and provide them information on places that they can search for somewhere to live.

But our housing specialists do not help navigate them through those.

There are.

So housing specialists have a very specific role in the HUD program.

And that is to make sure tenants or families are eligible to receive assistance.

And they do that annually and anytime their income changes.

So eligibility caseworkers, basically.

OK. That answers my question.

Thank you.

I'm supportive, and I appreciate the comments made by the other supervisors of gauging past success and looking into what we're expecting from our partners.

And I appreciate that the energy improvements hit both the climate aspects and also the housing aspects of our strategic plan.

Thank you.

And I agree with what my fellow supervisors have said and I'm very supportive.

I think the motion that we're approving today, this is an action item, so we're approving the full amount of funding being requested and I just want to make sure that everybody's aware that what I have is funding amount of $230,000 the affordable housing investment fund will have a remaining balance of

$4,777,000.

It's close.

It's just under $5 million remaining balance.

The remaining balance will be $4,999,130.

So thank you very much.

I just wanted to make sure everyone in the audience and everybody was aware.

So I would, unless there's any concerns or any more questions or comments, I would

All right.

So we have a motion from Supervisor Pruitt, a second from Supervisor Mallek.

Ms. Mallek?

Yes.

Mr. Pruitt?

Aye.

Yes.

Great.

Thank you very much.

and I think we'll see you later today again.

Our next action item is a report and recommendation on the Free Bridge Lane pilot program and presenting is Alberic Carina Plun, transportation planner.

No promotions today.

All right.

Good afternoon, chair.

My name is Alberic Carina Plun.

I am a transportation planner within community developments.

And this presentation will cover the summary of the last year of the pilot program for the Free Bridge Lane Promenade.

So for our agenda for this presentation, we'll first touch again what the proposal was, compare some usage between summer 2024 to the spring of 2025, explain the next steps in the discontinuous process.

discuss park maintenance slash future projects and potential staff next steps and finally conclude with board direction on if staff should pursue a permanent discontinuance of Free Bridge Lane.

As a reminder, here's what it looks like before it was closed to through traffic.

It was a low volume on Stripe Roadway going from

At the very bottom of the screen is Route 250.

The very top is Darden Tow Park.

It was degraded and poorly defined shared east path along the river's edge.

There is a future site of a county park that is the large wooded parcel just south of Riverside Shoppe's Way and currently it is owned and maintained by VDOT.

On Friday, November 1, 2024, Freebridge Lane was closed to vehicular traffic with the gates.

We were all there for that.

It was very fun.

The land use permit for that expires on October 6, 2025.

The board needs to decide before then if they would like to pursue the discontinuance process.

If the board decides to end the promenade program, the road will be reopened through vehicle use as it was done before.

Albemarle County Parks and CDD staff has heard very positive feedback from the public on the park.

There is better access to the river, a safer feeling for pedestrians and bikers on the road because there's no cars going through, and a continuous extension of Darden Tow Park and the Old Mills Trail.

The VDOT Transportation and Mobility Planning Division conducted month-long studies in both August 2024 and May and June 2025 to measure bike and pedestrian counts on Free Bridge Lane.

The numbers showed that pedestrian and bike counts increased when the road was closed through vehicles.

There are a few steps for the road to be fully discontinued.

The board needs to have a written petition to VDOT supporting discontinuance.

The template for that I provided is part of the materials.

VDOT then concurs and advertises the proposed discontinuance, hosting a public meeting if it is requested.

The board then formally adopts a resolution supporting discontinuance.

The VDOT Charlottesville residency approves it, sends it to Richmond for review.

Finally, the resolution of discontinuance is approved at the next CTB, Commonwealth Transportation Board meeting.

This whole process started today is expected to take several months.

Right now, we are on step one.

Parks has told planning staff that they have the means to maintain the promenade as it is now.

If CIP funds are requested and allocated, FEZ has the bandwidth to manage improvement projects on Freebridge Lane.

Staff right now is moving forward to receive a 30% design quote from consultants so projects can be prioritized and money can begin to be allocated.

Following board direction, staff will mail the discontinuance petition to the VDOT residency.

If you receive concurrence from VDOT, staff will return to the board with a resolution of discontinuance later this fall.

All right, thank you.

I will open this up for comments and questions.

I'm not sure I have any questions at this time.

Supervisor Albemarle.

I am so in favor of this.

I'm just very, very excited.

This is finally coming, hopefully, the board votes for this to fruition and then we can ask VDOT for discontinuance and then we can maintain it.

I just want to let the board know that since November 1st, 2024 until July 28th, 2025,

The trail counter marked, the numbers are 37,979.

That's how many people have taken advantage of Free Bridge Lane.

And frankly, not everybody in the county still knows that it's closed.

So I think we can see that number only increasing.

I was down there just the other day.

There's a nice walkway that goes under the Free Bridge.

over to the other side, and that's nice, well taken care of.

It is a wonderful area.

Currently there's even enough parking.

I know we hope to have more parking, but people are really taking advantage of this area.

It's close by, especially for Cascadia, Fontana, and Franklin, anywhere in the driveability to come there.

is nice for people to be able to stroll, walk, run, roller skate, bike ride, whatever.

But it is being used a lot as opposed to being used just for a cut through.

So I'm very much in favor of this.

All right.

Thank you very much.

If the October 6th date, if the board decides to pursue discontinuance, that doesn't matter anymore.

Can you define status quo?

As a pedestrian?

I believe so, I'll have to double check.

But I think we've been speaking with VITA, and they're obviously aware of this.

Very good.

Well, the sooner the better from my perspective, that's for sure.

Because having been a walker trying to coexist with cars, it's very scary.

So this has been a real treat.

And certainly, I support the improvements of the greenery along the way and the control of the invasives, because

Spotted legendfly has hit the Atlantis down there big time.

So I'm glad that those are on the list of things to fix as well.

All right.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Yes, I'm also very supportive.

I'm interested in the numbers that were given.

I heard Supervisor LaPisto-Kirtley mentioned the trial counter nearly 38,000, which over that period would amount to 140 a day or so.

And a lot of bad days in there, I'm sure, as well.

So one of the things I was curious whether it had been looked at is the parking lot usage.

In the plan there, there's parking at both ends, and I'm not sure what's there now and how that's been used.

Parking was not measured as part of the counters measuring bike pad, as referenced before.

That is something that staff can look at to see what we would do.

If we plan to do parking improvements there, that is something that we can look at to see how much more parking would be necessary

For my part, I think this is a wonderful project and I'm very supportive of it.

Help me out just a little bit with the back page of our presentation has all these lovely pictures of different

photos of, I'm assuming these are possible to be determined.

could I see what you're holding up?

Sorry, I didn't see a number on it, but anyway, I was looking at this.

Thank you, Kevin McDermott.

I'm deputy director of planning.

And Alberic wasn't really involved at the time when that document was created, so I figured I'd step up and let you know what I'm aware of on that.

So when this project was started, we hired a consultant to do sort of a conceptual study that would show the potential of the park out there.

So that's what you're looking at right there, are these things that are really just potential.

I don't see those things being the immediate needs out there.

We have looked at some of the more immediate needs similar to what Supervisor Andrews mentioned addressing potential parking problems is one of those.

And thank you Kevin for saving my question and coming up and answering.

Having said that, it will come as no surprise that when I see art I get very excited.

So I honed in on this and I understand these are down the road, but I mention it just because I think it would be wonderful.

I will not be on the board, but I think it would be wonderful if we could move to something like this eventually.

If I may, sorry, I'm going to exercise some speaking first privilege to revisit some thoughts I've had since then.

And based in part on what Supervisor Andrews and Supervisor McKeel said, it strikes me that in the short term, the shorter term, some of the most immediate benefits of the Free Bridge lane promenade are actually going to be its function as a trailhead for old mills

and also as a trailhead for a county side parking for the Rivanna Trail.

Because there's not much on the free bridge promenade, but those are very well established trails that you can easily get to from there.

I raise that because it does seem like

The sooner we can get a handle on parking usage, the better, because that actually might be the most important metric in the short term, because that is the more valuable service this is providing in the immediate term.

It's a place that people can walk to other immediately proximate amenities, whereas the trail itself is mostly connecting up to Darden Tow Park in a kind of unusual access point.

So it seems like that would be something we'd want to know sooner rather than later.

Also, I don't believe you raised any, but I want to make sure.

When we initially, on a temporary basis, decommissioned this road, there were costs associated.

They were pretty de minimis, but there were costs associated, I think, just with the gating and with Pollards or something.

Are there costs associated at this time before we start building all the cool stuff?

Are there costs associated with

There's no direct cost right now just the staff time to make this permanent but as we mentioned

There are a few items that we think we do need to address, the parking and access being those.

So what we're looking at is potentially using some county funds to have a consultant look at those two issues.

I'm going to be difficult.

I'm sorry.

I hate that I'm continuing to talk on what should be a very simple thing.

But are we having a consultant develop a plan for potentially then creating a plan for the parking?

I think you can see the question I'm kind of begging here.

Are we creating an extra step that we don't need to if we know we need parking?

Can we just freaking build the parking?

yes sir in a relatively straightforward straightforward for government purposes we feel we need to get an accurate cost estimate before we start really moving into that so that we know what we're getting into and what it's going to look like and have them design an appropriate parking we don't want to overbuild it we don't want to under build it we want to make sure

What we're doing is correct.

So that's what we're hiring these people for.

But we would come out with a build-ready blueprint.

I think so, yeah.

Thank you, good discussion.

And part of this with the parking and certainly the access as well, and I know it's been referenced in here, is ADA access.

which we need to make sure we get that right as well.

And I know you all are going to work to that.

But anyway, that adds some cost as well.

So that's another reason why we really need to make sure we look at it appropriately.

Ann, sure.

Piling on to that, because I had earlier written, has anyone in your planning of what questions to ask your engineer?

thought about taking the beautifully paved lot that is there now on the north end and making all of that handicap parking.

Because people who are able can walk the extra 50 yards, or whatever it is, 150 yards, from the parking that's already available at Darden Town.

I mean, if you're going to be walking all the way to Woollen Mills or Riverside or whatever, then that small extra distance should not be an encumbrance.

Whereas the people who have difficulty walking or need

Something to be able to use the handicapped spots in that beautifully paved area by the gate would be great.

So I'm just throwing that idea out there.

You can put it in your list of ideas.

But that's the sort of, when you're not an engineer, you come up with all sorts of crazy ideas like that.

And people just have to deal with it.

I don't see Jim coming online right now.

So I think we don't have any more questions or comments.

So with that,

We need a motion to support the permanent discontinuation of Freebridge Lane and authorize the county executive to submit a petition for discontinuance to the Charlottesville VDOT residents.

So moved.

Second.

So we have a motion from Supervisor LaPisto-Kirtley and a second from Supervisor Mallek.

Ms. Mallek?

Yes.

Ms. McKeel?

Yes.

Mr. Pruitt?

Aye.

All right.

And I will just add, the pictures were not as beautiful as your staff report is.

But what is now called CTAC, the Chart Committee, talked about putting up gates in 2004.

So it's just one example about how sometimes it takes a long time to get the result that we need.

But go for it.

That does seem like a long time, though, in 2004.

And some of those members have been reaching out about that.

So I think you have another slide to finish.

Did you?

You're good.

Thank you very much for the presentation.

And Kevin, thank you for being available as well.

All right.

With that, we're scheduled to take a recess right now, which I think is a good idea.

I am going to suggest, though,

Our next agenda item is a high-interest agenda item in the community with the data centers work session.

I am hesitant to start it 45 minutes early because I do think we're going to have a lot of people that are interested in this item.

I'm looking to our attorney, but I would love to take an

I think we have staff that are here, and that's great, but I think we have such an interest in the community.

What are your all's thoughts?

Is there anything else we could move up looking at the agenda?

He is available.

So we could take our break, come back in 15.

Is anyone here, currently here for data centers from the public?

Sure, sure.

And there will be more and online so I'm just saying.

So let's do that then if that's possible.

Does that work?

Alright then let's take a break until say 2.30ish and come back and we'll see you at 2.30.

I appreciate everybody letting us adjust the agenda a little bit.

So we're going to start off of our agenda a little differently.

Our next item is a presentation of the Biophilic Cities Network.

And Ann Wall is coming up to Ann Wall, deputy county executive.

Well, thank you.

I am honored this evening to introduce Noah Ellington, who will be making a presentation to the board of supervisors about the Biophilic Cities Network.

Over the last 10 weeks, Noah has served as an intern in the county executive's office.

Noah's internship was designed to provide an overview of local government management, combined with substantive work experience and work projects.

Noah will soon be leaving Albemarle County.

He'll be returning to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he'll be completing a dual degree in city and regional planning and public administration.

Before I turn the podium over to Noah, I did want to take just a brief moment to make a quick comment.

about the Biophilic Cities Network.

This network provides an opportunity to share and gather information about integrating nature in our community.

NOAA will speak much more about that network.

But it is important to point out that this network will provide access to valuable resources to much of our staff.

while not significantly increasing workload or work requirements over the year.

So with that, I will turn it over to Noah.

Good.

Well, thank you, board.

It's an honor to be standing in front of you.

My name is Noah Ellington.

There you go.

All right.

Good evening, board.

Like I said, name is Noah Ellington.

I've had a great privilege serving Albemarle County this summer.

Tonight, I am here to present the Biophilic Cities Network, a global organization of cities founded by UVA's own Tim Beatley, who would be sitting in the audience if we were doing this at six o'clock.

But I told him really quickly to hop online if he can.

So if not, he'll be able to livestream it.

But we had a great conversation about this network.

For purpose of information, the board did receive a letter on May 20th of this year from the chair of the Natural Heritage Committee recommending Albemarle County to apply for membership.

So the Biophilic Cities Network is a group of more than 30 localities across the globe who promote human nature connections.

It is a vision-driven organization focused on inspiration and idea sharing and not on limiting local action.

The Biophilic City's network recognizes that humans have co-evolved with the natural world and that we have an innate need for contact with nature and other forms of life.

The mission of a biophilic city is to create equitable opportunities for people to learn about and connect with nature.

Such a city places nature at the core of its design and planning functions, which encourages placemaking and sustainable urban design.

Additionally, it protects, grows, and celebrates local nature and seeks to inform its citizens on the importance of biodiversity.

Decades of research confirm that contact with nature reduces stress, improves mental health, and sharpens cognitive performance.

Even short, daily exposure to green space can measurably enhance well-being, especially for children and those in under-resourced communities.

Cities that invest in biophilic design see real returns.

Green spaces can help manage heat and flooding, improve air quality, support biodiversity, and lower public health costs.

They also make communities more attractive by boosting property values and drawing residents and businesses in seeking a high quality of life.

There are many benefits to being a part of the network.

For one, members will have access to an online repository full of articles, reports, and policy guidance from peer cities.

There are a host of engagement opportunities.

ranging from monthly webinars hosted by partners to annual conferences.

Additionally, membership in the network provides the board and staff opportunities to visit other cities to see their biophilic initiatives or even host a delegation here in Albemarle County.

It should not be understated that this opportunity could strengthen the county's connection with the University of Virginia faculty and staff, which does have the potential for downstream benefits.

This opportunity coincides with Albemarle County's strategic plan, particularly objectives relating to quality of life.

More specifically, membership in the network can help fulfill the last sub-goal about access to parks and recreational opportunities.

There are also indirect implications for economic development and education, which are other goals in the strategic plan.

I thought it would interest the board to see where on a map these cities are located, since I can't begin to list all of them out.

Most of them are in the global north, as you can see.

The majority of cities are here in the United States, but there are also several in Europe and Asia.

Notably, there is a cluster of dots along the eastern seaboard, and particularly around Albemarle County.

So cities in the network are of various sizes.

The largest is Singapore with six million inhabitants and the smallest is Fremantle which is part of the Perth metropolitan area in Australia with 36,000 residents.

There are four localities in Virginia that are part of the network including Arlington, Reston, Norfolk and Richmond.

Their populations are listed on the slide based on five-year estimates of the 2023 ACS data

In April of this year, the Charlottesville City Council initiated their application process by adopting a resolution supporting the goals of the biophilic cities network.

I then wanted to show the board a few examples of nearby partner localities and how they have incorporated biophilia.

I had the privilege of speaking with the staff contacts at each of these localities and I'm very grateful for their time.

So first is Arlington County.

They joined in 2020.

I spoke with them about what membership in the network means to the organization.

They acknowledged the benefits of this sort of self-reflection period and told me that it reinforced several existing policies, including their minimum tree canopy ordinance, which dates back to, I believe 2002.

In 2022,

The county adopted a redevelopment plan for the Pentagon City neighborhood that includes biophilic design through a set of guidelines, including an emphasis on plantings and open spaces along what they call the green ribbon.

The county also holds annual internal workshops and programs, which serves as a mini conference for sharing ideas on how they can become more biophilic.

Second is the city of Norfolk.

They joined in 2019.

The city is currently working on NFK 2050, which is their new comprehensive plan that incorporates biophilic principles in every chapter in the regular planning process.

They also adopted a minimum tree canopy zoning amendment using language and expertise from Arlington's policy and staff.

The last one that I have to share is a little bit closer to my hometown, City of Raleigh, joined in 2022.

That same year, the city launched a program to identify areas that lacked street trees, and they offered residents free plantings.

So over the past three years, staff have planted more than 1,000 street trees through this effort, and the map of that is below, or on the slide, excuse me.

The city is also in the process of updating their comprehensive plan with a renewed focus on biophilic principles and strategies.

So to recap, there are several advantages to joining the biophilic cities network.

This initiative can help inform ongoing future and future land use policies, reinforcing many of the goals already outlined in the AC44 comprehensive plan draft.

It also aligns with other adopted efforts such as the Climate Action Plan and the Biodiversity Action Plan.

Participation requires tracking performance metrics which supports the ongoing work of the SPEAR reporting team.

Joining also provides a framework for recognizing the value of both our developed and rural areas while offering tools to address urban challenges such as heat islands, mobility impediments, and environmental inequality.

Additionally, as Ann mentioned, joining the network will not require a new position to be created or cause a significant workload increase for staff.

Importantly, this is an aspirational, non-binding commitment and there are no penalties from the network if the board has to make difficult policy decisions in the future.

So staff is seeking guidance from the board on whether to pursue membership in the biophilic cities network.

If the board is supportive, the next step would be adopting a resolution acknowledging the network's goals.

From there, staff would begin the application process, which involves submitting a narrative of the current initiatives that the county is undergoing, aspirational goals for the county, and five metrics that the county will track to approach those goals.

While there is no membership fee, members are expected to submit an annual report on those selected metrics.

And so, again, thank you for the opportunity to present this inspiring network to you, the Board.

I'm also deeply grateful for the chance to serve Albemarle County this summer.

It has truly been a privilege to work alongside such a dedicated and talented staff.

And I'm especially thankful to have learned from mentors like Ann Woll, Trevor Henry, and Jeff Richardson.

Finally, I'm happy to answer any questions you may have regarding this matter.

Great.

Thank you for the great presentation.

That was really good.

I know a lot more now than I did before.

So I'll open it up to questions.

Thank you.

So I'm going to just begin by saying I'm very supportive of this.

As I think members of the board know, both the person who kind of heads up this network at the University of Virginia and is very much in charge of this, and the head of the Natural Heritage Committee who recommended we adopt this are both constituents of mine, and have both reached out to me about getting this on the board's agenda.

So I'm happy to see such a fulsome opportunity for discussion rather than just something on the consent agenda.

So I think that's great.

I want to just make sure we're being very clear about the concrete requirements that this is going to pose.

So can we actually go to the previous slide?

Sure.

Because that's where I think we most directly.

Because this is, of course, this is the first question every single one of my peers asked, I think correctly, when I talked to you all about it.

I see this as the primary

The staff who's designated as coordinator based on my conversations with external stakeholders, it seems like the main thing they do is they sit on a monthly call.

So the annual reporting on the metrics that the county chooses will, yeah, and so basically like what you were saying, the staff or whoever is identified as the partner will be sort of the liaison for this effort and will kind of spearhead

And in my conversation with other localities, I did discover that it's not always just one person.

And so staff, provided direction from the board, can deliberate and decide if that's going to be a team of folks or one or two.

This kind of leads into a question and maybe even a concern on my end.

And it's more, it's not about the Biophilic Cities program, but it caused me to reflect on something I maybe have other concerns about, which is

This board and this government are invested in quite a lot of climate-related concerns.

And our community is certainly deeply engaged on climate issues.

But currently, our initiatives related to climate can feel fragmented across departments in a way that I think can confuse the public, sometimes confuses me.

And so it was part of my reflection on who we were even designating as this coordinator to also think, well,

Where do we think climate initiatives live?

Where do we think a biophilic initiative lives?

Does it live in parks?

Does it live in facilities?

Does it live in planning?

Because all of those implicate it, right?

So that is maybe a concern.

I say to you, but I'm reflecting back to my peers on the board, and I'm reflecting to Mr. Richardson as the county executive who runs our staff, that this is something I've heard from the public.

It's also something, looking in our own org, I do find some cause for concern.

It does not seem like we've thought coherently about how we want this to be realized, if it's going to be a core strut of our mission, where it should be housed, where it should live, where we should think about it moving forward.

Supervisor Pruitt, I think that we have in the last year recognized a need to provide potentially more structure around climate.

In the last year, FEZ with where climate is housed has created a climate leadership team, which is a group of department heads who meet periodically to talk about the broader vision of climate.

What are our climate activities?

What are the activities that we're going to pursue?

We would imagine this effort sort of working alongside of that as well.

It is important to own that Albemarle County does not own climate.

FEZ does not own climate.

It is a community initiative.

It is a community concern, right?

And so we

We need to organizationally support it, but we don't necessarily own it.

Right now, as it's in its startup phase, we're meeting periodically as we are, frankly, at this point talking about how it is that we spend or that we allocate the funds provided to climate in the budget.

So I feel like we meet probably every couple of weeks.

Great, that makes a lot of sense.

I remember the one other thing I was going to raise, which is you emphasized towards the beginning that there aren't concrete commitments other than what we create ourselves.

I think it is interesting, do we have the list of localities in the Commonwealth?

You had that earlier?

Yes.

Let me jump back a little bit.

One of these isn't a government.

which I find fascinating.

It is a community association, because some census designated places, the community association functions in a quasi-governmental role, but they have no devolved powers from the state.

I just find that fascinating.

So Reston, it's the same as like the Crozet community association, right?

The neighborhood association in Arlington, I almost think of this in some ways comparable to our CACs because they're quasi-governmentally designated.

All right.

Supervisor Rapisto-Kirtley?

Yes.

One point of clarification was answered by Ms. Wall.

So I really appreciate that, because it sounds like we do have people ready within the climate leadership team that could take this on that wouldn't add a boatload of work, which is what I was concerned about.

And that sounds like it would be part of it, a natural part of it, frankly.

OK. Great, great.

You mentioned about the tree canopy, which I'm totally in favor of.

Of course, I think we all are.

You mentioned the urban heat islands.

Who establishes where those heat islands are?

Is that our responsibility?

Is that something from the organization that helps us with that?

The satellites or whatever?

I don't have the specific name of the organization, but I know there's several out there who do heat island mapping across the United States.

So I would assume that we'd be able to tap into some sort of national database there.

Okay well that's what I was interested in regarding costs associated with where the heat islands are but if there's some some kind of a

Excuse me, Supervisor LaPisto-Kirtley, I just want to point out that NOAA's example of the heat island was really illustrative.

Those were the kinds of issues that could be tackled and that the biophilic cities network could help us with some research and how other communities have done it.

It's not necessarily a specific activity that would be tackled under it, unless it's something that we say, yeah, that's something.

Right.

I didn't know if that was part of the yearly report that you want us to do this.

And so I now get the idea.

Thank you very much.

And you've answered also about the staff coordinatorship.

So I'm good.

I think it's a good idea.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And thank you for your presentation.

And we will miss you when you go.

I'm really glad to hear all of this.

And as someone who lives way out in the country and has benefited from growing up way out in the country, I know that people who live in the urban area do not have the same exposure to nature that country people do by necessity.

You're on your own, and you better take care of whatever it is, is the sort of philosophy.

So this program I see as a way to bring some of those rural benefits to the urban dwellers and really help to improve that whole quality of life here as well.

Thank you, Noah.

That was a masterful presentation.

But I'm fully in support of this.

I guess I'm just going to push back on a comment made by Supervisor LaPisto-Kirtley in a friendly way.

As far as added work, I think that the main point is that this is already work that we've

We've obligated ourselves to take on a climate action plan, we're committed to doing, and this particular aspect of becoming part of the biophilic cities doesn't add to that.

But I think there's a lot of work to be done.

I just want to say, yes, Supervisor Andrews, they answered that question for me, and that was my concern, but it seems like it's going to all flow seamlessly.

Thank you.

I just want to make a comment that you should add masterful to your resume.

Albemarle County referenced you as masterful.

That's all good.

No, this is really a great presentation and I do want to just say thank you, Noah, because I've been to multiple events since you've been in the county and you have been there.

So you haven't been ensconced in your office or whatever.

Well, so when you're finished with all this, come back to see us again after your education is completed, regardless.

I really support this very much and Ann has comforted me in the

figuring out how staff will be pulled in different directions on this.

So that's great.

And I think having more than one staff person really makes a lot of sense in a way.

But that's up to you guys to decide.

I would just, you know me, I'm going to always ask this question.

And I don't want to take us down in a swirl.

But it does seem like to me that sometimes the school division and we can operate in silos around different things.

Absolutely, yes and in my conversations you know I talked with Jamie Powers and the folks in other departments as well you know not just climate

and I understand that they have ongoing initiatives towards education.

That's one component of the indicators like there's certain parameters that you have to fulfill when you make these indicators.

That's great because I think they marry very well together.

And I will say that the school is full of all kinds of young people who would love to plant trees and do things to help us with this.

So anyway, that's great.

So I'm looking at we need to simply nod our heads.

We don't need a formal vote.

I'm looking to Ann.

Don't need a formal vote.

We just need to be in agreement that we're interested in moving forward with this

proposal, and that staff would come back with a resolution of intent at a later time for adoption of the resolution of intent.

And I would suggest just asking, it could probably just go on the consent agenda, and then we would have more full-blown discussions later.

Jim, are you nodding your head?

I know we all have worked with you.

Okay, I'm going to speak for us.

We don't think you belong in Raleigh.

Thank you.

Thank you very much, and thank you for the opportunity.

It's been an honor.

Thank you very much.

We appreciate it.

We'll miss you.

All right.

With that, we're going to go back to our original agenda.

And I'm going to look to our clerk.

Claudette says, we have a supervisor waiting to be.

Oh, right.

That's lovely.

So Supervisor Ned Gallaway is requesting to participate remotely in accordance with applicable board rules of procedure, rule number

Bea, 1D, enacted pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act.

And Supervisor Galloway, would you please state your location and reason for attending remotely?

I'll say good afternoon.

Thank you for asking to join or considering to let me join remotely.

All right, that's lovely.

And I would now entertain a motion to allow Supervisor Galloway to participate in our meeting remotely.

So moved.

Second.

I have a motion from Supervisor LaPisto-Kirtley and a second from Supervisor Mallek without objection.

Ms. LaPisto-Kirtley?

Aye.

Ms. Mallek?

Yes.

Mr. Pruitt?

Aye.

Yes.

Welcome, Supervisor Galloway.

All right.

Thank you.

So we're going to move on to our next agenda item, which is phase two work session on data centers and presenting, I see they are already at the dais, is our Bill Fritz, and we're always excited to see you.

So go on and introduce yourself.

Ian, go on and introduce, you all formally introduce yourself.

Just one second here.

Yes, ma'am.

Amelia McCulley.

I'm a project manager with the community development department.

And Bill?

Hello.

OK, thank you very much.

So we have a pretty lengthy presentation for you today.

So I apologize for that in advance.

The outline of this is going to be, we're going to give you some background to this phase two data center work that we're doing.

We're going to talk about the county's authority in zoning regulations.

the existing and proposed performance regulations, the proposed zoning overlay district, some taxation information from the finance department, some discussion about the public input, and then we have some very specific focused questions that we'd like to get some guidance from you on and then discuss the next steps.

So to get started,

The text amendment would establish standards for all data centers and the zoning map amendment would create the overlay districts.

And I'm going to talk in more detail about both the ordinance and the overlay districts in a minute.

So data centers are places that house computer systems that process large amounts of information.

They can provide for a more diversified economy and tax base.

They do have some unique features, including the need for uninterrupted power.

And they consume large amounts of power.

The equipment at data centers generates a significant amount of heat that requires cooling.

They can be in large buildings.

And they typically require fewer staff per square foot than other industrial or office spaces.

They can support local economies and enable innovation and operate with minimal disruption to surrounding communities.

Data centers often have lower sewer demands than other industrial uses.

Depending on the cooling method, they can have lower or higher water demand than other uses, and I'm going to talk about that in detail later.

They typically generate fewer truck trips compared to most other industrial uses once they're operational.

So what can the county do in regards to data centers?

It's a typical zoning thing.

We can limit the zoning districts where data centers can be located.

We can establish setbacks, size requirements, height requirements, noise limits, landscaping, the standard zoning toolkit.

What we cannot do is we cannot regulate based on energy consumption or the type of energy that they use the employment

the customers they serve, the technology they use, or the origin of the equipment used to operate the center.

So let's talk about the proposed ordinance.

I'm going to move on to the discussion of the proposed ordinance in the overlay districts.

All of the discussion that follows is based on extensive research the team has done.

We've reviewed numerous ordinances and talked to other localities and water authorities to determine what has and what has not worked.

So the starting point is the county currently allows data centers up to 40,000 square feet on property with industrial zoning.

Over 40,000 square feet in industrial zoning it requires a special use permit and of any size in commercial districts it requires a special use permit.

The proposed regulations, I'm going to go through different series of regulations.

I broke them out to try to put them in bite-sized pieces for you.

So, setbacks.

The proposed regulations maintain the existing regulations outside of the proposed data center overlay district.

The only proposed change would be that there is no increased setback within the district.

So 200 feet from any lot line would only apply outside of the district.

Inside the district, the standard district regulations would apply.

But still the 200 feet from properties outside the district and 500 feet from rural area zoning.

Moving on to generators.

The current regulations, they have to be enclosed in sound dampening enclosure and they have limited hours of operation except during power outage.

Under the proposed regulations, we would maintain those existing regulations.

We would also only allow natural gas or low emission generators and battery energy storage systems would be permitted.

For the landscaping and screening,

Under the existing regulations, landscaping requirement can include two rows of trees.

That's the existing landscaping requirement.

If it's in an entrance corridor, there could be some more, but just sticking with the standard landscaping requirements.

The proposed regulation would be increasing planting requirements.

It'd be three rows of evergreen trees, and that would be from an approved list.

The county could determine where those trees would be planted so that it would be the most appropriate location.

And if fencing is provided, it must be between the building and the screening so it can't be outside.

The fence needs to be screened also.

Building design, currently the only regulations are on the entrance corridor districts.

And what is proposed is a requirement that would break up blank walls so that there would be recesses, windows, changes in texture or color and materials, things like that.

And that equipment would be contained within an enclosed building or courtyard.

So water regulations.

The current regulation is if water is used for cooling, it must be in a closed loop or recycled system.

The proposed regulations that you have before you in the packet would be that coordination would be required between the Rivanna Service Authority and Albemarle County Service Authority when you're doing your initial filling of the system or any flushing or maintenance of that system.

We've been doing a lot more research since the preparation of the packet.

After further study and discussion with several water authorities with large numbers of data centers, staff is going to be recommending some additional language.

We don't have the exact language yet, but what we're going to be getting at is that there be no groundwater use permitted.

It's implied now, but we want to make that explicit, that no use of evaporative systems

And that's what really drives the water use is the evaporative system.

We're still working on the exact language.

We want to define what a closed loop system is, what recycled water is.

We've looked at a variety of different ordinance regulations from various localities.

We can do it and what we've discovered is that with the right types of regulations and the right kind of design, data centers consume water at or lower

than a comparably sized office building.

So we're still working on that.

I just want to let you know we don't have the exact language.

We know we can do it.

We just don't know what the exact best language is right now.

Noise regulations.

The county currently does have regulations for all uses, all industrial uses included.

The proposed regulations include more restrictive noise standards than contained in the existing ordinance.

The maximum daytime limit in the ordinance right now is 60 dBA, and the maximum nighttime limit is 55 dBA.

This is the most restrictive standard that's currently in the ordinance.

What we're proposing is that this standard would apply to data centers regardless of the designation of the adjoining property.

The standard changes, whether it's a commercial property or an industrial property that's adjacent.

So you can be louder next to a commercial or an industrial building.

We're proposing that no matter what, they have to use the lowest standard period.

It would also require a sound study to be submitted prior to approval.

and then it would require post-construction monitoring testing to see whether or not they're achieving the sounds that they were permitted to have and that if not, they must take corrective measures.

There are also proposed regulations for increased setbacks and landscaping, so all those things combined are really the noise regulations.

So I'm going to move on to the overlay district now.

So I've discussed the proposed regulations.

They would apply to data centers in any overlay district or outside of any overlay district.

So now we're going to talk about just the data centers.

In our consideration of how to appropriately allow data centers, we focused on criteria for that overlay district that assures adequate infrastructure, appropriate land use designations, and locations that would limit impacts.

All of the areas in the proposed overlay district are already designated for some type of intense development and data centers would have more requirements than any other uses currently permitted on those properties.

and the criteria we have had to be in the development area, had to be recommended for industrial research and development or some similar type of use in the comprehensive plan, needed to be served by public water and sewer, and needed to be close to high voltage power lines.

In many cases, the high voltage power lines is actually on the property or inside the district.

What could happen, and we're not recommending any particular tier, but we wanted to give you an example of the kinds of opportunities that you have that you could tier these should you desire.

You could have one area as a tier one, one area as a tier two, and we have 40,000 square feet, which is the existing regulation.

That would apply outside of any district.

And that is a footprint.

And one of the things we're proposing is a definition of footprint, because believe it or not, we don't have one right now.

So regardless of the outcome of this effort, we will probably come forward with you to bring forward to you a definition of footprint.

So this is for footprint.

So 40,000 square feet outside of any district.

And you could have a tier one district of 125,000 square feet or 50,000 square feet, excuse me, 500,000 square feet.

And again, footprint.

These numbers can be very hard to visualize.

Just to give you an idea, 40,000 square feet is about the size of the Harris Teeter in Crozet or the Whole Foods on Hydraulic Road or Harbor Freight on Route 29.

Those are all routing 40,000 square feet.

The bigger buildings, we actually have an example for you and want to show you.

So three of these examples are essentially right next to each other.

Seminole Place is 460,000-ish square feet.

Costco is 155,000 square feet.

Northrop Grumman is 255,000 square feet.

And those are essentially next to each other, just so people can

Wal-Mart is about 153,000 and the State Farm building in Pantops is about 400,000 square feet.

All these sizes are approximate.

So this is the zoning map of the county.

It shows the existing zoning of all the parcels in the county.

The area in white is the rural areas.

I want to emphasize that all the areas of the proposed overlay districts are within the existing development area.

I'm going to highlight each of the five areas individually.

I know that the stars that I'm going to show you are small.

but I wanted to emphasize that these areas are within the areas already designated for development.

The development area is about five percent of the county's total area and the area of the proposed overlay district is about three-tenths of one percent of the county's total area.

And I'm going to go through a series of slides zooming in to get to parcel specific boundaries but I wanted to show you this

just so you could see roughly where they're going.

And the areas are, the star at the north there is the Emerson property.

The next one is Rivanna Futures.

The next one is the airport, North Fork, Pan Tops, and then Route 29, I-64.

I'm going to zoom in a little bit more.

And again, there's the Emerson property to the north, the Rivanna Futures property,

the airport, North Fork property, or North Fork area, Pantops, and Route 29 I-64.

Now I'm going to zoom into the actual areas.

The blue area is Emerson.

The green area is Rivanna Futures.

Unfortunately, at the time we were working to prepare your packet, our GIS system, we weren't able to do the mapping quite the way we wanted to do.

So I was only able to map the parcel boundaries, not the zoning boundaries of Rivanna Futures.

Things have gotten better.

Some of these areas are zoned rural area and would not be included in the overlay district.

So I've modified the map to approximately show the portion that would not be included.

So I'm going to show that to you so you can see now the difference.

That would be the Rivanna Futures overlay district.

I would also like to point out that the remaining green area would have a 500 foot setback from the rural area boundary.

So that area I took away, not only is it not in the district, it imposes an additional 500 foot setback within the district.

The airport North Fork property was very hard to map because it's so long north-south so it doesn't fit on a slide easily and I didn't want to rotate the maps for you.

So this is the northern portion of UREF North Fork.

A lot of this area is actually covered by an application plan and it's an open space or floodplain or other types of things and those would all still apply.

This is the southern portion of the airport north fork development.

And all these maps are in your packet also.

And then this is the Pantops area, State Farm.

This is the property at the properties at the intersection of Route 29 and I-64.

So when zoning map amendments or zoning text amendments are considered, the code includes factors to consider when reviewing those.

We've taken all these factors into consideration, and we'll provide a detailed analysis of each factor during the public hearing.

But at this time, we would like to share some economic study information with you, and that's this specific language.

Thank you Bill.

Good afternoon, Jacob Sumner, Chief Financial Officer for the county and my portion of this presentation is to talk a little bit about the financial impact of data centers and particularly on the revenue generation component for locality.

I first want to start with a reminder of our budget conversations back in the spring.

We talked a lot about diversifying our tax base and our current reliance on our residential taxpayer, particularly the real estate.

and the goal in moving forward, looking at how do we diversify our tax base and really start finding ways to balance out that residential and commercial tax base for our community.

Data centers can be a tool in helping find that diversification.

It's an option and it's not the only option, but it is an option and a tool that can help in addressing that balance.

Data centers do provide two revenue streams for localities.

First is a tax on the real estate, as you imagine, and can tell that this would be on the land that a data center would be on, but also include the improvements, which is really the buildings that house the data center itself.

The second revenue stream would be the business tangible personal property.

This represents the servers, the racks, the other peripheral computer equipment that essentially makes the data center run, and that's the equipment that's housed inside the building itself.

This equipment is a substantial investment in a data center development.

And it's particularly to note that this business tangible personal property is a depreciating asset.

And so unlike the real estate, which typically holds value over time, the business tangible personal property and how we assess it quickly depreciates from about 25% of the original cost of that equipment and depreciates over seven years until you get to about 10%.

So there is over time some decrease in, I won't say volatility, but a decrease in the tax revenues over the depreciable life of those assets.

I will say the useful life of most data center equipment is between five and seven years, all really depending on the intensity of the use and how often that equipment, how often those servers need to be replenished.

And that can be taken into account when we go to look at these properties and look at these tax sources.

The other thing I wanted to mention on this slide before we move on to my next slide is back in May the board received a presentation on the cost of community services ratios.

And particularly that was focused on how much does it cost to provide services per dollar of revenue generated

from different categories.

So for instance, the county's ratios that were presented for residential revenues, for every dollar of residential revenue that was generated, there's a cost of about $1.31 that provides services to our residential community.

The commercial ratio is 0.32, so about every dollar of revenue generated from commercial tax base costs about 32 cents to service that community as well.

Data centers and the research that we've done have an even lower cost of community services ratio than our current commercial.

We've seen these as low as 0.1, so every dollar of tax revenue generated

Wood, or could potentially have a cost of service of 10 cents or even less in some localities.

And this is really driven by, as Bill mentioned earlier, data centers typically have lowered vehicular traffic, there are fewer employees compared to other commercial uses, and all this just requires fewer county services provided to the property.

So if we go to the next slide, we did want to provide some scenarios so that the board and the community would have some ideas of what the tax revenue generation potentials would have with the different size districts that Bill mentioned earlier in his presentation.

So the chart on the screen, we have broken it down into

and average annual revenues.

And so this isn't a total revenue.

This is an average annual revenue for these three different sizes.

And as I mentioned earlier with the business tangible personal property and the great change or spread in revenues from when that property is put in service to when it depreciates over its useful life, there is a range.

And so an average is most appropriate to show the annual revenue.

For anything outside the overlay district at the 40,000 square foot, in total we'd be looking at an estimate of about 1.3 million in additional revenue for a data center that would fit into that size.

For a data center that fits into the tier one district with 125,000 square foot,

You see the growth in the business tangible personal property and comparable because as that property or as that the building gets bigger you can house more equipment in there and that would average about four million dollars of annual revenue.

The final tier, tier two, which is the 500,000 square foot size, it would yield an even additional higher business tangible personal property and average about 16 million in total, or 16 million in average annual revenue for property of that size.

And that's just one data center that's not saying there's multiple, that's just taking one and trying to create some examples and put some visuals for the board so you all can help.

provide the financial lens on your discussion.

So getting close to the end, I wanted to talk to you a little bit about the public engagement.

I know you've received, I've lost track a lot of comments.

You have some in your packet and I've forwarded some and I know many have been forwarded to you.

We also have our Engage Albemarle site.

We want to provide you with some statistics.

This was, I believe, yesterday, information as of yesterday.

1.4 thousand people are involved.

It is the fourth highest ranking right now on our top five Engage Albemarle projects.

I don't know what special prize I get if I get all the way to number one.

But I just wanted you to know there's

Significant public interest, I know you said that earlier today, but there is significant public interest in this project.

I'm not going to talk about or try to say what the comments were, but we've broken them into some basic categories, climate impact, water impact,

maintaining the current size requirements, prohibiting them all together, the cost and benefits of them, and the noise and air pollution.

This is sort of the categories that we've noticed of the comments.

What we're looking for today is to get guidance from the board on the following questions.

Does the board support the concept of the proposed regulations, knowing that we do need to make some more work on them?

Does the board support the boundaries of the proposed overlay districts?

Does the board support tiered districts?

And if the board supports consideration of tiered districts, how should each area be designated?

So that's what we're trying to get to today so we know what to do for our next steps.

Thank you, Bill.

That was very helpful.

I appreciate it a lot and I know the board will certainly have some questions.

So just for clarity, today, because this is a work session, and this is phase two of our work on data centers, we've already gone through phase one.

And just a quick clarification, when you're talking about existing and proposed regulations

The existing are the ones that we determined during phase one, just so everybody understands.

That's the baseline you're operating off of, is what we approved.

So just so the public understands, so there's not a specific vote today, so we're providing direction and we need to provide directions on these four questions.

But first we're going to open it up for questions and see what the board would like to ask.

So framing it that way I think

is fair, and I really appreciate all of your good work on this.

So I'll turn to Mike.

Mike, you are the first one up.

Excellent.

I am going to try and answer all four of these questions.

I do just want to quickly make some, I think, framing remarks, which probably aren't surprising to my peers.

But I think I remain deeply

Skeptical of data centers.

They are something that sit.

I think that was reflected in my initial feedback on the interim ordinance, which already I found more permissive than I might have preferred.

I was, I will remind the board, uncomfortable with the 400, or sorry, 40,000 square foot limit and had I think proposed either 4 or 10,000 as an alternative for when a buy-write would be permissible.

So I would present that as just a reminder of my previous positions.

This is heavily driven by concerns about energy grid costs and how that is ultimately, in our current formulation, going to be borne by ratepayers when we do need to upgrade the energy grid.

And it could also cause even free upgrade necessitation, knock-on effects just because of supply-demand models on other Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power customers.

They are a single customer, but they will not bear the entire brunt of the cost to upgrade it.

We will.

Our constituents will.

I do have long-term viability of it as an economic development strategy concerns because, yes, there's currently a very significant demand on more facilities for

For data center management, for this kind of technology that we're developing, I think we are in the middle of a bubble that new technology is going to create an effect on.

Not to be too wonky.

We are, I think, alarmingly close to the deployment of widespread quantum computing.

I think it will be within my lifetime, certainly.

It would not be surprising, I think, if we see that deployed in 10 years.

That will radically change the square footage requirements of data centers.

And the ones that are going to be offline first are going to be the ones that are further from NOVA, further from the transatlantic cable.

So I am concerned about

And finally, like

I think it's fair to say, I mean, we've all received the same presentations about the way that this can be really transformative to an economy.

And I don't disagree that it can be a real boon on revenues.

I think that is a really Jesus in the desert kind of deal that is especially hard for some of our poorer neighbors to turn away from, which is why I think we see a lot of eagerness from some of our poorer neighbors, as in, like,

Louisa has already deployed a lot of these.

Louisa has also recently voted down their fourth data center because they are already concerned at the scale of deployment.

And some of our neighbors even further south are particularly excited to solicit these because they don't have other economic development opportunities.

This is the only thing they have.

I think we should recognize part of our privilege in being a wealthy locality in being able to have the comfort

to not have to rely on what I think of as fairly destructive land uses.

So with that said, I want to go through this list of questions.

The regulations that are proposed here, I actually think they are thoughtful.

Most of them are adding additional levels of what I would say are common sense things.

It seems to borrow in part from what we've learned from solar, actually.

Interesting.

The tree buffering requirement, it sounds identical.

So I think for the most part these are really good.

The only one I would flag is the blank walls requirement, right?

The breaking up stylistically.

You know this is something we see in residential development also, like a requirement for creating visual interest in large residents.

And it actually like confines people to I think lazy architectural decisions.

in residential contexts, I see what it's reacting to.

It's reacting to the Boeing warehouse.

I used to live in Everett, which had the largest landmass-wise building in the United States.

It's a giant Boeing facility that just has a single flat wall.

It is, and I will also tell you that even after the writing of that language that you have in the ordinance, we've done some additional work and we found some other models that might be better written to allow a little bit more flexibility on the part of the architect, but still achieve the same goal of breaking up the massing so we don't do that.

I'm fine with it staying in here because this is not a final draft.

I might want some samples of what we're talking about to visually review.

And also, if this is something that affects cost, that's always something we have to be weighing.

I think the boundaries of the overlay districts discussed make sense.

These are the places that make sense for a

a data center.

The only one I would flag as being possibly one I'd be concerned about is State Farm, right?

Because that is near natural habitat trails, that is near some residential.

I have some concerns about that.

I'm happy to see that we're no longer including downtown Crozet, but I have some concerns about the State Farm location.

I understand why it's there.

I understand we're struggling to place tenants in this really important industrial location, but it does

I think its negative externalities could be particularly potent there.

Also, there is a part of a tickle in my brain that is wondering about North Fork, because we are expecting to place a lot of residential uses there in the near future.

They're not there yet, but we just voted and UVA Foundation came and said we're going to deploy hundreds of people in affordable housing there.

So I do have

Caution there.

That's not me saying that.

I don't think that's the district that makes sense right now based on our current land use.

Then we get into the harder things.

I get why the tiers make sense.

I don't support them.

I am uncomfortable still with allowing buy-write usage above what we have currently authorized in our interim.

We have never had a data center proposal come before us.

We voted on a solar ordinance that we struggled with, I think, pretty seriously.

And we had a lot of serious public comment on it.

It was a hard thing.

And that was itself iterative on our own experiences with quite a lot of solar developments.

And we knew how solar developments played out.

We had had some that we had worked on.

We had seen ways that the community reacted negatively to things that we had authorized.

And we iteratively developed on those.

I understand that this is coming to us and it's iterative on other localities, but I don't know how my constituents are going to react to something in their backyard and I'm uncomfortable with the scale that we're talking about in the tiered one and two proposals.

I would be very uncomfortable with that before I've deployed a single one with my approval and with a public feedback process.

I think the way you're thinking about it makes sense.

I can't support it at this stage.

And that, I think, solves four, too, although I would say I would flag the previous ones I expressed concern about if we're talking about which ones to designate as which tiers.

I think State Farm is surrounded by a lot of incompatible uses, and North Fork will soon be surrounded by a lot of incompatible uses.

OK, and I'm curious because you had some concerns in there.

So can you give some questions?

The thing I flag as one of my central kind of load star concerns is about energy grid costs.

And I want to make sure you don't think I'm mischaracterizing that, right?

That there will be

I wish I had a better answer.

I've worked on trying to have a better answer for this.

And unfortunately, the county does not have the authority to do that.

That authority rests in Richmond.

And I know that our peers in the GA, I think, are currently grappling with this exact issue, trying to require that they not have these knock-on costs.

They did not succeed.

But they could in the future, depending on the makeup.

Another question.

I talked about

I'm not sure anyone, including myself, are in a particularly good position to philosophize on future developments in quantum computing.

But if you think I'm off base with that, I would invite any critique on that.

I couldn't provide any comment on that.

And I just wanted to make sure as we have concerns and questions that staff had an opportunity at least to share what they might have.

So with that, are you, is that good?

All right, I'm going to turn to Ned.

I'll start with some questions first.

Bill, I appreciate in the report the showing buildings of comparable size that already exist in the county.

And I can't recall if I had asked this back in April or not.

And it may just be because of what you spoke about in terms of electricity.

But when the other impacts that give people pause or concern, electricity, water use, have you done a comparison of businesses that already exist in the county that aren't just size comparisons, but also could be, well, you did mention water briefly, actually.

I think I heard you say one might be the comparable use from a water standpoint.

of existing businesses.

Sure.

And if I could just add to that, one of the things they're experiencing is that some of these newer data centers are air-cooled or they're a hybrid rather than predominantly water-cooled.

Power demands or power usage?

No, no we don't, sorry.

But from a building size and a water standpoint, like when Home Depot came online, I don't recall thinking about, oh, what would the water usage be for Home Depot when we had to consider that rezoning.

I think that's right, yes.

In our conversations with the Rivanna Water Sewer Authority and the Albemarle County Service Authority, obviously in their water planning, they're looking at our comprehensive plan and our zoning map to determine what types of uses can go into those areas.

So for example, if it's an industrial area,

I guess part of the questioning here is, I get it, this is kind of a new thing for us.

We don't have huge data centers in here.

So of course there's going to be concerns, as there would be for most things, but it's also activity in terms of impacts that we're already seeing, and a lot of times, except without a lot of scrutiny.

In terms of if it's zoned, if it's in the development area and Home Depot wants to come set up shop, we just make sure it looks good from 29.

and that they're obeying our setback regulations.

We don't say, oh, we don't want this type of big business coming.

In fact, we applaud it when Home Depot comes, at least so far.

I'm sure there's some out there that would wish Home Depot had stayed away.

Jacob, I have a couple of questions for Jacob.

Yeah, and then I'll jump back.

I have some questions around the tiers.

So you made the point about the depreciating, and thank you, Jacob, you made the point about the depreciating asset.

And then you said the, did you say the life cycle was in that two to three year range?

So I took your point to me and correct me if I'm wrong, that when they do the replenishment or the replacement, then from a value standpoint for taxing purposes, the values reset, just like if I had a 10 year old car and got an

The brand new car is going to be taxed at a higher rate because it's higher value.

The replacement equipment is higher value as well.

You do.

You do have that right.

When data centers first started becoming more popular and more in existence, the two to three year time horizon for the replacement of that equipment was more prevalent.

As we've seen, the development of the industry

what we're encountering is the replacement cycle that equipment is a little bit longer because the equipment is becoming a little more robust and so that is it was a two to three year replacement cycle now it's more at a five to seven year replacement cycle and it really is also based on the demand and the intensity of the the demand and usage of that data center

But to your other point, yes, absolutely correct.

And in similar fashion, I guess I've never thought about this before, but when we think of this type of

Tax.

I mean, we think of cars and our residents and how we tax cars.

There are other equipment that I'm going to stay away a little bit from the machinery and tools because those are really designated for the manufacturing side.

But business tangible property is going to really be a lot of your office equipment, a lot of your office infrastructure.

Computers are also part of that.

But within state code, we do have the ability to have a separate designation and essentially category for business tangible personal property, specifically related to computers and computer equipment used to run data centers.

I guess what I'm trying to get at in my own brain to see if it's a fair comparison or not.

If we take UVA, the health system, the university, etc.

set aside their own data center and just think of what they use to do daily operations for the academic side and the UVA health system.

That's a lot of computer equipment we're taxing.

Is that right?

Or is it probably a bad example because it's the state and we're not taxing them, period.

But from the equipment standpoint, I mean, I'm just trying to wrap my head around this.

So Martha and Jeff, let's use them as a big system.

Yes, that'd be correct.

That'd be part of their business tangential personal property filing each year.

In another example, we used Home Depot as an example that you mentioned.

Could be.

That would be a good example.

All right.

So we've handled this before.

We're dealing with this reality now in terms of the depreciating assets of what we tax, things get replaced, and then the value restores and we tax.

Yes, sir.

Thank you, Jacob.

Bill, I guess I'd have a question about the tiers.

Remind me, I mean, I understood that the, well, if I have it wrong, you'll correct me, but I'm under, you know, tier one is the buy rate up to 125,000 square feet, and then tier twos are buy rate up to 500,000 square feet, and then special use permit for both if it goes beyond that in the tiers.

We wanted to give you an option.

We wanted to demonstrate the option that you could do a tier system if you want.

And the size that we came up with, the reason for those two numbers is 500,000 square feet is about the size of the largest buildings in the community.

So that's how we picked the 500,000.

And that 125,000 number is, that was a number we were seeing as a fairly common large building size that we see in numerous locations.

Cobb 5th Street is 125,000 square feet.

Costco, Walmart, Stonefield, Hollymee Town Center.

Yeah, so thank you, Obelia, because I mean in my brain I was sitting there going, okay, we can identify tier one because we believe based on that particular site that 125,000 we wouldn't have concerns about provided our regulations are met.

However, this property over here

Similarly to how we might think of property A being okay for a tier one, property B could be okay for a tier two because the same impacts and concerns are mitigated by the regulations that they could make.

And we're basically saying upfront, we recognize this.

So let's not, we can do the tiers.

We don't have to, frankly, coming to the board for special use permit.

I've heard other people talk about how costs could rise or

What could add to costs?

Well, having to come in front of the Board of Supervisors for a special use permit is a cost adder.

So if we can identify properties correctly and allow buy right to a certain extent, it can save the costs of the project, which at the end of the day, when we talk about passing along costs, it doesn't really matter what the cost is.

If they can try to pass it along, they will.

I think we all recognize that.

Did I cut you off?

I was just going to say you stated it exactly.

That's the opportunity we were trying to give you.

That's exactly what we were trying to do.

Well, knowing that this is going to come back, my questions have been answered.

I appreciate that.

I'm just going to make some commentary.

And I'm not going to counterpoint Supervisor Pruitt because I think these are opinions at this point.

So I don't think countering, not counting or anybody else that has these thoughts may be after I speak and they offer their opinions.

But I would offer the Jesus in the desert comment about Louisa County being a poorer County.

I think in a lot of ways that the data center income is allowing them to offset taxes that they don't want to set.

which is what our whole revenue diversification is about so it's in my opinion that it's not because they're a poor county that they've had to turn to this but the revenue that they're bringing in from and correct me if I'm wrong but they've got they turned down the new Amazon one which was going to be the biggest but I'm talking their other ones are like what three four million square feet I mean they're huge data centers but that revenue that's coming in isn't necessarily a glut on revenue they otherwise couldn't have had

It's just allowing them to put a very low tax rate out there and reduce the burden of taxes.

Politically, they may not be for taxes.

I haven't ever heard one say they were for taxes, but I don't want to make it sound like this is just something that localities have turned to because they're poor.

It is something that they can turn to.

if it helps them achieve their revenue strategy of how to pay for things without having to put the entire burden on the shoulders of real estate owners in their counties.

I think in terms of long-term viability, we have to be incredibly careful about that because the private market, I think, a lot of times will determine what exists or doesn't exist.

I think

with the exception of some areas in the country, indoor malls, including our own fashion square mall, just kind of became dated and not something people wanted.

So 30 years ago, 40 years ago, 50 years ago, when indoor malls were being built, I don't think anybody would have, I mean, I'm sure there were some out there going, oh, I think these are a passing fad, they won't last very long.

But I suppose developments or economic activity in a place, if you started to worry about the viability,

40, 50, 60, 80 years down, maybe even 10 years down the road.

I don't think you govern or regulate that way.

I think you have to allow the market to work in providing something.

And if it succeeds, great.

If it succeeds for a long time, even better.

But to suggest that maybe we shouldn't allow something because we're worried about it may or may not

succeed down the road or be viable for a long enough period.

I don't think that enters into how I think about economic development activity, what a local government or any government could be focused on in allowing or setting land use policies.

And economic activity, again, is not something that the county is necessarily doing.

We are trying to put things in place

that allows economic development activity to occur in the way we hope to see it.

Case in point about these data centers, the people that just don't want them, prohibit them, don't allow them period.

Well, okay.

That could be an economic development strategy, I suppose.

Then the other complete end of that argument is don't regulate them at all, allow them however they exist and wherever they want to exist.

And it seems to me that what staff has brought forward

is pretty well reasoned in the way that we like to approach things in Albemarle County.

I don't particularly think we would ever want as supervisors to have what Louisa County has in these millions of square foot facilities.

I'm paused or hesitant to say that because I have yet to see the project that could occur where a million and a half or a 3 million square foot facility could work in our county knowing where

I think it's smart to allow

I think that the Pantops site and that Pantops building already has the building of 400,000 square foot existing and it's similar to our fashion square mall.

It's not really doing anything for us as a county, but to the point about

concerns about natural resources out there and the impacts it could have, we have to remember that State Farm, when you had thousands of people working there, could have the same concerns relative to what could happen to the natural areas around it.

So this, in some ways, reduces the amount of people activity that's happening around those natural resources.

That building had computer equipment in it.

and I offer that just to say that there are different ways to think about what the trade-offs are, but less people driving in and out of Pan Tops and having a viable business there that's producing revenue for the county doesn't add to the transportation woes that are currently existing on Pan Tops, but does allow for a viable business that both the business can reap some rewards from as well can the county and the

in its tax revenue base.

I'm not going to sit here and act like the tax revenue that these things could come in is just a passing fancy.

Sixteen million dollars on the upper end?

What's a penny again?

Three million dollars?

One penny is three million dollars.

So just as a for instance, if we did one that was half of that and

yielded us $8 million in tax revenue, we wouldn't have had to significantly raise the tax rate like we did to pay for some things that we paid for this past budget cycle.

I mean, we ended up raising about, I mean, it was four cents, so it was about $12 million.

But if we had something like this that was established in here or some other comparable business, that's the point.

That's how we could have paid for those types of things without having to raise the tax rate.

And boy, I can see, you know, I do know this budget cycle, people did put comments out there about why can't you be more like Louisa?

And they're actually reducing.

And I'm like, well, it's because they found an alternative way to bring the revenue.

So it's something we do have to consider.