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What is a Comprehensive Plan?

The Comprehensive Plan is a citywide plan that guides the City as it identifies and addresses future changes in ways that will meet the needs of all of Charlottesville’s citizens. The Plan will identify future actions regarding the City’s growth, its priorities, its development and redevelopment, its health and well-being, and the services that it provides.

The Plan is a general framework that defines:

  • The vision for Charlottesville and its people. It reflects the voices of thousands of residents, and is the guiding document for shaping the city’s future.
  • Broad policy recommendations to guide decision-making, addressing a range of topic areas, including land use, community facilities, the economy, environmental sustainability, housing, transportation, historic preservation, urban design, and more.

Sections of the 2013 Comprehensive Plan

You can download the full 2013 plan here.

What is the plan, how should it be used. Summary of process, including community involvement in plan development.

Statements that describe the overarching themes for the future of the City. For the 2013 Comprehensive Plan, the focus was on implementing the City Council 2025 Vision. That vision remains in place today, but the Council is in the process of updating their Strategic Plan.

2013 Community Value Topics

  • Economic sustainability
  • A center for lifelong learning
  • Quality housing opportunities for all
  • Charlottesville arts & culture
  • A green city
  • America’s healthiest city
  • A connected community
  • A community of mutual respect
  • Smart, citizen-focused government

We are proposing creating new Guiding Principles specific to the Comprehensive Plan. We received community feedback on draft Guiding Principles in November-December 2020.

Existing programs and demographics.

These contain a Vision Statement, Goals, and Strategies. Topics from 2013 include:

  • Land Use (chapter text last updated in 2013)
  • Environment (draft chapter text from 2018)
  • Transportation (draft chapter text from 2018)
  • Housing (draft chapter text from 2018)
  • Economic Sustainability (draft chapter text from 2018)
  • Urban Design & Historic Preservation (draft chapter text from 2018)
  • Community Facilities (draft chapter text from 2018)

This current update will also add a new Community Engagement chapter. In November-December, 2020, we received community feedback on some proposed revisions to the Vision Statements.

List of actions and timeframes to meet the goals in the plan, with details about who is responsible for completing and tracking those items.

Definitions for terms used in the document.

What is being updated in the plan?

The existing Comprehensive Plan was adopted in 2013. In 2017 and 2018, the Planning Commission  2017 and 2018 began updating the document. Cville Plans Together is a process to continue and finalize the updates, including:

  • Ensuring that equity is considered throughout the document
  • Creating a plan to increase housing affordability in the city
  • Updating the land use map (which will be the basis for updates to the zoning ordinance)
  • Adding chapters related to Community Engagement and Plan Implementation (with measurable outcomes)
  • Meaningful and thorough community engagement to aid the above efforts and tell us what else needs to be adjusted – for example, from initial outreach, we know that transportation and climate change are issues that must be addressed

How can I be involved?

Please stay involved throughout this process! Visit the Stay Involved page to find out more and subscribe to the email list to get updates about meetings and other opportunities.