Albemarle County is moving forward with yet another plan to make the county more business friendly. It's part of a grand plan that will attract small businesses and streamline the daunting approval process.
The county says small businesses are the backbone of the economy in Albemarle County, and that's why this plan directly targets them.
Albemarle's economic team is ready to meet with current and potential small business owners to get them on the right track.
"We're aware that navigating our processes can be challenging and intimidating," Albemarle County Spokesperson Lee Catlin said.
To get around that, the Albemarle County Office Building on 5th Street Extended is opening its doors to budding entrepreneurs for a new drop-in consultation from 9:00 a.m. until noon on the third and fourth Wednesdays of the month.
Catlin said entrepreneurs will "have this chance to come in without a formal appointment and talk to economic development staff about concerns and issues."
The county admits groups like the Albemarle County Architectural Review Board and the Albemarle County Planning Commission, each with its own set of regulations, can create confusion and hurdles for those who are not government savvy.
"Smaller businesses don't have the resources that the larger businesses have and it's a very good sign," Tim Hulbert with Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce said.
The Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce says the drop-in is a good part of the county's overall economic vitality action plan, but improvements are still needed.
Hulbert said, "It's really about the image of Albemarle County, trying to be increasingly more friendly with businesses."
Hulbert says a lot of the issues are just the nature of doing business anywhere, not just Albemarle, and he says the county has come a long way over the past two years.
