Charlottesville releases zoning draft for Cville Plans Together project

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - Charlottesville has released a zoning draft for its Cville Plans Together project.

Mayor Lloyd Snook says the draft is how the city will be able to approve new apartments and more affordable housing.

“How can we build more housing without changing the character of Charlottesville? We want Charlottesville still to be a small city, we don’t want it to become New York or even Richmond,” Mayor Snook said.

Councilor Michael Payne says this draft is a good start, but there are still areas that need to be adjusted.

“I think there’s still more work to be done to ensure that we’re not inadvertently creating gentrification and displacement pressures in some areas of the city,” Payne said.

The draft will not only impact housing, but public areas all around the city.

“There’s also a lot of really positive things outside of you know, the height or density that’s allowed, just in terms of protections for tree canopy, better requirements for street lighting, sidewalk construction, things like that.” Payne said.

The planning commission will hold a public hearing for the draft on September 14.

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