AGENDA DATE: 1/22/2025
TITLE:
Title
AC44: Environmental Stewardship Chapter
BODY
SUBJECT/PROPOSAL/REQUEST: Request for Board of Supervisor's feedback on the draft Environmental Stewardship chapter.
ITEM TYPE: Regular Action Item
STAFF CONTACT(S): Richardson, Wall, Filardo, Barnes, McDermott, Swartzendruber, Kanellopoulos, Holt
PRESENTER (S): Tonya Swartzendruber, Planning Manager and Scott Clark, Conservation Program Manager
LEGAL REVIEW: Not Required
REVIEWED BY: Jeffrey B. Richardson
BACKGROUND: Albemarle County is updating the Comprehensive Plan through the Albemarle County 2044 (AC44) project. The project is in Phase 3: drafting language for the four-part Comprehensive Plan document and developing Plan actions.
The draft language for the Part III - Environmental Stewardship chapter in Attachment B is built upon community input and reflects the Planning Commission's and Board's feedback.
One of the prominent topics for Environmental Stewardship is water quality. The County's Stream Health Initiative (SHI) provides recommendations to improve water quality and protect the natural environment. In the Rural Area, water quality protection includes land conservation and protecting and restoring riparian stream buffers.
Stormwater management is required for permitted development throughout the County, and is especially important in the Development Areas, where the majority of the county's development occurs, and impervious surfaces are more prevalent. There are multiple options for meeting stormwater management requirements, including both on and offsite.
Onsite stormwater management practices capture and filter rainwater on a property using runoff diversion and stormwater retention facilities where runoff and sediment is captured and filtered by the soil. Offsite, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) uses nutrient credits to quantify improvements affecting water quality. The nutrient credit system allows developers to...
Click here for full text