Yay! Season Two of Let's Talk Albemarle is FINALLY HERE!!!

Katie VanLangen, co-executive director of LEAP, the Local Energy Alliance Program, and Gabe Dayley, Albemarle County's Climate Protection Program Manager, join me to discuss Solarize Virginia, an innovative program to help support community members put solar energy to work for them. We also cover an intro to solar energy – how it works and why it’s important in our climate protection program’s mix.

https://www.solarizeva.org/ https://www.epa.gov/greenhouse-gas-reduction-fund/solar-all

Introducing the Community Voices Audio Project. The intention of this project is to create a platform for community members to share their experiences and knowledge so that together we may build a deeper understanding of complex topics. The idea came to me as I was reflecting on the variety of perspectives and opinions people were sharing about community growth and the future of Albemarle County.

This episode will focus on growth in Albemarle County. The Weldon Cooper Center Demographics Research Group predicts that Albemarle County’s population will grow by 30 thousand residents in the next 20 years. A growing community faces many challenges and opportunities that have wide-ranging implications for the future. This is particularly important right now as we work to update our Comprehensive Plan.

So, here’s how it’s organized. I asked my team to nominate people whose work focuses on quality of life, resilience, development, infrastructure, or land use. I asked each participant to record a 3-to-5 minute response to these questions:

• How could we accommodate growth in our community
• What should we consider as we plan to accommodate growth, and
• What challenges or opportunities do you anticipate?

This episode is a collection of those responses.

I hope that listening to this show will add new and valuable context for you as you participate in the Comprehensive Plan Update project.

In this episode, we'll learn about the Comprehensive Plan Update (AC44). This is a great introduction to understanding what the Plan is, how it's developed, and what it’s used for. We’ll also get some insight into the project team’s role in the process and some of the challenges associated with such a big (comprehensive!) community project.

All community members are invited to participate! Please take advantage of these tools to get started:

• Visit the Introduction to AC44 webpage to learn about the background of the project, why we have a Comprehensive Plan, and what the Plan is used for in day-to-day life.
• Visit the Planning for Growth webpage to learn the background of the Growth Management Policy (a component of the Comp Plan), review the initial ideas about ways we might update the Policy, and share your feedback.
• Sign up here to receive email updates and participation opportunities. Select the "Albemarle 2044 - Comprehensive Plan Update" box and any other topics you are interested in.

Have You Visited Our Online Engagement Center? We are looking forward to providing you with a variety of robust tools designed to enable you to share your expertise, ideas, and feedback with us on a regular basis. Please visit the site and register to access current and future projects.