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Climate Action Work Plan
The Office of Sustainability is pleased to share our updated FY2026 Climate Action Workplan. This is a summary list of projects the City is undertaking this year to make progress towards the implementation of Charlottesville's Community Climate Action Plan and reaching our emissions reduction goals. Many of the projects and initiatives are ongoing and have been rolled over from our previous workplan and some are new.
City of Charlottesville-led Initiatives & Programs
| Program/Initiative | GHG Impact |
Status (Start Date) | Departments | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resilient Together |
Prerequisite | In Progress (FY24) | OS | Collaborative climate adaptation and resilience planning process with Albemarle Co. and UVA |
| Center for Heat Resilient Communities Learning Cohort | - | In Progress (May 2025) | OS | Technical Assistance for developing extreme heat resilience strategies |
| Floodplain Program Evaluation and Capacity Building | - | FY26 | OS, NDS, Utilities | CFPF grant supported |
| Shade Structure Deployment | - | In Progress | P&R | Shade structures at public outdoor facilities |
| City Environmental Regulations Review | Prerequisite | FY26 | NDS | Needed to address adaptation and resilience |
| Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) | H | In Progress | OS | Procurement method to access renewable power on City/School buildings; Currently seeking for CHS & CMS |
| LED Streetlight Conversion | L | In Progress (FY25) | OS, PWD | Conversion of all Dominion-owned streetlights to LED; project to take 2 - 3 years |
| City & Schools Solar PV Program | M | Ongoing | OS, PWD | Annual program activity; upcoming projects: CATEC |
| Municipal Energy Improvement Program | H | Ongoing | OS, PWD | Up Next: City Hall, City Hall Annex, Key Rec |
| High-Performance Building Standards for New Construction and Major Renovations | Prerequisite | In Progress (FY25) | OS, PWD | Formalize high performance building standards across the City organization; update green building policy |
| Deliver Charlottesville Middle School and pursue LEED certification | M | In Progress (FY23) | PWD, OS | Renovation/Expansion of the school. Design and construction involve high-performance ("green") components, including optimized energy performance |
| P&R Landscaping Equipment Electrification Pilot | L | In Progress (FY25) | OS, P&R | Pilot program for electrifying landscaping equipment used by Parks |
| CHS Solar Panel Repurposing | M | FY26 | OS, P&R | Reusing PV panels from the CHS roof on Parks facilities |
| Residential Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Deployment | H | Ongoing | OS | Partnership with LEAP |
| Community Energy Resource Hub | H | In Progress (FY25) | OS |
Expanding partnership with LEAP and C3 to help community better understand and access federal, state, and local home and business energy programs; includes energy retrofit mini-grants |
| Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant | M | In Progress (January 2025) | OS | Funding home energy audits for City residents up to 150% AMI |
| Home Improvement/Energy Efficiency | M | Ongoing | OCS | Annual allocations for affordable housing development and "entitlement" from U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for home improvements |
| Utility-led Energy Savings Programs | M | Ongoing | Utilities | Inclusive of Utility-funded efficient equipment rebates, attic insulation rebates, air sealing rebates, programmable thermostat and smart thermostat rebates |
| Attic Insulation Self-Assessment Tool | M | New - Ongoing | Utilities | Tool for community members to assess the condition of their attic insulation and take steps towards better weatherization. |
| Clean Energy Tax Abatement Program | L | Ongoing | Treasurer |
Tax incentive related to residential solar and energy efficiency |
| School Bus Electrification | M | In Progress (FY24) | OS, CAT, PWD | Piloting ESBs and planning for transition to ESB fleet; TA supported by NREL. First two ESBs to be delivered ~July 2025, anticipating 2nd round rebate application announcement in May 2025; Includes participation in Dominon charging infrastructure program |
| Transit Zero Emissions Bus (ZEB) Transition | H | In Progress (FY23) | CAT | Piloting and integrating battery electric buses and fuel cell electric buses into Transit fleet. Construction documents for upgraded facility are under development. BEBs scheduled to be delivered in summer 2026. Charging infrastructure to be completed Spring '26 |
| Fire Prevention Fleet Electrification Pilot | M | New | CFD |
Integrating electric vehicles and charging infrastructure into FD's fire prevention fleet |
| Community-Wide EV Charging Infrastructure Study | Prerequisite | In Progress (November 2024) | OS | Study contemplates charging infrastructure needed for public use and City light duty vehicle fleet |
| EV Infrastructure Assistance Grant | L | Ongoing | OS | Provides partial funding to local businesses to install publicly accessible EV charging |
| Electric Bike Incentive Pilot | L | Ongoing | NDS, OS | Voucher pilot program launched in January 2025; to run through December '25. LMI program in development. Provide related educational resources |
| Bicycle/Pedestrian Infrastructure | L | Ongoing | NDS, PWD | Annual program activity |
| New Sidewalks | L | Ongoing | NDS, PWD | Annual program activity |
| Trail Expansion | L | Ongoing | P&R | Annual program activity |
| Urban Forest Management Plan | Prerequisite | In Progress (FY25) | P&R, OS | Updating and expanding current plan to integrate climate and equity considerations |
| Urban Tree Planting | L | Ongoing | P&R | Annual program activity |
| Invasive Species Management | L | Ongoing | P&R | Annual program activity |
| CHIPP (Charlottesville Invasive Plant Partnership) |
L | Ongoing | P&R, OS | Partnership with CBOs for neighborhood invasive species management |
| Energy Saving Trees Program | L | Ongoing | Utilities | Partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation; provides trees to community members and guidance on where to plant them to maximize home energy savings from shade |
| Composting Program | L | Ongoing | OS, PWD, P&R | Annual program activity |
| Sustainability in the Workplace Program | L | In Progress (FY25) | OS | Deploy employee engagement program to encourage sustainability at work |
| Climate Working Group | - | Ongoing | OS | Facilitate inter-departmental working group for implementing the Climate Action Plan |
| Community Education & Outreach Work | - | Ongoing | OS | Annual program activity; focused on making information, programs, and services equitable, accessible, and widespread |
| GHG Inventory | - | Annual | OS | Annual program activity |
| Carbon Offset Natural Gas Program | L | Ongoing | Utilities | Strategy to offset CO2 emissions |
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