What Areas of Involvement and Services Does the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission Cover?

Updated

The Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission (TJPDC) works across four broad areas of involvement — Transportation, Community, Housing, and Environment — providing regional vision, collaborative leadership, and professional service to its member governments, partners, and stakeholders. Its services include grant application assistance, management services for program implementation, land use planning services, and mapping. If you are looking for which regional planning or program function the TJPDC handles, the four sections below map directly to its stated areas of involvement.

Transportation

The TJPDC's transportation work covers regional and rural mobility planning:

  • Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) — the regional transportation planning body for the urbanized area.
  • Rural Transportation — planning for areas outside the metropolitan boundary.
  • RideShare — commuter and ridesharing services.
  • Bike and Pedestrian Planning — non-motorized transportation planning.
  • Regional Transit Planning — coordination across transit services.
  • PATH — a listed transportation program.

Community

Community-facing work spans planning, economic development, and regional coordination:

  • Broadband — regional connectivity planning.
  • Legislative Services — support tied to the Commission's legislative role.
  • Economic Development — regional economic planning.
  • Area Planning — planning across the district's localities.
  • Land Use & Environmental Planning Committee — a standing committee function.
  • Blue Ridge Cigarette Tax Board — a regional board the TJPDC is involved with.

Housing

Housing work is organized around regional partnership, study, and grant programs:

  • Regional Housing Partnership — a collaborative housing body that also holds public meetings (for example, at the Jefferson-Madison Library Central Branch, Swanson Room).
  • Regional Housing Study — a study of regional housing conditions.
  • HOME Consortium — the Thomas Jefferson HOME Consortium, which the TJPDC administers.
  • Housing Development Grant — grant program for housing development.
  • Housing Preservation Grant — grant program for housing preservation, including public comment periods on pre-application statements of activities.

Environment

Environmental work covers water, waste, hazard, and coordination functions:

  • Chesapeake Bay (WIP) & Rivers — watershed implementation plan and river-related work.
  • Solid Waste Planning — regional solid waste planning.
  • Hazard Mitigation Planning — planning to reduce hazard risk.
  • Rivanna River Basin Commission — a basin commission the TJPDC is involved with.
  • Septic Assistance Program — assistance tied to septic systems.
  • Regional Environmental Coordination — cross-jurisdiction environmental coordination.
  • Regional Water Supply Planning — planning for regional water supply.
  • Intergovernmental Reviews — review of intergovernmental matters.

Who the TJPDC Serves and How It Is Governed

The TJPDC is guided by a locally appointed, twelve-member Commission, of which at least 51% are local elected officials. Member localities include the City of Charlottesville and the Counties of Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, and Nelson. Commission meetings are open to the public and are held the first Thursday of each month at 7 pm in the TJPDC Office.

Where to Find Current Updates

Project updates, meeting announcements, and public notices are published through the TJPDC's news and announcements section. Upcoming events listed on the site have included the Regional Housing Partnership, the Charlottesville Albemarle Regional Transit Authority, the Commission Meeting, and the MPO Tech Committee, with a full calendar available for the complete schedule.