Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 65.06
Liaison Andrea Trimble
Submission Date May 29, 2015
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

University of Virginia
EN-9: Community Partnerships

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 3.00 Julia Monteith
Senior Land Use Planner
Office of the Architect
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have at least one formal sustainability partnership with the local community that meets the criteria as “supportive”?:
Yes

A brief description of the institution’s supportive sustainability partnership(s) with the local community:

The Planning and Coordination Council (PACC), consisting of representatives from the City of Charlottesville, the County of Albemarle, and the University of Virginia, is a 20+ year formal partnership between the University and its municipal neighbors on coordinating planning projects within the community. This Council has two sets of quarterly meetings with a technical meeting and then the formal meeting with elected leaders to coordinate and improve upon community participation. In recent years, a number of community sustainability partnerships have emerged under the auspices of PACC, including the Local Energy Alliance Program (LEAP), the Local Climate Action Planning Process (LCAPP), and the Livable Communities Project (which also involves the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission).

The Local Climate Action Planning Process (LCAPP), an 18-month process involving a Steering Committee of representatives of the City, County, and UVA, local business representatives and other interested parties, supported by a network of more than 50 subject matter experts, examined best practices to assess their appropriateness and effectiveness for our community. Through this process, a "Five-Part Framework for Our Community Energy Profile" was crafted identifying guidelines to inform planning and programs. Further detailed recommendations were formulated into a set of "Framework Action Strategies", which represent opportunities for win-win efforts that can contribute to community well-being in economic, health and environmental terms. The recommendations of the LCAPP Steering Committee are a guide for the City, County and University of Virginia to utilize in pursuing their own Action Plans to establish the scope and scale at which each entity is committed to engage.

The Charlottesville Better Business Challenge has formed a partnership between the Darden School of Business and students in an undergraduate Global Sustainability class with the Local Energy-efficiency Alliance Program (LEAP) among other non-profits to help small local businesses reduce their environmental impact.

UVa provides faculty/staff time to this effort on an annual basis.


Does the institution have at least one formal sustainability partnership with the local community that meets the criteria as “collaborative”?:
Yes

A brief description of the institution's collaborative sustainability partnership(s):

See description above regarding community partnerships.
In the realm of stormwater, Albemarle County, the City of Charlottesville, and UVa each have MS-4 permits and are regulating agencies for those permits. The community at-large is part of a pollution diet for the Chesapeake Bay - a total maximum daily load (TMDL) - that applies not only statewide but is the largest TMDL in the Country addressing 7 states. The 3 permitting agencies noted above work in active collaboration to meet our TMDL goals, which cascade in 5 year increments - we are in the first increment and are working together to meet these stringent goals.
UVa provides faculty/staff and financial support to this effort on an annual basis.


Does the institution have at least one formal sustainability partnership with the local community that meets the criteria as “transformative”?:
Yes

A brief description of the institution's transformative sustainability partnership(s) with the local community:

UVa and its surrounding community have established a transformative partnership through its (1) Planning Commissions (City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County), (2) Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO - 5 County area), and the (3) Master Planning Council (UVa). Senior UVa planning staff are appointed to the City and County (1 each) Planning Commisions to have active knowledge and an active role in shaping each community. The time invested in preparing for and attending Planning Commission meetings is significant, and each community gets the benefit of representation by the University. In exchange, UVa has a Master Planning Council that consists of Vice Presidential UVa staff that addresses planning at and in the context of the University - this is attended by appointed members of the City and County Planning Commissions in addition to the Chief Planning staff for each of those entities. Finally, senior UVa planning staff attend the local MPO Technical and Board meetings and play a role in guiding the large scale planning process for our larger community area and transportation network. This high level coordination within the political network of the community leads to an extraordinary level of coordination in town gown relationships and successful partnerships for the community.
This practice has been underway for over 20 years and UVa provides faculty/staff and financial support to this effort on an annual basis.


A brief description of the institution’s sustainability partnerships with distant (i.e. non-local) communities:
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The website URL where information about sustainability partnerships is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.