The Charlottesville City Council convened for its regular bi-weekly meeting Monday, where various community members attended to publicly express their concerns towards Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Attendees praised the Council for its February resolution condemning ICE in Charlottesville and asked that it take a more hardline stance against the agency’s actions.
The Council’s resolution passed in February stated that unless a 287(g) agreement was established, local officers are not to interact with ICE agents. 287(g) agreements allow local officers to act in coordination with federal ICE agents. However, just two days after the Council passed its resolution, Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) signed an executive directive terminating all active 287(g) agreements across the Commonwealth.
Susan McCulley, founder of the local organization Keep Going Together — a “pro democracy” grassroots group — praised the Council's recent resolution condemning ICE, but asked councillors to go even further. McCulley asked the Council to draft a statement clarifying the city’s “plans, policies and procedures” surrounding its handling of ICE. She further asked that the Council pass a policy prohibiting ICE operations on city property and invest in funding for legal representation for undocumented immigrants.
Numerous local watchdog groups like Cville ICE Watch attempt to track ICE activity in Charlottesville. They reported recent activity of masked ICE agents Feb. 24 near Richmond road and Sleepy Hollow Lane. ICE also detained two men in a raid on the downtown Albemarle County courthouse last year.
“Now that you passed the resolution, it’s time to put your power into action,” McCulley said. “Federal actions directed at any marginalized group impact us all … please, take action now.”
Alicia Lenahan, executive director of Common Ground Healing Arts — which seeks to provide “affordable and accessible complementary health practices” — echoed McCulley’s sentiments. Lenahan also asked for reassurance that the Charlottesville, Albemarle, University and state police are prepared to respond if there is a “federal presence” in Charlottesville.
“We don’t know when or why a federal presence will materialize in Charlottesville — it may be immigration, or a protest, or election interference,” Lenahan said. “The community needs to know that … [these departments have developed] comprehensive response strategies.”
Caroline Allison, masters degree candidate at Virginia Commonwealth University and intern at U.Va. Health, expressed support for the ICE resolution during Monday’s Council meeting. Allison said that, as U.Va. Health is one of the only hospitals in the state to provide services to undocumented patients outside of emergency care, she has seen patients travel from hours away to receive “life-saving care.”
“I say all of this to highlight how Charlottesville is a rich blend of locals, immigrants, students and refugees,” Allison said. “I firmly believe it is our duty to protect that community in its entirety as much as we are able.”
After the conclusion of public comments, City Manager Samuel Sanders presented his budget proposal for fiscal year 2027 to the Council. In his presentation, Sanders highlighted the “missing middle” income brackets in Charlottesville. According to Sanders’ data, in 2024 the number of residents earning under 25,000 dollars a year and over 75,000 were above the national average. The number of citizens with a salary in between these extremes were below the national average, indicating there is greater income inequality in Charlottesville than in the U.S. as a whole. Sanders also told councillors that the Charlottesville area had one of the highest median home values in the eastern United States in 2023.
As Sanders explained how his budget would spend the city’s money for FY2027, Sanders also highlighted three of the city’s most important spending priorities — transportation, affordable housing and city schools.
On the issue of transportation in particular, Sanders explained his plan for transforming city transit by investing over $2 million in hiring 10 new bus drivers and support personnel, with over $500,000 of that sum dedicated to maintaining zero-fare bus rides, where riders can utilize local Charlottesville Area Transit for free. According to Sanders, his long-term, four-year plan is too expensive of a project to undertake in one year, but the end result should be 15 to 30 minute wait times across the city as opposed to 60 to 75 minute wait times.
Sanders expressed concern, however, with the city’s ability to hire bus drivers. In response to a question by Councilor Natalie Oschrin, he explained that natural turnover among bus drivers occurs, increasing the number of drivers who need to be hired. He noted that for every certain number of drivers hired, the city must hire a new supervisor as well.
Sanders also said that these investments in city transport services will take place in the context of declines in federal transportation funding for cities and states.
“We do not see that the federal government has decided to put transportation at a high level to drop money into that bucket [with this particular] Republican administration in place,” Sanders said. “But our transportation needs … are big.”
Earlier in the evening, councillors also heard a presentation from Redevelopment Manager of Charlottesville Brenda Kelley and City Management Specialist Clifton Dooms on the Downtown Mall improvements being made in preparation for its 50th anniversary. Established in 1976, the 36-acre Mall is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and saw an estimated 2.8 million visitors in 2025, many of whom were University students.
Kelley explained that the city will celebrate the Mall’s anniversary July 3, which will feature a formal ceremony, a lantern parade and a music and lights show open to the public. In preparation, a team of various city departments and community organizations have been addressing the Mall’s maintenance and repair needs.
Dooms outlined several of these projects, including planned street repairs at 4th street NE and 2nd street SW which will take place from April to June. He also described the Mall’s new Ambassador Program — whose members will serve as “friendly guides, caretakers and problem-solvers” that assist guests and help keep the Mall’s facilities clean.
Councillor Michael Payne asked, with preparations for the Mall’s 50th anniversary ongoing, whether now is an opportune time to “get the community involved” in “visioning” more major changes to the Mall’s infrastructure — such as replacing the “underutilized” parking lot on Water Street with housing or apartment units.
“I know that would be longer-term,” Payne said. “But it just comes to mind as … a huge opportunity to extend the legacy of the Mall.”
Payne also asked whether preparations were ongoing to create a permanent memorial commemorating the murder of Heather Heyer Aug. 12, 2017, in which James Alex Fields, Jr. drove his car into a crowd of peaceful counter-protesters to the Unite the Right rally at the Mall. Fields, a self-proclaimed Neo-Nazi, killed Heyer and injured 35 others.
“[This] terrorist attack … is an integral part of the history of our community, the Mall and our country” Payne said.
Kelley responded that she was unaware of any further memorial preparations at this time.
The City Council will reconvene March 16 for its next bi-weekly meeting.
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