At the CCAC meeting on 13 January, Vito Cetta, who developed Wickham Pond and several other area neighborhoods, presented the plan for Montclair, neé White Gate Village.
A few thoughts
The rezoning/land use 101 given by Cameron with Albemarle County was really good; I recommend people watch it.
They are proposing a rezoning to allow for 157 homes.
Crozet needs new housing, but also needs supporting infrastructure and businesses to keep Crozetians in Crozet, and going to work not in cars (bikes, walking). Trails need to connect to downtown Crozet and other neighborhoods so that people aren’t forced to drive.
There is a stream on the property, but apparently it was removed; watch this part of the meeting because my tweet about it needs to be read and seen in context.
Vehicular connectivity between Wickham Pond and Montclair is a concern (the idea to make it a bike/ped path with bollards is a good one)
This was the first time that I recall a citizen dialing in with a presentation to present some questions about the Montclair development; I thought it was really well done, and the tenor and tone was good, and not simply, “don’t build!”
My opinion: they’re going to build something there, and those who are opposed may want to consider buying the land themselves. Crozet is a growth area, and we’re going to grow. The 12-plex units that they proposed are really pretty cool; I think the 430 square foot units might be better suited for cities, and we need affordable housing for families that consist of more than one person, but it’s still an innovative concept.
From Allison Wrabel’s story at the Daily Progress
Another 157 homes and additional commercial properties could be coming to Crozet under a proposed development off of Route 240 and Park Ridge Drive.
Vito Cetta, the developer and architect on the project, is requesting a rezoning of about 12.2 acres from the county’s Rural Area zoning district and 5.32 acres from the Light Industry zoning district to Neighborhood Model District to build a development called Montclair.
An initial proposal for the property, called White Gate Village, was submitted in 2020 for a maximum of 125 homes but was later withdrawn.
The proposal would allow a minimum of 58 homes and a maximum of 157 homes under the rezoning, a maximum gross housing density of about nine units per acre and a maximum density of 12 units per acre.
Cetta said the development is proposed for a mix of villa-style attached homes, townhouses and apartments. He said the villas would be priced at about $550,000 to $725,000 and most of the townhouses will be priced at about $425,000 to $550,000.
Watch the whole meeting
Naturally, Nextdoor doesn’t like it.
Read all the Tweets from the January 2022 CCAC meeting here.
