Oak Bluff – 134 Homes between Westlake and 240?

Big thanks to the reader who sent this to me; I’d not yet seen it.

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A few quick thoughts:

• Dig in to the files below; learn more, ask questions, get informed and involved in our community.
• They’re seeking a rezoning from single family to higher density.
• More housing: good. We desperately need it. I’m curious to learn what types of housing are proposed beyond the typical villa style/townhouse or single family detached that we’ve seen built in Crozet.
• Eastern Connector – Possible to do this *first*?
  • From the narrative: “Given the proximity to the proposed Eastern Connector, we do not anticipate any other transportation improvements will be necessary” … “Oak Bluff includes dedication of public right for way for the Eastern Avenue extension through a portion of the property. Eastern Avenue is an important public infrastructure project that will create connections between neighborhoods and commercial areas in Crozet.” Bolding is mine.
• I took the photo below in Cory Farm in 2011; “The Charlottesville/Crozet area lost the 804 area code June 1, 2001.”

• Transportation network – getting in and around the new neighborhood is great, but the accessibility to other parts of Crozet such as Crozet Park, Downtown Crozet, etc is negligible without getting in a car.
• “At least 15% of the total residential units will be affordable as outlined … ” See Page 4 of this PDF for more. Good. We need more affordable housing.
• Will there be bike lanes throughout? (Answer: no.)
• When they do their traffic studies, do they include Amazon deliveries, too? “They are anticipating 1,103 trips per day”
• My opinion remains: people would be more apt to support (or at least not oppose) growth if appropriate infrastructure was built to accommodate said growth. We need more and more improved infrastructure to get people to businesses and neighbors without forcing them into cars.

Files

• Site plan picture/excerpt
• Site Plan/Pre app
• Oak Bluff Developer Narrative
• Oak Bluff Zoning Map Amendment

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Going to copy and paste from the developer’s narrative.

There’s bolding in their PDF, but it didn’t easily paste, so the bolding below is mine. Read the whole thing; it’s the most plain-English part of the submission.

Read the Rest of the Story: Oak Bluff – 134 Homes between Westlake and 240?

In designing the conceptual layout of Oak Bluff, our team followed the Neighborhood Model Principles.

Oak Bluff is a community focused on Pedestrian Orientation. An ample network of sidewalks and connections are provided throughout and around the property. Green spaces are located throughout the property to allow for outdoor experiences and the enjoyment of all residents. Oak Bluff is also directly accessible to existing trail networks. This project enhances the pedestrian network by granting an easement and new public greenway area to complete the Lickinghole Creek trail network.

While Oak Bluff is a residential property, it is easily accessible to a Mixture of Uses via walking and biking. The proposed housing is a perfect complement to the great variety of surrounding uses. By having houses within walking distance of retail and restaurants, we create a symbiotic and supportive relationship of uses.

Oak Bluff is an integral part of a mixture of residential housing types and is nearby to other commercial elements that create a complete Neighborhood Center.

A Mixture of Housing Types and Affordability are proposed within this development. We anticipate a variety of unit sizes, including affordable housing on site. Affordable housing is addressed on the application plan.

The site is designed with the principle of Interconnected Streets and Transportation Networks. The design includes platting and construction of portions of the Eastern Avenue Connector Road.

The Eastern Avenue Connector Road will allow for Multi -modal Transportation Opportunities in Crozet.

A series of Parks, Recreational Amenities, and Open Space are featured in the center of this site and easily accessible for all residents.

By providing unit types such as townhomes and villas, the property design achieves the goal of Buildings and Space of Human Scale. The design of this unit type has a nice level of detail and rhythm of units, combined with centralized open spaces.

Relegated Parking- All parking within Oak Bluff will be relegated from the Eastern Avenue Connector Road.

Redevelopment- The site is currently vacant, so this principle does not apply, but the property is part of an overall development pattern that is harmonious with surrounding neighborhoods.

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