How Should Albemarle Grow?

From Katherine Knott with the Daily Progress:

Please read the whole thing.

(bolding mine)

Some Albemarle County residents are torn about how the county should grow.

The county began surveying the community last month about seven proposed growth management options, part of the first phase of the county’s effort to update its comprehensive plan. The concepts range from reducing density in the county’s development areas to setting standards to help determine whether and how to expand a growth area.

Officials said 119 people have taken the survey, which closes at 10 p.m. Sunday. The responses, made public this week show stark divisions in the community. Other chances for citizen input will available to residents as the plan update moves along.

There are over 111,000 people in Albemarle County; please take a few minutes to read about the plan, its intent, its goals, and fill out the survey.

Take the survey here.

The first responses to the survey are interesting, some are disheartening, and unsurprising. (PDF here)

Here’s the thing.

We need more housing – nationally and locally, we have a massive housing shortage. More density. More infrastructure that is not auto-centric, and encourages people to get places without being forced into a car.

Albemarle (and the City of Charlottesville) are, and are becoming more unaffordable. We need to build affordable housing – much of which may be duplexes, triplexes, quads, apartments, etc so that people who want to live and work here can.

Think about your kids who you want to return to live nearby with their kids. Think about your parents who might need to move to be closer to you (and your kids). A lot of these may be (and probably should be) rentals – not everyone wants to own a home (I’m working on a story now for JimsNote in which I discuss how the “American Dream” of homeownership is not for everyone, and that’s just fine).

This survey will help Albemarle County government – Planning Commission, Board of Supervisors, et al – make a path forward for how we are going to grow, from 110K-ish now to 155K-ish in 2050.

Read even more at Sean Tubbs’ Charlottesville Community Engagement.

Even better, pay to subscribe to support his work. (I do; if you’re interested in a free one-year subscription, ask me; I’m happy to offer one.)

Albemarle County is in the first phase of a review of its Comprehensive Plan with an eye on a growth management policy. A second questionnaire on the policy closes on July 17, and Albemarle’s Communications and Public Engagement office produced an explanatory video.

“The growth management policy is one of the tools that we use to implement the county’s vision by helping us to make intentional decisions about how and where we grow and what areas are protected,” states the narrator of the video.

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/a2s4Kqljams?rel=0&autoplay=0&showinfo=0&enablejsapi=0

The video states that one purpose of a growth management policy is to ensure that there are services for a growing population, including the provision of water and sewer services.

“The majority of new residential, commercial, retail, office, industrial, and mixed-use development is intended to be within the county’s development areas,” the video continues. “The rural area is intended to have limited residential development.”

Different community groups are also encouraging community members to fill out the survey.

The Forest Lakes Community Association reminded its members of the basic gist of the growth management policy.

“Designated Development Areas currently comprise only five percent of Albemarle County while Rural Areas currently comprise 95 percent of the County,” reads the newsletter. “Yet we in Forest Lakes are seeing the developmental impacts more directly, since the limited Development Area includes the 29-Corridor to the west of Forest Lakes.”

The Forest Lakes Community Association had argued against the nearby Brookhill and RST Residents developments, and points out there’s currently no public transportation in the area.

“Roads are planned that will eventually connect both developments directly to Ashwood Boulevard, with estimates of up to a 50 percent increase in daily traffic utilizing the Forest Lakes South exit,” the newsletter continues.

Former members of the Village of Rivanna Community Advisory Committee also want people to fill out the survey. The group quit en masse in April which you can read about on Information Charlottesville or on their Substack newsletter.

This spring, the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors were presented with a build-out analysis to determine if there’s enough room in the existing development area to meet the needs of a growing population.

Albemarle Planning Commission briefed on build-out analysis, Information Charlottesville, May 25, 2022
New report shows potential for Albemarle’s growth if the county wants it, Daily Progress, May 24, 2022

Supervisors got an update on June 1, 2022 that I’ve yet to write about, but will before the end of the summer. You can watch the video of that meeting here, and let us know what happened!

March 28, 2022March 28, 2022

Misty Mountain Seeking to Expand

From Sean Tubbs’ excellent Charlottesville Community Engagement

Misty Mountain Resort seeking permission for expansion

A community meeting will be held at 5 p.m. for a special use permit for the expansion of the Misty Mountain Camp Resort on U.S. 250 west of Crozet. The camp currently has 16 cabins and 104 camp sites and is allowed to hold an annual music festival. (meeting info)

“Outdoor recreation is now more important than ever, and therefore it is the intent of this special use permit to expand the capacities of the Misty Mountain Camp Report,” reads the narrative for the request to formally allow the 16 cabins and to allow 68 more campsites. The current special use permit only allows ten cabins.

Interesting comment from the accompanying Charlottesville Reddit post:

I think this was discovered by a relatively new owner. The original permit was from 1994 or so. This property last sold in April 2021 for $4.5 million and I suspect the new owner realized they needed to become compliant. There are a total of four special use permits on the property, two of which relate to a music festival that’s allowed once a year.

For those who aren’t aware, Misty Mountain Camp Resort is a bit west of the 64 interchange just off of 250.

March 14, 2022March 14, 2022

Crozet Stuff This Week – 14 March 2022

Searching Sean Tubbs’ “Week Ahead” Charlottesville Community Engagement for “Crozet” …

And a reminder to subscribe to Sean’s work; I do. I’m happy to gift a subscription to someone if you’re interested; just ask me.

The Albemarle County Economic Development Authority meets virtually at 4 p.m. for a wide-ranging meeting. (meeting material)

…

Then there will be a closed session at which the EDA will discuss “possible litigation” against the Center, as well as potential investment in Downtown Crozet.

Glenbrook developer seeks to change housing type proffer

There’s only one item on the agenda for the Albemarle County Planning Commission’s virtual meeting, which begins at 6 p.m. (meeting info)

The developer of the previously approved Glenbrook neighborhood in Crozet wants more flexibility in a 1.89 acre section of the development. When the rezoning was granted in 2016, there was a proffered condition that a minimum of 50 percent of the units would be single family housing.

Since then, a new Crozet Master Plan has been adopted that designates the land as being for Middle Density Residential which allows for between six and 12 units per acre.

“Instead of a minimum of 50 percent single family detached dwellings in the overall Glenbrook development, the applicant proposes a minimum of 40 percent single family detached dwelling units,” reads the applicant’s narrative.” This change will allow for the construction of affordable dwelling units in the final phase of the project.

This would not apply to the remaining 36 acres that are not subject to this rezoning request. Staff recommends approval.

*The application plan for the new Glenbrook rezoning. Click to see a more detailed version.*

Beaver Creek Dam Improvements

The referenced 230 page ACSA doc is not searchable, sadly (thanks for the nudge about Sean’s note).

Riding my bicycle yesterday, I noticed a working barge(?) and silt fencing along part of the Beaver Creek Reservoir perimeter. A bit of searching this morning, and I was reminded by the Crozet Gazette of the timing , and a bit more at Rivanna’s site.

https://www.rivanna.org/rwsa-projects-map/beaver-creek-improvements/

February 14, 2022February 14, 2022

Old Dominion Village Rezoning – 15 February 2022

One day, the County, VDOT, developers might see the value in adding better pedestrian and bike connectivity when proposing new housing. One day.

It’s a ~20 minute walk to Crozet Mudhouse. A 6 minute bike ride. 7 minute walk to Starr Hill.

This is the August 2020 CCAC meeting in which this development was discussed.

via the excellent Charlottesville Community Engagement

Subscribe here (I recommend paying for a subscription)

(bolding is mine)

Albemarle PC to review 110-unit Old Dominion Village in Crozet

Crozet is one of Albemarle’s designated growth areas. Last year, the Crozet Master Plan was updated with a new land use designation of Middle Density Residential which allows between six to 12 units per acre with high provisions if below-market housing is to be part of the development.

The Albemarle Planning Commission will have a public hearing tonight for a rezoning on 23.68 acres on the north side of Route 240 across from the Acme Visible Records site. Part of the land for the Old Dominion Village development contains this new category, and some parts at the less intense Neighborhood Density Residential. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. (meeting info)

The developer seeks a rezoning to the Neighborhood Model District for a project that would be built around an existing veterinary clinic.

“After practicing for 40 years, the parcel owner, Dr Martin Schulman leases the hospital building to the Old Dominion Animal Hospital – Crozet, a sister hospital to Old Dominion Animal Hospital on Preston Avenue in Charlottesville also in operation since 1982,” reads the narrative for the application. “Dr. Schulman has decided that combining the two parcels and developing them into a mixed – use neighborhood while keeping the veterinary care center as a commercial component would be beneficial to the Crozet Community.”

The developer has stated 20 of the units will be built under the county’s affordability guidelines. They’ll also contribute $283,000 in cash proffers “to help mitigate impacts of the development on schools and transportation.”

Also from Sean’s Week Ahead – smaller lots in Old Trail?

The developer of Old Trail in Crozet seeks a reduction in the minimum lot size from 8,000 square feet to 4,000 square feet in order to build smaller units that might have lower prices. (staff report)

January 16, 2022January 16, 2022

Montclair and its 157 Homes

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.

12 Alex proposed in Montclair — 12 units here

From Allison Wrabel’s story at the Daily Progress

(read the whole thing)

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.

CCAC meeting beginning. Local government, folks.

Never stop zooming, please.#CCAC0122 pic.twitter.com/eo7LpPfkiY
— realcrozetva (@realcrozetva) January 13, 2022

Read all the Tweets from the January 2022 CCAC meeting here.

December 19, 2021December 19, 2021

Storage Facility Coming to 240/250

This will certainly change the dynamic of the intersection that used to be Gateway Gas, Rocket Coffee, Sabor Latino.

From Charlottesville Community Engagement (you should consider paying for a subscription; it’s invaluable)

ARB to review three-story Crozet Self Storage facility

The Albemarle Architectural Review Board meets for the final time of 2021 with two items. They begin the virtual meeting at 1 p.m. (meeting info)

In the first, they’ll review an updated proposal from Yousef LC / Merchants Retail Partners LLC to construct a three-story, 90,000 square foot self-storage building at the intersection of U.S. 250 and Route 240. The property is zoned for Highway Commercial but is within the Entrance Corridor overlay. The ARB last saw the plans in September. Staff wants further changes.

“Revise the architectural design with a combination of reduced footprint, reduced height, substantial breaks in the building form, and substantial changes in depth for recesses and projections along the walls to reduce the mass and scale of the building,” reads a portion of the staff report. “Revise the architectural design to eliminate blankness on all sides of the building.”

In the second item, the ARB will review renovations to a former Goodwill building on U.S. 29 that is being repurposed as an auto-body shop. (staff report)

November 1, 2021November 1, 2021

Crozet Park Expansion to be Approved this Week

From Charlottesville Community Engagement’s Week Ahead

Claudius Crozet Park seeks to amend an existing special use permit to build a fitness center and indoor pool. The Planning Commission recommended approval on September 28. (report)

From the report

There’s a lot here, and this has been a reasonably quick process, by Albemarle County development standards. (and yes, this is the formatting on the County’s site)

SP202000016 Claudius Crozet Park. PROJECT: SP202000016 Claudius Crozet Park MAGISTERIAL DISTRICT: White Hall TAX MAP/PARCEL(S): 056A2010007200; 056A20100072A0; 056A20400000A4 LOCATION: 1075 Claudius Crozet Park, Crozet, Virginia 22932 PROPOSAL: Request to amend existing special use permit SP199500043 in order to expand the existing community center at Crozet Park with a fitness center and a pool expansion, along with additional parking spaces and pedestrian connections. PETITION: Special Use Permit request for a community center and swim, golf, tennis, or similar athletic facilities in accordance with Sections 10.2.2.1, 10.2.2.4, 16.2.2.1, and 16.2.2.4 of the Zoning Ordinance, on three parcels totaling approximately 22.806 acres. No dwelling units proposed. ZONING: RA, Rural Areas – agricultural, forestal, and fishery uses; residential density (0.5 unit/acre in development lots); and R-6 Residential – 6 units/acre OVERLAY DISTRICT(S): EC – Entrance Corridor; Steep Slopes – Mana…

There are some really interesting comments from the community, in favor and in opposition.

My thought remains – This facility being built was a foregone conclusion; building it without commensurate building of supporting bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure is negligent.

September 28, 2021September 28, 2021

Brownsville & Crozet Redistricting Process Begins (2021)

I’ve started adding the year to some of these stories because we’ve had these discussions before.

I said in 2019

If you don’t have kids, please get involved, as school quality and perceived school quality affects property values. If you do have kids, get aware and involved. Even if your kids are little now, they’re going to grow up. I’m happy to talk our schools’ perceived quality about property values offline.

via the excellent Katherine Knott at the Daily Progress

(read the whole thing, and the bolding below is mine)

The Albemarle County school division will start figuring out this week how to move hundreds of students from Brownsville to Crozet Elementary.
A 10-person community advisory committee will lead the first phase of that redistricting effort, which will include two public meetings in November. The school division is aiming for the School Board to make a final decision about the two schools’ boundaries in January, so it can start working with the affected families.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, nearby Brownsville Elementary had nearly 900 students while the building’s capacity was 764. At Crozet, enrollment was up to 360 students, 30 more than the building’s capacity.
…
The committee will hold its first virtual work session Tuesday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Additional work sessions are scheduled for Oct. 12, Oct. 26 and Nov. 16, all starting at 6 p.m. Meetings can be viewed at streaming.k12albemarle.org/ACPS/publicmeeting.html.
Virtual public meetings to hear community input will be from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 4 and Nov. 9.

September 16, 2021September 16, 2021

Crozet Master Plan Slowly Moving Forward

From Alison Wrabel with the Daily Progress. (read the whole thing). Interesting times in Crozet as we try to balance growth, affordable housing, infrastructure …. basically all the stuff that affects us every day. I wonder how many of us attended the Planning Commission meeting Tuesday night?

The draft of the updated Crozet Master Plan took another step forward Tuesday night.

The Albemarle County Planning Commission voted to recommend approval of the updated Crozet Master Plan with one change — land near downtown that had previously had its possible density increased in the future land use map was recommended to be reduced.

The Crozet community and Albemarle County began updating the Crozet Master Plan in 2019, which helps to guide decisions about land use, transportation and parks in the area, and the draft will now move forward to the Board of Supervisors. The board is scheduled to hold its public hearing virtually at 6 p.m. Oct. 20.

When adopted, the Master Plan will be part of Albemarle’s Comprehensive Plan, which guides the county’s long-term vision for land use and resource protection. County staff and supervisors look to the Comprehensive Plan as part of the rezoning process, but it is not law.

The process has been contentious, especially around population growth and infrastructure issues around roads, schools and sidewalks in Crozet, which has seen its population increase from about 5,565 in 2010 to approximately 9,224 in 2020, according to census data.

…

September 13, 2021September 13, 2021

Crozet Master Plan Public Hearing – 14 September 2021

This thing is going to come to fruition sooner rather than later.

From Sean Tubbs’ outstanding week ahead email (read the whole thing, and subscribe if you can). Heck, ask me, and I’ll buy you one. It’s $50/year and if you’re interested in learning more and supporting local news, I’d welcome that opportunity.

Crozet Master Plan public hearing

The Albemarle County Planning Commission meets virtually at 6 p.m. There are two public hearings. (meeting info)

In the first, the Field School is requesting an amendment to a special use permit that requires them to begin construction of their new facility on Barracks Road. The Board of Supervisors approved a permit in March 2017 for a new school to be constructed on land in the rural area. The terms of the approval state the new building has to be under construction by the end of February 2022.

“Construction plans to establish the new Field School Campus on the property were put on hold as the global pandemic created a great deal of uncertainty for future funding opportunities and general construction feasibility,” reads the narrative by Shimp Engineering. “Field School of Charlottesville looks forward to continue working towards creating its new campus on the property and in light of some funding setbacks and the global COVID-19 pandemic; respectfully requests more time to bring this long-anticipated and worked-for vision to fruition.”

*Conceptual layout for the new Field School (Credit: Shimp Engineering)*

The Field School currently operates out of the old Crozet High School, which is addressed in the draft version of the Crozet Master Plan.

“The County should solicit community input to help determine an appropriate use of the school building and adjacent grounds,” reads page LU-25 of the plan. “Consideration should be given to uses that support the County’s goals for Affordable Housing, school needs, and uses that provide historic and cultural programming.”

However, I suspect that is not the kind of input the Planning Commission will hear at the public hearing on the plan. Comprehensive Planning can tend to bring forward strong opinions about the future of communities as we’ve seen with the Cville Plans Together initiative and during the Crozet plan’s review.

Crozet is one of several designated growth areas in Albemarle and the first master plan was adopted in December 2004 as a subsection of the county’s Comprehensive Plan.

The Board of Supervisors approved an update in October 2010. The idea is to review these plans every five years, but an update was delayed as work continued on other master plans such as one for Pantops and the Rio-29 Small Area Plan. In recent years, Albemarle has conducted this planning work in-house.

This update finally got underway with a community visioning process followed by many input sessions with the Crozet Community Advisory Committee. The Board of Supervisors reviewed a nearly complete draft in early August.

“The Board of Supervisors reviewed the draft Master Plan and agreed with the majority of the Planning Commission’s implementation recommendations,” reads the staff report.

To achieve the land use goal of creating more units that qualify under county guidelines as affordable housing, staff has created the land use category of “middle density residential” to have a range of between six to 12 units per acre, with up to 18 if below-market affordable housing is guaranteed. Some stories about what’s been going on:

“The Board discussed the application of the Middle Density Residential land use category both throughout Crozet and specifically to the block bounded by Tabor Street, Crozet Avenue, Dunvegan Lane, and High Street,” the staff report continues. “They directed staff to leave the future land use plan as is for the public hearing process to allow for additional community and Planning Commission feedback on the proposed change to the Tabor Street block.”

This will be an interesting story to write.

Category: Growth