The Albemarle County Planning Commission has recommended approval of a rezoning that would allow a mixed-use development with 600 homes on 62.5 acres of land close to the junction of U.S. 29 and Interstate 64.
In September, members of the appointed body thought the plan was too vague with a proposed minimum of 100 units and a maximum of 1,200. Riverbend Development asked for a deferral so it could come back with revisions.
“Now we’re looking at 275 minimum or 600 maximum,” said Cameron Langille, a principal planner with the county. “The original non-residential square footage was 50,000 square feet and they have increased that to 100,000 square feet.”
The maximum commercial square footage remains at 440,000 square feet, but Riverbend has agreed not to build storage units. However, the new plan for what’s called the Sieg property adds the potential for a hospital to be located there.
“We believe that residential is needed in the county, but we also want to ensure that this can be a truly mixed-use site,” said Ashley Davies, vice president at Riverbend Development. “So in doing that we leave ample room for some great commercial opportunity here as well.”
There were no major changes to transportation aspects of the plan, which include installation of a new traffic signal on what is currently a four-lane highway.
A representative of Livable Cville was the first of several people to speak at the public hearing. Michael Monaco supported the development, but said he would have preferred more homes there because of the proximity to urban areas.
“I do think it’s also somewhat of a missed opportunity for a more ambitious development here,” Monaco said. “Housing problems, our current crisis of affordability, those can be addressed with housing solutions, traffic problems, and transportation.”
Commissioner Nathan Moore said he would also prefer a larger development to accommodate people who want to live closer to Charlottesville.
“If we don’t start considering opening up some land around there, what are we planning?” Moore asked, suggesting that the county needs to identify more land for urban development sometime in the next 25 years.
Norma Dale, a resident of the Sherwood Farms neighborhood across U.S. 29, said she was concerned about a pedestrian crossing that would come with the traffic signal to provide connectivity to trails on both sides of the highway.
“I think that’s a situation that’s going to result in some fatalities or injuries, and it should be approached very carefully before it is put in place,” Dale said.
Commissioner Karen Firehock said she could not support the pedestrian crosswalk.
“I don’t think that we can modify the behavior of drivers sufficiently to make that crossing safe,” Firehock said.
Planning Commission Chair Fred Missel will be in a rare position of voting on the rezoning when it goes before the Board of Supervisors next year. During the public hearing, future constituent Suzanne Fox called upon Missel to uphold campaign promises he made before election to serve as Samuel Miller District’s next supervisor.
“Will you preserve the southern end of the county and keep the city sprawl from starting?” Fox asked. “Will you be a good steward of the rural areas and how agriculture runs strong here? My prayers are that you will show those that elected you to your position that you can walk the talk.”
Missel said he wants to maximize density in the development area but said this was not an appropriate site.
“Traffic impacts, phasing, affordability, the crosswalk, pedestrian crosswalk,” Missel said. “And to me, all of those things sort of push me in the position of saying I don’t feel like this is the appropriate development for this space.”
The commission’s vote was 5-2 to with Missel joining Firehock in the minority.
The Sieg property is to the east of another parcel of land that had been part of this development in an earlier plan but was dropped in part because the Comprehensive Plan designated it for industrial use. Albemarle supervisors agreed to convert it to “community mixed-use” shortly before adopting AC44.
