For decades, Albemarle’s Comprehensive Plan has divided the county’s land into two parts: a rural area where public investment is discouraged and a growth area intended to be a place where people can live, work, and play.
Yet Albemarle’s urban area lacks public open space with most of the county’s parks in the rural area or on the edge, away from direct transit access.
To begin to change that, the county’s Board of Supervisors has invested $1.65 million for urban pocket parks in the current budget.
The new AC44 document adopted in October calls for such amenities in community centers, which are to be “focal points for commercial and cultural activities that are accessible by a variety of transportation options.” Albemarle also has a strategic plan that calls for new parks to be developed along transit lines.
The county reviewed 169 potential properties that might be suitable for a new park and identified four candidates for potential investment. These were further ranked to see which could move forward fastest.
The one that scored highest and is in advanced stages of planning is located on county-owned land on Hillsdale Drive, where a stormwater basin was built as part of the rezoning for the Branchlands community in the 1990s.
“The County’s investment in this site aligns with ongoing efforts to redevelop nearby shopping centers and residential complexes,” reads a portion of Albemarle’s website. “New enhancements here will provide valuable access to open space and recreation opportunities close to home.”
The property is within what AC44 designates as the Hillsdale Drive community center. Site-selection analysis estimates that 956 people live within a half-mile of the site, which is on at least two Charlottesville Area Transit routes.
This site also meets one of the criteria in AC44 that describes where such centers should be located.
“These spaces should be linked to other public open spaces and ideally be located along the public right-of-way frontage for easy access and visibility,” reads a section of the Development Area Land Use chapter.
To get feedback, Albemarle held a community meeting on November 17, and 33 people attended, according to Abbey Stumpf, the county’s director of communications and public engagement. They were shown initial thoughts for the property that would include a mix of active, passive, engagement, and experiential areas.
A second community meeting will be held in the near future.
The other three sites that were evaluated for further development were located on Berkmar Drive Extended, Free Bridge Lane, and Charlotte Y. Humphris Park. While the latter is located on a bus line and is within the growth area, there are few amenities there except for paved trails and a little free library.
Last year, Albemarle converted Free Bridge Lane to a car-free zone for a one-year pilot. Supervisors agreed earlier this year to make that move permanent.
