After a two-and-a-half-hour public hearing on October 27, the Albemarle Planning Commission recommended that the Board of Supervisors deny a rezoning request of nearly eight acres to allow up to 237 housing units on Carrsbrook Drive.
“I think all of us are supportive of housing, but I really hear a strong discomfort with the amount of density that you proposed,” said Commission Vice Chair Karen Firehock.
The plans for Gander North submitted by the United Land Corporation would see apartment buildings on either side of the two-lane road, which leads back to a suburban community with no outlet onto another major road.
Staff had recommended approval.
“Building heights are limited to 48 feet, which is less than what is typically permitted in the Planned Residential Zoning district, and 20-foot landscape buffers are proposed adjacent to existing residential lots,” said county planner Jared Tate.
Civil Engineer Scott Collins represented the applicant before the Planning Commission and has overseen two community meetings. He said the project meets the spirit of the Comprehensive Plan and would provide up to 48 affordable units.
“The property is currently zoned commercial,” Collins said. “However, due to deed restrictions, the property is limited to only residential uses.”
The application itself depicted several potential layouts for the property, some of which were at lower residential densities. He said that is because the market is shifting.
“I have a lot of clients that are apartment builders and for the first time in probably 15 years, apartment developers and owners are expecting a $100 to $200 decrease in rents next year,” Collins said.
Many of the speakers were from the Carrsbrook neighborhood and the opposition organized into a coalition called Eight Neighborhoods that presented a united front.
“As a 40-plus-year real estate broker, I have seen how neighborhoods like ours can continue to thrive by utilization of proper planning and zoning,” said Ray Caddell, a 24-year resident of Carrsbrook. “Families that invest in the single biggest financial and sociological move of most people’s lives should be able to expect no major zoning or use changes on lots that are part of their neighborhood.”
Carrsbrook resident Erin Hannegan argued the 2025 Comprehensive Plan update discourages intense residential density at this site.
“[The comprehensive plan] is clear,” Hannegan said. “Higher density, such as proposed here, belongs in activity centers. This site is not in one. AC44 is intended to drive our decisions as a community towards walkable, connected, safe, environmentally conscious development that reflects the larger and longer viewpoints about how our community will grow.”
Other arguments against the development included the generation of additional public school students, deterioration of water quality, as well as a sense that too many homes are being built.
All but one of the nearly 30 public comments were against the development. Richard Fox of the Jack Jouett District encouraged the Planning Commission to recommend approval because the county needs housing.
“When I think of increased density development, I think this is the first step to redefining that whole corridor,” Fox said.
All of the six members of the Planning Commission who were present said they could not support the upper end of the density range.
“I think the proposed density in this location is more than what makes me comfortable, not necessarily because of traffic,” said Commissioner Mary Katherine King, citing visual impact on the Carrsbrook neighborhood as one of those reasons.
In an email on Monday, Collins said the developer is listening to the feedback before considering its next move.
“We are meeting with County staff to discuss some of these potential modifications and the next steps for the project,” Collins said.
