These are complicated times for anyone who’s tracking the details of how new housing gets constructed in Charlottesville.
While planners and builders are still learning how the new development code works, staff in the Department of Neighborhood Development Services are hoping to adopt the first set of amendments by the end of the year. A meeting of the Planning Commission on May 27 served as the kick-off for the public process for those changes.
Meanwhile, the city is still reviewing many projects under rules that were displaced as of February 19, 2024, the day the new development code went into effect.
“What we have available right now is [over] 70 active projects under the old code,” said Missy Creasy, the deputy director of NDS, in an April 24 email.
When City Council approved the new zoning code in late 2023, any developments that were submitted before August 31 of that year would be subject to the old rules. Notable projects considered to be “vested” include VERVE Charlottesville and 2119 Ivy Rd., two large apartment buildings approved by council.
Several other projects have not yet been approved and do not have an unlimited amount of time. In order to be eligible under the older rules, a project cannot be dormant and the property owner must show that efforts are being made to get all the necessary approvals.
One of the projects is at 601 Harris Rd. on a 4.83-acre parcel that would be accessed via the entrance to the Willoughby neighborhood. The development straddles Albemarle and Charlottesville and there is no other way to get in or out by road unless a future development is approved in Albemarle County.
An entity associated with Woodard Properties known as Moores Creek LLC has sought to develop the property as Willoughby Place, an apartment complex with 84 two-bedroom apartments in two buildings. Under the old zoning, this would be a by-right development, which means City Council would have no role in its approval.
On April 18, NDS staff approved a preliminary site plan for the project, so it can stay alive without having to come in with a new submission under the new rules. The clock is still ticking.
“A final site plan must be submitted to the city for review by April 21, 2026, or the preliminary site plan approval will expire,” wrote city planner Ben Koby in an email to Shimp Engineering on behalf of Moores Creek LLC.
The old zoning code had little to no affordability requirements, but the development code requires one in 10 units to be reserved for households or individuals making less than 60 percent of the area median income.
Other major projects still being reviewed under the old code are redevelopment of the Hibachi Grill site at 1187 Seminole Trail into a 250-unit apartment complex, as well as the conversion of a portion of the Seminole Square Shopping Center into around 350 apartments.
However, new plans appear to have been submitted for another project in the Belmont neighborhood that had been moving forward under the old rules. Riverbend Development filed a major development plan that was accepted by the city on May 22, but the city did not respond to a request for additional information.
A final site plan for Willoughby Place, a planned apartment complex with 84 two-bedroom apartments, must be submitted by April 21, 2026, or the development company will have to resubmit plans under the new development code. Supplied photo.
