Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutSP201900006 Review Comments Special Use Permit 2019-07-023 y� LrRGINh' COUNTY OF ALBEMARLE Department of Community Development 401 McIntire Road, North Wing Charlottesville, Virginia 22902-4596 Phone (434) 296-5832 Fax (434) 972-4176 July 2, 2019 Kelsey Schlein Shimp Engineering 912 E High Street Charlottesville, VA 22902 RE: SP201900006 Boyd Tavern Market Dear Ms. Kelsey Schlein: Staff has reviewed your initial submittal for a Special Use Permit to develop a gas station, convenience store, and eating establishment in the Rural Area on Black Cat Road near the 1-64 Interchange. We have some questions and comments which we believe should be resolved or included as conditions of approval before your proposal goes to public hearing. We would be glad to meet with you to discuss these issues. Our comments are provided below. Comments are organized as follows: 1. Major aspects of the Special Use Permit and application that must be addressed through a resubmittal. 2. How the proposal relates to the Comprehensive Plan, including Rural Area Chapter. 3. Additional comments from reviewers. Special Use Permit 1. Revise the proposal so that it is more consistent with the scale called for in the Rural Area. See comments below and comments on the Comprehensive Plan in the following section. 2. The following are design changes that would make the character and scale of the proposal more consistent with existing country stores and would mitigate some of the potential impacts, such as lighting: a. The number of fuel pumps does not appear to be consistent with existing Rural Area gas stations, especially those located on secondary roads. The number of pumps should be revised to be between one and three (with two nozzles each), to be consistent with existing uses in the Rural Area. The application currently shows six pumps (these are being counted individually). b. In order to screen visual and lighting impacts, switch the locations of the canopy/pumps and the building; the building should front Black Cat Road and the pumps and canopy should be behind the building or to the side of the building. c. Fuel pump canopy height must be limited to 14'6" to the bottom of the fascia to mitigate lighting and visual impacts. d. The architectural design of the convenience store should have the character of a country store. This should include a porch facing Black Cat Road. Include the proposed architectural style. e. Locate all mechanical equipment out of view from Black Cat Road, including vent stacks, air pumps, and building -related equipment. f. The amount of parking does not appear consistent with the character of the Rural Area and scale. The drive aisles and parking should not be able to accommodate large trucks, as stated in the narrative. Revise parking and drive aisles to be consistent with the scale of Rural gas stations and Country Stores. 3. Landscaping comments: a. Provide a naturalistic planting buffer along the Black Cat Road side of the site. Consider integrating the planting with a three -board wood fence. The plantings should provide screening to limit the impacts from illumination of this site beyond the development. Show which trees are remaining. b. Revise the shape and location of the stormwater facility to allow a minimum 15'- deep planting area for trees and shrubs along the northern parking/paved area and along the north side of the parcel. Revise the design of the stormwater facility so that it looks like a designed landscape feature that is fully integrated into the surroundings — not a stark, engineered feature. 4. Lighting comments: a. All light fixtures (site and building) shall be full cutoff fixtures. b. Provide a conceptual lighting plan for review. Lighting should be screened from adjacent parcels, especially those with existing residences, as much as possible. Screening should include landscaping, especially along Black Cat Road. Screening can also be accomplished by moving the gas canopy behind the proposed store. c. Illumination should be limited to 20 foot candles at the ground. d. To mitigate lighting impacts to the Rural Area, the canopy fascia must not be illuminated. 5. Traffic and transportation comments: a. Include trip generation estimates with this proposal. 6. Water usage comments: a. Show comparative water usage data. Include how many gallons per day this development is expected to use, compared with other potential uses on the site (including by -right uses), such as single-family homes. 7. Narrative comments: The narrative should be updated to provide justification for the "factors to be considered" for Special Use Permits per 18-33.40. Please provide a narrative for the following: a. 1. No substantial detriment. Whether the proposed special use will be a substantial detriment to adjacent parcels. b. 2. Character of the nearby area is unchanged. Whether the character of the adjacent parcels and the nearby area will be changed by the proposed special use. c. 3. Harmony. Whether the proposed special use will be in harmony with the purpose and intent of this chapter, with the uses permitted by right in the district, with the regulations provided in Section S as applicable, and with the public health, safety, and general welfare. d. 4. Consistency with the Comprehensive Plan. Whether the proposed special use will be consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. Comprehensive Plan: Initial comments on how your proposal generally relates to the Comprehensive Plan are provided below. Comments on conformity with the Comprehensive Plan are provided to the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors as part of the staff report. Chapter 3: Growth Management: Objective 1: Continue to consistently use the Growth Management Policy as the basis on which to guide decisions on land use, capital expenditures, and service provision. Strategy 1a: Continue to encourage approval of new development proposals in the Development Areas as the designated location for new residential, commercial, industrial, and mixed -use development. Only approve new development proposals in the Rural Area that are supported by Rural Area goals, objectives, and strategies. The potential appropriateness of this proposal is largely based on its consistency with the Rural Area chapter of the Comprehensive Plan. Development in the Rural Areas should be consistent with the goals, objectives, and strategies called for in the Comprehensive Plan. Scale is especially important. Specific Rural Area sections are cited below. Chapter 5: Historic, Cultural and Scenic Resources: Objective 8: Maintain the visual integrity of Albemarle's Entrance Corridors: Strategy 8113: Continue to use the Entrance Corridor design guidelines to help maintain the integrity of Entrance Corridors in Albemarle County. This site is visible from 1-64, which is an Entrance Corridor. Therefore, sufficient landscaping screening is needed along the north of the property, to mitigate visibility from the Entrance Corridor. Also see ARB comments. Objective 11: Protect the dark sky of Albemarle County as one of the many natural, scenic, scientific, and cultural resources for the benefit of residents, visitors, and the larger scientific community. Light pollution and spillover should be mitigated as best as possible, to ensure continued protection of dark skies and to mitigate potential impacts to adjacent and nearby properties. All lights should be full -cutoff and there should not be any spillover across property lines. Lights should be screened by landscaping and even by buildings where feasible. A lighting plan is needed for review. Chapter 7: Rural Area: General Intent of this Chapter: The Rural Area provides places for agriculture, forestry, protection and preservation of natural resources, and tourism... Agriculture, forestry and conservation play an important and longstanding role in the environment, heritage and economy of the County and these are the preferred land uses in the Rural Area. The preferred land uses in the Rural Area are agricultural and forestal uses. Additional uses should be at an appropriate scale and consistent with the goals and objectives in the Rural Area chapter of the Comprehensive Plan. These additional uses should be supportive uses and serve nearby residents; they are not intended to be destination centers. Therefore, the scale of this proposal should be more consistent with existing appropriate similar developments in the Rural Area, such as Country Stores (including those with gas sales). See examples below. Objective 5: Recognize and support crossroads communities, which serve as rural -scale community meeting places and provide opportunities for residents to take part in community life: A study entitled "Survey of Historic Crossroads Communities," completed in 2003, identified seven crossroads areas that have historically provided services for nearby residents. These crossroads communities are: Advance Mills, Batesville, Covesville, Free Union, Proffit, Greenwood, and White Hall. Other crossroads communities may also be appropriate to consider for a future designation. Strategy 5b: Consider amending the Zoning Ordinance to allow for small-scale, supportive uses in designated crossroads communities. Examples of such uses are country stores, offices, day care facilities, doctor/dentist offices, and public institutional uses, such as post offices. The application narrative submitted references crossroads communities. Officially, there are only seven crossroads communities identified in the Comprehensive Plan by the County, which are listed above. Any new crossroads community would need to be approved by the Board of Supervisors and included with a Comprehensive Plan Amendment. Although this is not a crossroads community, the scale of the proposal should be consistent with the scale called for in this section of the Comprehensive Plan and with existing comparable uses and developments in the County. Country stores are considered "small-scale, supportive uses in designated crossroads communities". Supportive uses in the Rural Area are intended to provide services for residents in the immediate area. Section 18-5.1.45(c) of the Zoning Ordinance describes the accessory uses and scale associated with Country Stores, Class B (that is, non -historic Country Stores). It uses the following scale for gasoline sales associated with Country Stores: "the sale of gasoline from dispensers shall be limited to one multiple product dispenser or one dispenser containing no more than six nozzles, not including nozzles for diesel fuel." Existing gas stations in the Rural Area of the County are limited in scale. One individual pump has two nozzles (one on each side of the pump). The following are examples: • Boyd Tavern Market on Route 250: 2 pumps/4 nozzles • Green Mountain Country Store on SR 20 (Scottsville Road): 2 pumps/4 nozzles • Vintage Market on SR 20 (Scottsville Road): 2 pumps/4 nozzles • Trading Post on Route 295: 2 pumps/4 nozzles • Crossroads Store on Route 29S: 3 pumps/6 nozzles • Exxon on SR 22 (Louisa Road): 1 pump/2 nozzles • Earlysville General Store on Earlysville Road: 2 pumps/4 nozzles • Exxon on Route 250 and SR 22 (Louisa Road) at Shadwell: 4 pumps/8 nozzles Objective 6: Provide distinct boundaries between the Rural Area and the Development Areas: Residents and visitors sense they are in the Rural Area and not the Development Areas when they are surrounded by a large number of agricultural uses, forests, and natural resources. Having a clear distinction between the Development Areas and the Rural Area is important in order to maintain a necessary environment for agriculture, as well as for tourism. Strategy 6b: Develop rural design standards to be used in conjunction with site plans in the Rural Area, especially for parking lots, signage, entrance requirements, and landscaping. Development in the Rural Area should be distinct from development in the Development Areas. Site plan features such as parking lots, signage, entrance requirements and landscaping should be appropriate for the Rural Area. New development should be consistent with existing appropriate Rural Area development, especially for the some or similar uses. The scale of this proposal should be consistent with existing gas stations and Country Stores in the Rural Area. Additional revisions and information are needed. See Planning and ARB comments. Rural Interstate Interchanges: Interstate interchanges are included in this Section because they have the capacity to both reflect and detract from the rural nature of the County. For travelers on Interstate 64, views from the interstate may provide the only visitor experience and memory of the County. For those traveling on this highway, rural uses along the interstate reflect the rural character of much of Albemarle County. Three and one-half rural interstate interchanges are located in the Rural Area; Crozet, Ivy, Black Cat Road, and the southern part of the Shadwell interchange... Interstate interchanges in the Rural Area should not be used as tourist destinations or tourist "stops" along Interstate 64. This section, along with guidance on Entrance Corridors, highlights the importance of landscaping and screening to preserve viewsheds from 1-64. Additionally, the scale of development along the Interstate should be go serve existing and nearby residents, not to attract tourists or generate additional traffic. Revisions to scale of this proposal are needed for it to be more consistent with serving nearby residents. Comments on Use While a portion of this parcel is zoned C-1 Commercial, it is also located in the Rural Area. The Rural Area Chapter of the Comprehensive Plan states that uses allowed in the RA Zoning District are the uses that are appropriate in the Rural Area. The RA Zoning District (18-10.2.2(22)) includes Country Stores, Class B as a use permitted by Special Use Permit (SP). The supplementary regulations chapter of the Zoning Ordinance includes additional regulations for Country Stores, Class B (18-5.1.45). The sale of gasoline is an additional use that can accompany Country Stores. The regulations in 18-5.1.45 include the following for the sale of gasoline with Country Stores, Class B: "the sale of gasoline from dispensers shall be limited to one multiple product dispenser or one dispenser containing no more than six nozzles, not including nozzles for diesel fuel."The sale of food is also an accessory use for Country Stores. Although the use applied for with this application is under the C-1 Commercial District, it should also be consistent with the character and scale called for in the Rural Area, as described in the Comprehensive Plan. Per the C-1 Zoning District 18-22.2.16(a)(b)(c), automobile service stations (gas stations), convenience stores, and eating establishments are allowed by SP when not served by public water or an approved central water supply. The Rural Area chapter of the Comprehensive Plan does not reference auto service/gas stations. Planning Comments: The following comments related to planning matters have been provided by Tori Kanellopoulos: 1. Additional water usage comments: a. To note: This parcel is not in a water supply watershed. It is in the Middle Rivanna River Watershed, adjacent to the Mechunk Creek Watershed. b. To note: The Tier 3 Groundwater Study found that this "proposed use of groundwater is unlikely to affect existing nearby domestic wells", and that "these numbers indicate that the proposed net use of groundwater is substantially less than naturally occurring recharge on the parcel." Health Department comments and verification of this study are pending as of July 2, 2019. 2. Establish accurate cemetery boundaries prior to grading. The proposal appears very close to cemetery and the cemetery must not be disturbed by any grading or development activity. 3. This project is within the Monticello Viewshed. It is strongly encouraged that you consult with the Thomas Jefferson Foundation during special use permit process about any potential visual impact of the project. Zoning The following comments related to zoning matters have been provided by Francis MacCall: 1. Site appears to comply with setbacks and parking for both the convenience store use and the storage of fuel. Engineering The following comments related to engineering and water resources have been provided by Frank Pohl: 1. Stormwater facilities as shown on submitted plan may end up being different as a result of VSMP review. Entrance Corridor/Architectural Review Board The following comments related to the Entrance Corridor Guidelines have been provided by Margaret Maliszewski: 1. Illumination must be limited to 20 fc at the ground. 2. The fuel pump canopy is subject to the requirements of the Entrance Corridor Design Guidelines. 3. Visual impacts of the development on the EC must be reduced. Provide a landscape screening buffer including a staggered row of mixed evergreen trees along the north, northeast and northwest perimeters of the travelway, high on the slope. Fire/Rescue The following comments related to fire/rescue have been provided by Shawn Maddox: 1. Fire Rescue has no objections to the special use permit application. VDOT The following comments from VDOT have been provided by Adam Moore: 1. See attached letter dated July 10, 2019. Building Inspections The following comments from Inspections have been provided by Michael Dellinger: 1. No Objection. ASCA The following comments from ACSA have been provided by Richard Nelson: 1. No comments. This site is outside of the ACSA jurisdictional area. RWSA The following comments from RWSA have been provided by Dyon Vega: 1. Capacity issues for sewer that may affect this proposal None Known 2. Requires Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority Capacity Certification Yes X- No 3. Water flow or pressure issues that may affect this proposal None Known 4. "Red Flags" regarding service provision (Use attachments if necessary) None Known Health Department The following comments from the Health Department have been provided by Josh Kirtley: 1. No comments provided. SP Conditions Staff has not fully drafted conditions to date for this special use permit, due to the potential changes that need to occur and additional information requested. Once conditions are drafted, staff will send it out to you. Summary of potential proposed conditions: 1. Hours of operation limits. The narrative should propose hours of operation. 2. Conditions on lighting to mitigate impacts, pending a lighting plan. Spillover and foot candles will be limited. Lighting must be full -cutoff and screened to the extent possible. 3. The cemetery must be surveyed prior to any grading activities. 4. Conditions to mitigate noise, visual, and lighting impacts pending additional information on landscaping. A landscaping buffer along Black Cat Road should be provided. ARB will require screening along 1-64. 5. The number of pumps will be limited to be consistent with existing similar uses and developments in the Rural Area. Action after Receipt of Comments After you have read this letter, please take one of the actions identified on "Action After Receipt of Comment Letter" which is attached. Resubmittal If you choose to resubmit, please use the attached form. There is no fee for the first resubmittal. The resubmittal date schedule is provided for your convenience online at https://www.aIbemarle.org/department.asp?department=cdd&relpage=15259 Notification and Advertisement Fees Additional notification fees will not be required unless a deferral takes place and adjoining owners need to be notified of a new date. Feel free to contact me if you wish to meet or need additional information. My email address is vkanellopoulos@albemarle.org Sincerely, Tori Kanellopoulos Planner, Community Development enc: Action After Receipt of Comments Resubmittal Schedule Resubmittal Form