HomeMy WebLinkAboutSP201800011 Other 2019-07-01July 16, 2018
July 1, 2019, Revised
Special Use Permit Narrative
Regents School of Charlottesville
Relocation to Reservoir Road
PROJECT PROPOSAL
Introduction
The Regents School of Charlottesville (the "Applicant") is the contract purchaser for Tax Map Parcels 07600-
00-00-01700 and 07500-00-00-06600 (the "Property"), which are currently owned by the University of Virginia
Foundation.
Tax Map Parcel Number
Acreage
oning
Comprehensive Plan
07600-00-00-01700
16.06
R-1 Residential
Neighborhood Density
Residential
07500-00-00-06600
3.3740
R-1 Residential
Neighborhood Density
Residential
Total Acres: 19.434
The Applicant requests the approval of a special use permit for a private school with a maximum enrollment of
four hundred sixty-eight (468) students and an initial enrollment of up to two -hundred eighty (280) students
until improvements are made to the Route 29/Fontaine interchange, to be located on the Property, highlighted
in Figure 1 below.
Figure 1
Description of the Property
Currently, the Property is vacant and heavily wooded with access onto Reservoir Road. It is immediately
adjacent to the Trinity Presbyterian Church and the University Montessori School is across Reservoir Road.
Reservoir Road is off of Fontaine Avenue Extended, which crosses the 250-bypass and connects to the
Fontaine Research Park. See Figure 2 on the next page for an aerial image of the Property and surrounding
area.
Figure 2
Description of Proposal - Public Need or Benefit
The School is a non-profit classical secondary school established in 2010, with just seven (7) students located
at the Jefferson Park Baptist Church (JPBC). It quickly grew to sixty (60) students in the subsequent two
years, and therefore moved to an additional location along Ivy Road. The School has been very successful,
continually growing each year, with a current enrollment of one hundred and fifty-eight (158), operating out of
both the Ivy Road and JPBC locations. The Applicant now desires to consolidate the two school locations,
utilizing the large size of the Property.
The School proposes two academic buildings, for upper and lower grade levels, with at least 13 classrooms in
total and a combined enrollment of up to four hundred sixty-eight (468). In addition, the School requests three
additional buildings to be used as a gymnasium, theater and administrative office building. The School also
proposes several athletic fields and playground areas.
The maximum enrollment figure was determined in anticipation of the School's continued success and
expansion from its current enrollment of 158 in the coming years and to avoid the need to amend the
requested special use permit as such expansion occurs. The proposed academic buildings will be able to
accommodate at least 13 classrooms in total. If a maximum of 36 students are in each classroom, the
maximum total enrollment figure would equal 468 (13 classrooms multiplied by 36 students). While the School
expects classroom sizes to be much smaller than 36 for some time, the maximum enrollment figure requested
by this application was determined by calculating the maximum capacity of the proposed academic buildings.
As more students continue to enroll in the School, it is able to increasingly alleviate stress on the surrounding
public -school systems. Therefore, the public significantly benefits from the proposed relocation and expansion
of the School.
The School has a proven track record of successfully managing its traffic flow, investing in a large bus, training
a commercially licensed driver and cultivating a culture of compliance with instituted traffic patterns. When the
School requested an amendment to its special use permit for its Ivy Road location in 2017, a Board member
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stated, "The School has been responsible and responsive ... [and] has demonstrated its commitment to meeting
County expectations."
CONSISTENCY WITH THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
The Property is designated as Neighborhood Density Residential in the Comprehensive Plan. Secondary uses
allowed within Neighborhood Density Residential areas include "places of worship, public and private schools,
early childhood education centers (day care centers and preschools), public uses and public institutional
uses)." The School would be considered a permitted secondary use and the Property is surrounded by similar
secondary uses, including the University of Montessori School and Trinity Presbyterian Church.
IMPACTS ON PUBLIC FACILITIES AND PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE
The applicant proposes an initial enrollment 280 students with a 7:45 a.m. school start time. The
Route29/Fontaine interchange has pre-existing peak hour delays and is projected to continue to have delays in
the future if no infrastructural improvements are made. A 7:45 a.m. start time ensures the school traffic has
passed through the interchange prior to start of the AM peak hour traffic and therefore removes the traffic
impact generated from the school from the peak hour traffic. At present, an estimated 32 trips through the
Route29/Fontaine SB intersection in the AM peak hour are generated from Regents School parents driving
from areas north of town along Route 29 to the School's Jefferson Park Avenue location and from parents
dropping off children at both the Jefferson Park Avenue and Ivy Road locations who travel through the
intersection between dropping off children at their respective schools. If the property were to be developed by -
right, with approximately 23 dwellings, additional trips from these homes would likely be added to the peak
hour in addition to the trips generated by Regents School traffic if the school is to remain in its existing two
locations. By allowing the school to operate on the Reservoir Road property with a 7:45 a.m. start time, not
only would the existing Regents School trips be removed from the peak hour, but also the potential trips
generated from the development of single family homes on the property would not be added to the peak hour
traffic.
It is projected that in the year 2028, the Route 29/Fontaine interchange will function at a Level of Service B
during the 7:15-7:45 a.m. drop off time for 280 Regents School students. In the year 2028 no -build peak hour,
the overall intersection will function at a LOS D with a 30.1 second delay. The traffic impact of the school with a
7:45 a.m. start time does not cause delays as significant as the background traffic projected in the year 2028.
If infrastructural improvements are made to Route 29/Fontaine interchange, the applicant proposes the
submission of a traffic study to allow for school enrollment numbers in excess of 280 students or to alter the
start time to be within the peak hour.
Regents School has significant autonomy over its traffic impact by setting a designated start time, limiting the
number of parking spaces allocated to student drivers, and encouraging bus ridership. Additionally, a school
use only has an impact on traffic for a portion of the year, approximately two-thirds, as school is not in session
year-round. If the property were to be developed by -right or to its Comprehensive Plan residential development
potential, development on the property would generate traffic impacts year-round.
Regents School proposes improvements along Reservoir Road that would significantly improve the adequacy
and safety of Reservoir Road for all drivers. Improvements to both horizontal and vertical curves will increase
sight distance along the road and areas of the property designated for right-of-way dedication will allow for
various improvements along the front of the school site.
IMPACTS ON ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES
The Comprehensive Plan identifies two land use designations on this site: neighborhood density residential
and greenspace. The proposed development and land disturbing activity on this site is entirely limited to the
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area within the area designated as neighborhood density residential and therefore is consistent with the
County's and the community's development expectations for the site. An exhibit showing the limits of
disturbance of the proposed development overlain on the Comprehensive Plan Land Use Map is included with
this submittal to show the land disturbance is within the developable land use designation and the areas to
remain undisturbed are within the greenspace area. Additionally, the limits of disturbance includes the area
which will contain all proposed disturbance on the site, including footers for retaining walls.
If the property were developed to its by -right density of approximately 23 dwellings the grading on the site may
be similar, if not more extensive. Furthermore, if the property were developed to a residential density of three
to six dwelling units per acre on average as recommended by the Comprehensive Plan more extensive grading
is likely occur on the site, especially if the development were a townhome development requiring extensive pad
preparation. We contend this proposal achieves an appropriate balance between the development area goals
of the Comprehensive Plan and preservation of the natural elements on site. Of the total site acreage,
approximately 31 % of the total site area will remain undisturbed.
PROFFERS PROPOSED TO ADDRESS IMPACTS
The Applicant requests a special use permit and therefore proffers are not applicable.
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