HomeMy WebLinkAboutSP202000013 Correspondence - Neighbors 2020-08-10Wednesday, July 8", 2020
10:12 AM
Voicemail message from NEW YORK CALL (99176577345)
Message left for Rebecca Ragsdale, Principal Planner, Zoning, Community Development Department
Hi Rebecca, good morning, my name is Carrie Brown. I live in Afton, Virginia, at 1141 Kings Way Road.
And I'm calling to ask your advice and council on a subject where a neighbor just sent me a notice where
thy're applying for a special use permit to turn their horse farm into a wedding venue. I was wondering
if you could give me a call back at your convenience. I can be reached at 917-657-7345. Again, my name
is Carrie Brown and I am calling to inquire about a neighbor's plan to turn their horse farm into a
wedding venue. My neighbor again is 917-657-7345. Thanks a lot. Bye-bye.
Thursday, July 91', 2020
4:00 PM
Follow-up Conversation between Carrie Brown and Lea Brumfield, Senior Planner, Zoning, Community
Development Department in response to the voicemail left for Rebecca:
Summary— Carrie is very opposed to the development of Wavertree into a wedding venue, and has
spoken with several neighbors who are also expressing their concerns. She says she has reached out to
the owner and offered to buy the farm instead of turning it into a venue, which they have declined.
July 27, 2020
Scott Kelley
Nancy Sanford
Wavertree Farm
Afton, Virginia
Dear Nancy and Scott,
We want to welcome to you to the neighborhood, we look forward to getting to know you. Hope you
and your family are safe and healthy.
We received your July 1, 2020 letter and as neighbors have met to discuss your intent for change in use
of the farm property to an event venue. It is our opinion that the intended use of the property provides
us no benefit. Hosting any non-agricultural events at the equestrian center will detrimentally impact our
quality of life and value of our property based on the following:
• Increased noise levels not in keeping with a rural/agricultural area
• Increased water usage taken from a common water source (wells)
• Increased litter, debris, trash, and detritus not in keeping with an agricultural use
• Increased traffic by the public, also not in keeping with agricultural use
• Safety risk to our families, pets, and property as a result of public exposure
• Site is not intended to be used as a public facility beyond an equestrian center and will impact
neighboring roads, right of ways and property.
Additionally, most of the residents and their homes are within yards of the intended event space. There
is no way to screen or protect our properties.
Therefore, we are not in favor of your intended use of the farm property and hope that you would find
enjoyment living in a rural area as just that — rural.
We would be open to meeting as a group if you are interested.
Very truly yours,
Your neighbors on Kingsway and Emmaeus Road
Martha Bains and Rory Carpenter Jeff and Elizabeth Bowman
Liza Scallet
Bob and Kim Robson
Clark and Peggy Adams
Jessica and Jed Sundstrom
Glenn Jones and Robert Schwarz
Elizabeth Brookshire
Kari Browne and Sushil Wagle
Tracy Browne and Jeff Grounds
Rob and Libby Hewitt
Margaret Cocke
George and Laurie Leonard Johannes and Colleen Egl
cc: T. McGilvrey —Virginia Outdoor Foundation
L. Brumfield —Community Development Dept., County of Albemarle
J. Dezio, Esq.
Lea Brumfield
From: Danielle Albert <daniellealbert@bellsouth.net>
Sent: Tuesday, July 28, 2020 4:15 PM
To: Lea Brumfield
Subject: Tax Map 7, Parcel 39, Rezoning/Special Use Permit
CAUTION: This message originated outside the County of Albemarle email system. DO NOT CLICK on links or open
attachments unless you are sure the content is safe.
Hi Lea - I'm sending you the email my husband and I sent to Nancy Sanford and Scott Kelley so it can be put in the
rezoning file for future reference, if you could use this one instead of my last email that would be best - it encompasses
thoughts from both my husband and myself. Thanks again - Danielle Albert
Begin forwarded message:
From: Danielle Albert <daniellealbert(Lbbellsouth.net>
Subject: Welcome and Rezoning/Special Use permit
Date: July 28, 2020 at 3:26:56 PM EDT
To: Nancy Sanford <sanfordnm(ZDyahoo.com>
Cc: Douglas Albert <douaalbert(Mbellsouth.net>
Hi Nancy and Scott -
First of all, welcome to the neighborhood! We received your letter and look forward to meeting you at
some point in the not too distant future. We are in the yellow farmhouse down the road from you, along
with the white L barn, it was originally known as Port -a -Ferry farm which was the guest house to
Oakleigh (the red brick home further down Plank Road towards Rt 250). The farm was split up quite a
few years ago and we now have put two of the pieces back together (Old Port -a -ferry and Upper Port -a -
ferry). After living in Charlottesville when our kids were younger, we spent years looking for just the
right place for us to use as a family gathering place and also as a possible place to retire. We really were
looking for a place to get away from the "hustle and bustle" and it has definitely come in handy during
the pandemic.
While we certainly have an appreciation for the cost of maintaining these farm properties, we do have
concerns about having a wedding/event venue so close to us.
First and foremost, is the road situation. It takes a bit of practice to get used to these back roads. There
are areas where the asphalt drops off on the sides and if you are trying to "share" the road with another
car coming the other way (or, quite often, a cyclist) it can be very hard. We already have difficulty
turning out of our driveway, as cars tend to speed up as they hit the stretch in front of our property. The
increase in traffic not only by the guests but also by larger delivery vehicles for caterers, florists, bands,
and other delivery vehicles associated with running a large event venue is very concerning to us.
As you know, there are no lights on Plank Road so it's even harder to drive these roads in the evenings
and at night. There was just a single car accident with two fatalities on Plank Road as recently as April.
There are also horses on our property which involves entering and exiting with horse trailers in tow - so
again the road situation is very, very concerning. Increasing the volume of traffic on the road will only
magnify our current concerns of safety on these country roads.
Further down the road is the little town of Batesville, which is a jewel of a town but the speed limit there
is only 25 mph. The houses are very close to the road and people will take walks there - guests for a
wedding/event would probably notice how cute the town is but may miss the speed limit signs there
coming to the venue - but leaving after consuming alcohol is truly a concern. We were driving there
recently and spotted a baby black bear near the creek very close to the road - you never know what you
may encounter and when!
Secondly, noise is a concern as we are only about a mile from you. It would definitely take away some of
the privacy of the area and it may also affect the horses. I believe there are restrictions for fireworks for
these types of events? But bands, DJs and large crowd noise would definitely be an issue.
Finally, we're hoping that you both are also planning to stay in the area for many, many years. But once
you've gotten the rezoning on the property there is no guarantee, for those of us that intend to be here
long term, that you or any subsequent owners would keep the number of events to any acceptable (i.e.
extremely low) number. While you have said that you plan to keep the number to fewer than the
maximum - I believe the maximum is 24? Which to us is a very large number of events. It sounds like it
could very well become a weekly event during the nicer months when we would really like to enjoy our
time outdoors with friends and family.
As stated above, we spent many years trying to find the perfect location for our family - so at the very
least hearing that a wedding/event venue may just a mile down the road from us is very disheartening.
We hope you will spend some time getting to know this very special (and private) area before
proceeding with your plans.
Best regards,
Douglas and Danielle Albert