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ALBEMARLE COUNTY PLANNING
STAFF REPORT SUMMARY
Project Name: SDP 2006 -0096 Christian Aid
Staff: Francis MacCall & Max Greene
Mission Preliminary Site Plan Critical Slopes
Waiver
Planning Commission Public Hearing:
Board of Supervisors Hearing:
October 24, 2006
N/A
Owners: Christian Aid Mission
Applicant: Christian Aid Mission
Acreage: approximately 3.82 acres of a 12.87
Rezone from: Not applicable
acre site
Special Use Permit for: Not applicable
TMP: 59 -23G1
By -right use: CO, Commercial Office and EC,
Location: On Ivy Road (US Route 250W) at
Entrance Corridor uses
the intersection of Ivy Road and Broomley
Road (Route 677)
Magisterial District: Samuel Miller
Proffers /Conditions: No
Requested # of Dwelling Units /Lots: N/A
DA - RA - Yes
Proposal: Request for a preliminary site
Comp. Plan Designation: Rural Area
plan to redevelop the current Christian
Aid Mission site on Ivy Road by removing
the existing Church Social Hall and
Church Annex buildings and constructing
two new buildings for the church, offices
and guest house /dormitory totaling
83,000 square feet along with new
parking and travelways. The site is zoned
CO (Commercial Office)
Character of Property: Existing Christian Aid
Use of Surrounding Properties: Adjacent to
Mission buildings
Rural Area properties and a car dealership
Factors Favorable: see report
Factors Unfavorable: see report
RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the Commission approve the critical slopes waiver.
STAFF CONTACT:
PLANNING COMMISSION:
AGENDA TITLE:
Waiver
PROPERTY OWNER:
APPLICANT:
Francis MacCall, Senior Planner & Max Greene, Engineering Technician
October 24, 2006
SDP 2006 -0096 Christian Aid Mission Preliminary Site Plan Critical Slopes
Christian Aid Mission
Christian Aid Mission
BACKGROUND: Request for a preliminary site plan to redevelop the current Christian Aid Mission site on Ivy Road
by removing the existing Church Social Hall and Church Annex buildings and constructing two new buildings for the
church, offices and guest house /dormitory totaling 83,000 square feet along with new parking and travelways. The site
is a 3.82 acre portion of 12.87 acre parcel zoned CO (Commercial Office). The property, described as Tax Map 59
Parcel 23G1 is in the Samuel Miller Magisterial District on Ivy Road (US Route 250W) at the intersection of Ivy Road
and Broomley Road (Route 677). The Comprehensive Plan designates this property as Rural Area. (Attachment A).
DISCUSSION:
1. Critical Slopes Waiver
A modification to allow critical slopes disturbance is necessary before this proposal can be approved by the Site
Review Committee. The request for a modification has been reviewed for both the Engineering and Planning aspects
of the critical slopes regulations. Critical slopes disturbances that are exempt from the requirements of Section 4.2
include the installation of stormwater and sanitary sewer utilities and construction of accessways, provided that no
reasonable alternative location or alignment exists.
Staff has reviewed this waiver request with consideration for the five (5) concerns that are set forth in Section
4.2 of the Zoning Ordinance entitled "Critical Slopes." Staff has reviewed this request as required by Sections 4.2 and
4.2.5 of the ordinance. This review is divided into two parts, a review for the engineering impacts and a review of
impact on aesthetic resources.
Review of the request by Current Development Engineering staff:
Description of critical slope area and proposed disturbance:
This site is located on the corner of U.S. Route 250 and State Route 677 ( Broomley Road). The critical slopes in the
area of proposed disturbance appear man made, but no records could be found to validate this theory. Aerial
photography was investigated back to 1966 (pre- construction) and the critical slope appears to be the same as today.
The applicant is proposing to raze the existing 2 -story block Church, School, Social Hall and annex building to
construct 2 new structures for proposed foreign mission office and a church. As designed, the accompanying parking
and travelways around the buildings require filling over the existing critical slopes. There is a reserve mass drainfield
shown on site plan SDP - 1993 -052 that is located in the proposed fill area for the stormwater basin below the existing
critical slope and the Health Department may require relocation.
Areas
Acres
Total site
12.87
Critical slopes
2.0
15.5% of the site
Critical slopes
disturbed
0.6
30% of the slopes
Exemptions to critical slopes waivers for driveways, roads and utilities without reasonable alternative locations:
This disturbance is not exempt.
Compliance with Zoning Ordinance 18 -4.2:
"movement of soil and rock"
Proper slope construction, control of drainage, and vegetative stabilization will prevent any movement of soil.
2
"excessive stormwater runoff'
Stormwater runoff will be reduced in this area, storm pipes will direct water into the proposed basin.
"siltation"
Inspection and bonding by the County will ensure siltation control during construction. Proper stabilization and
maintenance will ensure long term stability.
"loss of aesthetic resource"
See Review of the request by Current Development Planning and Zoning staff.
"septic effluent"
This site is not served by public sewer.
Based on the review above, the engineering concerns are with the basin construction over the mass drainfield. The
Health Department may prohibit the disturbance of the drainfield or require another designated area. This office
believes the site could be designed to disturb less critical slopes with the use of retaining walls, moving the travelways
and parking closer to the building and possibly redirecting the storm flows to below the administration and guesthouse
buildings.
Review of the request by Current Development Planning and Zoning staff:
The Planning analysis of this request addresses the concern for the possible loss of aesthetic resources. From an
aesthetic perspective, staff can support this waiver request. Staff recognizes that none of the critical slopes to be
disturbed are delineated on the Open Space Plan Composite Map, and that none of the other Open Space resources
recommended for protection are present in the areas where critical slopes disturbance is proposed. The property is
zoned for commercial uses and the current use has been on site for 3 decades. Aesthetically the site is not changing a
great deal. The proper amount of landscaping is being proposed to mitigate certain impacts along the entrance
corridor.
Summary of review of modification of Section 4.2:
Section 4.2.5 establishes the review process and criteria for granting a waiver of Section 4.2.3. The preceding
comments by staff address the provisions of Section 4.2.5a. Staff has included the provisions of Section 4.2.5b here,
along with staff comment on the various provisions.
The commission may modify or waive any requirement of section 4.2 in a particular case upon finding that:
1. Strict application of the requirements of section 4.2 would not forward the purposes of this chapter or otherwise
serve the public health, safety or welfare, or that alternatives proposed by the developer would satisfy the purposes
of section 4.2 to at least an equivalent degree; or
As noted above in the engineering review, the site could be developed with retaining walls thus avoiding the
majority of the slopes proposed to be disturbed. In this case staff believes that the development of the site
would be better served with the establishment of regraded slopes as shown rather than with retaining walls.
Even developing solely with retaining walls will more than likely disturb some critical slopes. Staff believes
that the applicant's proposal of regrading the site and not using retaining walls satisfies the purposes of section
4.2 to at least an equivalent degree.
2. Due to its unusual size, topography, shape of the property, location of the property or other unusual conditions,
excluding the proprietary interest of the developer, the requirements of section 4.2 would effectively prohibit or
unreasonably restrict the use of the property or would result in significant degradation of the site or adjacent proper
ties. Such modification or waiver shall not be detrimental to the public health, safety or welfare, to the orderly
development of the area, or to adjacent properties, or be contrary to sound engineering practices; or
Staff does not believe that the requirements of section 4.2 would effectively prohibit or unreasonably restrict
the use of the property or would result in significant degradation of the site or adjacent proper ties. The site is
currently being used for the purposes approved by previous site plans. It is understandable that any
organization grows and at some point may need to expand as proposed with this application
3
3. Granting such modification or waiver would serve a public purpose of greater import than would be served by
strict application of section 4.2
Staff has identified no evidence that the act of granting the proposed waiver would serve any greater public
purpose than would be served by a strict application of Section 4.2.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Staff has reviewed this request for compliance with the provisions of the Zoning
Ordinance and recommends the following: The Commission approve the waiver of Section 4.2.3 of the Zoning
Ordinance, to allow the disturbance of the critical slopes.
ATTACHMENTS:
A - Detail /Location Map
B - Site Plan