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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSP202100005 Narrative 2021-02-15Sr 1989-00110 Margaret and Richard Haupt 7181 Batesville Road Afton, Virginia 22920 434 996-3548 or 434 996-3044 marqarethauDt@amail.com rickhauptl938@gmail.com PREAPP2019-00133 CAMP SPAMENDMENT-HAUPT PROPERTY/TMPS 85-3AAND 85-3A1 Special Use Permit for Amendment and Expansion PROJECT PROPOSAL: We request an amendment to our special use permit #89-110 on parcel 85-3A. (Deed book 4534- 475, 479,480) Currently, it allows 10 people to attend programs on 30 days of the year. We re- quest an expansion to allow up to 50-day campers -children and staff, to attend daily sessions for 9 weeks, week -days only (or 45 days), during the summer months June -August. The hours of operation are from 94. The campers will bring their own water and food. Also, we request the additional parcel of land, 85-3A1, 24.06 acres we purchased in 2014, be in- cluded in the special use permit. This land includes a pond, ten acres of loblolly forest, and river frontage on the Mechums River and would he an excellent addition to the children's exploration. (Deed Book 4534, page 475) A special use permit is required in order to operate a day camp in Albemarle County. The pro- posal would expand our special use permit from 10 individuals to 50 and the days of operation from 30 to 45. We purchased 79.5 acres in 1976. In 2014, we added to this piece when we bought 24.06 acres contiguous to our original purchase. The land contains a farmhouse built in 1870, two barns, and a chicken house. Most of the land is a mixed deciduous hardwood forest; ten acres are planted in loblolly pines by a previous owner, there is a pond on each property. The remainder is open meadow and pasture. The Mechums River's headwaters are west of the property, and its continuation forms our proper- ty boundary with Jane and Phil Fellows and CVEC to the south. PUBLIC NEED AND BENEFIT: The proposed day camp will benefit the public by helping to create the next generation of conservationists. If we are to retain the rural nature of our coun- ty, we need future citizen who value it. The Living Earth School (LES) nature camp, owned and operated by Kate and Hub (Adam) Knott has been providing such experiences for children for twenty years and is an award winning camp. LES was displaced from their former site, The Girl Scout Camp in Sugar Hollow as the scouts are now using their site full-time. As owners of the land, my husband and I have been dedicated stewards for forty-five years. As senior citizens, it is our wish that our land be used for the benefit and enjoyment of children as they explore nature. After being dropped off, the children and their camp leaders will disperse into smaller groups using the two ponds, woods, and meadows for activities, such as swimming, trail building, forag- ing and collecting natural plant remedies, games, nature hunts. Through such experiences, we believe the children will retain a life -time love and reverence for the environment. The use of our land for a nature camp for nine weeks in the summer will not be a substan- tive detriment to adjacent lots. With a limited number of people on such a large piece of proper- ty, we feel our neighbors will not be impacted. As the camp will operate until 4:00 in the after- noon, there will be no lighting necessary. The noise will be absorbed by environment. Although there will be 50 people, they will be broken into small groups and scattered throughout the prop- erty. The additional traffic on Batesville Road twice a day for arrival and departure will be miti- gated by the use of car-pools and a bus from Charlottesville. Our land is surrounded by homes of multi -generational families (the Gathright's and Amolds to the west and the Raineys to the east) who lived in the area for many years, preceding our arrival in 1976. Their properties are rural, with a mixture of woods, open meadows, and pastures. Some own horses, many raise small flocks of chickens and grow gardens. One nearby neighbor oper- ates a heavy equipment business from his property, Arnold Evacuation Hauling LLC, Afton, Vir- ginia. The proposed special use permit is in harmony with the purpose and intent of the Zoning Ordi- nancc as it is consistent with rural nature of the county. Consistency with the comprehensive plan: The use of this property as a small day camp is consistent with the Albemarle County Compre- hension Plan and its goals of preserving and protecting the county's rural character. The use of these 100 acres for a nature -based camp will not require any building or grading. There are walking trails throughout the property and one lightly graveled road to the pond on the 79.5 property. Our use of the land for a day camp complies with AFD's goal. For example, it will involve no construction, and soils will remain available for farm or forest use into the future. The majority of the land is forested and will remain so. Along the Mechums, we planted a buffer of trees (twenty years ago) we continue to maintain to protect water quality and prevent erosion. The bank is lined with native plants, alders, carpinus, poplar, maples, walnuts, to name a few. We work diligently to remove non-native species such as Chinese privet, bittersweet and autumn olive. Our conservation easement is with The Nature Conservancy and dates back to 2011. With this limited and low impact use of the land, they are in agreement with the Living Earth School's lease. Attached is a letter from TNC, Easement Steward Matthew J. Zabik. Impacts on Public Facilities: Batesville Road, route 636 is a gravel road in western Albemarle County that will be minimally impacted by the arrival and departure of day campers and staff. Children will arrive and depart by bus or car-pool into an existing driveway that exits off Batesville Road. The camp will have no impact on public school facilities, or parks. An attached letter from Willis Bedsaul of the Vir- ginia Department of Transportation states that our existing driveway meets the requirements for a low volume commercial entrance as long as we complete the necessary clearing of small trees and underbrush. This clearing is underway. Environmental Impact: There will be minimal impact on the environmental features of ponds, river, meadows and woods with a maximum of 50 people a day for a summer day camp and 100 acres to explore. Explo- ration will be entirely by foot with the day campers using existing foot trails and one former log- ging road. Two existing outhouses, each with two seats, arc provided and approved by the Vir- ginia Department of Health. See attached letter.