HomeMy WebLinkAbout01 18 2017 PC MinutesALBEMARLE COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION
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401 MCINTIRE ROAD — LANE AUDITORIUM
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2017 — 4:00 P.M.
Joint Meeting with Board of Supervisors
The Albemarle County Planning Commission held a joint work session on Wednesday,
January 18, 2017, at 4:00 p.m., at the County Office Building, Lane Auditorium, Second
Floor, 401 McIntire Road, Charlottesville, Virginia.
Commissioners attending were Jennie More, Bruce Dotson, Daphne, Spain, Mac
Lafferty, Pam Riley, Tim Keller, Chair and Bill Palmer, UVA Representative. Absent was
Karen Firehock, Vice Chair.
Other officials present were Andrew Gast -Bray, Director of Planning and Community
Development Department (CDD) and John Blair, Deputy County Attorney.
Call to Order and Establish Quorum:
Ms. Mr. Tim Keller, Chair, called the Planning Commission meeting to order at 4:00 p.m.
and established a quorum.
Ms. McKeel, Chair of Board of Supervisors, called the Board of Supervisors meeting to
order at 4:00 p.m.
PRESENT: Mr. Norman G. Dill, Ms. Ann Mallek, Ms. Diantha H. McKeel, Ms. Liz A.
Palmer, Mr. Rick Randolph, and Mr. Brad L. Sheffield.
ABSENT: None.
OFFICERS PRESENT: County Executive, Thomas C. Foley, County Attorney, Greg
Kamptner, Clerk, Claudette Borgersen, and Senior Deputy Clerk, Travis O. Morris.
Ms. McKeel announced that Mr. Sheffield would be arriving late to the meeting. ,
Agenda Item No. 2. Joint Work Session with Planning Commission
Item No. 2a. Small Area Plan.
Mr. Andrew Gast -Bray, Director of Planning, addressed the Board and Commission. He
introduced Mr. Vlad Gavrilovic and Mr. Mike Callahan of Renaissance Planning Group,
who would be presenting.
Mr. Mike Callahan addressed the Board and Commission to present the outcomes of
the first phase of the two -phased Places 29 small area planning project, stating that his
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team would address concepts, application of them, and challenges for the study area.
He said they would share findings from the process, including key concepts that were
garnered from the public and key stakeholders, as well as identifying what is needed for
Phase Two. Mr. Callahan stated that when the Renaissance team was before them in
September, they shared some of this information, but he would reiterate some details.
He: explained that the Route 29 small area study area goes from Branchlands Boulevard
at Toys R Us, up to the river, to the west to capture all of Berkmar, and to the east to
capture the higher density residential and commercially zoned land. Mr. Callahan noted
that ;it did not include the vast majority of single-family dwellings in the area. He stated
,that:the area is largely a strip -mail retail environment now, and the Places 29 contains
an existing vision to transform it into something new.
Mr;: Callahan stated that Renaissance would affirm the vision of transformation in the
area, but also had to assess the study area, explore data, understand the market
conditions, both current and potential for the future, and conduct a lot of outreach, which
, vas a major component of the 10-nionth effort starting in May 2016. He noted that the
outreach included several public meetings, several meetings with property owners and
citizen advisory committees for the area, staff -level discussions, and engagement with
the Board and Commission.
Nr. Callahan emphasized that the vision for the area is transformational, not a
-continuation of past trends, and the key concept for making this happen is a 15-minute
Walkable community, which would organize future development into "nodes," rather than
-spread thinly throughout the area. He added that one of the benefits of this form is
allowing transit to serve successfully in the area, and through this effort, they have
identified three potential nodes, with help from the public and stakeholders in terms of
clear direction on priorities and phasing intent for development. He stated that the
second phase would need to address the design of the nodes and form of development,
the transportation issue and strategy for developing that, and zoning and
implementation strategies to achieve that vision. Mr. Callahan noted that the strategies
would need to include a new form of development for the area.
Mr. �Gavrilovic addressed the Board and Commission, stating that Renaissance is
..honored to have been selected as part of the statewide team assigned to this urban
Aevvelopment area grant. Mr. Gavrilovic stated that one of the focuses of the project was
Ao{refine and clarify Albemarle's policy vision in Places 29 with concepts such as the 15-
mihute walkable community, which is evident in places like downtown Charlottesville
.arid -Arlington. He said this was the preferred form of development prior to the auto-
centric era, but communities are returning to a more walkable environment. Mr.
Gavrilovic stated that some of the characteristics are that you can walk five to seven
rmnutes from center to edge, so it is a quarter to half -mile radius, with a mix of uses :and
destinations that provide a diversity of walkable options, and a grid of streets that
=support multiple modes of travel. He said this contributes to healthy, active
transportation lifestyles, and there has been much research that supports the increase
irv.._Property values from these walkable communities, and both millennial and baby
::boomer demographic groups have shown preference and need for this model as an
alternative to suburban sprawl -type development.
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Mr. Gavrilovic stated that the County established a policy framework that recognizes
these nodes of mixed -use centers and nodes, and Places 29 calls for quarter to half -
mile. centers of: activity, particularly-in,this area. He presented a few examples of where
this is .and :is,..not happening; beginning with Rio/29 and drawing a five to seven' minute
walk from center to edge, which clearly is not a walkable area now. He noted that one of
T the study's;rfocuses is .making each of the four quadrants into walkable centers and
whether there are safe ways to cross these major road. facilities, but not looking at
making Rio,and 29 walkable main streets.
Mr. Gavrilovic stated that the same scale in downtown Charlottesville goes from the
Omni Hotel to the Pavilion, with richness and diversity of destinations, economic activity,
housing types,, open spaces arad parks in the area, with 200-250-foot blocks. He
� mentioned; that ,,Shirlington . in Arlington. County is hemmed in by 395, but within that
quadrant. has. a very successful walkable center with entertainment, restaurants, shops,
a walkable, main- street, -.apartments and condominiums, and, a pedestrian walkway
across 395.4r.:Gavrilovic noted: that; this development is generating. two to three times'
the revenue.of the, mall, and has a shuttle bus that takes passengers to the Metro.
Mr.. Callahan stated that there is a lot of support for this concept coming from many'
different places, including the existing policy in the County's comprehensive plan, which
calls for directing:..growth-:into growth areas; the Places 29 Master Plan,which calls for,
: compact development organized around centers, pedestrian orientation ,and mixed use
connected by.multi-modal transportation, and parks and open spaces. He said this is
what Mr. Gavrilovic is: describing. Mr. Callahan stated .that many surveys. have shown
thatboth,millenNals and -baby boomers have a strong preference for walkability, and in
the -recent; statewide,.transportation plan, 75%- of millennials said they would live in a
place that rifles .not require a car, ..and 77% of baby boomers said that transportation
options influence -where -they chose to live and work. •He said that there is a lot of fuel for
transformation in Ahe:Albemarle area,: with continued population growth and limited ,land.'
for urban. -intensity development, as well as a softening local and national retail market.
Mr. Callahan presented a -slide-showing recent population trends; which. indicate about
:. 40,000 more, people dby �035 that could go as infill in the City or into the County into
greenfield sites,. sQ,the small area .plan for 29 should make this an attractive area to
absorb growth. �in the.: future. He, stated that there has been some kind of threshold
-reached with_ retail, with online _ sales taking over and bricks and mortar shopping
declining,..,incjuding hundreds of -big ibox store closures in 2017. Mr. Callahan said the
concept for the small.. -area plan has been bolstered by positive public, feedback,.
especially for.the kinds of principles called for in Places 29.
Mr. Callahan :pointed out -that there are several key caveats and concerns, which would
have to be addressed ;in the smaN area plan, especially in the second phase. He stated
that one of, these: items. is: transportation and traffic on 29 and the, impact of higher
density development; a- second isAhe potential for a canyon effect along 29 and Rio,
favoring the. .node-type,d.evelopment instead; a third is to minimize impact on existing
neighborhoods, with height being a.significant issue. Mr. Callahan reiterated that there
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is strong support for the concept of. a 1.511!rninute walkable community applied in the
study area, and the. key, question is -where the- elements..9h'ould be, located. .
Mr. Gavrilovic stated that in applying the concept as discussed, their team went through.
a process of distilling the, information received from stakeholder, input and the County's
policy platform into seven core. principles. ,for the, plan.- He' explained that they are::
creating a place that, isattractive ias a'destination to both -.people and employers; having
more housing and:employment':in a mixtureof uses, including vertical mixed use. fin. the, .
same building; establishing multir-modal travel choices,.�such as+ sidewalks,. trails and::
friendly streets; offering open`_: spaces, %parks, plazas;: civic areas and river access;
balancing the need for concentrating. development in the ..modes :while protecting
surrounding neighborhoods; providing an intergenerational community with diverse age
groups; and featuringthis as the .gateway -to the development portion of Albemarle
County, highlighting it from a design standpoint.
Mr. Gavrilovic said ,there are solid , planning principles: for this'type of development;, and -
one of the Urban Land Institute'sf"Reinventing the Suburban Strip` study findings was
establishing pulses -..or nodes .of -development , which concentrates the .available market,
within these areas, rather than spreading it,out and applying the same standards .to- an
entire corridor. He said that one of the big recommendations is to concentrate the
development in the quarter, to: half -mile nodes and -having a logical sequence of which A
nodes should go first. Mr. Gavrilovic stated that the team presented three alternatives to, ,
the public for placement of the nodes; and this is one of the 'big .picture conclusions. Af•.
the work, as they took; the approach. of establishing the big framework of land use and
transportation first, with the next-phasegetting into the detailed design site by site.
Mr. Gavrilovic stated that the first alternative looked at -.the, primary node at Rio and.,29-,
one mile from edge to edge, consisting ,of an inner .core.with a strong mixed -use center..
with an office focus, surrounded by -.a mixed -use area with more of a residential focus;
and a mixed -use node edge.. around .it.thatconsidered employment flex uses,. housing::;.
and neighborhoods, feathering. the -density away from the center to be more compatiblew.
with the surrounding neighborhood areas. He said a second node would look towards
the river to take advantage of they--. strong hospitality.. market- in the County and,
surrounding region, to establish more :of a hotel/conference , center focus - to . take
advantage of a gateway site and protects the river, but also benefits from the•.views and •
natural setting of the area. Mr. Gavrilovic, stated that a third node• would focus :on the
Gander Drive location area, with a mixed use office center focus and residential around ;.. ,
.. .
it. He noted that their planning excluded. areas 'that are -.established ,residential; .;.
neighborhoods and is only showing the.vision on the existing commercial areas, which:._.,
is somewhat of a "transformative vision". of the redevelopment -_of the area over time;
probably decades.
Mr. Gavrilovic said the team.. looked'at areas outside of the nodes and proposed mixed -
use corridor retail with housing above and flex industrial employment to address high-
tech uses that are between light -industry and office uses;;.,, -and developing . new
residential neighborhoods to .. be compatible. with surrounding areas.: He noted that
secondary centers are possible in the. -area outside of the primary --nodes, such as in the
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Berkmar area should it develop as more of a main street served by bus lines. Mr.
Gavrilovic stated that this -was the framework presented, and the comments from the
public meeting led to a phased approach and potential policy platform, with the Rio/29
node having the strongest support, so it seems the best approach is to develop a more
detailed plan that transforms those four quadrants into a future "downtown Albemarle."
He said the second node at the river also had support, but it was more of a secondary
approach that would be later in phasing and would be dependent on the primary mode
at Rio and 29. Mr..Gavrilovic stated that the third node at Gander and 29 had mixed'
support and some concerns, so the next phase of work would help establish whether
this was supportable, and it would only proceed if the other two nodes were moving'
forward.
Mr. Gavrilovic presented information on the two primary nodes, stating that there would
be a fairly aggressive mix of uses, more on the office side of the center, and some fairly'
aggressive densities, with 60 units per acre housing and 1.4 FAR in the center, down to
20 units and 0.5 FAR toward the edge. He stated that both the node center and node
edge need to have a compliment of green spaces, pocket parks, trails, and a grid of
connected streets with traditional blocks. Mr. Gavrilovic emphasized that the design of
these areas would be critical, and multi -story centers at the crossroads of. the nodes;
could be designed with streetscape amenities and modulated architecture to provide a
very walkable streetscape even with higher densities. He mentioned the Marriott Hotel
in downtown Charlottesville across from the Lewis and Clark statute, noting the street
front fagades • at the sidewalk and the bulk of the building stepped back and are
somewhat invisible from the sidewalk side. He said the mixed -use residential centers
would have more of a traditional feel, with walk-up apartments and condominiums, with
crosswalks and bike lanes to make the areas multi -modal.
Mr. Gavrilovic presented renderings of how the Places 29 area might develop over time,
creating a framework for investment from the private sector in pedestrian scale, mixed
use, walkable developments. He presented examples of how this has been done in
other areas, including Newport News, which has a downtown city center at Oyster Point,'
with walkable streets, mixed uses, and a lake; and Carlisle in Alexandria, which created
a framework of urban. walkable blocks in a single neighborhood with stepped -back'
density and modulated fagades to minimize the canyon effect.
Mr. Callahan stated that one of the early things the team did as part of Phase One was -
a market assessment to explore if the vision was supportable by the marketing demand
that recent trends and forecast growth would indicate, as well as what this area has
captured in the past in terms of that growth. He pointed out, that this is a
transformational vision, not a continuation of past trends, and the team feels there is
support for transformation, but it is fundamentally transformative. Mr.; Callahan said this
is a fast-growing regional market that is economically fairly strong, and the County has a
policy to encourage development in these areas, which are two key aspects that
support the type of transformation proposed. He noted that in this area, it would depend'.
on redevelopment as there is not a lot of vacant greenfield land available, and this was
ultimately more complicated.
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Mr. Callahan presented a slide showing estimates of development demand in this area,
and said this slide shows some of the assumptions, with a moderate capture of the
demand in the market for broad categories of development: residential, office, hotel, and
retail. He stated that some specific assumptions are that multi -family housing would be
the most likely housing type, with vertical mixed -use development possible, and the
regional forecast used shows about 2,800 units for the City and County combined over
20 years, and the 29 North corridor has been capturing about 20% of that demand. Mr.
Callahan said that a moderate assumption would be 20-30%, with the County being
more proactive to help nurture redevelopment in the area. He stated that they also used
a 20-year forecast of about 5,800 office -using jobs, which would yield about 1.5 million
square feet of office space. Mr. Callahan noted that there is not a lot of higher end office
space in the area currently, nor is their space for high-tech industries. He mentioned
that historically this area captures about 30% of office growth, and the team assumes a
moderate capture rate with a slight increase. Mr. Callahan stated that it is very difficult
to predict retail trends at this point, with occupancy rates increasing and rents
decreasing, so that would likely not be a driver of change. He stated that the strong
hotel market would continue to grow at the rate of the economy, with high occupancy
and high rates, and this area would yield a capture rate of 20-30% and about 2,500 new
hotel rooms over the next 20 years.
Mr. Callahan reported that in terms of development potential, the working estimate is
550-850 multi -family units, which is about two or three Stonefield Commons -type
developments, with about .5 million square feet of office, upgrading or re -tenanting of
retail, and 500-750 hotel rooms, either two or three Doubletree-type properties or four to
six of the type typically seen in the corridor now. He noted that this amount of
development is likely providing the change in the area to be transformational, and the
team feels that national and state trends point in that direction. Mr. Callahan said the
team feels that phasing would be important with marketing demand so that the nodes
are not competing against each other, so the objective is to focus on Route 29 and Rio
Road. He stated that there is not a lot of square footage in the area currently for high-
tech industries, but there is an economic development strategic plan and potential in
that sector, which can be further developed in phase two.
Mr. Gavrilovic stated that challenges and opportunities tend to switch roles when
working with these types of developments, particularly in transportation, and increasing
intensity of development will generate more trips in the area. He said that two
cornerstones are enhanced transit and total capture, .and bus rapid transit system
geared towards commuters through dedicated lanes and signal priority is one
mechanism by which to address traffic; and getting enough housing and employment
within the nodes could create a lot of internal trips and not create a load on the external
networks. Mr. Gavrilovic added that walkability and urban design from a walkable
standpoint supports both of those cornerstones in the future. He noted that Places 29
looked at bus rapid transit as a spine along 29, with one of the stops shown in the
Woodbrook area, and one of the values of this planning process was refining those
concepts, perhaps moving that stop to Rio and 29 and the potential for other stops
added. Mr. Gavrilovic stated that successful transit -oriented development and design is
a characteristic of a successful community, and better travel choices, livability, and
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property values for the areas are part of the inherent urban design that supports the
transit.
Mr. Gavrilovic presented images of developments inside and outside the U.S. with both
higher and lower densities, including Broad Street in Richmond, and pointed out a
model in which a crosswalk was raised and the potential existed for light rail transit. He
stated that walkability and safe crossing of Rio and 29 were key to .this development,
and Places 29 had a good idea for a crosswalk to Fashion Square,, with potential to
cross at grade there:
Mr: Callahan stated the challenge is that it is not easy to build the vision,. and . the
opportunity lies in making it easier. He said he did not think the challenges were
anything that Gould not be overcome, and many of the things listed were mentioned
directly by people who own property in the area, such as height limits, and ensuring
there is enough height to incentivize redevelopment and make it worthwhile. He stated
that another issue is zoning, so future zoning would need to be aligned with the future
vision to make it. the by -right zoning and facilitate development. Mr. Callahan said there
is currently not much flexibility in use and there is not perfect knowledge of what the
future is going to be and what the uses are going to be, so providing flexibility is
important, with more focus on the form of development with the standards in the future.',
He stated that transportation continues to be a challenge, and public transit is viewed, in
the long run, as an opportunity, with the node concept providing an opportunity to make,
it work, and the transit helps the development concept work, so they depend on each
other.
Mr. Callahan stated that incentives to take on the risk of redevelopment typically would
address things like blight and other conditions that require effort in order to attract.
investment, but this Iis not necessarily a blighted corridor, with most of the property
owners having land that is economically productive for them. He said that
redevelopment in this case requires taking on some risk, and ways to alleviate or share
that risk provide opportunity, such as tax incentives, TIF, to support infrastructure,
higher density in the area, and form -based zoning, as well as supporting the
transportation aspects, walkable internal streets, trails, and storm water management of
the property.
Mr. Callahan stated that some big picture conclusions from the first phase are validation
of the land use direction, a 15-minute .walkable community and concentrating the
development in nodes, including the location and phasing of them with a focus on
Rio/29 in the beginning. He said there are a lot of issues left unaddressed, with this
being the first phase and the second phase looking into transportation challenges and
how to design a system.that will make this development concept work. Mr.. Callahan.
stated that there are some unanswered factors, such as how millennials and baby
boomers will view this type of development in the future, the increasing income and
purchasing power in the area, the economic development strategic plan and how that
fits into the ultimate area plan. He noted that there are no data sets that perfectly match
this study area, but there has been supportive public feedback in terms of crossing
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Route 29, building height, impacts on adjacent neighborhoods, and avoiding the canyon
effect of buildings.
Mr. Gast -Bray stated that they -found from Phase One that a lot of what they have
learned has helped inform how Phase Two will go, and if they are going to achieve
multi -story complex development; they will also need to look at a process by which to
achieve that, because even if the County had the world's best form -based code today, it
still would not fully achieve the objectives. He said that staff and the Renaissance
design team would be coming back to the Board and Commission in mid -February to
present some additional concepts needed in order to be comfortable with endorsing
Phase One and moving onto Phase Two, which would be coming to the Board in March.
Ms. Mallek asked what "mid -rise" and "low-rise" buildings were. Mr. Callahan
responded that Renaissance purposefully showed a range, but around node cores there
would be four to eight stories, with two to four and two to six -story building heights
toward the edges. He stated that those details would be contained in the design of the
development, and the impacts were as much of a design question as a height issue.
Ms. Mallek stated that there was a significant amount of development approval from
2004 to 2008 and asked if they had taken into account the thousands of units that have
been approved but have not been built yet. Mr. Callahan responded that a classic
market study is done by looking at absorption rate and how much the market absorbs
from time to time, and sometimes that can be constrained by approvals, but you can
assume that is the logic of the market. He said they did not look at these as being the
unbuilt approved ones, but the idea is that if the market is supporting it, they are going
to get built and that is a sign that policies are not holding the market back.
Ms. Mallek stated that when too many are approved, none of them can actually finish,
which is what is happening now, with three developments trying to finish but not having
quite enough demand.
Ms. Palmer asked if there was value in making the nodes with different centers so they
might be able to build out faster, since the center point is a major highway, which is a
barrier. Mr. Callahan responded that as they get into the urban design of this, each
quadrant would have its own center, either a park or plaza, etc., and there are some
technical issues in terms of where to place the bus rapid transit station. He stated that
there is a grade -separated interchange there, so it may be able to be put on Rio, but
depending on the engineering, they may put it north or south of it. He emphasized that
they need to get the main composition put in first, prior to filling in the detail of the
stations, streets, etc.
Mr. Sheffield stated that it would be hoped to have the node facing the corridors that are
not the congested state highways, building instead on Berkmar and Hillsdale. He noted
that Albemarle Square is probably the only quadrant that does not have a secondary
road to assist it, and he would like to see the secondary corridor enhanced to take the
brunt of the transportation impacts as well as the multi -modal walkability and transit
aspects. He stated that he is concerned about seeing lines on the map for things that
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VDOT may not endorse, and he did not know at what point they needed to be sure
these were things they ,would back up, such as the light at Greenbrier and Hillsdale,
which VDOT mentioned at the last minute they would not support. Mr. Sheffield said he
would prefer not to leave a legacy behind of roads that would never be created, adding
that VDOT has mentioned the Carter Myers Road can no longer exist because. of the
separation of the grades at that point. He said that at Berkmar, there was enough space
to build the extension, but it could have meant tearing down several homes otherwise.
Mr. Gast -Bray stated this is why it is important to be design specific in Phase Two,
because with every piece of transportation investigation there are alternative analyses,
but part of Phase Two has to be a. concrete modeling of what it really will perform like,
with assumptions of true modality and other elements. He said that while Route 29 is
currently a barrier, it does not necessarily have to stay a barrier, and other places have
done innovative things to get across that. Mr. Gast -Bray stated that they cannot answer'
that question at this point, but they need to think flexibly to come up with the best
solution.
Mr. Gavrilovic stated that they have been very careful to put the nodes where there are
signalized intersections or grade -separated interchanges, and- it would be very difficult
to get them in between that. Mr. Sheffield responded that he was just hoping not to
have any surprises, even if he is just a resident at that point.
Mr. Randolph stated that he appreciates a higher level view, stating that there is a fourth'
node south of Rio and east of Route 29 that is also a concern, with fragile markets for
stores like JC Penney and Sears. He said he hopes the mall area would be considered
another node, which gets. into how that would interact to the north roundabout. Mr.'.
Randolph noted that he was struck by the lack of any discussion of cultural institutions
playing a role in this corridor, and there is the potential to attract them through a
partnership with the County. He said this could function as a public space during the
week and/or a performance space, which would attract another level of people wanting
to live in that community. Mr. Randolph said that regarding hotels, the planning group is
proposing a transformational view, but is falling back into the old mode of putting hotels
on 29, which is a distance from the attractions people come into the area for. He
commented that if the vehicles are EV, there would not be a pollution problem, but if
that is not the case then there will be carbon pollution generated as people drive their
cars to sites like Monticello and surrounding vineyards. Mr. Randolph stated that there
is a missed opportunity by not capturing the Rivanna River's economic development
potential for restaurants and cafes, with an ambiance that would make it inviting for
people to use, .and just looking at it as a hotel corridor, they would lose some circulation
effect from other economic engines.
Mr. Gavrilovic stated that he appreciates those thoughts, as they start to fill in some of
the details that they did not have time to get into as they discussed the big picture nodal
concept. He said that regarding Fashion Square, RPG did look at the mall
redevelopment market and had just done a mall redevelopment project for the City of
Norfolk, and the node edges probably need to be modified to deal with Albemarle
Square and Fashion Square..
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Mr. Sheffield suggested that they leave time to hear from staff on the small-scale
neighborhood investment items; as the RFP is now out, and it would be good to have
Commissioners weigh in since they all serve on CACs.
Mr. Lafferty commented that in looking at node one and Albemarle Square, it would be
good to come up with a view of what it would look like to put buildings there instead of
just the asphalt stadium that is there now. Mr. Gavrilovic responded that this is a
primary opportunity, and Places 29 did some visualizations of Albemarle Square
redevelopment, and the property manager, who was in the business stakeholders
group, was very receptive to this concept and talked about some of the challenges in
terms of managing risk. He stated that another issue discussed was how to take care of
existing tenants without breaking their leases, if you want to redevelop, and RPG's
Norfolk plan shows areas around the periphery where new development can be created
in place of existing excess parking.
Ms. Spain asked if he saw a role for UVA in this type of development in terms of
collaboration with transportation, such as another incubator system like their Center for
Innovation, and whether these nodes would be in competition with the research park.
Mr. Gavrilovic responded that there was a UVA Research Park representative on the
business group, who said they were looking at the same market trends as a "rising tide
to lift all boats." He stated that he did not think they would be in competition so much as
in collaboration, providing they can partner with UVA and the City in terms of
implementation of a regional approach for things like bus rapid transit. Mr. Gavrilovic
said that if a market study was to be done, it would be good to have UVA and other
major partners to share what they have had in their research and how it might
contribute.
Ms. McKeel commented that the City may be very interested in partnering on this
endeavor, as they were struggling to find land.
Mr. Callahan added that RPG's mission in the first phase was to identify the nodes, and
their location and phasing, but in the market potential discussion they did not talk about
the possibility of including the public sector for entities like UVA.
Ms. McKeel said it would be good to include them sooner rather than later.
Mr. Lafferty stated that in his experience with people looking for a place to put their
business, UVA wants some affiliation with those locating in the research park, which is
very expensive. He added that he thinks they should be included, just as good
neighbors.
Mr. Dotson said that there has been a lot of emphasis on Route 29, but they could also
benefit from more focus on Berkmar. He also asked if RPG could offer some thoughts
on "soft implementation," or people -based elements in the final report, as he feels they
need to be proactive and flexible, and would like to discuss how the County can act as
facilitator and identify champions within the business community for the plan. Mr.
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Gavrilovic responded that RPG could certainly incorporate some of those in the final
report, and hopefully create a better platform for Phase Two, including a branding for
this area in the public consciousness.
Ms. More asked about the statistic given of 2,800 residential units over the next 20'
years, and whether that was for the City and the County. She also asked if the statistic
of 29 North area capturing 20% .of predicted development was for just the small area
plan area or 29 North in the larger sense. Mr. Callahan responded that it was for the
entire 29 North area, and the residential units were both City and County. He also
confirmed that existing developments, such as Springhill, were not factored into those
totals.
Ms. Firehock stated that as she was standing at Stonefield earlier that day, it occurred
to her that the "commons" were not particularly noticeable, and she echoed Mr.
Randolph's comments about using the river and natural areas. She said that she had
just located a tech -type company in the 29 North corridor and hired millennials to work!
there, and while they would like to take a walk and see some greenspace, those options'
are not currently available. Ms. Firehock stated that RPG's renderings show a flat area,
but it really has more changes in elevation, so she would like to see more of a 3-D
image. She said that tech companies want to provide greenspace for their employees,
so the County is going to need to be creative and intentional in their design, going
beyond just having a beautiful building.
Mr. Gavrilovic stated that if you want to go for a walk today on Route 29, you are
restricted to the four feet of sidewalk, and agreed that Ms. Firehock's point was valid,
but said the design plan would focus on the areas off of 29, because creating
greenspace would require breaking up existing asphalt.
Ms. Firehock stated that there are a lot of stormwater management facilities along
Route. 29 that are not working properly, so in the redesign they could create some
creative, beautiful space, such as playground space, that also functions in this capacity.
Mr. Keller complimented the Supervisors, staff, and consultants for being willing to
provide an opportunity to think about a vision for this, adding that it has been frustrating.
for him as a Commissioner to not have this point sooner. He commented that he did not
hear anything about bicycles and wonders if that needs to be part of their multi -modal
discussion. Mr. Keller also said that they need to add information regarding challenges,
because these "dream schemes" of low, mid, and high -range heights are somewhat
unrealistic in this market, due to the lack of economic viability for the mid -range
buildings.
Mr. Gavrilovic responded that there are limitations in terms of elevators and other costs,
but Albemarle has more land area than the typical Charlottesville site, so there is more
opportunity to create a stepping down of densities. He stated that the development
community strongly encouraged risk mitigation through increasing the height limits and
densities to make redevelopment worthwhile and competitive against greenfield
development.
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Mr. Keller stated that this challenge needs to be put forth, as the Supervisors need to
understand there is an economic impact to that. He commented that Stonefield was
caught in somewhat of an "economic press," but he also knows from the Urban Land
Institute's discussions and forums on form -based code, there is tremendous difficulty in
the banking community to accept vertical mixed use. Mr. Keller said this needs to be in
the forefront as a challenge, because there may be ways for local government to
mitigate it with offsetting certain requirements, but they have been in the mode of
wanting money from developers to assist with infrastructure, but in this world order, it
may actually be the opposite. Mr. Gavrilovic responded that it was key to find out where
the market is and what can be done to support it, noting that the public sector put $80
million into the Hampton Coliseum Mall redevelopment, and it did not go well because
they' day lighted it and focused on retail, .when the market was for residential. He said
that in contrast, in Belmar, Colorado, $6 million was put in by the public sector, with the
remainder from the private sector, and it was enormously successful. Mr. Gavrilovic
emphasized that providing flexibility to see where the market is going would help ensure
the success of these developments.
Mr. Dill commented that he would like to see. the investment of County staff and
consultants and the effect of putting more resources into this to accelerate the process,
perhaps using a "celebrity architect" and publicizing that this is an area of focus. He
stated that it needs to be determined whether there would be an onsite building where
people can come to have questions answered and other logistics, as all of that seems
vague to him at this point. Mr. Gavrilovic responded that other localities have the
economic development arms of the municipality take a strong role; aligning economic
development vision and energies to attract industry with local policy. He said that in
Norfolk, they have taken one of the anchor stores in the mall and turned it into a
mortgage banking business that has brought several hundred jobs to a dying mall. He
added that the locality knows exactly what is needed to make its vision a reality, and is
looking to those developers or industries.
Mr. Dill commented that those resources exist in town and asked if they have the kind of
dynamic real estate investors needed. ,
Mr. Gavrilovic stated that a lot of the complex redevelopment schemes have brought in
developers,from the outside, but property and business owners have said they are very
interested in this if they can make the economics work and bring in partners from the
outside, so some input from them in that.regard maybe very useful in the next phase.
Mr. Doug Walker addressed the Board, stating that the Board would receive two
updates at their February 1 meeting related to the item Mr. Sheffield had mentioned,
including a follow-up report to a conversation the Board had in December on a
neighborhood improvement funding initiative. He stated that more information and a
detailed process model, as well as a funding formula, would be presented to them to
address funding distribution for neighborhood -level improvements, with direct
involvement by the CACs, and that should inform the Board's direction in moving
forward. Mr. Walker said there is also an RFP for a development advisor to work
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specifically with the County on a public/private partnership, and staff would update the
Board in February on that effort as well.
(Note: The Planning Commission adjourned its meeting at 5:27 p.m.)
Adjournment:
With no further business, the meeting adjourned at 5:27 p.m. to the Tuesday, January
24, 2017 Albemarle County Planning joint meeting with the City of Charlottesville at 5:30
p.m. at Water Street Center, 407 East Market Street, Charlottesville, Virginia.
Andrew Gast -Bray,
(Submitted by Sharon C. Taylor, Clerk to Planning Commission & Planning Boards)
Approved by Planning
Commission
Date: 7-11-2017
Initials: sct
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