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Home My WebLink AboutZMA201600015 Correspondence 2016-06-29 0- INSIGNIA DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, INC. George W. Ray, Jr. President Jane H. Ray Vice President- Administration&Finance 29 June 2016 Ms. Margaret Maliszewski Principal Planner County of Albemarle 401 McIntire Road Charlottesville,VA 22902 Delivery by Hand Dear Margaret: As you are aware, my group is filing a rezoning for our Oakleigh project on West Rio Road to allow for the location of an assisted living facility on the rear 50%of the parcel. Our original site plan,which was approved by Albemarle County,called for attached residential units on that portion of the property, many of which were condominium units. In the aftermath of the recent recession, condominium units are very difficult to finance these days and,for all intents and purposes,that segment of the local housing market has pretty much evaporated! The assisted living facility is a great opportunity for us to provide a site for what I would describe as a "commercial residential use" at Oakleigh. In my conversations with knowledgeable local leaders familiar with the assisted living market in Charlottesville and Albemarle County, more quality assisted living units are badly needed, particularly the planned Alzheimer units.This type of use will generate considerably less traffic that the residential units previously approved. It will generate significant net revenues for the County at a time when the County's expenditures are outpacing its revenues, necessitating the recent real estate tax increase. Unfortunately,this project will require the removal of a portion of the mature trees on that part of the site that we were previously planning on trying to save. I have attached a letter from Dave Rosene,an arborist who has been consulting with us on tree preservation at Oakleigh for several years. Dave points out that these trees are in competition with each other, particularly for water,and one or more of the trees we had hoped to save have declined in health since the time of our original site plan approval. I have also attached 2 photos. One shows a tree which died over the past couple of years for reasons I don't know. The second shows a tree that badly split on 2 different occasions during storms. Dave has advised that it will not survive. Shortly after purchasing this land, we had lightning rods installed in most of the larger Oak trees. At the time of the purchase,we were made aware that 3 of the larger trees had previously been struck and killed by lightning and we wanted to spare additional trees that same fate. We removed the dead ones. 690 Berkmar Circle • Charlottesville, Virginia • 22901 Phone: (434) 978-1766 ♦ Fax: (434) 978-0118 www.insigniadevelopers.com Working along with Dave,we have identified quite a number of trees that we are prepared to employ rather significant resources to preserve under the new plan.They are the most prominent trees on the site and certainly the most visible from Rio Road.They are identified on the schematic site plan attached. In order to preserve the prominent line of large Oaks across the ridge of the site and along our westerly property line, we have set the front face of the assisted living building back from the trees a total of approximately 84 feet.We will allow only the most minimal grading possible to install the access road and will use permeable pavers in the vicinity of these trees' root systems. Normally when developing a site like this,the site work contractor would simply begin at the high point (the exact location of this line of Oaks)and cut the front part of the ridge to push dirt back and fill to the rear portion on the lot to create a level building pad.The assisted living group requires that each of their building's 2 levels be on the same plane. Since we are not allowing excavation at the highest point of the land,the result is that fill will have to be imported to level the site and additional fill means retaining walls on at least 3 sides of the rear parcel which would not otherwise have been required. We estimate that the extra cost to save those trees is approximately$200,000.As an additional extra, we are planning a "Pocket Park" located to the west of the entrance road about midway up the slope.We intend on planting new Oaks in that park with a minimum caliper of 4 inches. We will plant the same variety of Oaks as the ones we have to remove. I hope this extra effort and expense shows you that we are dedicated to building a quality project and that we are sensitive to the tree issue. Thanks. Sincerely, George W. Ray For Oakleigh Albemarle, Inc. Cc:Suzanne Jessup Brooks, Partner Dave Rosene 472 Link Evans Lane Earlysville Va 22936 434.953.5330 rosen eren o va ti on(4gm a il.c om June 26,2016 I joined the Oakleigh Project in May 2016 in part because of my long standing association with the project. I first consulted on the project in March 2008 when I was working for Van Yahres Tree Company. I recently retired from the company after nearly twenty one years but still maintain my arborist certification with the International Society of Arboriculture. My career has included over thirty years in the greens industry. Having been involved with the property for so long allows me to assess the trees over time rather than to have only a"snapshot"of the trees in their current condition. Over the years there have been a number of losses due in part to weather events and climate conditions. Mature trees, in competition with each other are much more susceptible to climate extremes, especially drought. As trees increase in size,the need for water increases. A stand of trees will change as the strongest,healthiest trees out compete other trees for limited moisture. During development of a property,rooting area will be reduced,which makes it more important to select those trees that offer the most to the property and have the greatest chance for survival. One way to achieve this is to keep groupings of trees that can share a relatively undisturbed rooting area. The current site plan seeks to limit the impact on the greatest number of monarch trees and capitalizes on the size of the trees to enhance the project. On my recommendations,George Ray has limited the excavation foot print near the trees, increased the building clearance from the bases and has included the use of permeable pavers to further reduce the impact on the roots. These ideas have been incorporated in previous development ideas for the property, so are already understood and embraced by the development team. I have revisited the site and assessed the health and structure of all the significant trees. Many of the trees that were already rated as poor have continued to decline. Some of the others are showing increased signs of decline,both in reduction of foliage and increase in dead wood, undoubtedly in part to previous years of drought. Because the trees have grown in close proximity to each other, some have developed unbalanced canopies. If neighboring trees are removed or die,the unbalanced tree becomes more susceptible to damage during extreme weather events. This becomes an issue when the area is transformed into an interface between the natural environment and an area developed for use by people. Some individual trees that may have been preserved previously cannot be safely maintained with the development of the property. Others cannot be kept in order for the project development to by viable. Some of the significant trees in which I am seeing signs of recent decline are; 14, 16,22,and 38. The structurally compromised trees include; 17,21,24 and 38. All of these trees are probably not a great loss to the property and would not make good long term specimens. The trees clustered across the front of the proposed building are truly spectacular and worth doing whatever we can to ensure their short and long term survival. They would include; 5, 7, 8, 9,30, 6)) 31 and 32. The development team has already identified these trees as worth taking additional measures to encourage their survival during and after development. • Based on the current proposal,with proper monitoring and remedial action during and after construction,the trees designated to be saved should have a good chance of recovering from the construction disruption and thrive in the future. Dave Rosene ISA certification MA 0310 .r r 4 . , • 1. * • • V, II ..- 9618:17 1712/a------ .doci,ill ' ., Ilk.,5P . ,„,* 1"rr' - I II I r A411011+ • "if 114 'k A - ;*f;Tirie • •• " 'ot 1 ., ,_ - "3,,,,, 1‘4 1/4441/e , y. i eta . 411 44t -. al*. k. .* 1. 41 ' 4 GI i . tit fi 114 r' • • • .it.- ~� ff 4 . vir .. .it „. Ail.4. • ' 1 f 4" Air ► - • • A • . gt ‘ • • .a 4• N.; • r' * .1111 ' A • • t. 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