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ALBEMARLE COUNTY PLANNING
STAFF REPORT SUMMARY
Project Name: ZMA202100012 Skyline
Staff: Ben Holt, Senior Planner
Ridge Apartments
Planning Commission Hearing: February
Board of Supervisors Public Hearing: February
1, 2022
16, 2022 (tentative)
Owner: WP Colonnades LLC
Applicant: Woodard Properties
Acreage: 4.96 acres
Rezone from: Preserved Slopes overlay to
Managed Slopes overlay, within the R-15
Residential zone
TMP: 06000-00-00-04008
Location: Colonnade Dr, approximately 1200
linear feet south of the intersection of Colonnade
Drive and Ivy Road (Route 250).
School Districts: Greer — Elementary,
By -right use: Property zoned R-15 Residential —
Jouett — Middle, and Western Albemarle —
15 dwelling units/acre
High
Magisterial District: Jack Jouett
Proffers: No
Proposal: Zoning map amendment (ZMA)
Requested # of Dwelling Units: No dwelling units
to amend the preserved steep slopes within
are proposed as part of this request. The current
the previously approved area of disturbance
zoning of this property would permit 74 dwellings.
for the Skyline Ridge project.
DA (Development Area): Western
Comp. Plan Designation: (1) Urban Density
Neighborhoods
Residential — residential (6.01-34 units/acre);
supporting uses such as places of worship,
schools, public and institutional uses,
neighborhood scale commercial, office and service
uses. (2) Parks and Green Systems — parks,
playgrounds, play fields, greenways, trails, paths,
recreational facilities and equipment, plazas,
outdoor sitting areas, natural areas, preservation o
stream buffers, floodplains and steep slopes
adjacent to rivers and streams in Neighborhood 6
Western Neighborhoods Master Plan.
Character of Property: Undeveloped with
Use of Surrounding Properties: Multifamily
a mix of native and invasive species
apartments to the north and east; single family
vegetation. The property was previously
residences adjacent to the south and west.
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cleared and partially graded in compliance
with a previously approved site plan.
Factors Favorable:
Factors Unfavorable:
1. The slopes appear to be manufactured
1. The request would disturb areas
slopes, created in association with
designated as Parks & Green Systems.
previous site plan approvals issued by
in the Comprehensive Plan.
the County.
2. The request would disturb areas
2. The request is consistent with the
designated as a Mountain Resource in
County Growth Management Policy,
the Comprehensive Plan.
directing new development to the
3. The slopes form a contiguous area of
Development Areas.
10,000 square feet or more or a close
3. The slopes are not associated with
grouping of slopes of less than 10,000
water features.
square feet.
RECOMMENDATION:
Zoning Map Amendment: Staff analysis results in mixed findings for this request. Staff
recommends approval of rezoning the steep slopes from Preserved to Managed those slopes
below the 700-foot contour. Staff recommends denial of rezoning the steep slopes from
Preserved to Managed those slopes above the 700-foot contour.
ZMA202100012 Skyline Ridge Apartments
PC Public Hearing — February 1, 2022
STAFF PERSON: Ben Holt, Senior Planner
PLANNING COMMISSION: February 1, 2022
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS: February 16 (tentative)
PETITION:
PROJECT: ZMA202100012 Skyline Ridge Apartments
MAGISTERIAL DISTRICT: Jack Jouett
TAX MAP/PARCEL(S): 06000000004008
LOCATION: Colonnade Dr, approximately 1200 linear feet south of the intersection of
Colonnade Drive and Ivy Road (Route 250).
PROPOSAL: Zoning map amendment (ZMA) to amend the preserved steep slopes within
the previously approved disturbance area for the Skyline Ridge project.
PETITION: Amend 35,905 square feet or 0.82 acres of verified Preserved Slopes overlay as
Managed Slopes zoning overlay. The underlying zoning of the property would remain R15
Residential. If the steep slopes zoning overlay amendment is successful, in accordance with
Zoning Ordinance Sections 30.7.3 and 30.7.4, the applicant intends to construct a 74-unit
multifamily apartment complex. The proposed multifamily housing development would be
allowed by -right in the R15 Residential district with approval of a site plan.
ZONING: R15 Residential — 15 units/acre
OVERLAY DISTRICT(S): Airport Impact Area, Steep Slope Overlay
ENTRANCE CORRIDOR (EC): No
PROFFERS:No
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN: (1) Urban Density Residential — residential (6.01-34 units/acre);
supporting uses such as places of worship, schools, public and institutional uses,
neighborhood scale commercial, office and service uses. (2) Parks and Green Systems —
parks, playgrounds, play fields, greenways, trails, paths, recreational facilities and
equipment, plazas, outdoor sitting areas, natural areas, preservation of stream buffers,
floodplains and steep slopes adjacent to rivers and streams in Neighborhood 6 — Western
Neighborhoods Master Plan.
CHARACTER OF THE AREA
The application involves a single parcel, identified as Tax Map Parcel (TMP) 60-4008, which
is located within the Western Neighborhoods Development Area (Attachment E). The parcel
is 4.96 acres and is zoned R15 Residential. The property includes portions of Steep Slopes
and Airport Impact Area zoning overlays. The property is undeveloped and mostly wooded.
Signs of previous land disturbance/grading are present on the property.
Surrounding properties include multi -family apartments located to the north and east of the
subject property. Adjacent to the south and west are single family dwellings, including a
residence atop Lewis Mountain, immediately to the west. A water tower owned by Rivanna
Water and Sewer Authority (RWSA) is also located directly to the south.
SPECIFICS OF THE PROPOSAL
The applicant, Woodard Properties, is requesting approval of a Zoning Map Amendment
(ZMA) to reclassify a portion of the Preserved Slopes zoning overlay as Managed Slopes on
the subject property, Tax Map Parcel 60-4008. The application pertains only to the steep
slopes overlay, the underlying R15 Residential zoning would remain the same. If the steep
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slopes zoning overlay rezoning is successful, the applicant intends to utilize the property for
a 74-unit (multi -family) apartment development.
Details of the applicant's request are described within their application materials, a Narrative
(Attachment A) and a Concept Plan/Exhibit (Attachment B). The Narrative provides historical
context for the subject property. In the late 90s a site plan was approved for a 74-unit
apartment complex and a land disturbance permit was issued in 1997. Initial grading and
utilities preparations were performed, and the development was later halted in 1998.
Remnants of the previous land disturbance can be seen in the terrain of the graded areas
and the younger vegetation within the proposed project area (area of disturbance).
Since the project was halted, the County adopted the steep slopes overlay district in 2014
(Section 30.7 of the Zoning Ordinance). Areas of the property now designated as Preserved
Slopes are mostly located in the western portion of the parcel outside proposed area of
disturbance.
However, portions of the Preserved Slopes overlay are also located within the historical (and
proposed) area of disturbance. According to the applicant's Concept Plan (Attachment B),
County GIS designates 1.12 acres within the proposed area of disturbance as preserved
steep slopes. The same document indicates that onsite surveying has yielded a lesser
amount of (verified) preserved slopes: 0.82 acres of preserved slopes (with a grade of 25%
or greater) within the proposed area of disturbance. Preserved Slopes with a demonstrated
grade of less than 25% may be disturbed by -right.
The applicant contends that the preserved slopes portions within the historical area of
disturbance are manufactured slopes that were created by the previous land disturbance
noted above. If the steep slopes overlay rezoning is approved, a new site plan would be
required should the applicant wish to proceed with their proposed multi -family development.
APPLICANT'S JUSTIFICATION FOR THE REQUEST
The applicant has provided a detailed request found within the Narrative (Attachment A) and
Concept Plan/Exhibit (Attachment B).
COMMUNITY MEETING
On November 30, 2021 the applicants conducted a Community Meeting for ZMA202100012
online (in accordance with the County's policy of COVID-19 mitigation). The meeting was
attended by two members of the public, as well as the district Supervisor, Diantha McKeel,
and Planning Commissioner, Julian Bivins. Attendees heard presentations from staff and the
applicant regarding the proposal. During the meeting concern was expressed about
potential runoff during construction. Staff notes that development of the property will be
subject to review, including review of soil erosion control measures.
PLANNING AND ZONING HISTORY
As previously noted, a site plan was approved in the late 90s for a 74-unit multi -family
housing development. The approvals include a preliminary site plan, SDP199600052 and
final site plan, SDP199700096. The property was graded following the site plan approval,
but the property development ceased in 1998. The County adopted the Steep Slopes
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Overlay zoning district in 2014, which designated a substantial portion of the property as
Preserved (Steep) Slopes.
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
Analysis of the Western Neighborhoods Master Plan
The subject property is located within the Western Neighborhoods Development Area and is
subject to the recommendations of the Future Land Use plan of the Western Neighborhoods. A
description of the applicable land use classifications and an overview map are provided below.
The property includes recommendation for two Future Land Use classifications: Neighborhood
Density Residential (orange color in image) and Parks & Green Systems (green color).
Allowed uses for these classifications are noted below.
Neighborhood Density Residential:
• Residential areas with densities between 6.01 and 34 units per acre.
• Places of Worship
• Schools or public/institutional uses
• Neighborhood scale commercial
• Office and service uses
Parks & Green Systems:
• Parks, playgrounds and play fields
• Greenways, trails and paths
• Recreational facilities and equipment
• Plazas, outdoor sitting areas and natural areas
• Preservation of stream buffers, floodplains and steep slopes
adjacent to rivers and streams
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This request is a rezoning request to amend the designation of steep slopes on the property
and is not a proposal for any specific type of development. Accordingly, staff analysis is
limited to the relationship of the Comprehensive Plan to the Steep Slopes designation and
not the residential designation of the property.
The area of the Comprehensive Plan shown as Parks and Green Systems appears to
correspond to those portions of the property that are shown as having slopes of 25% or
greater on the County topography. These slopes were designated as Preserved Slopes
after the adoption of the Comprehensive Plan. One factor in designating slopes as
preserved is "the slopes are identified as a resource designated for preservation in the
comprehensive plan". The designation of the slopes as preserved is consistent with the
Comprehensive Plan.
Those portions of the property above the 700-foot elevation are designated as a Mountain
Resource in the Comprehensive Plan. Chapter 4, pages 35-37 discuss Mountain Resources
and includes the following relevant strategies.
5a: Continue to protect mountain resources identified for protection on the Mountain
Contour List.
5c: Protect slopes of 25% or greater in the Development Areas that are shown for
preservation on Development Area Master Plan maps.
Rezoning of the slopes from Preserved to Managed is not consistent with the
Comprehensive Plan designation of the slopes as Parks and Green Systems. Additionally,
rezoning to permit disturbance of slopes above the 700-foot elevation contour is not
consistent with the Mountain Resource protection recommendations of the Comprehensive
Plan.
ZONING ORDINANCE REQUIREMENTS
Relationship between the application and the intent and purposes of the requested zoning
district:
The applicable section of the Zoning Ordinance for the application is Sec. 30.7 Steep Slopes
Overlay. The application seeks to reclassify a portion of the Preserved (Steep) Slopes on
the property as Managed Slopes. The following information presents the ordinance criteria
of both Preserved Slopes (Sec. 30.7.3.A) and Managed Slopes (Sec. 30.7.3.B) with staff
analysis (in italics) following the ordinance criteria.
Section 30.7.3.A Managed Slopes
The characteristics of managed slopes are the following:
i. the contiguous area of steep slopes is limited or fragmented; The steep slopes
proposed for rezoning below the 700-foot contour are somewhat fragmented.
However, in staff opinion they form a close grouping of slopes. The portion of slopes
proposed for rezoning above the 700-foot contour and the slopes on the northern
portion of the property are a large or close grouping of slopes.
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ii. the slopes are not associated with or abutting a water feature, including, but not
limited to, a river, stream, reservoir or pond; Slopes on the property are not
associated with or abutting a water feature.
iii. the slopes are not natural but, instead, are manufactured; The steep slopes within the
project area appear to have been largely created by previous grading in 1997 and
1998, prior to adoption of the Steep Slopes overlay district in 2014. Some slopes
above the 700-foot contour appear to have been disturbed with prior approvals.
However, no disturbance appears to have occurred above approximately the 720-foot
contour.
iv. the slopes were significantly disturbed prior to June 1, 2012; As noted above, the
majority of the slopes were disturbed prior to June 2012.
V. the slopes are located within previously approved single-family residential lots; or the
slopes are shown to be disturbed, or allowed to be disturbed, by a prior county action.
The property was approved for development by site plan approvals in 1996 and 1997.
All approvals have expired.
Section 30.7.3.13 Preserved Slopes
The characteristics of preserved slopes are the following:
i. the slopes are a contiguous area of 10,000 square feet or more or a close grouping of
slopes, any or all of which may be less than 10,000 square feet but whose aggregate
area is 10,000 square feet or more; As stated above some of the slopes are
fragmented. However, they are either a large contiguous area or form a close
grouping of slopes.
ii. the slopes are part of a system of slopes associated with or abutting a water feature
including, but not limited to, a river, stream, reservoir or pond; The slopes are not
associated with or abutting a water feature.
iii. the slopes are part of a hillside system; The slopes are part of the hillside system of
Lewis Mountain.
iv. the slopes are identified as a resource designated for preservation in the
comprehensive plan; The slopes are identified as a resource designated for
preservation according to the Land Use Plan within the Western Neighborhoods
Master Plan. The slopes above the 700-foot contour are designated as by the
comprehensive plan as a Mountain Resource.
V. the slopes are identified as a resource in the comprehensive plan; The slopes are
identified as a resource according to the Land Use Plan within the Western
Neighborhoods Master Plan. The slopes above the 700-foot contour are designated
as by the comprehensive plan as a Mountain Resource.
vi. the slopes are of significant value to the entrance corridor overlay district; The slopes
are not a contributing feature within a corridor overlay district.
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vii. the slopes have been preserved by a prior county action, including, but not limited to,
the placement of an easement on the slopes or the acceptance of a proffer or the
imposition of a condition, restricting land disturbing activity on the slopes. The slopes
have not been preserved by prior County action. As stated above, the slopes were
approved for disturbance by prior County action. However, those approvals have
expired.
Anticipated impact on public facilities and services:
All rezonings are reviewed for the following impacts.
Streets:
Since the application will not increase the density of the underlying R15 Residential zoning,
a Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) is not required. VDOT would review the subsequent site plan
for any proposed development.
Schools:
Students living in this area would attend Greer Elementary, Jouett Middle School, and
Western Albemarle High School. The anticipated number of students generated at each
school level are not a factor for the application, which would not increase the density of the
existing R15 Residential zoning.
Fire & Rescue:
The current proposal to rezone the steep slopes overlay does not require review by Fire &
Rescue. Fire & Rescue would review any future site plan for the property, should the Zoning
Map Amendment be approved.
Utilities:
This project is in the Albemarle County Service Authority (ACSA) jurisdictional area for both
water and sewer. As with traffic and Fire/Rescue impacts, utilities would be reviewed during
site plan.
Anticipated impact on environmental, cultural and historic resources:
There are no known cultural or historic resources on the subject properties.
Stormwater management would be reviewed by County Engineering staff during the site
planning stage of the project. The project would be required to meet all applicable standards
of Zoning Ordinance Section 32 for Site Plans and the aforementioned Sec. 30.7 pertaining
to Steep Slopes. The review would also include Sec. 30.7.5 — Design Standards, which
specifies requirements for retaining walls, cuts and fills and water diversions. Stormwater
facilities will be designed in accordance with the Virginia Stormwater Management Program
(VSMP) regulations administered by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
(DEQ). No special measures are needed to address development of this property.
Anticipated impact on nearby and surrounding properties:
The proposal is consistent with existing residential uses on surrounding properties. As
previously noted, multi -family apartments are located on adjacent properties to the north and
east. These properties are also served by Colonnade Drive. Traffic generation associated
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with this development would generate additional vehicle trips for Colonnade Drive, which
would be reviewed by County Staff and VDOT during site plan. The proposed development
also has the potential to impact the viewshed of neighboring properties. Staff opinion is that
approval of this request would not be inconsistent with the development that has occurred
on nearby and surrounding properties.
Public need and justification for the change:
The County's growth management policy states that new residential development should
occur in the designated Development Areas where infrastructure and services are provided,
rather than in the Rural Area. The current housing market does indicate a need for
additional housing supply, including multi -family residential development as proposed by the
applicant. However, the proposal does not completely conform to recommendations by The
Comprehensive Plan and the Western Neighborhoods Master Plan due to the presence of
Parks & Green Systems land use designation and Mountain Resource designation within
the proposed project area.
PROFFERS
The proposed Zoning Map Amendment pertains only to the steep slopes overlay; the
underlying R15 Residential zoning will not be impacted. As such, the residential density of
the property would not increase. No proffers have been proposed by the applicant.
MODIFICATION REQUESTS
The applicant is not requesting any modifications in addition to the rezoning request.
SUMMARY
Staff has identified the following factors which are favorable to this request:
The slopes appear to be manufactured slopes, created in association with previous
site plan approvals issued by the County.
2. The request is consistent with the County Growth Management Policy, directing
new development to the Development Areas.
3. The slopes are not associated with water features.
Staff has identified the following factors which are unfavorable to this request:
1. The request would disturb areas designated as Parks & Green Systems in the
Comprehensive Plan.
2. The request would disturb areas designated as a Mountain Resource in the
Comprehensive Plan.
3. The slopes form a contiguous area of 10,000 square feet or more or a close
grouping of slopes of less than 10,000 square feet.
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RECOMMENDATION
Zoning Map Amendment: The request to amend the Steep Slopes zoning overlay includes
a mix of both favorable and unfavorable factors. The property has been impacted by
previous development and those slopes should be treated as manufactured slopes rather
than naturally occurring slopes.
The most prominent of the unfavorable factors is the Comprehensive Plan designations.
Portions of the property are designated Parks & Green Systems and Mountain Resource.
Staff recommends approval of rezoning the steep slopes from Preserved to Managed for
those slopes below the 700-foot contour. Staff recommends denial of rezoning the steep
slopes from Preserved to Managed for those slopes above the 700-foot contour.
Motions for the rezoning request, one recommending approval and one
recommending denial, will be provided at the Planning Commission meeting.
ATTACHMENTS:
A — Narrative
B — Concept Plan/Exhibit
C — 700' Contour Reference
D — Land Use Map: Western Neighborhoods
E — Location Map
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