HomeMy WebLinkAboutSP202100017 Review Comments Special Use Permit 2022-04-19cnf�r William D. Fritz, AICP
rh „ County of Albemarle bfritz@albemarle.org
Community Development Department -Department Telephone: (434) 296-5832 ext. 3242
To:
Scott Clark
From:
Bill Fritz
RE:
SP 2021-17 Foster Forge Farm School
Date:
April 19, 2022
As requested, I have reviewed the concept plan dated 12/13/21 submitted in support of the application. A site plan will be
required prior to development of the site. The plan submitted does not meet the minimum requirements for an initial site
plan and my comments are limited to issues the applicant should address prior to submittal, or with submittal of the initial
site plan. There appear to be multiple items shown on the site plan that require approval of modifications, variations or
special exceptions. The applicant should be put on notice, and the Board of Supervisors should state in action to approve
the special use permit that approval of the special use permit does not constitute approval or support for any
modifications, variations or special exceptions.
1. The proposed 20 foot wide gravel fire truck access on the western side and the walking trail of the property
appears to impact critical slopes (incorrectly identified as "steep slopes'). Disturbance of critical slopes will require
approval of a special exception by the Board of Supervisors. The applicant may submit a special exception request
independently from an initial site plan.
2. The proposed 20 foot wide gravel fire truck access on the western side crosses an earth embankment dam. This
will require evaluation during the review of the initial site plan to verify that the design of the dam is adequate to
support access.
3. All access and parking area appear to be gravel without curbing. This will require a special exception. This may
only be evaluated with the review of an initial site plan.
4. The Fire Truck Access has grades exceeding 10%. This requires approval of a special exception.
5. The number of required parking spaces cannot be verified at this time. Please refer to the parking standard for
"schools" in Chapter 18, Section 4.12.16.
6. 1 believe that the front portion of this property was filled sometime in the mid to late 2000s. Fill area is not
suitable for conventional subsurface drainfields. The applicant will need to either pump effluent to an area with
suitable soils or make use of alternative waste disposal methods.
I recommend considering the possibility that additional parking may be required and the impact on critical slopes be
considered as part of the evaluation of the impacts generated by the proposed private school. The impact of fill material in
the front portion of the site should also be considered during the evaluation of the special use permit as it will require
waste disposal methods that are not typical.
The other issues are significant design issues but do not significantly alter the impacts caused by use of this property as a
school.
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