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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLOD202200009 Letter of Determination 2022-06-17WILLIAMS MULLEN Direct Dial: 434.951.5709 vlong@williamsmullen.com June 17, 2022 Mr. Francis MacCall Deputy Zoning Administrator Albemarle County 401 McIntire Road Charlottesville, VA 22902 Re: Request for Official Letter of Determination- White Gables II Pavilion VI (TMP 60-26) Dear Mr. MacCall: Enclosed please find an application for an Official Letter of Determination in connection with the prior approvals for White Gables. Our firm represents White Gables II, LLC, the owner of the property comprising the second phase of White Gables. The Owner wishes to obtain an official letter of determination that with regard to Pavilion VI, that a building comprised of four (4) stories plus parking is in general accord with the Conceptual Plan approved with SP 2002-023 White Gables (the "2002 SUP"). The property is located at White Gables Lane, is identified as parcel 60-26 (the "Property"), and is zoned CO, Commercial Office with a special use permit for residential dwelling units, pursuant to Section 23.3.3.9 of the Zoning Ordinance, which allows R-15 Residential uses in a CO district by special use permit. WILLIAMS MULLEN Direct Dial: 434.951.5709 vlong@williamsmullen.com The Board of Supervisors approved the 2002 SUP with conditions and a Conceptual Plan on March 19, 2003, attached as Attachment 1. Specifically, the 2002 SUP permits up to 76 condominium dwelling units within six (6) buildings, identified as pavilions. An existing manor house on the property was incorporated into and renovated for the development, and is now under separate ownership. The Conceptual Plan included details regarding the proposal which included the number of units and stories for each pavilion. However, the height of the buildings was not included on the Conceptual Plan. Instead, the building height was regulated by the zoning of the Property at the time of the approval, which was a maximum height of 65 feet under CO Commercial Office. White Gables has been planned and developed in multiple phases. As such, there have been a number of site plans approved for the Property and the final site plan for Phase 1 was approved in December 2003 (SDP 2003-034). Pavilions I, III, and V have been constructed as Phase 1 along with landscaping and amenity space. A site plan amendment for Pavilions II, IV, and VI was submitted and approved on November 12, 2021 for Phase 2 of the project, which includes Pavilions II, IV, and VI (SDP 2020-077). On that site plan amendment Pavilion II and IV are shown as four (4) stories with parking, and Pavilion VI is shown as three (3) stories with parking. The units comprising Phase 2 include a total of 42 condominium units within the three Pavilions, and a total of 72 condominium units within both phases of White Gables. The Owner now wishes to construct Pavilion VI with four stories with parking, at a height within the permitted limit of 65 feet. The building will otherwise be the same design as that which was approved for Pavilion IV, as shown on the materials from the Architectural Review Board's review and approval of that building on Attachment 2. During the review of the 2002 SUP, concerns were raised about the initial project design that provided for two additional buildings closer to Route 250, which were expected to be highly visible from the road. That initial design also involved significant disturbance of the front lawn and disturbance of the historic setback between buildings and the stone wall along the frontage. The revised Concept Plan that was approved with the 2002 SUP is subject to condition #2 that established a 215-foot setback from the southern property line to specifically address this issue and mitigate the concern. Other concerns related to the number of stories closest to Route 250 included the relationship to the manor house and adjacent property. As is demonstrated in the attached exhibit (Attachment 3), the scale of Pavilion VI with an additional story will be similar to Pavilion V, which has a slightly higher finished floor elevation. In addition, support for the additional story has been provided by the John Darrell Trust, the owner of the manor house, as well as the existing White Gables Condominium Unit Owners Association as shown on Attachment 4. WILLIAMS MULLEN Direct Dial: 434.951.5709 vlong@williamsmullen.com Below are reasons why we contend that the proposal for Pavilion VI to have four stories over parking is in general accord with the approved 2002 Concept Plan: • Since the maximum building height in the zoning district is 65 feet, and the Concept Plan does not limit any building to a particular height, it is notable that the owner could build a 3-story building over parking with higher floor -to -ceiling heights that would be taller than the proposed Pavilion VI with four stories over parking; in other words, the proposed Pavilion VI will not be taller in height than a building that could be built today with three stories. • Pavilion VI will be 59' 41/2" tall, well within the CO zoning district's maximum height limit of 65 feet, as shown on Attachment 3. • As demonstrated by Attachment 3, the proposal for Pavilion VI with four stories over parking is not out of proportion to Pavilion V to its west. In fact, the exhibit demonstrates that the difference between the highest point of Pavilion VI is only 7.3 feet above the highest point of Pavilion V. • Attachment 3 similarly demonstrates that the proposal for Pavilion VI will not have an adverse impact on the adjacent office building located on parcel 60-25, in that they are also of similar height, scale, and mass. • White Gables Phases 1 and 2 combined will total 72 units, which is four fewer units than is permitted under the 2002 SUP. Therefore, this request will not increase the development density or intensity of the development. • Letters of support from the Phase 1 unit Owners Association and the owner of the former manor home confirm that the proposal for Pavilion VI will not have an adverse impact on their properties. • As demonstrated by the image in Attachment 5, as a result of the large 215-foot building setback and the extensive mature vegetation between Route 250 and the buildings, only a portion of the existing Pavilion V is visible from Route 250. We believe this image demonstrates that only a small portion of Pavilion VI would be visible from Route 250 as well, and that it is possible that no portion of Pavilion VI would be visible from Route 250. For all of these reasons, we believe we have demonstrated that the proposal for Pavilion VI is in general accord with the approved 2002 SUP Concept Plan, and we request your confirmation of that determination. WILLIAMS MULLEN Direct Dial: 434.951.5709 vlong@williamsmullen.com Thank you for your assistance with this request. Please let us know if there is any additional information that is needed in order to confirm our request. Sincerely, (1a&V O ! 1' zoqq� Valerie W. Long Attachments: 1. SP 2002-023 Action Letter and Conceptual Plan 2. Architectural Review Board Approval of Pavilion IV 3. Proposed Four Story Section Exhibit 4. Letters of Support 5. Google Street View Image from Route 250 cc: White Gables II, LLC Collins Engineering (100276063.3)