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Home My WebLink AboutSDP202200048 Correspondence 2022-06-29SHIMP ENGINEERING, P.C. Design Focused Engineering June 28, 2022 Claudette Borgersen, Clerk Albemarle County Board of Supervisors Department of Community Development 401 McIntire Road, North Wing Charlottesville, Virginia 22902 RE: Major Site Plan Amendment Number Pending — Regents School of Charlottesville Request for Central Water Supply and Central Sewerage System Sec. 16-102 Dear Ms. Borgersen, Chapter 16 Article I of the Albemarle County Code outlines the procedures for the establishment of a central water supply and central sewerage system. In conjunction with the review of the major site plan amendment for Regents School of Charlottesville, we, on behalf of Regents School of Charlottesville (the "applicant") request permission to construct a central water supply on TMP 07600-00-00-01700 (the "property") and to expand the approved central sewerage system; the approved final site plan for the Regents School of Charlottesville (SDP2020-00052) proposed the construction of a private school on TMP 07600-00-00-01700 and a new central sewerage system with 13 total connections. This major site plan amendment proposes a shift of the site plan to accommodate a larger athletic field, additional school buildings, and a central water supply to serve the private school use; while the approved final site plan proposed 11 buildings, the major site plan amendment proposes the construction of 18 buildings (19 buildings with the future building), each to have water and sewer service. Due to this revision, we request the expansion of the central sewerage system to 19 connections and a central water supply system to establish one water meter for the school use. In accordance with Sec. 16-102, please consider this request the required notice for this proposal to establish a central water supply. Location: The central water supply will be located on TMP 07600-00-00-01700. The property is located on the south side of Reservoir Road and are just north of the Route 29/Interstate 64 interchange. The central water supply on TMP 07600-00-00-01700 would be located centrally on the property, within a shared open space, Regents Plaza. The central sewerage system will remain located on TMP 07600-00-00-01700, to the rear of the proposed building improvements. The private sewer laterals from the proposed buildings would connect to a private gravity main, ultimately connecting to a private pump station located on the subject property. Connection Numbers: The central water supply and central sewerage system would serve up to 19 school buildings. Statement of Central Sewerage System Proposal and Description: The central sewerage system would remain on TMP 07600-00-00-01700. From the approved request, this revision is only limited to the number of connections, expanding service to 19 connections. The following statement was provided with the approved central sewerage system request and remains as part of this proposal: 912 E. High St. Charlottesville, VA 22902 1434.227.5140 1 shimp-engineering.com The central sewerage system proposed consists of a system of sewer laterals from structures on the Regents property, which would connect to a private pump station on -site, that will move effluent through a 3 " or 4" sanitary sewer force main to be located on the adjacent Trinity Church property, to Fontaine Avenue where it will connect to existing public services. A sewer easement between the properties will be included with the easement plats to be submitted to the County. A central sewer request is beingpursued as no public sewer currently exists in Reservoir Road and there is not a public sewer utility located on a neighboringproperty. Additionally, it is practical for this site to be served by a pump station given the topography of the site and the relationship of the site to the nearest public sewer; the public utilityprovider would not want to maintain the pump station serving this site. The private connections and pump station needed to serve Regents School would provide necessary sewer functions on -site. As the property is of commercial/institutional use, maintenance of the central sewer system would fall on the business owners of the properties. Communications with the Albemarle County Service Authority indicated that a pump station would not be accepted for single customer. A central sewer request would serve the Regents School property without placing additional burden on the Albemarle County Service Authority and its constituents with the maintenance and operation of these facilities. Statement of Central Water Supply Proposal and Description: The central water system proposed consists of a system of water service lines from structures on the Regents property, which would connect to a central water meter on -site. The central water meter would be served by a new 8" waterline; the new 8" waterline would replace the existing 6" waterline along Reservoir Road with a parallel install. A central water system request is being pursued, due to the unique design of the proposed Regents School. As an undeveloped site of 19.11 acres in Albemarle County, the property presents an exceptional opportunity of a private school development served by two major regional transportation corridors of Route 29 and Interstate 64, that integrates the existing wooded areas into the site design. Following the approval of the special use permit, allowing for a private school use on the property, Regents School engaged with designers and the study period produced a phased school site mindful of the surrounding natural context. For the initial phase of development, the architects proposed smaller building footprints on pier foundations, with elevated decks around the classrooms for circulation. Traditional school layouts utilize one or few larger building footprints for daily operations and these larger buildings require extensive site work and land disturbance, whereas the proposed classrooms of Regents School are predominately 1,200 square feet and require minimal grading. This integrated design creates an educational framework where students may learn alongside the natural environment. As technology becomes increasingly entrenched into our daily lives, rises in screen time and associated sedentary activity is more commonplace, especially in school -age children'. Concurrently, children are becoming more detached from the natural world, with sedentary lifestyles, changes in the urban development towards car -centric design, and perceived safety of outdoor play". Continuing to foster relationships between school -age children and the natural world is vital to thriving childhood development, with impacts on emotional self -regulation, attention, creativity, social development, and future stewardship"'. As the students at Regents spend the majority of their day at school, ease of access to engage with the natural surroundings provides profound benefits in, not only academic success, but also overall wellbeing. In addition to nature -based site design, the smaller building footprints are significant in allowing for flexibility in future school design and expansion. The opportunity to adapt and expand to a growing student body is paramount for school planning, particularly as Albemarle County anticipates future growth'° and private school attendance would similarly increase with population growth. One central water meter continues to allow for flexibility in future school design while accommodating the unique site layout of the new school development. Furthermore, the reality of one owner shouldering the 19 separate water meter fees is cost -prohibitive. As each water meter connection is approximately $18,000, requiring 19 new connections would create unwarranted burden for the school. The realization of the proposed site design, financial feasibility, and the ability for future expansion necessitates a central water meter on the site. Considering that the final site plan amendment would serve as the first phase of school development, buildings may be added, removed, or consolidated in the future, which would require connections or disconnections to individual water meters as needed. As Regents School seeks to establish the property as a long-term school site, the property and the central water meter and service lines would remain under one ownership for the duration of Regents School operations and a central water meter would not create undue burden on the County nor the Service Authority. Regards, Justin Shimp 'Whittle, Imogene. "Nature Play in Early Years Education." Nature Play QLD - Getting Our Kids Outdoors, Nature Play QLD, 16 July 2016, www.natureplaygld.org.au/nature-play-in-early-years-education. Louv, Richard. Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature -Deficit Disorder. Atlantic Books, 2013. Kuo M, Banes M and Jordan C (2019) Do Experiences With Nature Promote Learning? Converging Evidence of a Cause -and - Effect Relationship. Front. Psychol., 19 February 2019 '° Housing Albemarle: Recommendations for a New Housing Policy, 2021