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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZMA202200004 Resubmittal 2023-01-13 (3)SHIMP ENGINEERING, P.C. Design Focused Engineering Revised January 13, 2023 County of Albemarle Department of Community Development 401 McIntire Road, North Wing Charlottesville, Virginia 22902 RE: ZMA202200004 1906 Avon Street Request for Waiver from Section 14-422(D) Public Road "A" and Private Road "A" — Planting Strips To Whom It May Concern, Pursuant to Section 14-422(F), the Albemarle County Planning Commission may vary or except the requirements of sections 14-422(D) of the Subdivision Ordinance. The applicant for the rezoning of tax map parcels 09000-00-00-03300, 09000-00-00-033C, and 09000-00-00-033BO requests a waiver from the requirement that the planting strip must be located between the curb and the sidewalk. The application for 1906 Avon Street seeks a rezoning from R-1 Residential to R-15 Residential. If approved, the property could develop a maximum of 38 units. Hathaway Street, an existing public street that currently ends at the shared property boundary with Avon Park, is proposed to extend through the property and stub -out at the northern property line of tax map parcel 90-33B. Private Road A and B are proposed to connect to Public Road A and provide vehicular access to units in Block 1. We request to a waiver for the planting strip requirement along Public Road A and Private Road A. To allow for maximum greenspace and recreational area adjacent to homes, planting strips are only proposed on one side of Public Road A. For Private Road A, planting strips are proposed to be omitted, where there are no sidewalks; Private Road A is proposed with sidewalks only on one side. With regard to the planting strip waiver request, please consider the following analysis from Section 14- 422(Fx2): (i) A request for variation or exception to allow for a rural section has not been granted nor requested. (ii) A sidewalk waiver request is provided with this planting strip request for Private Road A. (iii) Elimination of the planting strip does not contradict goals of the comprehensive plan, the neighborhood model, or the Southern and Western Neighborhoods master plan. The intent of the landscape strip is to achieve a more urban streetscape and to provide pedestrian comfort along sidewalks and walkways. For Private Road A, a sidewalk is only proposed on one side of the street and this request seeks to waive the requirement of the planting strip where the sidewalk is not proposed, as planting strips cannot be located between the sidewalk and curb in these circumstances. As described in the sidewalk waiver request, omitting the sidewalk and planting strip on one side of Private Road A and omitting the planting strip on one side of Public Road A allows for a redevelopment of an R-1 property that maintains pedestrian orientation, a mixture of housing types and affordability, and robust recreational and open space; these waivers allow for area to be utilized towards these neighborhood model SHIMP ENGINEERING, P.C. Design Focused Engineering principles. For Public Road A, area that would have been reserved for a planting strip may be instead used towards additional greenspace and recreational area surrounding the townhomes. Elimination of the planting strip along Public Road A provides additional amenity space while maintaining a direct pedestrian connection to this central area. (iv) Waiving the requirement would enable different principles of the neighborhood model to be more fully achieved. Without a waiver to omit planting strips on one side of Public Road A and Private Road A, the development may not be able to fully achieve a mixture of housing types and affordability, a goal identified by the Comprehensive Plan. Where the Comprehensive Plan seeks to "promote density within the Development Areas to help create new compact urban places" (Development Areas: Objective 5 8.29), allowing for planting strips to be waived on one side of Private Road A and Public Road A would promote compact redevelopment of the site, while maintaining pedestrian connections throughout the site. The intent behind the planting strip requirement of the subdivision ordinance is to encourage pedestrian use and to create a more urban street section. This intent would be still be upheld if planting strips were waived in these locations; allowing for sidewalk and planting strip on just one side of the street along Private Road A provides adequate pedestrian connectivity throughout the development while meeting goals of mixed housing types and affordability and robust amenity space. Front doors of the residences are positioned along Private Road A, which would encourage pedestrian activity along the street, regardless of the presence of a planting strip. For Public Road A, elimination of the planting strip would reserve more area for green and amenity space, and further bolster this `destination' that would still encourage pedestrian activity along neighborhood streets.