Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutSDP200800041 Review Comments Preliminary Site Plan 2009-01-30S . o GINIP COUNTY OF ALBEMARLE Department of Community Development 401 McIntire Road, Room 227 Charlottesville, Virginia 22902 -4596 Phone (434) 296 -5832 Fax (434) 972 -4126 January 30, 2009 Richard Spurzem Neighborhood Investments- NP,LCC PO Drawer R Charlottesville, VA 22903 Re: Variations from Application Plan for SDP - 2008 -00041 North Pointe Preliminary Site Plan (Northwest Residential Area) dated May 2, 2008 — Advisory Comments Dear Mr. Spurzem: As promised at our meeting on Tuesday, January 20, 2009, this letter provides advisory comments on how to address those features on the above - referenced site plan that would require a variation. It further details points raised in Item 2. Buildings and parking areas not in conservation areas of the letter to you from Amelia McCulley and me dated September 23, 2008 in which we said that the location, number, design, layout and orientation of buildings and parking areas not in conservation areas do not comply with the Application Plan. That letter also indicated that when buildings and uses are shown on an application plan, changes in their arrangement are permitted only if a variation is granted under Albemarle County Code Section 18- 8.5.5.3(a) (2). The following advisory comments are specific to the above referenced site plan submittal and do not anticipate changes other than the potential deletion of the stormwater management (SWM) facility in the vicinity of the proposed Korean Church. Item 2.A. in the September 23 letter said that "Buildings and parking areas are shown on the Site Plan in an area adjacent to SWM Facility #10 where the Application Plan shows no buildings or parking." Item 2.B, said, "The number, design and layout of the buildings shown on the Site Plan near SWM #10 results in proposed stormwater facilities which will require construction of steep slopes inside the basins and cause parking lots near the basins to have 10 foot retaining walls. Although details of the stormwater facilities were not required on the application plan, the proposed grading and stormwater uses do not comply with the Application Plan." Under either of the following conditions, a variation could be approved to allow buildings and parking areas near SWM #10 that were not shown on the Application Plan. The conditions would be either to: 1) Establish slopes between the buildings /parking areas and SWM #10 that are no steeper than 3:1 and vegetated, or, alternatively, to 2) construct retaining walls no greater than 5 feet in height and terraced if necessary with a planted shelf between the terraced walls of a minimum twice the width of the height of the retaining walls. Under either condition, due to the resulting close proximity of the buildings /parking areas to SWM #10 and visual changes from U.S. 29, a preliminary site plan demonstrating appropriate design for erosion control, stormwater management and safety as well as appearance from the Entrance Corridor would be necessary to allow me to determine that the variation satisfies all of the elements in Albemarle County Code Section 18- 8.5.5.3(c) and, in particular for this variation, that the variation "is in general accord with the purpose and intent of the approved application ". Therefore, the preliminary site plan would need to be revised to show one of these two conditions. Also please note that, as proffered in Section II. Entrance Corridors 2.2, Appearance of Storm Water Management ( "SWM ") Facilities of the North Pointe Proffer Statement dated July 20, 2006, this SWM facility will require review and approval by the ARB. Item 2.C. in the September 23 letter said that, "Unit orientation towards Northwest Passage is different than shown on the Application Plan on both the western and eastern side of Northwest Passage. Units were not shown along the street on the western side of Northwest Passage on the Application Plan." A variation could be approved if the units face the street and have sidewalks connecting the units to sidewalks along the street. The Northwest Passage street section would need to include sidewalks and street trees on both sides of the street with street trees located between the back of the curb and the sidewalk. These features would allow me to determine that the variation satisfies all of the elements in Albemarle County Code Section 18- 8.5.5.3(c) and, in particular for this variation, that the variation "is in general accord with the purpose and intent of the approved application ". Either the preliminary site plan would need to be revised to reflect these features or its approval conditioned on the provision of these features as necessary for final site plan approval. Road plans submitted with the final site plan also would need to reflect these features. Item 2.D. in the September 23 letter said that, "Units on the western side of Northwest Passage are shown on the Site Plan in areas where no development was shown on the Application Plan. The number, design, and layout of these buildings cause the need for a stormwater management facility west of the easement for the Korean Church ..." I indicated in our January 20 meeting that this stormwater management facility as located on the site plan cannot be varied under Albemarle County Code Section 18- 8.5.5.3(a)(2) because "major elements shown on the [application] plan and their relationships" would not "remain the same ". However, it is my understanding that, based on alternative designs for handling stormwater discussed with Mark Graham at that meeting, your engineer would be looking into designs that would not require this stormwater management facility. Therefore, we are assuming this facility will be omitted and other stormwater management solutions will be incorporated into the developed area. Thank you for the opportunity to provide these advisory comments and please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any questions. We hope this letter provides helpful information to allow this project to move forward. Sincerely, �i F bdr,�VV14_111 V. Wayne 611 imberg Director o Planning— Cc: Larry Davis Mark Graham Amelia McCulley Gerald Gatobu