HomeMy WebLinkAboutSP200900008 Review Comments Special Use Permit 2009-05-01�'JRGINLP
COUNTY OF ALBEMARLE
Department of Community Development
401 McIntire Road, North Wing
Charlottesville, Virginia 22902 -4596
Phone (434) 296 -5832 Fax (434) 972 -4126
May 1, 2009
Mr. Scott Collins
Collins Engineering
800 East Jefferson St.
Charlottesville, VA 22902
RE: SP2009 -008 White Gables — Special Use Permit
Dear Mr. Collins:
Thank you for your recent submittal received on March 16th for the above noted project for Tax
Map and Parcel 60 -26. Staff has reviewed your submittal and cannot support your special use
permit request at this time for the following reasons:
• The access road/loop road is inadequate for commercial use.
• There are concerns regarding the current parking area as well as the lack of
clarification regarding parking for the new commercial use.
• You are proposing a change to the recreation/open space area by showing parking in
a portion of this space. It is unclear, how you will meet the recreation/open space
commitment that was part of the SP approval if physical changes will now occur in
that space?
More detailed information follows in the specific categories below. Some of the staff comments
listed below such as road circulation, design of road and parking, tree preservation, and fire flow
are things that are typically addressed during the site plan process. These comments are provided
to help you meet requirements for CO (Commercial Office) District, amend special use permit
SP2002 -023 to allow commercial office space in the existing clubhouse building and help you
address staff concerns:
Engineering:
• The access road/loop road is inadequate for commercial use. For example, the road is narrow
and the one -way circulation pattern seems to go in a direction that is counter intuitive. It seems
the traffic would flow better in the opposite direction.
• The roads in the front of this development and connecting to Kenridge are inadequate, and unsuitable
for any further development. As you may be aware the curb lines, signs, radii, pathways, etc., were
constructed incorrectly and need to be rebuilt.
• The parking areas around the loop road need to be rebuilt or replaced. The plastic reinforcing used for
the pervious surfaces of these parking spaces has failed. As a result the area is a mud - laden, uneven, and
erosive surface. The parking area that currently exists is not much better than parking on soil.
Zoning:
• The existing special use permit describes the parallel parking around the loop road to be used as guest
spaces. As previously mentioned, the existing parallel parking spaces do not appear to work well now
and as mentioned in the previous sentence, these parking spaces are to be allotted for a different purpose
and not necessarily be used to serve the proposed office building. Where would employees and
customer's park? There is concern that people would park in unapproved and inappropriate locations.
How would you address this issue? The parking analysis shown on the plan is confusing and needs to be
clarified. The amount of parking proposed seems to be insufficient. If insufficient parking is provided
there is very little, if any, additional area available to provide the required parking.
• During the special use permit process, a commitment was made to tree preservation. During the
construction phase of some of the buildings, some of trees designated for preservation were eliminated.
Please submit revised plans and revised conditions of approval, that reflect any changes you make
regarding tree preservation.
• With approval of the special use permit, there was an expectation that the area around the
clubhouse including the surrounding open area would meet some of the recreational needs for
this development. The proposed plan changes the layout and integrity of the approved open
space. Important features for the approved layout relating to the open space included recreation
activities such as pedestrian layout, benches, etc. The plan now shows additional parking in the
open area that is suppose to be used for recreation purposes. With this proposal, how will you
meet the recreation requirement?
Fire Rescue:
• Verify adequate fire flow is available. Approval is subject to field inspection and verification.
Building Inspection:
• Structure must be evaluated for building code suitability as a clubhouse /office. This must be
accomplished prior to the approval of this special use permit.
Current Development:
• If the special use permit is approved a site plan amendment will need to be submitted for review and
approval prior to the use of the office space.
After you have reviewed these comments, if you wish to meet with staff on the comments, please let me
know and I will set up a meeting.
When you are ready to resubmit, please provide that re- submittal on a re- submittal Monday (see attached
schedule). Make sure to put my name on the cover page of your re- submittal. After you have
resubmitted, staff will provide a set of written comments for your review prior to setting a public
hearing. In those comments, we will advise you as to whether all substantive issues have been resolved
or if additional resolution is needed.
A public hearing with the Planning Commission will not be advertised until you advise us that the
project is ready to proceed to a public hearing. At that time, the legal advertisement will be run in the
newspaper and a staff report will be prepared to go to the Planning Commission.
Please be advised that, once a public hearing has been advertised, only one deferral prior to the Planning
Commission's public hearing will be allowed during the life of the application. The only exception to
this rule will be extraordinary circumstances, such as a major change in the project proposal by the
applicant or more issues identified by staff that has not previously been brought to the applicant's
attention. As always, an applicant may request deferral at the Planning Commission meeting.
Additional questions or comments may occur at a future date. If you have questions or need
additional information, please feel free to call me at 296 -5832 x 3250 or send me an e-mail at
cgrant @albemarle.org .
Sincerely,
Claudette Grant
Senior Planner
C: White Gables of Charlottesville, LC —
c/o Robinson Development Group