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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSUB200900038 Review Comments Final Plat 2009-05-28Page 1 of 6 Amy Pflaum From: Amy Pflaum Sent: Thursday, May 28, 2009 11:53 AM To: Elizabeth Marotta Subject: FW: Bundoran Farm Resubdivisions Elizabeth, I have clarified my comments below: On April 3, 2009, Current Development Engineering made the following Comments on the Bundoran Farm Lots H8 & H8D Plat submittal (SUB200900038): 14- 302(8)(10) Existing stream buffers - buffer on plat is outdated, please see the County's GIS maps for the most up -to -date stream buffer location 14- 302(A)(12) Provide existing topography - Building sites must be within areas clear of critical slopes and stream buffers (18- 4.2.1) 17- 320(D) Only one stream crossing will be allowed to serve both lots. The crossing must meet the criteria of 17- 320(D) and mitigation is required. See Albemarle County Design Standards Manual for mitigation criteria. 14- 302(A)(4) Private easements - An access easement is required through Lot H8D to serve Lot H8. For information purposes: A Critical Resources Plan or Erosion & Sediment Control Plan is required with Building Permits in the Rural Area. Driveways may have a maximum grade of 16% (18- 4.6.6) No resubmittal has been made to address the 1 st, 2nd, and 4th comments. These comments must be addressed prior to approval of the Final Plat. The 3rd comment can be addressed now with the final plat, or at the time of the first building permit for these lots. To further clarify the issue of mitigation for the stream buffer disturbance /crossing: No driveway (previously proposed or otherwise) has been shown on this plat. When the Bundoran development was proposed, the stream buffer did not exist on all streams throughout this lot as it currently does (see 1 st comment above). By not including driveway locations to any of the home sites, the current submittal does not identify where the "original" Lot H8 driveway was proposed. It can be assumed that the driveway crossed a portion of the stream that previously did not have a required buffer, and therefore, no buffer mitigation may have been required by the County for this crossing at the time. If, despite the lack of requirement, the stream buffer area disturbed for the proposed driveway to Lot H8 was included in the impact area AND it will be the only stream buffer disturbance required to construct driveways, houses, and septic fields on both Lots H8 and H8D, then no new stream buffer mitigation will be required. Please resubmit this plat showing the location of the proposed driveway, along with a copy of the original plat showing the location of the Lot H8 driveway and the stream buffer mitigation areas and calculations identifying that this disturbance was included in the original buffer disturbance impact area and mitigated per County requirements. If new mitigation is required for the buffer disturbance, a mitigation plan can be submitted along with the Critical Resources Plan or Erosion & Sediment Control Plan that will accompany the Building Permit for either lot. It does not have to be submitted or approved prior the approval of this final plat. The method of mitigation (plantings, platted buffer, etc.) will be reviewed when a plan is submitted. Please also see comments below within Mr. Hamilton's email. Please advise Mr. Hamilton to contact me if he has further questions regarding this application. 5/28/2009 Page 2 of 6 Thank you, Amy D. Pflaum Senior Civil Engineer Albemarle County Department of Community Development (434) 296 -5832 x3069 aaf1aum6Da1bemar1e. orq From: David Hamilton [mailto:allan.david.hamilton @gmail.com] Sent: Wednesday, May 27, 2009 6:26 PM To: Elizabeth Marotta Subject: Re: Bundoran Farm Resubdivisions Ms Marotta, Thank you. The soils sheets were dropped off at the CommDev front desk yesterday or the day before. Also, Ed Campbell has just reminded me that we have one other open issue on the H -08 plat (200900038). The engineering comments on that submittal indicate that you're holding us to new stream buffers, rather than the ones in place when we platted Bundoran. OK, but three questions: First, we've permitted and mitigated for this single driveway disturbance with DEQ/USACE. We did so for every conceivable driveway crossing on Bundoran Farm. All that mitigation is in place, and a Final Compensatory Mitigation plan has been approved and the Protective Instrument is about to be recorded. Does it matter to the County that this impact has already been mitigated? Mitigation through the USACE /DEQ and the County are separate processes. The County is mitigating buffer disturbance while the state agencies have authority over the actual stream channel. Second, if the first point doesn't matter, you've already approved a lot (H -08) in 2007, which requires a driveway crossing and impact. The reviewing engineer has said that the new lot (H -08d) will have to share the already- approved, and mitigated, impact. So what new impact is resulting from the resubdivision, which requires additional mitigation? Even if there was no subdivision of Lot H8, mitigation would be required with a building permit unless the driveway crossing's buffer disturbance was mitigated with the original application. A buffer exists on this stream today and any disturbance must be mitigated. (Refer to WPO section) Last, if both the points above don't matter, I'd like to clarify a point in the design manual (clipped text below). It allows for preservation of existing buffers, beyond ordinance protection. Given nature's regenerative power, this is a far more ecologically effective way to spend time and money than with plantings, especially for a tiny impact like this. We're doing this, to the tune of several miles of streams and alternative water systems at Bundoran Farm. In addition to our 6,7001.f. of exclusion/enhancement for DEQ, we've got about another couple thousand feet underway or planned for fall 2009, and miles to go. In the design manual, the option is presented to either ease the land to TJSWCD, or to record a protection and escrow. Rather than introduce another easement holder into the mix, for a small impact, could we simply add the required area (if there is any) to our DEQ easement, which we'll record in a week or two? It's the standard USACE buffer easement form, which we'll record in Albemarle County, and which will give DEQ the right of inspection, etc. It just doesn't make sense to involve TJSWCD when DEQ's already policing more than a mile of stream here. I suppose this is an option, but the County was not aware that DEQ asks for and regulates stream buffers. Thanks for any light you can shed on this. Whatever you want us to do, I'd like to get rolling on immediately. 5/28/2009 Page 3 of 6 Thanks, David From the County Design Manual (emphasis mine) 3. Mitigation: Where disturbance of a stream buffer is allowed by the Program Authority or designee, mitigation plans must meet the following criteria; a. Stream buffers must be mitigated based upon the area disturbed. The mitigation ratio is 2:1 measured in square feet or acres. b. Mitigation planting is based on a modification of the Chesapeake Bay Local Assistance Department Riparian Buffers Modification and Mitigation Guidance Manual (see www.cblad.vir ig nia.gov /ripbuffstat.cfm). Plant lists, planting specifications, etc. are available from this manual. One of the following options is to be used, in this order of precedence; Albemarle County Design Standards Manual — Engineering Page 10 of 18 1 Option 1— Mitigate through new plantings and permanent protection as given below. New plantings must be in the stream buffer area. Applicant has choice of planting one of the following: a. For every 400 square foot unit or fraction thereof, plant one (1) canopy tree measuring 1 /z" — 2" caliper or a large evergreen 6 feet in height, one (1) 5/28/2009 Page 4 of 6 understory tree measuring 3 /a" — 1 1 /z" caliper or one evergreen 4 feet in height, and one (1) small shrub 15" — 18" in height. b. For every acre or fraction thereof, plant 1,210 hardwood and /or pine seedlings on approximately 6'X6' centers without tree tubes and mats. c. For every acre or fraction thereof, plant 600 hardwood and/or pine seedlings on approximately 8'X8' centers with tree tubes and mats. 2. Option 2 — Mitigate by preserving existing buffer where currently not required by ordinance; i.e. preserve stream buffers on intermittent streams in the development areas. Mitigation must be accomplished by permanent protections as given below. 9 Option 3 — When Options 1 and 2 are not possible, and only when authorized by the Natural Resources Manager, the applicant may pay Albemarle County $6,875.00 per acre or fraction thereof for plantings, and the current cost of incorporation into the TJSWCD Easement Program. These funds are to be made payable to the County of Albemarle and directed to the Stream Buffer Mitigation Fund. Permanent Protection for each of these options will be inclusion in the Thomas 5/28/2009 Page 5 of 6 Jefferson Soil and Water Conservation District (TJSWCD) Easement Program, or recordation of a permanent maintenance agreement and escrow to run with the land. c. For further criteria on mitigation plans, please refer to the review checklist. For purposes of this design manual, the review checklist sets review policy, and is an integral part of the manual. On Wed, May 27, 2009 at 11:26 AM, Elizabeth Marotta <emarotta @albemarle.org> wrote: Thank you David, I will keep my eye out for the soils work and will get with Travis as soon as I can. EMM From: David Hamilton [mai Ito: allan.david.hamilton @ gmail.com] Sent: Wednesday, May 27, 2009 11:18 AM To: Elizabeth Marotta Cc: Ed Campbell Subject: Bundoran Farm Resubdivisions Ms. Marotta, Per your comments on the two Bundoran Farm resubdivisions, lots I -01 and H -08, I recently dropped off our completed soils work for your review. I apologize for the misunderstanding. I thought these had gone to the Health Department, though of course that's not the procedure. The background is that, when we prepared the original subdivision plat for Bundoran Farm, we identified septic fields, with 100% reserve, for both the primary homesite and for the secondary homesite of the future resubdivision. These were reviewed by Health back in 2007 as part of our plat package. So what I dropped off was a slight re jiggering of these septic fields, to reflect the final location of the property lines. Before I dropped them off for you, I walked through them with Travis, at the Health Department, so he'll be expecting to hear from you. I think, now that this is in your hands, that Ed Campbell, from Roudabush Gale, can respond to any additional comments, and we can get these off your desk. Please don't hesitate to contact me with any additional questions. Please notify me if you haven't received the package of our AOSE's soils work I dropped off at Community Develpment. Thank you, David David Hamilton Project Manager Qroe Farm Preservation Development 434.295.3700 5/28/2009 Page 6 of 6 David Hamilton Project Manager Qroe Farm Preservation Development 434.295.3700 5/28/2009