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County of Albemarle
Department of Community Development
Memorandum
To: Gerald Gatobu, Principal Planner
From: Amy Pflaum, Engineering Review
Division: Current Development
Date: March 3, 2009
REV #1: May 1, 2009
REV #2: June 1, 2009
Subject: SDP200900009 Arden Place Apartment Complex - Preliminary Site Plan
The preliminary site plan for the Arden Place Apartment Complex, resubmitted on June 1, 2009, has been
reviewed. Current Development Engineering has the following comments:
Site Review Comments
This plan does not meet the requirements of the Zoning Ordinance, Section 32.7.2.4 For a
development of fifty (50) or more dwelling units, reasonably direct vehicular access shall be
provided from all residential units to two (2) public street connections. Requests for modification,
waiver, or substitution of the requirements of Section 32.7 may be granted by the Planning
Commission [18- 32.3.10].
REV #1: See comments on the Traffic Impact Analysis.
REV #2: A connection to the Woodbrook Subdivision has been added to the plan, a waiver of
32.7.2.4 is no longer needed.
2. Please provide another direct pedestrian link between the buildings and the walking path, possibly
near SWM 2. The proposed slopes surrounding Building 5 are greater than 3:1 and are required to
be planted with low- maintenance ground cover (no grass). Steep slopes and this type of ground
cover are generally not pedestrian friendly. The slopes surrounding SWM 1 are undisturbed and
left with natural vegetation that may also not provide for walkability. [18- 32.7.2.8]
REV #1: Comment has been addressed.
3. Please include a detail of the intersection of Putt Putt Place and Rio Road.
REV #1: Comment has been addressed, please see comments on the Traffic Impact Analysis.
4. Please provide the travelway width(s) of Putt Putt Place between Rio Road and Mallside Forest
Court.
REV #1: Travelway widths have been added to the plan. Using figures from the Traffic Impact
Analysis, the existing ADT on Putt Putt Place is 3970. The Arden Place development will add
1372 daily trips to this street, making the ADT 5342. This exceeds the 4000 maximum ADT for
residential subdivision streets, and therefore, Putt Putt Place should meet VDOT's geometric
design standards of an Urban Local street. Pavement depth will also need to meet the criteria of
the VDOT Pavement Design Guide for this ADT [18- 21.5.6.q].
REV #2: Comment has been addressed, with note added regarding upgrade of Putt Putt Place
(Sheet 2).
5. Stop signs may be required at the intersection of Mallside Forest Court and Putt Putt Place.
REV #l: Staff recommends that this intersection becomes a two -way stop situation with stop
signs at the approach of Mallside Forest Court to Putt Putt Place and the approach of the new
road to Putt Putt Place.
REV #2: Comment has been addressed.
6. At the dumpster closest to Building 2, will a garbage truck be able to maneuver if the parking lot is
full? A dumpster at the T- intersection between Buildings 2 and 4 may be more easily serviced.
REV #l: Comment has been addressed by a change in the building layout.
Revision #1 Comments based on new building layout and size
7. A curb -cut providing access to the commercially zoned portion of the parcel should be shown on
the proposed road between Arden Lane and Albemarle Square.
REV #2: Comment has been addressed.
8. Grading fill required for the access road to Albemarle Square creates a low -spot in the
commercially zoned portion of the property with no drainage outlet.
REV #2: Comment has been addressed with proposed culvert.
9. The increase in size of the buildings and required parking areas has created the need for excessive
retaining walls on the site. In the area where the wall abutting Rio Hill Apartments reaches a
height of 19 feet, the horizontal footprint of the wall will be greater than the two feet shown on the
plan and easements will be necessary from this neighboring property for its construction. It is
recommended that the applicant explore (with the owner of Rio Hill) the possibility of grading out
the existing knoll that this 19 foot wall will be holding up. Aside from reducing or even
eliminating the retaining wall in this area, a flatter area could create usable space that may
potentially be a joint recreation area to be shared by the two apartment complexes.
REV #2: Comment has been addressed. Grades have been adjusted and heights of retaining
walls have been reduced significantly.
10. The horizontal footprint of the 6 to 13 foot retaining wall abutting the pond will be greater than the
two feet shown on the plan. The wall will most likely not fit within the small space allotted for it
between the parking and the pond. It is possible that the constructed width of this wall could
compromise the volume of the stormwater management pond and critical slopes will be disturbed
during construction. Also, a guard rail is required along the parking spaces abutting this wall.
REV #2: Comment has been addressed. Retaining wall has been terraced to allow more
flexibility with horizontal spacing.
Waiver of Second Access Point Comments
11. Please update this waiver request to reflect the new number of 206 units.
12. Please include in this waiver request a discussion regarding the results of the Traffic Impact
Analysis.
13. See Traffic Impact Analysis for further comments.
REV #2: A connection to the Woodbrook Subdivision has been added to the plan, a waiver of
32.7.2.4 is no longer needed.
Traffic Impact Analysis Comments
14. Without the connection to Albemarle Square (as shown in Access Plan #2), the addition of 206
units increases the delay time of the southbound left turning movement from Putt Putt to Rio by
over 12 minutes in the Combined (2015) PM Peak Hour scenario. Existing (2009) PM Peak Hour
conditions already show this movement at a Level of Service F with a 3.25 minute delay. An
analysis of the Background (2015) PM Peak Hour condition increases the delay to 7.33 minutes.
Adding the Arden Place development for the Combined (2015) PM Peak Hour, the delay becomes
19.62 minutes, and yet, no warrants are met for a signal at this intersection. No analysis was done
for a Combined (2009) PM Peak Hour Level of Service. This seems like an unacceptable increase
in the delay time. Utilizing the second connection through Albemarle Square actually decreases
the Combined (2015) PM Peak Hour delay to 5.22 minutes. It is difficult for staff to support a
waiver request of the requirement of 18- 32.7.4 for two connections. Staff recommends that the
connection to Albemarle Square (or a second connection at another location) and/or the installation
of a signal be a condition of site plan approval.
REV #2: Applicant has attempted to reach an agreement with the property owners of
Albemarle Square, but it has not happened. A connection is now being proposed into the
Woodbrook Subdivision to the north of Arden Place. This connection will help alleviate
impacts to the Rio 129 intersection by providing Arden Place residents the ability to reach
northbound Rte 29 without having to utilize Rio Road. This connection will not provide relief
for the left- turning movement from Putt -Putt Place to Rio Road. The Traffic Impact Analysis
shows that no signal warrants are met for the Putt Putt —Rio intersection, therefore, VDOT will
not allow the installation of a signal at this time.
15. This traffic impact analysis does not discuss the reasoning behind the proposed roundabout at the
intersection of Arden Lane and Mallside Forest Court. Please provide the peak hour volume of
vehicle trips projected for the roundabout, considering both Access Plans. In order for staff to
make a recommendation on the request for waiver of the undisturbed buffer, please discuss the
advantages of the roundabout (which will disturb more area) as an alternative to a standard 3 -way
intersection in this location.
REV #2: Comment has been addressed. The proposed roundabout has been revised to a
standard 3 -way intersection.
16. Section 3.3, which discusses software inputs and outputs, states that the traffic signal timings were
assumed figures. Since these are existing traffic signals, it is recommended that actual timings be
utilized for the study. The timing of the Albemarle Square signal may need to be adjusted to
accommodate new traffic expected from Access Plan #2.
REV #2: Comment has been addressed. Signal timings were discussed with personnel from
VDOT who were comfortable with the figures used.
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