HomeMy WebLinkAboutARB201100062 Review Comments Preliminary Site Plan 2011-07-05�'IRGINLP
COUNTY OF ALBEMARLE
Department of Community Development
401 McIntire Road, North Wing
Charlottesville, Virginia 22902 -4596
Phone (434) 296 -5832 Fax (434) 972 -4012
July 8, 2011
Chris Haine
c/o Edens & Avant
7200 Wisconsin Ave, Ste. 400
Bethesda, MD 20814
RE: ARB- 2011 -62: The Shops at Stonefield — Regal Cinema
Tax Map 61W, Section 3, Parcel 23
Dear Mr. Haine:
The Albemarle County Architectural Review Board, at its meeting on July 5, 2011, completed a review of the
above -noted request to construct a 14- screen cinema with associated parking and site improvements as part of the
Stonefield development. The Board offered the following comments for the benefit of the applicant's next
submittal. Please note that the following comments are those that have been identified at this time. Additional
comments may be added or eliminated based on further review and changes to the plan.
Regarding the architectural design:
1. Revise the cinema to achieve a design that reflects the historic architecture of Albemarle County.
2. Revise the cinema design to relieve the blankness of the walls.
3. Incorporate architectural features into the building that are compatible with the significant historic buildings
in the area and that help reduce the scale and blankness of the design.
4. Revise the cinema design to provide a greater unity of parts.
5. Revise the white, light tan, and light grey colors of the proposed cinema so that a significant portion of the
building's surfaces are faced with the darker, warmer colors of the town center's material /color palette.
6. Revise the building materials to use no more than 50% synthetic stucco.
7. If wood siding is used, indicate how it will be treated to maintain an appropriate appearance over time.
8. Provide a detail on the plans to clarify the width and depth of the channel screed lines.
9. Provide a roof plan; include the mechanical screen on the plan. Provide drawings to clarify the visibility of
the roof screen/equipment from the ECs. If the screen is visible, revise it to an architectural element that is
fully integrated with the architecture of the building.
10. Add the following note to the site and architectural plans: "Visibility of all mechanical equipment from the
Entrance Corridor shall be eliminated."
Regarding lighting
11. Revise the lighting plan to eliminate spillover beyond .5 fc, and to use an LLF of 1.0
12. Provide one complete light schedule in the site plan. Provide complete information for all site and wall
fixtures. Identify the color for each fixture /pole. Include the quantity of each fixture. Include catalog numbers
for all fixtures; ensure that catalog numbers match the cut sheets. Include the cut sheets on a sheet of the site
plan.
13. Limit the parking lot pole lights to 20' high, including bases.
14. Include the following note on the plan: "Each outdoor luminaire equipped with a lamp that emits 3,000 or
more initial lumens shall be a full cutoff luminaire. The spillover of lighting from luminaires onto public
roads and property in residential or rural areas zoning districts shall not exceed one half footcandle."
15. Reduce the amount of illumination on and around the cinema building.
16. Accurately show the intensity of the building lighting and the reflectivity off the metal shingles.
17. Add the following notes to the plan: "Automatic timing devices shall be used to extinguish exterior building
illumination between 11:00 p.m. and dawn. Building lighting shall not be modified to reflect seasonal colors."
Regarding landscaping_
18. Revise the landscape plan so that large shade trees at 31/2" caliper are spaced 35' on center, parallel to the EC.
Intersperse ornamental trees among the shade trees. Identify the trees on the plan by species.
19. Show 21/2" caliper large trees planted along the east side of Inglewood Drive at 40' on center.
20. Revise the landscape plan to show the parking lot on the east side of the cinema and all of the corresponding
landscaping.
21. Provide perimeter parking lot trees on the west side of the parking lot located west of the cinema.
22. Provide landscaping beyond the standard EC minimums to offset the impacts of the scale of the building.
23. Revise the landscape proposal by limiting the number of proposed plants for any one species to 25% of the
total proposed for that plant type (tree, shrub).
24. Add the following note to the plan: "All site plantings of trees and shrubs shall be allowed to reach, and be
maintained at, mature height; the topping of trees is prohibited. Shrubs and trees shall be pruned minimally
and only to support the overall health of the plant."
Regarding the site:
25. Clearly show the location of the trellis on the site plan. Clearly show on a plan the relationship between the
building, the trellis, the railing, the sidewalk, the landscaping and the EC.
26. Clarify railing locations throughout the site. Revise the color of the railing on the retaining wall to a much
darker color. Coordinate the railing color near the cinema with the final building colors.
27. Revise the plan to show how the appearance of the temporary sediment basin and interim stormwater facility
along Rt. 29 will be made appropriate for the EC.
In addition to the above -noted comments, ARB members offered informal comments on the revised architectural
design that was presented at the meeting, as follows:
1. A larger /full size sample of the metal shingle cladding in the proposed color is required for review. A mock-
up of the materials would be useful for review.
2. There was concern about the reflectivity of the metal shingles and the white color of the shingles.
3. There was concern about the amount of white proposed in the overall building. Color changes could eliminate
some of the starkness of the building.
4. At the southwest corner, the level of warmth and naturalness illustrated in the earlier design with the wood
panels in the recesses was more appropriate than the current white infill. The addition of warmth may help the
scale.
5. The development is inward oriented, but the street side must be addressed.
6. The scale of the area is changing. The design needs to respond to the context of the community and the
guidelines.
7. It was confirmed that the temporary sediment basin would be removed in September /October. It would be
helpful to receive a schedule for the facilities visible from the ECs, and to address the interim landscape
treatment for the interim stormwater facility.
8. There was discussion about the lack of brick visible from the EC, the visibility of the rooftop mechanical
screen from Hydraulic, the way(s) in which the building does /does not meet the ground, the amount of
building illumination and the need for an accurate representation of the intensity of that lighting, the
reflectivity of the building materials and the color palette as viewed by the traveling public (particularly the
metal shingles), the need for an accurate representation of the degree of reflectance of the materials /colors, the
ability to provide a "drive -by" view of the proposal from the Rt. 29 and Hydraulic ECs, and the parking lot at
the base of the cinema and the timing for the construction of the building to the east of the cinema.
9. The southeast corner successfully makes a gesture to the street and responds to human scale. The southwest
corner is not as successful.
10. The east and west elevations make no gesture to human scale.
11. Revise the perspective view on Hydraulic looking west to eliminate the backdrop of trees.
12. It was emphasized that the staff report was based on the original drawings from the first submittal.
13. Clarify/ correct all material identifications shown on the drawings.
14. Parking lot pole lights should meet the 20' height guideline.
15. Concern was expressed about potential unintended consequences of the metal shingle wall regarding its
reflectivity (potentially blinding to the public) and its possible environmental impact on the landscape (with
planting areas baking in the summer).
The standard procedure for moving forward from this point in the review process is as follows:
You may submit your application for continued ARB review at your earliest convenience. Application forms,
checklists and schedules are available on -line at www.albemarle.or /g ARB. Revised drawings addressing the
comments listed above are required. Include updated ARB revision dates on each drawing and an ARB
approval signature panel. Please provide a memo including detailed responses indicating how each comment
has been addressed. If changes other than those requested have been made, identify those changes in the
memo also. Highlighting the changes in the drawing with "clouding" or by other means will facilitate review
and approval.
We have scheduled another work session for the Regal cinema for the July 18 ARB meeting. Should the ARB
take an alternate action at that time, the procedures for moving forward may be revised.
If you have any questions concerning any of the above, please feel free to call me.
Sincerely,
Margaret Maliszewski
Principal Planner
cc: Albemarle Place EAAP LLC, P O Box 528, Columbia SC 29202
File