HomeMy WebLinkAboutSP201200016 Legacy Document 2012-08-08 (5)WILLIAMS MULLEN
June 26, 2012
VIA HAND DELIVERY
Christopher Perez, Senior Planner
County of Albemarle
Department of Community Development
401 McIntire Road
Charlottesville, Virginia 22902
RE: SP 2012 -00016
University of Virginia Foundation Property / NTELOS Wireless
Telecommunications Facility
NTELOS Site "CV825 Cedar Hill"
Critical Slopes Waiver Request
Dear Mr. Perez:
NTELOS is submitting this request to allow disturbance of critical slopes for the
installation of the proposed Virginia PCS Alliance, L.C. ( NTELOS) wireless
telecommunications facility located on tax map parcel 90B- OA -11, property owned by the UVA
Foundation.
Overview:
The facility consists of a telecommunications facility monopole structure, two (2)
equipment cabinet platforms, a future 45 square foot concrete equipment slab within a 600
square foot gravel compound. The proposed site will be accessed by an existing gravel access
road. The area disturbed (2,115 square feet) is 0.049% of the parent parcel, Albemarle County
Tax Map 090BO- 00 -OA- 01100. The construction of the telecommunications facility will require
approximately 354 square feet of disturbed area on the critical slopes, all of it in the form of
grading and fill at the eastern side of the equipment compound area.
The areas of critical slopes are identified on the drawings prepared by Timmons Group
dated June 25, 2012 (the "Zoning Drawings "). NTELOS will address the five health, safety and
welfare provisions of section 4.2, Chapter 18 of the Albemarle County Zoning Ordinance below:
Rapid and /or large scale movement of soil and rock
Construction of the tower compound will not require substantial grading, but, rather, it
will require the construction of a 5' +1- tall retaining wall to stabilize the existing man-
A Professional Corporation
NORTH CAROLINA • VIRGINIA • WASHINGTON, D.C. • LONDON
321 East Main St., Suite 400 Charlottesville, VA 22902 -3200 Tel: 434.951.5700 Fax: 804.783.6507 or 434.817.0977
www.williamsmullen.com
WILLIAMS MULLEN
Christopher Perez
June 26, 2012
Page 2
made slope created when the existing access road was constructed some time ago. There
will be no additional excavating of the slope required between the proposed tower site
and the Reference Tree, however there will be some fill material placed behind the
retaining wall in order to minimize the slope and reduce the possibility of slope failure
during a storm event. No blasting or rock removal is proposed or foreseen. The site will
be geologically stabilized with erosion control measures as outlined in the Zoning
Drawings.
These measures include:
1. Silt fence to confine soil and rock within the telecommunications facility and
access road areas; and
2. Soil stabilization blankets and matting at the existing steep slopes.
Permanent stabilization of the disturbed areas will be achieved through fine grading,
graveling, and installation of ground cover /vegetation.
Excessive stormwater run -off
Overall, the proposed telecommunications facility is calculated to minimally increase the
site's soil permeability and stormwater runoff. The finished surface of the
telecommunications facility's site will be pervious, consisting of a layer of gravel over a
meshed layer of geo- synthetic fibers that will filter stormwater back into the soil instead
of allowing it to flow off -site. Any excess stormwater runoff will be transported as sheet
flow through the highly permeable soils of the existing wooded downslope area and will
be quickly absorbed.
Siltation of natural and man -made bodies of water
No existing bodies of water have been identified on the subject parcel. The proposed
telecommunications facility comprises a minute portion of the property, which is a
substantially undeveloped and stabilized wooded parcel. The proposed soil compaction,
geo - synthetic fiber layer and gravelling will stabilize the soil at the access road and lease
area. This structural stabilization — combined with the extensive, existing vegetation to
remain down slope from the facility — will ensure that silt will not enter nearby water
bodies on adjacent properties.
WILLIAMS MULLEN
Christopher Perez
June 26, 2012
Page 3
Loss of aesthetic resource
Due to the scale of the Open Space Plan maps, it is difficult to determine whether the
critical slopes that would be disturbed for the installation of the proposed
telecommunications facility are shown on the maps of the Open Space Plan.
The existing aesthetic resources of the subject parcel reside chiefly in the characteristics
of the existing wooded slope. There will be no significant loss to these resources.
The majority of the existing wooded vegetation will remain with only minimal trees to be
removed for this facility (only one of the trees that will be removed is greater than 4
inches in diameter). The existing trees to remain will receive tree protection during and
after construction. The existing tree canopy uphill from the site will provide adequate
backdrop for the tower for views from the West and cover for views from the North and
South. This telecommunications facility is located within a small previously man -made
clearing within the wooded parcel. The existing access road on the property will provide
ingress and egress to the proposed tower site, therefore no additional tree removal,
clearing or grading will be necessary to access the tower facility.
Greater travel distance of septic effluent
The proposed telecommunications facility will be unmanned, with no septic or plumbing
systems. The concerns of this section are not applicable to this request.
Interpretation of Section 4.2.5(b)
Section 4.2.5(b) allows the Planning Commission to waive the restrictions on disturbing
slopes upon finding the following (in part):
1. A strict application of these provisions would not forward the purposes of the
Zoning Ordinance or otherwise serve the public health, safety or welfare.
The telecommunications facility is located in a wooded area on the side of a steep hill in
order to reduce visibility by using the back drop of trees, but also to remain effective. Its
location in this area requires fewer disturbances to the land and makes the tower less
visible from the surrounding area.
The proposed facility will comply with the requirements for mitigating visibility for
treetop wireless telecommunications facilities. This particular site was located within the
parent parcel to provide access from an existing access road while maintaining setbacks
from adjacent properties. The subject parcel is located on the side of a ridgeline and thus,
WILLIAMS MULLEN
Christopher Perez
June 26, 2012
Page 4
there are large areas of steep slopes. The entire subject parcel is comprised of critical
slopes, therefore by locating the proposed tower facility at the end of the existing access
road and using the existing ingress and egress, the proposed site will disturb an extremely
small area of the subject property's natural area. The benefits of utilizing this particular
area of the parcel, from a visibility perspective, and in terms of minimizing the size of the
disturbed area, far outweigh the extremely small area of critical slopes that are disturbed.
Therefore, strict applications of Section 4.2 would not forward the purposes of the
Albemarle County Code or the Personal Wireless Services Facility Policy, or otherwise
serve the public health, safety or welfare.
2. Alternatives proposed by the applicant would satisfy the intent and purpose of
section 4.2 to at least an equivalent degree.
As discussed previously in this letter, the applicant is proposing engineering measures as
part of the proposal that will avoid the adverse impacts that are often associated with the
disturbance of critical slopes. Given the extremely small size of the proposed area of
disturbance (particularly in light of the fact that the entire parcel is comprised of critical
slopes), the use of these engineering measures will satisfy the intent and purpose of
section 4.2 at least to an equivalent degree.
3. Due to its unusual size, topography, shape of the property, location of the property
or other unusual conditions, excluding the proprietary interest of the developer, the
requirements of section 4.2 would effectively prohibit or unreasonably restrict the
use of the property or would result in significant degradation of the site or adjacent
properties.
The subject parcel is located entirely on the side of a steep ridgeline and thus the entire
parcel is comprised of critical slopes. As a result, the telecommunications facility was
located on the parcel within trees to minimize its visibility, off of an existing access road
to reduce the need to clear vegetation or trees for access, but the facility remains on the
side of a steep slope. Thus, due to the subject parcel's unusual topography the
application of the strict requirements of Section 4.2 would unreasonably restrict the
installation of a telecommunications facility on this subject parcel. The proposed
retaining wall will further mitigate the current man -made disturbance by adding back -fill
to an area that is already unstable. The siting of the telecommunications facility was
specifically chosen to provide a backdrop of trees and therefore reduce the visibility of
the monopole from the surrounding area.
WILLIAMS MULLEN
Christopher Perez
June 26, 2012
Page 5
4. Granting such modification or waiver would serve a public purpose of greater
import than would be served by strict application of section 4.2.
Wireless telecommunications facilities are an important utility for the public to provide
reliable mobile phone coverage for emergency purposes as well as an important utility for
emergency personnel who commonly locate their own equipment on the monopoles. In
this particular instance, the siting of this monopole on the side of a steep hill will provide
the backdrop of trees from all vantage points, which mitigates any potential visual
impacts resulting from the facility. Thus, it will enable the public to benefit from the
wireless telecommunications services without the facility having an adverse visual
impact. This will further the goals of the Comprehensive Plan, particularly the Wireless
Telecommunications Facilities Plan.
Conclusion:
Many of the concerns associated with the disturbance of critical slopes and the criteria for
evaluating a critical slopes waiver are considered and addressed generally through the existing
Personal Wireless Service Facilities Ordinance requirements, such as the requirements for tree
conservation plans, finished grades, and sound construction techniques. The proposed
telecommunications facility is located in a small compound area using an existing access road,
and, because of the careful siting of the proposed facility, has a backdrop of trees to reduce
visibility. For the reasons stated herein, we contend that the application satisfies all four of the
findings in Section 4.2.5.a.3, even though only one finding is actually required for purposes of
approving the waiver request.
Please contact me if you have any questions or need any additional information.
Regards,
V("(J" -
Valerie W. Long
cc: Jessie Wilmer, NTELOS
Brian Crutchfield, Timmons Group
18489724_4 DOC