HomeMy WebLinkAboutSP201400015 Review Comments Special Use Permit 2014-12-05COUNTY OF ALBEMARLE
Department of Community Development
401 McIntire Road, North Wing
Charlottesville, Virginia 22902 -4596
Phone (434) 296 -5832 Fax (434) 972 -4176
December 5, 2014
Ms. Carolyn Schuyler
2521 Summit Ridge Trail
Charlottesville VA 22911
RE: SP201400015 Heartrock Day Camp
Dear Ms. Schuyler --
Thank you for the recent application for this special use permit. Please find review comments
included in this letter.
Please see the attached re- submittal schedule for a list of dates on which you can submit your
revisions and responses to review comments (below and attached), as well as for possible
Planning Commission dates. (Please note that the listed dates are the earliest possible, but actual
dates need to be selected to suit the revision schedule for each project.)
Review Comments
Planning (Scott Clark)
Please note that, as with any special use permit, this request will be evaluated based
on its appropriateness under the County's land -use goals in the Comprehensive Plan
and on its impacts (safety, traffic, noise, etc.) for the surrounding area. While we
appreciate the educational and philanthropic intent behind the use, it must be held to
the same standards that we apply to commercial and institutional land uses.
Questions on details of proposed uses:
o Will the site be staffed whenever it is open, or only for programs and classes?
Will someone be on site, for example, when people visit to use the trails? Staffing
would seem necessary in order to enforce parking limits, close access to the
facility when full, and deal with arriving people who must be turned away.
o Do you plan to have, or would be you be able /willing to commit to, any given
level of first -aid training for staff on site? Given the distance from the site to
emergency services, this might be a concern.
o Please explain how you will avoid overlaps of separate uses (for example,
playscape use and a visiting group, or morning playscape use and a still - present
camping group, which might overload parking).
o Thank you for looking into the fence - safety issue. Unfortunately, we do not have
access to the ASTM standards documents. Please supply the section of the
standards that you intend to follow.
o Please explain how water and sanitary facilities would be supplied for the
proposed camping use. Note that Health Department review of these facilities (as
well as of the adequacy of water supply and sanitary facilities at the barn) will be
necessary.
o Will there be any outdoor PA system for announcements or music? Outdoor
amplified sound
During our discussions, use of the site for events has come up. Also, the conceptual
plan shows "Overflow /Bus Parking" and "Event Overflow Parking." This appears to
conflict with the description of the use as a day camp, and with the assumption that
limited parking would limit the scale of the use. We would recommend that this issue
be clarified, potentially by removing "Event Overflow Parking" from the conceptual
plan. (Please also see the attached Engineering comments regarding parking.) In
general, the application and the conceptual plans should reflect the limited scale and
character of this use. Note that weddings, meetings, etc., would require a separate
special use permit for "special events," and that the site could have significant
problems accommodating larger events of that type.
Note that, in order to address Engineering concern about stream crossings, it would
be useful to specifically mark those paths on the conceptual plan as pedestrian paths
with no vehicular access.
The "stream access" shown on the conceptual plan raises the issue of potential
expansion of the use onto the adjacent public park. Would use of this access be
supervised by staff to prevent facility users from impacting the park across the
stream?
Zoning (Rebecca Ragsdale)
Please see attached memo.
Engineering (John Anderson)
Please see attached memo. Note that "Site Plan Advance Comments" and
"VSMP/WPO Advance Comments" in that memo refer to future applications that will
be needed if the special use permit is approved. The first seven comments that apply
to the special use permit application are the ones that need to be addressed in your
resubmission.
Fire/Rescue (Robbie Gilmer)
All trails will need to be maintained so Rescue will be able to gain access with off
road vehicles in case of emergency.
Virginia Department of Transportation (Shelly Plaster)
Please see attached memo.
If we have not received a response from you within 30 days, we will contact you again. At that
time, you will be given 10 days to do one of the following: a) request withdrawal of your
application, b) request deferral of your application to a specific Planning Commission date as
mutually agreed to with staff, or c) request indefinite deferral and state your justification for
requesting the deferral. If none of these actions is taken, staff will schedule your application for
a public hearing based on the information provided with your original submittal.
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 have not previously been
brought to the applicant's attention. As always, an applicant may request deferral at the Planning
Commission meeting.
Please feel free to contact me if you wish to meet or need additional information. I would be
happy to meet with you to discuss the issues raised by this application.
Sincerely,
Scott Clark
Senior Planner, Planning Division