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Home My WebLink AboutAFD201100009 Staff Report 2011-11-16pF AL �IRGII314+ COUNTY OF ALBEMARLE Department of Community Development 401 McIntire Road, North Wing Charlottesville, Virginia 22902 -4596 Phone (434) 296 -5832 Fax (434) 972 -4176 MEMORANDUM To: Planning Commission From: Scott Clark, Senior Planner Re: AFD201100009 Blue Run Addition Date: November 4, 2011 As stated in the attached staff report, the Agricultural and Forestal Districts Advisory Committee recommended denial of this addition, as they felt they had insufficient information on the agricultural use of the property. Although the current use of the property has not typically been a factor in past decisions on District additions, staff contacted the landowner to gather more information on the property. It is not now in an active agricultural use, but it has been used for stabling and boarding horses in the past, and may be used for that purpose in the future. The landowners expressed a desire to maintain the property intact rather than using its five development rights. Also, as stated in the staff report, 18.7 of the property's 28.765 acres have soils designated as Prime or Locally Important in the Open Space & Critical Resources Plan. The same soils are rated highly for production of Black Walnut and for high -value hardwood production. Soil quality is often used as an indicator of agricultural importance. Staff Recommendation: Staff recommends that the Planning Commission (1) find that the proposed addition contains "agriculturally and forestally significant land," and (2) recommend approval of the proposed addition to the Blue Run Agricultural and Forestal District. COUNTY OF ALBEMARLE STAFF REPORT SUMMARY Project Name: Staff: Scott Clark, Senior Planner AFD201100009 Blue Run Addition Locally Important Planning Commission Public Hearing: Board of Supervisors Public Hearing: November 15, 2011 TBA Proposal: Addition to the Blue Run Agricultural and Comprehensive Plan Designation: Forestal District Rural Areas RECOMMENDATION: That the Committee recommend approval of the addition to the Blue Run Agricultural and Forestal District. The Albemarle County Code currently contains this description of the Blue Run District: Sec. 3 -208 Blue Run Agricultural and Forestal District. The district known as the 'Blue Run Agricultural and Forestal District" consists of the following described properties: Tax map 35, parcels 22, 23, 24A, 26, 26B, 26B1, 26C, 26D, 28A, 29, 31, 32A, 41A, 41E, 43; tax map 36, parcels 6A, 9, 20; tax map 49, parcels 4A1, 4A5, 24, 24A, 24B; tax map 50, parcels 5, 5B, 32A, 41A, 41 Q, 42A, 42A1, 43, 45B, 47, 47A, 47B; tax map 51, parcels 13, 14. This district, created on June 18, 1986 for not more than 8 years, since amended at its last review on July 10, 2002 to continue for not more than 10 years, shall next be reviewed prior to July 10, 2012. (5- 11 -94; 7- 13 -94; 4- 12 -95; Code 1988, § 2.14(d); Ord. 98 -A(1), 8 -5 -98; Ord. 01 -3(3), 8 -8 -01; Ord. 02- 3(3), 7- 10 -02; Ord. 09 -3(4), 12 -2 -09; Ord. 10 -3(3), 12 -1 -10; Ord. 11 -3(2), 7 -6 -11) The Blue Run Agricultural and Forestal District is located in the northeastern corner of the County (Attachment A). The district is characterized by largely- deciduous forest in the higher elevations and open agricultural land below. The District was created in 1986 and originally included 13 parcels and 1,136 acres. The District now includes 37 parcels and 4,183 acres. Agricultural and Forestal District Significance: The district has the following important soils, as designated in the Comprehensive Plan: Prime 1091.139 acres 26% Locally Important 1224.415 acres 29% Unique 491.1592 acres 12% Land Use other than Agriculture and Forestry In addition to agricultural and forestal uses, the Blue Run District includes approximately 23 dwellings (secondary dwellings may not appear in this count). Local Development Patterns: The area around the District primarily consists of large farm and forest parcels, with a few small areas of smaller residential lots. Twenty parcels in the District are under conservation easement (Attachment A). Comprehensive Plan Designation and Zoning Districts: The Blue Run District is entirely designated as Rural Areas in the Comprehensive Plan, and the parcels included in the District are zoned RA Rural Areas. The parcels adjoining the parcels in the District are zoned RA Rural Areas as well. Environmental Benefits: The District includes forested areas and open agricultural land. Protecting and preserving these properties in an Agricultural and Forestal District will help protect forest and rich farm land, which the Comprehensive Plan and Rural Areas Zoning Ordinances seek to preserve. Conservation of this area will help maintain the environmental integrity of the County and aids in the protection of ground and surface water, agricultural soils, and wildlife habitat. Time Period: The Blue Run District is currently on a 10 -year review cycle. The District is scheduled to be reviewed prior to July 20, 2012. Proposal: One application has been submitted requesting to add one parcel to the Blue Run Agricultural and Forestal District, in accordance with Chapter 3, Sections 3 -101, 3 -201, 3 -203 and 3 -215 of the Albemarle County Code, which allows for additions of land to Agricultural and Forestal Districts. The parcel, Tax Map 22, Parcel 10 (28.765 acres), is located on Burnley Station Road, approximately 3.3 miles west of its intersection with Stony Point Road (Route 20; see Attachment A). It is located 1.9 miles from the nearest "core" parcel of the Blue Run district. In the past, parcels over 1 mile from the core would not have been eligible to join a district unless they were adjacent to parcel that was within 1 mile of the core. However, due to recent changes to the Code of Virginia, such parcels can be added "if the board of supervisors finds, in consultation with the advisory committee and the planning commission, that the parcel not part of the core within one (1) miles of the boundary of the core contains "agriculturally and forestally significant land." The parcel includes soils rated as Prime (5.9 acres, or 21 percent) and Locally Important (12.8 acres, or 45 percent) in the Comprehensive Plan. The same soils are rated highly for production of Black Walnut and for high - value hardwood production. It is also large enough to qualify for use -value taxation as an agricultural or forestal use. Staff therefore believes that this parcel contains "agriculturally and forestally significant land." The parcel is in the Rural Areas zoning district, which includes agricultural, forestal, and fishery uses as the preferred land uses and permits a residential density of .5 unit per acre. The Comprehensive Plan identifies these parcel as Rural Areas; focusing on the preservation and protection of agricultural, forestal, open space, and natural, historic and scenic resources. Advisory Committee Recommendation: At its meeting on September 19, 2011, the Advisory Committee recommended against approval of this proposed addition to the Blue Run district, as they felt they had insufficient information on the agricultural use of the property. Attachments: A. Blue Run AFD Map AFD201100009 Blue Run Addition N 0 0.5 1 2 Miles in OWN. r LIA I r AVA OVA I it � � � �• . ,., Vic, • ,r �,. ►I ��,.� it .,, �.._ ,�.�� i ,i ,ice HA WASEMON AFD201100009 Blue Run Addition N 0 0.5 1 2 Miles