HomeMy WebLinkAboutSDP201200025 Legacy Document 2012-06-08 (5)verimow
A111L Oda
April 23, 2012
TO: County of Albemarle
Department of Community Development
401 McIntire Road
North Wing
Charlottesville, Virginia 22902
RE: Vest Property ( "Hardware River ") / Verizon. Tier II PWSF
Critical Slopes Waiver Request
To whom it may concern:
Verizon Wireless is submitting this request to allow disturbance of critical slopes for the
installation of the proposed Tier II Personal Wireless Service Facility ( "PWSF" or
"facility ") in response to the site review comments. The lease area for this facility is
10,000 square feet in area, which accounts for approximately 10.4% of the total property,
which is 2.19 acres in area. The existing improvements only cover approximately 3 82
square feet and the expansion wilt result in approximately 1020 square feet (9.8 %) of the
facility site being developed including the existing and proposed improvements for this
facility. 99% of the area proposed for expansion is covered in critical slopes and
approximately 92% of those slopes being affected in some way by the grading and fill
activity needed to prepare the area for the new monopole and base station equipment.
This means that nearly 10% of the 10,000 square foot lease area or .954% of the total site
will be disturbed.
Areas of critical slopes have been identified on the site plan, and Verizon Wireless
will address the five health, safety and welfare concerns that are set forth in Section
4.2 of the Ordinance below:
Rapid and /or large scale movement of soil and rock
During construction the site will be stabilized using erosion control measures such as
silt.fencing that will keep soil and rock within the site area. Once the finished grades
have been established, both the cut and fill slopes on each side of the site will be
stabilized with wooden retaining walls.
Excessive stormwater run -off
The finished surface of the site will be pervious, consisting of a layer of gravel over a
meshed layer of geosynthetic fibers that will allow stormwater to drain back into the
ground instead of flowing off -site.
ATTACHMENT D
Vest ( "Covesville) - Verizon Wireless
Critical Slopes
Page 2
Siltation of natural and man -made bodies of water
No existing bodies of water have been identified on the subject parcel and the
proposed PWSF site accounts for a very minute portion of the property. The proposed
compaction and a layer of geosynthetic fiber will stabilize the soil below the gravel in
the lease area, while the retaining walls will be used to stabilize soils on the resulting
slopes. These factors combined with the. amount of vegetation remaining downslope
from the facility will ensure that silt does not travel to streams or ponds on any nearby
properties.
Loss of aesthetic resource
There will be no significant loss of existing aesthetic resources, which are chiefly the
existing wooded characteristics of the property. This is an existing facility which has
several large trees surrounding it and the location of the proposed expansions will not
require the removal of any important trees. Once approved, Dave Rosene of
VanYahres Tree Company will prepare a certified arborist report that will provide the
recommended methods of protecting trees that are to remain at this site. The final
report will be submitted to the County it is complete and prior to building permit
issuance.
Greater travel distance of septic effluent
This will be an unmanned facility that will not have a septic system or any other form of
plumbing. Therefore, the concern for possible impact on the travel of septic effluent is
not relevant to this request.
Section 4.2.5(b) allows the Planning Commission to waive the restrictions on
disturbing critical slopes upon finding the following (in part):
A strict application of these provisions would not forward the purposes of the
Zoning Ordinance
Critical slopes regulations in the Rural Areas are mainly focused toward ensuring that
adequate building sites can be attained for dwellings or other uses dependent on sewage
systems without large - scaled, adverse impacts to critical slopes. Section 5.1.40(b)(1)
states, "Notwithstanding section 4.2.3.1 of this chapter, a.facility may be located in an
area on a lot or parcel other than a building site." Therefore, the building site
requirements related to critical slopes are not relevant to PWSFs. The site of the
proposed facility was originally chosen because it is surrounded by several mature trees
that provide a backdrop for the monopole. The proposed improvements are now
necessary to accommodate upgrades to Verizon Wireless' network, without resulting in
any mass clearing of large -scale development of the property. ,
Vest ( "Covesville) - Verizon Wireless
Critical Slopes
Page 3
Therefore, a strict application of the critical slopes provisions in this case would not
further the purpose of the Zoning Ordinance as it applies to this particular use which is
allowed by- right.
2. Restriction of the use of the property due to topography
Because the property is located entirely on the side of a'mountain, some disturbance of
critical slopes was necessary in order to install the existing facility. The proposed
expansion increases the size of the project area by more than double but still covers just a
little more than 10% of the total lease area.
3. Modification or waiver would serve a rea�ter public purpose
The placement of Tier II PWSFs in areas where critical slopes exist allow carriers to take
advantage of the County's preference for siting facilities so that there is a backdrop of
trees behind the monopole. Furthermore, since the adoption of the wireless policy there
have been several other Tier II PWSFs approved for the same reasons in other areas
where critical slopes are present, including an existing facility on the adjacent property to
the north.
Conclusion:
The concerns and requirements for granting a critical slopes waiver are considered and
addressed generally through the existing Personal Wireless Service Facilities Ordinance
requirements. Furthermore, Verizon Wireless will address the concerns in a more site -
specific manner using the proposed site design, tree conservation and construction
techniques. Therefore, we appreciate your thoughtful consideration in analyzing this
modification request for consistency with the critical slopes regulations.
Please contact me at your earliest convenience, if you should have any questions or will
require any additional information.
Sincerely,
' epl #4a -ler, AICP
GDNsites
Site Development Consultants to Verizon Wireless