HomeMy WebLinkAboutZMA201700007 Application 2017-09-06 (2)TMP: 07700-00-00-02000
Hogwaller Farm
Zoning Map Amendment Request
Application Narrative
August 21, 2017
Current zoning:
LI (Light Industrial)
Proposed zoning:
RA (Rural Areas)
Current Conditions:
The 7.52 acre property is located between Nassau Street (in the City of Charlottesville) and Moore's Creek. The property
is wooded and lies within the 100-year floodplain, along the western bank of Moore's Creek. The western property
boundary is also the boundary between the City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County. Access to the property is from
the City of Charlottesville (Nassau Street) through City parcel 61-79, also owned by Franklin Street Land Trust II.
Proposed Use:
This proposal is to rezone an existing Light Industry (LI) district to Rural Areas (RA) to allow agriculture,
forestry, and fishery uses except as otherwise expressly provided. The Owner/Applicant would like to use the
parcel (70-20) and the adjacent city parcels (61-79, 61-79.16, 61-79.17, 61-79.18, 61-79.19, and 61-79.20) to
create a mixed use residential/agriculture area of approximately 8.46 acres. Intended to predominantly be run
by its residents, the agricultural operation will also host a small market stall to sell produce/crops. The novel
combination of residential with agricultural use creates a unique and sustainable model forAlbemarle's
Development Area.
The parcel currently includes a predominantly wooded area along Moore's Creek in Woolen Mills, with open
runoff outflows from culverts catching runoff from developments up to Monticello Rd. The proposed condition
would convert the wooded area to agricultural land, provide more adequate BMP's for culvert outflows, and
implement a riparian buffer to a portion of Moore's Creek.
Hogwaller is to be developed within the identified Development Are of the County's Comprehensive Plan ,
pinched between Charlottesville City limits and Moore's Creek. Chapter 7 of the County's Comprehensive
Plan, includes a vision of the County's Rural Areas that promotes, "healthy ecosystems, active and vibrant
development areas, and a physical environment that supports healthy lifestyles." This is in alignment with the
development goals of Hogwaller, which will create new agricultural use along the Moore's Creek edge, and
link into the history of the community.
Surrounding Uses:
Small lot residential properties within the City border the property on the west. The Moore's Creek Wastewater
Treatment Plant borders property on the east. A light industrial use borders the property on the North. A vacant
property, zoned Light Industry, borders the property to the south.
A neighborhood meeting to provide information about the proposed City and County zoning requests allowed uses and
additionally, to receive neighborhood input about the proposed development will be held on Sept.11, 2017 at 7:00 PM
at (TBD).
Consistency with Comprehensive Plan:
The Hogwaller site fails within the Woolen Mills neighborhood Master Plan, a historic neighborhood
connecting the City and the County. The agricultural use reinforces this threshold while creating employment
opportunities for residents. According to the Comprehensive Plan, Hogwaller is within the designated
Development Area, surrounding the City of Charlottesville. The Comprehensive Plan classifies this parcel and
all the surrounding properties as Parks and Green Systems, which will be a major component of the
development along the Moore's Creek edge of the property within the Water Protection Ordinance Buffers.
The remainder of the land will be converted to agricultural land, providing opportunities for urban agriculture,
which is also noted in Chapter 8 of the Comprehensive Plan as a priority.
Impacts on Public Facilities and Public Infrastructure:
Agricultural use will have minimal impacts/demands to public facilities and infrastructure. Agricultural use will
have less impact than current by -right uses allowed in Light Industry zoning districts. By retaining
predominantly pervious surfaces, the impacts of stormwater on Moore's Creek should be minimized. Due to
its isolation between City boundaries and Moore's creek, the development will have an extremely limited
footprint on emergency services, roads, and utilities. This concentrated agricultural use lot will also allow for
better allocation of resources for the area.
Impacts on Environmental Features:
This site lies entirely within the Moore's Creek 100-year flood plain. Agricultural uses are permitted within the
100-year flood plain by the county, and will provide rich soils for production. An existing berm, not shown on
the County G1S 2' contours, follows the western bank of Moore's Creek. The berm diverts all runoff from the
Belmont neighborhood along Nassau Street in a northerly direction where a natural bio-filter of sandy loam
material effectively removes pollutants prior to discharging into Moore's Creek. little to no fill will be placed in
the floodplain, to not increase flood elevations or flood potentials around the site.
Alignment with Rural Area goals:
• Because of its agricultural nature the site will not require heavy aaaitionai public infrastructure
• The site's isolation from the county adjacent to Moore's Creek and the City of Charlottesvilles boundaries,
creates complications for the zone to be urbanized
• Protect and preserve natural resources (Objective 2 of the Rural Areas)
• The scale of agricultural use fits the suitable for existing condition
• Hogwaller seeks to fit into the history of the Woolen Mills neighborhood as a link between the city and the
county and as a cultural link to the Rivanna River.
• Any existing structures will be identified for potential adaptive reuse.
• Development will respect its historic designation, and seeks to 'maintain its identity as both a historic link
between the city and the county and as a cultural and historic link between the community and the
Rivanna River.
0 Protect natural resources/healthy streams -relates directly to the need of the area