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Home My WebLink AboutSP199900054 Action Letter Special Use Permit 1999-11-17 November 17, 1999 COUNTY OF ALBEMARLE Department of Planning & Community Development 401 McIntire Road, Room 218 Charlottesville, Virginia 22902-4596 (804) 296 - 5823 Fax (804) 972 - 4035 Frank Cox 220 East High St Charlottesville, VA 22902 RE: SP-99-54 Covenant Upper School, Tax Map 90A, ParcelZ Dear Mr. Cox: The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors, at its meeting on November 10, 1999, unanimously approved the above-noted request to allow private school in accordance with Section 14.2,2(5) of the Zoning Ordinance. Please note that this approval is subject to the following conditions: 1. The Covenant Upper School shall be operated in accordance with the special use permit application and attached July 23, 1999 letter from Frank D. Cox, Jr. PE AICP, herein included as Attachment B. Student enrollment is not to exceed 550 students. 2. No subdivision of the property or expansion of the school use beyond that stated in the original special use permit application shall occur without amendment of this Special Use Permit. 3, Prior to final site plan approval, the applicant will be responsible for satisfying all Virginia Department of Transportation requirements related to signalization, intersection improvements, and roadway improvements on Stage Coach Road and Oak Hill Drive, and meeting requirements of the Department of Engineering and Public Works regarding traffic management and roadway improvements on Hickory Street. 4. All uses associated with the Covenant Upper School Hickory Street campus shall comply with the commercial setbacks set forth in Section 21.7 and the lighting requirements of Section 4.17 .2( a) of the Zoning Ordinance. Page 2 November 17, 1999 5. Final site plan approval shall not be granted until the Albemarle County Service Authority approves public sewer service to the site. In the event that the use, structure or activity for which this special use permit is issued shall not be commenced within eighteen (18) months after the issuance of such permit, the same shall be deemed abandoned and the authority granted thereunder shall thereupon terminate. For purposes of this section, the term "commenced" shall be construed to include the commencement of construction of any structure necessary to the use of such permit within two (2) years from the date of the issuance thereof which is ,thereafter completed within one (1) year, Before beginning this use, you must obtain a zoning clearance from the Zoning Department. Before the Zoning Department will issue a clearance, you must comply with the conditions in this letter. For further information, please call Jan Sprinkle at 296-5875. If you should have any questions or comments regarding the above-noted action, please do not hesitate to contact me. Sincerely, Y;a~~~ Director of Planning & commun~elopment VWC/jcf .... Cc: Amelia McCulley Jack Kelsey Tex Weaver Steve Allshouse , ........ II"" ATTACHMENT B . , ?!anners . ~rd$cape ;'rcnl!ec:s C:vrl E.'1g;ne!!rs ' 'Jr::;an ,'::eslgrers THE COX COMPANY July 23, 1999 rvrT:":'Nayne Cilimberg, Director Planning and Community Development 401 Mcintire Road CharlottesvifJe, Virginia 22902 Re: Special Use Permit Application Covenant Upper School Campus Tax Map 90A-2, Parcel A The County af Albemarle, Virginia :- Dear Wayne: Cn behalf of The Covenan~ School, the Board of Directors seeks the County's permission to develop a private school campus on TM 90A-2, Parcel A, a vacant 26-acre parcel on the north side of Hickory Road. Last year's gift to the school of the parcel from the owner's of the !arger Biscuit Run land hold- ings enables Covenant to move ahead with its strategic plan for facility development. With this corre- spondence, I am forwarding a Special Use Permit application and Supporting information to aid in the County's consideration of this request. The Covenant School has a strong record of educational performance and quality as a college ,:Jreoara- tory school. While its philoSO;Jhy emphasizes community service and a well rounded curriCl.:lum,t's graduating students ;,ave been accepted at t.'1e finest colleges in t.'1e countïy. For example, aporoxi- mately one-third oft.'1e 1999 graduating class was admitted to the University of Virginia and ail gracu- ates will attend the college of their first choice. As you may know, the school has been in existence since 1985, when it was founded with 45 students (K-6) at the County'S old Mcintire High School. Since that time time, the school has grown into a K-12 institution of 640 students. Covenant currently houses its Upper School Car:1pus at the ,'vfclntire sit~ located at 1000 3irc:wood Road in the City. Th~ arcaosed Groject 'Nil! relocate the Upper Sc.1ooi to what will je ~":owr. as tr.e "Hickory Road Campus", thereby allowing the Lower School, curi"~ntly housed at the Forl1~r'vlountain_ wood Hos¡Jital to be returned to the Mcintire Campus. ïhe project timing is being dr:ven by tl;e ;ro:- pending expiration date on the Mountainwood :ease, which will not be renewed. The school will be developed pursuant to the County's de-rìnition of a private school and, further, in ac- cord with the aoplicable special use as designated the underlying R-2 District, as cited in Section 14.2.2.5. x.;.·~:::~· -':;: __.f _..._. "'-""\ .- .- .......- -"-- ....-....':I.~~ -...... ......,-.... . - - -. ----- -Oh..__ _._.._._.__.,",__~.. ---.....--. ........ ........ ßI.... Mr. Wayne Cilimberg Re: Covenant Upper School Campus July 23, 1999 Page 2 The initial phase of the ~roject will accommodate an Upper School Campus ~or approximately 500 stu- 'd;nts as well as 50,60 ~aculty members and administrative staff. The total building size, including gymnasium and cafeteria. wi!1 be in the range of 90,000 to 95,000 square feet. Thealanned outdoor athletic facilities wiii inc!ude two soccer j!acrosse fields, a baseball fields, and tennis courts. A con- ceptual master plan for the campus will be ,cresented later during the review process in order to high- iight the features of the proposal. ! believe the rationale ~or a ~rivate school at this location is strong relative to health, safety, '.veifare and morals precepts. Based on my analysis of the various matters related to the grant of a special use permit" the application is consistent with the County's comprehensive planning framework, and it pro- motes good zoning ::md !and iJse practices, Please consider the following: NeighiJorr.ood ?!anr~ing Considerations: As in many other residential neigf-,borhcods throughout ,.l.ibemarie County, ~rivate (and ;Jublic) schools are comolementa~ ~o and sup- portive of neighborhood and community environments. ,';t this particular ;ocation, :he planned campus will buffer existing single family residential areas from the higher density mobile home park. It will create a low-density, community "focal point" within an area which is under served by such features. The character of existing residential deve!op- ment is underscored by ~omes which are sited with extensive setbacks from the subject pro perty. Pubjic Utility and Service Considerations: The campus iecation will,1ave adecuate ;;ublic utilities and services. ,';n existing water main is iocated in the Hickory Road right of ',yay and the school is 'Norking with the Service ,~uthority to establish a sanitary sewer exten- sion. Public water and sewer demands for the school use will be less than those WhiC:: would be generated by a residential subdivision developed to comprehensive plan de~si- ties. Fire, pOlice and rescue services are in close proximity. Traffic and Transportation Considerations: The campus :acation has excel!ent 3ccess to 5th Street and Interstate 34 'lia Hickory~oa,j :: a private Frontage streetì anc Jak ,,_@ Drive. Transportation caoacities in the existing system arellore than adequate ~:r t~e private scheol use. The tiact has approÜnateiy 1900 feet of street frontage In '-iickOI)! Road, a length sufficient te orovide ,orivate individuajriveway access to 22 single family residences if developed u:ider ,",-2 zoning standards. it!s intended that access to the ,JiO' posed campus will :e limited to not more than two private entrances from Hicko~ Road. Traffic generated by the school use will be i10 greater than that which would be generat, ed from the residential development of the site to comprehensive plan densities. ------ ----- ----. --..-- -------~- --,~. ..- Mr. Wayne Cilimberg Re: Covenant Upper School Campus July 23, 1999 Page 3 Land Use Considerations: The school use may, in fact, provide for a better physical and environmental utilization of the property than that which could be achieved via R-2 resi- dential development. Based on the various campus master plan options now under con- sideration by the Soard of Directors, the conventional land use ratios and criteria of site utilization far exceed those for conventional, suburban residential subdivisions. As an il- lustration of this, our preliminary site concepts yield the following site and development characteristics for the campus: · Planned Building:,7::AR = Less than 0.10 · Planned Building Coverage = Less than 6% of site · Open Space and Recreation Areas = Greater than 80% of site · Total Imoervious Surfaces = Less than 15% of site · Enhanced yards and setbacks · Enhanced perimeter buffers · Enhanced tree preservation and lafìdscaping · Site plan review mandatory (not required for SFD) · Starmwater management and BMPs provided (not required for SFD) : greatly aopreciate Bill Fritiz arranging the pre-application meeting which was held today prior to pian submission. Thank you for your consideration in this matter and! look forward to your ongoing c:irec, tion as we pursue the Special Use Permit approval for The Covenant SChool. As mentioned in Mr. Tag- gart's letter, I am representing the school as a member of the school's Board of Directors and (2) our's firm principal which is conducting planning, engineering, and related site design functions. Please contact me if additional information is"needed. With ~ind regards, ! am Sincerely, ---- , ,.----'. , ' ç:--.....---. /. ._--~ /jlì·I'y~~;~~·..t:, .~. i j . I' , ; Frank D. Cox, Jr. ?E AIC? / ¡ / - attachments: SUP'-A"p~lication and Submission ~xhibits xc: Jack Taggart, Chairman, Board of Directors Dr. Ronald Sykes, Headmaster Robert «rener, ::sq. The C ovenant S· ~ .JoI .. .. SITE LOCATION Un - ,...per ~chool Facility -.. -.......~-- -,