Loading...
1977-04-25April 25, 1977 (Adjourned from April 20, 1977) An adjourned meeting of the Board of Supervisors of Albemarle County, Virginia was held on April 25, 1977, at 7:30 P. M. in the Board Room of the County Office Building, Charlotte vi!le, Virginia; said meeting being adjourned from April 20, 1977. Present: Mrs. Opal D. David and Messrs. Lindsay G. Dorrier, Jr., Gerald Eo Fisher, J. T. Henley, Jr., F. Anthony Iachetta and W. S. Roudabush~ Absent: No~e. < Officers present: County Executive, Guy B. Agnor, Jr.; County Planner, Robert W. Tucker, Jr.; and County Attorney, George R. St. John. Members of the Albemarle County Planning Commission present were Messrs. Wo Roy David Wo Cart, Peter Easter, Leslie Jones, William Moore, Paul Peatross and William Washin¢ The meeting was called to order at 7:33 P. M. by the Chairman, Mr. Fisher~ who said this was a joint meeting with the Albemarle County Planning Commission to hear a pre!imi~ary from the consultants working on a revision of the Comprehensive Plan. Mr. Tucker introduced the consultants Beckham W. Dickerson and Bruce A. Drenning, Jr. of Kamstra, Dickerson and Associates, Inc. He said the revisions to the Comprehensive Plan begun about a year ago with a series of nine meetings throughout the County° A steering committee composed of Board and Planning Commission members selected the consu!tants~ Since that time, KDA worked with the steering committee who served as a policy committee along a citizen's advisory panel composed of twenty members. There have been at least ten with the final product being presented to the Board and the Planning Commission tonight~ Mr. Dickerson noted copy of~roDosed Revisions of the ComDrehensive Plan for Albemarle County,~VirQinia,__ ~ ~irst Printin~,.ADril 14,.1977, and said the newspaper sized document presented is the entire text of the proposed revisions. ~nis is reduced from a number of ~gr~ng memorandum which are in the han~s of the County Staff and ~nich contain more than. is included in the plan. ~ere is also available a summary document. The newspaper Chosen for a number of reasons, but primarily for ease of distribution to the public after plan is adopted. It also reduces the cost to about 39~ a copy as opposed to $!2 or $15 each. Mr. Dickerson said the~iI971 Comprehensive Plan gave information on what should be.done in County but did not address in detail how this would be accomp!ished.~ The population projection in the 1971 plan'~was in error, it is now anticipated that by the year 1985 there will be 86,000 persons in the County as opposed to 180,000. This factor impacts on all aspects of the County including fiscal, environmental and economic aspects~ The 1971 plan proposed. ~ive communities~ Ivy, Keswick, Scottsvil!e~ Holiymead and Crozet. ~dDA could not find any ~ustification to suppor~ more than Ho!lymead and Crozet. Fourteen villages were identified in the 1971 plan and proposed to contain 39,000 people. KDA is proposing eight villages ~hich will hold less than 6,000 people. The rural area was anticipated to hold 28,000 people and this plan anticipates only 5,000. Mr. Drenning said. when they studied the distribution of pgpuiation over the past couple of time periods they found some alarming things. Thereis a high tendency for development to move to rural areas and overbalance rural development. This trend will continue without strong policies and programs with~which to shape development. %~en sewer becomes available in the 1980's, this will help. This plan proposes a series of recommendations to turn new gro~h toward urban orientation revolving around the City, Hollymead, and Crozet areas leaving the rural parts of the County Mr. Drenning said in preparing the Comprehensive Plan, they utilized a basic approsch of supply versus demand° Demand is the expected population and employment increases and what these increases place on different resources over which there is some degree of County In their review of the Comprehensive Plan, they anticipate that the population will grow to about 87,000 people over the next twenty yea~s~ This will be an increase of about 42,000 people for that period of time. Between now and 1981, the growth should be similar to what has been experienced over the first half of the 1970'So increase in overall emplos~ent is expected to add about 21,000 jobs by the end of the planning period. It was found that most people in the County feel the balance of employment that exists now~is an~.appropriate mix they project that that balance will continue. Different types of employement and population projections were translate~ into demand for different kinds of land use. The basic land use planning aspects recommended for the County were arrived at byworking with the citizen's group and are as follows: Agricultural° It seems that the County wants to continue agriculture as a viable and they have suggested a number of strategies aimed at accomplishing this objective° Conservation. They focused attention on key assets of the County such as hillsides, rivers and stream valleys, scenic roads, scenic streams and %~oodlands. For each proposed, there are some specific standards stated to protect these from an environ- mental or scenic standpoint. They also proposed standards for development of hil!si~ areas and in agricultural areas~ Industrial. Eight different criteria were used in selecting industrial sites such accessabi!ity to highways, water and sewer, flat lands, etc. Commercial. In the areas to be developed, such as the urban area~ Hollymead, Crozet and. the villages, it needs to be recognized that there is a need for commercial facilities at a neighborhood scale. ~They also identified areas for more intensive larger scale d~velopment, basically in locations that have had past development ~ney can see that the County will continue to receive pressures specifically in the Route 29 North corridor. They tried to arrive at strategies to be used in reducing the amount of strip commercial development by recommending strong clustering and other incentives. Residential. They provided a full range of densities throughout the County. Also included in the plan is a housing element to deal with the need to provide modern low income housing. They have suggested six strategies that would be advisable for the County to take as a way of reducing the cost of housing by taking advantage of public utility and public facility investments. April 25, '1977 (Adjourne~ from April 20, 1977) Mr. Dicke~son said a number of significant improvements have been proposed to encourage g~owth in areas where the County is planning for new development. Two of these improvements are directed at improving the access to Interstate 64~ thereby reducing the traffic loads on State Route 250 West. In order to relieve the congestion on Route 29 North, a limited access highway is proposed. Road improvements through impacted a~eas should be engineered and placed on an official map to ensure future availability. During the. first five years of the plan detailed village plans for Ivy, Earlysville, Crossroads, Scottsvitle, Esmont and. Nix should be completed. No significant shift is anticipated from rural to urban development patterns until urban options are made available through se%,:er capacity. Ordinance, incentive and. regulatory measures should be tested and enacted. A firm, and active policy to protect both the environmental qua!ity~and agricultural to all implementation measure decisions~ Mr. Peter Easter said it has been noted~ that 60 percent ,of the growth in the last .few years has taken place in the rural areas. The recommendation is to reduce that to a smaller number.~ He questioned the County's power to control that gro%~h. Mr. Dickerson said some of this can be attributed to the lack of availability of water and sewer within the urban area. Another thing that has to do with people moving to the urba area is the fact that 35 to 37 percent of the people in the County have incomes of less than $I0,000~ Probably there was no piece for these people to go in the urban area, and. the~only alternative was to get a trailer or build a house in the country. By providing some housing opportunities in the urban areas, Holl}~ead, Crozet or the villages, it will discourage some of this type of settlement Mr. Dickerson said. this is not a plan that will have a natural tendency to occur, it wil~ take a great deal of w~rk on the part of the County. Modificatioi will have to be made to a number of ordinances and. incentives will have to be developed. How. ever he feels the structure is there for reversing the trend. Mr. Dorrier said he noted that under recommendations for industrial development it is noted that nothing new.is required except for Scottsville and Ivy. He asked the meaning of this sentence. Mr. Drenning said Ivy ~as recommended because of the availability of the Croz~ interceptor and its being served by 1-64 and Route 250 EaSt. They felt some local emplos~ent could be developed in the Ivy v~llage. Scottsviile is an area in the County with a large population base and it'already has water and sewer~i~facilities~ It is more remote from the center of the hub of the County's activities. It was felt it would be desirable to have more local employment opportunities. Dr. Iachetta asked how the CoUnty is to generate the roads in the Ho!tymead planned area Mr. Dickerson said the parallel road is the easiest since it can probably be hand. lad with private funds as the Hollymead PUD comes in for approvals over the next few years. Dr. Iache' asked how ~he County will reverse the strip zoning~tha% ex~Sts on RoUte~29 and' concentrate th~ commercial area at the clover leaf opposite the Hol!ymead entrance as indicated. Mr. Dickers~ said. they took a similar attitude to that in the ~971 plan which was to simply not reflect th, existing strip development where it was felt inappropriate.~ Alternatives are limited, on how to deal with this question. They do not have any solution for the strip development except to go through the experience of trying to do%~zone. ?~rnat they have done is try to show commercial development pa~terns %fnich reflect the needs of the community. There are no immed~ solutions to the 29 Bypass. The important thing to do in relationship to this problem is to make sure the corridor is determined and put on a map so the public can~gain control of it in whatever manner is available. There would also be problems of coordination with the City because the first mile or two is in the City. He said this corridor is not necessary at this! time, but at sometime in the future it will be mandatory. They see this project as being funded by the Virginia Department of Highways and TransportatiOn. Dr. Iachetta saidthe Boari was told last fall by people from the Culpeper District Office that they could see no funding! in the future for any type of bypass for 29 North. Also, the State does not provide for righ~ of-way. Mr. Dickerson said he feels if the County brings enough pressure to bear, the Highwal Department will bend to local priorities and local needs. He has seen this happen in other areas. One of the things mentioned, is the addition Q~ lanes to Route 29. The possibility of service roads was discussed with the committee, but/u~derstands that the additional lanes will be constructed. However, this only hastens the need for the bypass because it solves the problem for a few years but thenwhen it becomes over!aaded, the problem will be more critica Mr. Drenning said they were faced with deciding alternatives. New sewers are in the ground going up the Route 29 North corridor. The County, in the 197! plan called, for a major planne~ community in that area. They reinforced this concept although reduced the scale. There are now problems on Route 29 South, so it is obvious that something must be done. Mr. Dottier said the Plan states that villages should be self~sufficient or there will b a lot of commuter traffic to ~arlottesville, Mr. DickersOn said frOm the standpoint of population and job availability, it is possible that Ho!!ymead and Crozet could produce enoug] jobs in each area to be self-sufficient but in looking at patterns of present employment, people will p~obably commute. This will depend on the energy ~ituatio~ and how~ seriousl it gets over the next twenty years. Mr. Dorrier said. if the energy question is not resolved, there will be a tendency to cluster around Charlottesville, as presently is occurring, and this will keep the villages from being self-sufficient or' economically viable. Mr. Drenning said that is true. The main thrust of the village concept is t~ try and limit scattered rural development~ Mr. Leslie Jones asked how the consultants developed criteria for designa potential industrial siteS2 Mr. Drenning said in preparing plans and working for industrial clients they have found a number of things that industry looks for in trying to find a good site. Although these vary from industry to industry, there are things~which are fairly critical, such as topography, public facilities, flood plains, water and sewer, etc~ They took a base map of the County, drew corridors of one-half mile each side of all major highways and eliminated those characteristics which an industry would not feel would make a good site. The ones that were left were the most suitable and were Mr. St. John said he would like to speak about the official map. He said the County cannot have an official map unless the Highway Department approves same. Once they approve the map they are commited to funding items shown on that map. Mr. St. John asked if once such an official map is adopted if speculators rush into an area ~£nere major arteries of transportation are shown. Mr. Drenning said the experience with an official map in Virginia is very limited. He knows of only one instance in the ~tate where it has been used. One of related s t ta ate ing April 25, 1977 (Adjourned from April 20, 1977) the major difficulties is that legislation appea~s to require that before you~can establish a route on a map you have that route surveyed and iq is very eXPensive. Mr. Peatross asked why Hol~ymead was designated as an urban area in light of the traffic problems on RouterS9 North. Mr. Dickerson said there were many factors~ It is already an approved PUD, and there is a sewer trunk line in the area. Mr. Fisher asked why the name of North Rivanna cluster had been changed to nameonly a single development. Mr. Dickerson said there was a great deal of confusion about the name North Rivanna. People thought North Rivanm m~s up much higher in the County. Hollymead was named for the historic structure ~nich is there and not for the PUD and it seemed like the name ~,~£nich has been accepted. Mr. Drenning said they have no problem with using a private development name if the location and the scale and type of development that will occur suits the County's purposes. Mr. Fisher said the projected total of commercial space in the plan is about 200 acres. He understands the County already has about 2,000 acres of undeveloped commercially zoned land at the present time. He asked~if the consultants had related the available land zoned for these uses as opposed to the need that will exist. Mr. Drenning said they did not. They realized there is plenty of commercially zoned land, but they feel that at some point in time people will come in and. ask for other uses. They have seen this occur in other counties. Mr. Fisher said he had a differ the Board were together; that being commercial acres on Route 29 North discussed by the citizenS for a lon officially involved in that discuss traffic problems which are in exist result of zoning and land use contm If City Council decides to rezone t' impact on traffic on Route 29. Mr. Council and the City Planning Commi Departmenttoi~doeve~hing that can with the least possible confusion t ent matter to bring up while the Planning Commission and the matter before City Council on a rezoning of additiona~ for the Fashion Mall Shopping Center. This has been ~ time, but he felt that the County should not become i6n. It is obvious that the City has not created the ~nce on Route 29 North. The problems that exist are the D1 that the County has used over the last twenty years. ne land at that location it is going to cause a greater Fisher proposed that a resolution be sent requesting City ~sion to work with the Board of Supervisors and the Highwa~ be done to incorporate that new development into Route 29 the residents of the County. Mr. Easter said he felt this wa: a reasonable suggestion and since there was a quorum of the Planning Commission present ton~.ght he offered motion to adopt such a resolution for the Planning Commission. The motion wa~ seconded by Mr.~Barksdale. Mrs. David said she under- stands that the City Council would the appointment of a joint body to work on similar problems3%in the urban area. Mr. Fi said a M~tual Boundary Committee has been appointed. with the following members: Dr. Mo~ , and Mr. Gloeckner, from the County Planning Commissio~ and Mrs. Shutts and ~!r. Hicks from City Planning Commission. Mr. Fisher then asked Mr. Tucke the from this point. Mr. Tucker said the steering committeehas a joint public hearing for May 16, 1977. After the public hearing, it will be necessary to decide if additional public hearings are necessary. Mr. Fisher said he was not ready to set a public hearing date, but felt a date near May 16 might be appropriate. At 9:40 P. M., motion was offergd by Dr. Iachetta, seconded by Mrs. David, to adjourn until April 27, 1977, at 7:30 P. M. at Albemarle High School for a hearing on th~ t9~7-78 County Budget. The motion carried, bY the following recorded vote: AYES: Mrs. David and Messrs. Dorrier, Fisher, Henley; IaChetta and Roudabush. NAYS: None. ~/CHAI Ri~_AN