Posts tagged Growth

204 More Homes Coming to Rio Road?

in Albemarle Charlottesville Growth Transportation on

Looks like I need to update my post from December pondering what Rio Road is going to look like in 5 years.

Charlottesville Tomorrow reports:

The site of a former wastewater treatment plant near Pen Park is under consideration for the construction of 204 homes in both Albemarle County and Charlottesville.

I’d agree with Planning Commissioner Green:

Commissioner Lisa Green encouraged Lopez to further interconnect Lochlyn Hills with the city.
 
“In the city, what makes a neighborhood is [people] getting out and walking to the Downtown Mall,” Green said. “Although I applaud all the well-thought-out improvements to the trails, people want to walk to their jobs downtown and I’m not so sure they’re going to do that through the woods.”

Not planning for or accommodating non-vehicular traffic (you know, walking and biking) is irresponsible and will, to many buyers, reduce the desirability and marketability of the homes.

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Redfields Neighborhood’s Next Phase Going to Court

in Charlottesville Growth on

From Charlottesville Tomorrow –

The Redfields Development Corp. has filed a lawsuit against the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors for denying a request to expand the neighborhood. 
The county wants the suit dismissed.

If the property was zoned/approved in 1990 for development, and it hasn’t been downzoned since, I’m failing to see the logic of denying the developers’ application now. “You’ve made money” doesn’t strike me as a viable argument; “… (they have) reaped the financial rewards of its planned residential development zoning classification for 22 years …”

Along that same vein, it seems both the County and the Developer share responsibility for not clearly communicating to the Redfields residents (and each other) that that “open space” was actually “site of future development.”

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Keeping Charlottesville Sustainable

in Albemarle Growth on

ASAP – Advocates for a Sustainable Population has a new ad (see? I watch local news) promoting their petition at KeepCvilleSustainable.org.

In part:

In signing this petition, you support keeping sustainability a planning priority for our quality of life, environment, and future.
Sign the petition. Speak up for sustainability and help maintain our quality of life.

My question: what does this mean? I’d like a petition to have links to their goals; this sentence – “A vocal minority has successfully pushed the Board of Supervisors to withdraw support for key environmental programs that help promote clean air and regional cooperation” – cries out for supporting links to stories that demonstrate what they are advocating.

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Albemarle County Debating Growth Area Expansion – How Should the County Grow?

in Albemarle Growth on

Make no mistake, this is a big deal. Charlottesville Tomorrow reports:

The Albemarle Planning Commission began the review of the county comprehensive plan Tuesday with a work session on whether to expand the growth area to accommodate new development.

The county adopted a comprehensive plan in 1980 that designated 5 percent of its land to be used for dense residential and commercial use. Development is discouraged in the rest of the county in order to preserve environmental resources.

…

The county is estimating that it will have an additional 34,000 residents by 2030. Staff estimated there would need to be between 1,770 and 7,438 new units to accommodate that population growth. However, they also concluded there are just over 8,000 units that have been approved by the county but not yet built.

“There is sufficient residential capacity to accommodate population growth through 2030 within current development area boundaries,” said Andy Sorrell, a planner in the county’s community development department.

Is there? Per Charlottesville Tomorrow’s reporting, there are 12 currently proposed expansions of the Albemarle County growth area. Will this be sufficient?

We talked about Somerset Farm in June of this year – an additional 1900 homes! – what if Wendell Wood doesn’t get his rezoning (which geographically makes a lot of sense) and he builds by-right? Is that what the planners (and more importantly, the community) want?

This struck me, as the area just past Barracks Road has been largely protected from the sprawling growth other areas of Albemarle have experienced:

Next door is a 14.7-acre property near the Montvue neighborhood which developer Charles Hurt wants to include in the development area. Hurt is also applying to add a 156.8-acre parcel further up Barracks Road that, if approved, could see an additional 312 to 628 housing units.

That seems like a reasonable place to expand, although it would personally make me sad to see beautiful landscapes ruined.

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