One assumption in the draft of Albemarle’s new Comprehensive Plan is that the county must increase its housing supply.
“Albemarle County needs to add approximately 10,070 affordable units to our housing stock by 2040 to ensure all current and future residents can enjoy a good quality of life in our community,” reads a section of the draft chapter on housing.
Since 1980, Albemarle has designated about 5 percent of its land mass for dense development intended to absorb population growth. Over that time, most projects that have been built have come in at lower densities than allowed under the Comprehensive Plan.
That’s in part due to a legislative process, where the public can express concerns to appointed and elected officials as they consider whether to approve a project or not. That often leads to a reduction in housing units, as happened with the development of the former Ridgewood Mobile Home Community in Hollymead.
A Virginia Beach developer bought the 19.5-acre property in late 2019 and originally sought a rezoning to allow for a total of 370 units. The Forest Lakes Community Association mounted serious opposition, and the total number of homes was whittled down to 332. When the Board of Supervisors voted 5-1 to approve the rezoning in September 2021, one of the conditions was that 190 were to be affordable under the county’s guidelines.
The original developer has moved on, however, and Riverbend Development has taken it on. The firm filed for a new rezoning that would reduce the total unit count to 280, and only 15 percent of them will be guaranteed affordable.
Riverbend is also developing the Brookhill community to the south, where 503 of the 1,550 units approved have been built according to Albemarle’s development pipeline.
But there’s no shortage of other projects that could help the county meet its housing goals. Immediately to the north is a proposed development called Holly Hills. Dominion Realty Partners and the Stony Point Development Group have filed a rezoning for eight parcels totaling 30,821 acres from Residential-1 to Planned Residential Development.
“A maximum of 500 dwelling units is proposed, at a gross density of approximately 16 dwelling units/acre and a net density of approximately 24 dwelling units/acre,” reads a recent memo from Albemarle’s Community Development department. “The dwelling units are proposed to be a mixture of single-family attached units and multi-family units.”
Meanwhile, the county continues to proceed with AC44 (its updated Comprehensive Plan) and is seeking public input through a series of questionnaires, including one for housing. Surveys are also open for economic development, environmental stewardship, parks and recreation, and historic, scenic, and cultural resources.