Charlottesville’s new Development Code has been in effect for a month, and most of the players involved say not enough time has passed to determine any effects so far.
“It’s early in the experience for staff and developers and they are still learning the day-to-day implications of the new code,” says James Freas, the city’s director of Neighborhood Development Services.
Ashley Davies, the chair of the Charlottesville Area Development Roundtable, also says it is too soon to make any conclusions.
The city’s new development portal allows anyone to track what is happening. As of Friday, March 15, there have been no new applications for critical slope waivers, Comprehensive Plan amendments, rezonings, or special uses. There have also been no submissions of the new major “development plan” that is the first review step for staff in the Department of Neighborhood Development Services. Two minor developments have been filed with one at 816 Hinton Ave. and one at 133 Stribling Ave.
“It is very interesting to me that we had a rush of over 1,000 housing units trying to get special use permits under the old zoning at the last minute, and no rush of new applications,” says Ben Heller, a vocal critic of the new zoning, referring to student housing projects like Verve Charlottesville and 2117 Ivy Rd. Those projects were approved under the old zoning, which did not have a requirement that one in every 10 units be designated as affordable.
The Piedmont Housing Alliance has filed for a final site plan for the third phase of the redevelopment of Friendship Court into Kindlewood. That will see 13 existing buildings demolished to make way for at least 88 units across four new buildings.
That site plan has a fee of $3,560, and triggered what may be the city’s first tree removal permit with a request to take down 26 trees. That permit will cost $1,300 to process. There’s also a “public infrastructure plan,” but the development portal doesn’t have any details.
In February, the Board of Architectural Review reviewed its first project under the new zoning for a new apartment complex proposed for 1609 Gordon Ave. The 0.172 acre property is now zoned Residential Mixed Use 5, but within a design control district. Because the cost of construction would be above $350,000, both the old rules and the new rules require a preliminary discussion with the BAR. The developer had submitted a plan that assumed the project was RX-3, which allows less buildable space.
Freas said NDS staff are talking with developers and answering questions about projects that will soon be submitted.
“There are a number of projects being prepared for submission, and we are talking through the questions associated with these projects,” Freas says. “The code is a new approach, and it requires more thought on design to figure out what one can do with a piece of property.”
Meanwhile, the city has responded to a lawsuit by several property owners seeking voidance of the new zoning code based on a claim that it was adopted without sufficient scrutiny from the Virginia Department of Transportation.
“In the city’s view, plaintiff’s efforts to secure a judicial veto of the Zoning Ordinance, which was the product of a very thoughtful legislative process, are not well-taken,” says City Attorney Jacob Stroman.