Planning Commission paves way to turn back density rules

Charlottesville officials may soon subject large development projects to more intense scrutiny.

The city’s Planning Commission late Tuesday paved the way to change the zoning ordinance to decrease by-right building densities in all of the Charlottesville’s mixed-use districts — reverting to pre-2003 zoning rules that were designed to encourage denser developments throughout the city.
“We’ve come to an understanding that [increased density] is not the best thing for every property,” said Jim Tolbert, the city’s director of Neighborhood Development Services.

In most districts, the proposed changes say by-right densities should be bumped down from as much as 87 dwelling units per acre to half or even a quarter of that amount.
Commissioner Mike Farruggio said, “Four-bedroom units are just not as marketable in some areas as two-bedroom units.”

However, densities allowed by special-use permit would increase to as much as 240 dwelling units per acre to compensate.
Requiring special-use permits for increased density would ensure that development proposals come to the Planning Commission for recommendations before approval by the City Council.

“This will give us better control,” in terms of mitigating possible negative impacts of large developments, Tolbert said.
The city’s zoning ordinance overhaul in 2003 was designed partly to inspire pedestrian activity in and around downtown, city Planning Man-ager Missy Creasy said.

“There was a lot of focus on increasing the density and making things more walkable,” she said. “We found that some of that needed some tweaks.”

Local architect Bill Atwood said the city needs more tall buildings in high-density corridors such as West Main and Water streets to accommodate current and future residents.
“Charlottesville is not a town that’s blessed with a lot of neighborhoods like Lynchburg and Staunton,” he said. “Where are these people going to live?”
Atwood said that with the great need for affordable housing, less density could make units more expensive.
“If the city wants affordable housing, we need more density,” he said.

However, an amendment to the city’s zoning ordinance is in the works that would require developers to allocate affordable units or contribute to the city’s affordable housing fund if rezoning or a special-use permit is required.
If that passes, Tolbert said, developers would not have a choice.

Commissioner Cheri Lewis said discussions about decreasing by-right density have been ongoing.
Initially, she said, “we allowed almost too much by-right and not much control.”

There is also the question of whether the city’s infrastructure could handle a slew of large developments.
A memo written by Tolbert to commissioners states that when the city’s 2006 Comprehensive Plan was being crafted, “it came to light that many areas were lacking adequate water and sewer capacity and/or road capacity to handle higher levels of density.”

An outside consultant concluded in January that $26.7 million was needed to update the city’s sewer system and to provide adequate infrastructure to support an expected increase in development. At the time, city officials also said $18.8 million was needed over five years to upgrade the water infrastructure system.
However, Tolbert added, the city still intends to develop the downtown area even with the decreased by-right allowances.
“It’s just giving us an opportunity to not overwhelm the infrastructure,” he said.
City Councilor David Brown, who was present at Tuesday’s joint public hearing between City Council and the Planning Commission, said he favors increased density, but was concerned after the 2003 zoning changes that too many massive projects would invade the city.

“By scaling back the by-right density and the by-right height, we could make sure stuff developed in a fashion that everyone was comfortable with,” Brown said.
To achieve Charlottesville’s vision of a green city, he said, a certain degree of development must occur so people increasingly walk, bike and use mass transit.

“If we really want to be a green city and a green community, the key is to have people live in an urban setting,” Brown said. “It’s important that we continue to infill and become denser. We just have to make sure we don’t do it in such a way that’s no longer good planning.”