County planners clear way for Pantops fire station despite community concerns

The Albemarle County Planning Commission has endorsed a potential location for a new fire station in the Pantops area, despite concerns that the 1-acre site will use up land designated as open space.

The owners of Peter Jefferson Place have offered to donate the land to the county to build the Pantops Fire Station. A maintenance shed and sewer pump station currently occupy the site, which is otherwise considered open space.

The proposal is to build a 7,500-square-foot building that would include space for living quarters and bays for a fire engine and an ambulance. The facility would be smaller than the Hollymead and Monticello stations operated by the county. The station would be staffed by county employees during the day and volunteers at night.

To accept the land, the Planning Commission needed to confirm whether the site would conform to the county’s Comprehensive Plan. Planning Commissioner Calvin Morris, a member of the Pantops Community Advisory Council, took the opportunity to discuss one concern.

“The Pantops steering committee is extremely concerned that this is going to take away from our green space,” Morris said. “Green space in the Pantops area is very, very precious.”

Commissioners weighed the merits of open space versus the need to improve fire service in one of the county’s designated growth areas.

Chairman Eric Strucko said the county aims for five-minute response times, which are not met in the Pantops area. “In order to reach this goal, we need more facilities,” Strucko said.

Fire service in the Pantops area is provided by Charlottesville on a contract basis, with backup from the East Rivanna Volunteer Fire Company near Glenmore. In 2007, the city averaged a 10-minute response time to Pantops.

Albemarle pays Charlottesville up to $800,000 a year for the service. The contract expires in 2013, and Albemarle Fire Chief J. “Dan” Eggleston said the price will likely increase if the county wants to renew.

“We have on the one hand, trying to achieve that five-minute goal, and on the other hand we have to replace that consistent [response by an] engine company that comes out of the city,” Eggleston said. “We feel like this is the best bet at this point.”

Ron Lilley, a project manager in the county’s facilities development office, said similar sites that would allow the county to meet the response time goal would cost between $1 million and $3 million. The county had previously budgeted $2.7 million to purchase land and to do site work and engineering. With a land donation, the overall project costs are significantly reduced. The fire station is now estimated to cost $3 million, according to Lilley.

“It seems to me that it’s prudent for us to do something good for the taxpayers,” said Commissioner Linda Porterfield. “If the money is there and we can build a fire station on a free piece of land, it just seems like that’s the thing to do.”

Eggleston said the station would be built behind the existing maintenance shed, and every attempt would be made to blend it into the landscape. If the project moves forward, the station is expected to open by April 2013.

The six commissioners present voted unanimously to declare the site consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. Next, Albemarle County staff will continue to pursue the transaction with Peter Jefferson Place and to secure funding from the Board of Supervisors.

Charlottesville Tomorrow is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization covering land-use and transportation issues in Charlottesville and Albemarle County.