Places29 Master Plan
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The Places29 Master Plan is designed to guide and direct future development in terms of land uses, transportation projects, and other infrastructure projects in the 14.5 square miles [1] four designated growth areas that surround the US 29 corridor through northern Albemarle County. If appproved by the Board of Supervisors, The Places29 Master Plan will be an adopted component of the County's Comprehensive Plan. On October 27, 2009, The Planning Commission voted 4-2 to recommend the Board adopt the plan[2].
Much of the County's future growth is expected to come in the Places29 area[3].
| This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses. |
Contents |
Next meeting
The Board of Supervisors will take up Places29 during a work session on January 13, 2009.
Scope of Places29 Master Plan
The Places29 Plan encompasses Albemarle County's four Development Areas to the north of the City of Charlottesville[4]. The areas are Neighborhood 1, Neighborhood 2, the Community of Hollymead and the Community of Piney Mountain. The Plan relies on a 20 year planning horizon to implement recommendations.
After the plan is adopted, planners will work with property owners on Small Area Plans to guide development in specific locations, to encourage the creation of necessary infrastructure as well as to examine redevelopment options.[5]
(Image from Places29 Master Plan Draft, Revised 2/2009)
Vision Statement for Places29
"Albemarle County’s four Northern Development Areas will feature compact development consisting of residential and employment neighborhoods that are organized around centers. These neighborhoods and their centers will be pedestrian-oriented and mixed-use; they will offer a variety of housing choices, retail environments, office types, and employment opportunities. They will be connected by an attractive, efficient, and accessible multimodal transportation system. Integrated into this urban-style development, parks and open spaces will provide a sense of respite and contribute to an overall excellent quality of life[6]."
Transportation
The four neighborhoods share a common thread, as US 29 passes through all of them. The UNJAM 2025 plan adopted in 2004 projected that traffic volumes on US29 will triple by 2025 to 80,000 vehicles per day through the area[7]. The draft plan claims that north-south traffic can be handled relatively efficiently, but growth of traffic on east-west cross streets such as Hydraulic Road, Greenbrier Drive, Rio Road and Airport Road increasingly present a challenge. US29 is the only road that consistently travels north-south through all four neighborhoods.
"Simply put, the US 29 North Corridor is a place that people not only want to go through, but want to go to," County planners wrote in the draft Places29 Plan.
Bus service is currently provided along two Charlottesville Transit Service routes, each of which have 30-minute headways throughout the entire day until 11:45 PM. Pedestrians, however, lack sufficient places to safely cross US 29. One of the goals of Places29 is to make the area more walkable.
History
The Places29 Master Plan has been drafted through a series of public workshops and Planning Commission work sessions. The process began with an educational "Citizen's Planning Academy" in which participants were introduced to the basic tools of planning and land use management so that their engagement in the process could be more productive and beneficial to the community.
The Albemarle County Planning Commission held several work sessions on Places29 throughout 2007, and the Board of Supervisors held one in September of 2007. Consultants are now finishing the text of the Master Plan. Commissioners have yet to take up the Implementation and Design Guidelines chapters.
The primary contact for the plan is Judy Wiegand, Senior Planner, Albemarle County.
Even though the plan has not yet been adopted, it still influences the Albemarle County Planning Commission. On April 1, 2008, the Commission recommended denial of a rezoning on Berkmar Drive in part because the developer (Stonehaus) had not proffered to complete a connector road to link Berkmar to US Route 29.[8]
Timeline of community meetings
- May 12, 2005 - Citizens Planning Academy
- May 25, 2005 - Small Group Breakout Sessions
- November 1, 2005 - Open House
- November 3, 2005 - Public Workshop
- March 1, 2006 - Board of Supervisors endorses Vision Statement and Guiding Principles
- May 18, 2006 - Open House
- May 20, 2006 - Public Workship
- February 26, 2007 - Preferred Framework Meeting
- March 5, 2007 - Hollymead & Piney Mountain Neighborhood Meeting
- March 8, 2007 - Neighborhoods 1 & 2 Meeting
- July 31, 2007 - Planning Commission Public Comment work session
- October 23, 2007 - Planning Commission Public Comment work session
- November 27, 2007 - Planning Commission work session
- December 18, 2007 - Planning Commission work session
- February 10, 2009 - Planning Commission work session on Revised Chapters 1-6
- March 31, 2009 - Planning Commission work session on Revised Chapters 1-6, 8
- April 14, 2009 - Planning Comission work session on Revised Chapter 8
- May 12, 2009 - Planning Comission work session on Revised Chapter 8
- June 16, 2009 - Planning Comission work session on Revised Chapter 7
- July 14, 2009 - Planning Comission work session on Revised Chapter 8
- Tuesday, September 8th, 4:00-5:45 p.m., COB 2nd Floor Lobby
- Thursday, September 10th, 4:30-6:30 p.m., Hollymead Fire Station
- September 15, 2009 - Final "check-in" before public hearing
- October 27, 2009 - Planning Commission recommends adoption on 4-2 vote
- January 13, 2010 - Work session before Board of Supervisors
Timeline after adoption
The draft Places29 Master Plan uses a 20-year planning horizon as the timeline for implementation. The implementation plan, which is still under development as of March 2009, is split into recommendations for the first ten years and the second ten years.
Organization of the Places29 Master Plan
- Chapter 1 Introduction
- Chapter 2 Vision and Guiding Principles
- Chapter 3 Existing Conditions and Future Trends
- Chapter 4 The Future Land Use Plan and Transportation Network
- Chapter 5 Place Types
- Chapter 6 Community Facilities and Services
- Chapter 7 Unified Design Guidelines
- Chapter 8 Implementation
- Appendix A Glossary of Terms Used in the Master Plan
- Appendix B Recommended Transportation Improvements
- Appendix C Public Participation Program Events and Summary
Previous plans incorporated into study
- The US 29 North Corridor Transportation Study Final Report, dated August 18, 2008.
- The Access Management Report for US 29 (Transportation Study Technical Memo 11), dated May 25, 2007.
- Transportation Funding Options, a report prepared by the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission, dated October 10, 2005.
- 29H250 Phase 2 Report, Draft, prepared by the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission, dated September 15, 2004.
- 29H250 Intersections Study, prepared by the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission, dated May 2003.
Next steps
The complete plan will come before the Albemarle County Planning Commission for one final work session on September 15, 2009, followed by a public hearing tentatively scheduled for October 13, 2009. The complete plan is now available on the County's website.
Following the Planning Commission's vote, the Plan will go before the Board of Supervisors, most likely in the beginning of 2010.
External links
Charlottesville Tomorrow coverage of events in the Places29 study area
Notes
- ↑ Albemarle County. Department of Community Development. Places 29: A Master Plan for the Northern Development Areas. 2009 DRAFT. Page 3-2. <http://www.albemarle.org/upload/images/Forms_Center/Departments/Community_Development/Forms/Places29_Master_Plan/Places29_Master_Plan_3_Existing_Conditions_Future_Trends_2_2009_Complete.pdf>
- ↑ Wheeler, Brian. "Planning commission endorses Places29 over objections of business community." Charlottesville Tomorrow News Center. Charlottesville Tomorrow, 28 Oct. 2009. Web. 12 Jan. 2010. <http://cvilletomorrow.typepad.com/charlottesville_tomorrow_/2009/10/places_29.html>.
- ↑ Albemarle County. Department of Community Development. Places 29: A Master Plan for the Northern Development Areas. 2009 DRAFT. Page 3-6. <http://www.albemarle.org/upload/images/Forms_Center/Departments/Community_Development/Forms/Places29_Master_Plan/Places29_Master_Plan_3_Existing_Conditions_Future_Trends_2_2009_Complete.pdf>
- ↑ Albemarle County. Department of Community Development. Places 29: A Master Plan for the Northern Development Areas. 2009 DRAFT. Page 1-1. <http://www.albemarle.org/upload/images/Forms_Center/Departments/Community_Development/Forms/Places29_Master_Plan/Places29_Master_Plan_1_Introduction_2_2009_Complete.pdf>
- ↑ Albemarle County. Department of Community Development. Places 29: A Master Plan for the Northern Development Areas. 2009 DRAFT. Page 1-4. <http://www.albemarle.org/upload/images/Forms_Center/Departments/Community_Development/Forms/Places29_Master_Plan/Places29_Master_Plan_1_Introduction_2_2009_Complete.pdf>
- ↑ Albemarle County. Department of Community Development. Places 29: A Master Plan for the Northern Development Areas. 2009 DRAFT. Page 2-1. <http://www.albemarle.org/upload/images/Forms_Center/Departments/Community_Development/Forms/Places29_Master_Plan/Places29_Master_Plan_2_Vision_Guiding_Principles_2_2009_Complete.pdf>
- ↑ Albemarle County. Department of Community Development. Places 29: A Master Plan for the Northern Development Areas. 2009 DRAFT. Page 3-11. <http://www.albemarle.org/upload/images/Forms_Center/Departments/Community_Development/Forms/Places29_Master_Plan/Places29_Master_Plan_3_Existing_Conditions_Future_Trends_2_2009_Complete.pdf>
- ↑ 'County Planning Commission denies Berkmar Business Park; cites connector road concerns'
