Public hearing set for UVA Foundation’s rezoning request for North Fork 

It has been a busy month in planning for land use changes in northern Albemarle County.

Riverbend and a second company have filed for an amendment to the rezoning for RST Residences.

Stony Point Development Group and the Dominion Realty Partners seek a rezoning for about 500 units just to the south in a project to be called Holly Hills. 

Now the University of Virginia Foundation’s application for a rezoning at the North Fork Discovery Park is moving forward with a public hearing scheduled for the Albemarle Planning Commission’s meeting on October 24. 

“ZMA202100016 is a proposal for a request to rezone the southern area of the North Fork UVA Discovery Park to NMD, Neighborhood Model Development, to allow residential uses, approximately 1,400 units,” reads an October 6 letter sent to adjacent property owners. 

The University of Virginia has identified North Fork as one of three areas where housing guaranteed to be below-market would be built. UVA officials have previously stated work here won’t begin until after the rezoning. The Piedmont Housing Alliance has been selected to develop a site on Fontaine Avenue and a group called Preservation of Affordable Housing has been selected to develop one at 10th and Wertland. Read my story from August 25 for more on those two projects.

The request for North Fork also seeks a rezoning for the northern area to add seven acres of land that is not currently designated with the Planned Development Industrial Park zoning for the park. 

The size of the NMD request in the southern area is about 172 acres. The total size for the entire rezoning is 543 acres. 

There are a mix of Comprehensive Plan designations on the land including Urban Mixed Use, Office/R&D/Flex/Light Industrial, and Light Industrial. 

This proposal was originally filed in late 2021 and was reviewed by the Land Use and Environmental Planning Committee around the same time. (read my story from the time)

A new application was filed on September 8. Here’s a link to the new version. 

Before you go: The time to write and research of this article is covered by paid subscribers to Charlottesville Community Engagement. In fact, this particular installment comes from the October 14, 2023 edition.

To ensure this research can be sustained, please consider becoming a paid subscriber or contributing monthly through Patreon.