A new year brings a new zoning code for Charlottesville and new challenges for those of us who try to keep track of what’s happening. While at least one civil engineer has already indicated he will seek City Council’s approval to rezone at least one property, it is widely understood that most projects will move forward by-right.
Unlike Albemarle County, Charlottesville does not have a public archive for land use applications. People who are interested in projects are notified by planners in the Department of Neighborhood Development Services when new documents are filed.
That was the case on December 20 when City Planner Matt Alfele wrote to residents who signed up for information on Azalea Springs, a proposed 45-home single-family subdivision in the Fry’s Spring neighborhood between Monte Vista Avenue and Azalea Drive. The project involves a consolidation of 88 platted lots into half that amount as well as infrastructure to support the site’s wastewater needs.
“The final site plan for Azalea Springs has been resubmitted to the City for review (submission #3),” Alfele wrote to over a dozen people who had indicated interest in the development. “Staff will be reviewing the [application] for the next 45 days.”
Alfele also provided a link to various files for this round of the project. However, the package does not include a list of staff comments from the previous round.
Alfele also wrote that civil engineer Scott Collins had submitted the latest iteration of the final site plan through the city’s new permitting portal. According to materials in Alfele’s OneDrive folder, the project seemed to have the permit number of PL-23-0006 but nothing seems to come up under a search of that number. A quick question to the city revealed the actual number is P21-0125 and that yielded information and confirmed the project is under review.
Documents do not appear to be available and I acknowledge I may not be looking in the right place.
This year I’ll be documenting my attempts to learn about what’s happening in the city through this portal and hope to work with the city to provide feedback to improve the ability of the city to communicate what’s happening.
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 story comes from the January 2, 2024 of the newsletter and podcast.
To ensure this research can be sustained, please consider becoming a paid subscriber or contributing monthly through Patreon.
Discover more from Information Charlottesville
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
