The new Development Code approved by City Council in December 2023 stripped away the role both Council and the Planning Commission play in individual projects unless there is a rezoning.
The Board of Architectural Review still retains some power to grant certificates of appropriateness for projects within architectural design control districts. More on that in a moment.
The appointed body meets Tuesday at 5 p.m. for a pre-meeting discussion with the regular version beginning at 5:30 p.m. This time around there are several items of interest. (meeting overview)
The first is a request to make exterior alterations at 946 Grady Avenue which is the first phase of the Dairy Central development that created a new chapter for the former Monticello Dairy. This is for a duck-pin bowling alley in the place where a restaurant called South and Central had operated.
The second is for an art installation at 301 East Main Street.
The third is for a consultation with the BAR on the design for emergency egress stairs at 116 West Jefferson Street.
And here’s where things get interesting. The fourth and fifth items both have something to do with Heirloom Development, directly or indirectly.
The forth item for that comes from Cavalier Hospitality LLC, a firm that bought 218 West Market Street from Heirloom Development in September for $5.75 million. The company had gotten a special use permit under the old zoning code for a nine-story residential building, but asked the BAR earlier this year if they would support the conversion to a hotel instead.
The fifth item is a preliminary discussion of a proposal from Heirloom Development related to 200 West Main Street. This caused a controversy last week when one media outlet jumped to the conclusion that closure of the Violet Crown theatre was inevitable. That possibility is not at stake in this discussion where Heirloom’s principal, Jeffrey Levien, wants to present the massing of an 184 foot tall structure, the maximum allowed under the zoning code. Heirloom is a contract purchaser, which means they have agreed to buy the property under certain conditions. Such contracts are not public.
It should be noted the BAR has nothing to do with affordable housing requirements enshrined in the new Development Code. The documents submitted state there would be 150 market rate units, which means Levien would need to pay into the city’s affordable housing fund. No appointed body has anything to do with that because the intent of the development code was to make the city’s expectations predictable.
Less than a year later this proposal seems to be the first major challenge. For more details, take a look at a story I wrote Friday afternoon.
The BAR does not regulate the use of a property, but only the aesthetics and the design. Their decisions on certificates of appropriateness can be appealed to Council.
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 is from the November 18, 2024 Week Ahead edition of the newsletter.
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