NDS denies first submission of Westhaven redevelopment

The Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority is moving ahead with a redevelopment of Westhaven, the first public housing complex built in the city.

In October, CRHA submitted a major development plan to the city’s Department of Neighborhood Development Services calling for a total of 264 units. NDS staff have denied approval of this first round.

“The application was reviewed by the Director of Planning or equivalent official and the plan is hereby denied due to deficiencies in specific ordinances, regulations, and/or policies outlined in this letter,” wrote city planner Carrie Rainey in a November 18 letter to the Timmons Group which is handling the review process.

The redevelopment project is taking place under the city’s new Development Code which allows a total of four submissions before a property owner has to pay a new fee. This denial is a common occurrence in an iterative process and some of CRHA’s requests have been granted.

Here’s some of what is in the letter which can be accessed here:

• The size of the project exceeds the 50,000 square foot threshold required for the creation of a traffic demand management plan. That will also require a community meeting.
• A tree removal permit will be required and a tree protection plan will need to be provided.
• The project will impact critical slopes and a waiver will need to be granted.
• Bicycle parking needs to be shown on the site.
• The letter notes that the design for the Page Street entrance is not consistent against sheets in the site plan submitted in the application.
• The plan appears to not meet requirements for streetscape standards but Rainey said there is a special exception process that requires a formal letter.
• The city will grant a waiver for the project for certain “build-to” standards. A separate letter provides a justification.
• The city will grant a waiver for the project to not have to follow the code’s standards which require creation of new city blocks. A separate letter provides a justification.

City Council has agreed to contribute as much as $15 million to the project. The design has been overseen by resident planners. More information can be found on the CRHA website.

Here’s some more information from the site plan filed as part of the site plan.

• The property is 10.01 acres and there would be 102 townhome units. There are also apartment buildings with 80 one-bedroom units and 82 two-bedroom units. Buildings would be no taller than 48 feet. The density would be 25.3 dwelling units per acre.
• There would be a total of 279 parking spaces with 80 of those in a parking structure. An analysis calculates the development would generate an average of 798 vehicle trips per day, an increase of 309 over the existing development.

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