When the Charlottesville City Council adopted a new zoning code in Development Code on December 18, 2023, a major feature was to eliminate the role elected and appointed officials play in determining where residential density would go by getting rid of the special use permit process.
The new zoning is the third of three components of the Cville Plans Together initiative intended to make it easier for developers to deliver new housing called for in the zoning, the Comprehensive Plan, and the Affordable Housing Plan.
When a draft zoning map was released in February 2023, several properties in Fifeville south of the railroad tracks were classified as Residential Mixed Use 5, which allows unlimited density and up to seven stories if requirements for bonus height are met.
Much of the rest of Fifeville was designated as Residential-A, concern from entities like the Piedmont Housing Alliance led to the creation in October 2023 of the “Core Neighborhood Residential A” districts with fewer development rights than R-A lots.
Sections of Preston Avenue and Cherry Avenue were also added that month to a new “Core Neighborhoods Corridor Overlay District” that require additional community input and a special exception for additional height and density.
However, no changes were made to properties in the 200 block of 7th Street and a development firm called LCD Acquisitions of Atlanta proceeded with plans to consolidate several properties for a by-right development called The Mark.
The only legislative approval needed is a certificate of appropriateness from the Board of Architectural Review due to the use of two individually protected properties. That body said no and Council will soon hear an appeal from the developer.
The Mark has raised the ire of groups like the Public Housing Association of Residents as well as the Fifeville Neighborhood Association who have spent months at Council meetings asking for elected officials to amend the zoning to stop or restrict the development as well as one proposed at 843 West Main Street.
Staff in Neighborhood Development Services denied an initial submission known as a “major development plan” in November but accepted new documents today.
“The proposed development will consist of 770 beds (180 units) of off-campus student housing Apartments,” reads a February 26 cover letter for a required transportation demand management plan produced by the Timmons Group. “The project will be built in one phase and is expected to open in 2029.”
Parking in the building will be accessed from Delevan Street in a parking garage with 234 spaces for vehicles and 386 bicycles.
The new submission also includes a required as well as a “Affordable Dwelling Unit Certification.” You can see this here.
From this we learn that the construction method is to be “stick over podium” and that the developers plan to buy out affordability requirements by paying $4,552,613.10 to the city in an in-lieu fee. This calculation is based on a determination that the project is “student housing” which yields a lower fee. Nearby residents are challenging that finding to the Board of Zoning Appeals on March 19.
According to the new version of the major development plan, the total height will be 100 feet with an interior courtyard. The plan is still to incorporate the two protected houses on 7th Street pending Council’s appeal and a possible appeal to Charlottesville Circuit Court.
The applicants are also seeking a waiver from streetscape requirements for a continuous five-foot greenspace zone and a six foot walkzone. This is due to the presence of the two protected buildings.
So far, only City Councilor Michael Payne has indicated a willingness to amend the code to change the zoning on the property. For more on that story, consult this recent article I wrote for C-Ville Weekly.
Meanwhile, the City of Charlottesville is seeking input on a study of in-lieu fees on the new Connect Charlottesville site.
“Student Housing is allowed in all districts where housing is allowed,” reads the website. “However, in student housing projects within 1/2-mile of the University of Virginia campus grounds that lease on a per bedroom basis, no on-site affordable units are required and applicants must pay an in-lieu fee.”
Take a look here.
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