Council approves special exceptions for student housing building on West Main

One of the customs of local democracy is a section of a meeting where the “consent agenda” is presented for a vote on matters that are routine and may not merit a long discussion.

“The consent agenda may be used for eligible items and may include, but is not limited to, routine and noncontroversial appropriations, grant applications, contracts, resolutions, ordinances, second readings, and the minutes,” reads the most recent rules and procedures adopted by Charlottesville City Council.

One of the items on the consent agenda for the November 2, 2026 meeting was a resolution to allow a set of necessary approvals to allow a student housing building to move forward.

“Number nine, resolution considering a special exception permit application for 835 West Main Street, 843 West Main Street, and 847 West Main Street,” said Kyna Thomas, Clerk of City Council.

Under the Development Code adopted by City Council in December 2023, the property is within the Corridor Mixed-Use 8 zoning district which allows developers to construct buildings up to 156 feet tall if bonus conditions are met. All they need to do is meet all of the technical requirements as reviewed by staff across a multitude of city departments.

Under the previous zoning code, such a project at that location would have required a special use permit to exceed certain heights and residential densities. The idea with the new rules was to provide more certainty to developers. Public hearings are still required for rezonings and special use permits, but those have so far been very rare.

Last year, LV Collective filed plans for an eight-story building between the roadway and the Westhaven housing complex owned and operated by the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority. A total of 182 units are included as well as a café and a public plaza.

To make the plans fit on the site, LV Collective need various waivers and other permissions to be relieved from some of the technical guidelines. This is done in the form of the “special exception permit” which must be approved by the City Council after a recommendation from the staff report.

“The Applicant requests to reduce the Ground Story Height within a portion of the proposed building due to existing site grades and access to upper level amenity space, to reduce the Active Depth requirement within a portion of the proposed building where stair access is proposed, to modify the Finished Floor Elevation for a portion of the proposed building to accommodate site grading and accessible space, to modify the Street-Facing Entry Spacing requirement due to site grading and accessible entrance requirements, and to modify the Bicycle Parking Space dimensional requirements to permit the use of a two-tiered space-saving rack system,” reads the staff report.

Materials for this item:

• Policy Briefing Summary
• RESOLUTION – Special Exception – 835 843 847 W Main Street
• View the permit portal for PL-26-0126

City Councilor Michael Payne said he wanted to discuss the matter and remove it from the consent agenda.

“I don’t feel like I have enough information about to be in a position where I feel comfortable voting yes,” Payne said.

The item was removed from the consent agenda and discussed separately.

City planner Carrie Rainey had not expected to make a presentation so had no prepared materials. She read a description of the project and the application and then explained that the Board of Architectural Review took a look at the special exception requests on September 15.

“The Board of Architectural Review found no adverse impacts to the West Main Street Architectural Design Control District on September 15th, 2026,” Rainey said. “In addition, the Planning Commission recommended approval of this permit at their October 13th, 2026 meeting.”

City Councilor Lloyd Snook said he had reviewed the materials that went to the BAR.

“It strikes me, and maybe correct me if I’m wrong here, that these are sort of cosmetic things around the edges that don’t really have anything to do with what generated so much public attention for just simply the size of the project and so on,” Snook said. “We’re talking about kind of cosmetic things, are we not?”

“I believe that to be an accurate statement,” Rainey said.

Payne said the project is one of “substantial community attention” and he wanted to hear more detail about what the requests were.

Attorney Valerie Long of the firm Williams Mullen explained that three of the five requests address a steep decline in grade going north from West Main Street and that there need to be access points compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“For example, the interior space is all one flat level,” Long said. “The lobby, there’s a cafe, there’s stairs to a fitness area, or there’s a fitness area and then stairs to a mezzanine. Obviously, you want to have a level interior space. So in order to have the entrances, for example, every 40 feet and accommodate the grade change, It just doesn’t quite work. So instead, they have two entrances that are closer together, but there’s more than 40 feet on the west side and more than 40 feet on the east side.”

Payne said he understood that the requests were technical but he said the impact on Westhaven will be substantial. He also said the development of what is now known as Yugo Crestline made the pedestrian experience worse.

“I do think it’s important just to be able at the Council level to discuss anything on a project that’s getting this much attention,” Payne said. “And my biggest concern is assuming it did move forward, avoiding what happened with the student housing project right next to it where the pedestrian experience, I think, got far too cramped compared to the other side of the street where it’s much more pedestrian-friendly and open.”

The item passed unanimously.

The project still needs the Department of Neighborhood Development Services to approve a major site plan. Staff issued a fourth comment letter on October 22, 2026 saying more work is needed.

Applicants get four rounds of review before having to have begin a new cycle which incurs a new fee but there is an exception to that as well.

“In a detailed letter to the Administrator, the applicant may request an additional review without a new application fee for circumstances that are beyond the control of the applicant,” Rainey wrote to a civil engineer with the Timmons Group.

Outstanding issues in the letter include the special exception permit. LV Collective asked for an additional review on October 26 and received permission for one more cycle on November 4.

Marijuana Marketplace

Another item on the consent agenda also garnered a very brief discussion.

“Ten, resolution, Marijuana Marketplace Local Ordinance Zoning Text Amendment Initiation Resolution Adoption,” Thomas read.

The General Assembly adopted legislation this year that sets up a framework for how the legal sale of cannabis will be set up. Localities have no choice but to amend their zoning codes in order to allow businesses to set up.

The initiation of a zoning text amendment sets up a process of amending the Development Code that will require a public hearing. While retail sales won’t begin until July 1, 2027, the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority wants all localities to have their rules in place months before.

“In order to stay in line with what’s going on on the state level, adoption needs to occur by February 1st,” said Missy Creasy, the city’s Deputy Director of Neighborhood Development Services. “We do not have all of the things from the state beause they haven’t done it all yet. And so we’re kinda flying the plane and building as we go.”

Item materials:

• Policy Briefing Summary
• RESOLUTION – ZTA Initiation Marijuana Marketplace
• LGA – 7.15.26 Model Ordinance

There will also be a public hearing on changes to the Development Code on December 8. I’ll have more details on that in a future newsletter.

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