Planning Commission Meeting   9/28/2021

Hi, Kevin.

Hi, Tim.

How are you?

Excellent.

I've got a quick question for you.

Yeah, sure.

September 28th of 2021, six o'clock, our electronic meeting this evening.

This meeting is being held pursuant to and in compliance with ordinance number 20-A-16, an ordinance to ensure the continuity of government during the COVID-19 disaster.

Opportunities for the public to access and participate in the electronic meeting will be posted on www.albemarle.org forward slash community forward slash county hyphen calendar when available.

Yes.

Mr. Bailey?

Mr. Keller?

Present.

Ms.

Firehock?

Here.

Ms.

Moore?

Mr. Clayborne?

Correct.

Okay, perfect.

Thank you.

So with that, with Mr. Clayborne coming in,

and Karen Corum.

Thank you.

Commissioners, you notice we have one item on our consent agenda.

Does any commissioner wish to pull this item this evening?

Seeing none, would someone move passage?

I'll move.

Moved by gentlemen, Biz Moore.

Is there a second?

Seconded by Daniel.

Is there any discussion?

Ms.

Moore.

Aye.

Ms.

Firehock.

Aye.

Aye.

Thank you.

That's passed.

And so staff, if you would let the applicant know that they're able to go forward and work with you in the way that we do.

So our first public hearing this night

is for ZTA-20-21-02, public hearing on zoning text amendments to clarify the Board of Supervisors authority to approve special exceptions consistent with case law.

So I guess we'll also hear from our counsel this evening, since we're hearing about case law.

May we have the staff report, please?

And welcome, Ms.

Thank you.

It's nice to see everyone.

Let me get my

PowerPoint going here.

Not quite yet.

Seems to have frozen.

Okay.

I apologize.

I think something is frozen.

Let me try again.

Okay.

No, it's just frozen.

I am impatient.

Thank you.

So I'm Rebecca Ragsdale, principal planner in the zoning division and have been before you I think a couple times recently.

or the past year or so with some text amendments here and there.

So this one is, as you mentioned, what we refer to as sort of a clarification cleanup of the ordinance to the references to the planning commission or administrative officers that do not actually have the authority to grant the waivers, variations or modifications that are referenced in the ordinance.

So we wanted to start with a little bit of background.

And as you mentioned, Mr. Herrick has worked on this a great deal and is also available as questions come up.

But going back to 2012 is really when this issue came to light with a significant court case in terms of establishing that no administrative staff person or planning commission

has the approval to grant the waivers or modifications in the zoning ordinance.

And we say administrative staff that is typically, as you saw in the draft ordinance, planning director, agent, or zoning administrator.

And in terms of the planning director, that used to include variations to codes of developments, application plans associated with plan developments.

So those types of actions must be legislative.

and what we did back in 2012 when this happened was add those special exception provisions to the ordinance and they have been updated since then but we had a little bit of work left to do and as part of our overall comprehensive zoning modernization project that's in our board work program this is on the list to get taken care of

So we want to get it taken care of in the context of some of those other zoning text amendments with the modernization project that we want to have our ordinance ready for those more substantive things.

Now, I noted that these are the waivers and modifications to the zoning ordinance.

That does not include the subdivision ordinance because there is some authority left in the, or there is authority, if you will, for the commission to grant those waivers.

You actually have one on your agenda this evening.

So I wanted to point out that for clarification purposes.

Jumping right in, there's the ordinance.

The draft was about, I think, 30 pages to the corrections, mostly replacing the authority where we saw those outdated references to Board of Supervisors.

There are some sections that needed to be deleted because they included an appeals process that is no longer needed

For instance, if the Planning Commission denied something, you could appeal it to the board.

But right now, it would go straight to the board.

And the section on administrative waivers needed to be repealed altogether because we can't do that.

So the sections that are affected the most are section four, section five,

Section 8 and there were a couple things in Section 20B, the Downtown Crozet District.

This is not the complete list of those sections where someone can seek a waiver or modification.

Since 2012, as we've done other text amendment updates or introduced new

regulations into section five, we have updated, updated so that it is consistent with state law.

So an example of that would be the wireless regulations.

That's something that comes up fairly often on the board's agenda for a special exception, home stays.

And so that is I just want to let you know this isn't the complete list, but it does include things, you know, critical slopes, lot access, height, lighting, noise,

Section 5 is structured in a way that at the beginning of Section 5 it says that you can actually waive or modify any of those regulations provided that it's not expressly prohibited in the specific criteria of the regulations.

We do have that in some instances, but so we're cleaning up the beginning of Section 5 and a few other sections that needed to be cleaned up.

and I mentioned already section eight is the section of the ordinance that speaks specifically to the plan development districts most commonly we see variations needed in the neighborhood model district where we have the most specificity and we think that it's important to continue and we stated that in 2012 when we adopted the special exception provisions we think it's important to allow flexibility in these places in our ordinance so it's not taking away any authority

that the commission has right now because that hasn't been the case since 2012.

It's just a little, we had some leftovers and updates to take care of in the ordinance.

Now since we provided your draft and we advertised the ordinance, we took a second look at it and we needed to look at it carefully in terms of a provision where the commission or an office agent would actually be waiving something.

I got a little overzealous with all the references and the county attorney has identified some things that we don't actually need to change.

and there are some other minor technical corrections.

So we wanted to note that for the record and your motion this evening to recommend approval of the zoning text amendment with those changes on slide four.

And this would move on to the Board of Supervisors for their December 1st meeting for a public hearing for them to

review and adopt the text amendment.

So I'd be happy to answer any questions that you have.

Certainly, Mr. Chair.

Again, I'm Andy Herrick, Deputy County Attorney.

And I really don't have much to add beyond what Ms.

Ragsdale covered.

I think she did an excellent job of covering this.

Again, as she noted, this really dates back to the Supreme Court Sinclair decision in the year 2012.

And at that time, some ordinance revisions were made that dealt with the immediate issue

The Supreme Court in the Sinclair case in 2012 ruled that special exceptions for the legislative decisions and that the local governing body, in our case the Board of Supervisors, couldn't delegate its legislative decisions to either administrative agents or to the Planning Commission.

So again, some revisions were made in 2012.

We're just now going back

in the kind of better late than never category of making revisions elsewhere in the ordinance so that it's easier to understand and so that there aren't places in the ordinance that says the planning commission shall do this or the administrative agent shall do that when really those powers are and have been as a practical matter reserved to the Board of Supervisors since 2012.

So that's the purpose of the zoning text amendment.

Again, it doesn't reflect the policy change or shift away from the Planning Commission.

It's simply implementing what the Supreme Court has said must be done as long ago as 2012.

Thank you.

Are there questions for Rebecca this evening, kind of folks?

Okay, seeing none, then we will open the public hearing.

No, sir.

Okay, thank you.

Then we will close the public hearing, come back to us, and either of you want to make a closing comment?

I see Rebecca doing the same thing.

Commissioners, how do you want to move forward?

We have a motion on the recommended motion before us and with the sort of editorial changes that Ms.

Sam, are you moving?

I so move.

Thank you.

Seconded by Ms.

Firehawk.

Is there any discussion?

Yes.

Firehock Aye Mr. Randolph Aye Mr. Bivins Aye Ms.

Thank you very much.

And thank you, Rebecca.

Thanks.

Nice to see you all too.

Good evening.

Have a good evening.

Moving to our next public hearing this evening is SP 2020-16, the Claudius Crozet Park.

Where is my guy?

Ah, there he is.

Andy, could we have the staff report?

Good morning, everybody.

As a pause, I don't know where other people are, but we're having some of those late afternoon, but it's now later, thunderstorms, and we've had one blink.

So Jenny, I don't know what's happening out there, because usually if I go out, you go out.

You're good tonight?

All right.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Great.

Thank you.

Good evening, commissioners.

My name is Andy Bartlebach and I'm a senior planner with the Albemarle County Planning Division.

And tonight we're here for a public hearing for SB 2020-16, the Claudius Cruzet Park.

So to help provide context on the location of the park and the property that we are here tonight for, here's an aerial view of Crozet.

The Claudius Crozet Park is in the center of the screen, and then I've labeled some of the surrounding areas, including downtown Crozet up in the upper left-hand corner, the railroad tracks there going across the top, and then Eastern Avenue over kind of on the right side, bottom right side of the screen.

And then this slide shows a more zoomed in view of the park and its surrounding neighborhoods.

You have Parkside Village directly to the north, the Barnes Lumberyard site a little to the northwest, Hilltop Street to the north and northwest, Park Road to the south, and then the Foothills Crossing subdivision, which is under development directly to the north.

And then it just provides another aerial view from a slightly different angle of the park showing the north entrance and the south entrance to the park and some of the surrounding roads.

So to give some background on Claudius Crozet Park, it consists of three parcels, which together total just over 22.8 acres.

It is a privately owned and operated park by a nonprofit organization, the Claudius Crozet Park Inc.

However, the nonprofit does have an operating agreement with the County of Albemarle and our Parks and Recreation Department, outlining certain responsibilities for maintenance and access to the public.

And it is important to note that with this special use permit request, the operating agreement is not proposed to be amended at this time.

And the nonprofit is not requesting any public funding for proposed improvements at the park at this time.

So to provide some context on the zoning,

Like I said, it consists of three parcels, two of them, the larger two are both zoned rural areas and then the smaller parcel to the north next to Parkside Village is zoned R6, six units per acre.

And then all of the surrounding properties are also zoned at various speeds of residential.

The park does have several overlay zoning districts, including areas of both managed and preserved steep slopes.

And then the R6 zone parcel alone is zoned entrance corridor.

And then the special use permit tonight is for community center, which is allowed by SP and RA in the R6 zoning district.

This is the comprehensive plan map showing that all three parcels of the park are designated for green space within the Crozet master plan.

And it's surrounded, again, by properties that are of very residential densities, including both neighborhood density and urban density residential, as well as downtown Crozet is up to the northwest or northwest in the upper left hand side of the screen.

So the specifics of this proposal in the background is that this proposal first came before you all about six months ago on March the 23rd of 2021.

And at the request of the applicant, the Planning Commission deferred taking an action at that time to allow the applicant to make revisions to the proposal based on what was discussed at the meeting that evening.

The applicant is specifically requesting for an amendment to an existing special use permit 1995-43 to allow an expansion of the community center use with a proposed larger community center building of approximately 32 feet and it would be two stories along with a fitness center, meeting rooms, and an eight-lane indoor pool.

The fitness center meeting rooms would be the first phase and then the indoor pool would be constructed either in phase one or be a phase two depending on the proposed funding.

funding allowances for the park.

The applicant is also requesting new basketball courts, pedestrian pathways, additional parking to accommodate these expansions and then new landscaping throughout the park.

And then the other facilities, the athletic fields, the tennis courts, the existing outdoor pool, those facilities would remain.

So this is just a,

that plan showing what is being proposed at this time.

And I have several slides more explaining what the differences are between the March 23 meeting and the proposal as it is tonight.

And then this is a colorized version showing the new indoor pool and community center building, which is kind of orange rectangular shape.

of the screen surrounded by many parking areas and then landscaping buffers and additional trees located throughout.

So the revisions to the proposal since March 23rd when you all first deferred taking an action on this application.

There were four main topics of discussion.

first being the site layout and structures.

And so the applicant has shifted the northern park entrance to the east.

Going back to this slide, the existing park entrance on the north is up here in the center between the closest residential building and where these basketball courts are proposed to be.

And as you can see, the entrance is now shifted slightly to the east and now intersects with Indigo Road instead of intersecting with Hilltop Street.

And this provides better site distances for the intersection, a safer entrance into the park.

And the applicant is also proposing landscaping buffers around that entrance to help buffer that area from the existing residences across the street.

The applicant is also proposing to shift the community center building approximately 25 feet farther south from where it had been shown six months ago so that the building is now approximately 55 feet from the nearest property line instead of 30 feet.

And that extra 25 feet that's now been gained is proposed to be planted with a landscaping buffer to better help buffer the new community center building from the existing residences.

And then also at the meeting back in March, the applicant had submitted a special exception request to go along with this special use permit.

due to the location of the pool and the requirements in the zoning ordinance.

However, it has been determined that with the shift of the community center building and where the location of the new pool is now, that this pool now meets the requirements of the zoning ordinance and the special exception is no longer needed.

The second main topic of discussion was green space and landscaping and the applicant has provided additional buffers and additional information on what is proposed.

The applicant has identified that impervious surface will increase by about five and two thirds percent.

with the additional building and the additional parking proposed.

The applicant has identified that they would use bioswales to help address stormwater runoff, and they have shown conceptual locations for those bioswales on the concept plant.

And then they have proposed several additional vegetative buffers around the site to help buffer these new facilities and some of the existing facilities from the surrounding residential areas.

and they've identified that they'll do an approximate three to one tree replacement where they're proposing to remove about 45 trees for construction.

And it's in their place to plant about 150 trees throughout the site in the parking areas as buffers, that sort of thing.

The third topic of discussion kind of going with the green space and landscaping was stormwater management.

As I mentioned, they're proposing to use bioswales.

The applicant has clarified that the existing pond is not going to be used for stormwater management, and so any stormwater runoff will have to be addressed before it goes into that pond.

And of course, final design of stormwater management will be addressed by the county engineer with the WPO plan at the site planning stage.

And then the other main topic of discussion was transportation and traffic connections.

As I said earlier, the applicant has shifted the northern entrance to the east for better site distance.

And then any turning requirements, such as turn lanes, would be addressed by VDOT at the site planning stage.

The applicant has also identified that construction traffic will now mainly use the secondary Park Road entrance.

There are actually two entrances from Park Road, and so they will use the extra entrance as construction with the staging area south of the existing building.

and then there were some issues that staff had identified that needed to be addressed and those have been addressed with these revisions including identifying the proposed concession areas at the park and shifting some of the landscaping buffers around to ensure that they avoid utility easements.

So going off the transportation information from the previous slide, access and circulation has been a big topic of discussion for this proposal.

There are two proposed main entrances, one to the site.

Currently there are three entrances, one main entrance off Park Road, the secondary entrance off Park Road that I mentioned, and then there is an entrance off Hilltop Street on the north side of the park, which is currently for emergency use only.

However, the applicant is proposing to use that as a full entrance as well in addition to the main entrance on Park Road.

And this would provide a better dispersal of traffic to all sides of the park.

instead of funneling all of the traffic into Park Road entrance.

And this also comes about because of the future connections to the north and the east of the park that are going on in Crozet.

With the development of the Barnes Lumberyard area, there will be connections from Hilltop Street over to Crozet Avenue as Eastern Avenue becomes fully constructed, connecting 250 up

through the eastern portion of Crozet.

And then Park Ridge Drive is also proposed to be connected roughly paralleling the railroad tracks from Eastern Avenue over to Barnes Lumberyard and downtown Crozet.

And so with these future connections to the north and east of the park, it would also make sense to have a full northern entrance to capture that track.

And as I mentioned, any required improvements to the entrances would need feed off approval.

The applicant is also proposing additional trails, sidewalks, pathways throughout the park to promote connections between the park facilities and surrounding areas.

So these are slides to kind of show what I mentioned in the previous slide.

The park is identified with a yellow star in the center of the graphic on the left.

And then the lumberyard has been identified.

And then the blue line paralleling the railroad tracks to the south is what is proposed to be the final alignment of Park Ridge Drive and then Eastern Avenue as well.

and then future pedestrian projects are on the right.

And these graphics may look familiar to you because these are from the Crozet Master Plan that is currently under development and is going to the Board of Supervisors in a couple of weeks.

And then this graphic just shows the greater bicycle and pedestrian networks throughout Crozet.

Again, Crozet Park is highlighted in showing the various shared use and bike paths and sidewalks that are proposed to connect Crozet Park with the surrounding neighborhoods.

There is one recommended revision that remains from staff that the applicant should address before moving on to the Board of Supervisors and that is to clarify in the concept plan the proposed new location of the playgrounds and tot lots.

They're currently a playground where the community center expansion is proposed to be and so just clarifying where that playground and tot lot is proposed to be relocated to.

Factors for consideration, the favorable factors are that the use is consistent with the cruising master plan and that the proposed use is located within the development areas and is consistent with the uses identified for areas designated as green space.

And then factors unfavorable is that the use will generate additional vehicular trips on the surrounding local street network.

Ultimately, staff does recommend approval of special use permit SP 2020-16, Claudius Rosé Park with the following conditions and provided that they do make that recommended provision regarding the location of the playground.

So the recommended conditions, the first one is the typical condition the development be in general accord with the proposed concept plan including major elements such as the

buildings, recreational facilities, pools, and parking area, which of course would allow for minor modifications at the site name stage.

Several of the other conditions have to do with fencing to provide screening, limiting sound from public address systems or anything that's not

General talking, laughing, that sort of thing.

There are several conditions about lighting to mitigate any impacts, potential impacts on the neighboring properties from lighting, limiting sales of concessions to those locations identified on the concept plan.

And then six through nine are also more about the landscaping buffers, screening landscaping, and lighting to

These are the suggested motions for when we get to that portion of the meeting this evening.

And then I'm available for any questions either now or after the public comment period.

I was wondering about the proposed entrance the north entrance to Indigo Road and I wondered if you could explain so that I can understand and others could understand is that if the proposal moves forward is that access point

Just a condition for this potential expansion or would we be saying if we supported this and then if the board did, would they be able to make that access, the north access, be a permanent and not emergency access regardless of how the project proceeds?

I believe so.

So with the concept plan, we have identified the entrance that northern entrance is one of the major elements of the plan so that they would have to put an entrance there.

However, we have not put any conditions on it that it be either full entrance or an emergency entrance, leaving that up to the park to determine

Okay, but I guess I wonder, I've seen some people feel like that it'll become like a buy, right?

saying that the park can do, and I guess the way I see it, and I'm not saying maybe it wouldn't benefit the park to have that alternate entrance anyway, but the way I see it is it's within the context of this application and this request that we could potentially be saying this is a good access point.

And then the park could determine whether that's something they use all the time or if it's an emergency, is that correct?

Correct, yes.

I guess that would be determined by phasing and I don't know if the zoning has any comments or any information on this as well.

But we are

For this, I guess, if it did move forward, the project as a whole would be approved.

And then at the site planning stage, the park could determine whether they need to phase the project in any way, such as doing the entrance first before doing the building in a later phase, that sort of thing.

Yeah.

Are there other questions for staff at this particular juncture?

Okay, seeing none at this moment, could we hear from the applicant, please?

Good evening, everybody.

Can you see my screen?

Good evening, my name is Kevin Shaffer and I'm with Design Develop, a Charlottesville-based architecture and design firm that has been involved with the plans for Crozet Park since 2018.

Thank you to the county staff for their thorough staff report and comments throughout this process, and thank you to the commissioners for your service to this community.

We're excited and eager to present refinements to our plan based on the comments we received at the previous public hearing on March 23rd.

Since that time, we've been working with county staff to revise our project based on the very thoughtful questions and discussion topics that came to light during the meeting.

Starting with the 2004 ACPR needs assessment, Crozet Park has long been a focus of Albemarle County as a facility to expand to serve a growing community.

These images show the proposed development in roughly the same location and with a similar program as the one we're proposing 17 years later.

The 2021 Crozet Master Plan draft mentions Crozet Park something like 46 times through narrative text and maps to illustrate how crucial and vital the park is as a service provider to the community of Crozet.

With that in mind, we found the comments we gathered from the Commission on the Public broke into three main areas of concern.

The first and primary would be clarifying our environmentally conscious interventions throughout the proposed project.

This diagram developed at our very first Charette with park board members outlines long-term requirements of preserving green space, ecolic areas of the park, and existing programmed park areas.

When studying the site, the existing pool and the existing fitness center fall centrally in the park.

It was imperative we preserve and protect these popular park amenities on both sides of the existing facility.

It became clear that we should continue to target any new development within this central area.

utilizing existing paved or building areas in lieu of developing on any new green space.

In the diagram on the screen, roughly 10% of the park is devoted to parking and 1.62% of the park is devoted to buildings and associated park structures.

In this next slide, we see a proposed land usage of 4.58% building, 12.55% parking, and nearly 83% of the park remaining as green space, trails, ball fields, and park amenities.

Large areas of land to the west, south, and east have all remained undisturbed, protected, and preserved throughout this project.

Our proposed building has been placed on a paved parking area to reduce impact on existing greenfield areas, and the majority of the new asphalt parking area occurs only on existing overflow parking.

Equally important to the Crozet Park Board is the requirement of the park to continue to feel like a park, wild and natural, even as Crozet's population and density is increasing.

In response, major emphasis has been given to landscape planting, including thoughtfully placed enhanced landscaping and tree plantings around the pond, park areas, and entrance roadways.

This slide highlights the sheer number of new trees that will be offered to replace any trees required to be removed during the construction.

All told, nearly 150 new trees will be planted in lieu of 44 trees to be removed with a ratio of three to one new trees.

Beyond trees, new shrubs, grasses, and native flowering plants will be instituted along sidewalks, the edge of our pool, and in our proposed bioswales.

Many of the commissioners comments revolved around impervious paving and exploring opportunities for enhanced stormwater runoff mitigation measures.

I'd like to take a moment to explain our stormwater retention and treatment strategy, which is primarily through the construction of three large engineered bioswales.

We'll collect all the rainwater from the surface runoff and building drains and capture them within these bioswales found on both sides of the site.

The water is allowed to be absorbed into the ground at a natural rate after proper filtration.

This strategy of stringent retention and filtration through the use of multi-tiered bioswales is arguably a better approach to runoff than impervious pavers because it allows for more significant filtration through native plantings and organic material rather than rainwater rich in parking lot contaminants to seep in place.

Furthermore, it should be noted that new curb and gutter around the existing parking lots will shepherd water to these biofilters that previously would not have been retained or filtered.

I wanted to touch briefly on the environmentally conscious design of the building.

While we are not seeking LEED approval, myself and other design develop members are LEED approved, and we are employing these strategies for green building at this facility.

Passive heating and cooling techniques, daylighting to reduce electrical lighting requirements, enhanced high quality continuous insulation on our walls, and solar panels on the roof are all employed at this new facility.

A little technical issues.

The existing structure was built by volunteers in the 1950s.

The walls are cinder block with minimal wall insulation and insufficient roof insulation.

All systems are aging and inefficient.

Beyond the existing facility, every winter, a temporary uninsulated dome is installed to cover the pool.

To heat this dome in the pool, huge propane furnaces burn 200 gallons of propane fuel every, 200 gallons of propane fuel per day and 50,000 gallons per winter swim season.

The proposed project offers an environmentally considered approach to providing much needed indoor swimming, exercise, and community gathering facilities.

The point of all this is that we take the environmental stuff seriously, particularly the desire to preserve the green spaces within the park, which you'll find evident from this existing aerial image to this proposed one.

We're adding 46,800 square feet of fitness and recreation

community gathering and indoor swimming facilities while only decreasing the park green space by 5.6%.

We're putting new buildings and parking areas in existing hardscape areas.

We're capturing and filtering rainwater through bioswales.

Our building is more efficient and employs green building techniques, and we've supplemented and enhanced our landscaping and tree plantings.

Beyond our site development strategy, many comments from the public came regarding the scale of the building.

A major component of the design of the project was the need to preserve the views that make Crozet Park a beautiful place.

A serious consideration was given to the height of the building.

The top of the exterior wall is 34 feet above grade.

It was important for us to stay around 30 feet in height for a number of reasons.

First, the existing dome is installed annually is around 30 feet tall.

Secondly, the ridge of a roof of a typical two-story house is generally around 30 feet in height.

The park board desired to provide a structure whose mass and height

was in scale with familiar Crozet projects like the library and downtown structures.

It was important that we didn't tower over the adjacent neighbors to avoid casting long winter shadows or more importantly blocking anyone's view sheds.

This includes being mindful of views of park users as shown in these before and after images.

We thought it important to present the short elevation to the adjacent neighborhood in lieu of rotating the building 90 degrees and having a long facade visible from Parkside Village.

We're shielding the building with a significant amount of landscape screening, particularly on the north facade, and the building is set back about 220 feet from the road to respect the adjacent neighborhood.

A primary move to address several of the commission's comments is to shift our building south 25 feet away from Parkside Village and the adjacent residential lot to the project's north.

The building has moved further into the center of the park, allowing for dense landscape screening on our northern facade, providing a limited amount of visibility from the Parkside Village neighborhood.

Furthermore, this diagram shows that internally there's a 15 foot bank of office storage areas and coaches rooms between the edge of the pool and the exterior edge of the building.

Our exterior building material is a three inch insulated metal panel that provides both outstanding thermal insulation and very robust soundproofing.

Between the intense landscape buffer, the internal quiet zone and the high quality exterior building envelope, sound transmission from the indoor pool to the adjacent neighborhood will not be an issue for residents.

Contrast this with the existing dome and blower furnaces that turn on and off frequently, and we believe this project is significantly less disruptive to the neighborhood in terms of sound, viewshed, and aesthetics.

Any of the park and board's comments and public's comments revolved around the impact of traffic.

We have on the park board Joel D'Annunzio, who is a traffic engineer and analyst for VDOT.

We take his expert input very seriously, and he is available on the call to discuss the specifics of the revised traffic count that has been included in this mission.

After hearing numerous concerns regarding the construction traffic, we will be utilizing the secondary park entrance off Park Road as our construction entrance.

This secondary entrance allows us to avoid conflict with park users while still eliminating traffic through the Parkside Village neighborhood.

We think it's a thoughtful and practical solution to the concerns expressed by community members in March.

Additionally, we have revised and relocated the entrance from Hilltop Street to Indigo Alley per the commission's suggestion.

This was important for two primary reasons, to preserve some of the existing trees along the lot line with the adjacent neighbor, and also to provide an entrance that has better sight lines along the existing roadways.

We would be remiss if we didn't talk about the central location and vast interconnectivity of Crozet Park to its adjacent context.

I'll quote here from Allie Pesch, the chair of Crozet Advisory Committee, in her letter to the editor in the Crozet Gazette.

Claudius Crozet Park is the cornerstone of the Crozet master plans park and greenway system.

If you drop a pin in the center of a map of the Crozet growth area, it lands on Crozet Park.

It has unbeatable pedestrian and bike connectivity.

The Crozet Trails crew has designed its entire trailway system in coordination with county planners to have Crozet Park as its nexus.

The park, as shown on Crozet Master Plan, is designed along a green space corridor, providing alternative connections to the community park other than vehicle connections and access.

The proposed park expansion is also consistent with the parks and green systems goal of providing north-south and east-west trailway connections through the park to the adjacent surrounding neighborhoods.

So we'll conclude by reiterating that we do appreciate the comments and feedback we gathered at the previous board meeting and we consider all the input provided.

Crozet Park is a nonprofit organization who is here to serve the Crozet community by putting in place much needed facilities for indoor swimming, health and wellness, community gathering,

After school childcare, facilities for senior citizens, a location for physical therapy, youth outreach programs, the list goes on and on.

A final thought to reiterate is that this is an enhancement of existing amenities.

This isn't a new use for this location.

This is a modification of an existing special use permit to simply provide better facilities than exist currently.

Already on site is a recreation and exercise facility, an indoor pool when the dome is installed, and community gathering facilities.

As Crozet continues to grow, as has been designated by this commission as a place for growth within the county, it needs new facilities to serve this growing population.

This is a valuable resource to Albemarle County that is so needed.

We are at a moment in time that has legitimate momentum, and these moments do not come along every day.

There have been significant resources devoted to this effort, both in time and efforts and financial burden that the park has taken on in an effort to provide Crozet and really all of Western Albemarle County with a much needed community and recreation facility.

I'd urge and humbly request that you recommend approval for the special exemption and the modifications of the existing special use permit already in place and allow the Crozet Park to provide the facilities that are so very needed in our community.

I'm happy to answer any questions you may have for us.

Thank you, sir.

So I see Corey, and Jenny, and Rick.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for the presentation, Mr. Shaffer.

Quick question.

I have three questions.

The first is about the pond.

Could you share a little bit about how deep that pond could get?

Looks like it's standing water in the images you've been showing.

So there's an existing pond that's already on site.

It's a man-made pond, and it will not be part of our stormwater management plan.

The bioswales are heavily planted ditches or cisterns that help filter the stormwater.

So the image that's on the screen with the blue, that's the man-made pond that exists now naturally.

Well, not naturally, it exists already.

Thank you for that clarification.

So your playground, if I saw the orientation correctly, is in that bottom left-hand corner, kind of adjacent to that pond right.

I imagine so, yeah.

Okay, I just didn't see any images.

Just want to make sure we ask that question.

And then the last question is, understanding this is a concept, I totally get that, but I also want to be a little forward thinking as well.

So if a fire truck comes in there and they need to pull to the front of the building, a lot of times we're going to go look for a panel to see where the fire is located.

And when I look at this site plan here, it doesn't really look conducive to those movements, but how the parking is laid out.

So you don't have to really address it now.

I understand it's a concept, but it looks like that might be a little bit of a challenge as you think through it in future stages.

Just how does a fire truck maneuver, jump out, go into the front door, look at the panel, assess what the fire is, and then get out of there without hitting another car.

Got it.

Great point.

That's all I have.

Thanks.

As we look at this, could you keep that video up there, please?

Because I'm going to launch a question based on actually your site plan here, or your overview plan.

As the eagle flies over the site, it sees the

constituency interested in softball baseball, a constituency interested in soccer, and I assume lacrosse in the spring, and then a swimming pool, so a swimming program, and then indoor activities.

So there are four different identifiable discrete athletic ventures that occur on the site.

Now here's my question.

If this site's 22.806 acres was virgin, unbuilt land, would you locate this proposed facility with no room identifiable in this plan truly for future growth without encumbering proximity problems to the surrounding neighborhood?

So my question is, given the growth that you bring up about Crozet, which is inescapable and understood by all of us, and we are a planning commission, so our responsibility is not looking at just today, but thinking about 20 years out.

In 20 years, I see a site here that is gonna outgrow, be outgrown by the population

And so my question is, is this really an ideal site given the intensive use that you're proposing?

And I will go ahead and commend you for the improvements in your proposed plan.

I think they're terrific in many ways.

I have one reservation.

It's a good forward thinking question and I appreciate it.

For the past two years, I've been, three years now, I've been going out to Preze Park and observing things as we plan and design this building.

And I'm always amazed at how much of a community hub it already is.

It hosts the fall festivals, it hosts orchestra.

If you go on a weekend, there's peach tree baseball and soccer teams.

And what

It means to Crozet as a centrally located service provider for Crozet is a real asset for it.

And so I think that when you look future long term use, this is a facility that could enhance the site and enhance the amount of program that can be put into it.

I think there is

Well, then you create a proximity problem to neighborhoods.

So maybe you can move things around, but after you, if you have approval of what you're proposing here, you're not going to have a lot of flexibility and fungibility moving forward with land unless you eliminate fields.

And as I pointed out from the mile high view here, looking down,

each one of those different fields and activities have building constituencies that would be loath to give them up.

But here's another question for you.

You have cited here before the commission this evening, cycling connectivity outside of Clovis Crozet Park that enables people to get in to the park.

And yet I see such a heavy investment here

in parking spaces for automobiles.

And if there was really going to be a commitment to cycling, one of the ways that you could address future growth on the site is to eliminate now some of these parking spaces, which would in essence send a message to people

that if you want to use the park you've got a bicycle over there and with e-bikes now there's really no excuse that people can't access the facility with a bicycle so a lot of this site plan in fact the majority of your site plan in terms of square footage is committed to parking for automobiles

and I don't see adequate provision for transit of bicycles coming in here.

They're going to have to contend with cars to get in or parking facilities for bicycles to encourage increased cycling.

I think that's a great point and Scott Collins is our civil engineer on the point on the call and I'll let him jump in a little bit but as you know parking is a county requirement as part of zoning there's a certain basically use matrix you plug in the square footage of use and it requires a certain amount of parking I'm not sure if that's something that

Well, my only point is, when are we going to start walking the walk instead of talking the talk?

There's plenty of talk about putting in bicycle access, but this plan doesn't have anything for it, yet we have all of these spaces for automobiles and we're going to be perpetuating in a community that, as we looked at the master plan,

came down very heavily in support of bicycle connectivity throughout Crozet.

And yet here's another really auto-centric plan and missed opportunity, because you can always fall back on, well, the county made me do it.

I guess what I was wondering if other people were agreeable to hear from Joel since there are so many concerns about traffic if you know I'm inclined to want to hear from him for just a couple minutes about traffic counts if you think that would be helpful if not we could wait I think that so so one of your question at this particular point is if we could hear a bit more about the traffic

Yeah, because I think that's a really common concern that we hear from the community.

Okay, yes.

Thank you.

Can you hear me?

Yes.

All right.

Well,

Good evening, Planning Commission.

Yes, I'm sorry.

My name is Joel DiNunzio.

I'm a Crozet resident.

I am a member of the board of directors on the Crozet, on the Claudius Crozet Park.

My professional life, I'm an engineer for VDOT.

I work in the Stanton district.

In my past position, I was the resident engineer in the Charlottesville residency for VDOT here.

Tonight, I just want to be clear, I am representing the park here with my expertise in traffic.

I worked in the Albemarle area in Crozet for a number of years, and I've lived in Crozet for about eight years now, studying the traffic patterns, dealing with a lot of traffic items in this area.

Very familiar with Crozet, very familiar with all of Albemarle County, and very familiar with the traffic items, concerns, and questions that often come up in these types of situations.

Thank you.

So I ran, I knew at the last meeting, there were some concerns about ITE or trip generation from the new facility.

So I went into the, ITE is the Institute of Transportation Engineers.

It's a tool that we use

to estimate the amount of traffic increase that a development might incur.

So I used the square footage of the proposed facility versus the square footage of the existing facility.

The square footage of the new facility is about just a little bit over 53,000 square feet, including the pool, the proposed pool in phase two, I believe.

And the existing facility is just a little bit about 17,500 feet.

I use trip generation rates and I came up with an increase of about 847 trips per day.

Now, to define a trip, a trip is a car entering or exiting.

So if you enter the park and then exit the park, that's two trips.

So if you wanted to equate 847 cars to the number of cars, it could be about 425 cars roughly.

We did have some existing traffic counts that the county did for the park.

throughout the years and the existing traffic counts, we only had them per week.

So what I did is I took the per week count of 2,314 vehicles per week, I converted that into trips and I looked at it compared to our

our existing facility in the ITE trip generation numbers based on square footage.

And I found that they were fairly similar.

So I think, I feel like the land use code is fairly accurate.

It's land use code 492, I'm sorry, land use code 495, Recreational Community Center.

And that is very similar to the type of facility we're building with one difference being many of these types of

All of these facilities include a daycare facility.

And we're not actually having a daycare facility, and that's different than an after school facility.

So we're not going to have the daycare facility.

And sometimes these types of uses can or may or may not include a pool.

So we are including a pool.

So I did include the square footage of the pool in the trip estimation.

Looking at that, I estimated 847 increased trips.

If you look at daycare facilities, you're looking at about 240 trips per day.

So I'd say 847 is on the upper end, a pretty conservative estimate of what we'd expect.

And I think it's really based on demand.

So I felt like my estimate was pretty conservative in the approach.

I wanted to try and give, I'd rather be conservative than undershooting it there.

I looked at the existing road networks.

I know Andy talked about it at the beginning, the back entrance, and there was concerns about that.

I think that back entrance really serves a pretty important purpose once those other road network improvements are made.

such as I call it Library Avenue extended still and Eastern Avenue.

What that will do is it actually will shorten a number of trips, especially from Parkside Highlands area east of the park along the 240 corridor that may normally go

down 240 to the four-way intersection, which is one of our more congested, also one of our higher accident areas in Crozet.

Not serious accidents because they're low speed, but it is one of the higher crash locations.

And it caught, sorry, and it does cause, you know, so it can keep some of the traffic off of

Route 240, the intersection of 240 Crozet Avenue, 810 there, and then, you know, Tabor Street and things like that.

It'll provide access for

Park Ridge Road and things like that, and actually decreased trip lengths when those improvements were made.

I think it's a pretty important connection.

Now, I estimated, I did a 60-40 split when we had this built, where I estimated 60% of the traffic still on the main park road, 40% on the back entrance, and I came up with about 339 trips out Indigo Road, once everything's fully built and things are in place.

Another nice thing about the back entrance is Hilltop Street, Indigo Road.

They're both more up to date.

local roads designs, they have pedestrian facilities, they accommodate parking on the street, and it's actually a good entrance versus Park Road in many ways, because then you'll have actually pedestrian bicycle facilities from the new road on Library Avenue extended all the way into the park, where we're not gonna have that until the county builds sidewalks along Park Road, which I know is something that's been identified in planning, but not yet funded at this point.

I think overall, how the park is centrally located, having access in both north and south directions is a good access point.

It meets the multiple locations, our connectivity requirements and

The additional traffic through the expanded facility will be distributed by providing that second access point and connecting to a road system with the existing pedestrian and bicycle facilities.

That's my overview.

I don't.

Can I make one more comment about the entrances, the both of them then?

Is that okay?

So I just want to make a comment.

Andy had made a comment about VDOT approval in the future and any improvements there.

Those are specific to the two entrances, the existing entrance and the proposed entrances.

Those are related to traffic counts, turn lane requirements, and site distances.

VDOT will make us meet all those requirements prior to issuing a permit for this, and there's no getting around that.

So having that in the site plan phase is a normal operation and nothing out of the ordinary.

So those future improvements, it's very normal for us to be at this phase, and we will comply with the permit.

Are there other questions for the applicants?

So, sort of stand by.

We're going to go to the public and then you'll have an opportunity after that to just sum up or to perhaps say something.

Karen, I just sort of come on.

Did you have a question for the applicant?

So, then all the caring for this matter this evening and

Sorry if I keep looking up because I keep hearing booms around me.

Sorry I had to subject you to the red alert from my phone somehow or another.

It connected to Bluetooth to the speaker and it was telling you that we're presently under a red alert.

Yes, I will.

Can you stop sharing your screen?

I am going to start at this time if you signed up early or want to speak on this item tonight, please raise your hand so that you can get in the queue.

I will take you individually as we go down.

Please be patient.

Please do not lower your hand unless you do not want to speak.

Everybody gets three minutes and it takes me about 30 seconds in between to get everybody moved around.

So at this time, I'm going to start with

Mikel Salzberg, please state your name, address if you're affiliated with a group or organization.

Hi, my name is Mikel Salzberg and I am a 10-year resident of Crozet.

I live in the Old Trail subdivision.

I am speaking as a resident.

I would like to speak out in support of the expansion of Claudia's Crozet Parks and Aquatics and Fitness Center.

Firstly, from the standpoint of being a parent who has personally been on multiple waiting lists this year for aftercare for my elementary age child.

She was on three different wait lists this summer for care and finally got a spot at the Crozet ACAC aftercare a few days into September.

This was not a problem exclusive to me.

Our local social media message boards were full of parents posting for after school care.

The expansion of the Claudius Crozet Parks Aquatics and Fitness Summer will lead to much needed local summer camp and aftercare opportunities for our community.

Crozet is designated as an area of growth for Albemarle County, and we are indeed growing exponentially.

With that growth, the needs for the community also grow.

We need this expansion to allow for the recreation and care needs our growing community requires.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next, I have Sandra Hoffman.

Ms.

Sandy Hausmann, 5577 Hilltop Street, speaking as a resident and someone who has observed the park over many years.

Crozet does need improved recreational facilities, no doubt about it, but I think this is not the way to provide it.

This is not the place to put a large new recreation center and another 115 parking spaces.

The reality, and I think we have to accept this, is that a relatively small number of people are going to get to this park on trailways.

Most people are going to drive.

And frankly, this is just not a neighborhood that's equipped for this kind of traffic.

We don't even have sidewalks on Hilltop.

I've been asking for them for years.

And it's frankly fairly unsafe to drive on the road now because you have people out with kids and strollers and bikes.

You know Crozet Park is just too small to host additional traffic or construction.

And again, I feel that the residents of a modest surrounding neighborhood are being asked to sacrifice their quality of life.

so everyone else can enjoy what should be a public amenity, conveniently located, owned and operated on the taxpayer's behalf by their elected representatives.

In other words, Albemarle County.

This is a private park that we're talking about, and I really think talking about expanding of this private park is giving the county a pass.

The county owes us these facilities, and planners need to figure out where they can put a large recreational center without

inconveniencing folks who are already living here.

The planners are figuring 847 more trips, most presumably on Tabor, Hilltop, and Park.

These are narrow streets, and again, they lack standard sidewalks.

Crozet Park is second only to Dardan Toh already in the number of people using it, and that is trending up according to the developers.

The National Recreation Association suggests community parks be 25 to 50 acres, so at 22 acres Crozet Park is definitely on the small side and the county is continuing to improve more and denser residential developments here.

There's general agreement also among planners that 30 to 50% of parkland should be set aside for active recreation and Crozet is devoting less than 12% of its parkland to active recreation.

This plan for a large recreation center in Crozet's small community-owned park gives Albemarle County a pass it doesn't deserve.

As the population here grows, public officials should be planning for current and future recreational needs by setting aside more land and finding ways to pay for its development.

I know that land in the development area is very expensive now, so let's look on the periphery in the non-development areas along 240 or 250

make some of that available for construction of a new recreation center and reserve the rest for baseball and soccer fields, pickleball, tennis courts, and other forms of active recreation.

Indigo is a tiny street.

It's virtually an alley.

It's already parked up for pickleball almost every day.

I'm sorry, your time is up, ma'am.

Thank you.

Next is Catherine.

Catherine, please state your name and address if you're associated with the group or organization.

Hi, my name is Catherine Genovese.

I live at 4115 Luxor Terrace Drive, Charlottesville address.

I'm speaking as a resident.

I am in the county as opposed to living in Crozet.

I want to commend the park board for the wonderful facility we currently enjoy.

My husband and I are seniors, and we go six to seven days a week to walk animals along the beautiful trails.

And I go as many days as water aerobic is available.

We really utilize this park.

It's a beautiful facility.

The pool, however, is getting old, and I'm not sure it's going to continue to be repairable in the future.

So I believe the new facility is essential.

And I would like to ask the Planning Commission, please consider approving this measure.

quickly.

Apparently, it's been undergoing approvals for 18 years, and I think we could really utilize it now.

Thank you.

Next, I have Brian Day.

Brian, please state your name, address.

Thank you.

My name is Brian Day.

I live in Emerald Ridge at 2090 Avalon Way, and I'm affiliated with the CCAC, but I'm not speaking on their behalf.

I also spent 40 years working on the environment.

And I'm speaking on behalf of the improvements to this park.

If you look at the history of this park, it has been created by the community.

The first baseball field was built with a handful of people's donations 35 years ago.

The bubble was put up by community donations.

It is in the center of the development area.

It has existing trails coming to it.

There's no question that the county is desperately behind and putting sidewalks and so forth that would add to the walk.

Such facilities.

But for years and years,

This has been a central facility that is critical and it is in the right place because we don't want to create a whole bunch more driving.

We want to make it central and we want to make it happen now.

It is absolutely critical that we move forward with this facility in spite of the fact that I, like everybody else, like lots of green spaces and trees and so forth,

and I think that the changes made in response to the comments some months ago have been very admirable and the fact that this facility is being designed with a very environmentally focused building is critical.

Please support this as soon as possible.

Thank you.

Next I have William Brown.

Sorry, I was muted.

Hi, my name is Will Brown.

I live in Parkside Village, and I'm speaking tonight on behalf of the Parkside Village Homeowners Association.

The Parkside Village borders the park on its northern boundary.

The developer's current application includes an access road that intersects with Indigo Road and crosses a parcel that the park acquired by Deed from Weatherhill Homes, the developer of Parkside Village.

Any improvements on the parcel, including the access to road and landscaping, as well as any grading, fencing, lighting, and the like, must be reviewed and approved by our association's architectural review board.

The deed states that the parcel, which was gifted to the park, is subject to Parkside Village covenants, conditions, and restrictions, and makes clear that the parcel shall be considered a lot under such covenants.

Article 10 of our covenants, which were shared with the Park Board and the Planning Commission earlier this week, establishes the authority of our ARB to review and approve any improvements proposed for any lots, including but not limited to exterior lighting, landscaping, fences, driveways, and grading or changes to existing grade.

Therefore, the park will need to engage with Parkside Villages ARB to proceed with the portion of their currently proposed projects that intersects with the parcel under discussion.

Next, I have James Hargrove.

Please state your name, address, if you're associated with an organization or group.

Hi, good evening.

My name is James Hargrove.

I live at 516 Rockwood Place.

I'm in Albemarle County.

Thank you for allowing me to speak on behalf of the new facility at Crozet Park.

I've lived in Albemarle County for 20 years.

I've seen the growth in Crozet and the western portion of the county.

The park is already a great asset for the community.

And this new facility will only enhance the park and the community.

I've had two sons grow up and swim for the Western Albemarle swim team.

It's been a great facility for both the high school men's and women's swim team as well as the year round swimming program.

This new facility would also create a wonderful place for the county to create a learn to swim program.

It will provide also a wonderful place for families and communities to gather with the gym and the meeting spaces for everyone across all generations.

I hope that the board will approve this new facility.

It will only enhance the Crozet community as well as the entire Albemarle County.

Thank you.

Next, I have Dan Bledsoe.

Dan, please state your name and address if you're affiliated with an organization or group.

Good evening.

My name is Dan Bledsoe.

I live at 5221 Park Ridge Court in the Western Ridge neighborhood in Crozet.

I am a teacher and coach at Western Albemarle High School.

I am a parent of a teenage son that attends Western Albemarle High School.

In addition to that, I am a member of the Crozet Park Board.

I am here to voice my support for the new fitness and aquatics facility that has been proposed for the Crozet Park.

I understand there are people who oppose this project because it changed their neighborhood park.

But it must be understood that Crozet Park is not a neighborhood park exclusively.

It is a community park that serves the fast growing population of Crozet and the surrounding communities.

This new facility would greatly enrich the lives of the citizens in our community.

Outside of our local schools, our Crozet community does not currently have an indoor recreation center that can meet the needs of our growing population.

As a teacher, when school is canceled due to weather, I do not have to worry about what to do with my child.

For many in our community, that is not the case.

Many families must take off work to wash their children, or if they are members, they can take their child to Brooks Family YMCA in Charlottesville.

The new fitness and aquatic center would provide families a safe place to bring their children when they are not in school.

Additionally, the new facility and aquatics facility would give people across the age spectrum exercise opportunities year round.

Specifically speaking of the aquatics facility, competitive swimming and recreational swimming is a popular activity in this area.

We have a large number of masters in recreational swimmers who use our current outdoor facility daily.

The local summer swim team, typically in non-COVID years, has an excess of 225 swimmers on the Crozet Gaiters.

There are more swimmers than that between the ages of 5 and 18 years old.

The Western Albemarle swim team last year had 50 varsity athletes.

For our older population, water exercise allowed the elderly a way to get in better shape without putting added stress or strain on their bodies.

Because swimming is not weight bearing, it's easy on the joints for those who suffer from joint pain and discomfort.

It's a full body workout that keeps the pressure off their hips, knees, and spine.

Most importantly, the new indoor facility will provide the opportunity to teach water safety.

According to the CDC,

Drowning remains the number one cause of injury-related deaths among children ages one through four, and the second leading cause of death for children ages five through 14.

And while drowning prevention requires layers of protection, swim lessons have shown to reduce the risk of drowning by 88%.

The new aquatics facility will meet the needs of the various groups that demand time.

The new fitness and aquatic center is needed for our community.

The Crozet population was projected to reach 12,000 people by 2030.

This facility will not only meet the needs of the current population, but also will be able to handle the growth that will continue in Crozet.

Thank you.

Next, I have Samantha.

Samantha, please state your name, address, if you're affiliated with a group, an organization.

Thank you.

My name is Samantha Massoni.

I live at 3749 Skyline Crest Drive in Charlottesville.

I've been a group exercise instructor at the Crozet Park for the past nine years.

So I have experienced two different managerial organizations, the YMCA and now ACAC.

While the policies, procedures, and pay scales have varied from one management company to the next, the one constant during my tenure has been the participants.

I can say with complete honesty that there are members who have been attending my class for as long as I've been teaching it.

I feel fortunate that this group of people finds value in the community we have created together and that they prioritize the time we spend together each week.

This would not be possible if the park didn't provide the facilities and the opportunities for us to gather.

Crozet Park is a valuable resource and an asset, not just to the citizens of Crozet, but to the greater community.

I myself do not live in Crozet and neither do all of my regular class attendees, some of whom travel from as far away as Afton or Northern Albemarle.

Expansion of the facilities would allow for a broader range of offerings, whether that means increased class sizes or additional programs.

As one who leads outdoor classes,

I can say that there are some days when we would all appreciate the opportunity to move indoors, either due to inclement weather or to noise and traffic generated by groups using the adjacent pavilion.

Unfortunately, this is not possible given the combination of COVID restrictions in the current and limited indoor facilities.

I speak to you this evening as someone who has long standing and direct experience with both the current facility and the members who pay to use it.

As an instructor, I would appreciate the opportunity to offer more flexibility to my class participants.

As a community member, I would be interested in and appreciative of a recreational center that offers increased space and a broader menu of classes and programs.

I urge the Planning Commission to support the park forward site plan and special use permit for a new and expanded recreation facility that will benefit not just Crozet, but the community at large.

Alright, thank you.

Next I have JR Hippel.

Thank you, Miss Shaffer.

This is JR Hippel on 5451 Gulf Drive in Crozet, and I can't tell you how excited I am about having a modern aquatic center in Crozet, which I think will be a remarkable asset for the health and wellness of the community.

I have five reasons why I think this project reflects the characteristics

of Winning Communities of the Future.

Number one, it provides a critical infrastructure for the senior population to remain physically active and combat the silent killer of social isolation.

The fastest growing segment of our population are people over 65 and pools provide an active diverse community event every single day.

Number two, it supports the local school system's ability to integrate learn to swim programs,

to ensure a drowned Perth Western Albemarle Crozet community.

Number three, it creates competitive opportunities for both children and adults that are proven to lead the healthy lives of character and resilience now and throughout their lifetime.

I should add that swimming has become the key to my fitness when my niece told me they weren't going to be running long distance anymore.

Number four, the facility would create jobs and careers in sports and recreation, not the least of which lifeguard training, which is badly needed.

There is a shortage of lifeguards around the country.

And number five will be a source of pride and provide a place where even more citizens will participate and support this wonderful community that we're proud to be a part of.

Thank you.

Next I have Kathy Riddle.

Kathy, please state your name and address if you're affiliated with a virtual organization.

Thank you.

My name is Kathy Riddle.

My husband and I live at 6908 Windmere Lane in Crozet.

We've been living here for about nine and a half years.

I come before the Planning Commission this evening in support of the new Aquatics and Fitness Center.

Others have addressed the afterschool and summer camp opportunities that this new facility

I understand from a board member that there are currently 35 seats at Crozet Park.

With the new facility, that would increase to between 150 and 250 seats.

Most recent data from the 2019 pre-COVID school year is that Brownsville, Crozet, Maury, and Meriwether Lewis had a total of 123 students waitlisted.

for afterschool programs.

Obviously a real need in our community.

Secondly, as others have stated, this facility will provide excellent spaces for meeting as our community grows.

It's important that our new citizens and community members feel welcomed and involved.

Those meeting spaces would enhance those opportunities.

Others have addressed the year-round recreational

facilities that this new center would provide.

Others have mentioned CDC statistics, and I'd like to provide you just one more statistic or group of statistics of food for thought.

The CDC says that the current obesity rate in our children last reported in 2019, that is pre-COVID, was 19.3%.

For adults, the obesity rate is 42.4%.

Those rates have increased over the last 20 years.

So I think it's important that we have in our community facilities for both indoor and outdoor recreation, after school and summer camp opportunities and opportunities where we might meet, learn and grow.

Thank you.

Next, I have Scott.

Scott, please state your name, address, if you're affiliated with the group.

My name is Scott Kaysen, and I've been a Crozet community member for 16 years, whose residence borders the northern boundary of Crozet Park on Indigo Road.

I'd like to thank the commission for taking the time to read my letter sent over email late Sunday evening.

The proposal is asking for the parks surrounding residential streets, and the key words there are residential streets, to bear the entire burden of traffic for the benefit of the Crozet community.

The roadway network is not designed to support the projected traffic levels coming with the park expansion.

The most acute example of this is the new north boundary entrance that connects to Indigo Road.

There are two points I'd like to make about this exit.

Traffic using this roadway can only flow downhill Top Street, an old residential road that receives heavy foot traffic as it serves as the only connector between 80 but soon to be 100 current residences, the park and downtown Crozet.

Vehicular traffic is always driving around pedestrians forced to walk in the street.

Why?

Because the asphalt sidewalks have been crumbling for years.

They are literally unusable, where sections actually disappear into the landscape under dirt and grass, which has overtaken them.

The sidewalks on this exact street had been considered among one of the highest ranking pedestrian improvement projects from the Albemarle County Transportation Priorities List, which considers the most critical projects within the entire county.

When was that?

In fiscal year 2018, four years ago.

Hilltop Street is an old road that has been neglected and does not safely support both the pedestrian and vehicular traffic today.

Certainly not street parking, as the traffic engineer stated tonight.

That one kind of baffled me.

And certainly cannot support the additional 27 vehicular trips per hour during peak times that are estimated to come from this new park entrance.

Until the sidewalks were improved, not put on the document, but ground actually broken,

It is too dangerous, and this proposed second entrance should be struck from the plan.

My second point is tied to my first.

The application makes numerous mentions of how the park expansion supported infrastructure projects, which are proposed.

But history has shown these projects mis-schedules by years.

Time and time again, there are project approvals in Crozet, which rely on infrastructure that has yet to be built.

This approach needs to stop.

It is time to let the infrastructure catch up to the development in the western part of Albemarle County.

The community can use such a facility, but this is not the location.

Next, I have Amy Life.

Hello, my name is Amy Life.

I've lived in Crozet for 18 years, currently at 5230 Sparrow Hill Lane.

I'm speaking as the chairperson of the Crozet Gators swim team.

I've been the chairperson for Crozet Gators swim team for the past eight summers.

The Crozet Park pool is our team's home.

I'm speaking tonight in favor of the expansion project at Crozet Park.

Each spring, I meet with the head of the aquatics facility to discuss the number of lanes we will need.

Our swim team boasts a healthy 230 swimmers during a typical summer, with about 190 of those attending regular daily practices.

We're a summer team, but we start practicing in mid-May and are only guaranteed six lanes during the afternoons for those three to four weeks until school is out.

Each year, I ask if we can have an additional lane

or even all eight lanes for our afternoon hours.

But because we need to share the space with lap swimmers and family swim time, my request is to climb.

As a result, we run four to five shortened practice sessions over a longer period of time every afternoon.

This cuts into dinner, homework time, keeps our coaches there later, shortens the practice sessions for swimmers and forces parents with multiple swimmers to drive back and forth multiple times.

Building an additional pool will allow for us to use all eight outdoor lanes for those tricky weeks.

We switch to eight lanes in the mornings once school is out and use the entire pool for over three hours through the end of July.

We need all of the lanes and more if we had them.

We have lots of hardworking swimmers who devote each morning to summer swim team practice.

We fill our roster every year.

With an additional pool, parents could swim laps while their kids are practicing.

Younger siblings could take lessons or swim with a parent.

allowing the whole family to exercise in a pool at the same time and modeling the lifelong healthy habits that swimming affords.

Families might opt to stay at the improved facility to work out, to exercise, to swim, to walk the trails instead of dropping off and picking up.

In addition, our executive team has talked at length about how to best build a swim team prep group for younger swimmers who might not be ready for competing, but are more than ready for just a swim lesson.

It would be great to be able to offer families this building block program.

Families want their kids involved with Crozet Gators and we're seeing an increased interest in our program each year.

Nearby pools like Boars Head and Fry Spring already have very successful mini programs for their youngest swimmers.

I believe there's a huge demand for this in our community already.

I'm hopeful that the additional lanes at the Crozet Park facility would allow this and other programs to become a reality.

Next I have P. Rule.

Please state your name, address, and if you're affiliated with a group or organization.

Hi, this is actually Rob Rule.

I live at 3139 Village Drive in Waynesboro.

Formally lived at 8118 West End Drive in Crozet for a number of years.

I am the head swim coach here at the pool.

I'm actually at the pool now.

I would be out coaching swimming, but we had some

Thunder tonight, so I am inside right now and all the kids are at home.

I am the head swim coach of the Shenandoah Marlins Aquatic Club, and we swim out of the Crozet Park pool.

It's fantastic that we get to use this.

We're a swim team based in Crozet, and we want to make swimming available to as many people as we can in Crozet.

Our focus is on giving

Kids in the community of Crozet, the ability to be part of a competitive swim team and help them and help kids learn how to swim as well.

I am also the head coach of the Crozet Gators summer swim team.

And this past summer on, you know, we did have some space issues.

As Amy and I had mentioned before, we had about 230 swimmers on our team.

And I believe we had over 30 on our waitlist that

or not able to swim this past summer.

So we just we just don't have the space.

And I think in future years, we're going to continue to grow on the year round swim team is going to continue to grow the summer swim team is going to continue to grow.

And we need extra facilities in the Crozet community.

One reason why I decided to be the head coach of Crozet

Swimming in Crozet is, one, I love swimming and I want children in this community to be able to have a year-round competitive swim team and not feel like they need to drive in to Charlottesville, you know, to swim.

You know, it's not really fair for the kids in the community to feel they have to drive to Charlottesville to be on a swim team.

On the Crozet Gator summer team, it was the first year I was head coach and it was a fantastic experience on all the parents

You all got involved.

We ran numerous meets at the facility here.

We actually ran a portion of the full Jefferson swim league meet at the Crozet facility here.

We had a lot of people here.

We had a lot of community involvement.

And to me, that's what made this park great is just the community involvement, how the people in the community and the parents in the community, you know, make this a community park and recreation facility.

And, you know, that's to me, that's the key.

And, you know, that's the reason why I am in total support of this project.

I think this project is needed in Crozet.

I think it's going to, you know,

be very good for the community overall.

We swim outside now until the end of October.

It gets a little cold, but we deal with that.

We also swim under the bubble, and that is fine.

I'm not going to complain if we have water to swim in.

I think our kids will be competitive with anyone.

But it would be nice for children in our community to have comparable facilities to their surrounding communities.

The new recreation facility will help us provide additional opportunities for swimmers in the Crozet now and into the future.

This will not only assist the swimmers, but all children who need to learn how to swim.

We're not just a year-round competitive swim team and a summer swim team.

We also provide, when our kids learn to swim in our swim team, they become the lifeguards, they become the teaching instructors.

They're the ones who teach the young kids how to swim in our community.

Thank you.

Next, I have Phil Kirby.

Phillip, please state your name, address, and if you're affiliated with a group or an organization.

My name is Phil Kirby.

I live on Cranberry Lane and I've lived here for 20 years.

The developer's proposal to amend the existing regulations for it to construct a building with over three quarters of an acre footprint, an additional 192 new parking spaces should be denied.

Using a small public park to build a facility that's intended to be occupied by a for-profit business that needs that much parking should be considered unconscionable.

Also, I heard earlier somebody said the park was not requesting public funding, but in their newsletter, they indicate that they plan on asking for public funding for the project.

What the developer will do in this park goes against all the reasons people live here and what the Crozet master plan urges for green spaces.

What study was done to ensure this building's right size for all the community functions we're hearing about were even in the right location?

The developer downplayed the size of the building when it presented to this commission in March of this year, because it's too big.

When confronted with that reality of the commissioners,

By the commissioners, the developer now submits the same size buildings in generally the same place, but hidden in a well-presented presentation where 300-foot-long, 32-foot-high facades magically disappear.

They also did not number the parking spaces in this presentation, but that did not change how many spaces there are.

The comparison of this proposal to Paris Teeter on 250 and all the parking is an accurate representation

what this developer is proposing.

It should give everyone an idea of what Crozet Park will become if this development is approved.

How did the developer become an expert on traffic when they have no idea what VDOT will require on Indigo to accommodate the north entrance?

Giving the applicant the right of the north entrance without even knowing it requires wrong.

Developers should not be the ones who control development in Crozet.

That is the job that I ask.

I urge you to reject the proposal because it does not fit in the park now and it will overwhelm the surrounding neighborhoods in the future.

Thank you.

I have one call in that wants to speak and I'm going to let them speak now.

Mr.

Carl Pomeroy, please unmute yourself.

It's your turn to speak.

You'll have three minutes to speak.

And you will be, you need to state your name, address, and where you're located.

If you're located, excuse me, if you're associated with a group or an organization and your time starts as soon as you start speaking.

Mr. Pomeroy, you'll have to,

Pomeroy, you're gonna have to unmute yourself.

Okay, I'm gonna come back to him in just a few minutes.

Hello.

My name is James Sullivan.

Everyone calls me JJ.

And I am a resident here in Parkside Village.

I'm actually neighbors with Mr. Phil Kirby, who I guess just spoke and gave his opinions.

And thank you for having me here.

My wife and I moved to Crozet about one year ago from Charlottesville.

And we absolutely love the park.

To give you some perspective, we live four doors down from the park.

We decided to move here because of the park.

We have a photo of my son running on the soccer fields.

Um, and we absolutely love it.

Uh, I'm actually, uh, I, I missed the first few minutes of this discussion because I was at the park.

I was actually coaching T-ball and I can attest to the, uh, the sirens that were going off that the, uh, the, uh, the Gator, uh, uh, swim coach discussed, uh, because I was there.

So I absolutely love the park.

Um, I am.

The sake inflicted about the growth to be an understatement.

If I had to give an opinion right now, I would say that I am not in favor of this expansion.

I'm going to speak to the traffic study that was conducted, because that was the only part that I heard.

I do think that the gentleman who gave the presentation was competent.

And as a CPA, I love the fact that he walked through his assumptions.

So I really appreciated that.

But he is a member of the board.

And so I think an independent study needs to be conducted before we can attest to whether the 847 increased traffic is an actual number.

I am afraid that number may be low.

So I think an independent study needs to be conducted.

I would also say that while I heard about some of the feeder roads that might be reducing traffic, what I did not hear was any discussion about the Glenbrook at Parkside.

That's the Stanley Martin development that is going in literally behind my house.

They took out the six acres of trees that comes right up to my property line.

and while I heard about some beater roads that can reduce traffic, I didn't hear about the 31 lots that are going in behind me and are going to increase traffic.

Finally, there was a gentleman that talked before me, and I wish I got his name, who talked about some of the construction on not just Indigo, but Hilltop.

That is definitely a road that needs some development, needs some construction in order to handle increased traffic.

It's not uncommon to see

families walking in the street, kids biking in the street.

I'm afraid that will not be able to support the growth that's being asked.

I do hope the county picks this up and does the analysis.

I am in favor of growth, but the way that's being presented right now, I think a great deal more infrastructure needs to be included before that growth can occur.

Thank you.

Next, I have Alan Freeman.

Please state your name, address.

Hi, I'm Alan Freeman, and I've lived at 5071 Longmeadow Lane since 1972.

That's in Crozet.

and I can attest to the fact that over the past 48 years, the park has responded to the changing need for say, and then for Western Albemarle County, the need for recreation and the space for building community spirit and pride.

When I moved here in 72, the park was pretty limited to a seasonal pool, a small community building, a baseball field and a few picnic tables.

And by the way, most of the surrounding area was pretty vacant.

My two sons have learned how to swim at the park.

They played tee ball at the park.

They attended summer camp there.

They played soccer.

And over time, the park board has responded to the increasing need.

The park built soccer playing fields.

They covered pavilions.

They built a dog park, which nobody's mentioned.

It's a great place.

They built the cover for the pool for a year long use and they built starter tennis courts.

which are now used for pickleball and also tennis.

And I am a pickleball player.

They expanded walking trails.

It's a number of people that I see walking in the morning.

It's amazing there.

And their workout stations on those trails.

They built the indoor fitness center which didn't exist just 15 years ago.

That's now very well maintained by the ACAC.

and every time the community needed more recreation, more communal activities, the board has reacted positively from raising money for the pool dome to raising money to line the tennis courts pickleball, the park board, and I'm not a member of that.

Under the leadership of Kim Gunther and with the excellent site direction by Ryan Hughes and the entire staff, the park is ready to expand yet again.

and it's important that it does.

It's more than parking spaces.

It's more than traffic.

It's about the community and we need to build the community spirit and have space for community activities.

So I certainly urge you to go ahead and approve this and continue the work that Park Board has proposed.

Next, I have Joe Ford.

Thank you.

Good evening.

My name is Joe Ford.

I live at 1044 Amber Ridge Road in Crozet, and I support the Parks and Land's current form, and I hope that the Planning Commission will advance this important project.

We here in Crozet desperately need a recreational facility like this one.

Crozet Park is the only active public park for our community of more than 10,000 people who live here now.

There's nothing like this anywhere close by.

This recreation center won't only be a gym and a pool, it's an important gathering place for our whole community.

I'd just like to briefly respond to two concerns, both of which we've heard this evening.

The first about the traffic.

As Mr. DiNunzio pointed out,

There are a number of projects in the works.

The Crozet Master Plan, which this commission just endorsed, includes catalyst infrastructure projects specifically designed to alleviate the exact transportation concerns that neighbors are expressing.

The new master plan features pedestrian-oriented projects, for example, prioritizing sidewalks in these exact neighborhoods.

Park Street, Hilltop, and Tabor are all prioritized sidewalk projects.

It also calls for improvements of the Crozet Trail from West Hall to the park, which again will allow increased pedestrian and bicycle traffic.

Also, as Mr. Tenenzio and others have pointed out, there's at least four new road projects that will reduce congestion.

The redevelopment of Barnes Lumberyard, which will provide an east-west connection from downtown to Park Street.

The extension of High Street from Tabor to Library Ave, which increases North-South connectivity and reduces the need for people to use Hilltop.

The southern portion of Eastern Avenue will connect the park to 250, encouraging drivers to access the park from the south side, bypassing Parkside Village.

And the proposed extension of Dunn-Vegan Lane again will also allow drivers to access the southern part of the park directly from Crozet Ave, again bypassing Parkside Village on the north.

Lastly, I'd just like to respond to a couple of the concerns people have addressed about removing green space or the idea that this project diminishes the park's amenities.

The only green space that we are losing here is a bit of mowed grassy field.

And it's important to note, this is now part of the park that is the least used northwestern part of the park.

I'm at that park several times per week with my preschooler.

And since the pandemic began, we've specifically spent a lot of our time in that northwestern part of the park, specifically because there's no one else around.

It is easy to socially distance there because no one's ever used it.

And lastly, this project doesn't reduce anybody's opportunity for free outdoor recreation.

The new facility doesn't displace the walking trail that Mr. Freeman mentioned, the soccer fields, the baseball fields, basketball courts, the dog park, the pickleball courts, or the large playground on the east side.

The only thing this project will disturb is the small playground on the west side, and that is being replaced with a brand new one.

So this ambitious and important project won't diminish any facilities or any opportunities in the park.

They only enhance it, and I urge you to advance the project.

Thank you.

Next we have Allie Pesch.

Allie, please state your name, address.

You're affiliated with a group or organization.

Hi, my name is Allie Pesch and I live on Mint Springs Road in Crozet.

Born and raised here, grew up going to Crozet Park and continue to coach softball there several times a week.

very strongly support this project.

And I just want to echo everything that Joe just said and everybody who has spoken in support of this project.

I feel that it is long overdue and sorely needed.

And I am so proud of our community for taking this initiative and really building the facility that our community

has already grown to need and I really hope that the commissioners see how hard the applicant has worked to listen to concerns from neighbors and also provide this facility

for everybody who lives in the western part of the county.

And I won't take up any more of your time, but I do hope that you all see how much we need this and how much it will benefit our community as a whole.

Thank you.

Next, I have Deb.

Please state your name, address if you're affiliated with a group or organization.

Hello, this is Deborah Ferreira and I am a 21 year resident at 5791 Hilltop Street and this wonderful, sweet town that I have seen explode in growth in the 21, almost 22 years that I've lived here.

There have been many developments that have gone up very close by as well as further out and of course with that has come a lot of increased traffic, noise, trash that's been thrown out of car windows.

It is less safe to walk down Hilltop Street or High Street, to walk your dog,

had out to play ball with the child.

And that has definitely gotten more difficult over the years.

So I know with this, I agree that this type of facility is needed and what it will bring to the community and all the programming.

I support that and I appreciate the changes that have been made, the efforts there.

However, I am very concerned that all of the things I mentioned will increase especially the rush hour traffic because a lot of people like to work out early in the morning and then after work around five and on weekends when it's

this quaint little neighborhood it used to be.

And I know progress happens.

I understand that completely and you can't stop it.

You can't change it.

It's just the way life is.

But I do hope that there'll be some consideration and sensitivity to the street letting out into Indigo, into Hilltop Street.

I don't think the street's got lots of cracks in it.

It's had to be redone several times.

You can trip over the sidewalk.

It's terrible.

I agree with when Sandy shared, Philip and JJ.

It is a very terrible, never been maintained by VDOT or anybody.

I'm not sure who should have maintained it, but it went in when Parkside Village has been and it is

A lot of it's overgrown and cracked and lifted up and it's a small street and a lot of changes would have to be made or improved to make it work and maybe even the times of access to Hilltop could be limited so that it's not constant in adding to what has already been increasing over the years I've lived here.

I hope we don't lose the charm and the sweetness of this neighborhood that I've loved for this long and that it's still livable for me and my neighbors who live on this street.

It's very easy for those of you who don't live on this road to speak highly about the need for this.

And I do support it, too.

Yes, it's not your street, though, so it's easy to say.

Next I have Mark McKinney.

Hi, my name is Mark McKenney.

I live at 5353 Park Road.

First off, I am fully in favor of this project.

So the Planning Commission, I hope you approve it.

I just want to touch on two main things.

So it was 50 years ago, 50 years ago that Crozet was designated a growth area.

That was part of the 1971 revision of the county's comprehensive plan.

We are now on our third Crozet Master Plan as Joe laid out.

There are numerous infrastructure projects part of that plan.

The infrastructure challenges that everyone is talking about tonight

are on the shoulders of the county in VDOT with really just poor planning over the last five decades to get us to this point.

Now I'm going to stop with that and I'm going to turn to why I'm supportive of this plan.

I have three kids with a fourth due in about five days.

We need this park.

I coach baseball at this park.

We are at this park five days of the week.

I am also

a permanently and totally disabled veteran, one of 400 veterans that live in this town of Crozet.

I need a place to swim.

I can no longer run.

It hurts to walk.

I am just one person.

I know there's many other residents that have physical mental disabilities that having a expanded park will help the betterment and help their quality of life improve.

We need this.

We needed this probably two decades ago.

We cannot wait another 20 to 50 years for the infrastructure projects in Crozet to finally catch up before we do this park project.

We need this park for the community.

I applaud the board for putting this plan together.

And I again hope that the planning commissioner approves this.

Thank you.

Next, I have Valerie Long.

Valerie, please state your name and address.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the Commission.

I'm Valerie Long and my address is 6617 Wellborn Lane in Crozet and I would like to express my support for the application tonight.

I think the applicants have done a very good job of balancing the needs for active recreation space and open space, as well as addressing all of the comments that have been raised by the nearby neighbors with regard to the new exit or entrance, landscaping, shifting the building.

Also, they have incorporated, as far as I can tell, all of the comments that were raised by the commission at the March Planning Commission meeting.

As everyone has expressed, this is an existing use that's been in this location for over 50 years.

I think it's very reasonable for the park board and the community to be able to work together and increase and improve the amenities here.

It certainly should be no surprise for anyone in the community that a facility of this age, that it's appropriate for it to be enhanced, particularly now with the amount of growth that we have seen in our community.

As others have indicated, the ability to substantially increase the capacity for the afterschool programs for local elementary schools.

I cannot stress enough what a particular challenge this is for families in the western feeder pattern for public schools here.

devastating for working families to not be able to have safe, affordable after school care for their school age children.

It's particularly detrimental to lower income families and female headed households.

It has a significant impact on the ability of many women to further their careers.

If they have to choose between safe and affordable childcare or their careers, unfortunately, oftentimes that takes a back seat.

So this will provide an incredible benefit to the community in that regard in addition to all of the incredible recreational amenities and improvements that would

that the facility would provide.

It's a good balance, as I said, between open space and improvements.

I particularly applaud the way they have focused the new improvements to be in areas that were already disturbed to the very extent possible.

Thank you.

Next I have Jennifer.

Yes, hi.

My name is Jennifer Kirby.

I live at Parkside Village, and I'm a resident and I'm not affiliated with any organization.

I have lived in Parkside Village for 20 years and what I wanted to say was when I moved to Crozet, I realized that I was moving into a high growth designated area of Albemarle County and

What I was expecting at the time was that there would be infrastructure in place or it would be developed before a facility of this size would be considered.

And what I was expecting also is that our land use and zoning ordinances would protect individual property owners from developments of this size and scale

to be considered before infrastructure was in place.

And what I also was expecting was that our master plan would be used as a guide to manage future development, and that it would also be used to protect this unique character of this community.

I am opposed to this facility because I feel it is completely out of character and scale for the adjacent neighborhoods and property owners.

I feel that it would contribute to traffic issues that we're already dealing with in Crozet, and it would create an unsafe environment for the pedestrians, bicyclers, vehicles, all trying to access the park on Hilltop.

I can't imagine how a building of this size and scale would be a good fit for any residential development in Crozet.

I feel there's another area that is better suited for a building that's 35,000 square feet.

And that's all I have to say.

Thank you.

Next I have

William Johnson.

Thank you.

My name is Bill Johnson.

I am a member of the Board of Directors of the Claudius Crozet Park, but I'm speaking in my individual capacity and my remarks have not been reviewed by the board or impacted by the board.

I'm a father who lives in fear because I have teen drivers.

I'm also a 26-year veteran of the U.S.

Army, and I've spent 11 years overseas with three combat tours, including more than 15 months in some of the most violent areas of Iraq.

I've seen a lot of things I'm unable to forget, a lot of senseless things, but nothing quite as senseless as the deaths that occur every year on the roads of Albemarle County.

I've driven on roads on four continents.

Albemarle is pretty high up there as far as dangerous roads go.

In fact, our rural roads are among the most dangerous in the state.

Ivy Road is a particularly dangerous stretch, as is I-64.

The tributes to lost loved ones along those routes must not be ignored.

Not having adequate amenities where we live puts more vehicles on some of the most dangerous roads in the state.

The statistics are clear that increased traffic congestion does not kill people.

The speed and rural nature of Albemarle's roads kills people.

In 2020, the death rate per 1,000 people in Albemarle County roads was 0.24.

In Fairfax County, the most populous county in the state, the death rate was an order of magnitude less at 0.05.

Our planning for pastoral views and rural greenways requires that the growth designated areas be provided with right-sized recreational facilities and amenities.

A failure to do so comes at the cost of human life on those rural greenways.

We are presently not rock sized for our recreational facilities in Crozet, and my family is on those roads every day to get adequate facilities in Charlottesville.

This is why I'm speaking tonight, and I've been fighting for the right amenities here for 10 years.

But the truth is that the proposed project does not increase traffic.

In Crozet, the footpaths all lead to Claudius Crozet Park.

The park is surrounded by residential areas.

Not approving the project, or even worse, moving it out of the residential area to a busy portion of Route 250 just puts more traffic on the roads, not less.

The park is where the project belongs.

The denial of this project will simply increase traffic and put our community at greater risk.

Perhaps the folks opposing the project because of traffic concerns just haven't looked at it logically, or perhaps they haven't had enough senseless deaths seared into their memories to weigh the seriousness of the danger that long drives on Albemarle County roads present.

I recommend they stop by some of the memorials before complaining about a few cars passing their house to get to the local gym.

Accordingly, I respectfully request that the commission approve the special use permit and help us keep Crozet local.

Next, I have Steven.

Thank you for giving me a chance to speak.

I am Steven Goathouse.

I live at 421 Cranberry Lane, which makes me a neighbor to the park, and I am only affiliated, or I only speak on behalf of myself and my family.

I really want to express appreciation to the park and the developers for moving the construction entrance to the south.

I see that they took in some of the comments from March, and I really appreciated that.

And I've got a couple of specific requests that I hope they also, in the same vein, thoughtfully consider.

One is with that new northern entrance, I request that a speed bump or similar traffic calming measure be added in the same way that the existing southern entrance and exits have.

I also request whether VDOT requires it or not that a stop sign be added, which is something that, for reasons I don't understand, doesn't exist on that southern entrance.

And then finally,

addressing to the Planning Commission.

My understanding is with a special use permit, if it is granted, that it is almost like a blank check being given to the park and the developers.

And I request that some stipulations and some periodic reviews be added.

As has been mentioned by many of my neighbors, the horrible sidewalk on Hilltop, my understanding that that was a requirement from the county many, many years ago from the developers of our development, Parkside Village.

No requirements were given.

So we ended up with what we have now, which is in horrible state.

and with the size of this project, I fear that without any oversight that similar travesties could occur.

Thank you.

Next I have Erin Rothman.

Hi, I'm Erin Rothman and I live at 433 Cranberry Lane and I'm just speaking as a resident.

While I'm impressed by the plans for this facility and really appreciate the improvements over the original plan, I still have serious reservations about the increase in traffic.

Earlier in the presentation tonight, there was a quote saying Crozet Park has unbeatable pedestrian and bike connectivity, as if that somehow supports this plan.

But in fact, this is quite misleading.

The current pedestrian and bike connectivity to and from the park is severely lacking and unsafe.

In fact, my family lives next to the park and my son was hit by a car while biking to Crozet Elementary with my husband several years ago.

The crumbling sidewalk on Hilltop is incredibly uneven, so it has many tripping hazards for pedestrians and it's too narrow to be practical for biking, meaning that few use it and people constantly walk, run, or bike in the road.

Park Road, the intersection at Hilltop High and Tabor, and the part of Tabor without a sidewalk already feel unsafe to navigate on foot or bike due to current traffic levels.

With the increased traffic, I'm concerned that this will make it even less safe for pedestrians and cyclists, ironically making people less likely to engage in these healthy activities in order to expand a fitness center.

While the solution to this seems pretty straightforward, putting in sidewalks and bike lanes,

Information obtained through a FOIA request from the county makes it clear they have no plans to fund these projects anytime in the near future, despite the recognition of the fact that these improvements are badly needed.

Furthermore, there will already be another increase in traffic on these same roads due to the construction of homes next to Parkside Village in the park at Foothill Crossing.

So we really need to look at the cumulative effect of traffic from both of these projects.

Thank you.

Next, I have Thomas.

Thomas, I'm not going to say your last name.

OK, thanks.

I live at 5643 Hilltop Street.

My property touches the park.

I can see the pond and the blue dome from my deck.

I share the concerns about the traffic.

I live on Hilltop.

People don't use the sidewalk.

People do walk in the road.

You cannot park on Hilltop, at least between the park and High Street, contrary to what the park board member, I think, suggested.

I worry that the county is proposing to kick a bunch of problems down the road or the sidewalk.

In some cases, roads and sidewalks that don't exist and that doesn't seem responsible.

The county is proposing to contract out its recreation facilities, recreation responsibilities to the park board.

And I just don't think that the park board is in any real sense accountable to the community.

They certainly aren't accountable to the neighbors, as several commissioners pointed out at the March meeting.

Moreover, the park board is gonna contract out

some stuff to ACAC, which is to remove the county again from any real oversight.

So I like the suggestion that somebody made earlier that there'd be some stipulations for the county to review and have some sort of oversight over any granting of a special use permit.

But I think this entrance on Indigo is badly thought out

and in need of an independent study, not a study by the, or an informal report by the park board.

Thank you.

Next, I have Elba Beasley.

Please state your name, address, and if you're affiliated with a group or organization.

Thank you.

My name is Pamela Beasley, Mrs. Elba Beasley.

I live at 16 Cranberry Lane.

I'm a concerned resident of Parkside Village speaking on behalf of myself and my husband.

I believe that the infrastructure simply does not exist for a project of this magnitude.

And though I think this project is something that's badly needed, the infrastructure must come first.

The Parkside Village alone has about 120 vehicles.

When we add in the new Foothill Crossings homes that will come, we will have nearly 200 cars which currently have only one way in and one way out to our homes.

This is already unsafe with an emergency situation in mind.

When we add to that an untold number of additional cars, even though I heard a traffic report tonight, I too am baffled by that, as was one of my neighbors.

Those of us who've waited at rush hour already to get in and out of our neighborhood while park traffic leaves or arrives at rush hour would sort of disagree with tonight's report.

I think this is a potential recipe for disaster.

The Indigo entrance is not a suitable solution.

Parkside Village is already dealing with some parking and traffic visibility concerns at that Indigo area as it intersects with Hilltop when the Pickleball participants choose to park on both sides of the street and our residents are parking on the street.

Visibility leaving Cranberry and the alley behind the homes on Cranberry Lane is problematic and some near-miss accidents have already occurred.

There is also currently an issue with cars now speeding on the now opened dead end and straight stretch of indigo that leads to the new development behind Cranberry.

The addition of more cars and more activity stands to potentially make this also worse and dangerous for us residents.

The current streets, as have been mentioned by others, like the older section of Hilltop and High, were never planned to carry the traffic load they're handling now.

There are no proper sidewalks on Hilltop.

It's already necessary to utilize extreme caution to avoid hitting pedestrians who are often kids walking to and from the pool or bicyclists who, as has been mentioned, have no choice but to occupy the streets.

The streets are too narrow.

and when residents on that older section of Hilltop decide to park on the street, all of those issues are compounded.

Currently High Street at Hilltop is already crumbling along the edge from the weight of construction vehicles as a result of recent construction in the area.

With the current development in Crozet, residents who are close to the downtown area are already dealing with the need for traffic lights at Tabor and Crozet Avenue instead of the stop signs.

It's also true at the four-way stop.

That too has been mentioned, just underscoring this.

Next, I have Jacob Feldman.

Hi, can everyone hear me?

Yes.

Hi, thank you.

My name is Jacob Feldman.

I live on Hilltop Street.

I also live in Parkside Village.

I've lived there with my wife and daughter since February.

In March, I spoke against the approval of the special use permit for a variety of reasons.

including the questionable suitability of a large enterprise building in a park and the increased traffic from the perspective of being a neighbor.

After having reviewed the proposed plan, I still don't believe that these concerns are being addressed.

Crozet Park is my two-year-old daughter's favorite place.

I thought it was going to be her yard, but it's the soccer fields and the mountains that she can see from Crozet Park.

So we're at the park every day.

We love its green space

We don't want the view obstructed by a very large building.

To date, there's always been enough parking for events, except for when it's a sports day, and then there isn't enough field.

Please don't decrease the amount of green space in favor of excessive parking lots.

This park is the green centerpiece of Crozet.

There are a few members of the community who want, there are probably, I think there are a few members of the community who want to lose that.

A 30 foot tall rectangular building of glass and concrete

does not belong in a park.

This feels so intuitive.

From a traffic standpoint, the developer has written about how there will not be a negative traffic experience for the driver.

This does not adequately address the concerns of the neighborhood who experienced those cars.

Just this weekend, my daughter drove her dump truck down Hilltop Street.

Probably many of my other neighbors on the line saw that.

While some slightly older children drew chalk pictures in the middle of the road.

Our neighborhood loves our quiet streets.

It's where our kids play.

In portions of the neighborhood, I have significant safety concerns.

For example, from the intersection of High Street and Hilltop Street until Indigo, there's a dilapidated sidewalk that many residents with a stroller or scooter choose to walk around.

Locals walk in the road, and that has been fine as a result of the generally low traffic levels in the Parkside Village community.

The park and its corresponding developer never reached out to the Parkside Village community.

I'm relieved to see that they proposed routing construction traffic through the already constructed gate on Park Road.

Should this project be approved, this gate should be used for incoming or outgoing traffic as well.

It would only be a minor expansion from the already proposed paving of the parking lot.

Please do not grant creation of the Hilltop Street entrance or Indigo Street entrance to be a by right condition to the applicant.

Thank you.

Next, I have Tim Tolson.

Hi, I'm Tim Tolson, and I live at 6675 Highlander Way in Crozet, that's up in the Moon Ridge.

I am also the chair of the Crozet Independence Day Celebration Plan Committee and president of the Crozet Community Association, but I am not speaking.

on behalf of either of these groups.

I'm speaking as a Crozet resident who spent a lot of time at the park over the three plus decades my family and I have lived in Crozet.

I got to see an early presentation of this proposal at a park board presentation of their plans the day before Governor Northam declared the COVID pandemic quarantine back in March of 2020.

It was in their Crozet community association meeting at the park's newly renovated radio housing.

Since then, I've seen the park board and their designers work to engage the public and be responsive to their concerns.

The revised proposal that we saw tonight has made numerous changes that mitigate or eliminate the majority of the community's concerns, I believe.

Parking, construction traffic, also tree cover and green space to noise levels.

The new plan only replaces the playground in the front

and that will be replaced, not eliminated.

So what is there at the park, as the plan showed, will not be eliminated.

It actually increases the recreational possibilities in Crozet.

The current space is too small.

The Crozet residents have been asking for updating and increasing the size of that facility for a long, long time.

This adds recreational changes without diminishing the existing outdoor recreational opportunities at Crozet Park.

It keeps the walking trails, the soccer fields, the baseball fields, the basketball courts, the pickleball courts, the dog park, and the large playground, and will build a smaller playground to replace the one thing it removes.

What they're offering is more than an indoor pool and a gym.

It will be also an important space, as we've heard from several people, of much needed afterschool program expansion as well.

Locating the proposed facility central to Crozet is important.

and a lot of housing there central to it.

I mean people will actually be incentivized to walk and bicycle to the park rather than to drive.

The park is on the greenway path and near to downtown Crozet, which also increases the odds that people will walk or bicycle rather than drive to the park.

So I think it is the right location to build this proposed facility.

And all of that comes at no cost to the taxpayers of Albemarle.

The park board will raise the funds necessary to fund the community center fitness center pool and make it available to the public just like they've done for 50 years.

Crozet Park has always been central to green space and recreational opportunities in Crozet for more than 50 years.

And I believe this proposal enhances those opportunities.

I think this is the right facility at the right place, and I support it.

And I urge you to support this application too.

Thank you.

I'm going to try Mr. Pomeroy one more time.

Mr. Pomeroy, if you can unmute yourself so that you can speak.

Unfortunately, I cannot unmute you.

So I'm going to have to

unfortunately not allow you to speak right now since you can't.

Oh, wait, here we go.

Hi, my name is Carl Pomeroy.

I live at 5700.

I don't need that.

I know what you're saying.

This is Carl Pomeroy.

I live at 5700 Park Road.

I abut Crozet Park.

I've lived here for 20 years.

I have worked in the park, contributed to the park, served on the park board for a decade.

I am very familiar with all of the efforts that this volunteer park board has put into the design and the outreach to the community via surveys over the years to accommodate the overall desires and needs of the community and that this representation is the plan that's before us right now.

I believe that this project is absolutely needed as has been stated by many others before me.

It's late in coming.

The park is overwhelmed with use as it is right now.

This facility will provide an entire spectrum of opportunity for all ages in our community and it is absolutely necessary.

the fact that they have done such a marvelous job of reading all the concerns from the March meeting and the meetings previous to March.

I think this commission should certainly approve and push this project forward with conditions.

There are issues as stated by the residents of Hilltop and

Parkside Village, I would like to point out that the traffic studies need to be addressed.

We need to look at traffic on all the streets.

Yes, I know for a fact, having lived here for 20 years, that the infrastructure is lagging way behind the rapid pace of the development.

This facility is more than needed.

It needs to be built.

I think that the Park Board has done a great job with their design team to deliver something that will work and accommodate most people in the community.

We can't satisfy the needs of everybody.

I've lived on Park Road for 20 years.

I have seen the hundreds and hundreds of houses that have been developed east of the park

and all of its subsequent traffic.

There are at times, I would say, approaching 3,000 cars a day going past my house at more than the posted speed limit most of them.

I'm sorry.

Park Road.

What?

What?

I'd like to say Park Road and Hilltop are exactly the same size.

Thank you.

At this time, I have a couple people that signed up to speak but don't have their hands raised to see if they're interested in speaking.

Oh, here we go.

Got some more raising their hands now.

Next is Lee.

Hey, my name is Lee Grimes and I represent really just our kids.

We live in Charlottesville, used to live in Crozet, but still are active in the Crozet community.

And I'd like to echo a lot of the comments regarding the support of this plan.

I think it's long overdue and it's exactly what the Crozet and really the Western Albemarle community needs.

And I'd also just like to say the one group that we haven't heard from tonight are the kids.

And that's the group that will probably more so than anyone else take advantage of this new facility.

And that needs to be considered by the board.

You know, the problems that we've heard about traffic and entrances and exits, those are problems that could be solved.

And the kids are what the, are where the, is exactly where the focus needs to be.

So I would encourage the board just to think about that.

You know, we haven't heard from them.

but I guarantee you that almost every single kid that you ask would support this project and we do too.

Next I have Brian.

Well, good evening, everyone, and thank you so much for the opportunity to speak.

I really appreciate this work and am always impressed by our community.

Tonight, another example of a tremendous outreach and outpouring of feedback and very much appreciate all sides of this issue.

I'm a Crozet resident.

I live at 4997 Fairwinds Court.

I've been in Crozet since 2008.

I walk and bike to Crozet Park on a regular basis.

I've had family memberships to the former YMCA in Crozet Park and have a current family membership in the Crozet Park ACAC.

My family and I enjoy the park immensely.

We often walk to the park and again as mentioned I bike on a regular basis.

It's a valuable resource and it's in dire need of upgrades.

And I sincerely appreciate the concerns of residents surrounding the area and urge us to work on a creative way to support more park visitors rather than allow pool and the park buildings to continue to deteriorate.

And again, I very much respect the concerns, but I think that they can be mitigated

and urge us to continue to move forward past that so that we can have this resource for many years to come to serve even more of our neighbors and residents in the area.

I very much appreciate the Parks Board's good work and I urge you to approve this project.

Alright, next I have

Yes, my name is Kathy Floyd.

I live on Deca Lane out in the Ivy area and I'm not affiliated with a group.

Just last night, I paid a visit to the park for several games of pickleball with friends.

It was a beautiful evening with the smell of fall in the air.

The activity level at the park seemed to be at a crescendo.

The athletic fields were full with young kids starting about as the coaches prepared them for the next game.

Parents arrived to pick up their kids from the afterschool program, walked past the pool and you could hear and see the splashes of water of the swimmers.

Families were out for a stroll being led by their energetic puppy.

Pickleball courts were hopping and high fives were being shared as the winning team

walked off the court in triumph.

The cyclists were going for speed, the basketball players were going for the duck.

Young couples were walking hand in hand with a focus on each other.

The older couples side by side at their own pace as if to hold each other up.

The young parent was chasing the toddler in the grassy areas which created a place

of safety away from the traffic.

Under the pavilion, an exercise class was in process, stepping to the beat of the music.

Simply, community was in focus and happening.

Community at its best.

It was community for everybody.

Community is defined as fellowship with others, as common attitudes, interests, and goals are shared.

For years, the park has served as community within the greater community of Crozet.

I applaud and celebrate the past of the park that has been here for years and enjoyed by many through the years.

I bask in the present as many of us enjoy time to play in the park and recreate year round.

I anticipate the future as we look to expansion and improvement of this new facility so that the park can continue to be enjoyed for years to come.

and I do support the improvements of the park in this new facility.

So to those that have the interest of Crozet in common, I say, please support this effort as a rich tradition of community continues for our children and the next generation.

The conversation and efforts tonight are about building an athletic facility and perhaps more importantly, assuring that a community continues for all to come together

for recreation, play, fellowship, and sharing.

I strongly support the park board as they have worked diligently to come up with a plan as presented tonight.

And we just are very grateful to be able to make these comments.

Is there anyone else at this time that would like to speak?

Please raise your hand.

You can see the raise hand feature at the bottom of the screen.

Thank you, ma'am.

And at that case, thank you for everyone who has provided us with not only spoken words of wisdom and guidance this evening, but also for those who have sent us written materials, which have been helpful.

to the commission and will also be made part of this package.

I am closing.

I'm looking for Mr. Shaffer, I believe, or whoever is going to represent the applicant.

You have five minutes to respond.

After that, we will

Bring it back to the commissioners and we'll spend some time talking.

I may ask before we do that, that Kevin's seeing you ready.

So you could just give us a sort of an update on what are the projects or if there's someone on the staff that you believe would be better to do that, the transportation project in the area.

So Mr. Shaffer, you have five minutes starting now.

Thank you.

I'm going to invite Kim Gunther, who's the president of the park board to come speak.

Okay.

Thanks, Kevin.

Sure.

Um, yeah, I'm just gonna make a brief statement and then turn it over to Bill Johnson.

My name is Kim Gunther.

I'm the president of the park board for President Park.

And I just wanted to thank everyone who's taken the time to be a part of this process.

It's been a long night.

It's been amazing how many people have called in to comment.

Whether you support or oppose this project, signed up to speak, wrote a letter or just listening tonight, we're all participating because we care about the same thing, the Crozet community.

Regardless of what happens tonight, the park board will continue to fine tune these plans to address concerns.

As we've always done, the park board is receptive to any feedback the Crozet community wishes to provide.

And I'll just leave it at that.

Thank you, Kim.

I think I want to steal just a quote from our last public speaker, which is the rich tradition of community that the park provides.

So the park was originally built 50 plus years ago.

That original pool was hand dug by the residents of Crozet.

and since then we've seen improvements to the pool, we've seen improvements to the fitness facility, we've seen when the derecho came and knocked down our pavilions, we now have some of the nicest pavilions in Albemarle County that replaced those.

We've had the addition of the dog park and then through gracious donations, we have the walk park and the parkour, of course, that goes around it.

So every step of the growth of the community, the park has grown with it.

We can't grow in size, we're the size we are.

but we can grow in the facilities that we provide and we've been growing since the park was created and we're going to continue to grow as best we can and I think that this project is providing that growth along with the growth of the community to keep our community going, to allow people to bask in that tradition of community.

So am I to assume that no one else is going to speak?

I think that's it.

All right.

So commissioners, perhaps we've been sitting for a bit.

I'd like for us to hear from Kevin.

And then if you need a bit of a break before we go into deliberations, that would be fine.

But Kevin and then I'm going to ask us to sort of give our thoughts in a certain order after that.

Kevin, will you please update us on sort of the kind of infrastructure that are

Yes, thank you.

that is coming from the draft master plan update.

This just is a very good reflection for me to help walk you through what is going on out there.

Obviously, we have Crozet Park here in the center.

And are you able to see my cursor moving?

Yes, okay.

So we got Crozet Park here in the center.

And as we all heard the discussions, Hilltop Street coming along the northern edge, turning and heading up, it hits this east-west road.

This east-west road that you see here is currently being extended.

Right now it ends right where the blue line starts and right over here.

So it is a dead end road right now.

Currently, the Barnes-Lumber development is extending that road out to the west to meet up with the Crozet Square and also it is connecting down to Library Avenue into a new grid pattern.

So there will be a Western connection over to Crozet Avenue in the future.

That is under construction or in design right now being built by the developer of Barnes Lumber.

In addition to that, a separate development, the Glenbrook and Foothills development is

constructing this road that will head out towards the east from the other end of Hilltop.

And that road extends all the way over to where the existing Park Ridge

And Park Ridge, of course, extends all the way back out to 240.

So those are pretty significant connections that will be made on the northern end of this to open up Hilltop.

So with those, I just want to make sure the Commission understands that

There will be changes to traffic patterns related to that.

There will be more people using that way to get in and out of the neighborhoods and allow those people to have other options to get out of Crozet.

In addition to those changes,

One of the big focuses that we have right now is to extend Eastern Avenue out to 250 across the Legging Hole Creek.

This project is not funded yet, but we do have funding identified in the CIP for it and we are making applications to get additional state funding as we speak.

Once that happens, of course, that will allow a lot of these neighborhoods in the central area of Crozet to use the Eastern Avenue connector to get out of those residential neighborhoods.

to either get to 240 or down to 250.

So that will significantly once again change those traffic patterns.

As they did point out, Park Street does go along the southern end and right now that carries the predominant amount of traffic for the people going to West Hall and was West Lake, although now they can get out by going north up to Park Ridge.

So the traffic patterns are changing with that.

As they did point out, we do have prioritized projects for bicycle and pedestrian connections in the area as well.

Those are still being evaluated and we will be trying to identify funding in future years, but those are not planned or programmed at this time.

Thank you, thank you very much, Kevin.

Does anyone have any additional questions for Kevin before we bring it back to ourselves?

Okay, Kevin, thank you.

Commissioners, so do you need a break or are we going to continue going forward?

I see no heads.

We're going forward.

So we're going to bring it to us.

And I'm going to ask people to just give us their comments in an order.

And so here's what I would like to do.

I would like to start with Karen, Corey, Rick, Daniel, Tim, and then end with Jenny.

So if we can do that, please, if you've got things that you need.

Well, I know, but I could think of a half an hour thing to say, but I'm not gonna.

I would like to, first of all, commend the design team on

actually listening to the comments of the Planning Commission.

I wish that they had actually come in with a greener plan from the get-go and I will acknowledge that they are planting a lot of trees and we know that it will take decades for those new young trees to replace the ecosystem values that we're losing with some of the larger mature trees.

I also just want to make a note about the trees in terms of requesting that the development team, not the conditioning, but requesting that they actually put some effort forth to try to provide adequate planting beds for these trees.

Unfortunately our county does not have tree planting standards right now.

and I hope that that will be addressed as part of the zoning update that is going to be happening in the future.

But I am concerned about the viability of trees to survive.

There's a number of sites around the county where trees are not in good shape a year later after being planted.

So I would just really like to see a lot of attention given to the design and the adequate soil volume for those sites.

That was my sort of longer point.

I'm very conflicted about this site.

I really appreciate the attention, as I said, that's gone into listening to what the commission said.

In fact, I found it really refreshing.

But I'm still worried about the impacts to the residents on the surrounding streets who, you know, I think thought that they were buying homes or moving to

A resident that was on a relatively quiet street and are now going to be subject to a lot of additional traffic.

So I don't have a conclusion for you at this time on how I'm going to vote.

I'm really very conflicted and that's kind of where I leave it.

Pause.

Karen speaking, then Corey, then Rick, then Daniel, then Tim, then you.

You've got the final spot.

Karen, did you want to add anything?

I was just saying that I haven't actually just made up my mind, so I'm not here to tell you how I'm meaning at this time, because I honestly want to hear the perspectives of all the commissioners first.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I've shared my comments at the beginning of this meeting.

So I'll just simply say I'm in support of the project.

And if it doesn't go here, I'm not sure where it seems appropriate to me.

And it's hard for me to put against something that encourages healthy living.

Welcome back, Rick, by the way.

My thoughts on this proposal are as divided as the Crozet community appears to be.

I see the advantages of this proposed year-round swimming facility and additional indoor recreational space.

I, like Karen, applaud the applicants for listening to the concerns of the Planning Commission from our March 23rd meeting.

However, I'm equally troubled

that a long-term residential community surrounding CCP will be significantly adversely affected by more traffic into and out of this proposed expanded facility.

It's important to be clear that a large swimming pool athletic facility sited within a park

is not a usage normally seen adjacent to a residential community.

Charlottesville's YMCA is in a park, but sited on a major state road, not within an existing community.

Darden Town has had residential units built up on its southern flank years after the park itself was created.

The lack of provision for cycling facilities in bike lanes is a serious omission in such a bike intensive community as Crozet.

The lack of mutual open dialogue between the CCP board and the adjoining neighbors and neighborhoods remains an issue of concern.

Regardless of what the Planning Commission and, most importantly, the Board of Supervisors decide to do with this proposed application, the actual park features of CCP will be residual.

They don't change, no matter what happens with this application.

So I am like Karen.

Thanks.

I think I'm going to continue to echo if I sit here and went back and forth and reviewing all the materials before now.

And I was, as Karen has already alluded to, very encouraged by the

and the applicant's response to the concerns raised by the Planning Commission, including massing and looking to move the building back to do that.

As someone who lives in a similar neighborhood that has a large athletic facility located with the Socklefield House, I understand the shock that that was when you see something bigger than what the renderings look like and it's towering over existing trees.

I am glad that they did listen to that and move back some.

That being said,

When we moved into this area, we knew Sacathode House was coming.

It was a planned feature along with the center and everything else in this neighborhood.

I share the concerns raised for a residential community that knew a park was there but didn't know a gym and a large athletic facility would be coming in and having that type of traffic.

I didn't quite, you know, I

I didn't quite understand, it seems like, and I was trying to piece it together, that there's a lot of, I don't know if it's legal or not, parking going on on some of the roads already to make use of park facilities in a de facto, you know, non-authorized access on the north side of the park.

I guess if you're parking and traversing across to get to the pickleball courts and others, as was raised by some of the applicants.

And so

I have a hard time at this point especially supporting it as requested and particularly the northern entrance although not much was discussed about the Park Street other than one community member stating that it was the same size but I know that

In the Crozet Master Plan, there is capital projects to improve the streets and to improve the sidewalks around High Street and Hilltop and all that.

Without having that infrastructure in place and increasing the traffic at this time is a concern to me for the safety of the residents and the kids using the area.

So at this time, I would say that I'm

I'm still struggling to be able to get behind, although I fully recognize the need for these facilities for Crozet as a community in general.

Well, what a great evening of discussion and civil dialogue amongst the folks of Crozet and all of them expressing their love for a very special community and a great time to be a commissioner with my fellow commissioners who are being thoughtful and sharing the concerns the way they are.

I addressed this project in our March meeting and expressed a number of concerns

about this and whether this is the best location, the best long-term location for the proposed uses.

But as I reflect on it more, I think what really, really came home to me was the individual that talked about it being for the kids.

And I think about projects that have not happened in Charlottesville and Albemarle in my lifetime.

that three or four generations.

And that's with even without talking about racial inequities that I saw earlier in my life.

So I'm inclined if we could get conditions in this and some of these conditions are kind of almost outside the purview.

So I'm not sure how they get in there but I just like to first make a recommendation

to the consultants that they pull some concentric rings, do some original work and not just use the Crozet master plan graphics and show us some concentric rings about bicycle time and walk time and the numbers of residents that could possibly benefit from a 15-minute walk time and 15-minute bike time or some such thing.

to the park so that the supervisors have some idea of reality of whether this is, since it's physically in the center, whether it really is going to serve that larger number of people that could do, as Rick talked about, as Commissioner Randolph talked about, which is the alternative to the driving and the parking.

And my biggest recommendations for us to grapple with would be

how we can get improvements to the streets and the sidewalks adjacent to the park because an awful lot of the concerns that I heard expressed other than the increased traffic count was about the terrible conditions that force people to walk into the street instead of being able to use those sidewalks and possible bicycle lanes if we could figure out how to do it.

Could we make a condition, for instance, on the applicant that they have to provide these improvements so that they have the clout to come to the county and tell the county that they need these to be able to proceed with these facilities?

That's one.

The second one is I'd really like to pick up on what Rick was talking about.

I look at all of the parking and I just did a quick search.

The Cadillac Escalade, and there are many vehicles that are more or less that size, are 18 feet long and seven feet wide.

I'd really like to know what the parking size, parking space size is that's required by the county and the realistic

impacts of these larger vehicles that everybody is driving will have on the number of parking spaces that are actually there.

Does that mean that we might need to look at something like permit parking on the adjacent streets so that there won't be spillover from this as we heard already happens?

So that's another piece.

But I'm wondering about discouraging parking adjacent to the building completely.

which could allow for that better traffic flow that some people were concerned about for fire engines and rescue vehicles.

We all know that there are unfortunate occurrences in aquatic centers.

So maybe those are the places just for bicycles or just for smaller vehicles.

And of course the accessibility issues of certain vehicles as well.

But could we push

a major amount of the parking away as a discouragement possibly to people who live close enough to be able to walk and ride in the right kind of weather to be able to do that.

That's going to ask the staff to think outside the box on this because they have their standards.

And so what are our mechanisms for being able to waive this?

So

And I'm sure that other commissioners have other ideas along these kinds of lines.

But if those things could come into play, I think I personally could support it because I think it's better for, if this is something that could be built in the next few years, then we don't lose a generation of kids.

We'd actually have kids in junior high school that would have an opportunity to use this in high school.

I guess I'd like to run through just a couple things and you know we've heard this from the applicant, we've heard this from a bunch of people that emailed and spoke, but I guess I just want to remind people that all the uses for the indoor facility, the expanded indoor facility

They're already happening at the park.

The request is to expand the ability to provide more of these resources because there's simply not enough space to offer all these programs.

You've heard all that in a number of different ways tonight.

I guess I also want to remind people that you know all the free outdoor recreation opportunities will still exist.

When I look at this I feel like the new proposed design addresses the concerns that we raised at our last meeting.

I think that the you know when the you look at the location of the building I think it's using there's a huge attempt and a thoughtfulness to me that's trying to

make the best of a situation where I get it.

I understand people are frustrated with traffic impacts and a lot of that has to do with residential development that's sprawling out that way and yet we still haven't achieved those connections.

I completely understand that frustration but it doesn't sit right with me that when it comes to the park we're going to

say oh wait no there's too much but yet we build house after house after condo after all these things and we need all these people to have these places to go.

So that doesn't sit quite right with me.

Also thinking about the master plan update and you know the commission unanimously supporting the ability to do more density in some of these areas and yet when it comes to offering a facility to our community

you know we have a problem with traffic and things like that but you know we know in the master plan it's been addressed and we know that you know all this more residential development provides more pressure on the streets and more people who need to have a facility like this.

I do think Tim's suggestion of and I thought this was shown but how many you know what the how far out people are in rings that could bike or walk

would be helpful because I don't have an exact number, but being really familiar with those areas and knowing how much is being built also back in there, which I understand makes neighbors even more frustrated.

To me, I mean, there's a huge amount of ability to access this through biking and walking, given the density of the neighborhoods all around.

But I understand that kind of a mixed message, like we're putting this in the middle of the neighborhood, so there's going to be people who have impacts from it.

But by putting it in a neighborhood,

It's allowing people to come to it rather than I think most people who drive to the Brooks family YMCA.

So, you know, when we talk about parking, you know, I want to be I think Rick had some interesting suggestions, but I also want to remind people that as much as I like this location because it's what we have.

And I think there is a creative effort to take underutilized space

which now is overflow parking.

It's packed dirt where grass rarely grows, make that into more actual parking, use underutilized space to actually create the facility.

And then we have this in a place where there are hundreds and hundreds of homes that can walk and access and bike this area.

We still need to remember that we've heard from people tonight and we know that people are coming just like they come to use the library in Jose

and other amenities will come and have to drive.

To me it makes zero sense to put something like this which wouldn't even be possible because it would be outside of the park in some area where on 250 where everyone's going to have to drive.

Right now we know we have

people who are coming from Ivy, even Charlottesville, Afton, all over the rural areas to use the facility.

So I guess I just wanted to, I hope everyone has, you know, community and the Planning Commission I'm sure

read the narrative from the park board and heard all the comments tonight about having them go and list them all again.

But you heard, you know, all the things that are being offered by the park and all that's going to continue.

The request is to allow for the ability to provide that for more people.

And so I find no reason to not support the effort.

And I'm definitely open to suggestions that other commissioners have about ways that we could

you know tweak it or put conditions in there I don't know if it's to me it might not seem fair to I don't know if Tim's suggestion was to require the park to do improvements on the sidewalk but I guess I'm open to hearing suggestions about this I guess you know all the time that more homes are built all the time when more of these things happen

You know, I have to remind myself that as much as we I started doing Planning Commission and thought that concurrent infrastructure was a real thing.

And I've come to realize, unfortunately, it isn't really that way.

And the more these areas have pressure and it's unfortunate that it works backwards, the more, you know, people are on the hook to kind of respond to that and step up to projects that I understand we've had, you know, in our last master plan and they're carrying over.

I will just add that I'm supportive of the plan.

I think that I was pleased, as many of us have said, that they heard us from the March meeting and have done some significant work to sort of adjust the plan and the concept to reflect our conversation with them.

And I would imagine certain people in the community.

So I'm supportive of this plan.

I also think that this would become sort of

One of the one of the legs in the stool and revitalizing the whole downtown area.

So with Barnes and the library and what's over there and that

the library area and with this, you would start to sort of diffuse some of the activities down there and the connections that Kevin has spoke about.

But we'd actually have something in my mind that I think would work well in enlivening that area in a way that I think would be helpful.

I don't know how you get, so echoing off of, understanding what Tim's saying, but echoing off what

Jenny Singh, I don't know how to say to the nonprofit, you've got to deal with infrastructure issues on High Street that the county hasn't done.

I mean, that to me feels

harsh.

I'll just use that word, it feels harsh.

But I'd like to have it and perhaps they'll become partners in it.

I just don't know that that's their burden when we have no idea whether or not the sidewalks were put in correctly, whether or not they were maintained, why they weren't maintained, since I assume it's a public road, and why that all that stuff hadn't been done in the past.

So I would not certainly be looking for us to do that as a condition.

I do think there's some wiseness in sort of thinking about is there a different way to do parking there and how do you make that and facilitate to be not so car-centric or you send the signals to people to sort of rethink how you approach and how you come to that place.

Well, Mr. Chair, if you'd like me to try to take a stab at that, Mr. Reidelbach has put suggested conditions in a staff report to the extent that commissioners feel like they would like to propose additional conditions that mitigate the impacts of the proposed use.

Thank you so on that note we've got some conversation to take up on what Rick has suggested and what explicitly Tim's put out there before us about so figuring out a way just to create a parking pattern that might in fact send the signals to not park close to the building to perhaps think about what are their ways in pushing parking or

Well, I know that Rick and Karen at least have spoken about these in the past, but if there was going to be solar arrays, there are examples that we've all seen from all over the world, actually some in this country, of shaded bicycle parking areas that then serve as a place where solar arrays are on top of them.

So if something like those kinds of things were adjacent to the building,

and they could service the building, but then they could also be a place that would encourage a positive place for bicycles to be left.

And those usually have some sort of locking mechanisms as a component of them.

It's a big one outside of the airport in Barcelona.

So how would we come to a place of adding that as a condition?

Well, I don't think we get into the specifics of it, but I think that these are the kinds of ideas that would be part of the record

Karen and Rick weigh in and others weigh into those, then that becomes kind of a shopping list.

And I would just like to go back to the point about that you made, because it's a nonprofit, we don't put anything onerous on them.

But if they have the political clout, then if they have, if we don't tell them how they have, what they have to do to get the improvements, it's making them reach out to the adjacent neighborhood where there have been some issues, obviously,

and then if they work, if they know that they have to come up with some sort of plan or proviso for that, then they can use their political clout with the county and VDOT to try to get improvements.

So I would say I think we could, without getting into the very specific details, because I don't think we want to sit here and redo the site plan.

But we could say that we would like to see additional bicycle facilities added to this development.

And I don't know, Councilor Herrick, if that is too vague.