Albemarle County, which includes Charlottesville and the University of Virginia, is considering a change in its zoning ordinance that would eliminate swim and tennis clubs, golf course and similar recreational facilities as acceptable land uses for special-use permits in rural areas. The ban could jeopardize plans for possible future development of a new Trump National Golf Club near an existing Trump Winery.
Virginia’s Albemarle County is considering a change to its zoning ordinance that would eliminate swim and tennis clubs, golf courses and similar recreational facilities as acceptable land uses for a special-use permit in the county’s rural areas, Charlottesville (Va.) Tomorrow reported.
“This is sort of a carryover debate from what we had during the Comprehensive Plan review several years ago,” Ann H. Mallek, who represents the White Hall district on the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors, told Charlottesville Tomorrow.
Approximately 95 percent of the county lies in the rural areas, with the other 5 percent specifically designated for growth and development, Charlottesville Tomorrow reported, and athletic facilities are currently only allowed in the rural areas with a special-use permit, which requires the approval of the Board of Supervisors.
During the last update to the county’s Comprehensive Plan, a document that guides future land use, the Board of Supervisors discussed the extent to which such facilities should be allowed in the rural areas, Charlottesville Tomorrow reported. The Comprehensive Plan, adopted in 2015, ultimately called for a review of zoning regulations “to see whether updates are needed to better reflect rural recreational activities that should be available by special-use permit in the rural area.”
The plan specifically takes note of swim, golf and tennis facilities, which it notes are often located in or close to the development areas, Charlottesville Tomorrow reported. “Consideration should be given to removing these uses from the list of available special uses in the rural area,” the Comprehensive Plan reads.
If the county’s Board of Supervisors adopts the zoning text amendment, Charlottesville Tomorrow reported, it could prevent the future development of the Trump National Golf Club in Albemarle. Eric Trump, President Donald Trump’s son, has previously proposed building the golf course on the former estate of Patricia Kluge, near the existing Trump Winery.
That project faced a major hurdle when the Virginia Outdoors Foundation, which holds a protective conservation easement on the property, expressed opposition to the proposal, Charlottesville Tomorrow reported. The proposed course also would have required a special-use permit.
The plans were submitted in 2013, but the proposal is currently listed as withdrawn in county records. C&RB reported in 2013 on how a deadline was missed for making a complete application to the county. (http://clubandresortbusiness.com/2013/09/trump-misses-deadline-charlottesville-va-property/).
In a 2015 article in Washingtonian magazine, however, Eric Trump was quoted as saying, “at the right time, I think [a golf course] would be a great complement to that property.”
In April, supervisors approved a resolution of intent that would allow them to consider removing “swim, golf, tennis or similar athletic facilities” as land uses allowed with a special-use permit in the rural areas, Charlottesville Tomorrow reported. Existing facilities would be grandfathered-in and allowed to continue operating.
At their most recent meeting on July 5, supervisors received an update on the process, Charlottesville Tomorrow reported, and county staff members now plan to hold an open house to receive public feedback on the potential zoning text amendment by August 31. A work session and a public hearing also would be held with the Planning Commission before supervisors make any final decision on the amendment.
Supervisor Rick Randolph, who represents the Scottsville district, said that the process of considering the amendment is part of finding a balance between economic development opportunities and protecting the character of the rural area.
“It’s just wise for us as stewards of the future of this county to be thinking about the kind of facilities that are going to be operating in the rural area and try to mitigate as much as possible the negative effects, impacts [and] consequences of facilities that could come in and pose a clear danger to the customary usage and practices of people living in the rural area,” Randolph told Charlottesville Tomorrow. “It’s all in an effort to provide a balance.”
Randolph noted the changing environment of the rural area over the years, which has seen the development of numerous farm wineries and breweries. The Board approved new regulations for farm wineries, breweries and distilleries earlier this year, Charlottesville Tomorrow reported.
Neil Williamson, President and Executive Director of the Free Enterprise Forum, opposes the proposed amendment and said that the special-use permit process allows the county to address potential negative impacts of recreational facilities, Charlottesville Tomorrow reported.
“A special-use permit allows the county to set conditions to mitigate impacts,” Williamson said. “I have trouble believing that there wouldn’t be any golf, swim or tennis club that could mitigate the impacts of their existence at all.”
“A golf course, specifically, takes a great deal of land,” he added. “If this is enacted as elimination, the only place a golf course could go would be in the development area, and that is completely against good planning principles when they are trying to densify the development area.”
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