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Planning commission accepts applicant’s request to defer Seek rezoning after extensive public comment
Summary
After hours of staff presentation and public testimony on transport, schools and preserved slopes, the Planning Commission accepted Riverbend Development’s request to defer action on the Seek property rezoning to Dec. 16, 2025, for revisions on density, affordable-housing terms and other clarifications.
The Albemarle County Planning Commission opened extensive public hearings Sept. 9 on ZMA 2022-02, the SEEK property rezoning application, and after more than two hours of staff presentation, applicant remarks and public comment, the commission accepted the applicant’s request to defer final action until Dec. 16, 2025.
Cameron Landrell, a principal planner with the county, presented staff’s analysis of the 62.4-acre site at the southwest corner of the I-64/Route 29 interchange. The application requests rezoning six parcels from R-1 and HC (highway commercial) to the Neighborhood Model District, a planned district. The submission would allow up to 1,200 dwelling units (19.2 units per acre gross, 22.6 net), 440,000 square feet of nonresidential space (minimum 50,000 sq. ft.), 20.1 percent minimum open space (12.55 acres), public utility connections to ACSA water and sewer, and a request to re-designate about 5.1 acres of preserved steep slopes to be disturbed for roads and utilities.
Staff recommended approval, concluding the application generally meets the Southern and Western Neighborhoods Master Plan land-use and density recommendations, and that the benefits — off-site and on-site transportation improvements, open space and a proffer of 15 percent of units at 80% AMI under the housing policy in effect at the time of application — outweighed concerns. Staff flagged school-capacity impacts at Red Hill Elementary and Monticello High School as the primary concern and noted the application does not propose mitigation for additional students.
The applicant, Riverbend Development, represented by Ashley Davies, described the site as a mixed-use gateway that could provide neighborhood-scale housing, employment, a transit stop and a trail connection to the 340-acre Hedgerow Park. The developer said the preferred access scheme — a full-movement, signalized intersection on Route 29 plus a right-in/right-out entrance and internal public streets — was the safest feasible option after multiple alternatives were explored with VDOT and county staff. Riverbend also committed to off-site park-and-ride improvements along Teal Lane equivalent to construction of 25–30 parking spaces.
Public testimony was lengthy and largely critical. Neighbors and area residents raised safety concerns at the I-64/Route 29 interchange and asked whether planned state improvements (including a VDOT pipeline project to reroute some truck movements) would be sufficient. Speakers also flagged school overcrowding, disturbed “preserved steep slopes,” uncertainty about the usability of the proposed open space (much of which is buffers within VDOT right-of-way), light and noise impacts, and doubt that trail and greenway links would be delivered. Some members of the public urged a stronger emphasis on commercial or light-industrial uses to provide jobs and taxable land, while others urged downsizing the residential intensity or guaranteeing deeper affordable-housing commitments.
Commissioners asked detailed technical questions about the preserved-slopes analysis, traffic modeling, phasing of infrastructure (water, sewer, roads) and the basis for the application’s wide ranges for units and commercial square footage. Carl Holtgren of Grove Slade, the project's traffic engineer, explained the traffic impact analysis used recent counts (finalized in September 2023), applied growth rates to a future build-out year and modeled a conservative mix of uses to identify the improvements that would be needed if the site developed to high intensity. The applicant said key public improvements — the signalized intersection, the internal public roadway and planned park-and-ride upgrades — would be part of phase one construction, and anticipated a multi-year buildout (applicant estimated at least 10 years for full buildout).
After the public hearing closed, the applicant requested time to revise the application to narrow the range of allowable uses and density, refine affordable-housing commitments (including evaluation of the county’s tax-abatement incentive), and remove “self-storage” from the list of allowable uses. The Planning Commission voted to accept the applicant’s request to defer consideration and scheduled the item for the Dec. 16, 2025 meeting so staff and the developer could return with a revised package.
