Planning commission recommends approval of Brookhill rezoning to add 300 units; applicant to provide 20% of new units as affordable

The Albemarle County Planning Commission on July 8 recommended approval of a zoning map amendment that would increase Brookhill’s maximum residential capacity by 300 units, from 1,550 to 1,850, after a public hearing and applicant presentation.

Rebecca Ragsdale, planning manager, told commissioners the requested change is a focused amendment to the site’s neighborhood model development. “The change is limited primarily to a request to increase the maximum number of units within the development from 1,550 by 300 units to 1,850,” Ragsdale said in her staff presentation. She also said staff found the proposal to remain consistent with the Places29 master plan’s density and land-use recommendations and that agencies reviewing transportation impacts concluded the existing transportation proffers were adequate to cover trips from the additional units.

The applicant, Riverbend Development, presented materials showing the rezoning affects roughly a 27-acre portion of the 277-acre Brookhill project. Ashley Davies of Riverbend said the company has…