Planning Commission recommends approval of critical‑slope exception for 1000 Second Street SE

The Charlottesville Planning Commission voted to recommend approval of a critical‑slope special‑exception waiver for the parcel at 1000 Second Street Southeast, enabling limited residential development on a steep, previously graded sublot adjacent to XR Park.

City staff told the commission that project PL25‑0066 would affect a sublot zoned RA with a future land‑use designation of general residential and that the request seeks relief from the city's critical‑slope rules to permit disturbance for residential units. Staff recommended approval with conditions requiring advanced erosion‑and‑sediment controls, engineered retaining structures and a landscaping and revegetation plan using native species.

The waiver route exists under the Charlottesville code where slopes meeting certain steepness, area and proximity criteria are regulated; staff cited…