Planning commission recommends Living Earth School special-use permit for nature-education campus near Walnut Creek Park

The Albemarle County Planning Commission on March 11 recommended approval of a special-use permit for the Living Earth School to establish a nature-education campus on a roughly 287‑acre rural property adjacent to Walnut Creek Park.

Staff summary and proposal

Scott Clark of the county’s Community Development department presented the application, which proposes: up to eight weeks per year of summer camp with as many as 250 overnight campers, year-round day and overnight programming with a 100-person cap for other weeks, up to 12 events per year of 200 or fewer attendees, and up to six fundraiser or community events per year for up to 500 attendees. The proposal would site a welcome pavilion, a main camp hall, cabins, up to six staff residences, primitive tent-camping areas and a riverside pavilion.

“Under by-right residential development, the property could be subdivided into about 23 dwellings,” Clark said, noting the camp’s footprint is concentrated in a small portion of the property and that staff judged the proposed layout to generally have less overall impact than full residential buildout. Clark also said the applicant has requested a critical-slopes waiver for a small entrance area and that VDOT had no objections to the Red Hill Road access.

Public safety, water and septic

Fire-rescue staff requested and staff recommended conditions requiring a 20-foot improved emergency access route to ensure two-way access for responders; the commission made that a recommended condition. The applicants have submitted a central water and sewer request that is under review by the health department and state agencies; staff recommended deleting a stand-alone condition requiring health-department approval before zoning clearance because that approval already comes through other code and permitting channels.

Public comment and concerns

Neighbors and other speakers offered both support and concerns. Supporters and longtime Living Earth participants and board members described the organization’s nature programs and urged preservation of the campus for environmental education. Several neighbors, including Mark Jackson, said they support the school’s mission but raised questions about wildfire risk and stream impacts; Jackson asked the commission to rule out using White Oak Creek as a water source for firefighting because of potential ecological impacts.

Applicant responses and conditions

Hub (founder/executive director) and planner Kelsey Schlein said the campus design concentrates development on higher ground and preserves roughly 83% of the site as forested area. Hub described the school as a long-term conservation and educational use and said the program will include forest stewardship and habitat monitoring. The applicant asked that larger community events require shuttle service only when attendance exceeds 200 (staff had proposed shuttles for events above 200 attendees in the recommended conditions) and requested limited amplified sound at the welcome pavilion during daytime hours.

Commission discussion and vote

Commissioners generally praised the proposed educational use and its adjacency to Walnut Creek Park while asking for clarity on traffic, stream buffers and the scope of events. The commission voted to recommend approval of SP-2024-022 with the applicant’s requested edits (including the shuttle threshold and removal of the duplicate health-department precondition); the commission added the required emergency-access improvements and a requirement that the applicant submit an emergency-access plan prior to opening.

Quotes in context

Hub, Living Earth School executive director: “I stand here today, not for me, but mostly just to keep providing something like we do in the community for this. … This land, I’ve looked at a lot of properties and the people that helped buy it for us are conservationists. Our goal is to protect this land the best we can for the long term, and protect the resources, but also use those resources to educate the next generation.”

Mark Jackson, neighboring property owner: “We don’t know if fires will definitely be built in the primitive camp areas. It’s our hope they will not… We summarily oppose any use of White Oak Creek for firefighting or other purposes which would negatively affect the habitat, the stream flow.”

What happens next

The Planning Commission’s recommendation will be forwarded to the Board of Supervisors. If supervisors approve the permit, the applicant will proceed to detailed site-plan and permitting reviews that will address septic/well approvals, any water-supply requirements, emergency access improvements and final layout.

Outcome (vote)

The Planning Commission recommended approval of SP 2024-022 (Living Earth School) with updated conditions by unanimous roll call vote.