ARB recommends screening, 50‑foot limit for tall materials at West Ryer Road storage yard; forwards recommendations to Planning Commission

The Albemarle County Architectural Review Board on March 3 reviewed a revised concept plan for a storage yard at 71400 West Ryer Road (Ferguson Waterworks/BND Holdings) and recommended a set of landscape and screening changes to reduce visibility from the entrance corridor before forwarding the plan to the Planning Commission.

Valerie Long, attorney for the applicant, said the updated plan reflects a recently received ALTA survey and limits outdoor storage so it does not expand beyond the area historically used by the prior owner. Long said the applicant had revised the plan to keep materials taller than an 8‑foot perimeter fence at least 50 feet back from that fence, which places taller materials roughly 100 feet from the right‑of‑way.

County staff (Chris, planning staff) told the board that design and zoning comments had focused on visibility of the existing and proposed nonconforming storage areas and recommended several measures to reduce views into the site from the railroad entrance corridor. Staff said the updated concept plan shows additional shrubs and planting areas to screen the rear storage area and that a revised planting plan now includes lower shrubs intended to reduce visibility of stored materials.

Valerie Long said the applicant also had pulled the storage boundary back to match existing asphalt in places and proposed to retain existing vegetation along the eastern and western property edges. She offered renderings showing the proposed berm, plantings and a new fence along the Ryle (Ryer) Road frontage and noted most of the planting was not strictly required by the special‑use permit but was included to improve corridor appearance.

Board members raised two recurring points: whether to require additional screening along the western property line where the storage area turns the corner; and whether shrubbery alone along the east edge of the employee parking lot would be sufficient to screen potential tall objects in the rear. ARB member Tara suggested adding a tree or two near the parking‑lot entrance to provide height where needed; others supported a modest shrub continuation around the corner rather than extensive new plantings placed on existing asphalt.

In response to board concerns the applicant offered to remove the eastern corner of the storage area (the portion in purple on the concept plan) from the proposed outdoor storage boundary rather than attempting to plant in existing pavement. Based on that and the supplemental plantings shown on the updated concept plan, the ARB voted to recommend approval to the Planning Commission with revised conditions: provide screening shrubs along the western side of the storage area "to turn the corner" from the frontage toward the rear, and add trees in the planting area east of the employee parking lot entrance in the location discussed at the meeting. The board also directed staff to strike an earlier requested item to expand screening that the applicant said would be difficult to implement on existing pavement.

Votes were recorded as aye by the members present (Vanderwerff; Mitsuno; Stoner; Hancock; Henningston; others present), and the board approved the recommendations to be included in the staff package to the Planning Commission.

The applicant and staff will refine planting details and final site‑plan items for Planning Commission review; the board noted the revised concept plan aims to bring the rear nonconforming storage area closer to conformance by adding shrub screening and by removing the problematic eastern corner from the storage area.