Planning commission recommends denial of Flow dealerships’ steep-slopes rezoning in Pantops

The Albemarle County Planning Commission voted Feb. 25 to recommend denial of a zoning map amendment that would have reclassified preserved steep slopes as “managed” on three properties housing Flow Automotive Group dealerships in the Pantops area.

What the applicant sought: FLOW 1381 Richmond LLC and FLOW 1357 Richmond LLC asked to rezone areas of the steep-slopes overlay from preserved to managed to allow expansion of service/parking for the Flow Toyota and Flow Mercedes dealerships. The parcels back onto an intermittent stream and a constructed stormwater outfall.

Staff analysis and recommendation: Planning staff recommended denial. Planning Manager Rebecca Ragsdale told the commission staff found the preserved slopes met the criteria for preservation in the county ordinance and noted a prior 2016 rezoning and proffer had explicitly preserved those slopes. Staff said a narrow tradeoff limited to slopes directly tied to an existing stormwater facility might be supportable, but the applicant’s full request to reclassify the entire preserved area did not meet the preserved-slopes…