Albemarle ARB approves Route 29 form‑based code text changes, raises minimum tree size for boulevards and avenues

Albemarle County senior planner Mariah Gleason told the Architecture Review Board on Nov. 3 that the proposed ZTA‑2024‑01 revisions to the Route 29 form‑based code clarify coordination with the Virginia Department of Transportation and add technical standards for street trees and pedestrian lighting.

“If VDOT standards prevent compliance with standards in this section, the agent may grant substitutions or modifications,” Gleason said, explaining a provision designed to avoid blocking development approvals when state roadway standards conflict with the county’s code.

The amendment package standardizes recommended tree spacing and favors smaller planting distances on narrow, lower‑speed streets while recommending larger planting strips where feasible. Gleason said tree wells in the code carry a separate soil‑volume requirement (750 square feet) but continuous landscape strips do not, and that larger trees sometimes require engineered soil systems such as SilvaCell, which can be costly for developers.

Board members pressed staff on canopy, scale and long‑term maintenance. The ARB discussed the tradeoffs between larger canopy trees that create street enclosure and higher maintenance needs where trees abut buildings, and the practical limits that narrow planting strips impose in urban cross sections.

To supply a common reference the staff memo included size categories used in the code: small trees typically 20–40 feet; medium 40–50 feet; and large 50–70 feet. The board debated whether boulevards and avenues should allow small trees or require a larger minimum size and ultimately favored a clearer floor for those street types.

Gleason also explained proposed pedestrian‑lighting standards. The draft sets sidewalk/shared‑path horizontal illuminance between 0.5 and 3.0 foot‑candles and sets maximum pedestrian‑fixture mounting heights at 15 feet for most streets and 20 feet for entrance‑corridor roads such as Route 29 and Bridal Road. Photometric plans will be required at the site‑plan stage to demonstrate compliance.

After further discussion about species flexibility and supply issues at nurseries, a board member moved to approve ZTA‑2024‑01 as amended: revise tree types for boulevards and avenues to medium or large trees, and consider allowing additional tree species to be approved by staff or the agent under special conditions. The motion was seconded and the ARB voted aye (Mister Stoner, Mister Hancock, Mister Matsuno, Mister Vanderwerth); the motion passed.

The approved revisions apply to developments that opt into the Route 29 form‑based code area and are intended to support pedestrian safety, continuity of street character, and alignment with the county’s entrance‑corridor guidelines. Staff and board members noted that final details such as lane widths, medians, and sidewalk cross sections will be coordinated with VDOT and determined at the site‑plan or public‑realm design stages.

The ARB also adopted the minutes of the Oct. 27, 2025 meeting earlier in the session. The board confirmed it will meet again Nov. 20, 2025 to address items that require action.