Albemarle planning commission recommends rezoning of Rio Road West site, sends ZMA 2025‑00001600 to supervisors

The Albemarle County Planning Commission on the evening opened a public hearing and recommended approval of ZMA 20250001600, a rezoning application for four parcels on Rio Road West that would change the properties from Commercial Office to the Neighborhood Model district and allow a multifamily development with a minimum of 28 and a maximum of 153 units.

Cameron Landrill, principal planner in the county’s community development planning division, told commissioners the staff recommendation is to approve the rezoning because the proposal is “consistent with the county’s growth management policy,” meets the small‑area plan’s form and site design standards in practice and provides transportation improvements, including an eight‑foot sidewalk along the Rio Road West frontage. Landrill also noted two special‑exception requests tied to the ZMA — to waive the mixture‑of‑uses requirement and to reduce the small‑area‑plan amenity default — which are acted on by the Board of Supervisors, not the commission.

The applicant’s code‑of‑development proposes retaining five existing townhomes, adding new multifamily structures with podium parking, and setting a range of 28–153 units (approximately 8.7–47.8 dwelling units per acre). Kelsey Schlein, a planner representing the applicant, said the team intends to provide 20% of units at 60% area median income to meet Housing Albemarle goals and that the project would include about 16% on‑site amenities and roughly 20% green space. Schlein said the project team chose the Neighborhood Model approach after concluding form‑based street and radius requirements for Station Lane would have required extensive redesign: “we worked with staff… and ultimately elected after a year or so of going through the process to develop under neighborhood model district,” she said.

Commissioners asked about pedestrian connectivity, park access, and school impacts. Staff described a proffered 10‑year reservation area that could be dedicated to the county to provide a future vehicular and/or pedestrian/bicycle connection to an adjacent county parcel that Parks & Recreation may someday develop as a park. On schools, Landrill said the staff estimate was that, at maximum density, the development could add about 20 elementary students; staff later cited school‑system projection data showing Agner Elementary is currently one student under capacity this year but projected to be 45 students over capacity in the 2035–36 school year (October 2025 projection figures referenced by staff).

A remote commenter, identified in the hearing as Dean Wenger, asked how many students Agner is currently over capacity and whether units would be mostly two‑ or three‑bedrooms; the applicant said units will be a mix of one, two and three bedrooms, “so predominantly one and twos and then some threes as well.” The applicant said buildout would begin with site‑plan permitting and move forward in the next two to five years depending on phasing.

Commissioners who spoke in the discussion praised podium parking and underground stormwater approaches, urged careful facade articulation along Rio Road and thoughtful design of the space between the existing townhomes and new buildings, and emphasized the value of a safe walking connection to Agner Elementary. After discussion, a commissioner moved to recommend approval of ZMA 20250001600 for the reasons in the staff report; the motion was seconded and the commission voted unanimously: Miss King, Miss Firehawk, Mister Claiborne, Mister Murray and Mister Moore all recorded “Aye.”

The commission’s recommendation advances the rezoning to the Board of Supervisors, which will consider the special‑exception requests and take the final action. Commissioners and the applicant noted several follow‑up items for later stages, including façade and site‑plan details, parking and any edits to the code of development to remove uses of concern.