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Planning commission recommends denial of Beaver Hill mobile-home park expansion over watershed, plan conflicts
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Summary
The Albemarle County Planning Commission voted 4–2 on April 28 to recommend denial of a rezoning and special-use permit that would add manufactured-home units at Beaver Hill, with staff and many residents citing risks to the Beaver Creek Reservoir watershed and inconsistency with the county comprehensive plan; the applicant and housing advocates stressed the project’s affordability and historic use.
The Albemarle County Planning Commission on April 28 recommended the denial of a rezoning and special-use permit that would expand the Beaver Hill Mobile Home Park near Crozet, citing conflicts with the county’s rural-area policies and risks to the Beaver Creek Reservoir watershed.
Senior planner Tate presented staff’s report, saying the 47.38-acre parcel north of 3 Notched Road includes an existing nonconforming manufactured-home park and that the applicant seeks to rezone about 23.23 acres from rural-area zoning to R-4 residential to add approximately 49 manufactured homes. Tate told commissioners that while the proposal includes an affordable component, staff concluded the rezoning and special-use permit are inconsistent with the comprehensive plan’s rural-area and growth-management policies and raised water-supply and riparian-buffer concerns; staff therefore recommended denial. "The proposal is inconsistent with the county's growth-management policy," Tate said, and noted the property lies within the Beaver Creek Reservoir watershed.
The applicant, Justin Schimp of Schimp Engineering, framed the project as an expansion of an existing community and a source of naturally occurring affordable housing. Schimp said the park dates to the 1960s, that there are roughly 40–43 existing units and that the proposal would result in about 92 units in total. He told the commission the applicant will meet Housing Albemarle requirements and revise proffers to keep affordable units for the longer term. "This is a site that essentially established the character of the area in 1965 as a community, affordable community," Schimp said, and argued the site’s proximity to the Crozet development area makes it uniquely positioned for this housing type.
Public comment split along environmental and housing lines. The Piedmont Environmental Council’s Rob McGinnis said PEC supports infill affordable units within the existing manufactured-home community but warned against greenfield development inside the Beaver Creek watershed and urged applying AC 44 criteria that prioritize protection of public water supplies. Adjacent landowners and other residents urged denial over concerns that mass grading, new roads and driveways, and new wastewater infrastructure would increase sediment and runoff into the reservoir; several speakers said trees had recently been removed from riparian areas. "Construction of the proposed roads, utilities, and home sites will require mass grading resulting in substantial areas of soil disturbance only 1,500 feet away from the reservoir," McGinnis said.
Supporters of the rezoning, including representatives of Livable Seaville and Crozet residents, stressed the county’s pressing affordable-housing needs and argued that manufactured housing is a low-cost, durable option close to jobs and services. Michael Monaco of Livable Seaville said the site is "a perfect opportunity to create manufactured housing specifically because this is an expansion and improvement upon an existing neighborhood." Several supporters asked for specific environmental mitigation commitments rather than a blanket denial.
On technical infrastructure questions, the applicant and staff said the park uses a privately owned pump station and that the Albemarle County Service Authority (ACSA) would not accept ownership of the station as currently proposed; staff and commissioners discussed conditions to require on-site water-quality treatment and buffer restoration. The applicant said it was prepared to revise proffers and to apply a 30-year affordability term for newly proffered units (the application initially cited a shorter term).
After extended deliberation, the commission voted to recommend denial of both the zoning map amendment (ZMA 2024-00007) and the special-use permit (SP 2024-00021), with commissioners Brown, Firehawk and Commissioners Carazana and Murray voting to recommend denial and Commissioners King and Moore dissenting. The commission’s recommendation carries to the Board of Supervisors, which will make the final decision.
Votes at a glance ZMA 2024-00007 (Beaver Hill Mobile Home Park) — Motion to recommend denial adopted, 4–2 (Brown, Firehawk, Carazana, Murray: recommend denial; King, Moore: opposed). SP 2024-00021 (Beaver Hill Mobile Home Park special-use permit) — Motion to recommend denial adopted, 4–2 (same tally).
What happens next The commission’s recommendation and the staff record will be transmitted to the Board of Supervisors for a final decision. If the board takes up the application, it may accept the commission’s recommendation, approve the rezoning and special-use permit with conditions, or make a different determination. The applicant has indicated willingness to revise proffers and mitigation commitments if the matter proceeds to the board.
