Significant development is planned for areas directly north and west of Forest
Lakes. These and additional areas surrounding Forest Lakes are part of the
county's
Growth Area and will eventually all be developed. How some of these areas
will be developed (or maintained) will be determined as part of the county's
planning and rezoning process. As such, we encourage you to get involved in
the planning process, express your concerns, desires, and provide input
to help maintain and enhance the quality of life we have in this area.
Residents can
subscribe
to information via Email automatically from Albemarle County concerning
upcoming Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission meetings.
July 27th 2011 MPO Meeting Public Hearing: Here
are
comments from FLCA
Board member Scott Elliff to the MPO during their meeting
regarding the bypass on July 27th.
July 26th 2011 Town Hall: A Town Hall on the
potential Western Bypass was held Tues, July 26th at Baker-Butler Elementary School.
Supervisor Ken Boyd and VDOT official James Utterback
received input and answered questions regarding the Bypass
proposal, including the questions/ comments that the
Forest Lakes board has submitted to the Board of
Supervisors and the Metropolitan Planning Organization
(see below).
A flyer with new information was distributed over the
weekend to your mailbox: according to VDOT staff emails,
the current design would close off Ashwood Boulevard and
eliminate access to Route 29. A copy of the flyer can be
found
here.
July 5th FLCA Special Board Meeting:
Here are the
draft
minutes from the special FLCA Board meeting that was
held on July 5th regarding the Western Bypass, and
subsequent
comments to the Albemarle Board of Supervisors from
FLCA Board member Scott Elliff.
Dominion Power Transmission Line Upgrade
January 2012 -
Latest Update. Construction to begin February 2012.
N
ovember 2011 -
SCC Approval and Pre-Construction Activities to begin Nov 2011.
August 2011 - see
this
flyer for udpates.
Mar 2011 - see the
Final Process
Update for the latest information on Dominion's
application process.
Feb 2011 -
See the
February newsletter
for updated information,
including survey results regarding the types of poles that
are being considered in Forest Lakes.
Project Timeline:
COMPLETE - November 18, 2010 - Open House: Review Process,
Gather Community Input
COMPLETE - December 7, 2010 - Final Community Advisory Group
Meeting; Finalize CAG Report
COMPLETE - February 2011 - Dominion
Files SCC Application
2011 - Summer - SCC Accepts Public
Comments; Possible Public Hearing
2012 - Spring - Begin Construction (pending
approval)
2014 - May - Project
Completion
Option C (for Forest Lakes): No new right-of-way will be
required. No additional clearing or tree removal or trimming
is anticipated. Structures will be very similar in
appearance to the ones there today, but taller with
symmetrical arms. The new structures will have 3 arms on
both sides, the distance between the arms is determined
based on the National Electrical Safety code and
requirements for clearance between phases. In addition to
the total of 6 arms that will hold electrical conductor
(wires), there will be two smaller arms at the very top of
the pole for our static wires, or lightening arrestors. The
structures through Forest Lakes today vary in size, but
average approximately 75' in height. The size of the new
poles will also vary, but will average 100' in height.
Additional information and photos of these types of
structures are available on the
Dominion Web site:
Comments may be submitted to Dominion at any time through
their Web site or you may e-mail the dedicated transmission
team directly at: powerline@dom.com.
Once the State Corporation Commission (SCC) has accepted our
application and set the schedule (see SCC process on our
website), there will be a window of time where the SCC
accepts comments from the public. I will send letters to
everyone on our mailing list once that schedule has been
established by the SCC, probably sometime in March 2011.
Carla Y. Picard
Manager, Electric Transmission Project Communications
Dominion Virginia Power / Dominion North Carolina Power
804-771-3455 (office) 804-517-3455 (mobile)
powerline@dom.com.
Places29 Master Plan and Growth
Area Expansion
February 2011: Thanks to your
input, the County Board of Supervisors rejected the plan to expand the
growth area. See the article in the
February
newsletter for details.
January 2011: Here is a
statement
regarding the FLCA Board's position
regarding proposed expansion of the growth area across from Forest Lakes
South, along with the statement
that Board member Scott Elliff read to the Board of Supervisors at a work
session on January 5th. Here is
more information, including
how to provide your input. Provide your input to the BoS
November 2010: Here are excerpts from the
Daily Progress / Charlottesville Tomorrow article regarding the proposed
expansion of the growth area proposal (see October 2010 paragraph below for
more info):
Also during the public hearing Wednesday night (Nov 10th),
a plan to expand the county’s growth area to accommodate a new commercial
area was removed from further consideration.
Developer Wendell Wood had requested a 140-acre growth area expansion south
of the Hollymead Town Center between U.S. 29 and Rio Mills Road on land that
is undeveloped and in the county’s rural area.
Staff had recommended approval of the Hollymead expansion in order to help
pay for the extension of Berkmar Drive, a major transportation component of
the Places29 plan. The master plan estimates construction of the bridge and
road will cost over $25 million.
Wood has previously said he will proffer payment for a portion of the road
and a bridge if granted the expansion.
The Forest Lakes Community Association opposed the expansion, citing the
potential for additional traffic congestion at the intersection of Ashwood
Boulevard and U.S. 29.
"Now is not the time for this expansion," wrote Ed Leary, one of more than
100 people who signed a petition calling on supervisors to reject the
expansion. "Maybe in the future, when the road infrastructure is in place."
Others said that there is already enough commercially zoned land in the
county. Jeff Werner of the Piedmont Environmental Council has calculated
that there is almost 2.5 million square feet of land zoned for commercial
retail development that has not yet been built, including land at Albemarle
Place, North Pointe and within Hollymead Town Center.
Though he supported the concept, Supervisor Boyd said he had to withdraw his
support.
"Because I was elected to represent Rivanna, I’m going to do what the people
said," Boyd said
October 2010:
Another poorly conceived development proposal has raised its head – the
parcel directly across Route 29 from Ashwood Boulevard. Despite the Places
29 plan for a westside road network from Hollymead Town Center across the
Rivanna River and down to Sam’s and beyond – to help relieve Rt 29
congestion and provide a way for shoppers to use that corridor to access
stores, some Supervisors seem to want to authorize development of this
parcel –a standalone “tongue” with no road access or infrastructure other
than Route 29 and Ashwood.The Planning Commission has opposed this
expansion and FLCA has spoken against it on multiple occasions, including
seeking
petition
signatures and direct owner involvement through the FLCA e-newsletter.
Places 29 continues to be reviewed, with Forest Lakes supporting the overall
plan and providing comments and tweaks to help ensure that development is
reasonably controlled and that the design of traffic improvements in our
area is thoughtful.
Sep 09: The County Planning Commission recently asked for public
comment on potentially expanding the growth area to allow additional
development along the east side of Route 29 between Polo Grounds Road and
Hollymead Town Center. The FLCA Board of Directors provided comments,
opposing this expansion due to concerns about traffic, transportation
infrastructure, and additional erosion and siltation of Lake Hollymead. You
can read the full comments
here.
Places29 is a community planning project that will help shape the future of
northern Albemarle County communities, including the areas surrounding
Forest Lakes. The Places29 planning process is underway and is
bringing residents, business owners and other interested parties together to
map out the best possible shared vision for this critical area of Albemarle
County.
Forest Lakes residents are strongly encouraged to attend and provide input at
Places29 public meetings that will shape the future of the Rt. 29 corridor
and growth area of which Forest Lakes is a part. For additional details,
including maps, see the
Places29 Web site.
We encourage Forest Lakes residents to get involved in the
Places29 Planning Process.
Rt. 29 and Ashwood Blvd Intersection
October 2010: Despite multiple, significant, specific
requests for the clearing of the Route 29 median at Ashwood Boulevard to
improve visibility and safety, neither VDOT nor the Board of Supervisors was
willing to do anything. VDOT indicated that clearing would not help
visibility and/or that it would be an expensive project, and BOS was
unwilling to push harder on this well-known problem. Forest Lakes has
repeatedly pointed out that this is a potentially dangerous situation and
that a combination of a front loader, some shovels and a chain saw could
make a big difference in a single day. We regret having to report this
result to the community.
Summer 2010: FLCA testifies to Board of Supervisors in support
of overall Places 29 Plan and highlights that there are still significant
problems at the 29 - Ashwood intersection, in particular the lack of
visibility to the north of the intersection for cars leaving Forest Lakes
and turning left (south) onto Route 29. The median is significantly
overgrown and is an accident-waiting-to-happen with a tractor-trailer
running the light going south.
Opposition to expanding the growth area to include a large parcel on the
west side of Route 29 opposite Ashwood Boulevard is also articulated in
Scott Elliff's statement. See also
entry on this page for November 2010 that more fully addresses the growth
area expansion proposal.
Summer 2008: An FLCA sponsored meeting to discuss safety
improvements for the Ashwood Blvd and 29 North intersection was held 7/1/08,
during which 160 residents attended. VDOT responded to residents concerns
by making the following changes:
- The speed limit of 29 North was reduced to 45mph between Polo Grounds Rd
and Airport Rd and new signs have been posted.
- Pavement markings, rumble strips, and flashing lights were installed to
warn drivers approaching the Ashwood Boulevard intersection.
- Brush and some trees along the road shoulders and median strip have been
cleared to improve visibility.
- VDOT is also working with the Albemarle County Police Department to make
shoulder improvements in that area to allow officers to conduct enforcement
operations.
- Flashing lights will also be installed to warn drivers on 29 when the
light is red.
In addition, FLCA moved the South Entrance sign further away from Rt. 29.
2008: Forest Lakes has
won
regarding the potential "trailer park" entry to our community. The Places29
plan is being changed so that the proposed jug handle intersection at
Ashwood will
not go through the trailer park - it will be moved to
the south side of Ashwood and will be shown as using the already
county-owned parcel, as we requested. Thank you for your involvement. The
newspaper article that discusses the situation and the resolution of it is
pasted in below.
The proposed "connector road" that we had also been most recently concerned
about has been significantly downgraded and a number of specific provisions
and assurances have been included, so that it would, in my personal opinion,
not
have any appreciable impact on our community.
That road would run from Polo Grounds Road somewhere near the SOCA site and
go west-northwest through the undeveloped property parcel south of Forest
Lakes, and terminate approximately at the new Ashwood-Route 29
intersection: it would not go through Forest Lakes at all; would be built
only in conjunction with the sale and development of that parcel, projected
well out into the future; would be designed as a two-lane winding road with
a low speed limit (25 or 30 MPH max) with some significant hills involved;
would be designed solely to provide an entry/exit access for residences in
that parcel when it's developed and not to accommodate any through traffic;
and improvements would be made to Polo Grounds Road itself at the same
time or beforehand. The North Free State Road that would have been an
extension of the long-planned but still unbuilt Meadowcreek Parkway, and
would have connected to Polo Grounds Road and brought traffic into this
area, is no longer on the Places29 plan. In the event that an "eastern
bypass" to connect the 29 North corridor with Route 20 is ever proposed at
some point in the future (no proposal exists today; the task force process
is in the early stages only), Polo Grounds Road would be one potential site
for it, and if it were ultimately selected then we would want to ensure that
it is designed appropriately so that local residential streets are not
involved.
With these conditions, I don't think the road above would really affect us
here in Forest Lakes. Naturally, anyone is welcome of course to continue to
express their own views on this as the process of finalizing the Places29
plan continues.
Other connector roads that would have affected Forest Lakes and that we had
opposed some months ago, through a written petition and other actions, had
already been removed from the Places29 plan.
We all want to retain the quality of life and superior property values we
have here in Forest Lakes. Your involvement has made a difference. We all
need to remain mindful and diligent of the continued development plans all
around us in order to continue to be successful in this regard.
Thanks again, Scott Elliff
Daily Progress Article Regarding the
Connector Roads
New County Development and Erosion Control Policy
Summer 2010:
Second phase of Hollymead Town Center is under construction, and is subject to
the new rules below. Scheduled opening date for Kohl’s is now spring 2011.
It appears to be a big improvement and we have not seen any significant silt
running into Lake Hollymead. If anyone sees any issue regarding grading,
seeding, and erosion control generally in this area, please tell the County
Planning and Community Development Department and let the FLCA office know
also.
Sep 09:
The county Board of Supervisors recently enacted tighter rules on developers to
help avoid the "moonscape" situation that occurred with the Hollymead Town
Center - Phase I, where the site was graded and left idle for a long period,
with little or no grass to hold the topsoil in place. For Forest Lakes, this
led to substantial erosion and run off that dumped tons of silt into Lake
Hollymead - we have all seen those "red water" days on the lake after
storms. FLCA owns half of Lake Hollymead (the Hollymead Citizens Association
owns the other half), and we have been stuck with the potentially
substantial costs to remove the silt and clean up the lake. In the future,
county developments will have a fixed nine month period before permanent
vegetation must be installed. In addition, major projects will, as
determined by the Supervisors, be required to have in place "state of the
art" mitigation measures that are designed to capture 80 percent of erosion
(vs. about 60% normally). These enhanced controls will apply to the second
phase of Hollymead Town Center (see write-up below), which was approved in
2007. Here is
an article about the new ordinance.
The Board of Directors supported these stronger measures, but has also pushed
for (1) more active country staff oversight, (2) addressing the cost of
siltation that has already occurred, and (3) developing tighter policies on
clean up of the remaining 20& of siltation that will still flow downstream
to communities such as ours. You can read
Scott Elliff's testimony
to the Board of Supervisors here.
If you are interested in helping to ensure that the new ordinance is followed,
and/or to help advance the other positions listed above, please contact the
FLCA Office.
The Hollymead Town Center is directly across Rt. 29 from Forest Lakes North.
The development currently includes Target, Harris Teeter, Petsmart, and
various other retail stores and dining establishments.
2009: The developer never followed through with any
support whatsoever for remediating the problems of silt in Lake Hollymead –
see below. Our Board of Supervisors representative Ken Boyd also failed to
take any action to support us. Forest Lakes began to collect special reserve
funds to handle the future prospect of dredging Lake Hollymead, and became
active in supporting tighter development controls, as noted above.
2007: Notes from the joint FLCA-Hollymead Hollymead Town Center
Forum on Oct 23rd, 2007 are available
here.
The county Board of Supervisors approved the next phase of the Town Center
at their September 2007 meeting. The Daily Progress
recapped the meeting. Board
member Jim Grace attended and spoke at the meeting on behalf of Forest
Lakes. The expansion was approved at the meeting but not until a promise was
made by the developer to assist Forest Lakes with rehabilitation of our
lakes due to silt runoff from the Town Center construction. Thanks to the
efforts of Jim Grace, this is a step forward toward preservation of our
lakes.
The North Pointe project is a commercial and residential development on
approximately 270 acres on Route 29 North, north of Proffit Road and 84
Lumber. It will include up to 893 dwelling units in single-family detached
homes, townhouses, and apartments and up to 664,000 square feet of offices
and retail commercial use.
2006: The Board of Supervisors approved the rezoning request for this
development on August 2nd, 2006 by a 4-2 vote.
In the July 25th meeting on Connector Roads held at Hollymead Elementary
School, Mark Graham announced that the developer had agreed to a timing
change concerning the construction of the southern most signalized
intersection on Route 29. This intersection will be constructed at the
beginning of the project which will require extensive regarding of the south
bound lanes of Route 29. This intersection is estimated to cost the
developer approximately one million dollars. The middle intersection
originally planned at the beginning will be constructed after 290,000 feet
of commercial space has been completed. This change had been requested by
the Forest Lakes Board in a letter to Ken Boyd, our County Board supervisor,
and the county planning staff.
Additional details on North Pointe
Estes Park is a proposed development behind the Worth Crossing townhomes and adjacent to the Arbor Lake townhomes and Arbor Lake. The following concerns were presented to the county development staff:
Arbor Lake Issues:
- The existing forests provide some run off protection for Arbor Lake. Since the trees will be clear cut, that buffer will no longer be available.
- The topography of the land will be changed to accommodate the homes. This will create a very steep slope at the south end of the property, which might lead to erosion issues.
- During construction the silt from the runoff will end up in Arbor Lake. This will lead to the need to dredge the lake at some point, which is extremely expensive. The cost would be borne by the residents of Forest Lakes. The current plan does not seem to have any kind of abatement program to prevent the condition.
Arbor Lake and Worth Crossing Residents:
- The residents currently enjoy some privacy provided by the wooded areas. The new construction and woods removal will lower the property values for these homes.
- The planned tree plantings will take many years to grow and still not provide the desired buffer between the properties. Is there to be a common area or will the properties abut each other.
- There is no proffer in the plan to build and maintain a barrier/fence between the Estes Park and Forest Lakes. The proximity of the properties would provide a clear path for the Estes Park residents to use the private facilities (paths, tennis courts etc.) that the Forest Lakes residents pay for.
Infrastructure:
- The additional 68 homes place an additional traffic burden on the current road systems. The plan to widen some of Profit road does not address this issue. Although the plans are not complete, it appears to be insufficient capacity for the additional traffic.
- Another concern is the capacity of the current school system to handle this development and others that are springing up in other close by areas (e.g. North Point).
Safety:
- As pointed out in the Forest Ridge meeting, there is a concern about the safety of the Forest Ridge residents and their children that currently have the relative safety of the cul-de-sac. Opening Moubry Lane to through traffic will increase the frequency and speed of the vehicular movement.
- Likewise, the planned access road north of the Worth Crossing town homes will bring a new traffic pattern onto Worth Crossing and directly next to the Child Development Center.
Please, include these concerns in the project folder for consideration.
Thank You,
Carmine Covais
Forest Lakes Director & ARB Chairman