City Staff Disapprove First Site Plan Application for Greenbrier Development
The developer is expected to submit a revised second application.
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
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Fredericksburg City planning staff last month completed review of the first site plan application for a 199-unit residential development on the site of Greenbrier Shopping Center.
Staff have disapproved the application, “pending the correction” of a number of items, according to the 11-page long comment memo posted online.
Among other items, staff have asked the applicant to
Address questions about ownership of utilities easements that exist on the site.
Update lot sizes to reflect the required minimum for two-over-two and quadplex units.
Add a “6-foot opaque fence” along the property line between the development and the Altoona subdivision.
Demonstrate that trucks accessing Royal Farms will be able to turn out of the site.
Add pedestrian crossings across Route 3 and Altoona Drive.
Show sidewalk connections to Royal Farms, Cookout, and Metro Diner.
Provide more details about open spaces
Consider adding additional plantings to enhance buffer with neighboring houses, and consider incorporating public art.
Complete a traffic study and “consider the traffic distribution on Altoona Drive.”
Show street improvements on Apache Terrace, which the application proposes to extend.
Provide an analysis of sewer and water lines to show that they can handle increased use.
Add two Fredericksburg Regional Transit bus stops, one with a shelter.
The Virginia Department of Transportation also reviewed the application and asked for a justification of proposed new entrances from Altoona Drive into the development and a study or justification that the number of turn lanes at nearby intersections will be adequate to handle the “anticipated increase in traffic.”
Staff also asked the applicant, Kettler, Inc./RK Greenbrier LLC, to respond to the 89 comments submitted by the public, which total 119 printed pages.
All of the submitted public comments expressed concerns about the development, especially with increased traffic on Route 3 and the potential impact on city schools, public safety, infrastructure, and the neighboring residential developments of Altoona and Huntington Hills.
The proposed development is permitted by-right in the Commercial Highway zoning, meaning it is not subject to a recommendation from the Planning Commission and approval by City Council.
Because the applicants are not requesting a rezoning, there are no proffers for schools, public safety, or infrastructure.
Staff last week posted a memorandum online that addresses frequently asked questions about the Greenbrier Place development.
It notes that the small area plan for the Route 3 corridor, approved by Council in 2017, identifies underused shopping centers such as Greenbrier for redevelopment that should “more fully embrace a mix of uses including residential.”
“The Route 3 commercial strip is a prime candidate for retrofitting with upgraded commercial, office, and high-density residential development,” the Small Area 3 plan states. “As this redevelopment occurs special attention must be paid to respect the transition to protect T-3E neighborhoods including Oak Hill Terrace to the north of Route 3 and the Altoona subdivision to the south.”
The Q&A memo also highlights that the city’s Comprehensive Plan, most recently revised last year, identifies housing access as “one of the most acute problems faced by City of Fredericksburg residents today.”
“To meet rising housing demand, about 2,400 new housing units are needed in the greater Fredericksburg region every year for the next 25 years,” according to the Comprehensive Plan. “Since there is little vacant land left within city limits for greenfield housing development, the primary option available to Fredericksburg for increasing housing supply is to redevelop existing, under performing (usually commercial) properties as housing or as mixed-use.”
The memo notes that the development has to comply with minimum 40-foot setback requirements from the property line with Altoona subdivision, and that buildings within 150 feet of the property line cannot exceed 35 feet and 3 stories.
Also according to the memo, the city is waiting on a “formal traffic study” to be submitted for review, which will “provide a detailed analysis of traffic generated by this project and will take into account existing traffic along Route 3, from Altoona Subdivision, and adjacent commercial businesses.”
Traffic improvements “must be addressed prior to any approval of the pending application,” the memo states.
At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, Susanna Finn, who represents Ward 3 which includes the Greenbrier site, said that public comments have been shared with all Council members and that staff have “taken a really deep look at them.”
“[We are] looking to see what opportunities the city may have to flex and massage that plan to make it a beneficial neighborhood for all,” she said.
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