Crozet’s proposed Windy Knoll development project finally reached the Board of Supervisors in September, where it was approved on a 5-1 vote with only White Hall District representative Ann Mallek voting against. Justin Shimp of Shimp Engineering, on behalf of property owner Edward Carrington VII, requested a rezoning to build 18 infill units on a 3-acre, C-shaped set of parcels that sit between Cory Farm and Liberty Hall near the Clover Lawn shopping center.
Crozet residents who live near the area have repeatedly asked for revisions to the proposal that would reduce the project’s density and respond to neighbor’s concerns about stormwater management, road access, parking, tree preservation, private-property boundaries, and a lack of community engagement by the developer. The plan was deferred at a February Planning Commission (PC) meeting and that body later rejected it in May, but the commission’s vote is only a recommendation (not binding) to the board, which has the last word in zoning decisions.
At root, the debate came down to a difference in priorities between the two deliberative bodies: which was more important, affordable housing and density in a growth area or existing residents’ quality of life and the “human element” of design? In the end, Shimp’s argument that the project’s layout adhered to both the Crozet Master Plan and the county’s growth management policy and provided critically needed infill housing in a development area, along with county planning staff recommending approval on the same basis, won over most of the supervisors.
Lines of Logic
Neighbors said the 5 to 1 Planning Commission vote margin against the project was significant and the board’s decision will set the tone for future action. “We know that what remains within the Crozet Growth Area is largely other unusual parcels like Windy Knoll, little bits of former farmland and family subdivisions that have not yet been sold off or upzoned,” said Julianne Price, whose home sits in the middle of the project’s ‘C.’ “I believe that the board has an opportunity tonight to set the tone for how current residents within and around infill parcels are treated.”…