The Albemarle County Planning Commission heard a request on November 25 for a rezoning of a small parcel at 5546 Three Notch’d Road (Rt. 240) to allow for greater housing density. The land, which sits about halfway between Starr Hill Brewery and the Crozet firehouse in the row of mostly older, detached homes that face the railroad tracks, and is currently empty. The property was acquired by the Greater Charlottesville Habitat for Humanity organization in 2024 with the intent to build an affordable two-residence duplex on the site.
To do so, Habitat needs county approval to increase the density on the 0.6-acre lot from its current R2 (two units per acre) to Neighborhood Density Residential (3-6 units/acre), which is the designated zoning for that whole stretch of parcels in the Crozet Master Plan. “The applicant would like to build a duplex on the property and then subdivide it into two individual parcels,” said county planner Cameron Langille. “They are requesting the rezoning because the R2 district just does not allow duplexes, and based on the parcel acreage, they need the higher density.”
A large stream buffer running across the center of the property means the new dwellings will be sited near the street, just like the surrounding houses, with two driveways running straight out to Rt. 240. “The applicant has put forth a proffer statement that commits to providing both of these new units as affordable units that would be consistent with the Housing Albemarle policy for rates and prices,” said Langille. This policy means that these homes will be offered only to buyers with incomes between 25% and 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI), depending on household size, for a period of 30 years. The 2025 AMI for Albemarle County was $125,800.
During the hearing, commissioner Julian Bivins questioned the precedent that might be set by approving the rezoning. “If this should go forward, it will significantly change the value of the land that is adjacent to it,” said Bivins, referring to increased land values due to greater potential development rights. “My hope is that there’s a way that this doesn’t [lead to] the taxes for those individuals [to increase] at a dramatic rate, because the houses that are there are very modest houses. I’m very concerned about how the adjacent properties don’t get appreciated out of existence.”…