Development plan change for Crozet takes back burner

By Brandon Shulleeta

Published: November 12, 2008

A Crozet lumber company’s bid to expand its business by altering Albemarle County’s Comprehensive Plan has taken a severe hit, with the company’s proposal at best said to be “on life support.”

County planning commissioners voted 6 to 1 on Tuesday against further studying the proposal to expand the county’s growth area around R.A. Yancey Lumber Corp. If the proposal wasn’t killed, it was left “on life support,” Commissioner Eric Strucko said after the meeting.

The upside of the proposal, which ultimately aimed to have 148 acres rezoned, was that it would have provided employment opportunities in the Crozet area, said senior county planner Rebecca Ragsdale, noting that the property, which sits along U.S. 250 westbound, has access to a major highway with an interstate interchange. The proposal also would have provided additional light industrial space in the county - some officials say there is insufficient affordable land available for industrial use.

However, many officials believed the negatives outweighed the potential benefits.

“Frankly, I think this is a bad idea,” Michael Marshall, chairman of the Crozet Community Advisory Council, said during a public comment period.

Marshall said the proposal defies the Crozet Master Plan, which outlines a plan for development in downtown Crozet. The master plan was drawn with clear boundaries and an expansion could become an open door for development outside the designated area, he said, possibly turning parts of U.S. 250 into a commercial strip.
County planners recommended that no further study be done on the proposal but if there is further study, it should be done in conjunction with the five-year update of the Crozet Master Plan.

Look for additional details—including a look at the possibility the proposal could be resurrected—in Thursday’s Daily Progress.