Up to 85 new homes proposed via rezoning in town of Louisa | News
Two landowners are proposing to rezone land in the town of Louisa near the Tanyard and Pine Ridge neighborhoods to allow up to 85 new residential units.
VSHI LLC and Fred Bickley will ask the town planning commission to recommend rezoning roughly 11 acres from light commercial and residential to planned unit development for the Timber Oaks project. The zoning change will provide the flexibility to build commercial businesses, multifamily units and single-family houses on three separate parts of the property.
The application submitted to the planning commission calls for up to 60 multifamily units, which could be duplexes, townhouses or apartments; 25 single-family detached homes; and two commercial lots fronting on Jefferson Highway (Route 33). The main entrance to the development would be across from the Sage Building and next door to Quiet Lane trailer park.
A subdivision plan that VSHI LLC previously submitted to the town includes another 36 single family detached houses with access to Pine Ridge Drive. The town code allows these homes by right without changing the zoning.
The development’s density would be greatest closer to Jefferson Highway, where multifamily homes are planned. The height limit for duplexes, apartment buildings or townhomes would be 60 feet. Closer to Tanyard, the housing would shift to single-family units with a 40-foot height limit.
About four acres of open space is proposed, including “amenities such as a park, playground, dog park and tree preservation areas,” according to the draft code of development.
If the rezoning is approved by Louisa Town Council, the landowners plan to build a road connecting Jefferson Highway and Pine Ridge Drive. The landowners submitted a transportation impact statement that says that a right-turn lane is warranted for traffic coming from the center of town to enter the new neighborhood, but a left-turn lane is not needed for traffic coming toward town.
The commercial buildings, with a combined footprint of up to 15,000 square feet, could host retail stores or services; offices; restaurants; or motor vehicle repair businesses.
Louisa County records show that VSHI is owned or managed by Rob Duncan, a developer with an address in Earlysville in Albemarle County. Bickley has a Louisa County address.
Plans for the new neighborhood come as almost all of the lots have been built on in Countryside, a large residential development at the west end of the town.
The public hearing at the planning commission meeting begins at 5 p.m. on May 31 at Louisa Town Hall, 212 Fredericksburg Avenue.
