[EyesOnIvy] Daily Progress 9/7/04: Ivy residents rally against office

[Brian Wheeler]

Rain or shine we will start the rally tonight at 5:00PM at the County Office
Building!  If it is raining outside we will be in the lobby near the
auditorium.

Brian Wheeler

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Ivy residents rally against office
By Julie Stavitski
Daily Progress staff writer
Tuesday, September 7, 2004


Ivy residents will again raise concerns tonight about a construction
company's plans to build an office and maintenance facility on 27 acres off
Morgantown Road.

The Albemarle County Planning Commission will have a look at the final site
plans for the new headquarters of Faulconer Construction Co., which now
operates off Woodburn Road. County staff recommended approval of the plan.

Members of the Ivy Community Association, however, will protest the project
in a rally an hour before tonight's meeting. The association held a similar
rally before a Planning Commission meeting in February 2003.

Residents have said they are worried about construction equipment on a road
traveled by schoolchildren and other public safety issues.

"The noise, the water, the traffic - they're all public safety issues," ICA
President Brian Wheeler said.

Senior Planner Yadira Amarante said both county staff and the Virginia
Department of Transportation have found no safety problems with the final
plan.

"The staff and VDOT always look at public safety issues," Amarante said.
"All public safety issues have been addressed by Faulconer, both on and off
site."

Faulconer, which employs about 150 people, develops roads and bridges in
Virginia and North Carolina.

The proposed site is located off Dettor Road, in the Ivy Business Park area.
MusicToday and Mailing Services of Virginia are also located in the business
park. The Faulconer site is zoned for light industrial use.

The preliminary site plan was first filed in 2001, and the zoning
administrator said that activities proposed for the new site fit within the
zoning district. Abutting property owners appealed the zoning
administrator's decision to the Board of Zoning Appeals.

"We hadn't anticipated such an outcry," Amarante said. "It propelled the
plan into another realm."

In September 2001, the Board of Zoning Appeals affirmed the zoning
administrator's decision.

The Planning Commission evaluated Faulconer's preliminary site plan in
February 2003 and denied three waivers for parking requirements and critical
slopes on the property.

Meanwhile, Ivy Community Association members brought the case before the
Albemarle County Circuit Court in August 2003, but the zoning decision was
upheld. Planning Commissioners granted the waivers and approved the
preliminary site plan the next month.

Ivy residents are waiting to hear if the state Supreme Court will hear their
case.

Wheeler said the community association's goal is to fill Lane Auditorium at
the public hearing tonight, but added that it might be difficult to motivate
more residents to come out this late in the game.

"I think because we keep losing on the legal side, some have lost hope on
the site plan side," Wheeler said. "This is our last opportunity to make our
concerns known."

Contact Julie Stavitski at (434) 978-7237 or jstavitski at dailyprogress.com.