Planners hold public hearing to amend existing special use permit for Claudius Crozet Park

ALBEMARLE COUNTY, Va. (WVIR) - The Albemarle Planning Commission held a public hearing Tuesday, March 23, to amend an existing special use permit for Claudius Crozet Park to allow for expansion of the community center to add a fitness center and an expansion of the pool.

Ultimately, the Commission decided to defer the plans indefinitely citing concerns about traffic and reducing greenspace.

Planner Daniel Bailey said he’s “supportive broadly of having increased facilities there if they’re done well and thought out” but he shares concerns about “safety and traffic.”

The project would have required a special exception to a requirement that pools and pool buildings must be 75 feet away from the property line.

The proposed structure would be 30 feet away from a boundary.

As part of the work, a second entrance to the facility would be built onto Hilltop Street.

People that live in the area next to the project say they have some concerns about the amount of traffic the expansion will have on the neighborhoods close by.

“Everybody knows that we are going to grow” said Jim Dunan. “I think everybody accepts that and most people want some degree of growth. It’s a matter of how we... that we balance that growth with the existing infrastructure is what everybody’s looking for.”

Parkside Village Homeowners Association and other neighbors wrote letters raising concerns about the proposal. They don’t want construction traffic to use the entrance onto Hilltop Street and want the entrance to remain used only for emergency access.