Henrico Planning Commission endorses 55-plus community in West End

After much discussion, the Henrico Planning Commission endorsed a 55-and-up, age-restricted condo community in the Three Chopt District during its June 15 meeting.

The development, tentatively named “The Flats at Mayland,” would occupy 9.4 acres and house 262 condos ranging in size from 1,150 to 1,550 square feet at the northeast corner of Pemberton Road and Mayland Drive. After the commission heard concerns from staff and several neighboring residents, a representative of applicant Legacy Mayland Investments, LLC agreed to make several modifications to the proposal before it proceeds to the Henrico Board of Supervisors for final approval.

The most significant concern was the density of the proposed development and how that would affect traffic and parking in the area.

Neighbors noted that the intersection already sees significant traffic and said they expected to see back-ups waiting for turns into the development along both of Mayland’s existing two lanes, potentially affecting traffic all the way to Pemberton’s nearby intersection with West Broad Street. A representative of a neighboring residential development, Culpepper Farms, said that that community has more parking spaces per unit and still fills up its parking lot, so a new development could affect parking in the surrounding area and end up spilling into its parking spaces.

The speaker also commented about how close one of the proposed Flats at Mayland buildings would be to Culpepper Farms – a concern shared by planning staffers, who wrote in a staff report that “[a]s currently proposed. . . this development would benefit from decreased setbacks and a density higher than what is allowed by right in the R-6 District without the addition of commercial uses on the property.”

An earlier version of the proposal had included commercial uses but that those were removed because they would have further increased the likely traffic flow, according to Legacy Mayland Investments officials. The applicant’s traffic study indicated the intersection could handle another 7,000 cars a day, or double the current volume, and the development would only add approximately 1,320.

Right turn lanes that the applicant would install on Pemberton and Mayland, as well as a left turn lane on Pemberton to avoid blocking traffic, would assist with the flow of traffic, according to the applicant. Those road changes all would require Virginia Department of Transportation approval.

“We expect 65% of the residents will be over 65 and the last thing we want to do is a have a development with those buyers moving into a traffic jam,” an applicant for Legacy Mayland said. A representative from Henrico Traffic Engineering agreed that the intersection could handle the increased traffic.

The applicant explained to Tuckahoe District Commissioner Greg Baka that a study of rush-hour traffic would be needed to address concerns about possible back-ups at that time but added that one solution would be to extend the turn lane at the intersection. At the suggestion of Three Chopt Commissioner Melissa Thornton, the applicant agreed to address concerns by removing one building of 26 units from the proposal and shifting another building so it would sit farther from a neighboring development.

“The density is a lot for that are,” Thornton said. “A lot of the issues with the layout and parking can be addressed if the density is addressed.”

In response to comments from neighbors and commission staff, the applicant also agreed to add dedicated electrical vehicle charging stations, connect the planned sidewalks to existing ones, and provide more landscaping and green space at the corner of Mayland and Pemberton. The applicant also assured Baka that the planned underground stormwater management system would be able to discharge water from that development and run-off from Culpepper Farms even without the pond that currently sits on the property.