JAMES CITY COUNTY — Last week, the James City County Board of Supervisors was presented with a proposal to allow a 2.75-acre space off of Monticello Avenue to be used for commercial property.
The proposal was first presented to the James City County (JCC) Planning Commission in August of this year before moving in front of the board, as all Special Use Permits and Zoning changes are required.
The Weight of Citizen Feedback
When WYDaily reported the project, many citizens commented on social media expressing their displeasure with the decision and the need to understand how citizen feedback plays into the government approval process.
Ruth Larson, Chair of the JCC Board of Supervisors (BOS), was asked about the negative citizen feedback, “When your complaint is — oh, there are so many empty storefronts here — understand, we can’t force an applicant. This particular application (Monticello Avenue Shops) followed the comprehensive plan. The applicant did everything they were supposed to do.”
“The last time we had an applicant for that space, I believe, it was for a barbeque restaurant. And we said ‘Too much! Too much!’ And, so, I was looking at the whole (application) package going, well, I have staff telling me this is a good idea, the applicant has done these things, it goes with our comprehensive plan — if I don’t say this is OK and I leave this board then the next board could come along and say ‘Oh, yeah, let’s put in a barbeque restaurant!’ I have to think of those things as well. If I say no, what could the next person in my seat decide they are going to approve? Which may not be something compatible with the comprehensive plan.”
Regarding the Monticello Avenue Shops approval, “If they didn’t develop there, they could possibly have gone further away from a commercial district, pushing sprawl out. Instead of keeping commercial areas together. Larson continued, “Do I wish all that every building was full? Do I talk to my economic development department and say, Hey we have this empty building over here, are we going to try and fill it? Of course they are!”
“There are all these different things that we have weigh,” stated Larson. Including the guidelines that the BOS have to follow, “Public comment does matter. Feedback does matter,” said Larson.
“We do listen to public comment and it does weigh in on our decisions. Just because a decision may go a different way that somebody commented on, that doesn’t mean that comment was not thoroughly listened and read about.”
Larson stated she does not weigh the difference of email versus in-person feedback, “if someone reaches out to me, it is equal weight to me.”
“Sometimes, it really does make a difference, if a supervisor gets an email, they may go to planning and ask a question that maybe they would not have thought to ask if the citizen had not said something in their correspondence.” Larson explained, “There are a lot of times that something comes from a citizen that does cause questions to be asked.”
“The best thing to do is communicate with your supervisor. I would say — most of us — are really good about trying to be responsive and doing what we can,” said Larson.
“Our phone numbers and email are on the county website. Instead of (writing a comment on social media) they can call us directly. Call me up! If you want to say, ‘I’m mad at you because you didn’t vote this way.’ I will have a conversation with you about why I did this, let’s talk about it.” Larson said.
Communicating with Your Supervisors
Any JCC citizen who wishes to voice their concerns can do so in a number of ways.
Public Comment, as defined by JCC, is an opportunity to speak to any matter that is not related to a Public Hearing and is germane to the work of the public body. Priority will be given to those who have indicated they are speaking to an agenda item or topic not subject to a public hearing (i.e.: Consent Calendar or Board Consideration).
Public Hearing, defined by JCC, is an opportunity to express an opinion on, for or against, a specific issue on the agenda under the heading of Public Hearing(s).
Public hearing notices are posted on the JCC BOS webpage. JCC Speaker Form can be found here.
In addition to attending and watching government meetings, Supervisor emails can be obtained via the Freedom of Information Act, as they are public records.
According to the JCC BOS webpage, there is now a call-in option for public comment and public hearings for meetings of the James City County Board of Supervisors.
To participate, call 757-253-6762 to record a comment that will be forwarded to all board members for their consideration prior to the meeting.
Recorded comments must be submitted no later than noon on the day of the meeting. Please give your name and address and limit comments to five minutes or less.
Participants can also submit comments via email to the Board of Supervisors or attend meetings in person. The meetings stream live online and broadcast live on Cox Cable channels 88 and 48 in James City County and in the City of Williamsburg.
Past meetings are available on demand.
