JAMES CITY COUNTY – A proposed mental health and substance abuse recovery facility in Grove drew concerns from nearby residents Wednesday as the James City County Planning Commission considered the project and questions about its size, security, staffing and community outreach.
The building at 8679 Pocahontas Trail was formerly a retirement home called Colonial Manor Senior Community. The proposal would allow the facility to serve up to 200 people for stays of about 30 days. The previous facility had 110 independent and assisted living units, according to documents presented to the commission. The proposed capacity would be reached by having patients share rooms.
The applicant, Pedro Becerra of BeBold Recovery, is seeking to change the zoning on the approximately 7.4-acre property to multifamily residential and receive a special use permit. The proposal would keep the same number of residential units currently on the property.
Unlike the previous facility, patient care would be fully inpatient, meaning patients would not be permitted to leave the facility during their stay,, keep personal vehicles on-site or have visitors. The facility would have a maximum of 25 employees on-site at one time, with three company vehicles kept on the property, according to the staff report.
While county staff recommended approval, saying the proposal generally fits the Comprehensive Plan and surrounding development, commission members and residents raised several concerns. They questioned how patient capacity could increase without adding to the property, as well as staffing levels, traffic, services and security.
Representatives for BeBold Recovery said the 200-person figure is the facility’s maximum capacity, not its target. They said the final capacity would depend on approval from the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services.
Representatives said the facility would use cameras, identity verification and tracking devices to monitor patients. According to the county’s staff report, the facility is not expected to generate significant traffic because it would provide inpatient care.
Commissioners also questioned the level of community outreach conducted before the proposal came before the commission. After commissioners questioned the representatives for the company, they confirmed they had done no community outreach.
Paulette Taliaferro, who lives next door, said she learned about the hearing only six days beforehand and raised concerns about incidents involving residents of the former retirement home entering her property.
Resident Casey Snyder said the lack of “meaningful analysis [had] seriously eroded the trust of Grove residents.”
Several other residents questioned the facility’s security, staffing and location in Grove, with one referring to the neighborhood as the county’s “dumpster.”
“Would a proposed 200-person substance abuse treatment facility have received the same lack of scrutiny if it were proposed in Kingsmill or Ford’s Colony?” Snyder said.
Several residents who said they had experience working at both retirement and substance abuse facilities said they are “nothing alike,” and took issue with the company presenting them as such.
Multiple residents also had safety concerns regarding prior incidents with residents of what they described as a halfway house on Magruder Avenue that houses several registered sex offenders. Resident Bryan Sevensma recalled an incident years prior when one of the house’s residents showed up at his house at 12:30 a.m.
“I can’t even fathom what 200 people is going to do to the neighborhood,” he said.
They also mentioned a school bus stop near the facility, as well as the community park planned for Grove.
“We do not want a facility that brings the community down,” resident Peter Watson said.
BeBold Recovery eventually requested a deferral to give itself time to meet with the community.
Commissioner Crystal Haskins said the hearing’s comments called for a conversation between the applicants and residents. The commission unanimously voted to defer the case until its Nov. 4 meeting, keeping the public hearing open so residents can speak again when it returns.
Other business
The commission unanimously approved a special use permit for room rentals at 900 Adams Road, sending it to the Board of Supervisors for final approval. County staff had not recommended approval, since the property fronts a local road and its Low Density Residential zoning isn’t one the county recommends for short-term rentals.
Commissioner Stephen Rogers said he’d driven past the home and believed the use fit the property and its accessory dwelling.
