The James City County Board of Supervisors is set to discuss a $1.3 million-dollar easement purchase to protect 158 acres of county land using the county’s Purchase of Development Rights program – if approved, it will be the biggest single expenditure in the history of the program.
The Purchase of Development Rights (PDR) program is a voluntary program created in 2001 that pays landowners to protect the cultural and natural resource assets of their property. It allows landowners to enter into agreements to sell the development potential of property to the county while letting landowners keep the right to continue to own and use the property.
David and Stephanie Allen, owners of the 158 acres at 2001 Bush Neck Road, have agreed to terms for a conservation easement on their property. The county’s PDR committee recommends that the county acquire the easement for $1.3 million.
“This would be the largest parcel and the largest [one-time] expenditure in the program’s history,” said Assistant County Administrator Doug Powell. The project has been in the works for a while, Powell said.
The Board is set to talk about this purchase at its regular meeting Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Building F of the county government complex on Mounts Bay Road.
If the Board approves the purchase, it will leave the county with a balance of $637,156 in its PDR account.
Read more about the county’s PDR program on the county website.
