The James City County Planning Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to recommend the Board of Supervisors approve two special-use permits for additions to Carolina Furniture and New Zion Baptist Church.
The owner of Carolina Furniture, Joseph Steele II, applied for a special-use permit for an approximately 3,000 square foot addition to the existing building, which is intended to increase the showroom space of the store. Steele’s plan to expand also includes refacing the building to include an 18th-century façade designed by Rick Moberg, President of James River Architects. Moberg is also the chairman of the York County Economic Development Authority.
The building will also get an updated roof because the existing roof is water-damaged as a result of leaks.
Steele owns two parcels of land, a small parcel along Richmond Road where Carolina Furniture is located, separated from a larger parcel by the Moose Lodge. A small strip of land connects the two parcels owned by Steele. County staff proposed the property line between the two properties be eliminated to prevent buffer issues. The existing buildings are too close to the property lines, so merging the parcels would add a buffer of 20 feet or more.
Steele and the owner of Moose Lodge will enter into a signed contract recorded as part of the land deeds for the two properties to share the parking spaces at the Moose Lodge. Because of county regulations, Carolina Furniture will need 132 parking spaces for the size of the store once expanded. When Steele’s two properties are combined, a total of 111 parking spaces will be available but the contract with the Moose Lodge will make available 183 spaces.
The commission voted unanimously to recommend approval of the special-use permit to the board. Robin Bledsoe said the improvements to the façade will be a beautiful addition.
“It’s also a good indicator that the economy is starting to chug back to life,” said Stonehouse District Planning Commissioner Rich Krapf of the fact the store is expanding in a time when so many businesses are closing.
New Zion Baptist Church, at 3991 Longhill Road, applied for a special-use permit to expand by about 1,600 square feet and add 21 new parking spaces to accommodate its space needs for the young adults’ Sunday School program. The building expansion would be in the form of two eco-friendly modular units. Evergreen shrubs would be planted along the property line to shield the view of the new units from neighboring land. The commission voted unanimously to recommend approval of the special-use permit to the board.
At-large Planning Commissioner Tim O’Connor highlighted a few items from the 2012 Planning Commission Annual Report, saying the population of the county increased by 1.4 percent last year. O’Connor said 379 homes were built last year, which was a slight decrease from 2011 when 393 homes were built.
The commission also voted for a new chairman and vice chairman for the year. Powhatan District Planning Commission member Al Woods was unanimously voted to serve as chairman after serving last year as vice chair. Krapf was unanimously voted to serve as vice chairman.
