A little more than two months after the York County Board of Supervisors approved large-scale events like weddings at bed and breakfasts, Bay Tree Manor has become the first bed and breakfast to apply for one of those permits.
Bay Tree Manor has asked to be able to have up to 160 guests on the premises during weddings and receptions, with the events being held in a tent located off the south side of the building. That tent would be on the end of the property that does not share a border with a house.
Of the properties that border Bay Tree Manor — which is located in Seaford, near where Seaford Road, Bay Tree Beach Road and York Point Road intersect — all are undeveloped other than a parcel to the north and west.
A set of documents from the Planning Division that outlines the permit proposal said Bay Tree Manor has operated from its current location for more than three years without any evidence of adverse effects on neighbors. Bay Tree Manor is surrounded by large parcels of vacant land that have a limited potential to be subdivided, according to the planning staff.
Paige Stephens, who along with her husband Mark owns Bay Tree Manor and its 9.45-acre plot of land, said she has already received quite a bit of interest from people who are looking for wedding venues.
“There seems to be a lack of wedding venues in Yorktown,” Stephens said. She said Bay Tree Manor has had a lot of success with word-of-mouth references, leading to many phone calls from prospective couples.
Bay Tree Manor was originally built as a hunting lodge in the 1930s. Stephens said stories of the building include such luminaries as former President Franklin Roosevelt, and actors Gregory Peck and Raymond Burr using it as a hunting retreat due to its seclusion. The Stephens bought the property shortly after Hurricane Isabel resulted in its condemnation. Mark Stephens, a building contractor by trade, restored the property.
Prior to the supervisors’ July approval of zoning ordinance language that permits bed and breakfasts to host large-scale weddings and receptions, such events could still be held but were restricted to registered guests staying at the bed and breakfast. In the case of Bay Tree Manor, that meant the only people who could attend such an event would have to be staying in the four rooms available for guests.
Stephens said her neighbors have been supportive.
“We asked them before we started the bed and breakfast, and nobody seemed to have any problem with it,” she said. “We get quite a bit of business from our neighbors who have family come to visit.”
The proposal asks to use land on the north side of the driveway that runs along the northern part of the parcel for parking. According to the Planning Division staff analysis, that land contains “ample room” for up to 90 vehicles to park. A 25-foot evergreen landscaped buffer would need to be installed along the northern property line to screen the vehicles from abutting properties. Staff from the Virginia Department of Transportation said they were not concerned by the amount of traffic the venue would generate if given the green light to begin hosting the events.
Members of the York County Planning Commission will consider the proposal at their Wednesday meeting, when they will make a recommendation to the supervisors whether the permit should be issued. The York County Planning Division staff, who are tasked with analyzing the proposals and preparing a presentation for the commissioners and supervisors, recommend that the commissioners recommend the permit for approval.
The commissioners will discuss the proposal at their Wednesday meeting. That meeting starts at 7 p.m. and will take place at York Hall. A public hearing will be held at that meeting concerning the proposal, where anyone can sound off on the matter.
Related Coverage:
