If things go as planned, the James City County Board of Supervisors may be reviewing two Kingsmill expansion plans at its July 8 meeting.
The board was slated to take up consideration of a plan to sell 18 Kingsmill cottages as homes at its Tuesday meeting, but Xanterra requested a deferral shortly before the meeting.
The board is tentatively scheduled to take up review of a plan to add another 147 homes to the neighborhood at its July 8 meeting – the same day the cottage plan is rescheduled to be considered.
Over the past year, Xanterra has submitted various plans to James City County for new homes. The company has repeatedly made changes to the plans based on community and county staff input, but was able to push the cottage plan through the Planning Commission on a 5-0 vote, with one commissioner absent and one abstaining.
As citizens have been commenting about the proposed plans throughout the review process, one repeated suggestion was to bring forward the whole plan rather than a piecemeal plan. The July 8 meeting could give the citizens what they want, if Xanterra does not request any other deferrals and the 18 cottages and 147 single-family homes, condominiums and townhomes go up for review.
The Cottages on the James are under development, with five cottages already built, but they were originally planned to be vacation homes, meaning owners could not occupy the cottages for longer than 60 days. If the board approves a request to change that proposal, the cottages could be occupied for any period of time.
If the cottages are to become residential homes, Kingsmill homeowners say they cannot be accepted into the homeowner’s association without their approval.
The neighborhood is bound by a set of restrictions, which residents say require a two-thirds majority vote to include new homes within the HOA. Residents also say the restrictions require all new homes to be included in the HOA, so if the residents vote to disallow the homes, they should not be built.
While resident comments have been pouring in about the neighborhood restrictions, the county is not bound to consider those when making its determination. County Attorney Leo Rogers told the Planning Commission the neighborhood restrictions – and whether they are violated – are a private matter within Kingsmill; the county is not be liable for them.
At its Tuesday meeting, the Board of Supervisors opened the public hearing on the cottages and heard from four speakers against the change and one in favor. The public hearing was left open for the July meeting.
Related Coverage:
- JCC Planning Commission Offers No Recommendation on New Kingsmill Expansion Proposal
- JCC Planning Commission to Review New Plan to Add 147 Homes to Kingsmill
- Planning Commission: Kingsmill Resort Can Sell Cottages as Homes
- Kingsmill Owner Withdraws Plan to Build 207 Homes
- JCC Commission Defers Decision on Xanterra’s Plans to Expand Kingsmill
- Plan to Expand Kingsmill to Go Before JCC Commission Today
- Kingsmill United Moves Forward in Attempt to Become Voice for Residents
- Kingsmill Resort Hosts Info Session on Latest Plans for Xanterra Development
- JCC Meeting Fills in Kingsmill Residents on Xanterra-Planned Development
- Xanterra Submits Plans to Build Hundreds of Houses in Kingsmill
