The James City County Board of Supervisors has deferred voting on an initiating resolution that would direct county staff and the Planning Commission to review regulations — or lack thereof — protecting drinking water supplies.
Supervisors voted unanimously during a meeting Tuesday night to put the resolution on the agenda for the board’s next regular meeting on Nov. 13.
Supervisor John McGlennon said there has been a request to further discuss the resolution before voting on it.
He added there are future opportunities for public input and for talking to “folks who had concerns about this.”
If approved, the resolution would require the Planning Commission to develop a proposal to amend the county’s Zoning and Subdivision Ordinances for address protections for water supplies.
“It’s important for us to investigate this issue,” McGlennon said, adding he had no issue delaying the resolution until the next meeting.
There are no existing James City County policies that specifically address the distance possible chemical hazards, such as gas stations, can be located from drinking water.
The issue briefly resurfaced in May when McGlennon brought up protecting water supplies during a meeting between the Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission.
To highlight the issue, McGlennon referenced an application by the Peninsula Pentecostals church to rezone a property in Grove — McGlennon’s district — several years ago.
The application, approved unanimously by supervisors in 2015, allows construction of a 2,400-seat megachurch gas station, childcare center and restaurant in the 9200 block of Pocahontas Trail, although nothing has been built yet.
While the application was approved, there were concerns in a staff report about building a fueling station because the property’s western boundary is a tributary stream for Skiffes Creek.
