Several parcels of land in James City County are up for consideration to be added to the county’s protected agricultural and forestal district.
The county Planning Commission will have six public hearings at their Wednesday meeting, which will be at 6 p.m. in the County Government Center Board Room, 101 Mounts Bay Road.
Of those six public hearings, five concern parcels of land proposed to be added into the agricultural and forestal district, a designation that preserves those parcels from future development.
The sixth public hearing scheduled for Wednesday concerns the James City County Service Authority’’s College Creek pipeline project, which proposes building an approximately 1,100-foot, 14-inch water main under College Creek, along the south side of Route 199 east.
The full agenda can be found on the James City County meeting section of its website.
AFD parcels
There are several parcels of land that are requesting to be designated as part of the agricultural and forestal district.
Those parcels include:
- 4450 Ware Creek Road Croaker
- 365, 358, and 382 Ivy Hill Road Mill Creek
- 9888 Sycamore Landing Road Croaker
- 4928 Fenton Mill Road Croaker
- 8328 Diascund Road Mill Creek
The agricultural and forestal district in James City County protects the rural nature of the parcels it encompasses. When the land joins the district, it must only be used for farming or forestal activities, such as production of crops, orchards, horticulture and livestock. It can also be used for the creation of lumber, pulpwood, posts, Christmas trees and other wood products for farm use or sale.
Owners of property in the district also pay less in taxes because designated forestry or agricultural land is assessed at a lower value.
Staff reports state there there are no unfavorable factors of the requests. The planning department also suggests the Planning Commission recommend the Board of Supervisors approve the applications to add the parcels to the AFD.
The applications were previously recommended for approval by the AFD Advisory Committee on Jan. 24.
College Creek pipeline project
The James City Service Authority, through construction engineering company Rummel, Klepper, & Kahl, has applied for a special use permit to build a 1,100-foot water main under College Creek.
The pipeline would be built on land owned by the Virginia Department of Transportation and help provide “reliable and efficient water service” to the area, a planning staff report states.
The new water main is required because the current one is in need of “major” repair.
The proposal also includes a co-location of fiber optic cable that will “add support to the County’s commitment to provide a cost effective high-speed information service,” according to agenda documents. The cable will also serve Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools.
Impacts to traffic will be temporary; the project should take two to three weeks, documents say.
After the proposal is heard at the Planning Commission meeting, it will then move on to a future Board of Supervisors meeting.
