James City County residents will get the opportunity to voice their opinion on a new metal detector ordinance at a community discussion Thursday.
The discussion comes after a new ordinance was passed by the Board of Supervisors in January that would allow for people to use metal detectors on Jamestown Beach Event Park.
The county’s code previously did now allow for the use of metal detectors at county parks. The new ordinance would allow the parks and recreation director to determine specific areas where the hobby would be allowed.
Alister Perkinson, the county’s parks administrator, said the change came following years of requests from residents and visitors. He added that recently there seemed to be more requests for a change to allow metal detecting so the county decided to consider its options.
“When we started doing some research, we found that most other localities in the area do allow for metal detecting on man-made beaches,” he said.
It was mentioned during the Jan. 14 meeting of the Board of Supervisors that other counties usually require permits and fees to do the metal detecting. However, James City County will not have that kind of program and instead wants to ease into allowing the activity with as little complications as possible.
The ordinance’s guidelines will potentially allow for metal detector use only between the months of October to April, the off-season for tourism, and at Jamestown Beach Event Park, which is a man-made beach, Perkinson said.
“We want to allow it there because we put that [beach] in its place,” he said. “That area has already been disturbed.”
However, since the ordinance passed Perkinson said there has been concern for the historic and archaeological impacts. While the area where metal detecting would be permitted is a man-made beach, locals want to make sure guidelines for the ordinance prevent the potential for activity in historical areas.
The guidelines for the ordinance haven’t been fully fleshed out, Perkinson said, and that’s why it’s important to have community feedback at the meeting on Thursday.
“What we really want to do is make sure we can be able to try and balance allowing a recreational activity like this while also protecting and preserving the local area,” he said.
The guidelines should be set in the weeks following the meeting, but there is not a set timeline for their completion.
The meeting will be from 6 to 8 p.m. at the James City County Recreation Center.
For those who cannot attend, input can be sent to Parks and Recreation officials by emailing [email protected] or by visiting the department at 5320 Palmer Lane, Suite 2A.
For more information, visit James City County online.
