York Hall played host Wednesday to a rally and a public hearing concerning farming rights in the county, with more than 100 people showing up between the two events.
The rally attendees gathered with signs and stickers repeating a simple message: Don’t alter property rights in the county.
“My total concern is that I’m seeing the destruction of freedom in Yorktown,” said Del. Brenda Pogge (R-96), “which is ironic because this is where freedom was born.”
Pogge, Seaford oyster farmer Anthony Bavuso, Dandy resident and oyster farm owner Greg Garrett and others addressed the crowd during the rally. Both Bavuso and Garrett have been locked in a battle for years with the county over whether they may use their properties as part of their oyster farms.
The rally and subsequent public hearing were both connected to a trio of options developed by York County staff after 61 residents of the York Point subdivision in Seaford submitted a petition to York County Supervisor Don Wiggins earlier this year asking him to take action to curb farming activities in their neighborhood to preserve their property values.
Wiggins then asked county staff to investigate the issue, prompting the creation of the three options for changing the zoning ordinances in some areas of the county. Get a precise breakdown of the three options and what they affect here.
The rally ran for an hour before the start of a public hearing hosted by the York County Planning Commission on the potential changes. The commission has been tasked by the York County Board of Supervisors with reviewing the potential zoning changes and offering feedback. The commission scheduled Wednesday’s hearing to gain feedback from the public, prompting a group of citizens — including Bavuso and Garrett — to schedule a rally for an hour beforehand.
During the rally, Pogge referred to the attempt to try to curb farming rights as “draconian,” while Bavuso referred to the plan as an attempt by the Board of Supervisors to convert York County into York City. York County resident Mary Leedom referred to the potential changes as “unjust” and “illegal.”
The speakers at the rally focused many of their remarks on the importance of personal property rights.
“When you buy a piece of property and you know it’s yours, it’s egregious when the government tries to take it away from you,” Pogge said in an interview following her speech. “[The options under consideration are] a reduction of [York County residents’] freedoms, and I’m opposed to it.”
After the rally, many of the attendees went inside York Hall for the public hearing, where 41 people spoke before the Planning Commission.
The first part of the hearing was dominated by York Point residents. Bavuso lives in that neighborhood, and many of the York Point residents mentioned him by name while citing their support for one of the options, which would rezone York Point into a new zoning classification that forbids any commercial farming.
“We want to be protected from a residential subdivision becoming the site of a commercial oyster business,” said Bill Clack, a York Point resident. “I believe the politically charged atmosphere we’ve seen here tonight and throughout the entire process is an effort to cloud the issue and intimidate those who make a decision.”
Several other York Point residents expressed similar viewpoints, mentioning the debate between Bavuso and his supporters and the residents of the neighborhood who oppose his oyster farming as having created a deep rift in the neighborhood.
“I would like to see York Point remain a quiet residential neighborhood without the commercialization of oyster farming,” York Point resident Ted Hemmert said.
Several speakers expressed their frustrations with the three options and how they would affect the entire county instead of only the neighborhood that prompted their drafting.
“I feel very strongly about my waterfront property rights,” York County resident Beth Wilson said. “If you consider these zoning laws, you will be throwing out the baby with the bathwater. Consider work on performance standards to address the issues.”
Another York County resident said he supports the rules as they are currently written and that a neighborhood issue should not spread to the rest of the community.
Some of the speakers who opposed the changes blasted the York County Board of Supervisors. The supervisors voted unanimously May 6 to begin the process of considering a rezoning of York Point to the new designation that would prohibit farming.
“This board of supervisors thinks they can take and do anything they want with our property and not have any consequences,” said York County resident Wesley Thomas. “If we need to have another revolution, we will, because this is about property rights. It’s not just about an oyster farm or two oyster farms.”
Several of the speakers spoke to the character of York County, with some saying the county was now a suburban municipality while others pointed to its agrarian roots.
“York County’s shore line is developing,” said Eric Ancarrow, one of Bavuso’s neighbors who supports the option to rezone York Point. “It’s no longer the undeveloped, rural area it was 30 years ago.”
Bavuso spoke during the hearing, pointing to feedback gleaned from the public during the recent comprehensive plan review that showed support for the county’s rural and agricultural background.
“This is not about York Point, not about oysters, this isn’t about me or [Garrett], this is about people who want to turn our community into Newport News, into York City,” he said.
Several of the people who spoke in opposition of the potential changes came from outside York County.
“We have to protect our rights here in Virginia, and we need to put a stop to the erosion of rights that have been taking place,” Fauquier County resident Dan Gisselquist said. “We’re gathered here today because this government refuses to acknowledge the existence of or reflect upon a higher law than itself.”
Toano resident Keith Sadler said he was speaking because “it’s about constitutional rights, freedom and patriots sticking together.”
A couple speakers took issue with planning commissioner Tim McCulloch for not recusing himself from the commission’s deliberation on the three options. McCulloch, who lives next door to Garrett, operates an oyster farm using commercially zoned land next to his Dandy home.
“I believe I can participate in this discussion and in the actions of the planning commission fairly, objectively and in the public interest,” McCulloch said prior to the start of the hearing.
The planning commissioners did not offer their thoughts on the matter following the hearing. They will host a work session at 7 p.m. May 28 at York Hall to continue their analysis of the three options. Their thoughts on three options are due back to the supervisors by the end of June.
Related Coverage
- Greg Garrett Seeks to Clear Dandy Oyster Farm with York County
- York Supervisors to Consider Plan to Bar Farming, Accessory Apartments from York Point
- Land-Use Debate Pits York Point Residents Against Each Other
- York Planners to Study Proposed Zoning Changes That Could Erase Farming on Thousands of Properties
- Ag Bill Lessens Local Control of Aquaculture; Regulatory Options Remain for York County
