The James City County Planning Commission on Wednesday unanimously voted to recommend approval to the Board of Supervisors for rezoning the Forest Heights project.
It happened shortly after a public hearing for the project.
Commissioners, during their meeting Wednesday, discussed the negative and positive aspects of rezoning the 47.1 acres of the Forest Heights property.
The Board of Supervisors had deferred acting on the previous application for development because mixed-use zoning, which had originally been planned to be the location’s zoning, no longer seemed to work well with the area.
Instead, the area is considered for R3 residential redevelopment rezoning.
County staff found the proposed rezoning and special use permits to comply with the comprehensive plan because the proposed density, four units per acre, is consistent with the density in low and moderate-density residential use designations.
The Forest Heights area is designed as a townhome development at 6015 Richmond Road that would add 46 affordable living spaces, a storage-unit facility and residential dwelling unit for a storage unit caretaker, according to Planning Commission documents.
The development was first approved in 2011, and was subject to proffers from the applicant, Wayne Harbin Builder, Inc., and conditions under the master plan for Forest Heights.
Proffers are certain conditions a developer agrees to meet that are “for the protection of the community” and set when a development is approved, according to the Virginia Association of Counties. They are no longer allowed under law for residential developments in Virginia, but previously-agreed upon proffers are still enforced.
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In documents from the county, the project has both favorable and unfavorable qualities.
The proposal also meets the Adequate Public Schools Facilities Test. The test is applied to new developments that require special use permits or rezoning to see if there is sufficient capacity in the school system to accommodate the additional children created by a new development.
What makes the project attractive is that it will increase the overall density of the entire master planned area up to four dwelling units per acre. It will also increase the supply of affordable housing within the county because the applicant has proffered 100 percent of the 96 units to be offered as affordable.
For the 46 townhouse units, prices will be between 60 to 80 percent of the area median income, meaning they will be sold at $212,619 to $243,260. The 50 independent living facilities will be offered at prices between 30 to 60 percent of the area median income, ranging in price from $93,138 to $212,618, and be restricted to residents ages 55 and older, according to the documents.
Commissioners discussed the need for more affordable housing in the area and how the development could help fill the gap.
“There is a pressing need…for quality workforce housing in the county,” said the applicant’s attorney, Vernon Geddy. “And I think especially for low-income seniors given the demographic.”
