Town Crier Articles

On July 14th, James City County’s Board of Supervisors narrowly approved rezoning for Westwood Park, a largely residential development next to New Town on Eastern State Hospital surplus property with a 3-2 vote. Of specific interest to New Town residents, during the public hearing JCC staff announced that ABVA had added two proffers to their application to address access to the development – Proffer 16 stating “there shall be no access via Olive Drive to the property” and Proffer 17 to add an emergency vehicle access point during site plan development (tentatively shown as via the New Town Commercial Association maintenance facility area on Discovery Park Boulevard.) 

 

Stephen Rodgers, JCC Planning Commission member, reviewed the Commission’s April 2025 recommendation to deny, which was driven by concerns that the applicant had not done enough to mitigate stormwater and environmental impacts. He noted that ABVA had made several changes in the past year to help address these objections. Vernon Geddy representing the applicant, ABVA, and four JCC residents testified at the hearing with subsequent Board discussion centering on egress, reduced density, stormwater issues, and housing affordability. In response to questions, ABVA’s Michael Youngblood who developed most neighborhoods in our community, explained that of the proposed 139 housing units, he expects to sell the 82 single family homes for between $700,000 and $1 million, and the market rate townhouses would be in the $475,000 - $600,000 range. (At least 28 units are committed to be affordable housing.) 

 

The three supervisors who voted in favor of the development (Chair John McGlennon, Vice Chair Ruth Larson and Powhatan member Tracy Wainwright) spoke to ABVA’s responsiveness to New Town residents’ concerns making the project more palatable. They described its “urban village” appeal as being attractive for young people and their families. McGlennon said the reduction in the development’s proposed size and scale and integration of affordable units swayed him. All three commented on affordable housing as being a key consideration for this PSA location while recognizing that Powhatan Creek issues need to be addressed more strongly with the State because the project’s stormwater restoration fund contribution alone won’t do much to fix things. 

 

Supervisor Null said the Board must consider safety and egress for all developments. The addition of an emergency vehicle outlet alone did not provide two roads for residents’ access.

 

Supervisor Icenhour outlined the pros and cons of the development. He based his no vote on the project’s likely cost to James City County due to the location’s cumulative impacts on the Powhatan subwatershed and sewer systems. This area of the Powhatan Creek Subwatershed is headed towards being a “sewage way.” The projected $2 million cost of stream restoration for the Eastern State property and the need for extensive sewer system improvements will be major infrastructure investments for all JCC taxpayers. He felt it was unwise to keep adding to housing inventory that further degrades the sewer system without a better idea of the long-term solution, citing the “7,000 units that have been approved but not yet built in the county.”