JCC Looks to Add 40 Acres for Conservation

By Amber Lester Tuesday, March 09, 2010

Nearly 40 acres of James City County land will likely be preserved if the Board of Supervisors accepts an offer from a county landowner.

The board is expected to accept Wise A. Skillman’s offer of three parcels on Diascund Road, appraised at $335,000, at its 7 p.m. meeting on Tuesday in the board room of the County Complex.

If Skillman’s offer to sell is accepted, the parcels would become a conservation easement, which limits future development. The easement is not only binding for the current owner, but all future owners. County Administrator Sandy Wanner invited Skillman to sell the easement to the county, and the owner submitted an offer to sell on Jan. 16.

The county would pay for the purchase through its Purchase of Development Rights Program, which allows landowners to sell the development potential of property while continuing to own and use the property. The purpose of the program is to protect the open spaces and farmland within the county.
The Purchase of Development Rights Ordinance states “an offer to sell a conservation easement shall be accepted by the board in writing following an action by the board authorizing acceptance.” The PDR staff recommended the board approve the acquisition.

The board also has a public hearing scheduled to discuss whether Hospice House and Support Care of Williamsburg should be allowed to have a wireless communications tower constructed on its land. The applicant, however, has asked that the hearing be deferred until June, allowing more time to evaluate other sites in the county. The hearing has been deferred twice before, and staff has recommended another deferral.

In December, the county Planning Commission denied the charity’s application to build the cell tower, which would bring in a reliable annual revenue stream of $40,000.

At that time, several residents of the neighboring Powhatan Secondary subdivision were concerned the tower would be visible there. The county ordinance on wireless communications facilities requires cell towers be obscured to avoid disrupting the character of the area.

Wireless carrier nTelos promised Hospice House Executive Director Linda Taylor the company would add plantings and buffers to protect the landscaped area. She told WYDaily in December the nonprofit could use the extra revenue. In January, James City County sent a letter to Hospice House that said the charity would not receive any funding from the locality in 2011.