Defending, Explaining Colonial Heritage Expansion Plan

By Amber Lester Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Lawyer Greg Davis made his case for approval of a subdivision proposed by Lennar Corporation at an informational meeting Monday night at the James City County Library.

Before an audience of about 25 people, Davis presented the proposal to build a cluster of 50 lots on 66 acres adjacent to the existing age-restricted Colonial Heritage community. The new development area would be called Deer Lake, and would be sandwiched between the present Colonial Heritage development and Cranston’s Mill Lake, bounded by Centerville Road and Jolly Pond Road.

The development has faced criticism from James City County Planning Commission members, the county planning office and citizens because it sits just outside the Primary Service Area. If approved, county water and sewer services will have to be extended past the PSA, a tool enacted in the comprehensive plan to control growth in the county.

Davis organized the meeting to correct what he called “a great deal of misunderstanding” about the case and address the public’s concerns with the proposal. He listed the advantages of the proposal, which he characterized as “environmentally sensitive.” If approved, Lennar would offer 90 acres to the county as a conservation easement; Lennar would still own the land. In 2004, the board approved a proposed rural cluster development on 229 acres; the new proposal would split the acres into a tighter cluster development and the conservation area, which Davis said includes a heron habitat.

The audience seemed most curious about why Lennar chose to downsize the approved plan. Davis said the market has changed and national trends show most people want smaller houses; Colonial Heritage customers, however, still want single family detached homes about 65-75 feet wide. That said, the developer wants to have the flexibility to experiment with duplexes or smaller homes if the market trend continues.

The new cluster design is more environmentally friendly, Davis said, because it would preserve more open space, would lessen the need to water and manage lawn areas, would eliminate 50 septic drain fields and would be subject to special criteria for stormwater drainage. The plan would preserve Type A permeable soils, which absorb stormwater. Also, Lennar has proffered to pre-treat the water in Deer Lake, a lake previously used by Boy Scouts when they owned the property.

The proposal exceeds the demands stipulated in the Yarmouth Creek Watershed Plan, Davis said, adding that the watershed plan recommends cluster development in the area. Davis warned that if the county did not accept the plan, the 90 acres offered for conservation could instead be sold to other developers.

The developer has also proffered a conservation easement on another approved development area called Powhatan Terrace. That development, located on Jamestown Road, could become a county park, Davis said.

Davis told the group the 50 additional lots could generate a positive fiscal impact for the county of $89,000 per year; under the previous plan for the rural cluster, the county could have lost $93,600 per year, he said. As a whole, Colonial Heritage is expected to generate a positive impact of $52 million over 20 years.

During a question-and-answer period, audience members asked questions ranging from what the homes would look like (that’s far into the future, Davis said) and whether the new development would join Colonial Heritage’s homeowners’ association (yes).

One audience member asked how the new area would be served in emergencies. Because the Planning Commission asked Lennar to abandon an earlier plan for access from Jolly Pond Road, where two new schools will open in the fall, the current plan will have access through Colonial Heritage’s existing roads. The planners could consider adding an emergency access-only gated road, said Arch Marston, of AES Consulting Engineers.

Colonial Heritage is not offering proffers for schools, however. The Board of Supervisors adopted a proffers policy that says age-restricted developments are not exempt from paying proffers for schools. One audience member asked why the developer opted not to proffer money for schools. Davis said the community has just two schoolchildren, neither of whom ride the bus, and added that there is a difference between “required” and “not exempt.”

“We have active adults who are already paying for schools,” he said. “If we proffer money for schools, we’ll have to tack that into the home price and then they’ll pay for schools twice.” He added that he felt the 16-acre Powhatan Terrace proffer was more “innovative.”

Another audience member asked who would pay for the extension of the Primary Service Area. Lennar will place the pipes and build the infrastructure, Davis said, and then the James City Service Authority would provide the sewer and water service.

Lennar requested to defer the Board of Supervisors’ decision until August, but the board members have already discussed some of the issues surrounding the case. To read more about the proposal, click here.