JCC Supes Approve Candle Factory Development

By Desiree Parker Wednesday, December 14, 2011

The James City County Board of Supervisors approved the long-deferred Candle Factory development 3-2 Tuesday after the applicant sweetened the deal by offering to phase construction of the residential and assisted living components.

Tuesday evening, the applicant came forward with a proffer to phase the development and build just 87 residential units before building the CCRC to the point of receiving a certificate of occupancy. This offer, in combination with some other positives, convinced the Republican majority to approve the plan that also won the support of neighboring business owners. Democrats were concerned about what the development would cost taxpayers.

Attorney Timothy Trant told the Board the applicant had spent significant time researching the CCRC issue before offering the proffer, and said that “the financial commitment that represents is tremendous.”

He also pointed out that the development will have one of the highest ratios of workforce and affordable housing in the county with 33 percent, or 58 units, that will fit the bill.

Supervisor John McGlennon noted that while a majority of these homes would be considered workforce housing, only a few would be affordable housing for people with low incomes.

Trant also said that the development would offer lots of open space, connectivity for residents, excellent environmental control techniques and service improvements as well as green building certifications for homes and the CCRC building.

Several neighboring business representatives came to speak in favor of the plan, including Gary Massie, who is a co-owner of Norge Crossing Shopping Center across the street. Businesses need a residential component nearby to be successful, he said, and the development “would be a help to our property.”

All the representatives of businesses adjacent to the property spoke in favor of the development while Debbie Kratter, on behalf of the citizen group the J4C, asked the board to reject it. The bottom line, Kratter argued, was that the county can’t afford the project, and it will have a negative fiscal impact.

This is the same argument McGlennon offered when he pointed out that the staff report said the fiscal impact of the development at buildout would be negative (meaning the county would pay more for the project than it would offer in revenues).

Supervisor Jim Icenhour said he was not “going to gamble with citizen’s tax money” by voting for the project that might cost the county more than expected. He also said he didn’t like the idea that the development was using the label mixed-use to get a higher density in the area, and he still had concerns over who would develop, operate and finance the CCRC.

Trant said that in 2015 when the project was completed, there would be a “modest negative impact,” but he argued this was a single moment in the life span of the development. Over the course of the entire project, he said, the fiscal impact would be positive for the county.

He also said there were several companies interested in taking on the CCRC, but they were waiting for the project to get approved before moving forward.

Chairman Mary Jones said the board had just approved a plan to fix up the low-income community of Forest Heights that will also have a negative impact on the county, “if you want to look strictly at dollars and cents,” but that she saw that project and the Candle Factory development as “an investment in our community.”

Jones and Supervisor Jim Kennedy highlighted the workforce housing aspect of the project, and Jones liked that it would offer support for local business and would create jobs.

Supervisor Bruce Goodson said the project meets county goals such as keeping development within the Primary Service Area and directing development to areas with infrastructure.

He also commented that he lived in the county in the 1970s when the tax rate was $1.20 for every $100 of value, and that “as we grew, the tax rate dropped,” so “growth benefits citizens with lower taxes.”