Planning Commission Recommends Evolution House Group Home After Neighbors Raise Code and Occupancy Concerns

The James City County Planning Commission unanimously recommended on May 7 that the Board of Supervisors approve a special use permit allowing Evolution House to operate a group home at 2010 Old Route 60 West, with conditions the applicant and staff agreed would allow county verification of occupancy and require perimeter fencing and signage prior to issuance of a final certificate of occupancy.

Why it matters: The application would allow more than eight residents in a single‑family home in the A‑1 (General Agricultural) district; the applicant requested up to 24 residents for a licensed recovery program for men. Neighbors and codes staff raised concerns that Evolution House had occupied the property without appropriate local permits and building approvals, and commissioners sought enforceable conditions that would let the county confirm occupancy limits and mitigate neighborhood impacts.

What the application proposed

Planner Miss Jaccura explained that the property is designated rural lands on the 2045 comprehensive plan and that the use is permitted with a special use permit when the group home would house more than eight individuals. Staff said the proposal would occupy the existing single‑family house and that the exact number of residents would depend on final building and septic…