Planning Commission Recommends Approval of Long Hill Road Government Center and Library; Commissioners and Public Debate traffic, stormwater and cost

The James City County Planning Commission voted May 7 to recommend that the Board of Supervisors approve a special use permit for a consolidated government center and a public library on Long Hill Road, a proposal staff described as a three‑story government building of roughly 178,000 square feet with underground parking and an attached library.

The commission’s recommendation passed 4–3 after several hours of public comment and detailed questions from commissioners about stormwater management, traffic improvements and the project’s fiscal implications. Assistant County Administrator Brad Reinheimer, the applicant’s lead, said the project has been under study since 2020 and that the board selected the Long Hill site because it is adjacent to the James City County Recreation Center and near the population center of the county. “This project has been many years coming,” Reinheimer told the commission.

Why it matters: The campus would consolidate multiple county offices into a single facility and add a new library branch for the Williamsburg Regional Library system. Public speakers and several commissioners warned the site will also generate new traffic and add stormwater runoff issues in the Powhatan watershed; residents urged pedestrian safety improvements on Long Hill Road and questioned whether the county should commit several years of capital spending before nearby large developments are resolved.

Staff presentation and proposed improvements

County staff told commissioners the master plan includes about 178,000 square feet of office space in three stories, underground parking, and a public library sited next to the Long Hill Recreation Center. A traffic impact analysis (TIA) prepared for the project projected about 315 AM peak hour trips and 377 PM peak hour trips and recommended reconstructing the Long Hill Road/DePew Drive intersection as a two‑lane roundabout and the DePew/Ashbury intersection as a one‑lane roundabout, plus a right‑turn lane at the proposed site entrance. Staff said those improvements, if completed with the project, would keep studied intersections operating at level of service C or better and satisfy the adequate transportation facilities test.

Staff also reported approximately 551 parking spaces for the government center and library and 289 parking spaces for the recreation center; landscape buffers meeting the zoning ordinance were shown along DePew Drive and Long Hill Road; and a project condition would require the facility to meet the county’s sustainable building policy. The application packet lists an estimated disturbance of 11.4 acres and includes a conceptual stormwater plan; staff said they find the proposal consistent with the 2045 comprehensive plan and recommended approval subject to conditions. “Staff finds this proposal to be compatible with surrounding development and consistent with the 2045 comprehensive plan,” Reisinger said during her presentation.

Stormwater, roundabouts and follow‑up conditions

Several commissioners pressed for stronger stormwater measures. Commissioner Pollster suggested adding Special Stormwater Criteria (SSC) that increase attenuation for several storm events and require enhanced outlet protection at the wet pond outfall into a tributary of Chisel Run identified in the Powhatan watershed restoration plan. Pollster asked for a condition requiring monitoring and periodic inspection of underground chambers and outlet protections; Reinheimer and staff said they had considered those measures and would work with the commission on appropriate language.

On traffic, commissioners and several public speakers — including residents who said Long Hill Road already sees speeding and unsafe crossings — asked whether the TIA’s recommended roundabouts and lane work are included in the county’s project cost. Staff said the roundabouts recommended in the TIA are not included in the current $189 million estimate for the building itself; staff told commissioners the roundabouts would be constructed with the project but that the county will need to finalize funding and timing. Commissioners asked whether the project should include explicit trigger points or warrants for when additional roadway widening would be built if adjacent development, such as a proposed Cardinal Ridge subdivision on the Eastern State Hospital surplus land, moves forward. Staff said the TIA excluded unapproved development and that any future development would be required to account for the government center in its own traffic studies.

Public comment and fiscal concerns

More than a dozen residents and stakeholders spoke during the public hearing. Several supported the project’s consolidation and the addition of a library branch; others said the county should reduce Long Hill Road speeds and add marked crosswalks or pedestrian improvements so children and non‑drivers can reach the recreation center and library safely. Resident Kirsten Davis said she feared for her young children and asked the county to “please consider lowering the speed limit to 25” on the section fronting the site.

Other speakers opposed the project on fiscal grounds or questioned timing. Citizen Chris Henderson called the project “the project that eats James City County,” warning the commission the TIA understates future traffic and urging greater attention to how the site fits with New Town and the broader road network. Dennis Berkey and other speakers urged a referendum or more public vetting of the project’s financing. Commissioners noted that fiscal decisions and debt financing are a Board of Supervisors responsibility outside the planning commission’s land‑use review.

Commission action and next steps

On two sequential votes the commission first found the project substantially in accord with the comprehensive plan (4–3) and then recommended that the Board of Supervisors approve Special Use Permit SUP‑25‑0003 (4–3). The motion to recommend approval included the conditions staff proposed in the application packet and left staff and the applicant to refine technical conditions on stormwater SSCs, pedestrian access, and the traffic improvements identified in the TIA. Reinheimer and design staff told the commission they will continue coordination with VDOT and county stormwater staff on outfall protections, the proposed roundabouts and stormwater inspection protocols.

The Board of Supervisors will receive the commission’s recommendation at its next scheduled public meeting where it will consider the SUP, the detailed site plan and the project’s capital funding plan.

Ending

The commission’s recommendation advances a central county capital project into the Board of Supervisors’ review. Commissioners and speakers left the record with specific requests for stronger stormwater assurances, pedestrian safety measures, and clarity on who will pay and when for roadway improvements tied to this site and potential neighboring development.