James City County Chesapeake Bay board approves seven RPA exception requests, defers one after neighbor concern

The James City County Chesapeake Bay Local Assistance Board on Thursday approved exception requests for seven properties seeking limited encroachments into Resource Protection Area (RPA) buffers and deferred one application after neighbors raised drainage and infiltration concerns.

Board members voted unanimously to grant exceptions that will allow homeowners and developers to construct or expand decks, patios and, in one case, a single-family dwelling while requiring mitigation plantings and surety deposits to offset increased impervious surface within RPAs.

Staff presentations showed each proposal’s lot size, percentage of RPA on the parcel, the square footage of RPA impacts, the mitigation required under county rules, and conditions the board attached to approvals. Applicants were required to obtain any additional federal, state and local permits and to post surety to guarantee mitigation plantings. Most approvals included deadlines by which construction must begin or the exception becomes null and void.

Amanda Fraser, watershed planner, presented the request for 2828 Starling Drive and said the parcel was platted in 1987, before the county’s Chesapeake Bay preservation rules took effect. Fraser said the proposal would increase impervious surface in the RPA by 128 square feet and that the applicant’s mitigation plan — listed as a half planting unit (one understory tree and six shrubs) — satisfied county…