Board approves withdrawal from AFD and special-use permit for 3 MW Hedera solar project on Ivy Hill Road

The James City County Board of Supervisors voted Wednesday to allow a 3-megawatt solar facility and to withdraw 60.6 acres of the project site from the Mill Creek Agricultural and Forestal District (AFD).

Staff presented a combined package of applications for Hexagon Energy’s Hedera project at 101 and 121 Ivy Hill Road: a withdrawal of a portion of the AFD and a special-use permit (SUP) to operate a 3 MW solar array. Planning staff recommended approval of the SUP but recommended denial of the AFD withdrawal under the county’s policy governing withdrawals from AFDs; the AFD Advisory Committee also voted unanimously to recommend denial. The Planning Commission recommended approval of both the withdrawal and the SUP by a 6–1 vote.

The applicant, Esther Rekelman, senior project developer with Hexagon Energy, told the board the project would place about 16.5 acres of panels inside a larger 101.36-acre parcel and that less than 30 acres would require clearing for panels, stormwater basins and internal roads. Rekelman said the facility is…