Planning commission recommends AFD withdrawal and permits 3 MW Hedera solar project on Ivy Hill Road

The James City County Planning Commission voted 6–1 Thursday to recommend that the Board of Supervisors approve withdrawal of 60.6 acres from the Mill Creek Agricultural and Forestal District and to approve a special-use permit (SUP) and comprehensive-plan conformance finding for the 3 megawatt Hedera solar project at 101 and 121 Ivy Hill Road.

The project applicant, Esther Rekelman, senior project developer with Hexagon Energy, told the commission the proposal would place about 16.5 acres of solar panels inside a fenced area within a roughly 101-acre parcel, with the larger SUP area covering about 47.5 acres. “The project will benefit the county by generating increased county revenue of over $500,000 through both taxes and/or revenue share during a lifetime of the project,” Rekelman said, and she added the array “has the ability to power up to 600 homes in the area.”

Staff recommendation and why it mattered

Planning staff reported that the application is generally consistent with the county’s 2045 Comprehensive Plan and county zoning, while noting the project did not meet every guideline in the Board of Supervisors’ recently adopted solar facilities policy. Staff also concluded the AFD withdrawal request did not meet the county’s narrow withdrawal criteria — which focus on unforeseen changes in circumstance and public purpose — and the AFD Advisory Committee unanimously recommended denial. Despite those staff findings, commissioners voted to recommend withdrawal and to find the project substantially in accord with the comprehensive plan.

Key facts and conditions

- Applicant:…