Planning commission recommends fee increases for zoning and subdivision filings, including new resubmittal and archaeological review deposits

The York County Planning Commission voted to forward proposed changes to subdivision and zoning filing fees to the Board of Supervisors with a recommendation of approval. The amendments, collected in Resolution PC25‑12 as presented to the commission, include modest increases to final plat and inspection fees, a new resubmittal fee schedule for third and subsequent plan submissions, a higher fee for most special‑use permits, a higher acre‑based fee for rezonings over five acres, and a deposit for archaeological study review when required.

Why it matters

Staff said the changes respond to inflationary increases (especially advertising costs required by state law), to comparisons with neighboring localities (James City, Gloucester, Isle of Wight, Newport News, Hampton), and to the county’s need to cover consultant review costs that were previously handled by the State Department of Historic Resources. Staff also said the new resubmittal fees aim to reduce repeated plan resubmissions that consume staff time.

Highlights of proposed changes (as described to the commission)

- Special‑use permits (non‑home occupation): base fee proposed to increase to $750 to better cover advertising costs. - Rezoning applications: base fee unchanged but the per‑acre charge for acreage above five acres would increase (staff proposed a higher per‑acre rate with a maximum cap). - Site plans (commercial): slight increase to the per‑square‑foot rate (from $0.60 to $1.00 per 1,000 square feet on the submittal fee) while maintaining the same base fee; no change to single‑family attached/multifamily rates. - Resubmittal fees: new fee for the third or subsequent site‑plan or subdivision submittal (e.g., the third submission set at $150 and increasing by $50 for each additional submission) to incentivize complete submittals and reduce staff time spent on repeated reviews. - Subdivision final plat filing fee: increase from $60 plus $5 per lot to $10 per lot and adjustments to acreage charges. - Subdivision inspection fee: nominal increase from $30 to $35 plus $5 per lot. - Archaeological study review: a tiered deposit to cover on‑call consultant review costs now that the State Department of Historic Resources no longer routinely reviews Phase I/II/III archaeologic studies in the region; deposit refunded or reconciled based on actual consultant charges.

Public comment and commission discussion

Tim Cross, who had spoken earlier on a different agenda item, returned to speak in favor of the changes and said the proposed fees were reasonable and that advertising costs should be borne by applicants rather than taxpayers. Commissioners generally supported the adjustments; several commissioners said staff performs extensive review work and the proposed fees remain modest compared with surrounding jurisdictions.

Vote and next steps

The commission moved to forward PC25‑12 to the Board of Supervisors with a recommendation of approval. The recorded roll call accepted the motion (King made the motion as recorded; votes in favor were recorded for the full commission present). The Board of Supervisors will consider the ordinance amendments during its coming agenda cycle, ahead of the county budget adoption.

Clarifying details from staff

- The archaeological review deposit is a tiered deposit intended to cover third‑party consultant review costs (staff explained the county now calls on an on‑call consultant because the State Department of Historic Resources no longer performs routine reviews in the region).