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Board approves Niceland Farm event venue but greenlights AFD withdrawal amid neighbor concerns
Summary
After extensive public comment on noise, traffic and prime farmland, the Board of Supervisors approved both an early withdrawal from the Agricultural and Forestal District and a special-use permit for Niceland Farm’s event venue with amended conditions, including a reduced attendee cap and noise-orientation requirements.
The James City County Board of Supervisors voted to approve a special-use permit for Niceland Farm’s renovated barn to operate as an event venue and tourist home, and separately approved an early withdrawal from the county’s Agricultural and Forestal District (AFD).
The board’s decision followed hours of testimony from neighbors, farm supporters and county staff about traffic safety on Fire Tower Road, nighttime noise from a recent wedding, and the project’s siting on prime agricultural soils. Staff had presented an amended application that reduced the maximum attendees from 360 to 250, added a vegetative buffer and required amplified music to be oriented toward the interior of the property.
"We restored a derelict farm and want to share the rural experience while being good neighbors," applicant David Nice said in testimony, adding he would work with neighbors on noise mitigation and road improvements. Neighbors described a wedding on Oct. 5 that they said produced intrusive music inside their homes; one resident said the sound continued until about 10 p.m. and that deputies responded.
Board members framed the vote as a compromise between property rights and neighborhood impacts. Several supervisors said they were persuaded that allowing agritourism on the site—if strictly conditioned—aligned with county goals for rural lands and preservation while offering a way to keep the land in agricultural use rather than be developed. Others pressed for stricter noise limits, limitations on the number and timing of events, and clearer enforceable quiet-hour language.
The AFD withdrawal drew special scrutiny because removing acreage from an AFD can change long-term development rights on a parcel. The board voted to approve the early withdrawal as well, noting the applicant had already committed to road and buffer improvements and staff had amended conditions to limit impacts. Officials and staff cautioned the SUP runs with the land—future owners would still be able to operate under the permit conditions but could also seek changes later.
What the board approved: staff amendments including the 250-attendee cap, a 30-foot buffer with a higher percentage of evergreens, noise-orientation of amplified systems toward the interior of the property, and a condition requiring Fire Tower Road widening or other ingress improvements as part of site plan work. The board recorded votes with most supervisors supporting both the AFD withdrawal and the SUP; two supervisors voted no on the SUP.
The board left some items open to follow-up: whether final noise thresholds and an enforceable event-notification protocol can be specified more precisely, and how road-widening work and costs will be guaranteed before substantial changes in intensity occur. The county attorney and planning staff indicated they would help draft enforceable language and confirm how enforcement and monitoring would work.
