Board approves Pottery master‑plan amendment to allow Coastal Church campus

The James City County Board of Supervisors on Jan. 13 voted to approve a master plan amendment and rezoning that allows Coastal Church to occupy Building B of the Pottery property at 6810 Richmond Road.

Staff recommended approval after the planning commission’s unanimous 6–0 recommendation, citing a package of proffers intended to mitigate parking and traffic impacts. Sarah Probst (staff) summarized the proposal and the proffers, noting that the church’s proposed seating capacity is 1,000 with 208 on‑site parking spaces and a recorded parking easement to bring total available spaces to 250 to meet zoning expectations.

Sean Brown, pastor and applicant, outlined plans to renovate the interior for an auditorium, children’s ministry spaces and minimal exterior changes. "We want to continue to be good neighbors and be a part of this community," Brown said, describing outreach programs and traffic‑management experience his church deploys at other campuses.

During public comment, supporters and a few concerned residents spoke about traffic and the long‑term fiscal impact of removing a commercial parcel from the tax rolls. Chris Henderson noted the potential loss of roughly $60,000 a year in real‑estate revenue if the parcel becomes tax‑exempt nonprofit property and urged the board to weigh that when approving exemptions. The board balanced those concerns with the benefit of reusing a vacant, deteriorating structure and approved the amendment on a roll‑call vote.

The approval is conditioned on the proffers the applicant offered — including a parking easement, interval restrictions between large assemblies, and traffic management measures — which staff said must be recorded prior to certificate of occupancy.