James City County boards approve marina permit and two shoreline exceptions, defer Kings Pointe house

James City County boards on April 8 approved a commercial wetlands permit for a marina overhaul at 4125 South Riverside Drive and granted two Chesapeake Bay exception requests for residential shoreline work, while deferring a proposed single-family house at 139 Kings Pointe Drive for more information on drainage and slope mitigation.

Staff told the Wetlands Board that the marina proposal — presented by watershed planner Emily Grojean — would remove some older in-water structures and construct three 5-by-150-foot floating piers with finger piers providing a total of 36 wet slips, along with shoreline stabilization including a 65-foot stone sill with 2,500 square feet of sand nourishment and riprap revetments. Grojean said staff had reviewed the application against the February 1, 2025 wetlands mitigation policy and found no vegetated-wetland impacts, so no mitigation was required; staff recommended approval with the condition that the applicant obtain all federal, state and local permits and comply with James City County flood-plain regulations.

The project's agent, Joseph Scott of Solterra Solutions LLC, said the site is an "old site that is being revived by the folks that own it to turn it back into a marina," and described removing broken concrete rubble, installing filter…