James City County supervisors voted 3-2 Tuesday to deny a proposed two-story, 51,000-square-foot self-storage facility planned for The Promenade at John Tyler, siding with neighbors over a project their own Planning Commission had recommended just months earlier. The decision kills, at least for now, Landtech Resources' bid to build on two parcels along John Tyler Highway near the Williamsburg Crossing shopping center.
The vote came after about 30 residents turned out for the hearing, according to WYDaily, with nearly a dozen speaking directly against the facility. Supervisors Barbara E. Null and Tracy Wainwright voted against the motion to deny, while the rest of the board sided with residents who argued the project didn't belong in their neighborhood.
Landtech had sought a special-use permit for the facility at 5299 and 5303 John Tyler Highway, and the proposal also required rezoning and a master plan approval, all three of which failed on the same 3-2 vote. The site sits within The Promenade, a mixed-use development approved back in December 2014 for up to 204 homes and more than 47,000 square feet of commercial space. Homes there have been built out, but the commercial portion has sat undeveloped, according to county planner Allison Jackura, who also said the county has not received other proposals for that vacant commercial space.
Residents Cite Narrow Streets and Safety Concerns
Opposition centered on the neighborhood's roads. Resident Shelia Feder told the board that area streets are too narrow for the trucks that might use the facility, while resident Angie Williams said the project would bring health and safety issues to the community. The concerns echoed what the station's report described as worries that trucks, trailers and drivers unfamiliar with the narrow streets could create hazards.
Those objections came despite a package of incentives Landtech had offered to sweeten the deal. The proposal included annual payments of $5,000 to the condominium association for nearby road maintenance and $50,000 to the county for open-space purposes, per the same account. The money wasn't enough to overcome residents' concerns about traffic and the character of the neighborhood.
A Reversal From the Planning Commission's Earlier Support
The outcome marks a sharp turn from where the project stood over the summer. The James City County Planning Commission on June 3 recommended approval of the facility after hours of public comment from nearby Promenade residents, according to citizenportal.ai. That recommendation came with conditions attached, including design standards, a ban on outside storage, screening for a stored moving truck, and strengthened stormwater treatment commitments.
County planning staff also recommended the proposed storage facility move forward, meaning the board of supervisors' denial overruled both staff and the commission tasked with vetting the project first. It's a reminder that in James City County, as elsewhere, a Planning Commission's blessing is only a recommendation — the final call rests with elected supervisors answering directly to the neighbors who show up.
Supervisors Split Over Traffic Logic
The board's debate turned on competing visions of what traffic the site could generate no matter what gets built there. Supervisor Barbara E. Null argued that other permitted uses, such as a three-story office building with 500 employees, could generate more traffic than the storage facility would, per WYDaily's account of the meeting. Her position helped explain why she and Wainwright voted against denying the application.
Supervisor Ruth Larson took the opposite path to the same vote. She acknowledged that the site could be developed by right under existing zoning, but after residents raised their concerns about this specific proposal, she voted to deny it anyway, WYDaily reported. The split illustrates how a single zoning decision can produce very different conclusions even when supervisors agree on the underlying facts about what else could be built on the property.
Part of a Broader Pattern Around Virginia
James City County's decision isn't happening in isolation. In Fluvanna County, supervisors narrowly denied a rezoning request and expansion plan for a self-storage facility, according to Inside Self-Storage. And in Montgomery County, supervisors opted to defer rather than decide outright, voting to put off a decision on an Elliston rezoning proposal after a four-hour meeting that drew public comment from 33 citizens, per WFXR.
Virginia law gives localities flexibility in how they structure these approvals. Under Virginia Code, zoning ordinances may include conditions governing the period of validity for a special exception or special-use permit, underscoring how much discretion local boards retain even after a project clears planning-level review.
For now, the vacant commercial land at The Promenade remains undeveloped, with no other proposals on file, according to Jackura. Whether Landtech Resources attempts to revise its plans or pursue another path for the site remains to be seen.
