Conserve York County

08/18/2026

22 acres across from the Marquis Shopping Center get decided tonight.

The York County Board of Supervisors meets at 6:00 p.m. at York Hall in Yorktown to vote on a proposal to rezone those 22 acres on Rt. 199. It is the first significant rezoning York County has seen since Fenton Mill.

What arrives before the Board tonight is a proposal for a Sheetz, a separate fast food restaurant and 125 townhomes.

York County, Virginia is recommending the Board deny the application, as the developer will not commit to building the Sheetz first. We have been repeatedly burned by unfulfilled promises of commercial investment if only high-density housing were allowed first, so our County Administrator's recommendation for denial is justified.

While many of our concerns have been addressed, several remain. Our District's elementary schools are overcrowded with students learning in trailers, and there is no financial commitment from the developer to offset the school costs. There is a lack of green space on this project, when the developer could easily offer land to be set aside for conservation. And the historical significance of the Whitaker House site is not sufficiently recognized.

Speak up before the vote. Be at York Hall tonight at 6:00 p.m.

08/02/2026

More than 100 residents showed up in James City County Thursday night to say the growth is too much.

We are glad to see it. Residents across our region are pushing back on the development abuses of recent years, and York County, James City County and New Kent are all prime targets of developers.

There are rezoning applications in James City County that would add well over 1,000 homes. Citizens do not want it. Are our leaders listening and acting to slow this explosive growth?

07/16/2026

Thank You for Your Service Michael King

After 10 years on the Planning Commission and 17 years of service to York County, one of our most experienced Planning Commissioners in York County is leaving the Commission.

Michael King was the Chairman of the Planning Commission during the Fenton Mill Rezoning application. He also led what ultimately became the current York County Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee.

In our five-plus years of working with Michael, we always found him to be open to our concerns and most importantly we always found Michael to be fair in ensuring York County residents and concerned citizens groups were heard.

We sincerely appreciate your service to the citizens of York County, Virginia, Michael, and wish you nothing but the best.

07/13/2026

This is the kind of rezoning our Comprehensive Plan was written to prevent.

Last week, the York County, Virginia Planning Commission voted 4-3 to recommend denial of the first residential rezoning proposal in Upper York County since Fenton Mill.

This proposal seeks to add 125 townhouses, (maybe) a gas station and (maybe) a restaurant on Rt. 199, directly across from the Marquis Shopping Center.

We agree with the majority of Commissioners, who expressed concerns with a flawed financial analysis submitted by the developer, negative impacts on our overcrowded elementary schools where many students learn in trailers, lack of respect for the historical significance of the property, and a lack of both open space and parking.

We also appreciate the York County Planning Department's recommendation that this application be denied because it does not align with our York County Comprehensive Development Plan.

Unfortunately, three Commissioners felt they knew better than County Staff and citizens. Our Comprehensive Plan takes years to develop and we were there at every meeting, ensuring citizens were represented. Yet some Commissioners chose to throw out the Plan guidance and vote to recommend approval of this rezoning.

Next, the rezoning proposal will move to the Board of Supervisors for approval or denial. With a recommendation for denial from the Planning Commission, we hope the Supervisors deny this application at least as currently proposed. If the concerns listed above are acknowleged and properly mitigated, maybe this proposal could gain more support.

We will be providing more as this final decision approaches, likely in August or September.

06/23/2026

The Greater Williamsburg Sports and Events Center will hold its grand opening and public open house on Wednesday, June 24, 2026 at 3:30pm at the Sports Complex on Bypass Road near the Colonial Williamsburg Visitors Center. You are invited.

This Sports Complex was somewhat unpopular with York County residents when it was approved in 2023 by a previous Board of Supervisors. York County’s share of the funding is $800,000 annually which was the primary source of taxpayer concern. This funding comes from our higher local sales-tax rate, specifically what is called the Tourist Fund. Our leaders were told higher hotel tax and restaurant meals tax revenue would likely cover and exceed the annual York County committment.

While we did not like this when it was approved, but now that its built, we want it to succeed.

We look forward to hearing more in person and hope you will attend.

The highly anticipated Greater Williamsburg Sports and Events Center will officially open its doors with a grand opening celebration on Wednesday, June 24, ushering in a new era of sports tourism, com

06/10/2026

1,865 homes were on the table in James City County last night. All three projects were deferred.

After nearly four hours of meeting, the James City County Board of Supervisors deferred decisions on Westwood Park (155 homes), Cardinal Ridge (1,006 homes), and The Bluffs at Kiskiack (704 homes plus a museum, offices, hotels, and retail). New hearing dates: July 14 for Westwood, September 8 for Cardinal Ridge, and October 13 for The Bluffs.

We strongly oppose all three projects.

Eight of ten public speakers opposed The Bluffs at Kiskiack, saying it would destroy the area's rural nature. We appreciate the supervisors who raised concerns about density and the developers' promises. Our experience has shown those promises rarely materialize. York County residents are still paying for similar approvals years after the developers moved on.

We were surprised that Stonehouse Supervisor Barbara Null supported The Bluffs at Kiskiack. She has previously been a strong voice for curbing high-density growth in the rural parts of James City County. The Croaker area is rural.

York County has learned the hard lessons of over-development. The bill always comes due in higher taxes, overcrowded schools, and worse traffic.

We are watching all three projects through to their next hearings.

Will James City County learn from York County’s mistakes?

05/25/2026

Lightfoot Road now ranks in the top 5% in Virginia for crash risk to bicycles and pedestrians. A 25-year-old was recently injured on Route 60. VDOT has presented six intersection fixes across Route 60, Centerville Road, and Lightfoot Road, half of the proposed traffic pattern changes in York County and half in James City County. We are watching the Route 60 and Lightfoot Road change in particular.

This corridor was overloaded through years of ignoring the impacts of sloppy development. Years of residential rezonings in both counties were approved faster than the roads could absorb them. Worse, taxpayers are forced to pay for expensive road design changes, while developers walk away with immediate profits. Yes, we pay the bills years later. Meanwhile, we will all suffer through multiple iterations of traffic snarls, while VDOT tries to fix this mess.

Future development should wait until road improvements are paid for with developers' fees, not taxpayer dollars.

Which intersection do you think is the worst in York or James City County?

04/11/2026

What are residents actually told before a rezoning?

At the recent Planning Commission hearing for the Hankins property at Croaker Road and Fenton Mill Road, we were shocked to learn that no signs had been placed on the property to notify the public.

Planning Commissioners were told County staff are “too busy” to put them out. When Commissioners offered to place signs themselves, they were told no, citing safety concerns.

Meanwhile, nearby residents received letters about 10 days before the hearing, even though this property has been under review for two years.

If you do not live immediately next door, there is a good chance you would not know what is being proposed or how it could disrupt the tranquility of your neighborhood.

That has real consequences. It shapes who shows up, who is aware, and who has a chance to weigh in.

Residents should not be finding out about projects like this at the last minute! What do you think?

04/09/2026

Our experience has shown how this plays out.

Projects like The Bluffs of Kiskiack are often approved with promises of commercial development to “balance the books.” Too often, that commercial never arrives, leaving residents to carry the long-term costs.

More demand on schools. More strain on police and fire. More pressure on infrastructure that was never designed for this level of growth.

“Affordable housing” is often highlighted, but it represents only a small fraction of the project. We have seen this used time and again to help push large-scale rezonings forward.

This is what high-density development in rural areas leads to. And once it is approved, the impacts are not easily reversed.

After York County residents pushed back on similar rezonings, we are now seeing that same pressure move into James City County.

What is proposed there today will shape what happens across this region next.

James City County residents should make their voices heard!

York County, Virginia | James City County

04/04/2026

668 units at Croaker. This is exactly the kind of project we’ve warned about.

A developer is proposing 668 high-density residential units at the Croaker interchange, across from the 7-11 in Toano.

This may be in James City County, but projects like this do not stay contained. We share the same roads, traffic patterns, and development pressure across the Historic Triangle.

High-density projects belong in cities, towns, and areas ready for redevelopment. They simply do not fit in the rural parts of our counties.

Citizens have been clear. Surveys are near-unanimous that residents want to preserve the character of their communities. This project moves in the opposite direction.

Our experience has shown how this plays out. Projects like this are often approved with promises that do not fully materialize, leaving residents to absorb the long-term impacts.

This project would bring very high levels of traffic to Fenton Mill Road and Croaker Road, both already under strain.

What happens there affects what comes next here...