New Kent Charles City Chronicle

News for New Kent County and Charles City County, Virginia | March 29, 2024

Estate home, lake project proposed

By Alan Chamberlain | July 16, 2008 12:34 pm

Plans for a 24-lot subdivision of single-family estate homes in the $600,000 price range are in the works for the Eltham area of New Kent. But a rezoning application for the land involved must first pass scrutiny of the county’s Planning Commission and ultimately win approval from the Board of Supervisors.

Planning Commission members are hosting a July 21, 7 p.m. public hearing on the application for the project, dubbed Lake Christopher. The subdivision is being proposed by county resident and landowner Isabel Davis White and the developers, Yorktown-based Mid-Atlantic Communities.

The applicants are requesting rezoning for just over 120 acres from its current A-1 Agricultural designation to R-1 Residential Conditional. A small portion is already zoned R-1.

The land is located on the north side of Route 33 in Eltham, bordering marshland that leads to the Pamunkey River. The applicants propose to extend Johnson Street from the south side of Route 33 as a means of accessing the property.

The developers propose to create 24 estate lots of more than one acre each clustered around the shores of a yet to be built 21-acre lake. The site overlooks the Pamunkey.

“We’re really excited about it,” said Mid-Atlantic representative Lamont Myers. “It’s going to be a gorgeous project. I think it will be a real nice addition to the Eltham community.”

Myers said no wetlands would be disturbed by construction of either the houses or the lake.

“There are some wetlands there that we’ll leave in their natural state and we’re adjacent to the marsh, but we’re staying out of all environmentally-sensitive areas,” he said.

Archeological studies, meanwhile, have uncovered remains of a farmhouse that once stood on the property.

“We’ve identified the old farm site, but we plan to preserve that and leave it in open space,” Myers said.

The application mentions that over half of the 120 acres would remain in its natural state. The area is designated as “Village” in the county’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan.

An engineering study, conducted by Herbert and Associates of Virginia Beach and included with the application, reports that water volume in the proposed lake should stabilize and improve water pressure in the area’s water table and in nearby wells. There should be no impact on groundwater, the study indicates.

Myers said it is unlikely the project will require Army Corps of Engineers or state Department of Conservation and Recreation approval.

The subdivision is expected to generate 240 vehicle trips per day, the applicants say. Resident estimates point to 61 adults and 10 school-age children.

By right, the applicants say, 14 lots could be developed on the property, housing an estimated 36 adults and six school-age children. Thus the developers are proffering to the county $6,000 for each of the 10 houses built beyond the by right limit to cover education costs for the estimated four extra children.

The applicants are also proffering to create a homeowners association to govern the development.

A fiscal impact statement developed by the Williamsburg-based Wessex Group lists $14.4 million in property value the project is expected to add to the county’s real estate tax base. Only $7 million would be added if the land is allowed to develop by right, the report said. Net fiscal impact at build-out is pegged at $67,160 annually compared to $22,790 per year by right.