Proposed Church at Williamsburg Pottery Still Needs Zoning Review after Planning Delay
Church with 800-seat auditorium will likely be considered by James City Planning Commission in coming weeks
A growing regional church hopes to purchase 3.7 acres and the 44,000-square-foot “Building B” at the Williamsburg Pottery site and create an 800-seat auditorium for Sunday services. The applicant, Coastal Community Church, anticipates that the proposed location could attract as many as 1500 people across 3 services each weekend.
The James City County Planning Commission initially was set to review the application October 1, but they ultimately voted at that meeting to accept a request from the applicant and County planners to delay the review process until the Commission’s meeting scheduled for November 5th. (As of the time of this writing, materials have yet to be posted for the upcoming Planning Commission meeting.)
“While finalizing the application materials for the Planning Commission, staff identified additional impacts related to traffic, community character, and the future subdivision of the property. The applicant and staff agreed to additional time to work together to mitigate those impacts,” the County planners wrote to the Planning Commission in early October while requesting to postpone the review until November 5th.
Coastal Community Church launched a Williamsburg campus in 2023, which has grown to over 500 regular attendees. In addition to the proposed site at Williamsburg Pottery, the church states that it operates seven campuses, serving over 3,000 attendees each week. They also note their experience adapting commercial properties to suit their needs, as they previously purchased and converted a former Kroger building on Victory Boulevard in Yorktown.
Though the church may offer limited on-site child care during services or events at the new Williamsburg Pottery location, it has agreed that uses such as full-time daycare and school would not be part of the redevelopment. The facility will have space for weekday community activities such as office operations, small group meetings, and occasional events with attendance not exceeding 800 people.
The proposed uses would require changes to the site’s existing master plan and proffers and will require final approval by the County’s Board of Supervisors. The initial date set for the Board’s review was November 12th, though it is unclear if this timeline has changed. The church indicates that they hope to begin construction later this year and open in the summer of 2026.
The writer used AI tools and these source:
Agenda Packet - James City County Planning Commission - October 1, 2025
Video - James City County Planning Commission meeting - October 1, 2025
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