YORK — A second large housing development under construction in upper York County recently received a stop work order from the county’s Department of Public Works after an inspection found violations of the project’s stormwater management plan.
On Sept. 11, the department’s chief of operations, Travis Rhodes, issued a directive to Hampton-based developer Harrison & Lear Inc. to stop all land disturbance activity at Waller Mill Heights, a planned 326-home community in York County near Williamsburg. An Aug. 29 inspection identified 45 instances of noncompliance with the stormwater management plan.
While home construction and sitework have stopped, Harrison & Lear and contractor Chesapeake Bay Contractors Inc. of Virginia Beach are actively correcting the problems.
“The developer is working on addressing the violations cited under the stop work order,” Rhodes said.
The stop work order is the second the county has issued in the span of just over one month. York’s Department of Public Works halted construction in early August at Fenton Mill, a 292-home community also being built in the county’s District 1. Fenton Mill’s developer is Forestar Group and site development contractor is The LaRS Group. Normal operations have since resumed on-site, according to Rhodes.
Stopping construction activities at developments of this scale is relatively rare in York County. According to Rhodes, the stop work orders at Waller Mill Heights and Fenton Mill are the only two issued for large developments this year.
Waller Mill Heights, formerly known as Powell Plantation, occupies the 306-acre Carr’s Hill tract, which The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation sold to Harrison & Lear in 2020. Unlike Fenton Mill, much of Waller Mill Heights has already been developed, with many homes now completed and occupied.
The violations identified in the August inspection report pertain to elements of neighborhood construction that help control stormwater runoff. Among them: Harrison & Lear did not provide the county “as-builts,” or final drawings showing the dimensions and locations of parts of the stormwater management system, according to the report. A culvert crossing for the neighborhood’s Annabelle Powell Parkway has encountered issues such as silt accumulation. Several stormwater management features such as retention ponds and dry swales require better access and stabilization. And ditches along Waller Mill Road need to be regraded to align with the stormwater management plan’s specifications.
Harrison & Lear President Jonathan Skinner said he agrees with York County that the issues need to be addressed and corrected. According to Skinner, many of the violations arose because of the slow pace at which the contractor was proceeding with the development. The issues should have already been addressed, he said, and the stop work order has “strongly and firmly” encouraged the contractor to resolve the problems.
“Ultimately, we are accountable for these issues and are focused on addressing the issues in collaboration with York County as soon as possible,” he said.
Ron Struble, president of the Conserve York County Foundation, which seeks to curb unchecked growth in the county’s generally rural northwest, said that he applauds efforts by county policymakers to ensure that developers are following environmental regulations required by state code.
“We appreciate York County enforcing sediment control laws and would like the county to look at levying fines for violators,” Struble said.
Ben Swenson, ben.swenson05@gmail.com
https://www.pilotonline.com/2025/10/21/york-county-stops-work-on-second-housing-project/
