James City County, VA Environmental Rules: Boat Dock Permits (2026)

Chapter 22, Wetlands, is James City County's local implementation of the state Wetlands Act, and Sec. 22-3(a) carves out the county's most common private waterfront project from the permit requirement entirely: noncommercial catwalks, piers, boathouses, boat shelters, footbridges and similar structures are a permitted use, with no board approval needed, provided they're built on pilings that let the tide flow reasonably unobstructed and leave the wetland's natural contour intact. Step outside that description, whether the project is commercial, alters the wetland's contour, or isn't built on pilings, and Sec.

22-4 requires a permit application filed directly with the county wetlands board or the state Marine Resources Commission, plus a nonrefundable processing fee set by Appendix A of the county's fee schedule. The application has to include a scaled map of the affected wetlands, the proposed work, adjacent owners of record, project cost and purpose, and a statement on whether a living shoreline approach would work instead. Once a complete application is filed, the board holds a public hearing, notifying the applicant, adjacent owners and several state agencies including the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and VDOT, and must publish notice in a local paper and on the county website.

The board decides by a majority of its five or seven members and must act within 30 days of the hearing or the permit is deemed approved; it can require a bond securing compliance and may suspend or revoke a permit for violating its conditions. Sec. 22-13 makes clear a wetlands permit doesn't override the county's separate zoning ordinance, so a dock project can still need zoning or building sign-off on top of the wetlands board's approval.