A packed Town Hall meeting reveals deep community concern over the proposed 870-home subdivision
The largest crowd in recent memory packed Exmore’s Town Hall last week, with residents spilling into hallways and the lobby as the community voiced overwhelming opposition to a proposed planned unit development that would fundamentally alter the character of this Eastern Shore town.
The scene at Tuesday’s regularly scheduled Town Council meeting brought out young and old, newcomers and longtime residents—all united in their concern about Atlantic Town Associates’ proposal to build 870 homes across from Broadwater Academy. The public comment period stretched over an hour as a dozen citizens took turns addressing the standing-room-only crowd and the Town Council.
What struck observers wasn’t just the size of the turnout, but the quality of the discourse. Speaker after speaker presented well-researched arguments, backed by data and delivered with the kind of civic engagement that has become increasingly rare in municipal politics. This wasn’t angry shouting or empty rhetoric.
The Numbers Don’t Add Up
Business owner Ken Dufty highlighted a crucial point that should give pause to any fiscally responsible elected official: residential development is typically a net drain on municipal resources, not a revenue generator. While Exmore has managed to keep tax rates stable or even reduce them compared to neighboring communities, a development of this magnitude could force the town to hire additional police officers, expand public works, and increase fire and EMS services—all funded by existing residents.
The math is sobering. Exmore currently has approximately 625 residential homes. Adding 870 more would nearly triple the town’s housing stock overnight, potentially doubling tax assessments and creating an unsustainable burden on infrastructure and services.
Learning from Others’ Mistakes
The irony wasn’t lost on meeting attendees that the same developer proposing this project had previously convinced Accomack County to approve similar developments—experiences that led the county to ban planned unit developments entirely a decade ago. Sometimes the best teacher is someone else’s painful lesson.
Cape Charles offers another cautionary tale. Once an affordable community for working families, it has been transformed by high-end development into something many longtime residents can no longer afford. The question facing Exmore is simple: Do we want to follow that path?
The land in question is currently zoned for agriculture, not residential development of this scale. Exmore’s existing zoning already accommodates reasonable and sustainable growth—the kind that preserves the rural character that drew many residents here in the first place. There’s wisdom in respecting these boundaries rather than abandoning them for short-term financial promises that may not materialize.
A Regional Challenge
This fight extends beyond Exmore’s borders. Northampton County has apparently targeted the town edge district—land just outside municipal boundaries—for high-density residential development. While the county controls zoning for these areas, guess who will be expected to provide water, sewer, police, fire, and EMS services? That’s right: Exmore residents, through their tax dollars.
It’s a classic case of privatized profits and socialized costs. Developers and the county may benefit from increased construction activity, but the long-term burden falls on town residents who must fund expanded services and infrastructure.
The Path Forward
Tuesday’s meeting was just the beginning. The development proposal must still go through the Planning Commission and public hearing process, providing additional opportunities for community input. The most straightforward solution would be for the Town Council to follow Accomack County’s lead and ban planned unit developments entirely.
Citizens concerned about this issue should stay engaged, join organizations like Citizens for a Better Eastern Shore, and continue attending public meetings. The turnout this week proves that when residents are informed and motivated, they can make their voices heard.
Preserving What We Value
The Eastern Shore’s appeal lies in its rural character, natural beauty, and manageable scale of development. These aren’t abstract concepts—they’re the concrete reasons many people chose to invest their lives and savings here. Once that character is lost to suburban sprawl and Virginia Beach-style development, it can never be recovered.
The question isn’t whether Exmore should grow—reasonable, sustainable growth is healthy for any community. The question is whether we’ll grow thoughtfully, in ways that preserve what makes this place special, or whether we’ll sacrifice our character for promises of economic benefits that may never materialize.
Tuesday’s meeting suggests the community has already made its choice. Now it’s up to elected officials to listen.
The real question However is whos going to purchase these homes . Theres too many vacant commercial buildings, theres no real reliable work force or places of employment. What is the real reason for this proposal?
While I do not foresee Exmore approving this proposal it’s good to see residents get engaged. This is part of a broader conversation. Those in the County calling for higher density in the name of “affordable housing” seem to overlook basic economics. For profit developers aren’t going to come over from Va Beach to build houses to sell for less than $250,000 when a retiree or out of town buyer would pay $400,000 for the same home. These developers are here for profit not for charity. The solution to the affordable housing dilemma isn’t to build more housing units as some of our local officials would like for us to believe. If that were the case Cape Charles or Tower Hill would already be more affordable than Exmore. When you hear your local officials advocating for increased density in the name of affordable housing it’s time to ask who really stands to profit.
The aquifer the eastern shore relies on for well water; the bed rock layer above it, was fractured by the Bolide which crashed into this immediate area 10 million years ago. To the naysayers, it is a real issue. Increasing housing numbers, a burgeoning population. Drawing too much water from this limited resource aquifer will cause salt water contamination of deep wells. Then what do you do?
In response to this article, please find the following factual responses….
1.) The local economic benefit from such as project is significant…over $152 Million. In addition, the project proffers $435,000 for additional emergency services.
2.) The housing project would create over 2,000 jobs. Additional business will follow such a project creating an opportunity to fill shuttered buildings/ stores in Exmore.
3.) The Accomack Northampton Planning District has identified a housing shortage of well over 1,000 units. The lack of inventory will continue to raise housing prices making it difficult for our teachers, health care workers, business employees, and civil servants to find housing.
4.) The PUD Ordinance some have referenced in Accomack County was never “banned”. It was replaced with the name “Village Development District”. Yes…Accomack County has recently approved the first “Village Development” to provide much needed workforce housing and address their housing shortage.
5.) To retain the rural character of the ESVA…development needs should be focused in, and around, existing Towns and villages.
Chris Carbaugh
Editor’s Note: Chris, thanks for the clear and concise rebuttal. It’s always good to get the other side of the story. If you like, please submit a slightly longer version and we can publish it for you or send notes and comments to: capecharlesmirror@gmail.com and we can put something together.
Spoken like a true to life Come-Here. Please find somewhere else to take over and dwell.
2000 high paying, able to buy a house jobs, or 2000 bottom rung, minimum wage jobs? I’ll put my money on the latter.