This post is opinion and commentary.
Several new housing developments were recently proposed in Williamsburg, both requiring special use permits and zoning changes to build. While these proposals differ in scale, they represent significant changes to the use that is currently envisioned for the land. Meanwhile, the City has hired a consultant to begin the process of writing a new comprehensive plan which will guide development over the coming years. Part of their stated plan is to make the process open and transparent by involving the public in decision-making. To ensure confidence in that process, the City must implement a moratorium on rezoning or special use permits related to large residential or commercial development.
If you asked a hundred people about how the City should look and feel, how resources should be used and who should benefit, you’d get a hundred different answers. And all of these issues relate to development decisions in one way or another. Addressing a myriad of issues and how they intertwine is the point of the comprehensive planning process. It has the potential to get us as close to consensus as possible on difficult questions with long-term implications.
While touting the need for public participation in the process, the City Council was clear that they were still leaving themselves leeway for incremental zoning and special use permits before its completion. That makes sense for issues about schools, healthcare facilities, public safety and transportation. Maybe you’d even put luxury housing on that list. Maybe higher density communities are the best uses on more land. But I believe that several recent posts in the Williamsburg Independent demonstrate the urgency to pause piecemeal planning before the comp plan process proceeds.
A potential community of 37 high-end townhomes on Richmond Road was announced by the William & Mary Real Estate Foundation, which noted that the project is not being built for the direct benefit of the College. The development would occupy land already owned by the foundation, where an old hotel operates as a dormitory called Richmond Hall. The project would also encompass an adjacent city-owned lot, which is not currently zoned residential, and final approval of land-use changes by the City Council is still needed.
While that Richmond Road property would seem to be quite desirable, the reason this particular proposal made it to official review is unknown. Instead of looking for other ideas, only a few people had knowledge of discussions regarding the pending application. That approach has drawn significant ire from the community in the past and writing the comp plan should be different.
The Quarterpath area of Williamsburg is touted as a master-planned community covering large swaths of land still waiting to be developed south of the City. Much of it is owned by Riverside Health, which also owns Doctors Hospital. A developer interested in purchasing around 7 acres nearby recently submitted a proposal to remove a requirement for a commercial development component. Instead, they seek to fill the space with around 250 luxury apartments.
The developer’s application for the apartments in Quarterpath asserts that more housing is needed to attract commercial tenants to the area, which seems reasonable. The foundation says the new townhouses on Richmond Road will address a shortage of housing along the busy corridor. Both projects seem like they would appeal to many people looking for a home in town. But neither use has been specified for those properties according to the agreed upon grand schemes.
Building more housing may be lucrative for developers, but tax revenue estimates submitted along with the application in Quarterpath show only a relatively minor net gain for Williamsburg. For example, Colonial Williamsburg receives a cash infusion from the City each year that is significantly more. Perhaps that doesn’t matter and there’s other reasons to allow changes for more housing. To my mind, luxury doesn’t jibe with affordable and all the options to address actual need should be explored.
For example, Habitat for Humanity of Peninsula and Greater Williamsburg has asked for help finding land to build new houses. Maybe what’s needed on Richmond Road is innovation, not more of the same. The comp plan is meant to help answer these types of questions through transparent methods and open dialogue, offering a chance to build trust and consensus, or not.
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