Williamsburg City Council is all about vision

WILLIAMSBURG

City Council will take up two issues related to vision at its October meeting next week.

The first deals with what Williamsburg will look like in the future. Council will consider a comprehensive rewrite of the city's Design Review Guidelines, the rules the Architectural Review Board uses to determine what can and can't be built in various parts of the city.

As a general rule, the parts of the city closest to Colonial Williamsburg's Historic Area have the tightest guidelines, with wooden siding and replacement windows mandated.

This year, the guidelines relax the standards for two areas in relative proximity to downtown. Crispus Attucks Estates, off Lafayette Street, has been moved to a less restrictive district to reflect the fact that the homes there are not that old.

"We thought they should have a greater mix of products to choose from," assistant planning director Carolyn Murphy explained to the Planning Commission last month.

Planners approved the new guidelines on a 6-1 vote. Sarah Stafford voted no, saying she thought the guidelines set stricter standards than those used for homes already in some districts.

The Art's District, adjacent to Crispus Attucks and running from Lafayette Street to Casey Field, was also put in a less restrictive district.

The idea there was to encourage creativity in the district, which although mostly made up of residential buildings, has been targeted for certain types of businesses which might require re-modeling buildings.

In addition to rules about siding, windows, whether shutters are required to be functional and other style points, the design review guidelines contain a new color palette for businesses and residences to comply with.

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Williamsburg City Council is all about vision