Hotel housing still confined to Colonial Williamsburg
Justin Duke | Associate Arts and Culture Editor
Last Updated:2/3/10 Section: News
As students spend their spring semester scrambling to secure housing for the following year, they will find that the once-promising opportunity of hotel leasing is no longer on the table. On January 14th, the Williamsburg City Council voted unanimously to reject an ordinance that would allow students to reside indefinitely in hotels anywhere in the city.
The rejection came as a surprise, as it followed a successful ordinance change in November allowing up to two students per room reside in a hotel or motel located in Colonial Williamsburg. This, coupled with the recent modification of the Three Person Rule and a 6-1 recommendation of the change by the Planning Commission, left many residents and students scratching their heads.
The impromptu rejection of the ordinance change was prefaced by speeches by representatives from local apartments, who according to Councillor Judy Knudson made "... a very compelling argument about apartments being more appropriate for long term housing."
Appropriateness aside, apartment leasers also expressed concerns that the ordinance would drive customers away from an already struggling industry. In the report included by the Planning Commission, they mentioned that fifty students moving from apartments to hotels would cause an estimated loss of $200,000 to the industry.
However, the City Council seems to have jumped to a few premature conclusions. Ryan Hunt, Property Manager for Lawson Enterprises, spoke out against the bill, citing "high [apartment] vacancies in Williamsburg and surrounding areas."
Echoing Hunt's sentiments, Robert Duekett, Director of Public Affairs at the Peninsula Housing and Builder's Association argued that "apartment communities would be willing and able to accommodate the housing needed by the College of William & Mary and their members are more than willing to contact and work with the College to provide the housing."
While Hunt and Duekett are absolutely correct concerning the recession's impact on the apartment industry, they seem to make a few incorrect judgments regarding current College policy.
The rejection came as a surprise, as it followed a successful ordinance change in November allowing up to two students per room reside in a hotel or motel located in Colonial Williamsburg. This, coupled with the recent modification of the Three Person Rule and a 6-1 recommendation of the change by the Planning Commission, left many residents and students scratching their heads.
The impromptu rejection of the ordinance change was prefaced by speeches by representatives from local apartments, who according to Councillor Judy Knudson made "... a very compelling argument about apartments being more appropriate for long term housing."
Appropriateness aside, apartment leasers also expressed concerns that the ordinance would drive customers away from an already struggling industry. In the report included by the Planning Commission, they mentioned that fifty students moving from apartments to hotels would cause an estimated loss of $200,000 to the industry.
However, the City Council seems to have jumped to a few premature conclusions. Ryan Hunt, Property Manager for Lawson Enterprises, spoke out against the bill, citing "high [apartment] vacancies in Williamsburg and surrounding areas."
Echoing Hunt's sentiments, Robert Duekett, Director of Public Affairs at the Peninsula Housing and Builder's Association argued that "apartment communities would be willing and able to accommodate the housing needed by the College of William & Mary and their members are more than willing to contact and work with the College to provide the housing."
While Hunt and Duekett are absolutely correct concerning the recession's impact on the apartment industry, they seem to make a few incorrect judgments regarding current College policy.
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