Hoping to Be Better Neighbors

By Amber Lester Saturday, April 10, 2010

Williamsburg’s newly formed Neighborhood Relations Committee has created a Web site and e-mail address for residents to share concerns.

The formation of the NRC was announced in December in an effort to improve town-gown relations in the city. The NRC is charged with “monitoring and encouraging the contributions by various parties — city, college, students, neighbors, landlords — to improving the quality of life for all in the neighborhoods.”

The committee’s formation came shortly after the City Council approved a plan to allow four unrelated people to live together in single-family dwellings. Some residents, who wanted the city to maintain its previous three-person requirement with increased enforcement, heavily criticized the 3-2 vote.

The NRC has five members, appointed by William and Mary President Taylor Reveley, Williamsburg Mayor Jeanne Zeidler and the Student Assembly president. The members include a college representative, a city representative, a student, a landlord and a neighborhood resident. The members are: Al Albert, a landlord in the city; Bill Talley, a neighborhood resident; Chon Glover, assistant to Reveley; Emily Gottschalk-Marconi, student representative; and Carolyn Murphy, the deputy planning director for the city.

The group meets once a month, and additional meetings will be scheduled as needed.

The NRC invites the community to share its concerns about neighborhood relations at its new e-mail, Neighbors411@williamsburgva.gov.

Read more about the group’s formation here.