City Plan Comm. Gives Thumbs Up to Tribe Square Plan, Quarterpath Tweak

By Matt Poms Thursday, June 17, 2010

The Williamsburg Planning Commission unanimously approved two proposals at its Tuesday meeting, greenlighting a design for a residential-retail development to be built by the College of William and Mary on Richmond Road, as well as an amendment to alter lot regulations at a Quarterpath Road housing complex.

The William and Mary Real Estate Foundation’s site plan for their Tribe Square development met with approval from the commission, sending the proposal on to the Williamsburg City Council with a 4-0 recommendation. The Planning Commission also approved a landscape waiver that would reduce the buffering around a mechanical enclosure, as well as cutting the number of shade trees required due to similar plantings on the adjacent properties.

When completed in fall 2011, the complex will host 56 students in four-person apartments, while providing 10,634 square-feet of retail space on the ground floor.

“Most people that have participated in the process of approving this [project] have been excited about the opportunity,” Planning Commission Chairman Doug Pons said. “There aren’t a whole lot of opportunities to do something like this, but it’s certainly a step in the right direction. It’s something the residents want, providing the type of housing that students are looking for.”

Also approved was a proposal by L&B Quarterpath, LLC, developers of the Village of Quarterpath complex on Quarterpath Road, to alter the minimum lot requirements for their duplex dwellings. Currently, each dwelling on the 60-foot wide lots must be 30-feet wide as mandated by city regulations. The Planning Commission approved the developers’ request to change the minimum lot width requirement to 25 feet by a 4-0 vote. The change gives L&B Quarterpath, LLC greater design flexibility, but would not change the overall density of the development.

Both proposals will now be sent to the City Council for approval.

The meeting was also the last for Pons, a member of the Planning Commission since 2003. Pons was elected to the City Council in May, and will begin his term July 1.

Planning Commission members Elaine McBeth, Greg Ballentine and Sarah Stafford were absent.