The Williamsburg Planning Commission has to tweak its recommendations before it can sign off on the five-year Capital Improvement Plan.
In its last work session, the Planning Commission had provided Planning Director Reed Nester some notes to be included in a letter of recommendation to council. After reading the draft letter at their Wednesday meeting, the commissioners felt they needed to prioritize some elements and using stronger language to convey their priorities. Coming to a consensus about what needs rank the highest, however, proved difficult.
Similar to their counterparts on council, the commissioners voiced approval of the concept to build a new Stryker Center, but weren’t all convinced it should be the city’s first priority or proceed without more planning. Last week, City Council agreed to publish an unsolicited proposal for a new Stryker Center from Guernsey Tingle Architects and Henderson, Inc., opening the door for competing bids to be submitted until April 12 (read more here).
Dan Quarles said he wondered whether city money would be better spent on some other projects on the city’s capital improvement plan, including burying utilities underground in more parts of the city. Demetrios Florakis said that money would still be available for those projects if the city borrowed to finance a new Stryker Center, however.
Sarah Stafford said she believed a new Stryker Center, with increased capacity to host art shows and library events, could bring more people downtown.
“I’m not hesitant in saying it should be a high priority, just in terms of the life it would bring in this community,” she said. “The priorities have been pretty vague. I’m happy to have stronger language.”
Chair Sean Driscoll said he would like to see the city have a master plan for the Stryker area, where the city government buildings are located. He said he didn’t think the new Stryker Center had to be built on the exact footprint of the current building; he imagined a new Police Department building, which is also on the commission’s list of priorities, could move across the street near the Municipal Building. He pushed for the letter to council to say the city should not rush into approval of a Stryker proposal without considering the plan for the entire area.
Florakis noted the city did have a master plan for the area. A plan was created by architect Carlton Abbott in the late ’90s. Florakis said he’d rather see a study of the downtown area.
Business owners from the Arts District spoke at the meeting to advocate for investments in infrastructure, ranging from signage to underground utilities to crosswalks. Commissioner Chris Connolly said he felt investments in the Arts District would be well-served and have a good return on investment. Stafford, who co-chaired a task force that studied the Northeast Triangle of the city, said she would want that area to receive the same investments as the Arts District.
The commissioners could agree the city should prioritize sidewalk projects, particularly in the Arts District and Northeast Triangle. Stafford recommended using stronger language in the next letter, replacing words like “feel” and “should” with “wants to see sidewalks added, and believes the following are the most important.”
Nester said he planned to rewrite the letter as soon as possible. Typically, the commission has approved the CIP to recommend to council in February, but its next meeting is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. March 20 in the Stryker Building.
