Are you thinking of replacing that old appliance? Better act fast because a holiday that runs through Monday could make that purchase tax-free.
Also, nominate someone from the community that’s made a difference in the environment for an award and get up-to-date on a few pieces of legislation that made their way through City Council this week. Read on for more information in this week’s Williamsburg Notebook.
Holiday for Tax-exempt Purchase of Appliances Ends Monday
Those who are thinking of replacing an old appliance have through Monday to take advantage of Virginia’s seventh Energy Star and WaterSense Sales Tax Holiday.
The holiday, which offers the purchase of certain household appliances to be bought for non-commercial and personal use free of sales tax, began Friday and will run through Monday. Qualifying products will have an Energy Star or WaterSense label attached to them.
Required to cost less than $2,500, qualifying products include:
- Air conditioners
- Ceiling fans
- Washing Machines
- Dishwashers
- Dehumidifiers
- Refrigerators
- Compact Fluorescent light bulbs
- Faucets
- Faucet accessories
- Toilets
- Showerheads
- Urinals
- Landscape irrigation controllers
Online purchases will also be tax-exempt. For FAQs, guidelines and a list of approved products visit tax.virginia.org.
Arbor Day Nominations Now Being Accepted
The Williamsburg Area Council of Garden Clubs announced this week that they are accepting nominations for the 2014 Arbor Day Awards. The awards will be presented at the Annual Arbor Day Awards Ceremony on 11 a.m. March 14 at Williamsburg Community Building.
Categories for nomination are:
- Arbor Day Individual Award: someone who affected a positive change and enhanced the quality of the area’s environment
- Garden Club Arbor Day Award: a Garden Club member, specifically, who – according to a release – must have made “outstanding contributions to the community in the areas of beautification conservation and service.”
- Arbor Day Appreciation Award: people, organizations, businesses and institutions that have “made a difference in the quality of the environment.”
This is the 29th year the ceremony will take place. Garden Club members, anyone in the city of Williamsburg, the Bruton District of York County and James City County can find out how to nominate by downloading this pdf (Attention: Link is a Download).
Laws and Resolutions Recently Adopted
The City of Williamsburg adopted a few new regulations this week: updated Design Review Guidelines, Amend ZO – Visual Obstruction, and the Legislative Issues for the 2014 General Assembly Resolution.
The Design Review Guidelines are an update of rules for building design in the city that had not been changed since 2006. The new set of rules gives, among other things, more leeway to businesses and residents in the Arts District on choosing signs and colors for their storefronts. Read more about it in the full story, online now.
The Amend ZO – Visual Obstruction, according to Director of Planning Reed Nester, is a “housekeeping” item. It changes a standard that has been in place since 1991 regarding regulation of visual obstructions at street level for drivers and pedestrians. Instead of the one-size-fits-all approach that is now in place for the city, Williamsburg will follow a set of national standards.
The resolution for legislative priorities is a list of legislative goals the city has for state legislation. Among other things, the city asked the state to fund more tourism promotion, widen I-64 and add another passenger train to the Peninsula. Read the full story here.
