A proposal that would allow struggling hotels in the City of Williamsburg a second life as apartments will have to wait until March for consideration by city leaders.
The Williamsburg Planning Commission scheduled a public hearing for its March meeting on proposed ordinances that would allow hotel rooms in the city to be partially transformed into apartments.
The bundle of four proposed ordinances would allow up to 100 hotel rooms in the city to be repurposed as apartments, create a new zoning designation for those repurposed rooms, and reconfigure the city’s hotel room length-of-stay limitations.
The proposal stems from Knights Inn owner Doug Pons’s request to turn 60 rooms at his hotel at 620 York St. into 40 apartments. Pons, who also serves on the Williamsburg City Council, initially made the request for a special use permit in October 2014, but a final decision has been delayed as the city considered larger changes to its zoning code.
At their Feb. 12 meeting, council members voted to defer approval of Pons’ proposal until after the zoning changes had been finalized.
Councilman Scott Foster said he did not think it was necessary to delay Pons’ request any longer, and a special use permit would serve as a bridge until the new ordinances had been finalized.
Mayor Clyde Haulman disagreed, saying the proposal could quickly work its way back to the City Council for approval if the Planning Commission discussed the ordinances at its Feb. 18 meeting and scheduled a public hearing for March.
Commission members did not discuss the proposal at their meeting Wednesday, but did schedule public hearings on the ordinances for their March 18 meeting.
Related Coverage:
- City Council Moves Forward With Plans for New Zoning Code to Repurpose Hotel Rooms
- City Council Considers Zoning Changes to Repurpose Hotels
- City Council Delays Consideration of Plan to Concert Hotel Rooms into Apartments
- Planning Commission Supports Proposal to Transform York Street Motel to Apartments
- Knights Inn Seeks City Approval for Partial Transition to Apartments
- City Council Increases Occupancy Limit at Apartment Complex for Students
- City Planning Commission Backs Modified Floor Plan for Student Apartments
