Colonial Williamsburg fumes at city's proposed admissions tax
Also today: County gets few complaints on school funding...Two dead in York County car crash...New Town housing development turned down...
Williamsburg’s proposal to impose admissions taxes while raising meals and lodging taxes is not sitting well with its biggest taxpayer.
A spokesperson for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation said Friday the proposal “jeopardizes the work of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and all local business to make Williamsburg an attractive destination for residents and visitors.”
The Williamsburg Area Restaurant Association also told us they opposed the increase in meals taxes. But the executive director of the Williamsburg Hotel & Motel Association said a lodging tax was preferable to raising property taxes.
City Manager Andrew O. Trivette proposed a $121.5 million budget for 2026 that he said tried to balance the need for infrastructure improvements with slower than anticipated revenue growth, without raising the real estate tax rate.
Instead, he proposed raising the water rate, adding a new 10% admissions tax, and increasing meals and lodging rates by 2% and 3%, respectively.
Ron Kirkland, the executive director of the Williamsburg Hotel and Motel Association, said if the group had to choose between increased property taxes or a lodging tax “passed on to a consumer who comes from out of town, we’ll take the sales tax any time.” Kirkland said the increase in water rates will affect his membership’s bottom line more.
Colonial Williamsburg was less sanguine, warning through its spokesperson , “Williamsburg will see a drop in commerce and we will see local and tourism spending flow to neighboring counties which will have substantially lower tax rates.”
Rachel Sears, executive director of the Williamsburg Area Restaurant Association, also complained the meals tax would hurt its members as well as local tourism.
Coming on top of increasing prices for food and drink, she said, “it will discourage people from continuing to eat out and support our local restaurants.”
Two dead in York County Car Crash
Two people -- one of them a pregnant woman -- died in a two-car crash in Yorktown Thursday night.
The York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office said criminal charges are pending against the driver of one of the cars, 22-year-old Hunter Arnold of Windsor.
Arnold was driving a Dodge Challenger that crashed into a Honda Fit Thursday around 8:15 p.m., a spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Office said.
Witnesses told deputies the Challenger was speeding when it hit the Honda between Daniels Drive and the Colonial Parkway entrance.
A 34-year old passenger in the Honda, who was six months pregnant, died in the crash. A 21-year-old male who was a passenger in the Challenger also died, the Sheriff’s Office reported.
Arnold was taken to Riverside Hospital with multiple injuries. The 28-year-old woman who was driving the Honda was treated and released from the hospital for a cut on her leg.
JCC Planners approve turning old hotel into apartments, retail space
New Town housing project turned down
James City County’s Planning Commission denied a request to rezone land for a mixed use neighborhood that would have added 186 homes and commercial space adjacent to New Town.
But they unanimously approved another plan to convert the aging Fort Magruder Hotel and Conference Center into a mixed-use development that would include apartments for lower income families.
Commissioners said they were worried the proposed Westwood Park development, which would have been built on surplus state land around Eastern State Hospital, would further damage the Powhatan watershed. Only Jay Everson voted to send the request to the board of supervisors.
They were unanimous, however, in approving another plan to convert the 303-room Fort Magruder complex on Pocahontas Trail into a mixed-use development with 126 apartments, 40% of which would be set aside for lower income residents.
The apartments would provide reduced rents for people earning 60-80% of the county’s average median wage.
That idea drew praise from the commissioners, who noted James City County has been trying to find solutions for affordable housing for teachers, police and service workers who work in the county. They also liked the fact it would repurpose an existing building rather than tearing down green space. The hotel has been struggling with little occupancy for years, and has been on the sales block for awhile, developers told the planning commissioners.
The proposal also includes 32,000 square feet of commercial space, which the developer said would house retail stores.
This is the second Williamsburg area project for Conserve Holdings, a real estate investment company based in Toms River, NJ that focuses on multi-family housing in Virginia and the Carolinas. Conserve already manages the adjacent Grand Village apartment project.
The rezoning request now moves to the Board of Supervisors for approval.
JCC residents mostly mum on county’s contribution to schools
Williamsburg-James City County schools are warning of big cuts if the localities don’t fund their budget request, but county residents who would pay most of the increase are not flooding their representatives with complaints.
During the school board meeting Monday night, Acting Superintendent Daniel Keever said the schools would need to plan expense cuts because of “the initial level of funding from the localities.”
James City County pays 90% of local school contributions and its proposed 2026 budget includes $2.8 million more in funding for the schools, about a quarter of the $10.5 million increase requested.
Williamsburg’s proposed budget includes all of the $1 million in additional funds the schools requested.
Berkeley District Supervisor Ruth Larson said she has heard from a handful of people, and told them the county is giving nearly half of the $7 million in new revenue it plans to receive in 2026 to the schools.
She urged taxpayers to attend next week’s public hearing on the budget with ideas of what other services they would cut, or what extra taxes they would pay, to fund a higher boost to the schools.
“Really there are two options, you cut services or you raise revenue,” Larson told us in an email.
Roberts District Supervisor John McGlennon said he had heard from a few people, but opinions had been split on giving the schools more.
“I have not received much push back from residents yet,” said Barbara Null, who represents the Stonehouse district.
Budgets public hearings next week, and more
Williamsburg and James City County taxpayers will have a chance to comment about the localities’ proposed budgets for Fiscal Year 2026 next week.
City Council will review Williamsburg’s proposed budget at a work session Monday starting at 4 p.m. in the Stryker Center, 412 N. Boundary Street. Council then holds a public hearing on the budget on Thursday starting at 2 p.m.
James City County holds a public hearing on its budget Tuesday, April 8, starting at 5 p.m. in the County Government Center Board Room at 101 Mounts Bay Road.
Other meetings slated for next week:
Williamsburg
Architectural Review Board, Tuesday, April 8 at 6:30 p.m., Stryker Center, 412 N. Boundary St.
Economic Development Authority, Wednesday April 9, 3 p.m. 401 Lafayette Street Large Conference Room.
York County
Planning Commission, Wednesday April 9, 7 p.m., York Hall, 301 Main St.
VDOT Updates on I-64 lane closings in James City County:
Single-lane closures on I-64 east from New Kent/James City County line to Route 199/Lightfoot (exit 234) to April 6-12 from as early as 7 p.m. to 5 a.m.
Single-lane closures on I-64 west from Route 199/Lightfoot (exit 234) to New Kent County-James City County line April 6-13 from as early as 7 p.m. to 8 a.m.
Full on-ramp closures from Croaker Road to I-64 east April 6-7 from as early as 7 p.m. to 5 a.m.
Full off-ramp closures from as early as 7 p.m. to 8 a.m.:
I-64 west to Croaker Road (exit 231) April 6-12
I-64 west to Old Stage Road (exit 227) April 6-12
Long-term, temporary traffic shift on I-64 west starting April 6 from east of Route 199/Lightfoot (exit 234) to the New Kent/James City County line.
Long-term, temporary traffic shift on I-64 east between the New Kent/James City County line to Route 199/Lightfoot (exit 234).
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