How much density in a location like the historic core of Williamsburg is the right amount? City fathers are grappling with that question as they update their comprehensive plan. Proposed changes would yield an estimated 100 to 150 new dwelling units, which would translate into the addition of some 300 new residents.
Predictably, opposition has surfaced. Some residents are concerned that more houses will ruin the city’s appearance. I’m a big fan of downtown Williamsburg, and as a semi-frequent visitor would hate the historic district to lose its distinctive character. But I also acknowledge that communities must evolve to prosper. As long as the new buildings are not jarring or disruptive, increased density is probably a good thing.
The Daily Press makes a good case in support of higher density:
Density is not, in and of itself, bad. It adds energy to community life. It brings customers for local businesses, helping maintain a lively mix of restaurants and shops and services. It adds taxpayers to the local rolls. It adds the eyes and pedestrians that keep public spaces safe. It’s a more efficient way to deliver services. By clustering residents close to the services and jobs they need, it means that at least some of life’s business can be done without driving, and that cuts down on gas consumption and pollution. All those good things feed on themselves, drawing more people who want that kind of convenient, satisfying life.
All of which can also help prevent the all-too-common bane of small towns: declining neighborhoods, shuttered business, neglected public spaces, fleeing taxpayers. And it can avert sprawl – with its consequences for the environment and the way people live.
The danger isn’t density, but the wrong density in the wrong place – like a high-rise apartment building on Prince George Street. Or detached, single-family homes where three-story live-aboves are better suited. Or restrictions that interfere with the natural order of town life.
Remember, the antidote to suburban sprawl (scattered, disconnected, low-density development) is not anti-growth controls in fast-growth counties, but creating the conditions for core jurisdictions to rejuvenate themselves. For every family that loves living in a cul-de-sac subdivision, there’s another family that lives there only because there aren’t enough quality urban places with character and charm, like Williamsburg, to live. The marketplace would support considerable in-fill and re-development if only local governments would let it.
