Williamsburg, Virginia

Williamsburg is a city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 11,998. It is bordered by James City CountyGR6 and York County, and is an independent city. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Williamsburg with James City County for statistical purposes. Williamsburg, in the center of the Historic Triangle of Virginia (which includes Jamestown and Yorktown), is well-known for the restored colonial area of the city, Colonial Williamsburg, and for the College of William and Mary which is situated mostly within the city of Williamsburg. The newspapers of record are the Daily Press and the bi-weekly The Virginia Gazette.

Geography and climate

Geography

Williamsburg is located at 37°16'29?N, 76°42'30?W.GR7

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 22.5 km² (8.7 mi²). 22.1 km² (8.5 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 1.50% water.

The city is located on the I-64 corridor on the Virginia Peninsula, 45 miles southeast of Richmond and approximately 37 miles northwest of Norfolk. It is in the northwest corner of the greater Hampton Roads area, (officially known as the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA), which is the 34th largest in the United States, with a total population of 1,576,370. The area includes the Virginia cities of Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Poquoson, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Williamsburg, and the counties of Gloucester, Isle of Wight, James City, Mathews, Surry, and York, as well as the North Carolina county of Currituck. While Virginia Beach is the most populated city within Hampton Roads, it currently functions more as a suburb. The city of Norfolk is recognized as the central business district, while the Virginia Beach seaside resort district and Williamsburg are primarily centers of tourism.

Climate

Williamsburg's mild four season climate means outdoor activities can be enjoyed year round. The weather in Williamsburg is temperate and seasonal. Summers are hot and humid with cool evenings. The mean annual temperature is 60 °F (15 °C), with an average annual snowfall of 6 inches and an average annual rainfall of 47 inches. No measurable snow fell in 1999. The wettest seasons are the spring and summer, although rainfall is fairly constant all year round. The highest recorded temperature was 104.0°F (40.0°C) on June 26, 1952 and August 22, 1983. The lowest recorded temperature was -7.0°F (-21.6°C) on January 21, 1985.

Economics

Williamsburg is notable for the fact that a high proportion of city residents derive a significant percentage of their annual income from investment sources, either in addition to or in lieu of income from work. This is because many retirees relocate to Williamsburg, who typically draw income from investments such as 401(k) plans and the like

Interaction with College Students

Over 70% of the students of the College of William and Mary either work part-time or serve as volunteers in the community; students contribute over 300,000 hours of volunteer service to the Williamsburg community annually.

The College campus closely adjoins the Historic District, and the Wren Building of the College at the head of Duke of Gloucester Street was one of the earliest restored by the efforts of Reverend Dr. W.A.R. Goodwin and the family of John D. Rockefeller Jr. as they began creating what is now commonly known as Colonial Williamsburg.

Nevertheless, there have been several areas of relations where students have found themselves in conflict with the city government.

Discriminatory Housing Regulations

In recent years there have been growing tensions between the substantial student population of the College of William and Mary and the City Council of Williamsburg. Legislation passed by the City Council has been aimed at reducing the ability of students of the College to live off-campus in the City of Williamsburg. City Council members claim that student-rented houses devalue neighborhoods and cause frequent noise complaints. As a result, the City Council has undertaken initiatives to reduce student off-campus residential presence in Williamsburg including a maximum occupancy rule of 3-unrelated persons for single-family dwellings, and a plan to buy rental houses with taxpayer dollars and resell them with the stipulation that the new owners must occupy them.

Student Voting Rights

In recent years, voting rights have become a major point of contention between Williamsburg city officials and students at the College of William and Mary. Virginia law allows the local voting registrar considerable flexibility in determining whether an individual qualifies as a permanent resident of the city for the purpose of registering to vote; Williamsburg registrar David R. Andrews has interpreted this to exclude a high percentage of students, while registrars in other Virginia college towns (e.g. Charlottesville, Blacksburg) have interpreted this to include a high percentage of students.

Students at William and Mary have faced what some feel are potentially unconstitutional barriers to voting in Williamsburg, and the vast majority of the students who have recently applied to register have been denied the right to vote, based upon the issue of residency.

The controversy was still ongoing following the May 2006 local elections, and may ultimately require resolution in the courts, legislature, or by the State Board of Elections.

Infrastructure

Government

The independent city has operated under the council-manager form of government since 1932. The governing body is composed of public-spirited citizens serving on a part-time basis to decide major policy issues. The Mayor is elected by the city council, and presides over council meetings and served as the Chief Elected Official for the city. The city council consists of five members that serve staggered, four-year terms. A city manager is hired by the city council, and is comparable to a corporation's chief executive officer. This person is usually a professionally-trained public administrator, who is charged with implementing the policies and directives of the city council, and has broad administrative authority with strict rules prohibiting political interference in administrative matters.

The current Mayor of the city of Williamsburg is Jeanne Zeidler, and the Vice Mayor is Clyde A. Haulman. Other members of the city council are Paul Freiling, Billy Scruggs, and Mickey Chohany. The current city manager is Jackson C. Tuttle.

The city shares constitutional officers, courts, and a school system with adjacent James City County, and is the county seat.

Education

The public school system is jointly operated by the city of Williamsburg and James City County. The Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools system (known informally as "WJCC") consists approximately 9,000 students in 12 schools, of which there are 7 elementary schools, 3 middle schools, and 2 high schools (with a third under construction, Warhill High, due to open in 2007). The two high schools, both of which are within the county's boundaries, are Jamestown and Lafayette High Schools. Both are considered above average institutions, and a third high school is under construction in the Lightfoot area. For the 2001-2002 academic year, the public school system was ranked among the top five school systems in the Commonwealth of Virginia and in the top 15% nationwide by Expansion Management Magazine. There are also two regional Governor's Schools in the area that serve gifted and talented students.

The city has also been the home to the College of William and Mary since its founding in 1693, making it America's second oldest college (behind Harvard University). It was also the first U.S. institution to have a Royal Charter. Three other institutions of higher education are located within a one-hour drive of the city, including Christopher Newport University (Newport News), Old Dominion University (Norfolk), and Hampton University (Hampton). There are also three community colleges, offering associate degrees and college transfer programs, within a twenty-five mile radius of Williamsburg: Thomas Nelson Community College, Paul D. Camp Community College, and Rappahannock Community College.

Transportation

Airports

Williamsburg is served by the Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport, in nearby Newport News, approximately 20 miles distant.

The Norfolk International Airport and Richmond International Airport, each located about 55 miles away via Interstate highways, are larger and offer considerably more flights. Williamsburg is roughly equidistant from these two airports. However, due to traffic concerns in crossing the harbor of Hampton Roads, the Richmond airport is often a shorter driving time away.

The Williamsburg-Jamestown Airport is a small general aviation airport located 3 miles southwest of Williamsburg, that provides air transport for private and small business jets.

Highways

Williamsburg is located adjacent to Interstate 64 which parallels U.S. Route 60 and runs east-west in the area. State Route 199, officially named the Humelsine Parkway, surrounds the city in a semicircle. State Route 5 links the city with the James River Plantations along the north shore of the James River, Interstate 295 and Richmond. State Route 31 links the city to Jamestown and the toll-free Jamestown Ferry.

The Colonial Parkway provides a bucolic low-speed link between the points of the Historic Triangle which in addition to Colonial Williamsburg, includes Jamestown and Yorktown. It passes under the "Restored Area" in a tunnel. With the exception of buses, commercial vehicles are not allowed on the Parkway.

In the "restored" or Historic Area, motorized traffic is not allowed on Duke of Gloucester Street, helping visitors to gain a perspective of what life was really like transportation-wise in the colonial days (before the invention of the automobile). There are bus stops and some parking areas located conveniently nearby, however.

Intercity rail and bus services

Unlike many U.S. destinations, Williamsburg offers good non-automobile driving alternatives for visitors and citizens. The area has both a central intermodal transportation center and a public transit bus system.

Williamsburg Transportation Center is a combined facility (itself in a restored building) with Amtrak passenger railroad service, and intercity bus service provided by Greyhound Lines (Carolina Trailways) and Hampton Roads Transit (HRT). The transportation center affords access to the Colonial Williamsburg Visitor's Center and is located near the downtown and restored areas and the College of William and Mary. Taxicabs are also based at the transportation center.

Williamsburg Transportation Center is served by several Amtrak trains a day, with direct service to Newport News, Richmond, and points along the Northeast Corridor from Washington DC through New York City to Boston.

Local bus services

The community's public bus system, Williamsburg Area Transport, has its central hub at the transportation center. Various color-coded routes, with buses accessible to disabled persons, serve many hotels and motels, restaurants, stores, and non-CW attractions in the City of Williamsburg and much of neighboring James City County and part of York County. The system also provides paratransit services and operates replica trolley buses at the Yorktown Riverfront attraction.

Williamsburg Area Transit (WAT) connects with the much larger Hampton Roads Transit (HRT) (Route 116) bus system at Lee Hall in northwestern Newport News and at the Williamsburg Transportation Center (HRT Route 121). HRT routes connect to many other cities to the east in Hampton Roads and Greyhound Lines bus routes serve a nationwide network.

The Williamsburg Area Transit also operates a bus line for the College of William and Mary and its students, faculty, and staff, connecting the central university campus with points in the city of Williamsburg and James City County, the law school campus, and various outlying dormitories and auxiliary buildings owned or operated by the university that are not contiguous with the main campus.

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