May 12, 2008
2 with varied activism
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2 with varied activism
Part 2: Two different activists
Among the contenders for the May 6 City Council election are two people with varied approaches. One has a long record of community service, while the other has succeeded in galvanizing public opinion to slow growth.
Judy Knudsonhas the most extensive and diversified civic resume of any of the six candidates, with 30 organizations befitting her 29 years in the community. Unique among all six candidates, she was a supervisor and board chair in James City.
Today she serves on the Williamsburg Planning Commission, which has given her a crash course on myriad city issues. She does not pretend to be all-knowing, and instead finds more questions than answers in the complexity of our little society.
Because she has served in so many capacities over the years, she sees many sides of an issue but can still decide some of them without compromising. She finds the idea of eliminating deed restrictions for Redevelopment Authority housing appalling (see below). She would hate to lose Harris Teeter supermarket for lack of a bigger sign, but she wouldn’t back down.
She would have voted no on the Transportation Authority (easy to say now that it’s dead) and doesn’t feel localities should have to tax for roads, “unless the General Assembly is ready to eliminate the Dillon Rule.” She regards tolls and gas taxes as “so regressive,” but would be resigned to them as long as they’re imposed statewide.
She’s also against repealing the three-person rule, which Matt Beato is pushing to expand college rentals in neighborhoods. She does not relish the idea of quasi-fraternity houses. “I’ve lived in a lot of university towns, and I’m glad we have nice residences near the college.”
Judy claims no expertise in tourism, but she gets the importance and supports current initiatives. She would like to make rail more attractive, which seems nice but futile. She would promote European tourism given the weak dollar, an idea suggested here. She offers no great insights on generating new business except to capitalize on the intellectual strengths of the college, perhaps with a business incubator aided by the Mason School of Business. She would like to see a little office park at the old City Shop on CapitolLanding, and she applauds efforts to promote college retail near the new School of Ed.
Pressed to name the worst intersection, she chose College Corner, but she resists putting a traffic light there as unsightly. She considers the roundabout idea at the nearby flower garden “incredibly dangerous” because there aren’t enough roundabouts in our community to get drivers used to them. She feels the city didn’t have much input on the traffic that will grow on Jamestown Road because of the Mason School. “The city can suggest, but it can’t do anything with the college. It can get a little frustrating.”
Judy has a curious view of collaboration with James City. “The current Board of Supervisors is going to be difficult to work with. They don’t seem terribly interested in cooperation, as I can tell.” She’s referring to the new Republican majority, which has stymied her good friend John McGlennon. She does see promise for improving the Route 60 East corridor to Busch Gardens. Asked what she did as supervisor to push the county toward more tourism promotion, she conceded, “not much,” because they were relying on Busch.
Her take on density is to exploit the infill sections rather than contribute to sprawl. As a planning commissioner, she voted for the controversial condos across from the Law School because “the city needs to look like a city.” Putting Victorian houses there would be a waste of density, in her view. “I think we need to revitalize the downtown.”
She worries that a recession would slam tourism and thus require cutbacks in services, notably backyard trash collection, She concedes a tax hike might preclude that, “since 54 cents is really low.”
Asked about the WJC School Board’s fiscal responsibility, she said, “I think they are doing a much better job now that they have a new chair, and they seem to be more responsive.” City rep Elise Emanuel took over in a big shift after the election of James Nickols. Pressed if City Council should challenge the School Board more often, she replied, “I think it’s time to do that.”
Asked by the Williamsburg-James City Education Association if she would support a tax increase to support the school budget, she said, “I believe that the city can continue to fund its portion of the schools with our current tax rate.”
Nor is she wild about raising the meal tax. “To soak the tourists, you’re soaking your own residents” who dine out.
Terence Wehleis running on a platform of preservation. “City Council and the Planning Commission appear to be of one mind as it pertains to welcoming and encouraging development. I think it’s critical to have at least one person on council whose bias is more toward preservation, to give balance.”
He built Stop 22 in no time to oppose higher densities in certain sectors downtown. Support from citizens grew to such an extent that City Council compromised at 14 units per acre instead of 22. The fight epitomizes his quest to resist the pressures of growth to protect neighborhoods and greenspace.
Critics consider his positions rigid and simplistic, without regard for economic development that makes the city more vibrant with new commercial and residential growth. “I am absolutely opposed to just raising densities or changing zonings to see what we can attract like a fish in the water, and then take it as it comes. That to me is not proper planning.”
His second issue reflects his Libertarian philosophy of less government. He is calling for the repeal of deed restrictions imposed by the Williamsburg Redevelopment & Housing Authority. “No other government entity that I am aware of requires the placement of such a burden on the homebuyers they help.”
The restrictions are designed to prevent seniors and low-income households from flipping a house after the government has helped them secure the loan and provide subsidies. He says the goal of securing worthy clients can be best achieved by qualifying them upfront, but after that he resists government interference.
This is blatant heresy to supporters of subsidized housing, but there’s more to his argument. “Four years ago, the city said, ‘You know, we have to do something about too many rentals,’ and they got together and came up with this plan that the property can never be rented.” He finds it odd that things were fine for 30 years prior and suddenly the city got worried because one house was sold on the open market. He counts at least 60 homes that are affected today by the restrictions, which hinders resale as well as preventing renting.* He found that Richmond and VHDA do not impose such restrictions.
Terence is no novice on either issue, having lived here three decades and worked as a real estate agent. His first foray was to block the Williamsburg Redevelopment & Housing Authority from building its offices in his backyard, literally, on Blayton Field.
He also sides with Matt Beato that the city should revisit the absolute rule of preventing more than three unrelated people from living under one roof. This was settled in the early 1990s as a way to preserve neighborhoods, but Terence would review the matter and establish exceptions in the city code if warranted. He would limit on-street parking to two vehicles per house. Repealing the three-person rule contradicts Stop 22 in terms of density, but he sees the rule as a fairness issue.
He has other ideas about growth, greenspace, economic development and transportation that are more mainstream. Perhaps if he had to come up with a slogan, it would be “Empower the citizenry.” He is skeptical of the current council as too Establishment. “Perhaps not the particular personalities, but I’ve found the process very difficult in trying to influence council. They seem aloof, and you get only one shot in a public hearing where things have already been decided. It’s frustrating trying to contribute or to make headway with that.”
So here we have the penultimate insider and the maverick outsider. What they have in common is that they both feel passionate about preservation of the city’s quality of life.
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*Full disclosure: He and his wife own just such a lot and accepted the restrictions. He argues for futurepolicy, although the relaxation he favors would seem to help them as well. He says that only a court ruling would accomplish that and doesn’t consider it likely.
April 12: Oldest and youngest
April 19: The two incumbents
Copyright © 2008, The Virginia Gazette
