Williamsburg residents press council to curb student rentals, large parties in Indian Springs neighborhood

Dozens of Indian Springs residents told the Williamsburg City Council on Monday that a rise in purpose‑built student rental properties and large off‑campus parties are eroding the neighborhood’s residential character and raising safety and access concerns.

Speakers said clusters of rentals — including a plan to redevelop the former Hornsby House site into three new houses intended for student tenancy — are producing frequent loud parties, public urination, blocked streets and parked cars that sometimes prevent school buses and trash trucks from reaching homes. “When four or five students live in a house without a landlord, the house is sometimes used as an off‑campus fraternity or sorority,” resident Henry Hart said. “Hundreds of students attend the parties and then drunken students block the street, shout obscenities at residents, urinate in public, and generally create mayhem until the police arrive.”

Why it matters: Residents said the change is fast and affects daily life and safety. Rowan Lockwood, who lives on Indian Springs Road and identified herself as a College of William & Mary professor, said the percentage of student rentals in her block rose from “about 5%” when she moved in to “closer to 50%,” and described repeated 100‑plus person parties this spring that left neighbors concerned about emergency access and children’s safety. John Swaddell, also a William & Mary professor, told council the clustering of student‑targeted rental properties “will then house at least a dozen or so students right next to each other with shared common spaces, that will change the characteristic of the neighborhood fundamentally.”

What residents asked council to do

Speakers urged the city to enforce existing rules and to consider new local measures. Jim Heller cited provisions of the city’s zoning and architectural review regulations (including single‑family districts and the Architectural Review Board standards) and said those regulations are intended to “stabilize and protect the essential characteristics of the land and promote and encourage a suitable environment for family life.” Bill Carr offered a specific…