By Samantha Yates
Lexington City Council voted 4-0 Thursday night to approve Washington and Lee University’s plan to build housing for third-year students.
The university wants to require juniors to begin living on campus in the 2016-17 academic year, and approval of more than 300 new housing units is key to that plan. The construction would take place on the back campus, near Route 60 West and West Denny Circle.
Because parts of the project will be located in both Lexington and Rockbridge County, the school still needs approval from the county Board of Supervisors. The supervisors plan to take up the matter on Monday.
Most W&L juniors now live in off-campus housing, and local landlords and businesses are worried about the impact of removing several hundred students from the local housing market.
The county supervisors initially considered the proposal in late October, but asked Washington and Lee officials to come back with more information about parking and traffic plans.
Last night’s action by the Lexington City Council included approval of 13 projects the university has identified in its master plan for the coming years. They include a new indoor swimming pool, called a natatorium, that would be built near the new housing. City Planning Director Terry Harrington said the university will still need approval by the city of details of the projects.
Council Members Chuck Smith and Mary Harvey-Halseth were not at Thursday’s meeting. Both cited family emergencies.