RICHMOND, Va. — Richmond city planners and council members continued work Monday on Code Refresh, the city's first major zoning overhaul in 50 years, exploring ways to modernize the housing landscape, boost supply and encourage walkable, mixed-use development in neighborhoods long zoned for single-family homes.
Advocates say the overhaul is a chance to level the playing field as housing prices continue to rise.
"We have folks moving to Richmond City who are now basically competing for housing against existing residents," said Annika Schunn, a housing policy advocate with Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia.
Kevin Vonck, the city's director of planning and development, says new zoning laws would help the city move forward with the "Richmond 300 Plan," formally adopted in 2020 to guide equitable and sustainable growth. Vonck says growth could help absorb housing demand, lowering costs and boosting the local economy.
But some Richmond residents fear the opposite — that they will be priced out of their own communities and forced to live in closer quarters with their neighbors.
Reverend Jeanette Brown and Tammy Rose both live in the Historic Westwood neighborhood in the Near West End, where new mixed-use development is being built near Willow Lawn and Libby and Grove.
"I'm in a home that my mother had as a single parent with four kids, and now I have it and I don't want to let it go, but I may not have a choice as the assessments are going up," Brown said.
Rose raised concerns about aging infrastructure struggling to keep pace with new construction.
"Even in our neighborhood, our infrastructure; our sewer lines and gas lines have not been touched in 50 years, so they are putting up new structures and you haven't gone in to fix what is already broken," Rose said.
On Monday, city planners presented a third draft to council members addressing the number of units that would be allowed on a lot, how many people could live in a household and how houses of worship would be zoned.
Many city council members and residents voiced concerns about still-unanswered questions, including safety, affordability and displacement, historic preservation and the use of green space.
Council member Kenya Gibson, who represents the city's Third District, argued that nearly 25% of multi-family developments in the city are owned by LLCs.
Copeland Casati, who lives on Grace Street in the city's Second District, raised concerns about multiple neighbors moving onto one parcel of land.
"To be taking your neighbor's solar opportunities and the health benefits that come along with that must be considered," Casati said.
Advocates for Code Refresh believe all those factors are being considered and say they are confident growth and preservation can co-exist.
"It's not about allowing developers to do whatever it is they want, it's about saying how can we allow neighborhoods to evolve organically over time. What are small incremental changes we can allow in density to allow those places to grow as our city grows and as the needs of the population grow," Schunn said.
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