RICHMOND, Va. — Richmond Mayor Danny Avula on Monday introduced the third draft of Code Refresh, the city's first comprehensive zoning overhaul in 50 years, aimed at boosting housing supply and lowering costs.
The latest draft responds to months of public feedback and makes several significant changes from previous versions. It eliminates a controversial provision that would have allowed duplexes by right in single-family residential neighborhoods, introduces contextual height limits to prevent oversized buildings, adds infrastructure protections to address parking and aging systems, and expands tree canopy and green space requirements.
Richmond's housing shortage has intensified as the city's population has grown.
The Code Refresh is designed to implement the vision of Richmond 300, the city's 20-year master plan adopted in 2020 that guides land use through 2037.
Norwood Thorton of Richmond told CBS 6 that developers began buying up parcels in the historic Westwood neighborhood several months ago, dividing land into multiple housing units. The expansion of condos and businesses along the nearby Libby, Grove and Patterson areas has also made the neighborhood attractive to investors.
"This neighborhood, when we grew up in this community, everybody owned their own home, this was by ownership and now with Carver - they are coming in and making it a rental community and we don't want a rental community," Thorton said.
Former Richmond City Council member Bruce Tyler has been a prominent voice in protecting the city's single-family neighborhoods throughout the process.
"A lot of neighbors got together and a lot of people worked very hard to let their voices be heard," Tyler said.
Tyler said the new draft represents meaningful progress.
"It will never be perfect but this one goes a long way to solving a lot of the problems that we've been dealing with through special use permits for years and years and years so when I look at this thing as a whole- it really does make a lot of sense," Tyler said.
Still, Tyler and other locals remain concerned about density in neighborhoods like Oregon Hill, the Museum District and the Fan, and whether affordability goals will be achievable.
"So we have to figure out what's affordable and who are we talking about when we say affordable so those questions have to be answered," Tyler said.
Some fear being pushed out of their own communities entirely.
Richmond City Council will vote at a later date on whether to adopt the new code. The city plans to launch an education campaign over the coming months to inform residents about the draft ahead of council consideration.
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
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