<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0kriFt_1CukO1R000" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0kriFt_1CukO1R000" width="1760" height="1084" ><figcaption>Shaban Athuman / VPM News File Richmond's Code Refresh Zoning Advisory Council meets on Wednesday, September 10, 2025 at City Hall.</figcaption></figure>Richmond’s ongoing effort to rewrite its zoning code moved into a more focused and contentious phase, as city leaders weighed a set of remaining decisions that will shape how the city grows.The initiative, known as Code Refresh, is a citywide overhaul of 1970s-era zoning rules that determine what can be built, where it goes and how much housing is allowed in different parts of the city. The refresh aims to bring zoning up to speed with the city’s vision for the future and adapt land use rules to better reflect how Richmonders already live.After years of public input and two revision rounds, the process is now approaching a critical point: the release of a third draft, expected in mid-July.But as the timeline narrows, several core questions remain unresolved.At a June 15 work session, Kevin Vonck, Richmond’s planning director, turned city council’s attention to three issues at the center of the third draft proposal: how many unrelated people should be allowed to live in a single household, how places of worship should be rezoned and how many housing units should be permitted on a residential lot.Some city councilors addressed Vonck’s questions directly, but much of the discussion wrestled with broader concerns — like whether changing zoning rules would help solve the affordability crisis the city is facing, or whether city infrastructure and services are prepared for more housing.Councilor Ellen Robertson (6th District), who also sits on the Zoning Advisory Council, pushed back on Vonck’s presentation, calling it unrealistic to boil two years of work down to three questions.“It sends a message that we got most of the stuff right, except these three, and that is not the message that people want to hear,” she said at the work session. “I think there remains a significant level of lack of understanding, lack of information being clear for many reasons.”<h2>Occupancy rules</h2>Richmond’s current zoning law says no more than three unrelated persons (or a combination of related and unrelated persons) can live in the same household.Vonck said occupancy limits come up when discussing options for people who are unhoused, shared housing for people in need of support, or student housing.The city’s first draft of Code Refresh didn’t define the number of individuals, but the second draft landed on a cap of eight unrelated people.For the upcoming draft, Vonck said, the city is proposing looking at this issue from a structural perspective: “The building code says how many people can safely live in a structure. This is determined based on the number of bedrooms and people residing at the home.”<h2>Places of worship</h2>The city’s master plan noted that over 150 religious institutions were located in Richmond in 2020, accounting for over 470 acres of land.Vonck said the city is looking to account for the effects of congregations decreasing in size or religious institutions opting to sell their buildings and properties in the upcoming draft.“When you look at what's proposed here, they could all stay as one lot, or they could be subdivided in the future, but that entity would still retain the ability to subdivide their property, subject to the rules of what we zoned it,” Vonck said.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2giXDT_1CukO1R000" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2giXDT_1CukO1R000" width="840" height="560" ><figcaption>Connor Scribner / VPM News File Kevin Vonck (right), director of Richmond's Office of Planning and Development Review, listens to a presentation during a meeting of the Planning Commission at Richmond City Hall on Monday, September 18, 2023.</figcaption></figure>Originally, these were zoned for institutional use (like universities) in the first draft, but were recast as mixed-use to allow places of worship to bring in housing or commercial options. After receiving feedback and considering the loopholes, Vonck said the city is now considering zoning these places in line with surrounding residential neighborhoods.This would allow assembly uses for churches, mosques and synagogues to continue, but give congregations — or future land owners — the option of bringing in additional housing units.Richmond’s new zoning code will also need to account for Virginia’s newly passed ‘Yes In God’s Backyard’ law, which takes effect next year. The law allows qualifying religious organizations and certain nonprofits to build affordable housing by-right on their land.<h2>Number of housing units</h2>When it comes to how many housing units on a lot, Vonck said Richmond 300 guides them to consider creating well designed neighborhoods and preserving quality housing in sync, while prioritizing housing choice throughout the city.Vonck said the question here is: “How are we balancing these tensions that are together?”Right now, in most of Richmond’s single-family neighborhoods, zoning allows one primary home per lot, plus one smaller accessory dwelling unit no greater than 500 square feet.The city’s second draft garnered attention and criticism over its proposal to allow two full-sized primary homes on a lot plus an ADU no greater than 1,000 square feet.After pushback, the city scaled back to add a preservation bonus — restricting the building of the additional home plus an ADU, if the existing home was not preserved.In the upcoming proposal, Vonck said, the city is considering limiting building to only two units on the property. The preservation bonus would still stand. If the original home is demolished, zoning would default back to the current code.Annika Schunn, a policy advocate at Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia, said what’s important is for the new code to create a diverse range of options — not just for people moving to Richmond, but for existing residents who want to buy a home but can’t due to rising costs.“We have advocated for the inclusion of a provision that would accept duplexes in residential areas, so long as they were capped at a size of no larger than 1,500 square feet per unit,” Schunn said.The size is specific to HOME’s work with other affordable housing providers, which affirms that duplexes at that size, even if they are newly built, are more likely to be affordable than detached single-family houses of the same size.Schunn said the addition of by-right duplexes and accessory dwelling units across the city would provide flexibility to homeowners and renters alike.“We know that there is some interest at the city to fine-tune those allowances to make that a viable option for affordable homeownership, as well,” she said.But as of now, Schunn said that Richmond’s population is growing at a rate that construction is not matching.“Inevitably, what happens in that situation is that the people with the fewest resources get crowded out, which in the scenario is most often existing residents,” Schunn said. “I think the question of, ‘Is Code Refresh actually going to create enough units to match the demand?’ is an existential question, right? It's an existential question for existing residents and for preventing displacement.”<h2>Challenges ahead</h2>Several challenges surfaced during the discussion that could shape Code Refresh as it moves towards final adoption.According to the city’s May engagement report, about 5,000 residents — approximately 2% of a city of more than 230,000 — have participated in the process through meetings, open houses and pop-ups. Several councilors said the effort has not reached enough residents, particularly in the Southside’s 8th and 9th districts, home to many of Richmond’s Black and lower-income communities.Others called for expanded outreach and clearer factual information as misleading content, including AI-generated videos circulating online in opposition to Code Refresh.Councilors also raised concerns about preserving Richmond’s history and neighborhood character, noting they have not yet received the final Cultural Stewardship Plan— which is intended to complement the city’s master plan — for adoption. Vonck said the plan is forthcoming.Outside of City Hall, Code Refresh is now facing a legal challenge. Opponents have launched a petition to amend Richmond’s charter, seeking to require voter approval for major rezonings.In response to the petition, Schunn said the answer to the city’s housing crisis is to act, not bury it under years of delay.“Richmonders have had a real say, and they still do,” Schunn said.”Every year this drags out is another year of rising rents and more residents — especially Black and brown Richmonders — pushed out of the city they call home.”City staff is expected to bring forward the final draft of Code Refresh later this summer.</div></body>

Block Source: vpm.org

Misinformation

Clickbait

Old or repetitive news

Explicit content

Location not relevant

Richmond’s ongoing effort to rewrite its zoning code moved into a more focused and contentious phase, as city leaders weighed a set of remaining decisions that will shape how the city grows. The initiative, known as Code Refresh, is a citywide overhaul of 1970s-era zoning rules that determine what...

Questions linger as Richmond’s Code Refresh nears final stages

NewsBreak

Richmond’s ongoing effort to rewrite its zoning code moved into a more focused and contentious phase, as city leaders weighed a set of remaining decisions 

Questions linger as Richmond’s Code Refresh nears final stages

Comments