Zoning rewrite could reshape Richmond neighborhoods
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Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios
Richmond is nearing completion of its years-long zoning ordinance rewrite — the city's biggest code refresh in a generation.
Why it matters: The draft plan would allow denser housing across the city, including in neighborhoods long restricted to single-family homes.
State of play: Richmond's proposed new zoning districts aim to create more walkable neighborhoods and draw more businesses along transit and commuter corridors.
- The biggest change is the elimination of single-family-only zones, per a review of the draft plan.
- The city unveiled interactive maps in June that show duplexes, or up to two houses, plus an accessory dwelling unit (aka, Granny Flat), can be built on a formerly single-family lot in nearly every part of the city.
The big picture: Similar zoning updates in other parts of Virginia, like Charlottesville and Arlington, have resulted in lawsuits by residents attempting to preserve single-family-only neighborhoods.
Context: It's also a massive shake-up to Richmond's existing building rules, last updated in the 1970s — a time when Richmonders were decamping to the suburbs en masse.
- In response, the code Richmond adopted in 1976 had more suburban-like building rules like large home lot sizes, restricting where businesses could open.
- It also dedicated around 59% of the city exclusively for single-family, residential use, The Richmonder reported.
Zoom in: The proposed changes also allow for small, mixed-use buildings with commercial tenants on the ground floor in more parts of the city, like on Arthur Ashe in the Fan, or Ellwood Avenue in the Museum District.
- And the changes would also allow taller buildings, up to six stories in some cases, in zones currently capped at three stories.
What we're watching: The city is encouraging locals to weigh in by submitting comments on the interactive draft map.
- Hundreds of locals have already done so, per an Axios review.
- Comments will be accepted until Sept. 28. The process is slated to wrap up early next year.
Fun facts: Richmond also wants to fix some wonky rules in the existing code, Kevin Vonck, the city's director of planning, tells Axios. Among them:
- A minimum 10-tree buffer requirement between the street and some parking lots, which failed to stipulate that the trees needed to be planted in a row, not in a pile.
- A 9-foot cap for driveway widths in some neighborhoods, despite building standards calling for them to be at least 10- to 12-feet wide.
- Or our personal favorite: Richmond's code is the reason Sidewalk Cafe can't allow outdoor dining on its front Main Street patio, built more than 30 years ago, but can allow it on the sidewalk facing a residential street.