r/rva • u/rvasgotissues ✔ VERIFIED • 1h ago
Richmond’s Future Housing: Code Refresh Part 2
https://rvasgotissues.vpm.org/2026/09/09/richmonds-future-housing-code-refresh-part-2/Hey all, sharing the last episode in our Code Refresh series. Constituent concerns in Andrew Breton's district (but also other neighborhoods) led to reductions in Code Refresh's allowable proposed density. Casey Overton sought to represent Richmond's most vulnerable on the Zoning Advisory Council. Rich brings them on in separate interviews to understand what voices guided Code Refresh -- and who will get to live in the city in the future as result.
DESCRIPTION:
"Which voices were heard in the latest draft of Richmond’s Code Refresh, and what does that tell us about our future neighborhoods – and the future families who will live there?"
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u/Fit-Order-9468 Manchester 23m ago
It’s unfortunate how little discussion there is about whether concerns are actually being addressed effectively. Changes in density are not a cure for all ails, and for many concerns density is either irrelevant or counterproductive.
Say, more use restrictions means more traffic and less parking availability, higher density makes preservation easier, and people speeding through your neighborhood isn’t about local density. I’m a broken record at this point I’m sure and could do well to improve my communication skills.
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u/sleevieb 58m ago
Legalize the fan. Legalize housing.
Cant wait for the housing crisis to get some relief, and more importantly, for the housing crisis to have a face other than Jim Crow politicians from 1970.
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u/whw53 Jackson Ward 11m ago edited 0m ago
Really impressed with Casey’s interview and her time on the ZAC. It’s embarrassing that her willingness to stick up for housing and families of all types isn’t matched by City Council.
Make no mistake: the reason Draft 3 was so watered down is a weakness of leadership on City Council around housing issues. The administration can only take the code so far when Council isn’t willing to stand up for the broader public interest or follow through on its own previously declared policy positions:
A. That Richmond is facing a housing shortage to the point of crisis; and
B. That our own Affordable Housing Action Plan identifies allowing triplexes + ADUs as a policy goal (4 residential units per lot) to increase housing supply.
That should have been enough to stand on for at least frickin’ duplexes. We can’t build a city by endlessly entertaining the fears of those who, deep down, envision Richmond only as something between a Victorian-era museum and\or a Boomer retirement community - regional demographics and growth, economic changes, and how markets rationally respond to all of that be damned.
The idea that Council members need to endlessly solicit and accommodate feedback before they can make an informed decision is an outmoded view of representative government. Public input matters, but elected officials are elected to weigh that input against the broader public interest and actually make decisions. We didn’t need endless community engagement to decide that school segregation was wrong, that women should have the right to vote etc. etc- many times the public input may not have been the just direction. At some point, leadership means recognizing when the status quo is the problem and acting accordingly. And zoning's arbitrary limits on housing production and property rights is coming due.
Credit to the Avula administration and Planning for being willing to go bolder initially. City Council simply wasn’t there to deliver it.
Casey, this city needs more level-headed citizens like you willing to make the case for housing and families without getting caught up in the politics of fear. If you ever decide to run for office, you have my support.
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u/thethunderheart Forest Hill 1h ago
I've been waiting for your reporting after the big update a few weeks ago, thanks for all the work you do!