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…