Oregon Hill residents were surprised and delighted last night when 5th District Councilperson Stephanie Lynch’s resolution to amend the City’s Richmond300 plan passed by 9-0 vote.
After months of waiting, the neighborhood can breathe a sigh of relief, as the resolution strongly suggests and helps move the neighborhood into the new Residential land use category instead of Mixed Use (though not officially yet). Residential would allow buildings of one to three stories in height, conforming to the current R7 zoning yet eliminates the ability to build to an unspecified additional height on portions of South Laurel and Idlewood streets.
Neighbors feared if the amendment did not pass, Richmond300 would have made Oregon Hill permanently Mixed Use. That would have changed the current R7 height limit of 35 feet (effectively two- to two-and-a-half stories) to a new height limit of four stories.
It would have allowed even taller, unspecified heights on portions of South Laurel and Idlewood Streets. This new height limit would have incentivized developer-driven tear-downs to build new, taller buildings (An application for just such a teardown in Oregon Hill has already been filed with the City Planning office) and ruined Oregon Hill’s streetscapes and stature and character as a historic neighborhood.
Thankfully, Councilperson Lynch worked with neighborhood leaders to craft the amendment resolution, and last night, it came to fruition.
Award presentations, a boisterous discussion over collective bargaining (Council further delayed voting on matters), and a lengthy vote on items in the ‘Consent Agenda’ made for a long night. But around 9:30 pm, City Council finally took up the resolution, RES. 2022-R033. Councilperson Lynch gave a quick introduction which referenced the neighborhood’s decades-long battle for survival in the shadow of Virginia Commonwealth University. Neighbors lined up and spoke, some in person and some over online Zoom connection.
Some themes quickly emerged- neighbors love and cherish the current character of the neighborhood, which has become more diverse and family-friendly in recent years. They are not anti-business or against affordable housing. In fact, the neighborhood has a record of supporting small businesses and affordable housing. And, lastly, and perhaps most importantly, neighbors, despite participating in the Richmond 300 planning from the start, have felt ignored and disrespected. OHNA President Bryan Green, speaking virtually, summarized the re-zoning issues well.
Vice president of City Council, Ellen Robertson, called for the administration to give their stance on the amendment, and Maritza Pechin, City planner, spoke in support of Mixed Use designation for the neighborhood. She clumsily compared Oregon Hill to other neighborhoods like Westover Hills and Windsor Farms, and under questioning about height differences from 1st District Councilperson Addison and others, was visibly shaking.
Councilperson Lynch, while complimenting Pechin and other planners on their overall work for the City, made it clear that the neighborhood’s objections were not ‘NIMBY’ in nature and deserved to be incorporated in the plan.
At that point, Council took a vote and passed the resolution. (It was clear that this was not the only amendment to the Richmond300 that City Council is considering).
The Oregon Hill residents who did attend in person walked out of Chambers in stunned silence but were happily elated during their walks/drives homes. Neighbors who attended online quickly spread the news on neighborhood social media.
What comes next will be a subject of tonight’s (Zoom-only) Oregon Hill neighborhood association meeting. Celebration and appreciation for Councilperson Lynch has got to be part of it.
The Richmond300 planning and neighborhood proposals will certainly wind up back at the Planning Commission, but this unanimous decision sends a strong message.