City Council asks for more information on zoning changes around some neighborhoods

Charlottesville City Council adopted a new zoning code in December 2023 that has now survived a legal challenge and is ready for its first set of changes and adjustments.

Earlier this year, the city’s Department of Neighborhood Development Services began work on a series of reviews of the code. Council got a briefing on November 3..

“The 2024 Development Code is the foundation for how we regulate use and development within the city,” said Matt Alfele, the city’s development planning manager. “It includes zoning districts, overlay districts, and development standards that reflect the goals of the Comprehensive Plan.”

Among other things, the new code eliminated the Residential-1 zoning which previously only allowed one dwelling unit on a property in most cases. In its place are residential zones with different degrees of density allowed as well as mixed-use districts throughout Charlottesville.

One of the goals in the Comprehensive Plan adopted in November 2021 was to increase the number of affordable units across the city and buildings in the mixed-use districts must all meet requirements for inclusionary zoning.

“The residential projects with 10 or more units must provide 10 percent of the units at or below 60 percent of the [area median income] or pay-in-lieu fee,” Alfele said. “Bonus height is available for deeper affordability at 50 percent AMI or an equivalent fee in lieu.”

That in-lieu payment is based on the average cost of developing residential units in the Charlottesville market. There is an ongoing study to review the way these fees are calculated. There is a separate formula that comes up for lower payments for housing built for University of Virginia students near the campus

“The allowance for determining the in-lieu fee for student housing projects is only available for projects that rent by the bedroom and are located within proximity of the University of Virginia,” reads the city’s affordable dwelling unit manual. “The Zoning Administrator has final authority to determine if a project is within proximity, that is, ½ mile, of the University with measurement being in a direct line from the edge of the main campus areas (central grounds and north grounds) to the edge of the subject parcel.”

The Future Land Use Map in the Comprehensive Plan also designated “Sensitive Communities” which are those prone to displacement. One tool in the plan is the Residential Neighborhood A district which is the one with the fewest development rights. Another is an overlay district on parts of Cherry Avenue and Preston Avenue that again restricts development rights.

“Development may apply for special exception permits in these districts in our sensitive neighborhoods… to exceed the base height up to seven stories,” Alfele said. “Applicants must include a community meeting and show how there is additional public benefit or amenities.”

This provision was added to the Development Code after the Stony Point Development Group announced a third phase of Dairy Market on Preston Avenue that was met with opposition from some in the 10th and Page neighborhood.

The minor amendments to the code are not the only zoning tweaks underway.

Council will see recommendations in early 2026 to make adjustments to the city’s rules on short-term rentals.

“The goal is to improve enforcement by investing in software in partnership with the Commissioner of the Revenue that will enable better tracking of homestays and conducting a zoning study as well to refine existing regulations to make enforcement easiest,” said Kellie Brown, the city’s director of Neighborhood Development Services.

Work will also begin in early 2026 for a small area plan for the 10th and Page and Rose Hill neighborhoods.

The Public Housing Association of Residents and members of the Fifeville Neighborhood Association are urging City Council to reopen the code to reduce building heights on West Main Street and in Fifeville to dissuade construction of housing for students.

That is currently not within the scope of the amendments that will go to public hearing before the Planning Commission on December 9. Those are considered Tier 2 amendments.

“Anything that would essentially change the land use vision that’s been adopted already through the Comprehensive Plan would, would be considered a Tier 3 amendment and would require a separate effort to look at, you know, what are the problems that we’re trying to solve, what would be the potential impacts in terms of benefits and burdens, you know, who would we need to make sure we’re including in any consideration of policy changes from a community engagement perspective,” Brown said.

Brown said it would be at least a year before NDS staff will be able to begin a review.

Council direction

City Councilor Michael Payne said he had concerns about the Rose Hill and 10th and Page small area plans in part because the restrictive Residential Neighborhood A zoning would prevent community wealth-building activities.

“We’re going to be creating a plan that can’t be implemented to meet what I have heard is a lot of those neighborhoods’ expectations,” Payne said.

Payne said he wants NDS to be able to move faster to adjust zoning in areas that abut the
“sensitive neighborhoods” and said Council can do that without hiring a consultant.

“We in extensive areas of 10th and Page and Fifeville and Rose Hill as well are essentially allowing student housing by-right at seven to 11 stories, which is not just a change for the neighborhoods at the aesthetic level, but has an economic impact in terms of changing the businesses there, changing the demographic makeup of the neighborhoods,” Payne said.

When Brown said staff could address some of those concerns through the small area planning process, Payne said the community should come first and need leverage they lack under the existing zoning.

In September, Councilor Natalie Oschrin was the lone vote in favor of an appeal from Seven Development to allow them to demolish 1301 Wertland Street. Her argument at the time was that the city needs housing units more than historic preservation. At the November work session, she said she was concerned that high payment-in-lieu fees might be creating a disincentive program where developers choose to build hotels over housing.

“The people who are providing the apartment buildings are providing the thing that we desperately need. But then we’re slapping on an additional payment required,” Oschrin said. “And one of my concerns is that a couple of my concerns are that what that does is since it drives up the overall cost of construction, it naturally drives up the rent that are going to be charged in that building.

City Councilor Lloyd Snook said he had made a pitch near the end of the zoning code’s development to require a special use permit for buildings above a certain height in order to give the public an opportunity to comment.

“One of the points that was made to us was that if we want to have things done more quickly, the trade off is we have less public input, we have less opportunities for the public to stand up and squawk,” Snook said.

Snook said the city has never quite gotten the balance right between allowing by-right development and mitigating pressure on sensitive neighborhoods.

“For better or for worse, Council made some affirmative decisions at the end of 2023 that have left us in a situation where council doesn’t overtly have much control over some of what’s happening now,” Snook said.

Payne said Council could restore some of that balance by agreeing to move forward with more fundamental zoning changes. He asked his colleagues if they would support moving ahead with a work session.

City Councilor Brian Pinkston will not serve a second term having lost the Democratic primary in June. He said he would be willing to be part of the conversation, but suggested a decision wait until Jen Fleisher joins the elected body in January.

“I think just a call is going to have to be made,” Pinkston said. “I also feel like there has been enough feedback from the community on this topic that we owe it to people to have such a more direct response.”

A work session will be held in January to discuss student housing in city neighborhoods not close to the UVA campus.

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