Code Refresh FAQ

Updated June 5, 2026, 7 a.m.

What is the zoning code, and why should I care?

The  zoning code is a legal document that describes what may be built on a piece of property. Code Refresh is a rewriting of Richmond's zoning ordinance; rewriting the zoning ordinance is identified in the Richmond 300 Master Plan as one of the  Big Moves . A re-write process means developing new zoning categories and descriptions, and then mapping those categories to every parcel in the city. The last citywide update to the zoning code was in 1976. Since then, the zoning code has had piecemeal updates to accommodate the city's changing needs throughout the years.  

Code Refresh gives the City the tools it needs to further key policy objectives that impact Richmonders, including the need for housing, schools, and other community resources. This process is also an opportunity to understand how Richmond's historic zoning has resulted in many of the divides and disparities our City sees today and, through the rewrite, correct those policies so we can build a future Richmond with opportunities for ALL residents.  

Zoning shapes our City by deciding: 

• Uses that are allowed on certain properties
• The height and bulk of buildings
• Relationship between buildings and the street 
• Impact on housing affordability by determining how much housing can be built and where

If you live or work in Richmond, visit the city, or if you own property here, zoning will impact you.

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What can zoning do for Richmond? What can't zoning do? 

As the city grows, the zoning ordinance is a tool in helping guide and direct that growth. Our current zoning ordinance separates uses into different districts with limited opportunity for mixed-use. To align with Richmond 300's equity and sustainability goals, the refresh of the zoning ordinance will move the city from distinct separation of uses to allowing for more mixing of uses and incorporating more  form-based elements (e.g., requirements about how the building is constructed rather than what uses are allowed in the building). This process generally creates neighborhoods that are less car-centric and more walkable. 
By aligning the zoning ordinance with Richmond 300's goals, the refresh allows for:

• More efficient land use 
• Housing options and affordability
• Preservation of character, history, and natural resources
• Creation of mixed-use, walkable neighborhoods 
   

Zoning is only one tool to implement plans for a community. Zoning has the power to determine what is built where and to set limited requirements for new development (e.g., require some amount of green space). Direct investments by the City, on the other hand, can allot funding for more specific interventions (e.g., planting trees or building new parks). 

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What are development standards and how are they included in the updated zoning code?

Development standards are the basic rules that control how land and buildings can be used and built. They set limits on things like building height, size, setbacks from property lines, parking, and landscaping. These standards help to ensure new development is safe, orderly, and compatible with surrounding properties. The proposed development standards are broken into seven categories:

• General provisions
• Multimodal access and mobility 
• Vehicle access and mobility
• Transitions and screening
• Landscape
• Signs
• Lighting 

The  https://richmond.konveio.com/code-refresh-draft-twoproposed development standards for the updated code are available online.

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Why do we need more housing? How much does the city need? The City of Richmond has affordable housing goals of 1,000 units/year in the Equitable Affordable Housing Plan, does the City have overall housing goals as well? 

As a part of One Richmond: An Equitable Affordable Housing Plan, which is in the process of being updated by the end of 2026, the City has a goal of building 1,000 affordable units per year. We have made a lot of progress on this goal – over the past five years we have awarded funding to create and preserve 5,854 affordable units and they are either completed, under construction, or in pre-development.    

In April 2023, City Council and the Mayor declared a housing crisis in the City of Richmond. Partnership for Housing Affordability analysis from the same time shows an affordable housing gap of 17,834 rental homes in Richmond City, and 38,778 in the region. Today, nearly 40% of Richmonders can't afford to live here — these Richmonders are cost-burdened and spend more than 30% of their income on housing. Across the region, for every 100 low-income renter households, there are only 32 housing units that are available and affordable. 

Housing is still not affordable to a large number of Richmonders, even as increases in rents have stabilized in some parts of the City. Research from PEW shows that across the U.S. "every 10% increase in a market's housing supply. . .correlated with rents growing 5% less from 2017 to 2024." Crucially, in these localities, the additional supply helped low-income residents the most — they experienced the steepest declines in rent. Increasing housing supply helps to curb rent growth and prevent displacement, alongside the City's affordable housing and anti-displacement efforts. 

The City produced around 2,500 units in 2025 and is on track for a similar amount in 2026, which is around 2.1% annual unit growth. There are indications that the growth of rent prices may be slowing as the City and surrounding areas add new housing. But, we could see even more progress on affordability if we produced at least 3,000-4,000 units annually. Recent economic analysis estimates that Code Refresh will make it more likely to produce that targeted range of "high-supply" housing production when affordable housing development is included in this estimate. 

In addition to more housing units overall, there's also a need to increase the variety of homes since household size has decreased over time – it's now 2.10 people per household.  For context, it was 2.9 in 1970.  In terms of population, Richmond experienced the most density in 1950 where there were 5,800 people per square mile.  Now, we have 3,864 people per square mile.   
  
Richmond's population has been larger in the past than it is today, but we need more smaller homes and a greater variety of types of housing in order to accommodate changing household size and a growing City.  We can do this by preserving existing housing, adaptive reuse and conversion of existing housing, and by building new homes. 

Implementing Code Refresh will help the City reach its housing goals by allowing for more by-right development, building a broader variety of homes, and creating more mixed-use development.  

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How can this code help solve the affordable housing crisis in Richmond?

Code Refresh can allow for more density/higher buildings, allow for accessory dwelling units (ADUs), and create provisions on the level(s) of affordability required in new developments. These moves can create more housing units; by increasing the supply of housing, the zoning code can help alleviate some of the pressures pushing up housing prices.   

However, a zoning ordinance on its own cannot solve the affordable housing crisis. Policy interventions and direct investments from the City can provide affordable housing subsidies, social services support, and first-time homebuyer credits.

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What are the potential impacts on vehicle traffic from Code Refresh?  

A healthy and thriving city is a growing city. Richmond is growing, and that growth gives us the chance to become a more livable, thriving city with real transportation choices. RDOT's primary mission is to deliver a transportation system where residents and visitors of all ages and abilities can safely get around using any form of travel. Cars will always be an option, but in a multimodal city, cars are not a requirement. That's critical because more than one-third of Americans can't rely on cars for transportation for legal, physical, financial, or other reasons. A thriving city serves everyone. 

Code Refresh attempts to legalize the types of Richmond neighborhoods that most people love, so it's likely that more people will want to relocate here. Neighborhoods with a variety of housing types and other land uses reduce trip lengths and car dependence by making it easier to walk, roll, bike, and use transit. For example, a neighborhood that has small homes, large homes, some retail, and some places to get food has fewer car trips than if each of those land uses were zoned apart from each other. 

The Richmond Department of Transportation applies industry best practices to make walking, biking, and buses practical choices for trips within the city. Street design, traffic signal timing, placement of speed tables, bike parking — everything is based on professional engineering evaluations. As the City grows, the Department will continue to design, build, and maintain a transportation system for all ages, all abilities, and all forms of travel.  

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What are the potential impacts on parking needs, especially since the city recently passed an ordinance getting rid of parking minimums? What are the options for residents in neighborhoods that want to be able to park near their house? 

Before the current ordinance eliminating parking minimums passed in 2023, an analysis done by the City showed local developments often include more parking than was required by City Code. To date developments have continued to include parking after the ordinance went into effect (most have continued to include at least one space per unit). The current ordinance allows property owners to determine the amount of parking that is needed to support their proposed development, as each structured parking space can cost between $30,000 – $50,000. Additionally, lenders often won't provide financing if there isn't enough parking to meet market demand.   

The potential impacts for parking needs in neighborhoods should be minimal because growth within neighborhoods is intended to be incremental over time, with most of the growth anticipated to be within transit corridors and growth nodes. The recent economic analysis done for Code Refresh confirms that growth pattern. 

Residents can also request the creation of Restricted Parking Districts for their neighborhoods.  

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How does Code Refresh prioritize pedestrian safety? 

Our current zoning ordinance separates uses into different districts with limited opportunity for mixed-use. To align with Richmond 300's equity and sustainability goals, the refresh of the zoning ordinance will move the city from a distinct separation of uses to allowing for more mixing of uses. This process generally creates neighborhoods that are less car-centric and more walkable. 

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How do zoning policies like height restrictions, setbacks, etc., affect transportation in Richmond?  

Zoning policy plays a major role in shaping transportation systems because it directly affects where people live, work, and shop. Zoning laws that allow for higher-density development (e.g., multi-family housing, commercial centers) often lead to more compact communities. This makes public transportation more viable because people live and work closer together, which encourages walking, biking, and transit use. 

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Won't more density and smaller setbacks make our urban environment even hotter (heat island effect)? How is Code Refresh accounting for the climate impacts of added development?  

Higher density and smaller setbacks, while beneficial for creating walkable and transit-oriented areas, can exacerbate the heat island effect if not carefully managed. Code Refresh includes an Open Space (OS) district, which allows the City to reserve certain areas of Richmond for recreational open space (parks, playgrounds, sports fields, dog parks). Additionally, the proposed zoning code can incentivize or require developers to include green spaces in dense areas, ensuring a cooling effect in the urban fabric. 
 

Adjacent to zoning policy, the City of Richmond's work on sustainable transportation systems (like pedestrian-friendly streets, bike lanes, and efficient public transit) can reduce the number of cars on the road, which not only reduces greenhouse gas emissions but also lowers local air temperatures by reducing the heat generated by car engines and exhaust systems.

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How will Code Refresh relate to existing things like Old & Historic Districts, restrictive covenants, and are there any other new relevant provisions within Code Refresh? 

Existing overlay districts, like City Old & Historic Districts and Design Overlay Districts, roll over into Code Refresh. Any development (new construction, repair, etc.) in Old & Historic Districts is reviewed by the Commission of Architectural Review, which will issue or deny a certification of appropriateness based on whether the development is architecturally compatible with the district.   

Code Refresh is working to create a framework for neighborhoods to request the City establish a demolition and/or design overlay district. These will be administered by CAR, with the design overlay only pertaining to new construction. Any civic association, or a group of interested neighbors, can submit a request to create a demolition or design overlay district if a majority of responding property owners within the area support the plan. 

Any restrictive covenants would supersede zoning code provisions as long as they comply with state and federal laws. 

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Do we have adequate utility infrastructure for the range of increased density Code Refresh might provide? 

Yes. The capacity of the water treatment plant is 132 million gallons per day (MGD), with 45 MGD allocated to Richmond. The city currently uses approximately 35 MGD of that capacity. The current capacity of the wastewater treatment plant is 75MGD for dry weather and 140 MGD during wet weather, the average annual flow is between 60-65 MGD. EPA estimates the average consumption per person at 82 gallons per day, which equates to a population increase the system can support of approximately 122,000 people. Applicants must go through the permitting process for development to ensure adequate capacity is maintained in the system.  

Utility permitting process 

Applicants can submit applications and plans online for all sizes and types of development projects through the Online Permit portal. Projects that meet the following criteria are required to have an additional site plan review prior to permit issuance: 

• Disturbing more than 4,000 sq. ft. of land; or 2,500 sq. ft. of land within a designated Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act Area  
• Making major changes to the public right-of-way or public utilities, including curb cuts; 
• Increasing parking more than 10%; 
• Installing public drive-ups, drive-throughs, fuel pumps, or charging stations; or 
• Increasing the usable space of any building or structure by 2,500 sq. ft. 

Properties that include a change of use or increase demand on a utility system are forwarded for more detailed DPU review, which includes review of modeling for water capacity and calculations for sewer capacity during wet/dry weather to determine if the existing infrastructure is adequate to support the new development.  If existing infrastructure is not sufficient, the developer is responsible for cost of design and construction to improve the utility. 

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How is the City of Richmond coordinating with Richmond Public Schools on how any changes might impact School Zones and capacity? 

The Department of Planning and Development Review and Richmond Public Schools' Enrollment, Placement, and Planning Department coordinate regarding the potential impact of development on school enrollment through monthly meetings and the exchange of data. The analysis of the impact of development on school enrollment is complex, given the uncertainty of who is moving into new developments, though staff from both departments are beginning to explore ways to incorporate development into short- and long-term projections through methods like student generation factors. 

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What's the timeline for this project? When can we expect to offer input, and when will decisions be finalized?  

The City of Richmond, with the support of a consultant team led by Code Studio and Brick & Story, embarked on the Code Refresh process in the spring of 2024. In the winter of 2024, the team shared its first product with the public: an analysis of existing and historic urban and architectural form known as a pattern book. 

Using that analysis, the team created a framework for the existing zoning ordinance and the proposed zoning districts in early 2025. Once the general districts were drafted, the team then mapped them across the entire city. In the summer of 2025, the public was invited to offer feedback on the first draft of the zoning map. With the public's comments in mind, the City updated the zoning map in the fall of 2025. The project webpage's "Key Changes" section spotlights the key changes between draft one and two of the zoning rewrite. 

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How are you engaging stakeholders, and what feedback are you receiving? 

The City, in partnership with Brick & Story, is deploying a mix of traditional and non-traditional tools to engage Richmonders in the Code Refresh process. Those tools include:

• Working Groups:  Volunteers who assist the Code Refresh Zoning Advisory Council (ZAC) by reviewing elements of the proposed zoning ordinance through the lenses of the five topic areas from Richmond 300. The objective of these working groups is to determine what may be missing or inconsistent with the policies related to each topic area in the Code Refresh. These meetings are open to the public. 
• Priority Stakeholder Roundtables:  Small, focused discussions designed to facilitate open dialogue on a specific topic, allowing participants to share their experiences, priorities, and ideas in a collaborative setting. These roundtables were designed to create a space for historically underrepresented stakeholders, such as Latino residents, renters, African American residents, youth, low-income residents, and 9th District constituents, to share their perspectives on how zoning impacts them.
• Community Ambassador Program:  Paid engagement opportunities for stakeholders to convene roundtable discussions with priority stakeholders. The application period for the Community Ambassador program has closed. 
• Pop-ups:  Tabling at community hubs across Richmond to decrease the barrier to entry. Pop-up engagements are useful tools in meeting stakeholders where they already are, and quickly collecting feedback or sharing information.
• Open House Series:  An in-person, workshop-style event series to share major deliverables (pattern book, draft zoning framework, draft maps, consolidated code) with the public and solicit feedback. 
• Panel Series: Partnered with the open house series, a convening of thought-leaders to discuss topics relevant to Code Refresh: the history of zoning (Sept 2024), affordable housing (Feb 2025), transportation and land-use (June 2025), and economics of housing (Nov 2025).  
   

Thus far, the team has heard from Richmonders:

• The success of future zoning implementation ties directly to the implementation of related housing, transportation, economic, and climate policies.
• ADUs and tiny homes would be beneficial for expanding housing opportunities and flexibility
• Support in some neighborhoods for denser housing and mixed-use zoning that includes housing, shops, and grocery stores.
• Zoning should prioritize alternative transportation options, walkability, and create more mixed-use neighborhoods.
• Zoning should help address climate change impacts, with generational change in mind.
• Aging populations need walkable areas, better transportation, and access to grocery stores.
• The concentration of a single type of housing in certain areas is problematic, and zoning should allow for more diverse housing options.
• The availability of rental housing is limited, especially in desirable neighborhoods, and zoning could help address this issue by increasing and diversifying the supply.
• Zoning should reduce the need for special permits and streamline the process for creating housing options for all types of families.

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Who are the primary decision makers in the Code Refresh process? 

When the zoning code is finalized and consolidated, with the input of stakeholders and the ZAC, the proposed code will be reviewed by the Planning Commission and then voted on by the City Council. 

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What is the Zoning Advisory Council? How were people selected, and what is the Council's role?

The Advisory Council is a diverse group of Richmonders who will help guide the city and the consultant on the direction of the zoning ordinance. This is not a decision-making body, but a volunteer group of citizens who serve as the voice of Richmonders in the room. Council members also assist at community engagement events and spread the word among the community about the zoning code refresh.

At the outset of the project, in the Spring of 2024, the City issued a call for applications to serve on the Advisory Council. From the application pool, the City selected 17 Richmonders to serve as volunteer representatives at the monthly convenings, ensuring representation from priority stakeholder communities and professional diversity. 

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What is a Community Ambassador? How were individuals selected to be an Ambassador?

A Community Ambassador is a stakeholder interested in making a positive impact and supporting city-wide engagement as part of the Code Refresh process. As part of the Community Ambassador program, they support the engagement team by convening roundtables of targeted stakeholders throughout 2025. Ambassadors have the opportunity to leverage their community networks to bring together stakeholders for a community conversation that the engagement team will facilitate.

A core element of engagement in 2025 is the use of stakeholder roundtables to have focused discussions with a wide range of stakeholders in Richmond, including priority groups like renters, youth/young adults, low-income households, African American residents, Latino residents, and other stakeholders who may not typically engage in civic processes and who would be interested in participating in a roundtable/focus group.

The City issued an open call for interested stakeholders to participate as Community Ambassadors. Those interested parties then attended an orientation call. Note that the application period for Community Ambassadors is closed. 

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I have a comment/question specific to my neighborhood. How can I make sure it's heard?

We recommend signing up to receive project updates by emailing richmond300@rva.govrichmond300@rva.gov . This ensures that you hear about upcoming engagement opportunities. Attend an upcoming event to speak to the project team directly. If you're unable to attend an event or have a pressing question, then you can reach out to the Planning & Development Review (PDR) team directly at  richmond300@rva.govrichmond300@rva.gov .