City Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening, everyone. Good evening. Good evening. The formal meeting of the Richmond City Council will now come to order. And this evening, the invocation will be offered by Reverend Dr. Daniel Igles of River Road Church, after which I'll ask that you will join me in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Madam President, would you first like me to read the Spanish interpretation announcement?

Yes, please. Let's go on.

Spanish interpretation is available in the council chamber. Please see a representative at the rear of the room to receive the appropriate equipment. Spanish interpretation is also available through Microsoft Teams for virtual attendees in need of this service.

La interpretación en español está disponible en la Cámara del Consejo. Por favor acude al representante en la parte trasera de la cámara para recibir el equipo adecuado. La interpretación en español también está disponible a través de Microsoft Teams para los asistentes virtuales que necesiten estos servicios.

Gracias. At this time, we will have the invocation now by Reverend Dr. Daniel Glaze of River Road Church, after which please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. Welcome, Reverend Glaze.

Good evening, members of the council, city leaders, beloved members of the community of Richmond. I invite you to join me in prayer. Holy One, Creator of every nation and every neighborhood, we pause at the beginning of this meeting to give thanks for this city that we love, for the river that runs through it, and for the many beautiful people who together make Richmond their home. We remember that public service is sacred work. In this chamber where budgets are weighed and policies are shaped, real lives beyond these walls are affected. So we ask that your spirit would move within us, not as some distant authority, but as a steady presence calling us toward what is right. We give thanks for the leaders of this council and for all who labor so that Richmond might flourish, those who keep the water running and the lights on, Those who teach our children, tend our parks, and answer the call in the night. Bless their work and the work to be done this evening. Grant these council members clear minds and courageous hearts. When the choices are complex and the pressures are great, anchor them in wisdom that listens carefully, discerns honestly, and acts boldly on behalf of all. especially those who often find their voices ignored. Grant them the kind of grace that collaborates and the compassion that widens the circle of all who belong. In all things, may this body do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with you. Amen.

Amen. Thank you, Reverend Glaze. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Madam Clerk?

Madam President, I do believe we need to read the emergency evacuation announcement in the public speaker guidelines.

That would be it. Thank you. Upon activation of the emergency alarm signal, all persons should immediately exit the building. Please use the exits to the left or right front of the council chamber or the north or south stairwells outside the rear doors of the chamber. Do not use elevators or escalators. After exiting the building, security will direct everyone down 9th Street to the fenced area located between Clay and Lee Streets. Able persons should assist visually and hearing impaired visitors with exiting the building. Individuals speaking during public hearings and the public comment period are generally allowed three minutes to speak. Persons appearing before counsel are not allowed to campaign for public office, promote private business ventures, use language of a personal nature which insults or demeans any person, including comments directed at public officials or staff members that are not related to their official duties, or address or question staff members directly. All questions are to be directed to the president of counsel. Failure to adhere to the guidelines may result in speakers forfeiting any remaining time and further disciplinary action as necessary, which could include barring from attendance at future meetings of City Council for a period of six months.

And Madam President, all members of council are in attendance this evening, except for Councillor Lynch. You do have a quorum. If there are unauthorized individuals standing in the rear of the chamber, they are asked to be seated where seats are available. Also, applause is not permitted at any time during tonight's meeting. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Clerk. Let's proceed with the public comment period.

The first speaker is Ruth Puryear. Ruth Puryear. The next speaker is Tanita Caleb.

Welcome, Ms. Caleb.

I don't want to trip. Thank you so much for your time to the whole council. I wanted to make some public comments. I am a city of Richmond resident. I live at 872 Jessamine Street. Me and my husband, Andrew, own a property. I'm here. There is not on the agenda currently, but there is a property trying to be built next door to my home by Baker Development Resources Company. And I know that they will probably be coming here. They've already gone through the car process. I've voiced my concerns about what I'd like to see. I don't think that they've met fully what I envisioned and what the neighbors envisioned as well. But they've gone through and they're just pushing this thing through. So I don't know if it's going to be coming to the next meeting. And I just wanted to bring attention to the council passing this special use permit for them. This is a 16-unit project. Across the street from me, I have a project. It's known as the Citadel of Hope. done by the Better Housing Coalition. It is a very monstrous-sized building. It is great in the sense it's provided some affordability for neighbors. I love my neighbors. They're great. But they voice their concerns about some of the issues there. There is a lot of trash. They have a trash cubicle that is overflowing most of the time. And all my years of being in Churchill for 15 years, I know I don't look like I'm over 20. No, I'm just joking. But I'm saying that I've seen a lot of rodents, and it has been a really big problem, trash pickup around the neighborhood. The point I'm making is that if this project is approved, there will be 16 more units right next to my home. I'm on a residential end of a block. This is a very dense, it's starting to become very heavily populated already. And as neighbors, we have different issues that are just challenging. I just ask if you all would think about this project. I know, what is it, the Richmond 360 project and trying to make affordability possible for Churchill specifically. But please think about the neighbors. I'm a homeschooling mom.

I'm at my house.

all day. My husband works at our home. We are trying to provide education for our daughter. This building is going to be a disruption to our home. Again, with the building that was across the street, we accepted it. We welcomed it as far as affordability. Some neighbors really weren't for it.

30 seconds.

I really tried to make sure that I supported the project, but I'm just not so happy with what I'm seeing from these Bakers folks and concerned. I'm asking if they can reduce the amount of the units, scale it down and make it all two stories versus some two stories here and three stories on the other side. Thank you so much for your time. And I hope this makes sense. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Kaliff. And Madam President, that concludes the list of public comment period speakers for this evening. Thank you, Madam Clark.

At this point, I would like us to proceed with the agenda amendments for tonight's agenda. If you would read the proposed amendments.

THE AMENDMENTS TO TONIGHT'S AGENDA ARE AS FOLLOWS. ITEM ONE ORDINANCE 2026102, ITEM TWO ORDINANCE 2026109, ITEM THREE ORDINANCE 2026113 AND ITEM FOUR ORDINANCE 2026120 WILL ALL BE CONTINUED TO THE MONDAY, JULY 27TH COUNCIL MEETING. ITEM 32, RESOLUTION 2026R024 AND ITEM 35, ORDINANCE 2026081 WILL BOTH BE CONTINUED TO THE MONDAY, JULY 27TH COUNCIL MEETING. AND ITEM 39, RESOLUTION 2026R019 WILL BE CONTINUED TO THE MONDAY, JULY 27TH COUNCIL MEETING. MADAM PRESIDENT, THOSE ARE ALL THE AMENDMENTS TO TONIGHT'S AGENDA.

THANK YOU, MR. CLERK. DO WE HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL AMENDMENTS TO TONIGHT'S AGENDA? VICE PRESIDENT JORDAN.

Thank you, Madam President. I move that we shift Ordinance 2026-090, item 36, on the regular agenda to the consent, now that it has the full patronage of all council and Mayor Avola. Second.

Council is now voting on a motion to move item 36, Ordinance 2026-090, from the regular agenda to the consent agenda. Mr. Bretton? Aye. Ms. Gibson?

Yes.

Ms. Jones?

Aye.

Ms. Robertson?

Aye.

Ms. Trammell?

Aye.

Ms. Abubakar?

Aye.

Vice President Jordan?

Aye.

And President Newbill? Aye. That motion has been approved. Thank you.

Let's proceed in terms, if there are no other amendments, can we proceed with the agenda as amended? Can we get that vote?

Council is now voting on this evening's. Is there a motion to amend the agenda as read?

So moved.

Second. Council is now voting on this evening's remaining agenda amendments as read. Mr. Bratton? Aye. Ms. Gibson? Yes. Ms. Jones?

Aye.

Ms. Robertson?

Aye.

Ms. Trammell?

Aye.

Ms. Abu Bakr?

Aye.

Vice President Jordan?

Aye.

And President Newbill? Aye. The amended agenda is now before you, and this evening's consent agenda consists of the following items. Items 5 through 15, ordinances 2026, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, and 135. ITEMS 16 THROUGH 25, ORDINANCES 20, 26, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, and 145. ITEMS 26 THROUGH 31, ORDINANCES 2026-146, 147, 148, 149, 150, AND 151. ITEM 33, RESOLUTION 2026-R025, AND ITEM 36, ORDINANCE 2026-090. THOSE ARE ALL THE ITEMS ON TONIGHT'S CONSENT AGENDA.

Thank you, Mr. Clark. At this time, we'll proceed with the public hearing on the consent agenda items. If we have persons in the audience desirous of speaking in opposition to any item on the consent agenda, if you would come forward. Seeing none, do we have persons present, desirous of speaking, in favor of any of the items on the consent agenda? If you would come forward. Welcome, Mr. Pantale.

Good evening, Madam President, Madam Vice President, members of council. I'm Bill Pantale. I'm here this evening on behalf of the Richmond Coalition of Police, or RCOT. This pertains to item number 36, Ordinance 2026090, which is an amendment to the city's collective bargaining ordinance. More than anything, I want to thank each of you for the concern and time that you've devoted to hearing us out on this. This ordinance was a historic ordinance that passed almost four years ago, unanimously. It turns out that there were some, we say, problems in some of the language that disappointed some of our expectations of what had been hammered out to get that agreement done. And many of you in this room played a key role in establishing collecting bargaining. And what we know is that in the ensuing four years, things have gone pretty well. Sometimes you read in the news something different or there are fears about collective bargaining, but in fact, it's worked out very well here in Richmond. And I know that all your employees really appreciate it. It's made a big difference. It certainly has for our unit. I want to thank each of you for the time you've given us because we've been talking with you all for long time every one of you so thank you we're very happy that we're at this place where we're all together I also want to thank the administration for having meetings with us as well and trying to work out things here at the end because that's the way you make progress after all you know part of collective bargaining gets into this management rights thing a lot of times it's misunderstood but what it really boils down to is trying to find those areas that are essential for employees to be able to work out their terms and conditions of their workplace. So when you hear that our employees are our most valuable asset, well, here today, I think we can agree, yes, that's the case in the city of Richmond. So thank you all very much. Appreciate your help and look forward to working with you. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Pantalee. Welcome, Mr. Levy.

Good evening, Council President Newbill and others of Council. Brendan Levy, President of the Richmond Coalition Police, the bargaining unit for the police union. I also, too, just want to say thank you to all Council and the administration for being co-patriots on this paper. This means a lot to RCOP. This amendment has been talked about for years, actually. since three years ago when we were negotiating that we could not negotiate about the process about filling vacancies and how we get promoted. That is RCOP's number one priority when it comes to non-economic problems. That's how we feel valued. So for the past several years, that has been burning inside of us that we just wanted this amendment to just clarify what the original ordinance actually intended, and that I really, really appreciate everybody on council reaffirming that, because that's all it's doing is getting us back to what we and council originally meant when the ordinance was introduced several years ago. So I just want to say thank you to everybody. I look forward to working with everybody in the future.

Thank you, Mr. Levy.

Welcome, Mr. Andes. Good evening. My name is Keith Andes. I'm president of Richmond Professional Firefighters Association, Local 995, and we support 2026-090. We greatly appreciate all President Levy and Bill Panale for our COP bringing this to our attention and making this change, and we appreciate the work on city council, the city administration, As we all know, collective bargaining has been a game changer here in Richmond and in the state of Virginia. And we have greatly improved the employer-employee relationships. And I turn to Chief Siegel again. He's been a grand champion, a great person to work with. And we hold him in the highest of honors as we hold the city council in the highest of honors. Thank you for your work. Thank you for your work on the budget this year. And we greatly look at continuing this great relationship that we have. Thank you.

Thank you. Welcome.

Welcome. Good evening. My name is Latissa Williams. I'm the Vice Chair of SEIU Richmond Chapter, Virginia, administrative and tech employees. I would like to personally thank you all for looking at your employees and those that service you in the community. as well as those employees that are also residents of the city of Richmond and taking them in high volume with this ordinance. It is greatly appreciated, and we know that you take the best interest at heart of our employees. Again, thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Williams.

Good evening. My name is Felicia Boney. I'm chapter chair of the Richmond chapter of SEIU Virginia 512. I want to say thank you. Thank you for hearing our voices. Thank you for addressing our concerns. And thank you for just being there to listen to our everything. This ordinance that you all are united in is showing us that the city is trying desperately to unite the employees and not keep us divided. And we appreciate that. And we wanted to let you know that we see you. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Bonney. Welcome, Mr. Braxton.

How you doing, Madam President? My name is Warren Braxton. Normally, I'm here speaking as the criminal justice chair for the Richmond NAACP or as a liaison for Shockoe Bottom, Today, I have the honor to speak to you guys as a deacon at Trinity Baptist Church. And I want to speak in favor of the naming the 2800 block of Kendall Avenue after our late pastor, Pastor James. He was not only a legend to the Trinity Baptist Church, but he was very influential in the faith community and moving politics forward. It was a known thing for politicians to know when election time came around, You couldn't run if you didn't go speak to Pastor James. He served on our parole board. He's done a lot of great things, not just for us at Trinity, but for the whole city of Richmond. So I thank the council for getting this this far and look forward to being able to pull the ribbon on seeing this street named after our pastor. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braxton.

Good afternoon, my name is Eric Raglin, Madam Chair, Council Members. I just want to say thank you very much for working on what's been going on collectively with this. Collectively, the community's been brought to our attention that we're working on this, and it's something that's greatly appreciated. So hopefully we can make this work together, collaboratively, okay? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Radner. There are no other speakers in favor of any of the items. The public hearing now stands closed and bring it back to council for discussion. Members. Council member Gibson.

I just wanted to speak on the collective bargaining paper. I'm really very appreciative that Richmond has been a leader in the Commonwealth on ensuring that we have a collaborative relationship with our staff. Not only does it make City Hall work better, but it ensures that our frontline employees are able to advocate on behalf of the residents that they serve as well. Throughout this process and since this has been adopted, I think the proof is in the pudding in the reduction in turnover that we've seen and other services that have improved with collective bargaining in place. I applaud the efforts of the unions in ensuring that we're continually looking at our resolution to make it stronger. And I hope to see other municipalities across the Commonwealth and hopefully at some point to have state legislation finally adopted to make this not the exception, but the rule. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Gibson.

I am understanding that we Councilwoman Sherman. Thank you Madam President.

I too would like to thank my colleagues and also the Mayor for signing on because I know that we all have worked together with this and we heard the citizens loud and clear. I mean not only the citizens but it's been the workers, it's been their family members calling us and asking us to please get it right. And I think with all of us coming together and listening and like I said, it's not been easy, but we got it done. We got it done. And also I'd like to thank our CAO, Mr. Odie Donnell, for hiring Jeffrey Siegel as our fire chief because, as my colleague can say, we're so happy. We work with him. We work with our police chief. And that's what it's all about, all of us coming together with public safety. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam President. Thank you, Councilwoman Trammell. Mr. Donnell.

Well, good evening, Council.

I tell you, these are extraordinary days and times to just be able to come before you and really, you know, give you those strong pats on the back and salutes for the extraordinary work that you do on a regular basis. But I think this is just a really unique opportunity because this is one of those times where we get to really be an example for everyone in the Commonwealth on what good government looks like. And I applaud you for taking the lead on that. I think when we look at labor and, you know, while this decision was made a little while back, the continuous quality improvement kind of mindset and framework when it comes to our staff that you've taken on is one that does not go unnoticed. I think we have collectively agreed on people first, people always, and putting those folks at the front of everything that we do. And the results, I think Councilor Gipson highlighted, our vacancy rates are the lowest that they've been in over a decade. That is directly a result of your decisions around collective bargaining. I think we can look at everything from historic investments in people that we have made here, you know, just with our own budgets, but also what we did for RPS, allowing them to make sure that they can keep their commitments for collective bargaining, ensuring that everyone who works with the city of Richmond, you know, gets fair pay for a hard day's work. Even so much so, and I think this is the part that I'm most thankful for you for, instead of just putting a burden on the administration, you've given us an opportunity to research it and figure out how to bring something better back. You did that in this piece with our COP and this collective bargaining piece, but you also did that in a way that we were able to bring it back for our contractors and create a new standard that hopefully others in the commonwealth are looking at when we talk about how we've raised the pay for even our own contractors and so with that i think you've seen that the mayor has done his research and added on as a sponsor of this paper as well and just seeing the entire city of richmond together unified for our residents is something that is both heartwarming, encouraging, and I'm excited to be a part of it and support you in doing that. And I think on behalf of the administration, I would say thank you and appreciate you being a great partner. And hopefully we just continue in this path of unanimous approval of extraordinary work.

Thank you, Mr. Donnell. I would just say ditto in terms of my colleagues' comments. This is an opportunity here that says clearly to the persons who work in our city on behalf of the residents in our city, thank you. We see you. We value you. And it's not just the lip service of value. We value you in terms of looking at the opportunity to have salaries that are, in most instances, more than amongst the highest of living wages. And so we say, we see you, we thank you, we value you and the opportunity here for the administration and council to come together with community and with representatives. This is, really one of our landmarks. I just want to also say and certainly with my colleagues agree, this is an extraordinary moment. With that, Mr. Clerk, we're going to call the question.

Council is now voting on the consent agenda as presented. Mr. Breton? Aye. Ms. Gibson? Yes. Ms. Jones?

Aye.

Ms. Robertson?

Aye.

Ms. Trammell.

Aye.

Ms. Abu Bakr.

Aye.

Vice President Jordan.

Aye.

And President Newbill. Aye. Those papers have all been adopted. Thank you.

We will proceed to the regular agenda for this evening.

The first regular agenda item for this evening is item number 34, ordinance number 2025-231, to authorize the special use of 3219 Tuxedo Boulevard for the purpose of up to four single-family detached dwellings upon certain terms and conditions. That paper is before you.

At this point, is there anyone from the administration desires to speaking to that paper? Welcome, Mr. Vonk.

Good evening, Kevin J. Vaughn, Director, Planning Development Review. This special use request is, yes, currently to build four detached homes on some vacant lots on Tuxedo Boulevard. This came to us originally with a proposal for five detached homes. Staff recommended approval. Planning Commission recommended denial of that. And then once it got to council, it was continued and thus amended with four detached dwelling units. And that's what you have before you today.

Thank you, Ms. Sivak. At this point, I think unless there's question after public hearing, we will proceed with the public hearing on the paper. Are there persons present in the audience desires of speaking in opposition to this paper if you would come forward? Welcome.

I don't know if that's allowed. Thank you so much. And that includes a comment from a neighbor that couldn't make it tonight. Good evening, council members. My name is Michael Berlotus and I live at 3213 Tuxedo Boulevard. I'm speaking in opposition of item 34, ordinance 2025-231. a special use permit to allow four homes on a parcel that is currently zoned to support two. I want to acknowledge that reducing the proposal from five to four is a step in the right direction, and I appreciate the applicant's willingness to make that change. However, four homes still does not fully address the concern raised by residents or the Planning Commission. As of today, 16 neighbors have signed a petition opposing this application. I provided copies of that petition along with a map illustrating the existing spacing between homes on Tuxedo Boulevard. We are not opposed to development. We are simply asking for a compromise that adds housing without sacrificing existing affordability. My first concern is parking and access. Tuxedo Boulevard is a narrow loop street with no outlet, limited driveways, and no functional alley. This proposal would add 16 bedrooms, which could reasonably result in eight or more additional vehicles. plus deliveries, service vehicles, and trash collection, all competing for limited curb space. In practice, the street operates as a one-way street when vehicles are parked along the curb, and trash is collected from the front of homes where cans cannot be blocked by parked vehicles. The admitted plans discuss the possibility of a future alley, but the special use permit is not contingent upon building one. The plans acknowledge that a usable alley would only exist if neighboring properties redevelop in the future and dedicate additional land. This is a long-term possibility, not existing infrastructure and should not be relied upon to support this project today. My second concern is the neighborhood fit. Even with revised plans, this will create four nearly identical homes clustered together in a continuous row, reducing light air and privacy in a way that does not exist anywhere else on the street. The biggest concern is that this proposal removes existing affordability rather than creating it. The applicant has described these homes as affordable at around $400,000. At that price, the household would need to earn roughly $96,000 per year, while the median income is around $63,000. These homes will not be affordable to most current residents. More importantly, this proposal would demolish an existing home that is already part of this neighborhood's naturally occurring affordable housing and replace it with four homes that will be out of reach for many Richmond families. This is already a low-income neighborhood and Richmond has very few tools to protect residents from displacement once existing affordability is lost. That is why we should be especially careful in neighborhoods where it exists today. Finally, I ask the council to give serious weight to the Planning Commission's recommendation. The Planning Commission voted to recommend denial because of concerns about affordability and whether this level of development fits the existing pattern of the neighborhood. We recognize and appreciate the movement from five homes to four, but we believe there's still room for compromise that preserves existing affordability while allowing appropriate new development. Thank you.

Thank you. Welcome.

Welcome. Good evening, Madam President, members of City Council. My name is Laura Stevens, and I live in Sherwood Park on the north side. I appreciate this opportunity to address you tonight. Special use permits are an important and necessary part of Richmond's zoning process. They provide flexibility when unique circumstances justify exceptions to the rules that protect our neighbors. But when that flexibility becomes a heightened responsibility, the city must ensure that any request for an SUP serves a clear public purpose, is supported by accurate documentation, and does not harm the residents who already live in the affected community. In this case, that public duty of care has not been met. Tuxedo Boulevard is a small and economically fragile neighborhood of just 32 lots. It sits in between Oakwood Cemetery and I-64. The lots in question tonight are bound on their backyards by the Henrico County line. There is no alley. There is no possibility of an alley. There has never been an alley. And yet we are told that that's where people will access their backyards to park. More than 15% of the properties were tax delinquent in 2025. And assessments have risen on an average of almost 68% since 2021. Land assessments alone have risen a minimum of 116% since 2021. Four homes now exceed $300,000. All of them were built since 2022, and two of them required an SUP like the one before you tonight. In 2021, only 14 houses were valued under $100,000. No house on the street was over $200,000. Today, there is no house on the street that is assessed for less than $200,000, and that is since these four new houses have been built. The homes proposed in this ordinance are described as affordable, but only to someone who earns nearly $100,000 a year. It's far above the average Richmond resident and does not align with the goals of either Richmond 300, Code Refresh, One Richmond, all of which emphasize preserving affordability and preventing displacement in gentrifying neighborhoods. There are serious procedural issues. 30 seconds. The surveys and plats reference a street that doesn't exist, an alley that doesn't exist. The plat doesn't show required side yard setbacks. It allows for parking in the front yard of every house. I've elaborated on all these concerns in my written letter to the clerk and have provided all of you with copies. For these reasons, the affordability gap, the displacement risk, and the significant errors in the supporting materials, I respectfully urge you not to approve this ordinance. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

At this time, we'll extend invitation to those present desirous of speaking in favor of this particular ordinance. If you would come forward. Seeing none, the public hearing is closed. Bring it back to the body for discussion. So this... Okay.

Ms. Gibson? Thank you, Madam President, and thank you to the residents who have spoken on the paper. I do have concerns about the Planning Commission having denied the paper, and I am... Ms. Gibson, could I just clarify the...

Planning Commission denied the paper that initially came forward to build five single-family homes, and the petition is associated with that as well.

Understood. Had it gone back to the Commission after the amendment was made?

It has not gone back to the commission. As a matter of fact, in order to go from five to four houses, I met the developer and walked the street both sides to talk to residents and heard very clearly that five was too many. properties and was able to look at and see both new construction but also the potential impact here and that's and talked to them about reducing that number and so the reduction was to four understood i just have one final question so um given that we did not hear from residents this evening

in support of the paper, do we have, and I say this with the context of this is not in my district, but this evening I have brought a paper to the body that was establish a citizen commission to participate in discussions like this as it relates to the master plan. And so, you know, given that I feel that we as a city are stronger with that type of citizen engagement. I don't want to contradict that intent. And so I'm wondering if we have heard formally from residents now.

We heard formally. I knocked on doors with the developer. Literally.

Yes.

I don't mean that it was what I thought. including the gentleman who spoke, knocked on his door as well. But we did not, to your point, it did not then go back to Planning Commission after the reduction was proposed.

Understood.

Other questions, comments? Madam Clark.

Council is now voting on ordinance number 2025-231 as read. Mr. Breton.

Aye.

Ms. Gibson.

Abstain.

Ms. Jones. Aye. Ms. Robertson.

Aye.

Ms. Trammell. Aye. Ms. Albuquerque. Abstain. Vice President Jordan.

Aye.

And President Newbill. Aye. That paper has been adopted.

Thank you. And thank you, everyone who came to speak to it. And certainly, I'm thankful for the neighbors who answered the doors and talked about the fact that five was indeed too many, and the developers who were willing to reduce that number. Madam Clerk, let's proceed to the next item.

The next two items on this evening's regular agenda will be taken together as a block, and they are as follows. Item 37, Ordinance Number 2026-092, to establish the Code Refresh Commission for the purpose of developing optimal recommendations for a forthcoming rewrite of the city's zoning ordinance based upon best practices and expert and community input. and item 38 ordinance number 2026-096 to establish the resident planning review commission for the purpose of advising the council concerning the city's implementation of the master plan. Those papers are both before council.

Thank you, Madam Clerk. Would the patrons like to make comment? And I first defer to Councilwoman Trammell.

I just thought I was doing the right thing by bringing a commission to the citizens because my paper was to have the people advise us and consult the public who are not tied to City Hall or to the real estate or the development industry. That's why I called so many people and asked them what they thought about it. And when I started telling them what my facts were, and all of that, they agreed. Why not do this? Why not let us speak? I also wanted to give council members wide discretion in appointing a cross-section of the city and diverse groups of residents. I also wanted to say that in my paper, you can have renters if you want to. It doesn't matter. You can have a homeowner, a renter, two homeowners, two renters. They don't have to live exactly in your district. And really, I mean, that's why we had this commission is because of the master, whatever you want to call it, 600, 300, whatever. Because it doesn't go, it doesn't, it's not going along with it. That's why we're talking about this code refresh. That's why we're talking about rezoning 77,000 pieces of partial. And who's got them? And right now, I will tell you this. I have 12, and I just, I think he left. But I just found out a few minutes ago, I'm going to have 13 developers building in our 8th district. And I know there's a lot of developers building in the 9th district, too. And my colleague can tell you that. So why can't the citizens have a say-so? What say-so do you all have? It should not just be on the administration. should give the citizens a chance to voice their opinion. And like I said, this is nothing to say that you can't have two renters, can't have one. Also, my meetings are not just in Southside. It goes across the river, and anybody can call me. I tell everybody, call me. My phone rings until 1 a.m., and I don't get mad about it. So thank you, Madam President.

Thank you, Council Member Trammell. Councilwoman Gittin.

Thank you, Madam President. And I want to extend a thank you to Councilwoman Trammell for her leadership in developing a commission and appreciating the importance of having CITIZENS BE CENTRAL IN THIS PROCESS, WHICH I THINK IS CORE BOTH TO OUR MASTER PLAN AND TO THE LAW OF THE COMMONWEALTH THAT DEFINES ENSURING THAT RESIDENTS' INTERESTS ARE CENTERED IN OUR COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING. IN 2020, WE DEVELOPED OUR MASTER PLAN, WHICH was an award-winning plan at that. And what our master plan does is to acknowledge that there is significant growth in the city and to ensure that we are mindful of that growth and targeted in how we want to shape the city over the next 20 years. The The plan is the work of much engagement. And we are voted on that, the body, in 2020 and subsequently in revisions. And as such, we are responsible in ensuring that we are following the plan. I understand the city formed a zoning advisory committee as it pertains to the code refresh. The paper that we've introduced is really the step before that, which is to ensure that we are following the law that we created in creating that master plan in the first place. I want to be very specific in highlighting the duties that this commission and this version of the paper would be tasked to do. In this version of the paper, we did opt to ensure that the commission would have to reflect what the city looks like so that participants would be from each of the districts throughout the city and would be comprised on equal parts of homeowners and tenants. That is what the city looks like today. And both of the papers that have been introduced have language to ensure that there would be fewer conflicts of interest, professional conflicts of interest, which is a concern that has been highlighted with some of the participants in the Zoning Advisory Committee. But again, this paper really is the step before that in ensuring that we have been doing the work that we are required to do. And so the commission would then be looking at all of the surveys and studies related to the plans and to ensure that we are working with accurate and comprehensive research. The commission would be tasked with looking at the city's compliance to all of the laws and ordinance that govern those plans, that the city's progress in the implementation of those plans, including the annual reporting, which we learned in a recent meeting that while the city is required to present these annual reports to the city council, again, that is explicit in the master plan, That step has not been happening. I understand that those reports have been presented instead to the Planning Commission. THE OTHER TASKS WOULD BE ENSURING THAT THE ALIGNMENT, YES, BETWEEN ANY VOTING ORDINANCE WOULD BE IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE MASTER PLAN. AND THAT WE'D ALSO BE CENTRAL IN THAT DISCUSSION WOULD BE ENSURING THE PREVENTION OF DISPLACEMENT OF LOW INCOME RESIDENTS AND RESIDENTS OF PUBLIC HOUSING. the protection of the natural environment, the stewardship of our historic resources, and the development of infrastructure, transportation systems, roads, and pedestrian infrastructure. All of those things combined basically to say that we're doing the work that we set out to do and that we are centering all of the decisions on making responsible decisions and choices, thinking and putting our residents at the center of that. From where I stand, this does not seem controversial. I see this as core in our responsibilities and the work that we do. I believe there are many people that care very deeply about affordable housing, and I am so thankful for that. given the research that we've seen thus far that highlights the reality that much of the potential building growth that would come out of the proposal for the code refresh at this stage will occur in the most wealthy parts of the city, that should give us significant pause to ensure that we are on the right track. And so I am appreciative of the opportunity to look at this. I appreciate the city's administration and in the drafts and revisions that they've considered from the public. But I don't think that that gives us a pass. on ensuring that we are following the laws we created in the first place. So I look forward to hearing from the body and moving forward. Thank you.

Thank you. At this time, we will proceed with the public hearing on the papers. And I will invite those present to come forward to speak to either of the papers. Welcome.

My name is Patricia Merrill, and I'm a first district resident, and I serve as the president of the West Hampton Citizens Association. I'm here to speak in favor of the creation of either the Resident Planning Review Commission proposed by Councilwoman Gibson or the Code Refresh Review Commission proposed by Councilwoman Trammell. Among the documents that were made public last week in connection with the work sessions was a community engagement summary prepared by Brick and Story, one of several out-of-town consultants working on Code Refresh. That summary indicates that public engagement started in earnest in April 2024, and then concerns about transparency, accountability, and the real-world impacts of rezoning became more pronounced during the most recent phase of public outreach late last year and into this year. As reflected in this morning's Richmond article, last week's work sessions evidence that there continues to be significant confusion as to what code refresh is and what it is not. City Council is now faced with how to overcome this lack of trust and division. A Citizens Review Commission, particularly one that brought together homeowners and renters, work to ensure that whatever version of code refresh is proposed adequately conforms to the vision of Richmond 300, which is what state law requires, and helps our fellow citizens understand what a zoning code is, why our current code is inadequate to meet the needs of our modern city, and how code refresh helps to resolve those issues. The lack of affordable housing in this city is a crisis, but Richmond 300 anticipated that rewriting a zoning code would be a three to five year process. We haven't even reached the low end of that estimate. Unfortunately, because Code Free Fresh has been promoted as a housing affordability solution, rather than a single tool that must be combined with many other tools, to successfully address affordability. The urgency of the housing crisis has overshadowed the realistic expectation that rewriting an ordinance of this magnitude would take years to complete. Please support the creation of a Citizens Review Commission that will help build transparency and trust in a process that sorely needs it. Thank you.

Thank you. Welcome.

My name is Betsy Gardner. I live in Stonewall Court in Richmond, Virginia. I've been a resident there for 28 years. I want to say good evening and thank you, Council, for your time, leadership, and continued thoughtful evaluation of Code Refresh. I also want to thank Reba and Kendra for supporting the Citizen Review Commission and Gumby for requesting an impact data on schools, infrastructure and city services. The data has still not been provided and it's needed to be able to make these decisions. Code refresh is a sweeping citywide rewrite that affects every parcel and neighborhood. It goes far beyond the focused approach of the Richmond 300. Public awareness has been insufficient for a proposal of this scale. Only two to three percent of residents fully understand what's being proposed. That is not an adequate foundation for a decision of this magnitude. That is exactly why a Citizens Review Commission is necessary. We need district-level representation, residents who understand their neighborhoods, can communicate the impacts, and can ensure real transparency between the city and the public. Who would truly know better the issues within their districts? Who talks to their neighbors on a local level? Who better knows about their parking headaches, their sinkholes, their traffic issues in their neighborhoods? Who knows about pedestrian scares and near misses, where kids wait for the bus, or if their schools are already too crowded? How about when the rain floods the street or goes into a neighbor's basement during some of these torrential downpours we have? Who better knows a small house on the street that was torn down and an oversized house put back in, or turned into rentals with problematic tenants or absentee landlords? Who else knows about empty or neglected properties in their area, vacant lots, or other opportunities for new housing? They know their neighbors' issues with affordability. They know who struggles and why. Who else knows what matters to their communities and what their communities need? These residents purchased or rented homes under a defined set of zoning expectations. They invested in their properties, maintained their neighborhoods, and contributed to the city's tax base. Yet many remain unaware of these changes. This is an issue of fairness to them. Get their input, their experience when you're crafting these changes. No one talks about the charm of Northern Virginia and its new boring constructions or their apartment complexes. Richmond's appeal is our trees, our green space, our architecture, and our old neighborhoods. These are our core assets. Policy needs to be incentivized and redevelopment at this scale is going to risk the character that makes Richmond desirable. Again, thank you for your time, and I do urge you to support a Citizens Advisory Council. Thanks. Thank you.

Hello, my name is Errol Somay. I live in the museum district, actually the last block of the museum district. I just wanted to state very quickly that I approve the approval of either proposal. And I wanted to say also that Before Code Refresh has ever been approved or anything, we're already deeply involved in increased density in the city as we have a 300 unit apartment about 150 feet from our house that just finished being built about a few months ago. So I wanted to let you know that we're not really against this as a block. In fact, the main point I wanted to make was I think the first draft of Code Refresh, the rezoning was so divisive or so bad that it created a strong division between those for and against. And I think there's a lot of middle ground there that can be plowed, if you will. But I think the first draft really created some battle lines being drawn, which I think is unfortunate. And to the point that the woman who made just before me There are more people, way more people knew about the casino issue than they know about code refresh right now. So I really approve and encourage you all to set up a commission. I really appreciate the time you've given me to speak here. Thank you.

Sir, can you please restate your last name?

Last name is Soma, S-O-M-A-Y.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you. Madam President, my name is Pierce Homer, 1409 Floyd Avenue here, and I'm in support of a review commission, two very good opportunities to think about that. A couple of reasons you might want to think about this as council members, and I'll talk more from a neighborhood perspective, but Code Refresh as currently framed is essentially all by-right zoning. What that means is this body will have very little to do with land use decision makings going forward. It will be made by others. You won't have the opportunity to solve your neighborhood problems that will occur. That's baked into Code Refresh right now. So let me just talk about two examples how that could play out. One of the studies provided by the consultants identified 1,823 parcels in the city that could be redeveloped. What's that mean? That's a polite way of saying demolition, displacement, and replacement with people who pay more. This is a harsh reality, and that's just one example I've been able to pick out. You might want to ask in your district, are there similar items and parcels that have been identified for redevelopment? In my neighborhood on West Main Street, and a concern that I have, 16 blocks of one of the finest mixed-use developments in the whole country. It's a national model. You have businesses on the ground floor, residential upstairs. There's bakeries, Pilates, tax preparation professionals, attorneys, you name it. And then there are apartments over top. It is touted as a national example. Code Refresh puts all those 16 blocks. There are 98 small businesses on that street. They are all at risk of displacement. There are 200 to 300 apartments above those businesses that are at risk of displacement. I just know that from my neighborhood, but you as council members should be asking these hard questions. There is information parcel by parcel And I'll tell you in my neighborhood, they're all historic structures that we care about. 30 seconds. They have that information. We've asked for it. And what we've been told is it's from a proprietary software that the consultant has. Shouldn't you as council members be able to see if you have these displacement problems in your district? It's a very fair question. Thank you.

Thank you. Welcome.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak. My name is Donna Hughes, and I represent the Safety and Government Affairs Committee of Sherwood Park Civic Association. And I'm here tonight to express our committee support of Ordinance 2026096 to establish the Resident Planning Review Commission for the implementation of the master plan, which will also include code refresh. Since this will be an advisory commission made up of actual taxpaying residents, the commission can provide a balanced, even approach to updating the master plan on a variety of issues. Frequently, some of the best ideas come from the residents who understand the nuances and specific needs of their neighborhoods, such as affordability, housing, infrastructure, traffic safety, protection, and the care of historical resources. While we appreciate city planning's offerings of engagement by residents, there's still a need to reach and inform more residents so that they gain a clear understanding about how changes to the master plan include code refresh will impact them for the long term, including their property, as well as the future of their respective communities. By implementing a Resident Planning Review Commission, a holistic and realistic approach to the master plan's objectives can be successfully achieved. There are numerous case studies involving residents participating which indicate successful implementation of master plans and zoning changes that have been successful and long-lasting. By having a resident planning review commission, Richmond will be better positioned to be proactive rather than reactive to lead and guide the city of Richmond through these extensive changes. Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Good evening, Madam President and council members. I live in the third district. I'm the homeowner there. I'm speaking in favor of the two ordinances that are now in discussion. When a governmental entity creates a commission or committee council that's involved in land use, they're very prudent if they seek out people to be on those commissions who have experience and expertise in those areas. Now, what comes with that is that these people are generally people who make their living and derive their profits from those activities. So you have something that comes up every once in a while in a deliberation where one of the members of these entities will recuse themselves because they are directly or indirectly associated either in the ownership, the design, or in the construction of one of these projects on a parcel. That's appropriate. Now, Code Refresh is a different animal altogether in that it is affecting absolutely every parcel of land in the city. And yet, during the deliberations that we've seen so far on Code Refresh, there have been no recusements for conflict of interest. It looks like a problem. So in that light, I'd like to support the two ordinances so that the citizens have their place at the table.

Sir, can you please state your name for the record, please?

John Gass, G-A-S-S.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Madam President, Madam Vice President, members of the Council, my name is David Mayer, M-A-I-E-R. I live at 1406 Brooklyn Parkway, and I'm here speaking in favor of Councilmember Gibson's ordinance. I'm speaking in strong support of her proposal to establish a resident planning review commission. RVA 300 was the product of extensive work deliberation and stakeholder participation. It reflects the full range of this city's values. Some weighted more heavily than others, but all meant to be considered together. Everything touching zoning is supposed to flow from this master plan. Councilmember Gibson's proposed commission would evaluate code refresh against that full standard. And by contrast, the zoning proposals advanced by the planning commission developed with the assistance of the developer centric zoning advisory commission have proceeded from a single value, developer driven density, developer driven housing density, from which they have since slowly backtracked cherry picking pieces of the RVA 300 plan to make it look like they are complying. No one disputes that density matters. The housing situation in the city makes that clear. But density cannot be the only or even the predominant value, the predominant lens through which a citywide zoning rewrite is judged. Let me offer an example from my own neighborhood, Sherwood Park. The Hermitage, a nursing home that sits rather beautifully at the gateway of our historic neighborhood, has proposed expanding into senior living. Its most recent plan included a five-story building with minimal setback fronting directly onto the five points intersection of Hermitage, Arthur Ashe, and Brooklyn Parkway. It appears that under code refresh, they would be allowed to do this by right. The facility's density needs could be met without this kind of visual damage to our neighborhood, to our neighborhood gateway without in effect metastasizing Scott's Addition across Arthur Ashe Boulevard. These are exactly the kinds of considerations that code refresh as currently drafted does not contemplate. A citizen review commission would restore the full set of RVA 300 values to the zoning rewrite process, not just density, but the rest of what residents were promised that plan would weigh. And the council would have a more complete ground from which to judge the final ordinance. I urge the council to slow this steaming locomotive of a code refresh train.

30 seconds.

Take a breath and allow for a thorough review of these proposals from the perspective of the people who actually live in these neighborhoods using RVA 300 as a standard. I make this request with some urgency. In my conversations with residents about code refresh, I'm hearing a real and growing distrust of the planning commission's process. A citizen's review commission would go a long way toward rebuilding that trust. Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Hi, thank you for allowing me the opportunity to speak this evening. My name is Robert Hood and I support both ordinances. I am a resident of Sherwood Park in the third district. I've lived there for approximately two years. However, I've lived in Richmond for 23 years. I guess I have a unique perspective because for 21 years I was a renter in seven other neighborhoods spanning several districts. And I know that from that experience, I know that there's never going to be an absolute consensus among all the citizens on what's perfect, what's right. It's not going to be right for everybody. But we have a opportunity here, the first opportunity in roughly 50 years to have some sort of positive change and we may not have another opportunity for another 50 years. So I think these ordinances would allow representation, actual representation from actual residents of these districts, of these neighborhoods, and provide some transparency. So even if we don't get it 100% correct, we could say that we tried and that we were transparent in our efforts. People that live in these neighborhoods, know what is best for their communities. And so I support this opportunity for them to have a voice.

Thank you.

Good evening, City Council. Thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight. My name is Maria Duster and I work at the Community Climate Collaborative. I'm also here speaking on behalf of the Homes for All Our Neighbors Coalition and I am also a renter here in Richmond. I'd like to, and I'm here, sorry, to speak in opposition to both of the ordinances being put forward. I'd like to start by saying that our coalition is strongly agrees with the intent behind these ordinances. There have been significant gaps and inequities in the community engagement process throughout Code Refresh, and this needs to be rectified. Our coalition has hosted multiple events across the city seeking to engage black and brown residents, Spanish speakers, young people, and other underrepresented groups. Where we diverge with these ordinances is our method of getting there to that better engagement. We are concerned that these commissions may reproduce many of the inequities that they seek to address. This commission's work will be unpaid, privileging those who can afford to work for free. Similar to the ZAC, the commissions are tasked with doing an enormous amount of work in a very short period of time, including but not limited to writing a comprehensive report, hosting multiple public engagement events, and providing a pretty high level of technical expertise on a variety of subjects that the council members spoke to. The neighbors with the most at stake are often working two or three jobs to stay in the city. They may not have the time or resources to sit through another round of meetings. Many of them can't even attend the ongoing ZAC meetings. As a result, we are concerned that new commissions would only draw from the voices already at the table and not reach the ones who can't get to it. As a renter here in Richmond, most of the code refresh events I've attended, I am one of the only renters there, and that is very concerning. But perhaps most importantly, there is no clear procedure outlining how the published report and public feedback that is collected will be integrated into the overall code refresh process. This has been a pretty chronic issue throughout. PDR is about to release draft three. Residents being engaged should understand the weight of their input, its role in shaping the zoning code at this point in time, and how council is thinking about that feedback. Instead of creating new commissions, we are urging the city to dedicate more resources to reaching out directly to renters and working families for a more balanced feedback on draft three. The city has already identified the gaps and we are asking you to allocate resources to host the town halls, listening sessions, whatever methods you'd like to meet people where they are and help them feel empowered to give comments on this rewrite. Thank you.

Thank you. Welcome.

Good evening, City Council, Council President. My name is Tavares Spinks. I'm a resident of North Churchill. I'm also a fifth generation Richmonder and a son of many renters and homeowners in Richmond, and I'm a homeowner myself. I'm coming to you today just to give you some facts. In a poll of 621 residents reported by Axios and WRIC, Rich Channel 8, there's strong support for zoning changes across demographic groups, but especially among young renters. and also residents making less than $50,000 a year. 69% supported allowing more housing types with 67% supporting duplexes specifically. 74% of black respondents said they support changing the zoning code to allow new development to be built citywide as opposed to a few neighborhoods. Among white respondents, 63% supported the change. 48% of all respondents, including 67% of renters, said high housing costs have made them consider leaving the city. And this is a story that's playing out in my family. And many of my friends, family, I have family who cannot afford the city and having to leave. I believe, to be clear, I should also say I'm speaking against both papers. I believe that the voices shaping this process, even with the effort that's being worked on with these papers, is not going to be representative because of the reasons stated earlier. Folks can't get to these meetings. Folks are working. work in security, work in retail, and cannot get to these meetings. So I think that there needs to be more targeted outreach for younger renters, immigrant families, and low income residents. And I'll also say that Page 80 of the Richmond 300 plan that is drafted. Sorry, I got resized here. Page 80 of the Richmond 300 plan does spell out under the residential section. Yes, neighborhoods consist of single family homes, but it also calls out accessory dwelling units, duplexes, and small multifamily residential buildings. And then it spells out the secondary uses duplexes and small multifamily buildings. That's in the Richmond 300 plan that council approved. From my opinion, It seems like we are working towards that through this process. I don't think there's a need for another additional agency set up. Just please involve the community more. Thank you.

Thank you.

All right. I'm Kevin Randizzi. I am a resident of the 8th District. I'm actually in this. Trammell's district and I agree with a lot of what has already been said so I do support the establishment of a code refresh review committee and also a resident planning review commission I think that the residents that live work and play in the city of Richmond should absolutely have a voice in what what the city will be shaped for for future generations to come. I totally feel strong about that. That's why I did come out and speak tonight, and I would even go one step further and say that even after the establishment of this Code Refresh Review Committee and this Resident Planning Review Commission is to put it to the voters, put it on the ballot. have a referendum to let the voters decide and vote on whether they want this code refreshed or not. In the city of Richmond, I know as a real estate broker that I think it's about 50 to 55% of the properties in the city of Richmond are occupied by renters and there's a lot of property owners that actually don't live in the city of Richmond. So the impacts that it may have as far as in the neighborhoods and in the communities will not be felt by those out of town property owners as much as it will be felt by the residents. And I feel that the residents should absolutely have a voice in the way that Richmond goes forward.

Thank you. Welcome.

Thank you. Good evening, Council. My name is Jacob Peters. I'm a second district resident living in the Jackson Ward neighborhood on Lee Street. I came here tonight to speak in support of Councilwoman Gibson's resolution to establish the Resident Planning Review Commission to correctly ensure the implementation of Richmond 300. I deeply believe that this commission is critical for two reasons. Firstly, we need to support and elevate the voices of renters across our city. I'm the first vice chair of the Richmond City Democratic Committee here and have attended many council meetings across all districts of the city and I have attended many neighborhood association meetings as well, and what I hear often is from homeowners, concerns about increasing property values and property taxes and how that pressures some of our, specifically some of our fixed income residents. I know as a renter myself that sometimes these increases of housing aren't just felt by homeowners, they're also felt by renters, and we share these challenges. in this cost of living crisis. I hope that by establishing this commission, we will see that we can provide a future for renters like myself and homeowners in a city that is affordable that we can all share and live in together. Secondly, and most importantly, this commission is going to provide a critical critical tools to city councilors and metrics to showcase the progress that the city has made in establishing and implementing Richmond 300. By providing this transparent framework across the city and sharing residents with vested interests, both renters and homeowners, we can address the shortcomings and communicate and celebrate our successes. Thank you.

Thank you.

Welcome. Good evening. My name is Flora Worthington. I'm a renter and resident of the first district. I've worked in Richmond for my entire professional career, moved to the city as soon as I left college, and have been a resident in the Richmond region since birth. I recognize the need for deeper, more representative engagement in Code Refresh because lots of voices have been excluded. The voices that have been excluded are not the voices advocating for another commission. I'm speaking against both papers. The discussion so far has been dictated by homeowners who pay less for their mortgage than I pay for rent. More than half of Richmond residents are renters, not 50-50. But our zoning excludes us from living in many neighborhoods around the city and pushes rent up every year. There are no affordable homes to buy. The streetcar suburbs of Richmond that many anti-density advocates happen to live in are too dense for the modern zoning code. They couldn't be created now. Dragging this discussion out with another commission keeps the letter pulled up for our generation. The American dream is already gone for us. The status quo is displacement. Renters deserve to be heard, maybe in a renter town hall, one where we will not be heckled, one where Windsor Farm resident doesn't get applauded for saying, quote, like people want to live with like, or where landlords won't belittle anti-homeless programs because they're paying a mortgage on their third rental house. City councilors and the planning department regularly go out of their way to meet with homeowner associations whose members represent fewer individuals than live in single blocks across the city. Advisory commissions usually meet during the day, which means I and many others cannot attend because we work 9 to 5. For two years, I had an additional job on Tuesday evenings, meaning I also couldn't attend then. Meetings organized by the city have largely been on weeknights, work nights, or school nights, are poorly advertised outside of homeowner groups, and if you can't make it to the once-a-month meeting, your voice is not heard and assumed non-existent by the opposition. If you want proof, see who has had time to show up to speak tonight." Waiting for committee implies the status quo is working. It is not. We are in a state of housing emergency, not a parking emergency, as acknowledged by real accurate and comprehensive research we already have right now. Code refresh is not a silver bullet to homelessness or poverty, but it is a start in the right direction. Delay tactics are not the path forward. Outreach to renters in the majority of the city can and should be done. It does not need to be done on a board dominated by landowners or in a process which delays these long needed changes. Planning and city council can connect with renters where we are in our neighborhoods as you have done with homeowners. We don't bite, I promise. I consider myself a student of history. To conclude, I would like the council to consider the following quote from the OSS Simple Sabotage Field Manual published in the 1940s as a means to cause destruction behind enemy lines without raising suspicion. When possible, refer all matters to committees for further study and consideration. Attempt to make the committees as large as possible, never less than five. Advocate caution, be reasonable, and urge your fellow conferees to be reasonable and avoid haste, which might result in embarrassments or difficulties later on. Opponents of change have clearly taken notes. Will you? Thank you. Thank you.

Good evening, City Council. My name is Miles Kozuel. I'm a renter in the city of Richmond and someone who recognizes the importance of significant zoning reform in the city. I've been following the Richmond 300 plan and the code refresh process and the public outreach side to it and have concerns about the proposals already. What we have seen through the process is that the voices of property owners are overwhelmingly overrepresented. while the voices and especially the needs of the average Richmonder have been marginalized. I fear that these proposals would only continue this trend and exacerbate it. Any commission that does not accurately represent renters, full-time workers and young people will only further worsen the problem. A concern is that a citizen's commission will be dominated by those with enough money and time to spend on the commission marginalize the voices of us who work. Because of this, I oppose the two ordinances. The average Richlander works full-time. The average Richlander rents. According to polling, the average Richlander believes that there is not enough housing supply and wants to legalize more housing types. For more community outreach is needed, it needs to focus on reaching out to renters, younger residents, and low-income residents, not continuing to magnify and emphasize the wants and needs of wealthy homeowners. If this cannot be achieved, the proposed commission will only act to obstruct and prevent the code refresh from applying the objectives of the Richmond 300 plan. Thank you.

Thank you. Welcome.

Thank you so much, Madam Chairwoman and the rest of the council. Thank you to Ms. Trimble and Gilbert for this resolution. I am in support of it. For a citizens council with this zoning situation and code refresh, I just think there just needs to be a little bit more education for people. I'm a black woman. I mean, you see me. I've heard a lot of comments. I've been a renter. I'm a homeowner. You know, I talk to my neighbors across the street that rent their homes. I don't look at them as if I don't want them there. I just think that there needs to be something that's better. I've actually worked in affordable housing. I think the conversation is very interesting, yet sometimes what people build doesn't build the quality of life of the people. and I think that's the challenge that I see with the building across the street from my home the Citadel of Hope building the project from Better Housing Coalition the issue there's a lot of residents over there the building was not built well and then there's like a trash dumpster that is not big enough for the folks to even dump their trash and then like it's it's spilling over. And so there's a lot of neighbors and homeowners that are upset about it. Not everyone's that upset, but it's a challenge. I think if you do affordability, you should do it well, not just say, oh, we've got a problem, and let's just try to slap everybody together. I think this commission would help out with that issue. I think a grassroots... organizations, some folks were talking, going door to door with people that even work, trying to get their voice and get them to the table too. It can be done. I don't think they should be excluded. I was in college years ago, but I'm still paying my bill, right? I'm still paying a student loan. So I know what that looks like. My husband is still paying his as well. We see what's going on in this country. I know it has nothing to do with council right now, but everyone is going through something in hard times. I think that a commission, I don't know if it will stall things, but I would like to join because my voice needs to be at the table. People say black and brown, but I'm black and I'm here. So I can represent myself. But I know working class people as well. I am them as well. I just think that there needs to be more of a conversation and then it won't look as if it's a bunch of developers and a council person has them in their pocket. 30 seconds. And I'm not saying that that's what's happening. I'm so, I appreciate Ms. Newbill, but I think that I'm definitely for this and I hope it passes. Thank you for your time. I'm Tanetta Caleb, 872 Jessamine Street, 7th District. Thank you.

Thank you. Welcome.

Good afternoon, Madam President and Council. My name is Reverend Jeanette Brown, and I'm from Westwood Community. I'm also the president of the Civic Association, and I'm standing in support of both of the bills that's come forward for community involvement. I think it's really needed. I was here last week when I heard, I think, Mr. Bonk say 5,000 people they had reached out to. That's less than 3% of the population. The other thing I heard last week, several of the council members were saying, it's not in layman's terms. This is very difficult for the average citizen to understand. And so I think more outreach is needed so that people really understand what Code Refresh is gonna do. I'd like to see for my neighborhood, what it looks like now and then what's proposed because the developers are eating us up in Westwood because the property rates in comparison to what's in the first district are relatively low. We need to save, Our community, we are asking, and I'm asking, I don't know if you all have been to Westwood, but I invite you to come, just like you went over and walked with the developers to take a look at the impact and listen to the community. Come and see what's going on with us. Even with the building of the ADUs, how tight these lots, we don't have streets, I mean, not streets, we don't have sidewalks. We don't have alleys. And it's okay, because it's like the country and we like it like that. But when you start building more, and we're not against, well, let me say this. We've already been developed. We've lost Patterson Avenue. We've lost part of Dunbar. We've lost where the post office is on Glen Burnie. That's our, and Snowton. We don't have too many more streets in our neighborhood that hasn't been APPROACHED UPON. SO WHEN YOU SEE WHAT'S BEEN DONE OVER THE COURSE OF, MY MOTHER PURCHASED HER HOME 69 YEARS AGO. WHEN YOU SEE WHAT'S HAPPENED SINCE THEN, YOU'LL KNOW WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT. SO COME VISIT WESTWOOD AND WE'LL SHOW YOU WHAT CODE REFRESH IS GOING TO DO. WE NEED MORE PEOPLE FROM THE COMMUNITY TO REALLY UNDERSTAND AND KNOW WHAT THE IMPACT IS. I WANT TO THANK GUMBY for working with us and agreeing to listen and to bring our case forward. And thank you for your consideration.

Thank you. Welcome.

Good evening. I'm Tammy Rose, R-O-S-E. And I'm in the first district. I am vice president of our civic association, of our civic league. I wanna just thank Gumby as well, just for his continued open communication with us. And I do agree with both Kenya Gibson and Reva that we do need a commission of regular citizens. But I want to just talk about affordability. And that's one of the things that I think is a hindrance because it's not explained. When most people hear affordability, they think that there is something coming in their community that is affordable for them. And they don't realize that developers will THEY'RE NOT LOOKING LIKE THAT. THEY'RE NOT LOOKING LIKE THAT. THEY'RE NOT LOOKING LIKE THAT. THAT'S NOT WHAT THEY'RE THAT'S NOT WHAT THEY'RE THAT'S NOT WHAT THEY'RE THINKING ABOUT. THINKING ABOUT. THINKING ABOUT. CASE IN POINT, WE HAVE CASE IN POINT, WE HAVE CASE IN POINT, WE HAVE A DEVELOPMENT THAT IS SUPPOSED A DEVELOPMENT THAT IS SUPPOSED A DEVELOPMENT THAT IS SUPPOSED TO GO UP ON YORK ROAD TO GO UP ON YORK ROAD TO GO UP ON YORK ROAD AND OUR COMMUNITY AND And that development is supposed to be eight townhouses. And when I asked the developer, what is the price point? Is it affordable? And he said, yes. And I said, so what is the cost? And he said, it'll be 1.2 mil. And I said, but that's not affordable. Affordable to whom? He said, that's luxury affordability. And so when I listened last week and Mr. Vonk said, and I can't remember who posed the question to him about affordability. He said, are you talking big A or little A? And so that's where we are. What is affordable? If we're not explaining affordability to people and we're not putting in, even in the first district, places where average students from U of R, from VCU, from Union can find something that's affordable, that is for their rate then that is that's 30 seconds we're not doing it my last thing is if it doesn't seem that we can that code refresh is not being um push it's being pushed forward without the citizens i suggest that we just like charlottesville suspend code refresh until we can get a better majority of citizens, whether they are residents, homeowners, and or renters. Thank you. That's your time. And that's what I suggest. Thank you.

Thank you. Welcome.

Good evening. My name is Juan Braxton, and I'd like to speak to this issue as a resident of the 5th District. I'd like to speak in favor of both of these commissions. not for the reasons that we've mostly heard here today. I would like to speak in favor of them as my big brother in advocacy, Brother Charles Willis always says, if you're not at the table, you will end up on the menu. So I firmly believe that we need these commissions because we need people on here that are going to talk about density, talk about affordability, not just middle-class citizens that want to protect their property values by wanting to make sure that we limit certain things or certain things don't change the value of their property. That is the issue. But the bigger issue is Richmond is landlocked, which is driving prices up. People have nowhere to live. And with inflation, We're going to have to go back to multi-generational families living in one dwelling. And an uncomfortable conversation for the city of Richmond is when white flight happened, a lot of black families survived in Churchill and Highland Park by living in these larger homes where they could afford for two or three generations of a family to live under one roof with gentrification Those homes are the homes that people are here today to protect. Where are the black families going to be able to go? Where are the poor families going to be able to go if we don't create more density? So I speak in favor of these two review boards. I do ask that we find some way to make sure that those voices are heard on those commissions. Because if you look around this room, the people really most affected by Code Refresh, they're not here. But they typically are not here because they don't understand. But it wouldn't be fair for us that do understand, that do hold positions, to not make sure that these people are represented. I hear a lot of people work nine to fives, there is a way to have an advocate or someone make sure that your voice is heard. So again, I'd like to speak in favor, but I do ask that we have people from lower income and multi-generational families represented on these commissions. Thank you. Thank you.

Seeing no other speakers at this point, the public hearing is closed. We'll bring it back to the body for discussion.

Council Member Jones. Thank you, Madam President. And thank you to everyone who came down to speak. Thank you to my colleague, Ms. Trammell, because I definitely am picking up what you're putting down. Thank you to Ms. Gibson. But I want to say what everybody is basically not really talking about. Instead of us forming these new commissions, I think the onus is on the city. We have an office of neighborhood engagement. We have a participatory budgeting team, and we have multiple OOCs or whatever that office is of communications. And at the end of the day, we have a framework that is in place that can engage citizens at the level that they deserve to be engaged. And at the last meeting, I said specifically South City and residents, because when you look across this room, they are not represented. And I personally have been holding meetings on the code refresh since 2024, when that consultant firm first touched down in Richmond. But this is a city policy that is looking to be voted on by council, and the onus should be on the city to ensure that all residents are engaged. Not 5%, not 10%, not 20%. whether it's going back in the days with the street canvassing, the door knocking, the light and the candle, leave a paper bag, whatever you got to do, people should know about this and they should be educated at the level that we want this code refresh to be received. When I recall, I want to say it was maybe back in 2024, when we were on council, when we had participatory budgeting, there was a proposal to ask what the civic participation looks like. What does that participation look like? We have gotten into, and I'm just going to say it, and this is no disrespect to anyone, but lazy engagement. It is lazy engagement because we have taken a flyer, a let me show up at your town hall for something as important as this. So all this does is highlights what we need to do as a city that we need to get serious as it relates to engaging every citizen in this city. Not one district over the other. As it relates to educating, it is definitely too much mixed messaging going on. It is too much mixed messaging as it relates to affordability. As my colleague in the 8th District said, we are the only two right now who there is all the development happening. So I am not opposed to either of the papers, but what I am opposed to is duplicating efforts. And I do believe that we already have what we need to put together in collaboration with council to be able to create a civic engagement under all of these offices that we already have, that do all the communication that we possibly could do, that does all the engagement that we could possibly need. Where is that? Because I've not heard about that at all today. I've not heard not one conversation about the Office of Neighborhood Engagement, about what is it, what's the communications, participatory budgeting. We know what we need to do, folks. And so I'm grateful that these papers are brought to light, because it's showing us where we are lacking. And it's showing us what we need to do. And this affordability versus wealth, that is It's a little out of control. It's a little out of control now. And thank you to Ms. Robinson for really helping me even be able to frame the narrative of how you really explain to people what affordability looks like. Because affordability looks like me. And so when we keep talking about, we really want to support the people that can't, that we don't want them displaced. We want them to be able to stay. I am looking for us to not continue to create and create and create. It's almost like we doing a problem and it's like, let's create another one. We got that, let's create. We already have the framework. So what my hope is, is that we can come together as we talking about collaboration, we're talking about unity, all of these words that have been used tonight, let's really show up and do that because there is no reason that we would put this on nine to five staff on the council chief of staff's office to say, now you go and create a new citizens review. You responsible for picking the people for doing this when we already, I'm going to say it again, got a neighborhood office of engagement, got a participatory budgeting. We got a office of communications with over, that's got to be 50 people or maybe more. So we already have over 50 people that engage in communications and engagement. And we are still sitting here two years later saying that people do not know about this process. And I'm upset and I'm frustrated because as Ms. Trammell said, and I'm with her today. I am with her because the South Side is the only place right now that a lot of this development that everybody is talking about, then why is not everybody in South Side? When everything in 2024, South Side, South Side, where is it? So I'm on one today, because I'm telling you, this is ridiculous. And I really hope that we can get to, yes, I'm on one. And I really hope that, I ain't been on one, but I'm on one. And I really, I am. And I really hope that we take into consideration THE FACT THAT WE HAVE THE TOOLS ALREADY IN PLACE. WE NEED TO STOP AS THEY SAY KICKING THE CAN AND GET DOWN TO BUSINESS ABOUT WHAT WE NEED TO DO AND ENGAGE SO WE CAN GET THIS PROCESS MOVING AND PEOPLE CAN KNOW WHAT IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING TO THEM.

NEW SPEAKER THANK YOU COUNCILMEMBER JONES. COUNCILWOMAN ALBA BOCKER.

NEW SPEAKER FIRST OFF I WANT TO THANK MY COLLEAGUE COUNCILMEMBER JONES I WHOLEHEARTEDLY agree with her. And as a representative of South Richmond that does not have the kind of development that the 8th or the 9th have, but driving through it and seeing it day in and day out, I understand and empathize and walk with them on that. I, in principle, agree with both of these papers. because I think, and I understand the intention, and I'm grateful to both Councilmember Trammell and Gibson for bringing these forward, because I think there is a sense that this conversation, as Councilmember Jones has said, has been going on for quite some time, and yet we haven't found real movement in the actual engagement of people. I mean, I think 5,000 people as someone noted, less than 3% of the population, is not enough to make an informed decision. And if we're being honest about this, there are people that want this to move very quickly in the next few months. And I think these papers are really representative of how do we intentionally slow down and engage in this process, not because We don't see this as a crisis. We do. But I think we have to unpack, and I hear the administration doing this as well now, that affordability is the Trojan horse of code refresh. They are not one and the same. I think you can use the examples from tonight of Tuxedo Boulevard and Westwood and the Westwood neighborhood as two ways of saying that more housing, more varieties of housing does not necessarily equate housing affordability. and what little a affordability looks like to one person looks differently to another. And that is why I think it is important that we continue to have opportunities for people to engage in the actual, one, understanding what's going on, but understanding is only... one piece of this, also having participation and input into that and representation from us and from the administration. Lastly, I would just say, as a reminder, I understand the importance of rezoning the city. I understand that this is something that we have been waiting on for 45 plus years. But to be clear, this just started, Code Refresh just started in February of 2024. This is a, to say that we are going to solve a 50-year problem in two and a half years is absurd. And to accurately engage people is absurd. And to do it right and intentionally is absurd. So I would again say I commend my colleagues for bringing these papers to the fore. I also think what this is emblematic of is that we need, the people are telling us that we need to be more intentional, more engaged, and more direct with them. And I love Council Member Jones's idea of really using the full force and power and weight of all of our offices of engagement to be out there. Because I know that planning can't do it alone. They're a small team. And so if everything is left to planning, then obviously that's how you don't get all of this engagement. We should be deploying people on the streets having these conversations. And I hope that this conversation does move forward in that manner. Thank you.

Vice President Jordan.

Thank you, President Newbell. And thank you, everyone who's come out. Thank you to everyone who's engaged in this process throughout. I see many familiar faces in the audience. And I think I would like to echo and amplify Councilmember Jones. We have the tools here to continue and to deepen our outreach. And what I worry about is if we create another layer in a process that's already pretty far down the road, we are going to confuse people. And we're not going to expand involvement. We're actually going to narrow it and disenfranchise the folks who have been engaging already, disenfranchise the people who participated in Richmond 300. Welcome working with administration to dive further into our districts for folks who don't feel like they've understood how to engage in the process. I know there's work that we can do. And I know that my colleagues are great at this work. We have been meeting with our neighborhood associations. We've been meeting with our residents, our businesses throughout this process. And ultimately, we are the voice. We are your voice at the table when it comes to a final vote. And I don't take that lightly. It's a responsibility I'm here for. And for those reasons, I would not support creating another new entity. I would rather, again, as Councilmember Jones already suggested, make sure we're utilizing the full force of administration's capabilities. Thank you.

Thank you.

Councilwoman Trammell. Thank you, Madam President. I, too, want to thank all the speakers that came out here tonight to speak about this. But I want to say that I've attended many meetings, and I know many of you in the audience, and I've heard you all loud and clear. And I know that I've asked, what is affordable? And I know that Kevin Vaughn came to one of our meetings, I believe in December, and he told us that to build a house in Southside, which that's what I represent, the 8th district, would probably be about $250,000. Because everything's gone up. That's a single family home. That's why you're not seeing these single family homes being built. You're seeing apartments, apartments. And I know that I said earlier, I have 12 developers, probably 13 now. It's not single family homes. They're apartments, townhouses. And believe me, my phone has rung all weekend, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, every single day. I was getting 30 to 40 calls. What was the calls about? Reva, they blocked our driveway. Reva, they blocked our mailbox. Reva, they blocked our street. Reva, this loud music. Reva, these firecrackers. Reva, you got to help us. Send the police. We don't have the police to come to every call. They're running up. I mean, I had a shooting in my district. I had everything else going on. That was just my, I'm not counting the rest of the city where they had homicides and shootings and stabbings.

Our police officers, we've lost 165 officers.

They're running from call to call, even the lieutenants, the sergeants, officers, they're all out there. The majors, the deputy chief, the police chief taking my call on a Sunday. I'm begging for help. And that's what the citizens are saying. And it's not that they're not, I can say with me, and my colleague knows, I go to Publix, I go to Food Lane, on Forest Hill, and what do I do? Code refresh, code refresh. I have the paper. I said, look, look, what's this? That's what they can build. Really? How much does that cost? I said, a lot. I'm getting calls from my neighborhood. Reva, they just built a tiny house. How did they build that?

They can.

And thank you to the Richmonder for all the stories that, hey, you all need to go in and listen to some of this. I'm telling you, I share it on Facebook, a lot of it, just about everything.

I mean, it's like, really?

Little tiny houses, and it's by right, and that's what so many people, they ask me in your district, with the publics, because a lot of my people go there from the 9th to 6th and all that, and I say by right means, and I really, really appreciate the person explaining that, it means it can be built. Without it coming before us, without it coming before planning, the mayor, this and that, it's going to be done. And we're not going to have to say so. And I will tell you right now, probably some of my colleagues, not everybody, I'm not saying, I'm not singling nobody out, but some of us are probably saying, please let this pass because we get so many calls. Hey, do you know they're doing this? Do you know they're doing that? And like I said, I will take any of you on a ride and show you what they're building in my district. Because in 1998, when I sit right here in this seat, and Greg Wingfield used to come there, I used to scream at him and say, when you go build something in my district, I don't have anything going on in my district. He said, when you get crime down. Well, guess what? I'm quite sure he wished now he had grabbed some of that vacant property that I have, because you've got 12 developers, probably another one that President Lloyd just told me earlier, that could be 13. And I will be with my colleague on Thursday in her district, because she's got a beautiful, beautiful apartment that just got finished. And everybody thinks it's my district, but it's not. It's hers. I have over here by Branch's Church, she has on this side of Walmsley. Beautiful. But I'm just saying that this is something that we understand we need. We need affordable housing. It's affordable. When I have landlords telling me, do you know what a gallon of paint costs? Yes, I do. Do you know what a roof costs? Yes, I do. Do you know what central air and heat costs? Yes, I do. Do you know what it costs when your tenant is coming in and they just tear it up because it's not theirs? Yes, I do. How much does that cost? Stormwater gone up. Assessments are definitely going to go up. Don't ever think your assessments are going to go down when they build, build, build. Because just like Richie's come before us and told us, anytime they build, your assessments go up and up and up. They don't go down because he's got a what?

Council Member Trammell.

I'm sorry. One more minute. Damn. I didn't mean to say that. Let me just say this. I heard you all loud and clear, and guess what? I don't know if either one of these papers is going to pass, but I will tell you right now. In 2021 and in 2023, what did the voters and the citizens of Richmond do? They had the opportunity to vote, to vote my district and my district a casino. They voted it down. So why not give you all the opportunity to vote for this? Why not? Let's do a referendum because that's what I'm working on right now with a lot of others. And we should know something hopefully by this week so you all can have the opportunity to vote it up or vote it down. Thank you, Madam President. If you all want to call me, you can call me at 804-240-5050 or my home number, 804-233-7382. Thank you.

Councilman Burton.

So I guess the question here today is related to the possible benefits of these two commissions to possibly overcome some drawbacks of the process here. One is, is there enough engagement? Are we reaching enough people? Are we reaching enough diversity of viewpoints to make sure people are aware of this process, that we've heard the concerns of a diverse set of returners. Then the other is, is the process being driven in a way that is getting the right level of scrutiny from people with the right values that represent the values of this city, right? And so I echo council member Jones' statement that it is the responsibility of our city to engage with a broad and diverse, a more broad and more diverse set of residents to make sure that we have heard from everybody. And I believe that it is our responsibility to be the watchdogs of this process, right? We have heard from our residents about their questions. I've heard from my residents, hey, we just had a water crisis. What's the plan for utilities? Great question. Administration, what's the plan for utilities? We've heard from residents. Hey, there's going to be more cars. What's the plan for traffic safety? Great question. Hey, administration, what's the plan for traffic safety? So we have a responsibility to represent the views, the wishes, the hopes, the broad set of all the values and concerns that our residents have. I take that very, very seriously. I pass those questions on to administration publicly. I am I've been getting responses back. I'll continue to get responses back and follow up if they're not adequate. I'm asking for meetings with the planning department to ask specific questions about, hey, I got a question about a parcel on this corner. Can you tell me, they said it's going to be too tall on the transitions. Tell me about the transitions. Is this reasonable? We have a responsibility to... to be that watchdog. So I take that very seriously. I want to remind my residents to continue to reach out to me with those questions. I am passing them on. We also have the option and the responsibility to withhold our vote until we've heard enough, until we understand that this really is good for the city, that we really have met. the the needs and goals of the city so it's very important every question I heard today is an important question that I would like to get an answer to right so I think that's great I'll continue to do that for you and and I also want to make sure that we continue to get more questions from that broader more diverse array of residents as well to make sure that we they're answering them all so I believe we have between the administration and the council the

the infrastructure that we need to continue this process um because it is very important and i take it very seriously thank you councilman bretton councilwoman robertson okay thank you madam president i i too want to thank everyone that have come out to speak this evening um The voice is critical that we hear everyone in this process. I thank Ms. Tramble, Ms. Gibson for the proposals that are before us. I also want to say that I want to thank the staff for the work that they have done, for the many meetings that they have had. for the many town meetings that they have attended and the variety of outreach efforts that have been taken up until this point. I have had the good fortune, I guess I could say that, to have served on the appointed advisory board to work along with the administration and the engagement in the community. And I will say that based on sitting on that board for the past two years, and have attended a lot of the actual work that has been done by the administration to hear those voices. At one point, there was a great concern as to whether or not the diversity of the representation on the board was to the level that it needed to be. A DECISION WAS MADE TO APPOINT ADDITIONAL PERSONS FROM THE COMMUNITIES TO SERVE ON THE BOARD TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE DOING EVERYTHING THAT WE COULD OR DOING MORE TO BE ABLE TO HEAR AS MANY RESIDENTS AS WE SAY JUST REGULAR PEOPLE WHATEVER THAT MEANS TO SERVE ON THIS BOARD AND SO I want to say that having sit on the advisory board and seen the multiple presentations, the multiple number of people that have come to speak directly to the board, the advisory board I'm speaking to, that it's been important to work along this entire process for the past two years and more. that major changes have been made in the proposed recommendation from the first draft to the second draft, and what we have seen in the third graph. Major changes are still being proposed. We have not seen the third graph yet, so we don't have any specifics as to what's coming back. But I can assure you that the changes that have been made from first draft, second draft, third draft have been directly related to the voices that have spoken out as it relates to concerns. And significant changes have been made. One of the things that I hear Transparency, I hear, not hearing the voices. So the voices, I want to thank those that are renters that showed up today to speak to the concerns as it relates to the renters in the city. A huge number of our people are renters. Huge level of development that have taken place in the last few years has been rental housing, more so than any other housing. Single-family housing development is very low in the city. Even though the largest share of land mass in this city is restricted, to single family development. And so one of the things that this zoning is still obligated and attempting to try to do is to provide opportunities by right zoning to increase the level of housing development opportunities in a landlocked city that has the majority of the land mass restricted to single family. We cannot grow as a city and meet the needs of the number of housing units that is necessary with the majority, a huge disparity share of land mass restricted to single family home development. So that's one of the driving things that the master plan is demand. That's one of the things that have been a driving force as it relates to this rezoning. So we speak to affordable housing. And I think what's happening, what I'm experiencing, is that rezoning for higher density is being confused to mean only that is for the purpose of affordable housing. That is not correct.

Council Member Robertson? I understand. I understand. I'll come back around again. I understand.

I'll wrap it up. Because I, you know, I serve. I've been the one sitting in this seat, okay? I've heard every meeting. I've heard every voice. And I know who has come and who hasn't. And I'm very supportive of us. And I'll speak on behalf of the advisory board that currently exists. You know, hearing from everybody is critically important. But I want, Madam Chair, for this council to get answers to the questions that we got last week when we had a presentation, which we have not gotten answers to yet. So I don't know where we stand with most of that. I know it's in the process, but decision-making is important with information. The other thing I want this council to do, Madam Chair, and I'm willing to put this in writing to our council chief of staff, We need to say what percentage of the people of the city of Richmond that needs to have responded in order for us to feel that we have reached a fair share, okay? Because otherwise, any percentage is not defined. We need to say that. The staff and everybody, the community needs to know what that means. We also need to say back to administration to present us with a plan of action as to how they're going to reach all the people at the percentage that we have to declare is a percentage. Is it 50%? Is it 100%? Is it 25%? I don't know, but we need to be able to say that. I also think that We are not in a position to vote on anything, and we haven't seen the third. without knowing that we have not reached some level of consensus. That's important that we do that. I mean, we claim that we have reasonable consensus except for three items, which I disagree with, obviously. There's more than that that we need to have on the table. So Madam Chair, I am not in support of these papers. What I am in support of is having a definitive action moving forward that will satisfy specifics that the council asked for so that we can work collectively with everybody citizens, all the stakeholders, every member of council, planning commission, all of the folk that got a presentation last week to define exactly what has to be answered in order to move forward. And I want to thank Ms. Jones for all of the recommendations of the complete staff that we have, that we pay every day to come to work to assist us in getting that done. Thank you.

Thank you. Councilwoman Gibson.

Thank you, Madam President. And thank you, everyone who came and spoke. I think it is accurate to say that every single resident in this city is highly concerned about access to housing. And I'm deeply appreciative of that. I want to begin, I mean, frankly, I'm a bit surprised that we would question the benefit of having residents weigh in on something that has such widespread impact on every resident that lives in the city. And I question who is served when votes are rushed and information is lacking. From where I sit, and this has been boosted by the research, is that the discussion about the code refresh is ultimately a discussion about economic development, and residents do benefit from economic development. We have not seen evidence that code refresh as a standalone tool will impact affordable housing and rents. But what it also could impact is displacement. And I was taken by the resident who came and spoke about submitting a FOIA request to get information about the displacement, location of homes for displacement, and being told that they could not provide that information. That should give us all significant pause. I also want to highlight the reality of how our bodies are structured. Richmond is a strong mayor form of government. So the city administration all reports to the mayor and there's an election for our mayor. And then separately there's city council. We adopt policy and we have our own staff. So while I appreciate the interest in wanting the city administration to provide us with information, ultimately we're limited in our role in being able to get that. And at this point, we've now received three drafts. And I do believe that we have received the third map draft. So the third round is published. So we can see the map. I don't believe, for whatever reason, the corresponding definition of the different parcels has been published yet. I don't know why. So now there's three drafts of maps that are out. And the city administration still, as I think we collectively agreed, fallen short of the outreach that we'd like to see. So now we will be tasked to vote on this. And if information is short and we do not adapt this commission, we have no one to blame but ourselves. It's our responsibility to ensure that we have the information needed to make this giant decision. This body that I proposed is to be comprised of renters, tenants, and homeowners. And I question the logic that because we have a hard time reaching tenants that we should not support a commission that would include tenants. I simply don't see that logic. We have, I believe it is our responsibility to try and ensure that we have taken a thorough look to get these questions answered. At the end of the day, in Richmond and in every municipality across the country, and when it comes to local politics, there is no industry that has more influence than developers. They contribute to campaigns. They show up at council meetings. And so how can we offset that immense influence but to be very intentional in allowing residents to take center stage? I appreciate that neither of these papers will likely pass, but I also want to express, as Council Member Trammell has expressed, that we will not give up in ensuring that questions are answered. And I... I do think that it is critical that we take the time necessary in making a decision that could make a lot of people rich at the cost of working Richmonders. Thank you.

Thank you, Councilwoman Gibson. I'd like to start by thanking everyone who came to speak this evening to provide us with your comments and concerns. I'd also like to thank Councilwoman Gibson and Councilwoman Trammell for your papers for me, which simply highlights the need to have more intentional, more strategic engagement of residents. And I think we said that the resident voices need to be heard unequivocally in these processes, these discussions. And so for me, we have engaged residents' participatory budgeting process. We have our, and it's already been mentioned in terms of the kind of infrastructure we have for engaging residents, which is pretty significant. And I concur. And maybe it really probably bespeaks the need for more of an implementation plan for putting our engagement infrastructure to work to ensure that resident voice is not some, not a small percent, not a small group, but that it is broad, diverse, and inclusive across the city footprint. And so I appreciate raising that the papers raise and puts a spotlight on the need to ensure that resident voices are taken into consideration here and not just taken into consideration that we go out and we really do hear from residents across the city and not perfunctorily But authentically, not just a few, but we're talking meaningful numbers in terms of citizens in this city and really hearing from them. And I know we can do that because we've done that. We've heard and we've used processes to ensure that we get significant resident voices. And so I think I'm looking for strategic intentionality in terms of how we proceed to stand up this city's engagement infrastructure to ensure that we have resident voices, and not just a few, significant resident voices across the city. Again, everyone. So it's not just renters. It's not just homeowners. It is everyone across the city footprint. And so for me, again, these papers put a, you know, shine a light on the need, but they don't answer the broader question for being in terms of substantive resident voice in this process. It's been 50 years since we've looked at this and the rush is not the important part for me. How we proceed to undertake this process will be critical. So I'm going to be looking for our staff working with administration to look at that engagement infrastructure that we're involved in. I'm not talking about one that we just send out that I will attend, that other council members will attend throughout the district and in their meetings. With that, I am going to move that we call the questions. And Madam Clerk, first paper.

Council is now voting on ordinance number 2026-092 as read. Mr. Breton?

No.

Ms. Gibson?

No.

Ms. Jones? No. Ms. Robertson? No. I'm sorry, what is your vote?

Are we voting on those two papers together?

No. No, one. We're doing 092 first and followed by 096.

Oh, I'm sorry.

OK. No. Ms. Trammell?

Aye.

Ms. Abu Bakr?

Aye.

Vice President Jordan?

No.

And President Newbill? No. That paper has not been adopted. Council is now voting on ordinance number 2026-096 as read. Mr. Breton?

No.

Ms. Gibson? Yes. Ms. Jones? No. Ms. Robertson?

No.

Ms. Trammell?

No.

Ms. Albuquerque?

Aye.

Vice President Jordan?

No.

And President Newbill? No. That paper has not been adopted.

Thank you. What I think it's going to imperative that we leave this meeting with is absolute clarity that we are in agreement about the need for resident voice and significant resident voice and looking at not only the questions that have been shared with our chief of staff, but also now talking about that process that will ensure that we get significant voice in this process. And I think Ms. Robertson raised part of what percent is significant. And then of that engagement infrastructure that we have in the city, how will we deploy it to ensure that we get the resident voice that we're all wanting to make sure are part of this process? With that, members, we have I think the last item here for No, we have approval of minutes and then new legislation for introduction and then we get to announcements.

The minutes to be approved are from the Monday, June 8th, 2026 informal and formal city council meetings at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. If there are no corrections or amendments, then the minutes will be approved as presented. Those minutes have been approved.

Thank you. Let's proceed to introduction of new legislation.

Members, new pieces of legislation items numbered 1 through 13 on the list before you are hereby introduced as presented. A copy of the list is available for public inspection at the rear of the room. An electronic copy and copies of the new legislation will be available on the city's website on Tuesday, June 23rd.

Thank you, Madam Clerk. We will proceed with reports and announcements at this time. Councilwoman Trammell, reports and announcements.

Thank you, Madam President.

I just again want to say thanks to all the citizens that came here tonight to speak about our two papers. I had a feeling that neither one of them was going to pass, and that's why I've been out here talking to hundreds and hundreds of people in the past month and asking them what do they think about having a chance to vote on Code Refresh. And I will tell you right now, not a one of them told me no. And it's not just in the eighth district, it's all over. They said they want the opportunity, just like they were given the opportunity in 2021 and 2023 to vote for the casino, which it was voted down both times. So why not give the people this opportunity to be able to vote for Code Refresh? And a lot of people do know what Code Refresh is. They do know. They don't want to waste their time coming down here. As they say, I don't want to waste my time. I can go do something else. I can spend some time with my children. I can pick up some extra hours at work. And I said, I don't blame you. If you don't want to come, I understand. And then a lot of citizens say, you know, what is affordable? You're not building single-family homes anymore. No, because you can't. And what are you going to have? You're going to have apartments, apartments, townhouses, little tiny houses, and you all better, as they say, you better learn how to love thy neighbor. You better learn how to get along with thy neighbor. And it's going to, I'll tell you right now, it is going to cause a lot of problems because people are already screaming there's no place to park on Ingram Avenue. Got the call again this weekend. Guy was so upset because he came down here to this council meeting and spoke about it. This weekend, what happened? No place to park again. So I'm going to say that I think that it would be great to let the citizens have this opportunity to vote. Also, I just saw earlier, and I was wondering why my phone was going off so bad. I keep saying over and over that there was going to be an incident at that John Marshall courthouse, which it was today. Thank God our judge is OK. Thank God that the attorney is okay. I guess I don't know all the details yet. I will find her tomorrow at our public safety meeting. But I just said it over the weekend that I didn't care about the lawsuit. I wanted to reach out to the Chief Justice Judge, and I wanted her to please let me know what we can do to help. Now, here it is. This incident happened today. I just, you know, it just, it's out of control, out of control with some of the crime that's going on. And then to have it happen in the courtroom where those judges are risking their lives along with the citizens, the staff, the judges, and our police officers to hear these cases. Something has to be done now, not later. And being a chairperson of public safety, I want something done now. I hope I have some answers, a little bit of answers, tomorrow. I know that my policy analyst, Stephen Taylor, reached out to Ed Jewett, and I do not believe that 4 o'clock he had gotten a return phone call, and I did not know that all this had happened until a while ago. But anyway, this right here is your free smoke alarm.

Where is it at?

Get your free smoke alarm. If you have this working smoke alarm, it'll save your life and save your neighbors and save your pets and your family. Go to the nearest fire station because a lot of people say this number ain't working. So I don't know. But anyway, go to the nearest fire station. They'll come to your house and they'll check your smoke alarm and they'll put this up. They won't leave it, but they'll put it up for you for free. And if it needs a battery, they'll give you a battery too. They'll put the battery in there. If you have any questions, you can call my home at 804-233-7382. That's my home, 804-233-7382. My personal cell is 804-240-5050. Thank you so much. Thank you, Madam President.

Thank you, Council Member Trammell. Councilman Bratton.

I'd like to invite residents of the first district to come to our first district meeting this Wednesday from six to 730 at the VMFA, they will validate your parking and we will have as our guests, the Department of Justice Services for updates on gun violence prevention, We will also have the Department of Public Utilities with updates on billing updates as well as their preparation for the city growth. And we will also have a few members of the Zoning Advisory Committee there as well to answer any questions residents have about the process. So 6 to 730 at the VMFA this Wednesday.

Councilwoman Gibson.

Thank you. We want to extend a thank you to Senator Bagby, Delegate Cousins, and Chief Siegel. for coming to our June district meeting. Our next meeting will be July 15th at 6 p.m. at Holton Elementary, and we'll be having an ice cream social catered by Ruby Scoops. Parks and Rec is looking to rename the Calhoun Center at Gilpin Court, and we have sent out the official Parks and Rec survey to residents via our newsletter, so please fill that out. The North Barton Heights Civic Association is meeting this Saturday, June 27th, at the North Avenue Public Library Conference Room. That meeting will start at 12.15 p.m. And the Ginter Park Resident Association will be having a family picnic on Saturday, June 27th. From 1230 to 230, the picnic will be held at Shalom Farms at 1311 Westwood Avenue, and this will be a fun time for all Ginter Park residents. The Ginter Park Terrace Neighborhood Association will be having a yard sale this Saturday on June 27th from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Houses participating will be across Ginter Park Terrace. Please email the president of the association, Benjamin Ross, if you have any questions at rossbc at verizon.net. And as always, please email our office at kenya.gibson at rva.gov and sarandon.elliot at rva.gov if you have any questions or concerns.

Thank you, Councilwoman Jones.

Thank you, Madam President. Please mark your calendars to join me and please mark your calendar. Please mark your calendar. It's time to go home. Mark your calendars to join myself in the Office of Gun Violence Prevention on Friday, June 26th at Southside Community Center for our Youth and Community Safety Symposium. This event will bring together youth families, mentors, survivors, community leaders, and public safety partners for dialogue, leadership development, interactive activities, and mentorship opportunities focused on restoring hope, promoting peace, and healing our communities. You can RSVP at bit.ly gun violence symposium 26. Also, mark your calendars to be in the 9th District on Saturday, July 25th, as we kick off Summer on the South Side. Burrock Sports Complex will be the place to be from July to September. Bring your children, your neighbors, and your friends for a good time filled with music, fun, and food on the South Side. Please note that our 9th District Town Hall meeting, our next 9th District Town Hall meeting will be in September. However, exciting things will be happening in the 9th this summer, so please keep an eye out for our newsletter for all that is to come. There's always something to do for all at Southside Community Center. Check out the Richmond Parks and Rec Digest to learn about their offerings. And also at our neighborhood Broad Rock Library, they offer programs for all every week. Seniors can receive one-to-one help with technology. Students can receive homework and reading help. And babies, toddlers, and preschoolers have interactive story time. Visit Richmond Public Library's website to learn more about your local library. My office, as always, my office can be reached at nicole.jones at rba.gov or by phone, 804-646-2779. And you can also contact my liaison, Taya West, at taya.west at rba.gov.

Thank you. Thank you, Councilwoman Jones. Councilwoman Robertson.

Thank you, Dr. Newbill. 6th District will be holding Phase 2 of our Harlem Park Charette. It will be held on this Saturday, June the 27th from 10 a.m. to 12 at Anne Hardy Plaza, 1000 Pollock Street. You can call my office at 804-646-7964 for additional information. It is an opportunity to meet with park staff, police, community outreach, all based on building neighborhood relationships. We also want to inform the community of the Holland Park Food pantry operated on the first and third Saturday of each month. Pre-packaged package of food is delivered to those wishing to fill up their pantries. First come, first serve. That's from 9 o'clock to 11 o'clock, 3080 Meadowbridge Road, hosted by Northside Outreach Center. The phone number there, 804- 321-3182 to register to participate in the food pantry. Stay focused on hair camp. It's an initiative that is done in the community by one of our wonderful beauty salons, which Penny Burnett is the owner of. You can reach her at 804-241-2839. CAMPUS FOR GIRLS OF ALL AGES. IT WILL BE ON AUGUST, IN AUGUST, FROM 12 TO 5. I DON'T HAVE A SPECIFIC DATE, BUT IT WILL BE HELD AT 1306 EACH BROOKLYN PARK BOULEVARD. WE WILL PROVIDE YOU ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR YOU MAY CALL MRS. BURNETT AT 241-2839. I also want to extend an invitation for you to attend Beyond the Bars Mental Health, Intellectual Disabilities, Chronic Illness, and Justice Systems Summit that will be held on June the 26th from 12 o'clock to 2.30 at the Richmond City Justice Center at 1701 Fairfield Way, hosted by our own city sheriff's office. You can call Catherine Green at 804-646-0140 for more information. And you can always reach my office at 646-7964. That's the office number. My cell number is 804-314-7658. We're here to serve. Thank you.

Thank you, Vice President Jarrett.

I want to thank everyone who came out to the G&T celebration at Midtown Green. It was really a fantastic event. Parks did a tremendous job, as well as our community partners. Also, another really exciting event coming up next week, Illumination at the Virginia Museum of History and Culture. They'll be shutting down part of Arthur Ashe Boulevard in front of the museum. And it'll be from Thursday, June 25th to Sunday, June 28th. In the evening, they're going to have just really amazing, breathtaking video art projected onto the building. There'll be food trucks. It's going to be a fantastic time to celebrate our country and our state. So make sure you tune into that. Also, on June 27th, there is a Farmer's Market Abner Clay Park from 10 to 2 p.m. Please go out and support. Lastly, Happy Pride continues. If you're looking for more fun ways to celebrate Richmond's LGBTQ plus community, check out Virginia Pride's Endless Summer Pride webpage at diversityrichmond.org. Please, as the heat continues to be just unrelenting, check on your neighbors, your vulnerable community members, and please, please, please do not underestimate the effects of heat. If you need to reach out to my office, please call 804-646-6532. Thank you.

Thank you. Just a few updates. Our next district meeting, I extend invitation to join us on this Thursday, June 25th at 6 p.m. at the VCU Health Hub located at 1330 North 25th Street. The agenda will include opportunity for updates relative to your city utility accounts and bills and some of the challenges that you have been sharing with me, having staff to be able to be responsive to that, public safety updates. UPDATES ON MAJOR DISTRICT INFRASTRUCTURE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS, GOVERNMENT ROAD, WILLIAMSBURG ROAD, ET CETERA. GENERAL ASSEMBLY BUDGET UPDATES, AS WELL AS PARKS AND RECREATION UPDATES. OKAY. WITH THE PROJECT IN THE DISTRICT. SO AGAIN, THAT'S THIS THURSDAY, JUNE 25TH, 6 PM, VCU HEALTH HUB. There will be on Friday, June 26, from 11 AM to 4 PM, a meeting at a, it'll be the Faith Community Baptist Church And it is Unity Against Violence, RVA, a family and community gathering of peace, food, music, and more. Friday, June 26, again, from 11 AM to 4 PM, 1903 Cool Lane, Richmond, Virginia. Again, Faith Community Baptist Church. This is a project that's being co-hosted by the Department of Justice Services and the National Gun Violence Awareness entities. So please come out to support those. And with that, I will just say for any additional information, please feel free to contact my liaison, Sam Patterson, at 804. 804-241-7544. You can contact me at 543-7837. Those are our cell numbers, our office number for contact, 804-646-3012. With that, Vice President Jordan. Thank you.

I do apologize. I had one last announcement. I forgot the top of mine. This Wednesday, 1 to 3 o'clock, Governmental Operations Committee is meeting. My office, and I know many of my colleagues have been getting calls about DPU and the text messages about bills. I got the same text message. DPU will be presenting at GovOps on Wednesday, as well as our city registrar to talk about polling locations. Two very, I'd say, timely topical items that I just want to make sure folks knew that they had access to. Thanks.

Thank you. Members, with that, the agenda for this evening's meeting has been accomplished, and this meeting now stands adjourned. Thank you.