Richmond’s cross-sector work to expand economic mobility will be featured on August 19 at the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) Regional Conference. 

The panel, Local Approaches to Upward Mobility: Lessons from Richmond, Virginia and the Urban Institute , will highlight how Richmond is using evidence-based practices, industry partnerships, and community voices to deliver opportunity for residents. 

Richmond Chief Administrative Officer Odie Donald II will co-present alongside: 

• Isabel Eljaiek, Vice President, Research & Strategy, Community Foundation for a greater Richmond  
• Martha Shickle, Executive Director, PlanRVA  
• Alexis Weaver, Policy Program Manager, Urban Institute  

Together, the group will outline how Richmond is addressing the barriers residents face. The presentation will also detail how the City is applying the Urban Institute’s Upward Mobility Initiative to build systems that support long-term stability across housing, transit, workforce development, and economic growth.

“Richmond is a shining example of how to leverage partnerships to accelerate economic mobility,” said Chief Administrative Officer Odie Donald II. “The City and our cadre of partners are tackling the barriers that hold residents back, by building systems that cross local borders to help people climb the economic mobility ladder. This progress leads to real visible results. That’s the story we’re bringing to ICMAs national membership, and it’s a story Richmond is proud to stand behind.” 

“Economic mobility is built locally, through the systems that shape access to housing, transit, jobs, and opportunity,” said Martha Shickle, Executive Director of PlanRVA. “Richmond’s leadership shows what intentional policy and partnership can achieve. Our role is to connect these efforts across the region so communities can learn from one another and scale strategies that expand opportunity beyond any single jurisdiction.” 

Richmond’s presence at ICMA will spotlight the City’s leadership in practical, community‑driven approaches that strengthen upward mobility and provide a model for other communities nationally. 

Visit the ICMA Regional Conference website for session details, and look for Richmond’s full slide deck to be shared following the presentation

Media Contact:

Monica Annette Manney

Public Information Manager, Office of the Chief Administrative Officer

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 804.947.9981

Good afternoon friends!

For most of my career as a public health doc, my charge was to improve the health and wellbeing of communities.  Over time, as we came to better understand what moves the needle on health outcomes, we focused our efforts on addressing the social determinants of health— things like access to quality education, stable living wage employment, family and community support systems, and housing and the built environment.

It was this broader understanding of health that ultimately compelled me to run for office, and on the campaign trail, where i spent 6 months spending every day talking to thousands of Richmond residents about what was important to them— the theme of neighborhoods and housing was central. 

Most pointedly, the challenge of housing affordability, as everyone-- from long-term generational residents of neighborhoods like mine, to college students, to middle aged working class families-- expressed how difficult it is getting for them to stay in the city.

Richmond has undoubtedly been on the rise over the past decade, and as a result, people from all over the country have discovered what we have all known for years about our city—that Richmond is an amazing place to live. 

All of that attention has led us to a housing crisis, as tens of thousands of new residents have found their way to Richmond.  The problem is that we haven’t built tens of thousands of new homes, and that has driven the cost of housing up precipitously.   

Back in January, I announced a comprehensive plan to address Richmond’s housing crisis built around two goals: more homes for more people and helping residents stay in their homes.

And when I look back over the last 7-8 months, I can see how, together, we’ve made some really remarkable progress.

• Working with City Council, we established predictable funding for the affordable housing trust fund, setting aside 2.5% of real estate tax revenue for the construction and preservation of more affordable housing for more people. 
• We continue to strengthen the administration of our anti-displacement tools, from owner-occupied home repair and rehabilitation programs to crisis-response funds to real estate tax relief for older adults and people with disabilities.
• And we are building a stronger, more resident-centered partnership with RRHA, including a new framework for the redevelopment of Gilpin Court that will serve as a template for how we will work together to accelerate redevelopment in ALL of our public housing communities.

Now, it is time to finalize another important piece of the work.  As we plan for the future of our city, it turns out that so much of what contributes to the health and wellbeing of a community-- safe and affordable housing, green space, making neighborhoods more walkable and bikeable, increasing access to mass transit-- is actually baked into the rules that a community creates to define the built environment-- our zoning code.

Our current zoning code was adopted in 1976, over 50 years ago. And for the decades prior to that, the zoning code was used very explicitly to keep people of color OUT of some neighborhoods and IN others. Our zoning code cemented much of the racial and socioeconomic segregation that we see across the city today- concentrating wealth in some communities, and poverty in others.

We’ve also seen how concentrating commercial, automotive and service business zoning to major corridors on the Southside has limited the kind of attractive, walkable, human-scale growth that we’ve seen in other parts of our city, further driving inequity.

The rules that govern how we design and build our city matter tremendously, and we are long overdue to write new ones. 

Listen, I get that the zoning code won’t make anyone’s top ten list of what they love about Richmond, but it is one of the most important tools we have to shape our growing city into a place where everyone can thrive.

It’s why Richmond 300, the city’s master plan adopted by our City Council back in 2020 after award-winning community engagement, explicitly names rewriting our zoning code as the first and most important of the six big moves Richmond must make to ensure that the future development of our city reflects our values and our shared vision.

So today, I am excited to release Version Three of Code Refresh — the update to our outdated zoning code which:

• Helps us build more homes for more people, so that as we welcome new neighbors, we’re protecting opportunities for longtime residents to stay. We have heard people say they want “density that makes sense.” And we totally agree. This version does this by: 
  • Encouraging increased density in nodes and along major transit corridors throughout the city.
  • Improving the existing ADU regulations by increasing the allowed size of ADUs to 1200 sq feet, while also requiring ADUs to better fit the context of the lot,
  • And by evenly distributing zoning districts across the City, spreading new development equitably.
• It helps us build connected, vibrant neighborhoods and a diverse economy by:
  • Allowing neighborhood-appropriate, small-scale office and retail uses to better connect neighbors to goods and services.
  • And by bringing existing homes and businesses into zoning compliance, actually legalizing the unique character that already exists in so many of our neighborhoods
• It helps us build beautiful communities that preserve the character of our existing neighborhoods and the distinct aesthetic that makes so many places in Richmond special by:
  • Maintaining existing City Old and Historic Districts to ensure the longevity of Richmond’s most architecturally significant neighborhoods
  • Establishing contextual heights, setbacks, and step-backs so new development better complements the existing built environment,
  • And by creating a framework for new Design and Demolition overlay districts, giving neighborhoods the ability to set development standards that are important to them.
• finally, it helps us build a sustainable city by:
  • expanding amazing parks and green spaces into every corner, by creating a new designation of open space zoning
  • establishing citywide vegetation space requirements, meaning no new parcel in the City can be developed without some percentage of green space.
  • Setting minimum tree canopy standards, which protects trees that are growing here today, and requires the planting of more trees to improve the city’s overall tree canopy,

The process to get to today’s launch of Draft Three of Code Refresh has been an exercise in listening well. This draft is better, because people engaged with it.

Across all nine council districts, through pop-ups, town halls, office hours, work sessions, public meetings, and conversations with everyone from long-time homeowners to renters to neighbors brand new to Richmond, we heard so many diverse perspectives — and that diversity of perspective allowed us to land on a set of thoughtful recommendations found in version 3.

I want to highlight a few really important examples:

• First, we heard residents’ concerns about the number of units that should be permitted by right in residential districts. As a result, this proposal maintains the “1+1” concept: the right for homeowners to have one primary dwelling and one attached or detached accessory dwelling unit (ADU). We are recommending improvements to the effectiveness of our ADU regulation by increasing the allowable size of the ADU to 1200 sq feet and adding contextual requirements. This is a change, but an incremental change that should allay concerns that Code Refresh will dramatically change the character of neighborhoods, while it creates a better solution that provides more housing options
• Second, we heard lots of concerns from Southside residents about new development in a part of our city that has retained more suburban zoning since it was annexed, and it has not received the investment needed to help integrate it into the city. The proposed updates allow more investment on corridors (in accordance with our master plan), while still requiring SUP’s for more intense development in neighborhoods.
• Third, special use permits and community involvement in our land-use decision-making are NOT going away, but they are getting right-sized. We want to make sure we’re not adding time and cost to projects that clearly fit the context of a neighborhood, but have just not yet made their way into our 50-year-old code.
• Fourth, we’ve corrected inequitable overzoning in historically African American communities, like Westwood, protecting some of our most resilient neighborhoods.

Getting here hasn’t been easy, but rigorous debate and challenging compromises are the essence of our democracy, and the hallmark of how I want our administration to lead Richmond forward.

And so, what we are proposing today is a result of listening well, making changes, and finding compromises.   

I am so grateful for the incredible amount of work by our PDR team, the ongoing engagement of our council members, and the time, input, and perspective thousands of residents have brought to the Code Refresh process. This work has been made better by your involvement.

So here it is! Draft 3!

I invite you to explore the code firsthand on our website: rva.gov/coderefresh. There’s been a lot of misinformation out there and this is important enough that you go and see for yourself what’s in the proposal.

We also will be launching our education campaign— there’s a lot of technical stuff in the zoning code, and so our teams will be distributing information, breaking it down, and answering questions at town halls and community events all over the city over the next couple of months.

Richmond, I’m asking for your support as we present this to City Council for their further discussion, consideration, and I hope ultimately, adoption.

Because this is a roadmap for a future Richmond that reflects our values and our shared vision -- more homes for more people, connected neighborhoods, beautiful communities, and a sustainably city built for generations to come.

Thank you.

Rewrite of the city’s zoning code to meet the needs of Richmonders today and tomorrow 

Richmond, VA  — Today, the City of Richmond hosted community leaders and media partners at City Hall for the release of Code Refresh Draft Three, the latest version of the City’s zoning code rewrite, transforming the current, decades-old zoning code into a version that accommodates both where we are today and where we see ourselves in the future.  

“Richmond has undoubtedly been on the rise over the past decade,” said Mayor Danny Avula in his opening remarks. “And as a result, people from all over the country have discovered what we have all known for years about our city—that Richmond is an amazing place to live.” 

That attention, he explained, has led to a housing crisis in which housing production cannot keep up with rising demand, leading to a steep rise in housing costs and leaving many longtime homeowners and renters in a difficult position.  

“As we plan for the future of our city,” he said, “it turns out that so much of what contributes to the health and wellbeing of a community — safe and affordable housing, green space, making neighborhoods more walkable and bikeable, increasing access to mass transit — is actually baked into the rules that a community creates to define the built environment: our zoning code.” 

Mayor Avula went on to highlight four key goals he hopes to accomplish with Code Refresh. They include: 

• More homes for more people , expanding housing choice and opportunity for Richmonders of all races and incomes.  
• Complete neighborhoods and a diverse economy , connecting people to the places they live, learn, work, shop, and play more easily.  
• Beautiful communities , preserving the authenticity and distinct neighborhood character that make Richmond special.  
• A sustainable city , protecting Richmond parks, trees and green spaces; encouraging eco-friendly development; and building the energy grid of the future.  

A new zoning code would build on progress already made to advance the Mayor’s comprehensive housing plan , including the establishment of predictable funding for the affordable housing trust fund, the strengthening of anti-displacement tools, and efforts to build a stronger partnership with the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority. 

“The reason I am here today is to show my gratitude and support for the engagement and responsiveness and the compromise that has led this draft of Code Refresh to be one that, I believe, everyone will be able to support,” said First District Councilmember Andrew Breton . “I myself have spent hours reviewing the previous drafts, listening to residents, relaying questions to the departments, and getting answers .” 

He went on to highlight some notable changes in the new draft, including; 

• By right unit allotments in residential zones (maintaining the “1+1” structure) 
• Increase in minimum lot widths 

As well as some first-time provisions, including: 

• Tree canopy minimums 
• Contextual height limits 
• Elimination of data center development by right, throughout the City 

Janet Woodka, a sixth district resident and member of Manchester Alliance , shared her optimism for draft three. “I wasn’t in favor of Code Refresh in the beginning,” she shared. “The amount of outreach, the amount of conversation that has gone on; every draft has improved. In this instance, the planning and development team listened ... really listened.” 

“I am really looking forward to seeing this draft,” Woodka said. “Is it going to have everything I want, probably not. Is it going to be better than what we have? I feel very confident that it probably will be ... Change is happening in Richmond, it’s not gonna stop and I think this is a big step forward in trying to create a system that can adapt to that change.”  

“Most folks know that the City has had some trust issues on the Southside,” said Sean Crippen, Board Chair of Virginia Community Voice and Southside Resident . “Mayor Avula is one of the first Mayor’s I’ve ever met where, when you talk to him, he pulls out a pen and a paper – he actually listens to you.” 

“We just want to make sure the citizens and community voices are being heard, and we appreciate everyone for actually doing that.” 

The event concluded with remarks from Jovan Burton, Executive Director for the Partnership for Housing Affordability , who shared some of the data underpinning the Richmond’s housing crisis and the need to take immediate, decisive action.  

“Richmond has more than 237,000 residents and we’re expected to approach 276,000 by 2050,” he shared. “And at the same time, increasing housing costs are out of pace with what current Richmonders can actually afford.” 

“Zoning is not an affordable housing program, it doesn’t control interest rates or construction costs ... and changing the code won’t suddenly make every home more affordable. But, it does establish the rules. It determines what we can build, where we can build it and whether or not we have more options to solve this issue.” 

“We can’t lower housing cost by wishing demand away,” he shared. “But we can lower them by refusing to make scarcity our public policy.” 

“Getting here hasn’t been easy,” said Mayor Avula , “but rigorous debate and challenging compromises are the essence of our democracy and the hallmark of how I want our administration to lead Richmond forward. What we are proposing today is a result of listening well, making changes, and finding compromises.” 

Please visit rva.gov/coderefresh to view the new draft maps and use regulations.  

Miss the press conference?

Check out the full recording by visiting the City of Richmond on YouTube .

The City of Richmond is expanding its Safety Camera Program to another high-risk intersection as part of its ongoing efforts to improve traffic safety, deter dangerous driving behaviors and reduce serious and fatal crashes.

A 30-day warning period begins August 17, 2026, at Midlothian Turnpike and German School Road. During the warning period, motorists who run a red light at the intersection will receive a warning notice rather than a citation.

Following the warning period, registered vehicle owners who receive a red-light violation captured by the safety camera will be issued a $50 citation, in accordance with the Code of Virginia.

The addition of Midlothian Turnpike and German School Road brings the program to nine intersections with safety cameras installed and operational or entering the warning period:

• Midlothian Turnpike & German School Road

• 25th Street & Main Street

• Belvidere Street & Cary Street

• Chamberlayne Avenue & Brookland Park Boulevard

• Chamberlayne Avenue & Laburnum Avenue

• Hull Street & Warwick Road

• Hull Street & Cowardin Avenue

• Commerce Road & Maury Street

• Hull Street Road & East Belt Boulevard

One additional intersections included in the pilot program are also expected to become operational soon:

• Mechanicsville Turnpike & Fairfield Way

“Every red-light violation is a preventable risk to everyone using our streets,” said Andy Boenau, Director of the Richmond Department of Transportation. “Safety cameras are one of the tools we can use to encourage safer driving behavior and support our Vision Zero goal of eliminating traffic-related deaths and serious injuries in Richmond.”

Drivers are encouraged to:

• Slow down as traffic signals turn yellow. Yellow means prepare to stop — not speed up.

• Stop fully at red lights. Entering an intersection after the light has turned red is a violation.

• Stay alert and avoid distractions while driving.

• Plan ahead and allow extra time to reach your destination safely.

Red-light running contributes to hundreds of deaths and tens of thousands of injuries across the country each year. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, more than 1,000 people are killed and more than 100,000 are injured annually in crashes involving drivers who run red lights.

For more information about Richmond’s Safety Camera Program, visit rva.gov/police/safety-camera-program.

For more information about Richmond’s Vision Zero efforts, visit rva.gov/public-works/vision-zero