[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6582398,"mediaKeyId","3093091-669caac549616109053c08720908a60c","parentId",3093091,"title","First Step tells Harrisonburg council domestic-violence indicators have increased; agency opens second shelter","audioSeconds",190,"startMs",2140000,"endMs",2330000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3093091-669caac549616109053c08720908a60c&start=2140&end=2330","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3093091-669caac549616109053c08720908a60c/thumbnail_2140000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6582398/Virginia/First-Step-tells-Harrisonburg-council-domestic-violence-indicators-have-increased-agency-opens-second-shelter","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6582398-73c650537230b824def7604bd58c3e5f/orig.mp4?Expires=1771125961&Signature=SmKqAS8j6fAJxjcxlBnnEv52FiP0s1OOtJP4jiK9X6MGsa8AkQ3ZsVl2LtTFxCBcQYMd3sHbIIUT48KhBhVDnU8gDB9jQ74QXPyTWWM5M82uHiLdBBceJtQezFD4fSPcnmVq3d7pA5i~xPsaeIUd6XXg1AXdnyLiR~YqFbo9v8~KvkzrKGjOegrG7GLVX7-kXpyHeuWbhBRfgccouDR4lInLFXo0firpy8zTd8XrnLiW22C~7uw61AntusdaKMPp4q1rcTQc0Tei0wzmRmUGjk7RqlFzecf2rPnlDbxX88fWmQ3gRkx42UVjBQf93oOJd79hedJU7R6vsLzPGgdKDw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Harrisonburg","date","2025-04-22T00:00:00Z","article","Candy Phillips, executive director of First Step, briefed the Harrisonburg City Council during public comment on April 22, 2025, reporting an increase in domestic-violence calls and high-risk indicators and thanking the city for continued support.

Phillips said First Step — the local nonprofit that provides comprehensive services to survivors of domestic violence and their children in the City of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County — answered 6,644 hotline calls in 2024. The agency served 223 adult survivors and 52 children in 2024 and sheltered 56 adults and 47 children; Phillips said those shelter numbers represented a 12% increase from 2023 and a 28% increase compared with five years earlier.

Phillips described the agency’s partnership with the Harrisonburg Police Department and its participation in a lethality assessment program funded initially by the state attorney general’s office. She said First Step completed 74 lethality screenings in 2022 and 79 in 2024 and that the number of survivors assessed at highest risk rose from 45 in 2022 to 55 in 2024. On the specific screening question, “Have you experienced strangulation or been choked by your partner?” Phillips said the recorded count rose from 38 in 2022 to 50 in 2024. “So that number is rising. So it’s very, very scary,” she told council.

Phillips said counseling services are currently supported through the city’s ARPA mental-health funding. She also noted operational milestones: First Step opened a second shelter location in the city in March 2025 (the space is leased to the agency at no cost by a private donor but First Step covers utilities) and in July 2024 the agency achieved accreditation under the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services.

Phillips thanked the city and its staff for partnering with First Step on referrals and funding and for helping the agency serve survivors and families. Mayor Keira Reid and other council members thanked Phillips and acknowledged the agency’s work during the meeting.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Harrisonburg - City Council on 2025-04-22 7:00 PM - Apr 22, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","First Step executive director Candy Phillips told the council on April 22 that hotline calls and indicators of high-risk intimate-partner violence rose in 2024, citing increases in screenings, reported strangulation and sheltering; the agency opened a second shelter in March and received state accreditation in 2024.","taxTitle","Harrisonburg (Independent City), Virginia","taxId",9561,"location","Virginia","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6582401,"Harrisonburg council: consent agenda, tax refund and appointments approved; closed session authorized",3005,812000,3817000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3093091-669caac549616109053c08720908a60c&start=812&end=3817","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3093091-669caac549616109053c08720908a60c/thumbnail_812000.jpg","/articles/6582401/Virginia/Harrisonburg-council-consent-agenda-tax-refund-and-appointments-approved-closed-session-authorized","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6582401-087a22aa6a9b27e642f9b99d96b716bc/orig.mp4?Expires=1771125961&Signature=MA4uXbP8FXAN13LcBUWWTxueQvng0-jLUJGqJYEi3rLfyPQxQ1162RvIEBbJzxCDHS15lMLgImKPCfuj8oUrhBzsymZg4W5Y2MphBpYJUIeIuRwww-QmO4EG99d5LEeDxXk4GTOZEBbDPA~HXs2Dn4DhQ4N0k570p6axuAqajpnN-LdRZ43~wwJtD298n~ACeHU3fnVDAkes98Mryfha5l077A8MHPN67xEdMBIo1xFM62mXQAcLdqoICaawYB7w0IcN1Vwks-a24czpEXQ24CVKGuLfSh0z--CM~jjHXCkfHdCdqoFK5p98LaqfCYYU7MNWG1K3lFfzOg1G57-KYQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Harrisonburg City Council on April 22, 2025, approved several routine and substantive items during a meeting that also included proclamations and public comment.

Council approved the consent agenda with a single motion and roll-call votes. The council then considered a city attorney recommendation to refund a pro rata portion of a business, professional and occupational license (BPOL) tax after the business was sold in February; the refund amount was $26,301.77. City attorney Brown told council that state law requires council review for refunds greater than $10,000. Council voted to approve the refund request.

Council also conducted nominations and votes for the Virginia Municipal League (VML) policy committees, appointing council members to several committees (community and economic development, general laws, human development and education, infrastructure). The council approved two appointments to the Tree Advisory Board: Catherine Strickler and William Howe; a third applicant, Raymond Fair, was noted as a county resident and therefore ineligible to serve on this city board.

Finally, council voted to authorize a closed session under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, Virginia Code § 2.2-3711(A) subsection 3, to discuss disposition of publicly held real property.

Key votes recorded during the meeting were by roll call and were unanimous where recorded; individual aye votes were recorded for each motion. Details of the larger land-use vote on the Smithland Road rezoning, which the council also approved, are reported separately.","At its April 22, 2025 meeting the Harrisonburg City Council approved the consent agenda, authorized a $26,301.77 BPOL refund for a sold business, appointed two members to the tree advisory board and authorized a closed session on disposition of publicly held real property.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6582406,"Harrisonburg council approves rezoning for 1211–1231 Smithland Road with limits on access and density",737,966000,1703000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3093091-669caac549616109053c08720908a60c&start=966&end=1703","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3093091-669caac549616109053c08720908a60c/thumbnail_966000.jpg","/articles/6582406/Virginia/Harrisonburg-council-approves-rezoning-for-12111231-Smithland-Road-with-limits-on-access-and-density","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6582406-56727bdb57d24df7212af2c6affb0ba1/orig.mp4?Expires=1771125961&Signature=Nw0mUCo8jzTy-z6PWVXvwrRCZunlrmWz3NrV2L8UP4f3JplWgp8sV1-eIIKXjEqVzKU8Iwz1qv-yOm4TWy43PLfJyYgC2pXCVInrpx~RQHBh68jCN7qYiEFFvtOUKTiGC8-K16flmBMZiVLP3ddqglh7k-CyUPZJp4DJjrILXgzdnMtjNWxukdCNrwKehc73CGXBmRAZeyCA4DwEhY88eOVOCCBL5VgHc9XRCjawwpnlK1TihRMqFPNgviw05N6vXljpOoGibYtF9fuiNjmXWRlX8hF-ibLJOZRUBPXE9wWnR8WBUj~ihm9dNSdgG5zRH9DFthqVAxl8S5TqswO~ww__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Harrisonburg City Council on April 22, 2025, voted to rezone two parcels addressed as 1211 and 1231 Smithland Road from R-1 to R-8 conditional zoning (R-8C), approving a set of proffers that cap development, limit access and add pedestrian and street design requirements.

City staff and the applicant described the site as a little more than 10 acres of largely undeveloped land south of Smithland Road, near Smithland Elementary School and Skyline Middle School. Adam Fletcher, director of community development, summarized changes to a previously discussed proffer package and said the additions gave staff “an additional layer of certainty about potential public street layouts” for the area.

Under the approved proffers: the development density is capped at 55 units; single-family detached houses would be permitted and duplexes would be allowed for up to 20% of the total units; the project will provide one public-street connection to Smithland Road and that connection must create only one intersection within the subject area, with that intersection at least 330 feet from Smithland Road; a minimum of one additional public-street stub must connect into adjacent parcels; the developer will dedicate public-right-of-way along Smithland Road including a turn lane; a shared-use path is required on one side of the new avenue-type street and a sidewalk on the other side where the street configuration calls for it; and the plan includes at least 500 square feet of on-site recreational play area and specified privacy fencing adjacent to certain neighboring parcels.

Fletcher cautioned that the site layout shown to council remained conceptual and that any cul-de-sacs or deviations would require review and approval by the planning commission at the preliminary-plat stage. He also noted that staff’s recommendation on the item had changed since the council’s April 8 meeting after the applicant amended the proffers to add the intersection-distance language.

Planning Commission had taken a split position at its hearing, recommending denial by a 3–2 vote. City staff said they initially recommended denial but, with the revised proffers, were now recommending approval to council. Council members discussed whether the proffers effectively lock in a specific internal street design and whether the measures will preserve trees and limit traffic impacts; one council member said the proffers “lock them into this design” but acknowledged the compromise that led to the agreement.

Council approved the rezoning by roll-call vote. The official roll call recorded five ayes and no nays.

Next steps: the developer will submit a preliminary plat and engineering plans. Staff will review the preliminary plat and any requests for deviations from standard city requirements during that review process; the council did not grant any blanket deviations at this meeting.","On April 22, 2025, the Harrisonburg City Council approved rezoning two parcels at 1211 and 1231 Smithland Road from R-1 to R-8C with proffers that cap density at 55 units, limit duplexes to 20% of units, and restrict the street connection to a single intersection at least 330 feet from Smithland Road.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

First Step tells Harrisonburg council domestic-violence indicators have increased; agency opens second shelter

Harrisonburg council: consent agenda, tax refund and appointments approved; closed session authorized

Harrisonburg council approves rezoning for 1211–1231 Smithland Road with limits on access and density