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Roanoke council hears wide public comment on zoning reforms; members direct staff to study targeted amendments
Summary
Roanoke City Council fielded hours of public comment Aug. 4 on zoning changes adopted in 2024. Speakers voiced competing views on density, historic preservation and neighborhood input. Councilmembers agreed by consensus to ask staff and two councilmembers to develop options for amendments and to hold a workshop in early October.
Roanoke City Council on Monday, Aug. 4, heard extended public testimony over a proposed restudy of the city’s 2024 zoning reforms and directed staff to develop targeted amendment options and public-notice changes for council review.
The discussion followed more than an hour of public comment in which neighborhood residents, preservation advocates and housing-policy groups argued sharply over whether the city’s revisions — which loosened restrictions that had limited most lots to one single-family house — should be rolled back, revised or retained.
The dispute matters because the zoning changes affect where duplexes, triplexes, accessory dwelling units and other “gentle density” housing can be built across Roanoke, and residents raised concerns about parking, narrow streets, demolition of older homes and a lack of neighborhood notification.
Several speakers urged the council to reverse or amend the 2024 ordinances. Jan Kuester, who said she was elected by the Old Southwest Inc. board to represent the neighborhood on zoning matters, asked the council to…
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