Portsmouth staff briefs commissioners on planning assistance, permitting and interdepartmental review

At the March 4, 2025 Portsmouth Planning Commission work session, Zoning Administrator Trevon Holmes briefed commissioners on the city's application-review processes, the planning assistance program and how staff coordinates site-plan, zoning and permit reviews.

Holmes described the planning assistance program as a formal, no-fee pre-application meeting intended to help applicants submit more complete applications. "We encourage applicants to submit all of their preliminary material... at no cost," Holmes said, noting the program helps applicants understand opportunities, constraints and likely time frames. Staff told commissioners that when the process "goes well" an application typically takes about three months from submittal to decision, and that the planning assistance process (offered for roughly 2.5 years) has increased the completeness of applications and reduced last-minute deferrals.

Topics covered in the training included use-permit reviews, rezonings, street-name changes and street closures, certificate of appropriateness reviews for historic districts, and the interdepartmental site-plan review process that coordinates planning, public works, utilities and fire. Holmes said the planning department conducts roughly two to three planning assistance meetings per week and that about three-quarters of applicants use the service at some point. Staff also noted there is an upcoming Board of Zoning Appeals public hearing (March 26) on a special-exception request for a reduced interior side-yard setback for a detached single-family dwelling at 1611 Highland Avenue under city zoning ordinance section 40.2-535(b)(13).

Commissioners and staff discussed gaps in interdepartmental feedback; several commissioners said some departments do not consistently respond to review requests, which can leave staff with "one hand tied behind their back" when evaluating large projects. Holmes acknowledged variation in departmental responses and said staff will work to provide clearer application material to internal reviewers so they can provide timely feedback. Staff recommended implementing post-application feedback surveys and noted performance metrics for review timelines and service levels are in development.

Other items: Staff reminded commissioners that historic-district certificate-of-appropriateness reviews and other processes can add 4-6 weeks to an application timeline, and advertised the Virginia Chapter of the American Planning Association annual conference in July as a training opportunity for commissioners.