Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Historic Preservation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Descendants group and residents urge council to preserve Black cemeteries and back Cultural Heritage Stewardship Plan
Summary
Speakers at Richmond City Council public comment urged adoption of the Cultural Heritage Stewardship Plan (CHSP) as an addendum to Richmond 300, criticized a May 20 planning commission hearing as mishandled, and asked council to ensure the planning commission reviews the plan in good faith.
Several residents and descendants’ groups used public comment to press Richmond City Council to adopt the Cultural Heritage Stewardship Plan, a preservation-focused addendum to the Richmond 300 planning framework, and to ensure the planning commission reviews it properly.
Doreen Fleming, representing the Descendants Council of Greater Richmond, said the group—an African American descendant-led organization that took part in the plan’s stakeholder interviews—supports the CHSP because it proposes tailored strategies such as archaeological and architectural surveys, oral-history recording and support for state historical markers to protect cemeteries and other cultural sites.
Peyton Young told council members the planning commission’s May 20 public hearing on the plan was mishandled: the chair said a public hearing would occur, he said, but more than 80 members of the public waited as long as three hours and were not given an opportunity to speak. Young said some commission members criticized the plan without having read it and that the plan reflects months of community engagement by Richmond residents and consultants led by Kim Chan and Richmond’s Authenticity Studio with support from the Commonwealth Preservation Group.
Nancy Lambert, a past member of the CHPS advisory committee, described cultural heritage as the family heirlooms and institutions that give neighborhoods their distinct character and urged council to adopt the plan so those resources are not lost amid development.
Councilmember Lynch acknowledged the concerns and said she would work with the land-use committee chair to ensure the planning commission provides an update and that residents have an opportunity to be heard.
Why it matters: The CHSP is intended as a citywide preservation strategy tied to Richmond 300. Speakers argued it addresses long-standing harms such as redlining and resource extraction by recommending concrete preservation tools and community engagement.
What the record shows: The speakers asked that council ensure the planning commission reviews the plan “in good faith” and that the public be allowed to speak. Councilmembers indicated staff and committee follow-up would occur; a specific council vote on the plan was not recorded at this meeting.
