Residents urge council to adopt Cultural Heritage Stewardship Plan, say Planning Commission blocked public input

Multiple community members addressed the Richmond City Council during public comment to urge adoption of the Cultural Heritage Stewardship Plan (CHSP) as an addendum to Richmond 300 and to ask council to direct the Planning Commission to re‑review the plan in good faith.

Doreen Fleming, representing the Descendants Council of Greater Richmond, said her organization and families who contributed to the plan support its adoption. “We have come here today to express our full support for the adoption of this plan,” Fleming told council, noting the plan’s community‑based strategies — archaeological and architectural surveys, oral histories and historical marker initiatives — to protect Black cemeteries, buildings and cultural sites.

Peyton Young, a member of the CHSP community advisory committee, told council the planning commission mishandled the May 20 meeting. Young said the commission advertised a public hearing but did not allow the more than 80 people who attended that session to speak. “For three hours … the public was never given time to speak,” she said, adding that several commissioners admitted they had not read the plan despite receiving copies months earlier.

Nancy Lambert, a former CHSP advisory committee member and longtime resident, told council the plan is a template for preserving neighborhood heirlooms, small businesses and locally significant institutions. She urged the council to consider and pass the plan when it is presented.

Council response and next steps Council President Newbill thanked speakers and directed staff to follow up. He asked staff member Shamar Young to touch base with Doreen Fleming to follow up on Parks and Recreation’s work related to cemeteries now under city purview. Councilmember Lynch said she would work with the Land Use, Housing and Transportation Committee chair to ensure opportunity for public testimony and review by the planning commission.

What speakers asked the council to do Speakers requested that council (1) ensure the Planning Commission re‑reviews the Cultural Heritage Stewardship Plan in a way that allows public comment and a good‑faith review; (2) adopt the CHSP as an addendum to Richmond 300; and (3) coordinate with descendants’ groups, preservationists and community stakeholders to implement survey and memorialization strategies described in the plan.

Context The CHSP was developed beginning in January 2023 with consultant support and community input; the plan was framed by contributors as a community‑engaged preservation strategy intended to address historic inequities in how cultural sites and neighborhoods are treated in Richmond. Speakers at the council meeting said the plan’s authors included residents, educators, preservationists, small business owners and community organizations.

Council members present encouraged those who spoke to follow up with staff and committee chairs for next steps and noted the Land Use, Housing and Transportation Committee will have further opportunities for public comment and review.