Planning commission forwards recommendation to council for large house on small Silver Court lot

At a Richmond City Planning Commission hearing, commissioners voted unanimously to forward item 1950 (Silver Court) to Richmond City Council with a recommendation for approval of a proposed single-family house on a small infill lot.

Neighbors said the house’s footprint and scale will be out of proportion for the parcel and could affect wildlife and neighborhood character. “It’s just a big house to go into kind of a small lot,” a resident who identified herself as a Dorchester neighbor said. “This isn’t a low income housing situation whatsoever. It’s a nice house. It’s gonna be a nice, really large house.” She added that the neighborhood hosts “owls and deer and fox” and mentioned a loud train track near the cul-de-sac.

Planning staffer Mister Bugatsi told the commission that, aside from the lot size, the proposal would not meet several zoning requirements, including lot coverage and rear-yard setbacks. “Except for the lot within the area, this wouldn’t meet all other zoning requirements, including lot coverage, rear yard setbacks, high yard setbacks,” Bugatsi said, and noted the owner is the project’s architect and that the design is for a four-bedroom house for a large family. A neighboring property owner said typical lots on Dorchester (lots 5206 and 5208) are about 9,100 square feet; she said the proposed Silver Court parcel is about 5,200–5,400 square feet and that the new house would be roughly 2,400 square feet.

Commissioners heard the public concerns and then took a roll-call vote on item 1950. The record shows all members voting “Aye”: Mr. Pool; Ms. Greenfield; Ms. Popovich; Ms. Knight; Mr. Pennock; Miss Robertson; Miss Roe; Mr. White; and Mr. McKenzie. The chair announced, “The motion passes,” and staff said the item will be forwarded to City Council with the commission’s recommendation for approval.

After the vote, staff gave a brief council-action update, saying that at the most recent City Council meeting five new special-use permits were introduced and that those permits, along with items continued from the commission, will appear on the commission’s upcoming agenda. Projects mentioned by staff included Hanover, Rear West Main, Second Avenue and Hawthorne.

The meeting record shows public comment focused on scale, lot size, neighborhood context and natural features; planning staff noted specific zoning nonconformities for the parcel. The commission’s recommendation does not itself approve construction; final approval will be at City Council.