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Residents press for rental-inspection ordinance, transit shelters and cautious cannabis zoning
Summary
Public commenters urged the Land Use Committee to move the city’s rental inspection ordinance forward, requested a bench and shelter at a GRTC stop, and urged separation between cannabis storefronts and child‑centered spaces as state legalization approaches.
Speakers at the public-comment period urged the Land Use Committee to prioritize a rental inspection program, asked the city to add furniture and shelter at an identified bus stop, and weighed in on forthcoming local zoning for adult‑use cannabis.
A man identifying himself as a property owner in Richmond’s First District said he supports the rental inspection program and told the committee he had been advised the draft ordinance uses the term "blighted." He said "we'd like to ask council not to use that language because it's weighted," noting that "Virginia code allows for the use of either blighted or deteriorating." The speaker asked the committee to favor greater transparency of code violations so tenants, prospective tenants and landlords can make informed decisions and asked members to support the ordinance at the committee and full-council levels.
Erin Trimmer (identified as a resident) also spoke in favor of a rental-inspection ordinance and raised two substantive points: she urged avoiding the loaded descriptor "blighted" and recommended that the city consider charging initial inspection and reinspection fees to help fund and staff the program.
Caroline Toby, a regular bus rider who said she cannot drive, told the committee that GRTC bus stop number 444 lacks a bench or shelter and said that absence made waiting difficult for people with disabilities and seniors. She noted that the missing bench and shelter conflicted with last year’s state and regional direction on bus-stop accommodations and said she continues to support the Richmond Connects plan to provide dignified waiting areas for riders.
Julie O’Brien, policy coordinator for Marijuana Justice, encouraged the city to treat tobacco and hemp differently from adult‑use cannabis in local zoning and to ensure that children and family spaces are separated from marijuana storefronts. O’Brien said projected city revenue from adult‑use cannabis could be "between 3 to 6% of all licensed Richmond adult use sales" but added that the final revenue will depend on how the city manages zoning, public health and business supports.
Amori Speed, community organizer with Richmond Housing Justice Collective, presented a petition and testimony gathered by canvassing in six neighborhoods and asked the committee to add the identified properties to the rental-inspection program; Speed read testimony from a Ninth District resident, Benny Gates, in support of the proposed ordinance.
No public commenters registered opposition to the papers on the day of the meeting; clerks recorded that no individuals signed up online to comment.
