Planning Commission recommends special‑use permit for 40‑unit supportive housing at 1812 Erickson Ave

The Harrisonburg Planning Commission on April 9 voted to recommend approval of a special‑use permit allowing Market Commons LLC (Valley Housing Trust) to build two three‑story buildings with 40 efficiency or one‑bedroom units at 1812 Erickson Avenue, forwarding the application to City Council for final consideration on May 13.

The proposal is for a nearly two‑acre parcel identified as Tax Map Parcel 115 C 6 in the B‑2 General Business District. Staff described the project as permanent supportive housing (PSH) intended to serve people with vouchers who reportedly cannot find landlords in the local rental market. Staff recommended approval with a set of conditions and asked that the applicant provide a sidewalk or shared‑use path between Erickson Avenue and the adjacent Walmart property; the commission voted to approve the special‑use permit as submitted by the applicant, with staff’s recommended condition as amended and a requested extension of the time period to establish or diligently pursue the permit from 36 to 48 months.

Staff told commissioners the development plan calls for two three‑story buildings, 20 units each, with the development plan governing future engineered site plans. The applicant offered five self‑imposed conditions summarized in the staff presentation: (1) limit dwelling units to efficiencies or one‑bedroom units; (2) provide a minimum of 0.5 off‑street parking spaces per dwelling unit; (3) limit buildings to three stories; (4) provide a pedestrian connection between the proposed buildings and the public street as required by the city’s Design and Construction Standards Manual (DCSM); and (5) dedicate right‑of‑way and temporary construction easements at the corner of the parcel to support future roadway improvements required by the Bluestone Town Center rezoning (including a future traffic signal and curb ramps). Staff also recommended flexibility on whether the pedestrian connection is a sidewalk or a shared‑use path and supported extending the default 36‑month time frame to 48 months because financing windows for affordable housing can be constrained.

Applicant Frank Gordon, manager of Market Commons LLC and trustee of the Valley Housing Trust, said the project is intended to fulfill a memorandum of understanding with the Harrisonburg‑Rockingham Community Services Board (HRCSB) to provide permanent supportive housing for people who have vouchers but cannot find landlords. Gordon said the development must fit a narrow financing “capital stack,” and that Virginia Housing Trust Fund support is effectively indispensable: “If you don't get that, your PSH program doesn't go forward,” he told the commission. Gordon said state funding rounds are highly competitive and that binding commitments in the development plan — such as adding extra site features now — can reduce competitiveness for limited state dollars and jeopardize the project’s ability to be funded and built.

Several speakers raised concerns and support during the public hearing. Adjacent property owner Rick Gardner said he supports low‑income housing in the abstract but worried the site lacks adequate parking and that the proposed density could create problems for neighbors, including overflow parking onto adjacent properties. “If you have 40 units and you have 20 parking spaces, I mean, how does that actually work?” he asked. Gardner offered to sell nearby land to help expand parking but urged the commission to ensure the proposal “has to work.”

Representatives from Mercy House and other social‑service providers urged the commission to consider the population to be served. A Mercy House director (identified in the record as director of Mercy House) said most prospective residents are severely disabled and unlikely to have cars: “If there's one or maybe one or two of them that has a vehicle, it would be unusual,” the director said, adding that wrap‑around services and paratransit are expected to reduce residents’ need for private vehicles.

Commissioners debated the pedestrian connection and the parking reduction. Several commissioners said they supported requiring a safe pedestrian route from the development to Erickson Avenue and toward the Walmart property line to improve accessibility for residents who use wheelchairs or paratransit. Planning staff and commissioners discussed that the residential parcel does not extend to the Walmart parking lot and that any sidewalk would end at the applicant’s property line unless private easements or agreements with the Walmart property owner were negotiated. The commission and staff agreed to amend the recommended condition to require a sidewalk or shared‑use path connection between Erickson Avenue and the Walmart parcel (to be identified by Rockingham County tax map number; tax map number not specified in the hearing record) and to capture the applicant’s requested 48‑month extension to diligently pursue the permit.

After discussion, Commissioner Porter moved to recommend approval of the special‑use permit as submitted by the applicant with staff’s conditions as amended and the 48‑month extension; Commissioner Washington seconded. The motion passed on roll call: Porter — aye; Washington — aye; Nardi — aye; Council member Dent — aye; Vice Chair Finnegan — aye. The commission’s recommendation will go to City Council on May 13 for final action.

The applicant and staff may need to resolve outstanding technical matters during site plan review, including utility easements and final pedestrian alignment; staff indicated that site plan review would determine whether a sidewalk or shared‑use path is most feasible. The applicant and service providers emphasized that securing state funding is time‑sensitive and that too many binding, costly proffers at the special‑use stage could reduce the project’s competitiveness for the Virginia Housing Trust Fund and related programs.