Culpeper council hears public concerns on draft Unified Development Ordinance; residents urge preservation of historic neighborhoods

Planning and Zoning Director Andrew Hopewell gave an overview of the town's draft Unified Development Ordinance and held a public hearing where multiple residents urged the council to preserve existing neighborhood character and limit certain industrial and commercial uses.

The draft ordinance, which staff began updating after funding was approved in 2019, would replace the town's existing zoning and subdivision code and introduce form-based elements, new zoning district names, and updated use tables, Hopewell said. "We are proposing to change the zoning district categories themselves, essentially the names of the zoning districts. And this will affect every parcel within town," Hopewell said. He also listed specific proposals including an increase in required parking for single-family homes from two spaces to three, accessory dwelling units allowed by right in residential districts, updated wireless facility regulations to align with state code, updated watershed protection language, and administrative modifications to reduce variance requests.

Residents who spoke during the public hearing said the proposed district categories and use allowances risked changing long-established residential areas. Larry Geesting, who said he has lived at 202 Gardner Street for 44 years, said the MX designation in the draft would permit "much more building, much more commerce" and could adversely impact an older neighborhood adjacent to Yalmetto Park. "Commercialization next to the town park is something we probably want to steer away from at this time," Geesting said.

Teresa Geesting, also of 202 Gardner Street, asked the council to assign the area between Blue Ridge Avenue and Virginia Avenue the Residential Traditional (RT) equivalent rather than the proposed Residential Mix (RX) or Neighborhood Mix (NX) categories. She told council that many homes there are "starter homes" with small lots that should be preserved as affordable housing options. "Please correctly designate rezoning for our neighborhood as residential traditional as consistent with the surrounding neighborhoods," she said.

Several speakers asked the council to prohibit data centers within town limits. Teresa Geesting noted the draft's industrial category would allow data centers with a conditional-use permit and said, "Massive data centers are not something we want to see within the town of Culpeper."

Clarissa Hicks raised concerns about consolidating light industrial into a more intensive basic or heavy industrial category and said that could place higher-impact industrial uses closer to existing residences. Property owner David Dejarnet said many initial map errors had been corrected after discussions with staff and the planning commission but said the 270-page draft represents a move toward urban form-based rules that some residents do not want in Culpeper.

Other public-commenters voiced a mix of perspectives: Rich Geyser asked that properties inside the Southeast Street historic district be assigned RS (historic residential) rather than split into other categories; Tom Grady and Tim Oweiler offered general support for improvements and the planning process.

Why it matters: The UDO would apply townwide and change how land uses are grouped and reviewed, affecting development potential, historic preservation, residential character, and the assessed value of properties if implemented. Several commenters said the proposed changes could increase building costs via new design standards and could permit uses (for example, data centers or greater commercial permissiveness) they consider incompatible with nearby neighborhoods.

What the council will do next: Hopewell said the town will hold additional open houses, evening and weekend sessions, and drop-in hours for property-specific questions. He told council that staff will return to the council's 3P Committee later this month and that a regular-council public hearing on the draft is scheduled for June; he also cited a committee meeting on June 24 to discuss the path forward. "We're not asking for any action from council this evening, other than to hear from members of the public on the draft as it stands," Hopewell said.

No formal rezoning or ordinance adoption occurred during the meeting; the session was a public hearing and comment opportunity. Council members asked questions and thanked staff for outreach, and public comments and staff clarifications will be part of the record as the draft proceeds through the committee and future council hearings.