Planning staff outlines 2025 zoning cleanup, recreation proposals and short-term rental compliance numbers

Planning Department staff reported to the Richmond City Planning and Zoning Commission on Dec. 18 that the department will pursue a series of "courtesy" zone changes and other housekeeping items to correct mismatches on the city's zoning map, and outlined preliminary ideas for delivering recreation or open-space requirements without creating large, single tracts for maintenance concerns.

The director, identified in the meeting as Kim, said she plans to examine multiple concentrated areas of the map and bring sets of proposed courtesy zone changes to the commission in 2025, possibly beginning with work sessions. "Now that I have an opportunity, I would love to get my hands on this map and start addressing some of these areas," she said. Kim described examples where single-family residential streets are surrounded by industrial I-2 zoning or where small agricultural lots are shown in the middle of industrial zones and said staff will follow ordinary zone-change protocol, including mailing notices to affected property owners.

On recreation and open space, staff said it will propose alternatives such as reserving landscaped easements or other mechanisms that would provide green space without requiring a single 50-acre tract that creates maintenance burdens. Kim said staff can draft ordinance language and bring recommendations to the commission and that any changes would follow the normal amendment and notice process.

On short-term rentals, Kim reported the planning department inherited 23 listings and pursued compliance activities: staff sent eight demand letters, three properties received citations and those three are now compliant. She said the city now has 25 short-term rentals that are "100% ready to go, all compliant, all inspected up to the current ordinances of record now," plus three additional listings in progress, which she summarized as a total of 28. "So they're slowly creeping in," Kim said.

Kim also said the commission will hold a joint meeting with the City Commission in January; in the meeting transcript she said, "on January, '5 '30 we'll have our joint meeting with the city commission," and added that the meeting will cover short-term rentals and likely include discussion with the Hampton Way neighborhood and possibly medical cannabis.

Staff indicated 2025 may also bring work on a development ordinance update, GIS, the comprehensive plan and possible new hires for the department. Commissioners and staff agreed a series of work sessions and the January joint meeting will help frame those items for the coming year.