Planning commission backs amended proffers and special-use permits for Vista Forest Hills; one commissioner votes no

The Harrisonburg Planning Commission on June 11 recommended that City Council approve a proffer amendment and two special-use permits for the Vista Forest Hills development at 810 Port Republic Road, forwarding all three items with a favorable recommendation. The vote passed 6–1.

Staff described the requests as a proffer amendment to allow an additional story of residential on the rear portion of a previously approved building; a special-use permit to allow multifamily and/or mixed-use buildings in the B-2 conditional district; and a special-use permit to reduce a required side/rear yard setback from the ordinance-required 52 feet to 44 feet, but only for the specifically planned building shown on the submitted development plan. Staff noted that the 2023 approvals limited the total dwelling units to 119 and bedrooms to no more than 440; the amended proffers do not increase unit or retail square-foot totals.

Ed Blackwell, representing AES Engineering and the applicant, said architectural and structural design refinements and ADA considerations led the project team to seek the additional residential story in the rear where parking levels are terraced into the slope. He said the neighbor is willing to sell a small strip of land but prefers the setback variance; the applicant prefers the special-use approach since City Council adopted an ordinance permitting setback reductions for targeted buildings by special-use permit in January 2024.

Commission discussion ranged from parking and bedroom counts to site grading, fire-marshal review of steep slopes, EV-charging plans and how the development interfaces with planned public improvements on Port Republic Road. Staff recommended conditions including limiting the reduced setback to the planned building in the location shown and retaining the previously approved cap of 119 dwelling units and 440 bedrooms.

Commissioner discussion included concerns about the cumulative traffic and parking impacts of student-oriented multifamily housing on Port Republic Road. Vice Chair Finnegan cast the lone vote against the recommendation; other members voted aye. The commission’s favorable recommendation will be presented to City Council on July 8.

Key staff references and applicant commitments in the meeting: the development plan and proffer amendment specify the building massing (rear building: five residential stories above three parking levels; front portion: four residential stories above three stories of combined commercial/parking); no net increase in dwelling units or retail square footage compared with the 2023 approval; a proffered minimum parking ratio (staff noted a minimum proffered 1.355 spaces per dwelling unit); and project-level coordination with city public-works improvements on Port Republic Road, including a future signal at Bradley/Port Republic and multiuse-path provisions.

The formal combined motion as presented to the commission included the staff-recommended conditions for the rezoning amendment and both special-use permits. The roll-call vote recorded six ayes and one no; the recommendation advances to City Council on July 8.