Council hears overview of 2024 development code and work plan; debate centers on student housing buffer and small-area plan implementation

City planning staff provided City Council on Nov. 3 with an overview of the 2024 Development Code and the department—s planning and zoning work plan, emphasizing enforcement tools, in-lieu affordable-housing fees and several near-term studies.

"The 2024 development code is the foundation for how we regulate land use and development within the city," Matt Auffley, development planning manager in Neighborhood Development Services, told the council. He summarized the code—s structure (residential districts RA/RB/RC, mixed-use nodes and overlay districts), design-review and development standards and affordability rules for residential projects. Auffley said most residential projects with 10 or more units must provide 10% of units at or below 60% AMI or pay an in-lieu fee, and deeper affordability tied to bonus height requires 50% AMI units or an equivalent fee.

Auffley also described an existing provision for student housing within a 0.5-mile buffer of UVA—s contiguous campus grounds: projects in that buffer are not required to include on-site affordable units but must provide an in-lieu payment. "For student housing within a half mile grounds, there is no on-site affordable units, but they do have to follow design constraints. However, an in-lieu fee is still required," Auffley said. He noted appeals of Board of Architectural Review decisions must be filed within 10 business days and that certain special exceptions can be considered for added height if applicants provide community meetings and public benefits.

Kelly Brown, director of Neighborhood Development Services, outlined work-plan priorities: a short-term rental zoning study and investment in enforcement software (to improve lodging-tax and zoning compliance, with initial recommendations expected early next year), an environmental policy review tied to housing goals, small-area planning for 10th & Page and Rose Hill and monitoring/technical clarifications to the development code. Brown said staff will also study affordable-housing in-lieu fees (including separate formulas for student and non-student housing) and update the accessory-dwelling-unit manual.

Councilors pressed staff on the policy implications and timeline. One councilor said the 0.5-mile student-housing buffer covers substantial portions of Fifeville and 10th & Page and noted that the in-lieu payment for student housing is half the non-student formula within that buffer, a difference the councilor said may steer large, higher-rise student projects into adjacent neighborhoods. Auffley and Brown said the buffer is based on a GIS-defined radius from contiguous UVA-owned campus grounds and that a public GIS map shows the boundary; the zoning administrator determines whether a property falls within the half-mile for each application.

Staff characterized substantive (tier 3) zoning amendments—changes that would alter adopted land-use vision or overlays—as longer efforts requiring additional study and public engagement, with adoption timelines measured in a year or more. Brown and councilors discussed implementation pathways for small-area plans, including incentives, capital improvements and partnership tools to support catalytic projects and community benefits agreements. Councilors urged clearer mechanisms to translate neighborhood planning into implementable investments.

Council members and staff agreed to schedule a council work session early in the coming year to focus on how student housing is treated in the zoning ordinance and on related topics including the extent of the core neighborhood overlay, the use of special-exception or special-use permits and Board of Architectural Review purview. No votes were taken at the work session.

Staff said other items on the near-term schedule include the short-term rental study, an in-lieu fee analysis and a tax-abatement study; staff will return with recommendations and timelines during upcoming meetings.