Planning commission backs rezoning for Old Fort Eustis apartments despite residents’ traffic and drainage worries

The Newport News Planning Commission on Nov. 5 recommended that City Council approve a conditional change of zoning (CZ2024Tech0001) to rezone two parcels at 628 and 634 Old Fort Eustis Boulevard from R‑4 (single‑family dwelling) to R‑7 (medium‑density multiple‑family dwelling) with proffers, voting 5–1 and sending the item to council for a Dec. 9 hearing.

Planning staff and the applicant said the revised proposal responds to earlier neighborhood concerns by moving the buildings about 20 feet west to create a 40‑foot separation between buildings and the eastern property line, adding a 20‑foot landscape/transitional buffer, preserving healthy existing trees where possible and supplementing with evergreen plantings and an 8‑foot privacy fence. The applicant also proffered to implement the recommendations of a traffic impact analysis (TIA) accepted by the city, including construction of a tapered right‑turn lane on Fort Eustis Boulevard, widening Old Fort Eustis Boulevard to 32 feet, and providing full‑movement entrances to the site.

Why it matters: The parcels total about…