Fredericksburg Planning Commission Keeps Railroad Station Overlay Repeal Hearing Open After Wide-Ranging Public Comment

Planning Director Mike Craig told the Fredericksburg Planning Commission on Nov. 13 that staff recommends repeal of the Railroad Station Overlay (RSO) applied to 13 parcels near the train station, arguing the overlay has become duplicative of other design and review tools and limits infill development around a transit hub.

The staff presentation said the district covers about 1.26 acres and historically limited residential density (the RSO’s standard was about 8 units per acre) and certain height and floor-area allowances intended to create a transitional edge between downtown and adjacent neighborhoods. Craig told the commission that recent infill projects were appropriately reviewed under the Old and Historic Fredericksburg Overlay District (OHFD) and Architectural Review Board (ARB) and that repealing the RSO would remove redundancy without eliminating design review or the special-use-permit (SUP) process for larger projects.

Residents and property owners offered sharply divergent views during a lengthy public comment period. Bob Podlesny and several neighbors urged the commission to address pedestrian and vehicle safety first, saying sight lines at the Charles/Princess Anne/Frederick area are dangerous and recommending traffic-calming and parking changes before enabling more development. “When I try and cross the one crosswalk at Princess Anne… I’m terrified,” said a commenter, describing blocked sight lines and calling for a four-way stop and other safety fixes.

Other speakers, including property owners who have redeveloped or marketed parcels in the district, argued the RSO has been a barrier to needed redevelopment. Several submitted written comments saying the overlay has been “burdensome” and that removing it would allow more housing, encourage transit use and grow the downtown tax base.

Commissioners questioned staff about specific consequences of repeal: whether removal would change the need for SUPs or ARB review, how much unit counts could increase on individual small parcels, and whether off-site improvements (for sight distance and crosswalks) could be secured through the permit process. Staff said SUP and ARB reviews remain available and that most numeric changes on the 13 small parcels would be modest, with larger developments still routed through SUP review that can require streetscape or safety improvements.

Neighbors raised a particular concern about parcel 401 Sophia Street, adjacent to a historic pump house and river views. Staff said much of that parcel is in a floodway that substantially limits buildable area and that ARB design review and floodway constraints would constrain any large-scale development there.

Given the volume of questions and the community’s safety and historic-preservation concerns, commissioners agreed to keep the public hearing open and continue the item to the Planning Commission’s Dec. 11, 2024 meeting. The commission instructed staff to return with additional, parcel-level estimates of potential unit-count changes, accident and traffic data from the downtown traffic-engineering study, and clarifications about notice and process so the commission and the public can better assess likely impacts.

The commission did not take a final vote on the zoning map amendment or the proposed UDO text changes at the Nov. 13 meeting; the record remains open until the Dec. 11 session, when the commission may vote on a recommendation to city council.