Danville council adopts broad rewrite of zoning code and new official map after public hearing

Danville City Council voted Tuesday to repeal and reordain the city’s entire zoning ordinance and to adopt a new official zoning map, following a staff presentation and a public hearing that drew both opposition and support.

Renee, a planning staff member who led the presentation, told the council the zoning rewrite implements the city’s comprehensive plan, which she said was approved in December 2024 and “became effective in January 1.” She summarized public outreach results, saying the process included “over 13,000 individuals” engaged across more than 75 public events and about 1,500 surveys, and described new districts such as a North Main Business District and a Metro Plaza district meant to align land use with the comprehensive plan.

At the public hearing, Diane Scares, a resident of the Fox Hollow neighborhood, urged the council to delay the vote and return the draft to the Planning Commission. “The proposed zoning change is completely… I personally do not have faith in that process right now,” Scares said, arguing the changes could devalue suburban properties and that the new materials were hard for residents to interpret.

Shakeiva Frasier, executive director of Third Chance House, told council staff had accommodated nonprofit needs in the draft zoning and said the revisions would help organizations that provide services in the city. “I thank Renee, Susan, and so many others,” Frasier said, and urged approval so service providers could locate where needed.

Vice Mayor Buckner moved to repeal and reordain Chapter 41 in its entirety and later moved to re-adopt the official zoning map. Both motions were seconded and passed on roll-call votes. Council members who spoke during the discussion praised staff engagement and encouraged citizens to review the code materials before implementation.

The zoning package consolidates permitted uses into a single table, creates several new zoning districts and moves some uses to a special-use-permit process; planning staff said those changes were made after extensive community feedback. The city manager and council also acknowledged the effort of planning staff and emphasized the outreach numbers during comments after the vote.

Next steps: the newly adopted ordinance and official map take effect according to the timetable set out by the city clerk and planning department; city staff said materials and maps are available for public review and that staff will continue to assist residents with questions about property-specific impacts.