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Fredericksburg staff to propose zoning text amendments, UDC work and vacant-building options after Main Street turnover
Summary
City planning staff told the commission they will bring text amendments and UDC work to address undefined uses, separation rules and Main Street vacancies; staff received 13 responses to the UDC RFQ and plan monthly text-amendment rollouts beginning as early as February.
Fredericksburg — City planning staff told the Planning & Zoning Commission they plan to bring multiple zoning text amendments in the coming months to align the city code with a unified development code (UDC) and to address undefined or emerging uses on Main Street.
The director reported staff issued an RFQ for the UDC and received 13 responses, more than the roughly seven or eight the department expected. Staff said they will begin scoring respondents and that some text amendments — including definitions and separation rules for uses such as vape shops or body-art/tattoo businesses — could be ready for commission review as early as next month. The director said each text amendment will carry the public-notice and hearing requirements of an ordinance.
Commissioners expressed concern about Main Street turnover, recent vacancies and businesses that may change the character of the district. One commissioner suggested adding conditional-use or separation restrictions to the central business district to limit certain uses; staff said a text amendment that defines the use and sets appropriate underlying districts or separation requirements would be a common approach. Staff also noted that Fredericksburg does not require a general business license and that some communities use licensing limits to control clustering of particular business types.
The commission discussed vacancy-control options such as a vacant-building registration, inspections and a potential ordinance that requires owners to bring long-vacant buildings up to current ICC code standards after a set vacancy period. Staff said those approaches would require legal and policy review and could be part of the UDC work or separate local ordinances.
On extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) issues, staff summarized a 2023 state law that allows property owners to petition to be released from a city's ETJ; if council does not act within the statutory time limit the property may be released automatically. Staff said Fredericksburg has had ETJ petitions and has not joined the lawsuit challenging the statute.
Next steps: staff will present draft text amendments and UDC materials to the commission for public hearings and further review, and will evaluate possible vacant-building registration or ordinance options as part of the code update process.
