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Council schedules affordable-housing work session after developer inquiry on employment-center site
Summary
Council member Allen asked the council to meet with a developer about redeveloping a long-vacant employment-center site for townhomes; staff said the site is currently zoned as an employment center and any residential use would require a comprehensive-plan and zoning change, and the town manager said an affordable-housing work session is scheduled for April 21.
Council member Allen asked the Vienna Town Council to engage with a developer that has expressed interest in a long-vacant employment-center property and requested a work session to explore whether the site could become townhomes that include affordable units.
Director of Planning and Zoning David Levy told the council that the site is designated in the comprehensive plan as an "employment center" and that the current zoning (corporate/office park) does not allow residential uses as permitted or conditional uses. "I would never recommend that you do zoning that's not consistent with the comprehensive plan," Levy said, and recommended discussing the comprehensive plan and possible plan amendments before any rezoning.
Town Manager Mercury Peyton told the council a work session on affordable housing has already been added for April 21 and that staff will coordinate with economic development and planning staff to look at potential uses for the property. Council members said they were open to meeting with the developer, but several emphasized that any change would require following the planning and rezoning process, including planning-commission review.
What happens next: staff will include the topic in the April 21 affordable-housing work session and the planning commission will consider comprehensive-plan implications as part of this year's comprehensive-plan update timeline.
