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Councilors press administration for data on demolitions, displacement and school impacts amid code refresh
Summary
Multiple council members urged the administration to provide independent displacement analysis, demolition projections and infrastructure/schools impact data before draft 3; staff cited RKG market results and preliminary demolition projections and said more tools (incentives, inclusionary provisions) would be needed to secure affordability.
Several council members used the work session to press planning staff for empirical analysis of the code refresh's likely effects on demolitions, displacement and city services.
"We do our residents a disservice when we're guided by vibes and not data," Council Member Gibson said, asking for the Richmond 300 annual report and the underlying market analysis.
Director Kevin J. Bonk said the RKG market study projects a midrange production of roughly 1,800'2,500 market'rate units per year under the proposed code framework, and he reported that RKG'style tests suggested roughly 20 demolitions per year in detached residential districts and a broader projection of 30'40 demolitions annually across other districts; Bonk added the city recorded about 80 demolitions last year (residential and commercial). He emphasized that the "preservation bonus" in staff proposals is intended to reduce demolition incentives by requiring retention of an existing unit to qualify for added units.
Council members repeatedly called for a separate displacement analysis and for information about public'safety and school capacity if density increases in particular corridors. "The affordable housing crisis has been fueled by private equity," Council Member Gibson asserted; other members asked for data to substantiate and to show where investor-owned LLCs hold properties in particular neighborhoods.
Merrick Malone, director of housing and community development, outlined other city tools that could support affordability (performance grants, Affordable Housing Trust Fund, surplus land, and inclusionary strategies) and said zoning is only one part of the solution.
No vote or policy action was taken; staff committed to delivering the Richmond 300 update and the market analysis to council and to compiling written responses and data prior to release of draft 3, which staff said is expected in July.
