Harrisonburg City Council Meeting - January 28, 2025

The Harrisonburg City Council met at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 28, 2025, in Council Chambers. Mayor Deanna R. Reed presided; Vice Mayor Dany Fleming and Council Members Laura Dent, Nasser Alsaadun, and Monica Robinson were present. City Manager Ande Banks was absent. Council approved a consent agenda on second reading, adopted tax relief ordinance amendments after a public hearing, received an update on the Community Connectors Program, heard public comment, made board appointments, and held a FOIA closed session before adjourning at 8:59 p.m.

Consent Calendar

• Approved the minutes from the January 14, 2025 City Council meeting.
• Approved on second reading a City of Harrisonburg Zoning Ordinance amendment to allow acceptance of cash proffers.
• Approved on second reading a request from Florence LLC to rezone 160 Carpenter Lane.
• Approved on second reading a Zoning Ordinance amendment to allow data centers as a use permitted by special use permit in M-1.
• The consent agenda passed by one motion; the transcript shows all five council members voting aye, despite the minutes containing an apparent 0 yes/0 no typo.

Special Recognition

• Bethany Houff, music director, announced Disney's High School Musical, running February 12-16, 2025, featuring students from Harrisonburg High School and Rocktown High School; students Abby Gibson and Theo Thompson performed selections.
• The anniversary proclamation item was postponed to the next council meeting.
• Karen Rose, Commissioner of Revenue, presented Joseph "Jay" Yutzy with his Master Deputy Commissioner of the Revenue Certificate, recognizing his professional development and work in the real estate assessment office.

Public Comments & Testimony

• During the tax relief public hearing, Jay Yutzy supported the ordinance changes, saying the city hears frequently from fixed-income seniors whose taxes rise faster than their incomes; he called the relief compassionate and important.
• During the later public comment period, Panayotis "Poti" Giannakouros, secretary of the Martin Luther King Jr. Coalition, reported on the success of People's Day, praising the participation of Ridgeway Mennonite Church, the Harrisonburg-Rockingham NAACP, the Town of Shenandoah, and Emmanuel Episcopal Church, and thanking Council Member Alsaadun for being accessible to the community.

Public Hearing: Personal Property and Real Estate Tax Relief

• Karen Rose presented amendments to City Code Sections 4-2-124, 4-2-23, and 4-2-25, which govern tax relief for residents age 65 or older or permanently and totally disabled. The real estate program has existed since 1973, and the city added a personal property exemption for one vehicle in 2007.
• She reported that in fiscal year 2025 there were 102 approved real estate applicants and $216,712 in real estate taxes relieved; personal property relief was $32,929. Residential assessments had increased by about 4%, 10%, and 9.5% in recent years, while the real estate tax rate rose from $0.93 to $1.01 per $100 of assessed value.
• The proposed change would increase the household income eligibility threshold by $5,000 (from $50,000 to $55,000) across relief tiers, keep the $100,000 net worth threshold, and expand relief for qualifying older and disabled residents. The estimated additional cost was about $20,127; even if doubled, it would equal only about 0.7% of real estate revenue and 0.4% of personal property revenue.
• Council discussion covered additional advertising through senior gathering places, translation of materials (currently Spanish only, with some use of family interpreters), and whether to adopt a formulaic income adjustment. Commissioner Rose said the program is reviewed roughly every two years.
• The public hearing was opened at 7:31 p.m. after notice appeared in the Daily News-Record on January 21 and January 27, 2025, and closed at 7:32 p.m.
• Council Member Dent moved, Vice Mayor Fleming seconded, and the council voted 5-0 to approve the ordinance amendments as presented.

Community Connectors Program

• Deputy City Manager Amy Snider presented on behalf of the Community Connectors team. Harrisonburg was selected in September 2023 as one of 15 cities nationally for the grant, administered by Smart Growth America with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, for $130,000.
• The team includes the Northeast Neighborhood Association, the Shenandoah Valley Black Heritage Project, Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance, and multiple city departments; Council Member Robinson serves on the team as executive director of the Shenandoah Valley Black Heritage Project.
• The program's mission is to rebuild trust between Northeast neighborhood residents and the city, repair past harms from urban renewal, and reconnect the neighborhood to downtown, prioritizing the neighborhood's stated needs and desires.
• Components include a community-generated small area plan to be appended to the comprehensive plan, facilitated trauma-informed dialogue, historical research, and a community-led demonstration project on Mason Street.
• The presentation described urban renewal beginning in the 1950s, with the city and Harrisonburg Redevelopment and Housing Authority condemning and demolishing homes and businesses. The team has held community engagement events, conducted a virtual meeting on December 9, distributed a community survey, and scheduled a February 15 neighborhood workshop and a March 13 Mason Street-focused meeting that will lead to a temporary pop-up installation.
• A historical research team of academics based in New York state, which has done similar research there, will be on site for over twenty days over the next three months to document the impact of urban renewal.
• Council members praised the project's depth. Council Member Robinson said the Simms Center is a tourist attraction on the historic registry and that the Mason Street reconfiguration should be more bike-, pedestrian-, and transit-friendly. Mayor Reed asked about making Old Mason Street a historic district; Robinson said it would likely be discussed but was not guaranteed with grant funds. Vice Mayor Fleming suggested exploring Virginia Housing planning grants, which could provide additional funding.
• The presentation was received and filed.

Other Matters

• Council Member Alsaadun reported meeting with the Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance executive director and said he plans to support her work.
• Council Member Dent reported on the MPO meeting, the upcoming Virginia Municipal League Government Day, and an upcoming EPSAC meeting.
• Council Member Robinson reported on the Community Criminal Justice Board, local events, her new National League of Cities committee appointments, and upcoming International Women's Day and Lucy Simms Center Black History programs.
• Vice Mayor Fleming reported on NLC committee work, including concern about potential loss of tax-exempt status for municipal bonds, and on SmartScale applications: Mount Crawford and Port Road projects passed staff review for about $30 million, while Reservoir Street median, Bluestone Trail, and South Main Street did not advance.
• Mayor Reed reported on local events, Virginia Transit Association Advocacy Day, speaking engagements, and her NLC appointments.
• Deputy City Manager Amy Snider noted that President Trump's federal grant freeze was under review by city staff, with an update to come as the situation evolves.

Boards and Commissions

• The council unanimously reappointed David Powell and appointed James Hensley to the Environmental Performance Standards Advisory Committee (EPSAC), with terms expiring January 12, 2028. Several EPSAC vacancies remained.

Closed Session and Adjournment

• At 8:15 p.m., the council voted 5-0 to enter closed session under Virginia FOIA Code Section 2.2-3711(A)(8) for consultation with legal counsel. The agenda had also listed Subsection 3 regarding disposition of publicly held real property, but the motion specified that Subsection 3 would not be discussed.
• At 8:59 p.m. the closed session ended, the regular session reconvened, and City Attorney Chris Brown read the required certification, which the council approved by unanimous recorded vote. The meeting then adjourned.

Key Outcomes

• Approved the consent agenda, including minutes, the cash proffers Zoning Ordinance amendment, the Florence LLC rezoning at 160 Carpenter Lane, and the M-1 data center special use permit amendment.
• Approved the personal property and real estate tax relief ordinance amendments by a 5-0 recorded vote.
• Received and filed the Community Connectors Program update without formal action.
• Reappointed David Powell and appointed James Hensley to EPSAC.
• Unanimously entered and certified the closed session, and adjourned at 8:59 p.m.