Harrisonburg City Council Meeting - October 13, 2026

The Harrisonburg City Council met in regular session at 7:00 PM in the Council Chambers on October 13, 2026, with Mayor Reed presiding. The agenda included a proclamation, consent agenda, three public hearings, several regular items, public comments, and a closed session. The Council took unanimous votes on the consent agenda, zoning-related public hearings, the street renaming resolution, cannabis zoning referral, and NLC delegate appointments; presentations on Safe Streets and the legislative agenda were for discussion.

Special Recognition

• The Council recognized National Lights On Afterschool Day. The agenda states October 23, 2026, while the proclamation read aloud during the meeting said October 22, 2026. Students and representatives from the Boys and Girls Club, On the Row Collaborative, and Girl Scouts attended. The proclamation noted that over 28 million U.S. children have parents who work outside the home and 15.1 million children have no place to go after school.

Consent Calendar

• The Council approved the consent agenda by one roll-call motion, 5-0. It included the September 22 City Council meeting minutes (the agenda prints the year as '2206', an apparent typo), a supplemental appropriation for an Opioid Abatement Authority (OAA) grant, an ordinance granting a city real property lease, and an ordinance prohibiting city procurement or use of automatic license plate recognition systems.

Public Comments & Testimony

• A caller who identified only as a 'city resident' supported the manufactured-homes zoning amendment. He recalled local controversy around the 'Bluestone Town Center' development and said the General Assembly's state-level action helped resolve the issue, despite his broader concerns about local authority under Dillon's Rule.
• A caller on the R-8 lot-width item supported the amendment, arguing that traditional setback requirements were tied to exclusionary zoning and redlining and that state action helped the city avoid getting 'stuck' in local deliberations.
• A caller on the Eastern Mennonite School master plan asked Council to pause the request until the zoning rewrite and comprehensive plan update were complete, criticized current public engagement as 'checking the box', and argued for genuine public input and public-sector collective bargaining in planning decisions.
• Michael Hullman, a Harrisonburg transit operator on Blue Ridge Drive, supported collective bargaining for city transit workers. He described low pay, coworkers working 50-60 hour weeks or second jobs, and turnover after drivers obtain their CDL.
• Matthew Ray, lead steward for the Amalgamated Transit Union and a Charlottesville Area Transit operator, supported collective bargaining for Harrisonburg transit workers. He said collective bargaining in Charlottesville produced significant pay increases, improved retention, and was not adversarial.
• Victor Suck, a paratransit driver, thanked Council for listening to city drivers, described the department's daily volume of roughly 200-250 calls and 250 rides with 10-12 drivers, and asked Council to retain experienced workers in the community.

Public Hearings

• 6.a Manufactured homes amendment: Staff explained that Code of Virginia changes effective July 1, 2026 require qualifying manufactured homes to be permitted wherever single-family detached dwellings are allowed. The proposed definitional amendment requires conversion of the manufactured home to real property under Va. Code §46.2-653.1, a certificate of occupancy within five years of manufacture, and placement on an individual lot. Planning Commission recommended approval unanimously (5-0, two commissioners absent). Council discussion noted the home must be on a permanent foundation with axles and wheels removed. Council approved the amendment unanimously.
• 6.b R-8 lot width reduction: House Bill 1212 from the 2026 General Assembly requires localities with populations of 50,000 or more to maintain at least one zoning district allowing single-family dwellings on lots with minimum lot area no greater than 3,000 square feet and lot width no greater than 30 feet. Staff said R-8 already allowed 2,800-square-foot lots, and the amendment reduced the R-8 single-family detached lot width from 35 to 30 feet. Planning Commission recommended approval unanimously (5-0, two commissioners absent). Council approved the amendment unanimously.
• 6.c Eastern Mennonite School master plan amendment: The school sought a master plan amendment for the roughly 26-acre campus at 701/801 Parkwood Drive and 1251 Virginia Avenue, zoned R3 and B2 with an I-1 institutional overlay. The plan maintains a 10-foot perimeter setback and requests deviations from parking-lot landscaping requirements, a five-foot separation between non-residential parking and residential properties, and the 50% front-yard parking limit. Planning Commission approved a 200-space parking minimum and a 435-space cap, and recommended approval. Council approved the master plan amendment unanimously.

Regular Items

• 7.a Street dedication and renaming: The Council adopted a resolution naming the new University Boulevard segment from Oak Hill to the former University Boulevard as University Boulevard, renaming Forest Hill Road (between Oak Hill and Port Road) to University Boulevard effective January 1, 2027, and renaming the old University Boulevard segment and Convocation Service Drive to Driver Drive. Staff said five residential properties will receive new addresses, and JMU and utility partners were already notified. Additional road-name cleanup, including Hickory Hill and the remaining old University Boulevard, is planned for early next year.
• 7.b Safe Streets Harrisonburg planning efforts: Staff presented four grant-funded planning efforts under the federal Safe Streets and Roads for All grant: a roadway safety action plan, a complete streets design guide, an update to the bicycle and pedestrian plan, and a safe routes to school plan, with consultant support from Kimley-Horn. Staff cited an average of about 3 fatalities and 33 serious injuries per year on city streets over the last five to six years, and proposed goals of zero fatalities by 2040 and a 50% reduction in serious injuries by 2040; no vote was requested. Public engagement begins in November, with plan adoption targeted around September 2027. Council noted overlap with the neighborhood traffic calming program and uncertainty about future federal transportation funding.
• 7.c Draft 2027 Legislative Agenda: Staff presented draft policy principles, legislative priorities, and budget requests. Proposed principles included protecting local authority and requiring state mandates to be funded. Priorities included keeping local authority over public-sector collective bargaining and housing location/density, full funding for redevelopment and children's services, road maintenance payment formula flexibility, fire services funding, and state funding for ASAP DUI programs. Budget requests included a childcare facility expansion grant program that added about 200 slots locally at about $3,000 per slot, a 5-million-gallon water storage tank linked to Harrisonburg's status as the second fastest-growing locality in Virginia, and Virginia Homeless Solutions program funding. Staff requested Council feedback by the October 27 meeting so the agenda could be finalized before state delegation visits.
• 7.d Cannabis zoning resolution: The Council adopted a resolution referring to the Planning Commission draft zoning amendments for businesses licensed by the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority. City Attorney Brown stated the city cannot prohibit such businesses but can regulate location, uses, special-use permits, distances from schools and other institutions, and clustering. Key dates are February 1, 2027 (license applications), May 1, 2027 (license issuance), and July 1, 2027 (operations). Council discussed communicating the state rules publicly and following up on the state's education campaign.
• 7.e 2030 Census proposal: Council discussed proposed federal changes to residence criteria and demographic questions for the 2030 Census, including adding a citizenship/legal-status question, narrowing 'usual residence' to a January 3-April 1 window, relying more on administrative records, and making most demographic questions optional. Councilmembers said these changes could undercount Harrisonburg's immigrant, student, renter, and young child populations and affect federal funding; members noted the 2020 Census already undercounted Harrisonburg, and one member described the plan as an effort to strip people from the count. Staff was directed to prepare a draft comment letter for the next Council meeting. The comment deadline was cited as November 2, with one later reference to November 3.
• 7.f NLC delegate appointment: The Council appointed Councilmember Robinson as voting delegate and Councilmember Al Sadude as alternate for the NLC Annual Business Meeting at the NLC City Summit in Nashville, Tennessee, on Friday, November 20, 2026, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. The agenda lists Nashville as the site; one oral reference in the transcript used 'Ashville'. The appointment was approved by voice vote.

Other Council & Staff Matters

• Councilmembers reported on recent conferences and events, including New York Climate Week, ICLEI meetings, the Virginia Clean Energy Summit, the Virginia Municipal League conference, and Virginia First Cities legislative meetings. The City Manager noted upcoming travel to the ICMA conference and that EMU inaugurated its new president.

Key Outcomes

• Consent agenda approved unanimously, 5-0.
• Manufactured-home zoning amendment approved unanimously.
• R-8 lot width reduction approved unanimously.
• Eastern Mennonite School master plan amendment approved unanimously.
• University Boulevard/Forest Hill Road/Driver Drive resolution approved unanimously.
• Cannabis zoning referral to Planning Commission approved unanimously.
• Draft legislative agenda placed on an October 27 feedback/finalization track; no vote.
• Safe Streets plans presented for information; no vote.
• Council directed staff to prepare a 2030 Census comment letter.
• NLC delegate and alternate appointed by voice vote.
• Motion to enter closed session approved unanimously.

Closed Session

• The Council entered closed session under Virginia Code §2.2-3711(A)(3) for real estate acquisition discussion and §2.2-3711(A)(8) for consultation with legal counsel. The provided transcript ends as the closed session begins; no post-session report or adjournment is available in the source.