Portsmouth City Council and Planning Commission Joint Meeting - September 8, 2025

The Portsmouth City Council and Planning Commission held a joint meeting on September 8, 2025, to align priorities on zoning ordinance changes, the Link District implementation, comprehensive plan updates, and community engagement. A separate presentation from Hampton Roads Transit (HRT) covered the System Optimization Plan (SOP). The meeting concluded with a closed session to discuss the process for retaining a new city attorney.

Public Comments & Testimony

• One citizen sent a communication (email) prior to the meeting, strongly encouraging community engagement and public outreach whenever considering changes to the zoning ordinance. Dr. Russell acknowledged this as a best practice.

Discussion Items

• Planning Commission Performance & Zoning Ordinance Updates: Dr. Russell presented the 2024 performance of the Planning Commission, noting an 88% concurrence rate between Commission recommendations and council actions. The Commission considered 11 use permit requests, 2 rezoning requests, 5 Chesapeake Bay exception requests, 1 street closure, and 1 street name change. The city is working on formalizing regulations for short-term rentals and entertainment venues/event centers. Dr. Russell found approximately 20 pages of short-term rental listings where the entire property was being offered, indicating many operators may not be compliant with current ordinances.
• Communication Lessons from Recent Zoning Changes: Council members and commissioners discussed the rollout of recent zoning changes for entertainment venues. Concerns included misinformation on social media, lack of proactive engagement with affected businesses, and the need for clear, digestible summaries (e.g., side-by-side comparisons, bullet points). Councilman Hugo noted that deferred applications created time pressure to finalize language. The City Attorney emphasized that ordinances are complex and cannot be reduced to "Cliff Notes" for legal proceedings. Councilwoman Thomas and others advocated for unified messaging, early stakeholder outreach (e.g., through civic leagues), and using multiple channels (video, social media, school channels) to reach different demographics. Commissioner Melvin suggested creating a pre-approved communication crosswalk to release immediately after a vote to control the narrative.
• Link District (Innovation District) Implementation: Dr. Russell outlined upcoming collaboration meetings: September 16 (debrief of Greenville trip with Planning Commission), October 21 (with Economic Development Authority), and October 28 (with City Council) to fine-tune an ordinance developed about a year ago. The goal is to align zoning with the adopted Link District plan. Councilman Hugo noted that the Link District has existing public input and less current business activity, making it potentially less controversial than the recent zoning changes. Councilwoman Thomas asked about citizen input mechanisms, such as surveys.
• Comprehensive Plan Update: Dr. Russell stated the 2040 Comprehensive Plan update is required by the state every five years; the current plan was adopted in 2018. The plan is nearly complete, with the implementation plan evaluation going to Planning Commission in October and likely to Council in November/December. Councilman Hugo questioned the priority of the comp plan update, noting low attendance at civic league meetings. The City Attorney and City Manager emphasized that the comp plan underlies many funding opportunities and council decisions. Councilman Tillage expressed frustration about limited communication on the comp plan. Commissioner Melvin recommended marketing at least one to three touchpoints per week to increase citizen engagement.
• HRT System Optimization Plan (SOP): Mr. Amaruso presented the SOP for Hampton Roads Transit. Key points: HRT operates 68 bus routes across six cities; many low-performing routes cost more per passenger ($6.43 more on local routes vs. regional backbone). In June 2025, 1,200 trips were missed due to operator shortages (approximately 50 operators short). The SOP proposes eliminating 12 underperforming routes regionally (none in Portsmouth eliminated, but a small deviation on Route 50 serving Cavalier Manor is proposed for removal). This would free operators to implement 15-minute high-frequency service on 13 regional backbone routes (only 3 currently operate at that frequency). A new microtransit zone is proposed for Churchland (8 square miles, app-based, $2 fare). Customer impacts: over 300,000 more residents within walking distance of 15-minute service, less than 3% of boardings lost. Councilman Tillage praised bus cleanliness and suggested adding benches and shelters. He also emphasized integrating HRT into the Link District and waterfront redevelopment plans. Councilman Dotson raised concerns about serving military facilities (Coast Guard) and the importance of reliable service. Mr. Harrell (HRT CEO) noted that the SOP is being presented to all six member city councils and that mobile payment (Go mobile) is a strategic initiative.

Key Outcomes

• The Council and Planning Commission agreed to prioritize proactive community engagement for future zoning changes, including early outreach to stakeholders, use of plain-language summaries, and multi-channel communication.
• No formal votes were taken during the joint session; however, the HRT presentation was informational, and the Council expressed general support for the SOP direction.
• The meeting moved into closed session at approximately 8:00 PM (after HRT presentation) to discuss the process for retaining a new city attorney, citing Virginia Code § 2.2-3711(A)(6). The motion passed unanimously (all present members voted aye).
• Councilman Tillage requested that HRT work closely with city planners on transit integration into the Link District. HRT representatives agreed to follow up.