Final Clerk, could you please read the Chamber of Emergency Announcements?

Upon activation of the emergency on law signal, all persons should immediately exit the building.

Please use the exits to the left or right front of the council chamber or the north or west stairwell outside of the rear doors of the chamber.

Do not use elevators or escalators.

After exiting the building, security will direct everyone down 9th Street to the fenced area located between Clay and Lee Streets.

Able persons, citizens visually hearing a pair of visitors with exiting the building.

Persons wishing to speak during the public comment period and or public hearings are generally allowed three minutes to speak.

Persons apparent before the committee are not allowed to campaign for public office.

Thank you so much.

Well, it's just follow the agenda as is, but let's do the public comment period.

Is there anyone here that would like to speak about anything not on today's agenda?

Please approach the podium and state your name for the record.

Rich Saucer, SOUSCR.

Good afternoon, counselors.

When last I was before you in February, I talked with you about several big infrastructure projects, smart-scale funding requests, et cetera.

My concerns continue to be about the process for approving these.

The city, especially DPW, brings forward a lot of discrete individual projects without providing context on how these impact the larger neighborhood, the city as a whole, transportation grid, et cetera.

I know that certain council members have been pushing for more uh upfront detailed information, but so far I've seen little improvement.

For instance, in February, I questioned why the city was going forward with a request for state funding for the North South Bus Rapid Transit Program when there had been no comprehensive briefing or approval from this committee or council.

Fortunately, in April, you were provided a briefing.

However, it was severely lacking in justification and missed the big picture information.

As I had mentioned in February, GRTC's rationale for this 400 million dollar project has been skimpy.

The immediate service area of the projected route has only half the population that would normally justify such a project.

GRTC had said that upzoning under code refresh would significantly increase the population density.

However, in a May briefing, GRTC got ready to prevent present a contractor study that said that development on the proposed route had been downgraded and population wouldn't be as much as projected.

This was confirmed yesterday when Mr.

Vonk said that the next draft of code refresh would have less upzoning for the Chamberlain Avenue corridor.

In addition, GRTC in May said that their uh projections are probably a little high because they plan on continuing the Route One bus route to provide uh disability and elderly uh access to the existing routes.

So it looks like the 400 million dollars could be better invested.

I'm a supporter of strong public transit.

I took the bus here today, but I think that we need to resist, we need to uh do better, and also in in February mentioned the uh fall line trail.

I may have missed it, but I thought you had said that there was going to be a briefing from B D DPW to this committee.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Good afternoon.

My name is Thomas Courtney.

I live adjacent to the VMFA Grove Avenue Storage Facility, and I want to provide a brief update on several unresolved land use issues affecting the surrounding neighborhood.

First, there are still pending zoning confirmation letter matters concerning the facility, including the proper zoning classification, the relationship between the approved plan of development, the certificate of zoning compliance, the certificate of occupancy, and the later site plan activity related to the artwork or VMFA Dream Wall installation.

Second, I have submitted a 311 notice regarding landscaping and maintenance deficiencies at the facility, which may indicate that the site has not fully transitioned into compliant operational status.

These conditions matter because landscaping, screening, access, and site conditions were part of the representations relied upon during the plan of development and board of zoning appeal process.

Third, there have been recent observations and a 311 report concerning apparent operational use of the facility before a temporary or final certificate of occupancy or final zoning sign-off has been publicly confirmed.

That includes individuals entering and exiting the facility in a manner consistent with office or storage operations and reports of loading or unloading activity not obviously tied to construction.

I'm not asking this committee to make a determination today, but I am asking that the city ensure the record is clear and that no operational use proceeds ahead of any required CO, CZC, zoning final or other applicable administrative processes.

Finally, I recently obtained information showing that the Department of General Services lease term for this warehouse facility appears to be materially shorter than the long-term institutional control premise discussed during zoning review by Mr.

Davidson and Mr.

Vonk and later addressed through the BZA proceedings.

My understanding is prior approval discussions referenced long-term commonwealth institutional control as part of the justification for treating the facility as an institutional accessory use.

The lease I now I have now seen appears to be a 10-year lease, which may not match that premise.

That is one reason the pending ZCL request regarding institutional use remains necessary.

30 seconds.

And I second.

Okay.

And when how far out are these this?

We can continue for 30 days.

Okay.

Okay.

The committee is voting on the motion to continue item one ordinance 2026 113 to the July 21st, 2026 land use housing and transportation standing committee meeting.

Mr.

Brighton.

Aye.

Vice Chair Robertson.

Chair John.

Aye.

That motion has been approved.

And we'll do number six as a continuance for 30 days as well.

So moved.

Second.

The committee is voting on the motion to continue item six resolution 2026 R024 to the July 21st, 2026, land use housing and transportation standing committee meeting.

Mr.

Brighton.

Aye.

Vice Chair Robertson.

Chair Jones.

Aye.

That motion has been approved.

And then we'll take uh three, four, and five in a block.

Okay.

Would you like me to so you want to do item two last?

Oh.

Oh, let's move to that.

I'm sorry.

You know how to speed.

Okay.

Item two, ordinance 2026 125 to authorize the CAO to execute a standard project administration agreement between the city and VDOT for the purpose of funding the Chamberlain Avenue paving project.

It was before the committee.

Well, let's is anybody here from the administration to speak about this paper?

Good afternoon, Chair.

Vice Chair and Mr.

Rutten.

Uh Kenny Horek with uh paving division program manager.

This is a project to resurface a portion of Chamberlain Avenue.

It's a state of good repair project.

It's 100% uh reimbursable by VDOT.

And we applied for this project and we were selected and we've been awarded.

Thank you.

Don't go too far.

We're gonna hold a public comment in case we have any additional questions.

Is there anyone that would like to speak in opposition to item two?

Is there anyone that would like to speak in support to item two?

Seeing none, the public hearing is now closed.

Bring it back to the committee.

Motion to approve, second.

The committee is going on the motion to forward item two or in this 2026 125 to counsel with the recommendation to approve.

Mr.

Burton, aye.

Vice Chair Robertson.

Chair Jones.

Aye.

That motion has been approved.

Now we'll do three, four, and five in a block.

Thank you.

Item three, ordinance 2026, 126 to designate the 6300 block of Hall Street Road in honor of Eugene and Vivian Mason.

Item four, ordinance 2026 145 to designate the 1000 block of North Lombardy Street in honor of Coach Howard D.

Hopkins.

And item five, ordinance 2026, 146 to designate the 2800 block of Fendle Avenue in honor of Reverend A.

Lincoln James Jr.

Those papers are before the committee.

Well, you on one, right?

On six, and um for myself on three.

Um, I think we could we'd be able to.

Yes, I'd like to be added to the M4.

Okay, Ms.

Jones.

Did you say you wanted to be added to three?

Yes, okay and four.

Okay.

No, I'm already on three.

I want to be added to four and five.

Sorry about that.

And then let's just hold a public hearing on this.

Is there anyone that would like to speak in opposition to items three, four, or five?

Is there anyone that would like to speak in support to items three, four, and five?

Please approach the podium and state your name for the record.

Good afternoon, madam chair and council members.

I am Dr.

Lisa Johnson.

I'm here to speak in favor of Dr.

Howard Hopkins being the street being named in his honor.

53 years ago, I walked beside my big brother on his way to football practice, proudly carrying his football helmet, just so I could be a part of the Maggie Walker High School experience.

Dr.

Hopkins never lets me forget that story whenever we're together.

I hadn't thought about the fact because I was 10 that I would become a Maggie Walker Dragon myself in 1975.

At just 13 years old, I was overwhelmed and intimidated by the size of the school and uncertain about being a freshman.

One day, as I struggled to find a classroom, a man approached me and asked if I needed help.

At the time, I had no idea that it was Dr.

Howard Hopkins, the athletic director.

He guided me to where I needed to be that day, and in many ways, he's been guiding me ever since.

For more than five decades, Dr.

Hopkins, who I call Hop, has been a beacon of integrity, character, leadership, and compassion.

Since arriving in Richmond from North Carolina, he has impacted the lives of thousands of students throughout Richmond public schools and the greater Richmond community.

While he has been a devoted husband to Miss Edith and a long-loving father to Ivy and Ashley, his influence has extended far beyond his immediate family.

To countless young people, Dr.

Hopkins has been the father they never had.

He's been a counselor to the discouraged, a mentor to the uncertain, a protector to those who felt unseen, and a source of wisdom for those who struggled to find their way.

He has consistently seen potential in people long before they ever saw it in themselves.

As a principal, athletic director, educator, and community leader, Dr.

Hopkins has dedicated his life to helping students succeed.

He tutored, coached, encouraged, and challenged young people to become the very best versions of themselves.

He inspired confidence in those facing impossible odds and helped them believe that their circumstances did not define their future.

His generosity and commitment to others have been extraordinary.

He has personally helped athletes attend college when financial barriers stood in their way.

He has mentored young men and women searching for direction.

He has served as a calming voice during times of conflict and turmoil, entered homes in crisis to help families find solutions.

And walked into some of the city's most vulnerable neighborhoods to understand why students were truant.

I've offered, I have often wondered how I could honor this man.

And I think one of the things that gives me privilege today is to say that he has been a beacon in our community, and I would think it would be an honor and a privilege for him to be named on Howard Hopkins Way.

Thank you.

My name is Reverend Wendy Bullock, and I want to speak on the naming for the street designated on the 2800 block of Fendal Avenue for the late Dr.

A.

Lincoln James Jr.

I currently serve as the interim pastor there at the Trinity Baptist Church, and we would love for that 2800 block to be honored by Pastor A.

Lincoln James.

He served the Richmond community for over 45 years, over 50 years in ministry.

He was definitely a trailblazer here in the city of Richmond with having Trinity on TV.

We have so many stories of people that have come back to us that were incarcerated, and that was their means of watching some ministry, and they came back and told us how he impacted their lives, not only for those that are, you know, Miss Unfortunate, but he also poured into people that had a vision.

Some business owners, they only got their start because of Pastor A.

Lincoln James.

And as we look at the history and all the things that he's done, we are prayerful that you guys will see that that honoring in that street name would be something that we would be able to hold on to forever.

He was compassionate about the care of the less fortunate, not only the ones in our church, but outside of the church.

So in the local shelters and everything.

And so he was a preacher who not only served his congregation but others.

So we are asking for your support in naming the 2800 block of Fendal Avenue after my late pastor, Dr.

A.

Lincoln James Jr.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, Council.

My name is Pierre Johnson.

I am a uh was called a Richmond homeboy.

I uh grew up in the West End and uh graduated from Maggie Walker and went on to Virginia Union.

I um have been in an observation of uh Coach Hoff for years.

A lot of you may know him as Dr.

Hopkins, but back in our day, he was coach and uh he was responsible for a lot of the fanfare that you saw at Maggie Walker, the changing of the uniforms at halftime and and the budgets that came through that Maggie Walker school that came from that Armstrong Walker game, he was able to manage those funds from year to year and bring out the best for the students at that school.

And uh, even though there were other coaches up there to the day, Howard Hopkins is uh a phenomenal man, and such that his heart is big as this room, and you can still see him serving and giving.

And I'm sure that when God calls him home, it's gonna be a great smile on everybody's face.

So uh it would be a blessing to have that uh his name up on that corner and all the servitude and thousands of kids that have come through this school and have taken their place in Richmond Society, and we just thank you that we're going to make him a first ballot.

Hall of Famer.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Do we have anyone signed up, Madam Clerk?

No, ma'am, we do not see none.

The public hearing is now closed.

Bring back to the committee.

Um, I just want to thank each one of you for coming and sharing such wonderful acclimates of the persons that have been suggested for this honorary street naming.

Um I just want to let you know that it really means a lot, and I want to give uh shout out to Pastor Former Mayor Jones for bringing this opportunity for us to do honorary street names, uh, for persons that have given so much to the city, and it just, you know, it makes my heart leap for joy to see folk come here and tell us these wonderful attributes that persons have done in this city and how many lives have been changed, and that we have a simple way of just showing a little bit of honor.

Um, you know, and uh so it's very, very significant that we have this honor to be able to do this in the city, and I want to encourage you to continue to recognize help us to recognize folk that have made major contribution and the message for coaches and pastors, it's a major contribution that they give of their lives and how many lives are changed in the process.

And I hope the city of Richmond listened to this, and that we'll continue to encourage and support um men and women of faith and respect the contributions that they make far beyond um any particular position or just truly out of the heart of love and and our coaches.

Uh I hope we continue to recognize the value that our park and recreation system provides an opportunity for for through the athletic uh fields and so forth, um the contribution in the lives that are changed in the process.

So I just want to thank you guys for coming down and sharing.

Uh please come back when it comes before the full council so that everybody gets to hear these wonderful acclamates that outstanding leaders have provided.

Thank you.

And with that motion to approve um Adam Chair as well, second, the committee is voting on the motion to forward item three, ordinance 2026 126, item four, or it's 2026 145, and item five, ordinance 2026 146 to council with the recommendation to approve.

Mr.

Brighton.

Aye.

Vice Chair Robertson, aye, Chair Jones.

That motion has been approved.

Thank you.

We will um first presentation, housing and business permitting timelines.

Direct a bunk call.

It's right there.

Good afternoon.

Kevin J.

Fong.

Director of Planning and Development Review.

Is this one work?

All right.

Thank you.

Today we want to talk request to provide an update on permitting timeliness with some specific requests.

So why does this matter?

I think it's really important when we talk about permitting timelines.

We talk about reducing carrying cost when somebody is doing a development, right?

And they purchase a piece of property, there's carrying costs, whether that be you know, loans, mortgages, construction equipment sitting around waiting for something to get done.

So it's it's expensive to be able to hold on a land, hold on to land while you're waiting to be able to build something.

There's also right while I'm waiting for my permit, exposure to risk.

And I think we've definitely seen in the last few years the cost of labor, the cost of goods, tariffs, seems to be changing, you know, weekly if not daily.

And so there's things that, hey, maybe when I started this project, it penciled, it worked, but three months waiting for my permit.

Now it doesn't work anymore.

And so um, you know, just really being able to get things done quickly so that there's some certainty and reduce that exposure.

But then also increasing revenue.

Um, you know, ultimately, right?

For somebody developing a piece of property, they would like to be able to, if they're building it for a tenant, um, get revenue from that, whether that be you know, occupancy, a resident, or a commercial tenant, or if somebody's building a home to be able to sell that.

Uh, but also for us as the city, right?

I mean, our primary revenue source is property taxes.

So the faster that we can get something online, paying taxes, that's generating income for us.

And so that makes a difference, again, you know, how fast and how quickly those things are are coming online.

So time of minutes matters.

Um, just an update in terms of development activity for the city.

Um, so this is looking back five years, um, and these are calendar year numbers.

And so when we talk about development, and I'll talk about this a little more.

There's also call it two types of entitlements, which kind of get lumped into the permit category, but a legislative entitlement is basically something that somebody needs approval ultimately from city council, right?

So it goes through a process, um, and and they need something from you, um, and then there's administrative entitlements, which is something, hey, you've authorized our staff to do.

Um, and so when we talk about things, special use permits, rezonings, community unit plans, conditional use permits.

Um, we've been quite busy with special use permits uh over the last few years, but you also see the number of rezoning cases declining.

And I think I've talked about this when I've talked about code refresh.

Um, right, rezoning from district A to District B, when you have a code that doesn't have a lot of great choices, you're not gonna do that and instead go to a special use permit.

Um, community unit plans, uh, those are for uh larger projects over 10 acres in size, and it's really um we just uh went through the one for uh Mosby South, right?

That sets out, you know, kind of a long-term development strategy.

So there's um you know, preliminary plans, which we just did at council the other week, and then um, you know, final plans that go through and implement that.

Um, we've been doing a number of those a year in some of the larger projects, conditional use permits primarily for things.

Um the last ones we did last year were all for nightclubs, um, and then the one other one that is not actually council, but it was still legislative, is board of zoning appeals.

Um, and so appeals cases that hey, maybe I've got a hardship, something doesn't fit quite right, I can ask for relief there.

So we've been pretty busy with legislative entitlements, uh, and then ministerial or administrative entitlements.

Um, again, a lot of activity, just you know, I think some highlights.

Uh even though we're a built-out city, it still surprises me.

Um, we're still subdividing land, right?

We're still finding property and being able to do subdivisions.

Last year we did 38 in the city.

Um, when we talk about building permits, um, again, very busy.

We're averaging around 18,000 building permits a year, which is about 13,000 plans, over 40,000 expens um inspections, and uh in terms of building code fees and building code revenue.

Um, again, we've been uh pretty blessed to have good development activity in the city.

Last year we pulled in uh just under 11 million dollars in building code fees, and those go back into helping us staff up and run our department.

All right, so how long to process a building permit application?

Um, so I think there's a few steps when we talk uh about permitting times, and and one of them is the processing of the application, right?

And so one of the benefits of COVID is we moved everything online, so every submission is now done electronically.

Our current platform called Energov, you create a customer account and you go in and submit all your materials there.

Um, this is an area where we struggled.

Um, and what we did is put a lot of resources into the time that it takes to process that application, and so processing application, I think it's a really important part because um our our staff, our permit techs, you know, really make sure that the right information is in there, you know, they're applying for the right type of permit, um, that everything is in there so that when it moves over to plan review, right?

There's there's quality uh controls for our reviewers to go through.

Um, but this is an area where we were stuck, and and so I think um this graph shows the different types of building permits.

So we've got residential building and trade, commercial building and trade, one drive.

At the time we didn't have all the applicant or applications in the energy of system, so there was just a kind of a bucket where we dropped applications.

Um, but back in 2021, uh, when you made a submission, on average, we were taking about a month to get back to you.

And usually in that month, after that time passed, we get back to you and say, hey, guess what?

Your application's incomplete.

You need this or that.

So I get why there was a ton of frustration about you know the process, and so that's where we started.

We put a lot of effort into the front end in terms of um staffing up and working on processes to start bringing those numbers down.

Um our goal is five business days, so within five business days or less that we would process that application and move it through onto the next steps.

Um, and so it took us some time, but by 2023, um, we were below that business goal.

Um, 2025, um, we've crept back up a little bit, and I think part of that, and we can go in if you have questions, um, a little bit in terms of like staffing and some turnover.

Um, we've also again been busy, and and part of it is the projects we're getting.

Sometimes they're more complicated and need more information.

Um, but then we're also doing some other activities on the side, which I'll I'll describe uh later that takes time away from day-to-day operations.

So once you get plan uh application in, then it goes to building plan review.

Previous graph, the smaller the bar, the better.

This graph, the bigger the bar, the better.

Um, and we want to say, look, our goal for projects, and and this is where we look at uh 99%, 98%, 99% of our projects are small projects.

They're 1.5 million dollars or less.

And our goal is when you submit that that we will turn that plan review around, or when it goes to plan review in 10 business days or less.

And so this looks at all right, how long is it taking us to turn those plants around?

So we have residential building, commercial building, and then a mean median of all those permits now.

Um again, I think we've made some good progress in terms of and in 2022, we're around 70 to 80 percent within that timeline.

In 2025.

Um, we're much higher.

There's a little bit of disparity in the commercial building, and then I'll say the reason for that is all permits are in here, so big large projects like a big multifamily building or like the CoStar project, um, these are things that are in here, and so those are gonna be more than 10 days.

We don't have a system that can easily pull those out right now.

Again, something I'll talk about in a moment, but in general, we've been improving uh our times for turning around and being consistent.

Well, I'll say again, most of these small projects, a focus we've talked about a lot on housing, and so really making sure our residential building permits are getting moved through quickly.

And then let's talk about, you know, sometimes before you get to building permits, um, you know, you need to get that legislative entitlement.

You need to get the zoning correct.

And so a major way to do that is to get a special use permit.

Um, this goes back uh two years and really looks at the uh bar is the number of applications that we approved.

Uh, and so you can see it varies by quarter from you know five to over 25.

Uh, and then the red line is looking at how many days it takes us for approval.

And that approval process includes staff review, uh, it includes interactions with the applicant, but then it also includes an internal process of review, um, and then it includes a process that goes to planning commission and city council, and and so um we look at that, and again, we've been working on uh improving some of those timelines, at least for our perspective of how long it takes us to put it forth in the process, um, but it can still take um, you know, a few months to go through and get that special use permit, which I think is really important.

You know, when we talk about permitting and we talk about the context of like how long does it take to get permitted to build something.

Um, you know, we can start at the end or on the right, and that is you know, ultimately everything has to be inspected, signed off on to get your certificate of occupancy or final approvals.

Um, you know, we've been consistently doing that in under two days.

In most cases, right, you can get the inspection the day that you call for it.

And so we've been really great and consistent throughout the last few years doing that, and see that in the future.

Um again, back up takes a few weeks to get your building permit reviewed.

Um, the intake, you know, hopefully again in a few days.

But then before that, sometimes um there's these other processes.

So site plan, plan of development.

Um, we didn't talk about a lot, but for certain projects, you may need to go through a process where other agencies review projects, you know, for compliance, not only with zoning and the subdivision ordinance, but for other things in terms of public works and utilities, you know, projects that might have a bigger impact to make sure they're compliant with those as well.

And then again, before that, to get your zoning correct, you might need that rezoning or special use permit.

And so this is you know something that I think is important for us to look at again uh as we discuss, you know, an update to our zoning ordinance of how much time when you think about like the timeliness of projects, how much time is in the building permit world, and how much time is in like the legislative and zoning world.

And so, you know, the goal I think uh again, you know, with code refresh is to talk about are there projects that you can move out of that special um use permit or out of that rezoning stage to really kind of focus on site plan and building permits.

So to be able to cut that wait time, you know, from months down to weeks.

So some things that we're working to improve uh on permitting, um, and so just so I can acknowledge them.

Our commissioner of buildings, uh David Alley is here, um, our head of inspections, Rick Paul is here, head of plan review, um, Danny Maurer is here, and Karen Paquette is our head of permit intake customer um service.

And I did not see her here in the audience, but they're here today and they they work a lot on the building permit side, and then uh Leo Mante is our deputy director for land use and zoning working on those cases.

So we're continuing to make sure that we continue our our um improvement processes, so personal enhancements, uh making sure uh that we're leveraging our building code fees, and this is one of the things, um, you know, thank you for council to fund additional intake customer service positions that allows us to use um our resources most wisely.

Again, if if we see that we're you know kind of getting stuck a little bit, then we look and where do we need help?

And that's where we're gonna provide personnel.

Um, we also have two-third party firms, so right when things spike, like we kind of know where workflow is, but like sometimes a project shows up and like they come in and dump 50 permits on us.

Um, you know, our our online portals open 24-7.

And so if we get backed up in projects, we have the ability to ship out work to these review firms who've been working really well with for the last few years.

Um we're also uh working to set up um with an outside consultant uh survey process to hear from our customers in terms of like what's working, what's not, um, and this is really important as we talk about technology upgrades so we can implement a new software system.

Uh, this is something that's been I'll say years in the making.

We are deep into it right now, and that is something that I think, right?

Some of our staff have taken time out of their regular jobs to help work on setting up the workflows for this process.

Um, our goal is to be live in February of 27.

Um, and then we've also been piloting some uh AI tools to assess um, start with helping customers fill out applications, right?

So one of the ways that we can cut down on time wasted is that if you have a very complete application with all the information and the correct information in the right places, we can take that and send it right along.

And and so you know, the way that we can leverage AI to help that customer fill out what they need to put on that application improves their chances of it going through on the first try.

Um, and then lastly, policy changes.

Um, you may have heard me talk about code refresh um in terms of like reducing legislative entitlements, um, but then also looking as part of that to amend our site plan ordinance um more closely to Mirror Code of Virginia.

They've tightened some of the timelines.

Um, our goal is again from a business perspective to be well below those timelines, uh, but also talking about right now anything three dwelling units and above goes through that process.

Um, we're gonna look to raise that threshold to six dwelling units, finding that again that's meant for more of the major projects.

Um so these are things that we'll continue to work on and happy to answer any questions you may have.

Thank you, Ms.

Devon.

Um, for this presentation, colleagues, any questions?

Hi, May.

Thank you.

Uh Director Vonk.

Um, how would you uh describe, I guess, the ease for getting the process for our smaller builders and people trying to get into development space who are have fewer resources?

Yes.

Uh so I think one of the things we first took on, I'll say this project in terms of uh when I when I came to the city, right?

I heard Richmond had a less than stellar reputation of a place to do development.

And one of the things we did was dig into the data and dig into the information, and and it surprised me in a way like how many of our projects were very small projects, right, done by small builders or sometimes right done by homeowners.

And so, uh I think a few ways.

One, making sure as we built up our staff, you know, to have customer service agents who could like work with, right?

Take a phone call, take a meeting, and be able to like guide somebody through the process that way to make sure we have the right number of plan reviewers who could like write focus on small projects.

Like, yes, we need staff who can know like the complicated sections of the code, but like we need a lot more staff who know just like the basic residential code.

Uh, and and so really being able to then um in addition to that, I know uh commissioner Ali has worked on some informational brochures to like, hey, I want to do X and like it talks you through, um, for example, we have a brochure that talks about accessory development units, and you want to do one of these, all right.

Well, here's some of the things you need to think about.

Here's the steps you need to go through, um, and and really trying to help our customers do that.

And I think that's why we're looking at improvements and maybe some uh potential for AI tools to like again to not have to use staff resources, but be able to use technology to help that customer, like help themselves.

Like, what do I one?

What can I even do?

But then two, like, what do I need to do?

Um, because you know, for some, this may be like the only time like they need to go through a building permit process.

And we want to encourage people to do that, and and so um I think those are some of the things we've done to really kind of focus on those those small builders.

And are there um similar types of projects that you are considering to shrink that um that long lead time for special use permits?

I know that you're asking to try to reduce the number, but is there also any major thinking about reducing the length of time that those would need?

Sure.

Um yeah, so we've had some conversations um, you know, about this.

I'll say the things and working to for us, you know, having uh internal deadlines about like the first round of review.

I think one thing is um we put a heavy focus for special use permits, but also for other types of projects on pre-development meetings that involve um staff from all of our reviewing agencies.

And so there's probably boy over 60, if not maybe 80 people like who are on that invite.

Not all attend every single meeting, but it is a great way for somebody who is thinking about doing a project to hear from people who ultimately will be reviewing that project, like, hey, by the way, like there's a large sewer line under your property, or there's no sewer line at all, and you're gonna have to build one, you know, for 2,000 feet.

Um, you know, there's uh restrictive covenants that may be here, or you know, just all these other types of things that like to catch it sooner than later, or as you go through, like we're gonna need to see these types of things in order to approve it.

Uh, and I think that really helps set the applicant up again to submit good materials up front that move it more quickly through the process.

We generally try and and at least from the first round, um, once we get an application within a month, get back a full set of comments to the applicant in terms of where we're shaping.

And I'll say that's where you know, we'll control we can control in terms of from the staff response.

Sometimes the applicant takes a while to get back, or sometimes um, you know, they may want to do some community outreach.

And I think you've seen right in in your district that sometimes the applicant will take that and like it takes a long time to work with the community.

And so like all that kind of gets counted in there.

Um, and so I'll I'll say, you know, and again, this is part of the tracking is like we want to be able to say like when you give something back to us, and I'll say tap the chess clock, um, that we'll be able to turn something around in, you know, a certain amount of days.

Um, and our goal for a lot of these is, you know, maybe 30 for the first review, but then you know, two to three weeks for subsequent reviews.

Thank you.

Um I'd step two um quick questions.

What the first one is um what kind of feedback do you all receive that um, you know, like you hear a lot from applicants and like the pain points uh in that process, and then how has that feedback shaped the changes that you've made?

And then my other question is how does this office team overlay with like um office of minority business development and like maybe from an engagement standpoint, you know, helping folks know about the process before they get to the process?

Is it is there anything that is in place?

Um as it relates to like when someone wants to open a business and need like how are we in front of that is I guess what I'm asking?

Sure.

Um so the first part of the question um, you know, in terms of looking at feedback.

Uh I think, and again, I heard it when I got here, right?

Richmond is I can't use the words in here, right?

A place to do business in terms of development.

Um if, you know, still hearing that now, I think one of the things like we'll ask is like, well, when's the last time you've done a project in the city?

And if it's been more than like five years, I say, look, try it again.

Um I think it's really important in terms of and and all of us, you know, um, myself, DCAO Ebert, the commissioner, our staff, um, you know, we're we're very open in terms of responding to feedback.

And I think it's also important to be transparent about like, right, times that we messed up or like maybe there there are things that we have missed.

Um, and so we're we're always looking for that that continuous and improvement and then how we can can do things.

Um I think it's really important in terms of like communicating on projects uh to make sure that when we do communications, right?

Sometimes there's a property owner and then there's a contractor, and maybe there's like another third party involved that all are looped in on some of the communications because sometimes the contractor doesn't always relay, you know, oh, the city's hard to work with, and they they're telling it back right to the owner.

Um, again, a benefit of an electronic system is like I can tell you like when your contractor submitted something.

So, you know, if we send something back to you on January 1st, and then you know the contractor held on to it and sent us back, you know, June 1st and then called us the next day and said it's like, man, my permit's been held up for five months.

I can show like, nope, that's uh it's actually on your contractor.

Um, you know, I I think one of the things we look through in some of these is, you know, is this a one-off issue or is this a process issue?

And so if we we do get things that seem to be like this is like the third or fourth thing we're hearing, like maybe is there something that we need to correct?

Um, and I know um Mr.

Maurer has something that look, if this plan review is going through like the third set of reviews, like we're not doing this review till we have a meeting because something's not communicating, something's not discussing.

We don't need to keep like playing this game of going around.

Um, in terms of like outreach, you know, I think the the commissioner has been very involved in in the building community um in terms of you know, meeting with um contractors, um meeting with uh the home builder association of Richmond, uh meeting with I'm just looking at it's pro RVA, I think, which is like a whole bunch of like contractors, and again, having that open and interesting dialogue.

Um as far as partnerships, we have not with with MBD, and I think they're a little bit more involved in maybe some curement type things, but I do think, and part of the switch to lie one is office of community wealth building might be an opportunity that we've talked about in terms of hey, looking for those, especially you know, entrepreneurs who might want to be doing business, like, hey, here's how a way you could maybe potentially do business in the city.

Um, and so as they come over, I think DCO Ebert may have us look at some things of how we can partner in our agencies together.

Thank you.

I think yeah, that's I think that's important because I it is a lot of folks who are now moving into, you know, commercial real estate and I think having that knowledge beforehand, before you even sounds like a lot of times a lot of the questions get raised once you get in the portal and start doing all the work.

And so if there's a way that we can work with, you know, those small business entrepreneurs in advance, and also I think maybe I don't know, I'm not trying to like give people more work, but like I think some um like economic development, right?

Like, how are we all partnering in that process so that each person is not working in silos and helping to make the process on your end a lot easier?

It's almost like by the time they get to you, they've been briefed and they know exactly what to do, and then it's making it more seamless.

Because I think a lot of times people are just like, let me go to the portal, and there's no steps before that.

So I think that's just something to keep in mind as we continue to build out this process.

And I know you mentioned the third party.

Um, I know we have heard a lot about the third parties that are not local and so they're not local to certain projects.

Um, how are you ensuring from that perspective?

If somebody is in California and they're reviewing Richmond, like have we really improved that process as well?

Yes.

Uh when we first started, um, I will say we aired and that we with one of our vendors didn't do enough, I'll say sample testing.

Um, because the first batch that we sent out, um the reviews we got back had comments about like earthquake safety and then these things that just like were not applicable.

Um, so uh this was probably I think in 22 or 23 when we went out for a big RFP for these contracts.

Um, we were very um, you know, um intentional early on, like each vendor got like a handful of like test cases to like work on to make sure, like, hey, what we the goal is like if it goes out to the third party, like the customer shouldn't know the difference in terms of the code that's being applied and the timelines for review, um, those third-party vendors actually have access to our permit system.

So they are working in there just like a city employee would be.

Um, and so that's important.

And I know um, you know, Mr.

Maurer has um regular like um compliance checks and and audits of the work that they're doing and meetings just to make sure, again, if there's issues that come up, um, to make sure that they're following so that the customer has the customer should experience no difference whether it's being reviewed by us or whether it's being reviewed by the third party.

Thank you.

And thank you so much to the team for all the work that you're doing.

I know y'all are pretty responsive when I call, so thank you.

Okay, well, thank you.

Processes.

One of the things that we entertained during the budget session was having an additional attorney to help us move things through the process.

We get feedback often that in the attorney's office.

We can't move past this stage.

And then there seems to be also the sign off process as to how many different admit heads or whoever needs to sign off and then going back, and a second sign off is the feedback we get.

Is there opportunities to improve upon the process and also to recognize where some of the stopgates may take longer to move from one checkoff point through the into the attorney's office and then rerouting again that can do something to help us to be more effective and efficient in the timeline that it takes, um is amazing.

And I when I looked at this report, the first thing I did was call a couple of our developers and say how much does this timeline add additional costs.

I had this conversation just the other day when we were talking about SUPs, you know, and code refresh.

And my question to you is it relates to how much does the zoning, rezoning opportunity, have the potential of reducing the number of SUPs, and how much an SUP if it adds another two months, three months, six months, nine months to a process to get it approved and finally to council how much money have we added to that cost?

And you know, especially as we talk about affordable housing, you know, every additional dollar added to affordable housing just makes it even that more difficult to close the gap to be able to keep the project affordable.

So I guess I'm asking you not from a perspective of uh criticism, but whether or not there are really some gaps in our process that we could begin thinking about tightening up whether it's added staff, whether it's whatever it may be, uh internal approval processes that could make a difference as it relates to the customer friendly business model that we want to have in place for the city that we should know.

Sure, thank you.

So yeah, I I think part of your question also involves, right, what's negotiable and what's not negotiable.

And so when we talk with an applicant for a special use permit process, you know, I talk about things in terms of right, if you need your approval on this day, right?

Like in July, then city council needs to introduce that for most zoning papers a month before, right?

Because it's going to go to planning commission, but you need you know four weeks' notice.

So if you need it heard or considered in July, then it needs to get introduced in June, which means we on our staff and administration have to have things prepared and ready in May to go through that process for introduction.

I think, and I've seen in my time here a lot of work and improvement on that process.

Um, when I first started, right, it was like physical copies, like getting signed and things, and then it was like emails and signatures that could easily get lost.

Everything in that aspect has at least been centralized through Legistar, and so I think that is really great in terms of um, you know, making sure that like we know once things get through, like there's a timeline for that.

There's set deadlines for the whole calendar.

I think everybody abides by those.

I feel like very confident in that process in terms of also like knowing where everything is, right?

It all lives in one place, and so it's easy to find and and route those things.

So prior to we enter it in legislature, and I think this is a good thing, um, it's it's moved towards like what goes into Legistar is like the fully vetted ordinance.

It's approved to form.

I think there was a time when I first was here that some ordinances are like we just got to get this in, and so we got it, you know, 80-90% done, and then like we're trying to amend the ordinance as it's going through the process, and then nobody knows like what's actually gonna get introduced.

Like we've taken away that chaos, um, which is good in terms of like right, what goes into that system, that ordinances to form, and that's what's gonna get introduced.

I think in terms of then the process, and and there's been some variation, um, and I know the city attorney's office has worked again um using some software to put those ordinances again in a centralized place, which has been very helpful, right?

It's not flying back and forth through email through our Microsoft suite, you know, through planner, like all of those ordinances, like we know where they live, they're going back and forth in terms of like the edits, they all live in a place.

So to me, that is a big win of not having to chase things down right through email or paper.

Um, I think there has been some variability in the timelines in terms of going back and forth.

Um, and I think that's just part of the challenge of the city in terms of the waves of development that we get and the request.

I mean, you saw kind of the spikes in a month where we have like five requests, like, all right, that's a workflows pretty easy to manage.

But then if you get 20 requests and we're moving some things through, um, plus, you know, you have things where it's like um there's there's other stuff that the city attorney's office has to do, and then when we have um, you know, other things, other activities, big projects that require city attorney approval, FOIA requests that require city term approval, like that those things can can vary.

Um, you know, I will say in in terms of like, right, I'm I'm part of the administration, I'm not part of the city attorney's office.

I would never um turn down any additional assistance and resources to be able to help.

Um, but I think in in terms of, yeah, there has been some variability, and I think that you know, council could do to to support you know, some consistency, I think would be um good for us and and and great for the applicants.

Thank you so much, Ms.

LeBon.

Thank you.

Thank you.

You said four o'clock, so appreciate it.

All right, uh yeah.

Next presentation, Mr.

McMillan.

I guess.

Good morning.

Good afternoon, uh Chairman and members of the loop committee.

My name is Merrick Malone, and I'm the director of housing and community development for the city of Richmond.

I am joined by my senior project manager for development, Miss Cindy Kong, who will take you through the the um the screen, the slides.

We've appeared before you as we talk about it all the time.

We have an affordable housing crisis, and we need to use every tool that we have, and one of those is the strategic disposition of our surplus properties, and we are building a pipeline to be able to do that.

Um the last time we were here, we talked about a request for proposal for the Chapel Bottom site.

We are here today to talk about issuing a request for qualifications for two sites that one is the uh 25 to Q Street and the other is 4929 Chamberlain.

And I think that you heard uh Dr.

Wonk earlier when we talk about um you know moving quickly, uh, the risk that are there for vacant buildings, and so we're moving quickly now.

Now, the difference between the RFP and the RFQ process, we're seeking qualified people, and then we will issue the RFP at the end of our stakeholder engagement.

So, in other words, we will be between the RFQ and the RFP, we will be seeking stakeholder, we will have engage in stakeholder engagement in those areas because they will help to inform what the RFP will look like.

Not only will it inform us, but it will also help the developers to understand in terms of what is the neighborhood saying about those particular areas that we are looking to develop to provide affordable housing, as we say, mixed income housing.

At the same time, we're putting those properties back on the tax roll.

And at the same time, hopefully, we're generating some types of revenue, whether through it's a long-term ground lease or through a sale that would allow us to reinvest that money into affordable housing development.

So those are those those three goals.

And so I'll let Ms.

Conn walk through the uh process.

Okay, good afternoon.

Oh, I'm Cindy Kong, Senior Project Development Manager here with the Department of Housing and Community Development.

Again, we're here to discuss the process for the request for qualifications for city-owned properties that were declared surplus by city council in 2024 and are currently vacant.

Left and right, okay, thank you.

Uh, when evaluating city surplus property, HCD is focused on three primary objectives: affordable housing, thriving neighborhoods, and reinvestment.

These objectives align with Mayor Vula's map, priority creating thriving neighborhoods.

The purpose of this initiative is to transform vacant non-performing assets into affordable and mixed income housing opportunities across a spectrum of affordability.

In doing so, the city can increase housing opportunities, expand the tax base, and support future housing and neighborhood development efforts.

Our first site here is 2503 Q Street, located in Church Hill, Council District 7, 0.93 acres.

It is currently zoned as urban business.

It is also the former first police precinct building.

Again, with it being zoned as urban business, it supports a variety of mixed use development opportunities and does require a building height of two stories.

Again, this property was declared surplus in 2024.

And that is just a brief timeline of the RFQ issuance.

We're anticipating end of July, early August, and then the RFP issuance will be the end of 2026.

That is the current site condition, currently vacant.

Again, first police precinct in District 7.

This is just a illustration of the site's development and a potential and provides an example of what can be on the site.

Again, it's not an approved development, but more so a visualization of what can be on the site.

We have 4929 Chamberlain Av again in Council District 3, North Side, 0.973 acres.

It is currently zoned as community business.

Did wanted to note right across from Azalea Av and the Henrico County line, there are some affordable housing homeownership developments going on with the crossings at Mulberry, mixed income residential homeownership in partnership with partnership for housing affordability supporting the continued housing investment in neighborhood growth within that area.

Timeline will be the same as 2503 Q Street.

Again, this is the current site condition, vacant building.

This is a rendering, again, not an approved development of what can be on these sites.

This is the anticipated timeline for the overall process.

The process includes an RFQ phase, a future RFP RFP phase evaluation, and then a legislative review.

The evaluation criteria and overall approach will be consistent with what we had put out back in November with the 212 North 18th Street.

To provide the consistency, proposal will be evaluated by the five-member evaluation committee comprised of subject matter experts.

The evaluation criteria does include affordability development team, experience and capacity, conceptual design, project financing, development schedule, and the community benefits, so MBWE.

And following the RFQ process, qualified teams will then advance you the RFP process.

Thank you so much for the presentation.

Okay.

What we do is when we look at these parcels, the number one thing, the number one priority is the affordability.

And we talk about that's top priority.

And what we want is mixed income.

And so we look at that, and it gives us, and I always say that you have to treat various properties very differently.

One size and not fit all.

So how you look at affordability.

You remember the first uh uh parcels that we put out in that group were the 911 uh 13 Hall Street, which no one bid on, no one we did not get a proposal for that.

So we have to rethink um how we approach that.

I mean, what's the site, and you we heard feedback was the sites too small for you know some of the things, but again, we can we have flexibility because we own the land is how do we make that work in terms of deep affordability?

How do we make it work to be financially feasible?

But our first uh priority is always looking at the level of affordability.

Thank you.

Uh I was gonna ask a different question about um when do we find that it's advantageous to take unsolicited offers and you know expedite the um naming them to be surplus and giving them out to it to a purchaser in one move.

Well, right now our colleague in DED is working on that uh establishing the kind of rules and and procedures for how we handle unsolicited proposals.

Um, all of the work that we do are all competitive, so they are uh in fact for the the there's so much interest for that 2503 Q Street.

I mean, it's unbelievable.

And uh we're beginning to see the interest the same kind of interest for the 4921 chamberlain.

So the the our colleagues at uh DED are establishing a policy, we're at that committee, it's a joint group effort uh that will come up with the procedures for how we treat uh unsolicited proposals.

And then I guess when these proposals finally come in, can you explain again how they are selected?

Is it a is it a small committee?

Is it sent to council?

How's that final decision made?

The final well, when the panel will make a recommendation to us, and uh then we will make a recommendation to the city administrator, city the CAO, who would then submit that forward to council.

Um, this though this is a process that, you know, ultimately the city has never really used its uh surplus property to create affordable housing.

So we're as we're going through the process, we're we're trying to prove it.

You know, we're we're um in fact, one of the things is I was sitting here thinking that I think the panel does need to have a stakeholder from the particular area on the committee.

But again, this is an iterative process.

We're as we keep doing it, we keep improving it.

So they're subject matter experts, but I also believe we need to have representation from the uh community.

As we go forward, we'll probably have that on each one of our panels too.

Thank you.

No, uh I just wanted, you know, thank you guys.

Um, you know, the opportunity to transform vacant properties that uh in the hands of the city right now, uh our own surplus.

Uh moving that needle and making that happen is significant, and I hope that we'll continue to cultivate that relationship with other authorities that we have, that we have relationships with that have properties.

Uh would love to see us work through some of those processes to get uh friendly development opportunity, and they've been sitting on it for a while, it's been vacant for a while.

How do we work to increase that opportunity of surplusing or positioning the property so we can move forward with development with a landlocked city?

We can't afford to have vacant properties sitting vacant for years and not figure out a way to for us to be able to move our own stuff in a sense because I consider authorities that are sitting on land as well more like um an opportunity for us to recognize that is available resources that we are underutilizing, and when you go through neighborhoods that have vacant lots.

Well, I mean these properties have been vacant long before I even came on city council and still sitting that way.

So that would be the next threshold that I would really be pushing process and anything that we can do legislatively to make that happen in a way that benefits all of us.

Um this committee would be more than willing to work with the administration to try to make that happen.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Um I just have a one quick question.

The one the the property, I think it was on um well too.

I'm sorry, the property on Q Street.

You mentioned that it was a um urban business, and so is that going to require some sort of like rezoning and then how does that pertain to I guess the cold zone refresh that's happening?

I I think that well, that's the two-story as a matter of right.

Um if the proposals came back and said if we heard from the community that suggested, you know, they would have one more density on that site, I think that would be something that would instruct us.

We were just using it as a current zoning envelope that you could build at two stories kind of mixed ground floor uh commercial with uh uh housing of above.

But again, one of the the things about doing qualifications is also proposal, you get an idea of what is possible there.

There may be someone that's a developer might suggest that they might want to to get SUP to increase the density.

The others may want to build it within that imprint and create, you know, green space, those kind of things.

So we'll see what we what we get when we do the one preliminarily looking at qualifications and then obviously after we have been informed by the uh stakeholders, we will then craft an RFP that is that does get to those things that the that the community would like to see and it would make sense and that can be financed.

Um and then the other question was um which which building was this, this one for Chamberlain, what building was this one of the schools?

What building was that?

Originally I believe it was a school, and then I think that it was offered to Planned Parenthood, and then it came back to the city of the case.

Okay.

I believe that's why I thought I was like, this I I've seen this before.

Um and then lastly, um, you mentioned about the proposal that's being worked on through uh community no economic development as it relates to unsoliciting offers for um uh vacant properties.

But are you all working together?

Yes, we are.

Oh, consistent.

We're part of that process, and it's an interagency uh process that we're working through with this is consistent with what we are what will eventually come up.

Okay, all right.

Thank you so much.

Thank you for being here.

Thank you.

All right, madam clerk, we know ran through that.

Uh but we let's see, um, we have no boy vacancies, uh no more discussion on staff report from Sophie.

Thank you, Chair Jones.

Sophie McGinley, committee staff.

I have no action items to follow up on.

Um our next meeting will be on Tuesday, July 21st.

We will hear a presentation from housing and community development um on the partial tax exemption program's five year evaluation, and then from the Department of Economic Development on their annual real estate report.

And we will also have an opportunity uh to vote on boards and commissions vacancies.

Yeah.

Thank you.

And if there is no other business, this meeting is adjourned.