Roanoke City Council to review controversial zoning amendments

ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) - The Roanoke City Council is beginning a process to review and explore possible changes to controversial zoning amendments passed last year.

The zoning amendments allow multiple-family housing units to be built in residential areas. The goal was to bring more affordable housing options into the city. However, this has created controversy over the increase in density it can bring to neighborhoods and has even led to a lawsuit.

Now with several new members, the city council has begun the process to review and possibly change the amendments.

“It effectively gets rid of single-family housing, and it kind of takes away a lot of what was previously put in as a check and balance when we talk about new development,” said Roanoke City Council Member Nick Hagen, who was elected in November and began his term in January.

Hagen said his biggest issue with the zoning amendments is that they removed the public hearing process for high-density housing development projects on residentially zoned lots in the city.

“The changes that they made effectively get rid of a lot of that. Now a lot of those changes become by right, and that’s a major concern. Regardless of if you think it’s good or not, I have a belief that our First Amendment rights are very important and we should try to preserve them,” said Hagen.

Earlier this year, 10 Roanoke City residents filed a lawsuit against the city over the controversial amendments and the procedure that led to them being passed.

Dr. Anthony Stavola is one of the 10 plaintiffs and echoed Hagen’s concerns about the zoning amendments.

“The major concerns have to do with the density of housing that’s allowed to be developed, particularly in many of our inner neighborhoods where streets are narrow and lots are small,” said Stavola, who lives in Southwest Roanoke. “The removal of the ability to have citizen input, particularly where larger changes are being considered, for instance, in Crystal Spring, where they knocked down those couple of buildings. The ability to make a major change like that and totally remove the citizens from being involved in that process as it was previously, that’s a concern.”

Stavola said he is hopeful the new city council will make significant changes to the zoning amendments, but it’s too early to know if that will affect the lawsuit.

“Council members who were elected during the recent campaign, several of them talked about repealing. Certainly, the lawsuit talks about repealing, also, and we need to see what happens. If the city is committed to addressing the legitimate concerns that we and others have expressed, and we can come to a solution that works without having to void everything, I think we would be happy with that,” said Stavola.

Nick Hagen is one of four new city council members not on the council when the amendments were passed last year. Hagen said he wants to repeal the zoning amendments, but knows that is unlikely. However, he feels positive changes can be made to give citizens more of a voice on development.

“I’ve been pretty adamant about being more in favor of a total repeal, but I recognize that not everybody feels the same way. So when I talk about trying to come up with good amendments, I’m talking about making sure that there is some process by which there are actually comments that can be heard when we talk about new developments and anything like that that comes about,” said Hagen.

As an attorney, Hagen said changes need to be made to protect the city from more lawsuits in the future.

“When people don’t feel that they have a voice anymore, they tend to get litigious. Speaking as somebody who is an attorney, we like to get paid. So, regardless of the merits of that case, you’re going to find attorneys who would usually take it. That cost gets passed on to the consumer regardless of a win or loss,” said Hagen.

Hagen said he couldn’t comment on the current lawsuit against the city, but noted it speaks to the level of concern in the community.

“I’m not against development; by no stretch of the imagination am I against development. I’m just in favor of more smart development, so we make sure when people buy into areas here in Roanoke City, that they’re buying in and know what they’re purchasing,” he said.

Mayor Joe Cobb has assigned Hagen and Council Member Peter Volosin to begin the process of reviewing the zoning amendments.

“We’re going to be working with staff, hearing from public comment, and hearing from vested stakeholders. Talking with them, seeing what works, seeing what we consistently works. If that’s something like addressing the administrative process, like I just described, that’s great, we can chat and implement that. If it’s not and it’s something else, I’m happy to hear them out, but the reality is that we are public representatives and we’re supposed to be listening to the people,” said Hagen.

Hagen was elected to the council in November alongside Phazhon Nash and Terry McGuire. Evelyn Powers was appointed to the council in February to fill the unexpired council term of Joe Cobb, who was elected mayor.

Mayor Cobb, Peter Volosin, and Vivian Sanchez-Jones are the only three council members who were on the previous city council, and all three voted in favor of the zoning amendments.

Hagen said anyone who wants to provide input on changes they want to see to those zoning amendments can contact him.

Hagen said he and Volosin hope to report back to the rest of the council with their findings in October. At which point the council will decide on a course of action.