Mayor Avula expands zoning advisory council to include more community voices amid resident skepticism

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Richmond Mayor Danny Avula has recently announced an expansion to the city’s Zoning Advisory Council (ZAC) in an effort to make city planning more inclusive. Yet, some residents believe the move doesn’t go far enough.

The expansion, approved by the Planning Commission on Tuesday, Oct. 7, increases the size of the council from 17 to 21 members.

Avula said the goal is to bring new voices from underrepresented districts into conversations about how Richmond grows, particularly as the city works to address its housing crisis.

“People want to know that their voices matter,” Avula said in a statement. “By adding new members from underrepresented areas in the community, we’re making sure more perspectives are part of the conversation about how Richmond grows.”

The Zoning Advisory Council is a non-decision-making body that advises the Planning Commission on updates to the city’s zoning ordinance, including the ongoing “Code Refresh” initiative.

Still, some residents argue that expanding the group won’t resolve deeper concerns about who holds influence on the council.

“It’s window dressing,” said Richmond resident Jonathan Marcus. “It’s appointing four new members to a 17-member committee that already is of a common cause... which is real estate development.”

Marcus said while he supports development, he believes the city would benefit from a completely new council that includes a wider range of voices, such as residents, environmentalists and historians.

“As someone who’s in favor of real estate development, I feel that those voices are important,” Marcus said. “But equally important are all the other quarters of the city.”

Fifth District Councilwoman Stephanie Lynch, who has also pushed for greater community input, said she’s hopeful the expansion will help balance perspectives, but disagrees that the existing council should be replaced.

“The level of expertise that’s there, and the work that’s been done thus far to vet through from both the legal and planning perspectives, I think has been worthwhile,” Lynch said.

Lynch emphasized that the most effective way for neighbors to influence city planning is by getting involved directly.

“We empower our citizens and our residents to do that through this process of public input, by having direct outreach with us as council members who will ultimately be voting on the rezoning changes,” she said.

The four new members are expected to be appointed by the chair of the Zoning Advisory Council in the coming days.