Housing Update: A Surge of Community Action and Progress

Regional Collaboration

Staunton Augusta Waynesboro Housing (SAW Housing) really jump-started this conversation with its first-ever regional housing summit in October 2023. Spearheaded by the Community Foundation of the Central Blue Ridge, the Valley Community Services Board, the Community Action Partnership (CAPSAW), Augusta Health, and other area organizations, this hugely successful event brought together crucial partners and industry experts. Home builders, real estate developers, social service providers, elected officials, neighbors, and healthcare providers joined in meaningful discussions to gain understanding and raise awareness of the significance and intricacies of our area’s housing needs.

In less than a year, SAW Housing has:

• hosted a series of Lunch & Learn events focusing on specific issues associated with the lack of affordable housing options in the region, 
• organized a second successful summit in June 2024 focusing on next steps, and 
• collaborated with the Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission (CSPDC) on a regional housing study to provide community-specific data for driving informed decisions on housing in the future. The regional housing study is scheduled to be released in September 2024.

Over the past year our region has worked together to raise awareness, obtain data, define the purpose and needs, and assemble the right players to address the issues identified. Now it is time to convert insights into action. SAW Housing working groups are currently forming to address specific topics including short-term strategies to support housing rentals and connect those in need to existing programs and community services, along with long-term initiatives to promote housing development, with a focus on starter homes and reducing barriers for first-time homebuyers.

These working groups will gather for the first time in a joint kickoff on September 4, and I look forward to serving our community as part of these regional efforts.

Staunton City initiatives

At the city level, our staff is building upon this regional momentum to find solutions for city-specific housing issues. Our Community Development Department will begin updating the city Comprehensive Plan next month with our first Comprehensive Plan Update Committee meeting. Our interviews of 15 candidates to fill the five public positions on this committee have prioritized housing as one of the most urgent needs facing Staunton. Housing will be a significant focus of the new city Comprehensive Plan update, including measurable, attainable goals and action items that address specific needs identified within our community.

At the direction of Council, the city is beginning to develop the first Staunton Housing Strategy. Providing an update on the initiative at the July meeting, City Housing Planner Rebecca Joyce presented a Scope of Work for the Housing Strategy, which Council approved. The City of Staunton Housing Strategy will be developed in coordination with the city’s Comprehensive Plan update and the regional efforts of SAW Housing to ensure that efforts are mutually supportive and that regional and local initiatives align to benefit the community. The Housing Strategy Scope of Work, along with previous presentations on the city’s Pathways to Affordable Housing, can be found on the Staunton Housing Programs Division website.

Zoning in Staunton

As I discussed in last year’s newsletter on housing, zoning is one area where local governments have the direct ability to support housing (both in promoting growth and options). Fortunately, Staunton residential zoning has always been relatively flexible and accommodating to promote a variety of residential unit types throughout the city. 

Like most land-use based zoning laws, Staunton’s residential zoning districts range from low-density R-1 (intended for traditional single-family detached dwelling units) to high-density R-4 (focusing on multi-family apartment and condominium developments). 

In most localities a residential zoning district defines specific residential unit types allowed within it. For example, an R-4 high density district would permit only multi-family apartment or condominium buildings, ruling out single-family homes, townhouses, and duplexes within that zoning district. 

In Staunton, however, a residential zoning district defines the highest density residential unit type allowed, while also permitting any lower density uses by right. In other words, an R-4 zoning would also permit building lower density R-3, R-2, and R-1 structures within its boundaries. An R-3 medium density zoning targeting townhouses and duplexes would also permit R-2 or R-1 single-family homes. This inclusive zoning means the city has vastly increased flexibility to accommodate differing housing types and needs as market trends change over time.

Over the past few years, our Community Development Department has continued to adjust the city’s zoning ordinance to anticipate housing needs. Two examples are the B-5 mixed-use zoning district created in 2022 and the TND-1 traditional neighborhood development district created in 2024. 

The B-5 district designation is intended to encourage well-planned, mixed-use developments with a complementary blend of residential and commercial land uses where supporting infrastructure exists to promote walking and other non-motorized modes of travel to/from the development. 

The new designation allows uses from both the B-2 (general business) and the R-4 (high density residential) districts, acknowledging the designation’s walkability with lower parking requirements than the R-4 district normally mandates. The redevelopment of the Staunton Steam Laundry facility on Hampton Street marked the first designation of a B-5 district in the city. 

More recently, city staff has been evaluating the overall multi-family residential parking requirements in the city’s ordinance to make sure that they incorporate best practices. At this month’s meeting, our Planning Commission will be considering a wholesale reduction of minimum off-street parking spaces for multi-family developments to ensure the city is not requiring unnecessary parking areas for the land use. This will provide multiple benefits to the city, improving the flexibility of multi-family development layouts to ensure the highest and best use, while also reducing impervious surfaces to help mitigate stormwater runoff.

The TND-1 zoning district was established this year per the recommendations of the Uniontown Neighborhood Action Plan to accommodate the zoning needs of smaller, traditional residential lots that exist in the city. Uniontown was rezoned residential TND-1 from its previous industrial zoning earlier this year. While it was specifically developed in response to the recommendation of this neighborhood’s action plan, TND-1 zoning can be applied in other parts of the city in the future. This promises help in preserving existing smaller-lot neighborhoods as well as establishing newer residential communities made up of smaller homes in well-planned, appropriately scaled neighborhoods targeting the needs of first-time homebuyers and work-force housing.

As the city continues to address our local ordinances to increase housing and development flexibility, new housing starts continue to trend positively with growth of all housing types in terms of planned units and building permits.

Finding additional ways to progress

Finally, city officials must seize opportunities to support housing directly when they present themselves. A perfect example of this is City Council’s granting of a nonprofit real estate tax exemption status to Valley Supportive Housing in the fall of 2023. Valley Supportive Housing does tremendous work within our community to meet the housing needs of some of Staunton’s most at-risk residents. The decision to make the organization tax-exempt helps ensure their future success while allowing them to maximize the services they provide to our community. While the city will lose real estate tax revenues from the properties provided by Valley Supportive Housing, City Council agreed that the benefit derived from these services (to house approximately 100 members of our community) easily outweighs any lost tax revenue.

At our first August City Council meeting, the Community Foundation presented another potential opportunity to support affordable housing. The Virginia Statewide Community Land Trust (VSCLT) is a nonprofit organization established in 2021 that seeks to develop and maintain permanently affordable homeownership opportunities for low- and moderate-income families. The basic concept is that a community land trust works with localities, developers and other nonprofits to identify properties the organization can acquire for residential developments. The cost of the property is then removed from the purchase price of the home, as it remains under the control of the CLT and is leased back to the homeowner. This significantly lowers the affordability barrier on the path to homeownership. While this concept is not new, it generally requires more than just local support to succeed. Now that there is a statewide organization, the idea of a local CLT is both exciting and encouraging, providing us with another tool to address affordable housing. City Council has directed staff to follow up with the VSCLT to establish a relationship and learn more to support the concept within Staunton.

Looking to 2025 and beyond

With the SAW Housing Working Groups and Staunton’s Housing Strategy on the horizon, we are on our way to tangible city initiatives that directly address the housing needs of our community, and I am excited to get to work. Continue your support and vote for Adam Campbell for City Council in this November’s General Election. Let’s work together for a full 4-year term on Council to bring these initiatives to realities for our city. With less than 30 days until the start of early voting on Friday September 20^th, I need your help today!

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