When Zoning For Housing (ZFH) Comes to Your Neighborhood
A four-unit Zoning for Housing residence is currently being constructed at 635 Upland Place, replacing the modest single-family home shown on the right.
it depletes affordable single-family home options
The developer purchased this 1,320 square foot property for $1.1 million, despite comparable homes in the area recently selling in the $700,000 to $850,000 range. Under ZFH regulations, developers are permitted to build “by-right,” which does not require input from residents or consideration of changes to neighborhood character.
McGuireWoods LLP Defends ZFH Ordinance at Taxpayer Expense
The City of Alexandria retained the law firm McGuireWoods LLP as legal representation in the ZFH lawsuit. The associated legal fees will be covered by taxpayers. The lawsuit contests the validity of the City of Alexandria Ordinance No. 5514 and Ordinance No. 5515 also known as Zoning for Housing/Housing for All, Case NO. CL24-1039, Phylius Burks, et al. Plaintiff v. City of Alexandria, et al. Defendant will be held in the Circuit Court for the City of Alexandria, with an estimated length of 5 days.
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Preliminary Assessment of the Proposed 2023 ZFH Initiatives
On September 5, 2023, the City rolled out summaries (but not the actual language) of its proposed comprehensive rewrite of the City's zoning code, Zoning for Housing. Nowhere in the 30-page document does it explain why these changes are intrinsically interconnected and unsuited for standalone consideration.
While the City maintains the “Zoning for Housing/Housing for All” tagline, the proposal doesn't mention the City's previously expressed goals of expanding housing production and affordability or addressing past and current barriers to equal housing access. By the City’s own estimate, these “reforms” will do little to solve housing affordability. Instead, they would create more favorable conditions for developers of luxury housing, and lead to increased gentrification. We are not opposed to fair zoning reform when it is a proven remedy for a defined problem with tangible public benefits. Despite the proposal failing to meet this simple test, we attempted to find areas where we might be able to find common ground.
