Yards & Heat: Zoning Must Uphold Richmond 300, RVAgreen's Climate Equity Action Plan 2030, & Our SolSmart Commitments!

Zoning Must Uphold Richmond 300, RVAgreen's Climate Equity Action Plan 2030, Solar For All, & Our SolSmart Commitments!

Today let's discuss YARDS, and their relation to HEAT. 

From Richmond's Climate Equity Plan:

Objective 2: Reduce risks and impacts to the community and natural environment from extreme heat and drought. 
ENV-2.1 Urban Heat Island Reduction: Develop, fund, and implement an urban heat island reduction plan and program. 
ENV-2.2 Urban Forest and Green Space Planning: Use urban forest and green space planning to increase climate resilience.

When zoning rules how much developers can build on a lot, it is in terms of "maximum building coverage" (how much a building can take up on a lot) and "minimum yard setbacks" (how much unbuilt yard is on the lot).

Today, the median building coverage in our most dense neighborhoods ranges from 12% (RD-A) to 34% (RA-A). Zoning wants to increase the space a building can take up on a lot to 80% and even 100% as suggested by Eric Mai in August's Zoning Advisory Committee meeting.

What does this mean for Richmond?

"Extreme heat is the #1 climate-related threat to the Richmond region. It causes more deaths in Virginia than any other natural disaster and is detrimental to the regional economy."
- Nicole Keller, PlanRVA Resilience Planner

Richmond's Climate Equity Action Plan 2030, adopted by City Council in 2023, has several goals being negated by the current draft zoning and Zoning Advisory Committee members (specifically Elizabeth Hancock Greenfield, and Eric Mai, both building lobbyists). 

How do our yards impact heat?

Richmond needs to COOL THE CITY. 

Yards and gardens can decrease local surface temperatures by as much as 41°F.

Tree canopy cover can reduce local daytime surface temperatures by up to 42.8°F.

Yet zoning is trying to eliminate yard percentages on every lot in Richmond.

Locally, the Science Museum of Virginia shows us:

"Our results identified a ~16°F difference between the warmest and coolest places in the city during the hottest time of the day (3-4pm). As you might guess, the coolest places had lots of dense shade and plants (namely, Dogwood Dell Loop trail) while the hottest places were industrial areas with very little tree cover (Scott’s Addition, Manchester, Shockoe Bottom). Most of these places also remain at these elevated temperatures well into the evening. There are other interesting relationships between where heat accumulates in city and neighborhoods to investigate, but we’ll get into that in a follow-up blog post.

What’s especially interesting is that the hottest temperatures make a boomerang-shaped boomerang, extending from the west end of Broad Street all the way across the James River and into the south side of the city through Manchester. As it turns out, this looks a lot like two other datasets related to urban heat accumulation in cities – our tree canopy and impervious surface maps. More precisely, where we have low tree canopy and high impervious surfaces, we see high air temperatures."

Search the draft zoning and you will discover that YARDS are not mentioned once. 

What has replaced the term yards? Amenity space.

What is amenity space? Amenity space is not required to be unbuilt, nor soil-based. Amenity space is overwhelmingly IMPERVIOUS (look at any apartment tower courtyard!). What counts as amenity space? Gyms, storage lockers, balconies, pools... Amenity space is CONCRETE.

Concrete significantly contributes to Richmond's urban heat island effect, with paved areas (or amenity space) increasing city temperatures by up to 22°F. Concrete absorbs and retains much more solar heat than natural surfaces like vegetation (i.e., YARDS). 

How will we achieve RVA Green 2050 goals when zoning wipes out our largest square footage of resilience opportunities: the yards that currently exist ON EVERY LOT? Residential lots contribute more square footage to our urban heat reduction than any tree wells or parks in the region! (Richmond parks make up only 7% of our city's land!)

Let's review: What has more square footage per block - residential yards with their current protections or… tree wells?

• R-2 Single-Family Residential District: current maximum lot coverage is 25%, which implies at least 75% of the lot must remain "unbuilt" or open space.
• The R-4 Single-Family Residential District: current maximum lot coverage of 30%, leaving at least 70% as open space.
• The R-6 Single-Family Attached Residential District: currently the R-7 Single- and Two-Family Urban Residential District have a maximum lot coverage of 55%.
• The R-1 Single-Family Residential District: currently has a maximum lot coverage of 20%, leaving at least 80% as open space. 
  

Zoning's new draft districts (and Zoning Advisory Committee conversations) are attempting to annihilate our LARGEST ASSET of urban cooling: RESIDENTIAL YARDS.

Richmond must protect and insist upon soil-based yards because developers (and Richmond Refresh planners) have not only removed the term but are attempting to allow NONE. Developers are removing the requirement that each lot does its part in mitigating water runoff and help to cool our heat islands. Insist on not only maintaining and protecting the amount of soil on every lot, but insist apartment towers to do MORE as they have more residents depending on that space for resilience. 

What will LESS YARD PERCENTAGES bring neighbors if developers get their way? MORE flash flooding.

MORE heat.

MORE deaths.

From RVAgreen's Climate Equity Action Plan 2030, v:  

“These areas experience more heat and flooding due to lack of trees, more paved surfaces, and inadequate infrastructure. It is critical that the City of Richmond’s efforts to address climate change uplift the voices and center the priorities of these communities.”

MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD! Comment on the draft zoning here.

You only have until September 28!

Copeland Casati is a sustainability and affordable housing professional with over 20 years of experience.

What (and Who?) Is RVA Design Coalition?

We put people, not construction, first. 

We are neighbors throughout the City who expect zoning to support Richmond's commitments to the Richmond 300, Climate Equity Action Plan 2030, and SolSmart goals. 

This includes protecting our neighborhood yard coverage percentages, our historical architecture, and implementing neighborhood design overlays and demolition reviews (that should tax for carbon emitted in destruction).

We are excited about density that embraces solar and soil, density that contributes to our health, density that does not take away from neighborhood resources but enhances the area - to grow without choking existing communities and affordable housing. Density must not demolish valuable resources.

Thoughtful density does not smother existing communities, but enhances and protects the beautiful neighborhoods the community created: diverse, vibrant places that enhance sustainability and resilience opportunities for future generations. 

We believe yards should not be removed from zoning, that their percentages be protected, and further detailed as soil to ensure Richmond's resiliency, sustainability, and tree canopy baselines for our City. The amount of soil contained in urban yards is greater than any tree well and must be protected. Instead of decreasing resiliency, we should propose scaling soil proportionally for multiunits so its residents can grow. 

We have lived here for decades and days, own and rent, and deeply love Richmond's vibrancy and promise as a special place that protects our natural resources of trees, solar, river, and soil potentials.  

We are concerned as we watch rents jump near every new build apartment tower, watching the dismay and wilting of existing neighbors in their literal shadow. We worry for overshadowed neighbors' health, and we worry for the new residents' security when facing infrastructure crises. 

We know the best way to stop sprawl and emissions is by protecting farmland and supporting hybrid/remote work.

For decades now, suburban developers in Hanover, Powhatan, Chesterfield, and Amelia have never stopped building and expanding their profitable suburban businesses because of what's being built way over in Richmond.

Suburban people don't want to live in Richmond (read their comments on any articles published celebrating Richmond. They don't want to live here.). But for the people who do? We celebrate and protect our existing RVA, helping to grow thoughtfully for the future. Join Us!

You can also follow us here:

Comment On Richmond's Zoning Refresh! Our Neighborhoods Matter!

Richmond is undergoing a zoning refresh that has many impacts on our neighborhoods.

It is important to comment on both documents via the QR Codes 1 & 2 below. If you would like to order your own signs, you may do so via the 3rd QR Code, and find your local neighborhood association contacts via the 4th QR to get involved in your community!

Make sure to UP vote, DOWN vote, reply to existing comments, and ADD YOUR OWN!

1. COMMENT ON THE DRAFT ZONING MAP HERE: 

2. COMMENT ON THE DRAFT ZONING DISTRICTS HERE: 

WANT YOUR OWN SIGNS? ORDER YOURS HERE! (Or call Sir Speedy: (804) 358-8500)
Please note: 1. If you want more than one sign, please note how many in the comment field, pay for the first, then pay for the rest when you pick them up. 2. You may pick them up, hence no shipping, just note so in the comment field!

GET INVOLVED!
JOIN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION! 

Ideas of things to think about:

1. Draft Map: 

• Locate your neighborhood blocks, look up the districts now assigned to them, and comment on:
• If you support duplexes as well as an ADU (accessory dwelling unit) on every lot in Richmond.
• Density should target highest opportunity areas, not areas that are already dense. 
• Zoning intends to shrink required yard space (and now call it "accessory dwelling space" which can be concrete balconies, gyms, and storage lockers!). Consider insisting that yard percentages be maintained, that they be unbuilt and soil-based, and that the percentage should be expanded on multiunit lots so residents can supplement hard times with gardens. A May 2025 Code Refresh presentation states a goal of increasing city-wide tree canopy from 42% to 60%. Yet zoning aims to reduce yards and has no protections for existing trees, no requirements to plant new trees, and no lot coverage requirements (the amount of area that can be built on a given lot). Tree wells are great, but yards offer even more square footage of potential!
• Consider insisting on historic protections! Did you know that most of old Richmond neighborhoods including the Fan, Oregon Hill, and many parts of Shockoe have no demolition protections? A developer can buy any historical home and demolish it if this zoning is approved, even if on the National Register. Demolition of historic housing destroys generations of Richmond’s architectural heritage and is bad for the environment by filling landfills with many environmental consequences.
• Buildings over 3 stories must complete a shadow analysis to not erode their neighbors' rights to solar access in keeping with Richmond's SolSmart and Richmond 300 commitments. Sunlight affects cicadian rhythms, mental health, and makes us healthier, more sustainable and resilient! 

2. Draft Districts:

• Look up the districts zoned for your neighborhood and places you love.
• Setbacks (the depth a building is set back from the sidewalk, alleys, and along sides of the lot) are being shrunk and even eliminated which will put buildings right up against neighbors, and even blocking neighbors' windows!
• Stepbacks are when taller buildings are "stepped back" so not to shade out and hunker over neighbors. These too are being eliminated in many areas.
• Voice your support for demolition reviews to ensure irreplaceable existing affordable housing and rentals as well as historical architecture are not demolished just so a developer can profit! Haven't we learned our lessons in Fulton and Jackson Ward? 
• If demolition occurs, insist on 
• Implementing equitable value carbon taxes on embodied carbon - 20% for a flat demolition with no deconstruction of materials, for example.
• Mandatory reuse of materials through deconstruction.
• Consider voicing support for the Cultural Heritage Stewardship Plan which will  
• Provide design overlays and guidelines for how new construction should blend in to the existing neighborhood character and culture.
• Center equity and inclusion by honoring historic places and experiences that are important to historically underrepresented communities.
• Create a city-wide preservation plan.
  ...and more.

Further thoughts:

• The often-quoted “Richmond needs 39,000 new housing units to meet existing need” is false. The REGION needs AFFORDABLE housing, including ownership opportunities.
(Read the report! "Richmond Regional Housing Framework 2020-22 Data Update” p. 2, TinyUrl.com/RVAhousingNeeds) That's 39,000 housing units for over 4,367 square miles, not for Richmond city's mere 60.
• Data shows about 90% of the 55,000 residents added to the Richmond REGION between April 2020 and July 2024 were due to migration. How long will they stay? Traditionally, renters eventually seek mortgages, and current density projects do not offer that. What are Richmond's plans for schools, infrastructure, and ownership opportunities?
• We are concerned about existing affordable rentals and home ownership. Any small home that goes on the market will now compete with developers who will outbid possible new homeowners so they can fit a multi-unit and ADU on any lot that USED to be a starter home for regular people. Goodbye homes within a dream of reaching, they will now all be luxury multi-unit permanent rentals... lot by lot, no longer owned, but investor rentals.
• Head's up transit lovers: studies show how gentrification is killing the bus: https://calmatters.org/housing/2025/05/la-gentrification-public-transit/