Code Refresh intends to expand the number of unrelated people living together in one unit from three to five adults and unlimited children.
Well-documented research shows the negative impacts of crowding. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) sets the threshold for overcrowding in homes as more than one person per habitable room (excluding functional spaces like the kitchen and any bathrooms).
The threshold for severe overcrowding is 1.5 people per room.
Once a home crosses this threshold, sanitation and air quality suffer, and fire, pathogen, and violence risks accelerate.
Other Virginia and Virginia-adjacent localities handle this exact situation through conditional or special-use-permit pathways rather than a blanket rezoning.
So why is zoning so insistent we need to cram so many people into a unit? Let's look at their data.
The most common rental and housing size in Richmond is 2 bedrooms, which accounts for roughly 38% to 50% of the rental and apartment market. To avoid severe overcrowding (more than 1.5 people per room) three people, today's current zoning, prevents the many ill effects of overcrowding on neighborhoods.
Much larger units could apply for a special use permit (SUP) to allow more people, but overwhelmingly, three unrelated people are fine for the majority of Richmond homes if the most common rental is 2 bedrooms.
Code Refresh's own chart shows how Richmond households have changed. Look closely to compare the 1970s to today:
- In the 1970s, you can see the largest percentage of households had 2 people (red).
- The 2nd largest category was 1 (blue).
- But over a third of the population had 3-6 people in a household (3 as yellow, 4 for green, light grey for 5, dark grey for 6 people).
Today, almost half of our households have ONE person residing in a unit.
Shouldn't we then build more studios?
The average studio in Richmond is 507 sq. ft. If we are going to truly serve a housing need, we should thus keep accessory dwelling units (ADUs) 500 sq. ft. or 1/3 the primary home size to provide housing for our greatest household percentage!
Almost a third of today's households are 2 people.
*Over* 2/3 of Richmond's total households are made up of 1 -or- 2 people.
Don't believe me? Look at Code Refresh's own chart!
Why are we permitting blanket overcrowding if our own data shows it's not needed?
Ask your Councilperson today, and share this chart!