Board member Alan Peart of Swansboro has been buried in City Council records, DPU utility rate filings, and state code to understand the financial reality behind the city's zoning rewrite ("Code Refresh"). Please forward his findings to every council person and neighborhood network you know:
We all want sensible housing options and vibrant corridors. But once you pull the actual public documents, it becomes clear that shifting to citywide by-right density creates a massive infrastructure subsidy that lands square on the backs of everyday ratepayers.
Here is what is currently documented in City Hall’s own records:
- City Council confirmed in writing they are forfeiting infrastructure leverage
Under our current Special Use Permit (SUP) process, the city has the legal right to negotiate "proffers" ,meaning commercial developers chip in to upgrade neighborhood water lines, sewer connections, roads, or traffic signals. When asked directly what happens under by-right zoning, Council District 2 confirmed it in writing: "We can't require [proffers] for a by-right development" Under Virginia’s Dillon Rule, statutory impact fees in the Richmond area legally only apply to roads, not water or sewer pipes. Shifting to by-right density means the city permanently surrenders its only legal tool to make private builders pay for the off-site pipe capacity they consume.
2. Your monthly utility bill is footing the bill
Richmond’s Department of Public Utilities (DPU) doesn't run on general property taxes. It operates as an Enterprise Fund, funded entirely by our monthly bills for water, gas, wastewater, and stormwater. On July 1, City Council raised our utility rates another 6.6% (about $13.84 more a month for an average household) to pay down hundreds of millions in infrastructure debt. Much of that is driven by state mandates to stop 1.9 billion gallons of raw sewage and untreated stormwater from dumping into the James River each year. Yet when mega developments build by-right, they tie into our 100 year old pipe network without contributing to off-site capital expansions.
3. The 50% stormwater discount
When large infill projects clear a lot, they replace yards and mature trees with nearly 100% hard surfaces. State environmental rules already require them to install basic retention vaults under their parking decks just to get a permit. The kicker? Under DPU’s Stormwater Credit Manual, the city allows commercial complexes to turn those mandatory baseline vaults into an ongoing 50% monthly discount on their stormwater utility bills. They add massive runoff to our combined sewer system while paying half the maintenance rate that single-family homes pay per square foot.
4. 350+ pages, but zero capacity studies
The city released Draft 3 of Code Refresh with brand-new density classifications, yet not a single independent engineering study has been published showing whether our local sewer mains, water pressure, stormwater systems, or schools can handle the load. The Fan District Association formally raised procedural objections with Mayor Avula and Councilmember Jordan citing this exact failure.
What we need to ask City Council before any vote: If developers want increased density, that's fine, but existing residents shouldn't be subsidizing corporate water and sewer bills.
Before City Council votes away our proffer leverage, demand that our council representatives require:
- A real utility capacity audit: Make DPU verify in writing that neighborhood sewer and stormwater lines can physically take the flow before by-right density is granted.
- Updated availability fees: Ensure new commercial connections pay for their share of downstream pipe expansions upfront.
- Canopy preservation incentives: Fix the credit manual so property owners get rewarded for keeping mature trees, instead of giving fee breaks for concrete podiums.
Dear Councilmember, Before any vote advances on Code Refresh Draft 3, I am requesting that the City require an independent DPU hydraulic and utility capacity audit. Shifting to by-right density eliminates our legal authority to require developer infrastructure proffers, which will force everyday ratepayers to shoulder our massive sewer and stormwater debt alone. Growth must pay for its own infrastructure capacity upfront.
You can find your Council rep’s direct email at rva.gov/city-council/contacts. Let’s make sure this paper trail is on their desks before Monday. Everyone reading, sharing, and commenting: thank you. The next step is making sure City Council knows their constituents are tracking this.
City Hall has a major double-header this Tuesday, October 20: the Land Use Committee meets at 3:00 PM, followed immediately by the Planning Commission at 6:00 PM. Both meetings have in-person public comment on the 2nd and 5th floors of City Hall, plus live Microsoft Teams access.
Constituents can send written comments to the City Clerk or their Council representatives on Monday, ensuring they are logged into the official record before committee members convene Tuesday.
Video: runoff flash flooding from a recent rainstorm on Broad near new development:
Notes: This explains so much about what’s happening with neighborhood drainage. Every time an infill project clears a lot down to dirt, our street flooding gets worse during heavy storms, and the combined sewers back up. It's wild that developers can get a 50% discount on their stormwater utility fees just for installing the baseline vaults the state already legally requires them to build. We definitely need an infrastructure capacity study before any more by-right zoning gets approved.
Here is the direct breakdown of the public records, statutory citations, and municipal source documents supporting each finding:
1. Forfeited Proffer Authority Under By-Right Zoning Virginia Statutory Restriction: Under Virginia Code § 15.2-2297 and § 15.2-2298, conditional zoning proffers are strictly tied to discretionary rezonings and Special Use Permits (SUPs). In a Dillon Rule state, localities have no legal authority to mandate off-site infrastructure proffers for by-right development. Road Impact Fee Restriction: Virginia Code § 15.2-2317 et seq. explicitly restricts statutory impact fees in our region to "Road Impact Fees" (roads, signals, transit). Localities cannot assess impact fees for water, wastewater, or stormwater expansions. City Council District 2. Written Confirmation: On-the-record email from Sven Philipsen (Liaison, 2nd District): "I believe we can't require them for a by-right development, but our SUP process allows the City to essentially request just about anything as a condition of approval."
2. DPU Enterprise Fund & Utility Rate Increase Enterprise Fund Structure: Richmond City Charter § 13.01 and City Code Chapter 28 establish the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) as an Enterprise Fund. Capital debt and operations for water, wastewater, and stormwater are funded 100% by ratepayer utility bills, not general property taxes. July 1, 2026 Rate Hike: Richmond City Council adopted DPU utility fee changes effective July 1, 2026, increasing average residential bills by 6.6% (+$13.84/month across services) to service ongoing capital improvement debt.
3. The Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Mandate Volume Official Overflows: Richmond DPU’s Combined Sewer Overflow Long-Term Control Plan (LTCP) and filings with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) document an average of 1.9 billion gallons of untreated sewage and stormwater runoff discharged annually into the James River during heavy precipitation events. Capital Cost: Final phase remediation is budgeted in the multi hundred million dollar range (historical engineering estimates projected between $613M and $1.3B), requiring extensive ratepayer-backed utility debt.
4. Stormwater Credit Manual & Developer Discounts 50% Fee Cap: Richmond City Code Chapter 28, Article V, and DPU's Credit Manual for Non Residential and Multi Family Properties (available via rva.gov/public-utilities/stormwatercredit) set a hard ceiling capping fee discounts at 50% of the billed stormwater fee. Baseline Retention Discount: Under Virginia Erosion and Stormwater Management Program (VESMP) regulations, commercial infill is legally required to install on-site retention vaults to secure a building permit. DPU's manual allows non residential developers to apply those state mandated baseline retention volumes directly toward the ongoing 50% monthly utility fee reduction under a recorded Stormwater Utility Maintenance Agreement (SUMA). Lack of Canopy Credits: The manual contains no standalone credit tier for preserving mature tree canopy, favoring hard underground retention vaults over natural soil infiltration.
5. Code Refresh Procedural Record & Capacity Studies ZAC Dissolution: The citizen-led Zoning Advisory Council (ZAC) was dissolved on September 9, 2026, prior to formal public deliberation on Draft 3. Draft 3 Release: Planning and Development Review (PDR) released Draft 3 (350+ pages), adding new zoning categories ("Campus" and "Multifamily - Suburban"). Formal Civic Objection: On October 9, 2026, the Fan District Association filed a formal procedural objection with Mayor Danny Avula and Councilmember Katherine Jordan, explicitly noting the absence of published hydraulic, stormwater, or public service capacity studies.
If your council office or neighborhood planning committee needs the compiled PDF packet containing the raw emails, parcel ledgers, and DPU credit schedules, send me a private message here with your email address and I will send the files over immediately.
