Happy New Year! Our team here at LAJC is hard at work after our break and is still excited about this important win that happened right before the holiday:
On December 18, the Charlottesville City Council voted unanimously to pass historic zoning legislation after almost seven years of hard work by activists, community members, city staff and leaders, and experts across the region, pivoting from decades of blatantly racially motivated exclusionary zoning practices and expanding housing opportunity for future generations.
This new zoning code:
- Abolishes single family zoning for the entirety of the city of Charlottesville. Single family zoning is a tool that has historically been used to keep people racially and economically segregated;
- Implements measures to slow displacement in lower-wealth, higher density neighborhoods; and
- Establishes mandatory inclusionary zoning requirements for affordable housing
As a result, more Charlottesville residents should be able to remain in their communities, preserving racial and cultural diversity and preventing the hardships caused by displacement. We additionally anticipate the new zoning changes will allow Charlottesville to become a more inclusive city for everyone, with the potential for more housing affordability.
We, together with our partners at the Charlottesville Low-Income Housing Coalition (co-founded by the Charlottesville Public Housing Association of Residents), will continue to advocate for affordable and inclusive housing for all. Many thanks to all of you who have stood with us in this long, hard fight.
