Richmond's proposed zoning overhaul raises questions about campaign contributions, development interests, political influence, and whether the City's priorities reflect the needs of its citizens.
Richmond residents are being told that Code Refresh is necessary to address the City's housing shortage, encourage development, and make housing more affordable.
Those are worthwhile objectives.
But before Mayor Danny Avula asks residents to embrace sweeping changes to their neighborhoods, there are some questions he needs to answer.
Who stands to benefit most from Code Refresh? How much influence have developers and real estate interests had over the process? And what assurances do residents have that the City's long-term interests are being placed ahead of those who stand to profit from development?
These questions become particularly important when campaign contributions, professional relationships, and appointments to influential City bodies enter the discussion.
$129,500 in Campaign Contributions Deserves Examination
According to previously reported campaign finance information, three organizations associated with the housing and real estate industries contributed a combined $129,500 to Avula's 2024 mayoral campaign:
Home Building Association of Richmond: $69,500
Housing RVA PAC: $55,000
Richmond REALTORS PAC: $5,000
These reported contributions should be reconciled against the underlying campaign finance disclosures, including the identity of each donor and any overlapping organizational relationships.
Campaign contributions are legal. Developers, homebuilders, and real estate professionals have the same right as other citizens and organizations to support political candidates.
But the public also has a right to ask whether substantial financial support translates into greater access, influence, or consideration.
And when an administration aggressively promotes zoning changes that could substantially benefit the development industry, those questions become even more relevant.
The issue is not whether developers have a right to participate in Richmond's political process. The issue is whether their influence outweighs that of ordinary residents.
Elizabeth Greenfield: Experience, Influence, and the Questions That Remain
Elizabeth Greenfield's involvement in Richmond's planning process warrants discussion, but it is important to begin with an accurate account of her history.
Greenfield's service on Richmond's Planning Commission did not begin with Mayor Avula.
City records establish that she was serving her second term in 2019, years before Avula took office. She subsequently continued serving on the Commission.
Greenfield also previously served as executive director of the Partnership for Housing Affordability, where she was involved in regional housing policy and affordability initiatives.
That experience is relevant and should be acknowledged.
In February 2025, Greenfield began serving in a mayor-appointed seat on the Planning Commission. She has also chaired the Code Refresh Zoning Advisory Council, a body established through a process that began before Avula took office.
Her professional background includes involvement with organizations representing housing and development interests.
None of these facts, standing alone, establishes wrongdoing, improper influence, or a disqualifying conflict of interest.
Nevertheless, legitimate questions remain about the composition of the bodies advising the City on Code Refresh and the safeguards intended to ensure balanced representation.
How does Richmond ensure that homeowners, renters, neighborhood associations, housing advocates, developers, and other affected interests receive meaningful consideration?
What procedures govern the disclosure and handling of potential conflicts?
And how much weight has been given to recommendations that may benefit the development industry?
Experience deserves acknowledgment. Influence deserves scrutiny. And the public deserves both accuracy and transparency.
Will Code Refresh Produce Affordable Housing or Simply More Development?
One of the administration's principal arguments for Code Refresh is that allowing more housing construction will help address Richmond's affordability problems.
There is a reasonable economic argument that increasing the housing supply can reduce upward pressure on housing costs.
But that does not mean every zoning change will produce housing that Richmond residents can afford.
Allowing developers to build more units does not necessarily mean those units will be affordable to working families, seniors, or residents struggling with rising rents.
The distinction matters.
Richmond should be asking what measurable affordability outcomes are expected from Code Refresh, how those outcomes will be monitored, and what happens if the promised benefits fail to materialize.
Otherwise, the City risks approving substantial changes to its neighborhoods without establishing whether those changes will actually address the problem being used to justify them.
More development and more affordable housing are not necessarily the same thing.
What About Richmond's Infrastructure?
There is another issue that deserves far more attention.
Richmond already faces significant challenges involving its water and sewer infrastructure, utility billing problems, school facilities, and other basic municipal services.
Yet the administration is advocating zoning changes that could increase development density in neighborhoods throughout the City.
Where is the comprehensive analysis demonstrating that Richmond's infrastructure can accommodate the anticipated growth?
What improvements will be necessary?
How much will they cost?
And perhaps most importantly, who will pay?
If additional development requires substantial upgrades to water lines, sewer systems, roads, stormwater facilities, or other public infrastructure, residents deserve to know whether those costs will be borne by developers or existing taxpayers.
Richmond cannot afford to encourage growth without adequately planning for the public services that growth requires.
A zoning plan without a credible infrastructure and financing strategy is an incomplete plan.
Are the Mayor's Priorities Aligned With Richmond's Needs?
Code Refresh also raises a broader question about Mayor Avula's priorities.
Richmond faces unresolved challenges involving public school maintenance, utility operations, the Diamond District, economic development, and the City's long-term financial obligations.
The administration has yet to demonstrate to my satisfaction that it has developed an aggressive, comprehensive economic development strategy capable of expanding the City's tax base sufficiently to meet those obligations.
Yet considerable political attention is being devoted to accelerating changes to Richmond's zoning ordinance.
Why?
No one should suggest that Richmond's housing needs are unimportant. They are not.
But housing policy cannot be developed in isolation from the City's financial condition, infrastructure limitations, or other pressing responsibilities.
The question is whether the administration has adequately considered how Code Refresh fits into Richmond's overall priorities.
Or whether the City is once again pursuing an ambitious initiative without sufficiently addressing the practical consequences.
The Difference Between a Conflict of Interest and the Appearance of Influence
It is important to distinguish between an actual legal conflict of interest and circumstances that raise questions about political influence.
Campaign contributions do not automatically establish improper conduct.
Professional involvement in the housing or development industry does not automatically disqualify someone from participating in public policy discussions.
And experience in housing policy can be valuable when considering zoning reform.
But those principles do not eliminate the need for transparency.
When substantial campaign contributions come from organizations with an interest in land-use policy, and individuals with professional ties to affected industries occupy influential advisory positions, the administration should be prepared to explain how it protects the public interest.
That is not an accusation of corruption.
It is a reasonable expectation of accountable government.
The administration should welcome those questions rather than treating public skepticism as an obstacle to progress.
Five Questions Mayor Avula Should Answer
Before Richmond proceeds further with Code Refresh, Mayor Avula should publicly address several questions:
Campaign contributions: What access have major housing and real estate industry contributors had to the administration regarding Code Refresh, and how does that compare with access provided to neighborhood organizations and ordinary residents?
Appointments and representation: What criteria were used in selecting individuals for planning and advisory positions, and how has the City ensured that different community interests are adequately represented?
Potential conflicts: What disclosures, recusals, and other safeguards apply to individuals participating in Code Refresh who have professional or financial relationships with industries affected by zoning changes?
Affordable housing: What specific, measurable improvements in housing affordability does the administration expect Code Refresh to produce, and how will the City determine whether those objectives are achieved?
Infrastructure and taxpayer costs: What analysis has been completed regarding the infrastructure improvements necessary to accommodate increased development, and who will be responsible for financing those improvements?
These are not unreasonable questions.
They are precisely the kinds of questions citizens should ask before their government makes decisions with consequences that may last for generations.
Richmond Deserves More Than Assurances
Mayor Avula may sincerely believe that Code Refresh is necessary for Richmond's future.
And some of the proposed changes may ultimately prove beneficial.
But good intentions are not a substitute for transparency, careful planning, or public accountability.
Nor should residents be expected to accept broad assurances that increased development will automatically produce affordable housing, improved neighborhoods, or greater prosperity.
The administration must demonstrate how those results will be achieved.
It must also demonstrate that the process has been fair, that competing interests have been heard, and that the potential financial consequences have been adequately examined.
Richmond does not belong to developers, campaign contributors, or City Hall.
It belongs to its citizens.
The question is not whether Richmond needs to grow.
It is whether Mayor Avula's approach to growth puts Richmond's citizens first.
Brian K. Telfair | Publisher |The Richmond Chronicle
Brian K. Telfair | Publisher |The Richmond Chronicle | Independent Commentary on Richmond Government, Development, and Accountability
Sources: VPM and The Richmonder's 2024 campaign finance reporting; Richmond Civic League newspaper advertisement; Richmond Planning Commission appointment records; Code Refresh Zoning Advisory Council records; Virginia State and Local Government Conflict of Interests Act.
This is excellent.
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