Richmond 300 revisited: City Council suggests tweaks to city master plan
Images courtesy Richmond 300)
Of the 17 goals, 73 objectives and 415 strategies detailed in the nearly 250-page Richmond 300 plan, City Council members see several glaring omissions that they want addressed with forthcoming amendments.
As they said they would do when they adopted the plan last month, councilmembers have submitted what they would like to see changed, removed or added to the years-in-the-making master plan update that’s meant to guide the city’s growth over the next 20 years.
What’s missing, members said in requests they submitted to Council President Cynthia Newbille are details on how the city plans to move forward on such things as improving public schools, transforming public housing and providing more housing options for lower-income residents.
Richmond planning director Olinger abruptly resigns after decade
BizSense file)
Correction: Deputy Director Kevin Vonck was hired in August 2020. An earlier version of this story said he was hired the previous year based on information from the city that was incorrect.
Richmond’s planning director for the past decade is no longer with the city.
Mark Olinger, the city’s director of planning and development review for nearly 10 years, resigned Friday, a city spokesman confirmed.
A reason for Olinger’s departure was not provided, and attempts by BizSense to reach him over social media were not successful Tuesday. A call to Olinger’s mobile phone prompted an automated message saying the number had been restricted.
FILE PHOTO: Craig Carper/VPM
Richmond City Council gave final approval Monday night to the Richmond 300 master plan, which will guide the city’s growth until its 300th anniversary in 2037.
The 256-page master plan lays out future land-use and other changes that will be necessary to accommodate new residents in a growing city. According to Richmond officials, approximately 32,000 people have moved to the city in the last two decades. Another 40,000 people are expected to move to Richmond by 2037 under the most conservative growth estimate provided by VCU’s Center for Urban and Regional Analysis. The master plan also includes an ambitious list of goals for city leaders over the next 20 years, including expanding access to green space and public transit, as well as creating thousands of new affordable housing units.
Richmond 300 plan goes to City Council for final vote tonight
December 14, 2020 7
The latest version of the Richmond 300 plan’s future land use map includes the new Community Mixed-Use designation, in orange. (
Images courtesy of Richmond 300)
Four years’ worth of work to update Richmond’s 20-year master plan could come to fruition with a City Council vote tonight.
The Richmond 300 plan, meant to guide growth through the city’s tricentennial in 2037, is slated to formally be considered for adoption at the council’s regular meeting, which starts at 6 p.m.
The nearly 250-page document, which pulls from and consolidates previously approved plans while adding new recommendations that could influence future growth decisions, has been steadily making its way to the council since it was released in draft form earlier this year. The Planning Commission endorsed it, and presentations have been made to council members in recent committee and regular meetings.
City withdraws Pulse zoning changes, plans to revisit proposal next year
December 10, 2020 21
Renderings show potential building heights along Broad Street and Hermitage Road near the Science Museum of Virginia based on the city’s Pulse Corridor Plan. (
Images courtesy of the city of Richmond)
Just days before it was to go to the City Council for a vote, the latest round of proposed zoning changes tied to the city’s Pulse Corridor Plan has been withdrawn following months of opposition from neighborhood groups.
A city spokesman confirmed this week that administrators have pulled the proposal, which focused on land primarily north of Broad Street across from the Fan District, in and around the Carver and Newtowne West neighborhoods generally between Belvidere Street and the DMV headquarters building.