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Mixed Use Developments in Rockingham County, Looking Around and Looking Forward |
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 Given all of the developments popping up along Boyers Road it is probably a good time to pause and remember that this (Boyers Road) is one of the main areas where Rockingham County anticipates seeing further development in the years (and decades) to come per the Stone Spring Urban Development Plan. The Stone Spring UDA provides a blueprint for the potential development based on a traditional town pattern in four geographic areas that they have called Stone Port, Stone Ridge, Boyers Crossing and Crossroads. Here's the big picture, per Rockingham County... "The UDA Plan presents a vision for the development of new, walkable mixed-use neighborhoods, within the four neighborhood focus areas while preserving existing neighborhoods." "Plans and development scenarios are conceptual and would be phased over the ensuing 20 years, contemplating future generations of development and adaptive reuses of certain parcels over that period. Recommended conceptual alignments, structures and functional uses do not account for parcel boundaries or topographic constraints." One main thing to note here is that the County has a vision of these four areas being developed as mixed use developments. We can think about this most simply as residential and non-residential uses. Non-residential uses might be office space or retail, etc. This type of development (mixed use) will look and feel different than most of the areas that folks are familiar with in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County because there are not many mixed use developments currently in existence in our area. A few examples and non-examples... Crossroads Farm could sort of be seen as almost being a mixed use development in that a bank was built at the corner of the neighborhood where Cross Keys Road and Spotswood Trail intersect. That's probably a bit of a stretch though, as these two areas (residential neighborhood, bank) do not connect for vehicular or pedestrian traffic. Urban Exchange is a mixed use development in downtown Harrisonburg (yes, in the City, not the County) because it has apartments over top of retail and office space, though it is all in one connected building, as opposed to a mixed use development in multiple buildings spread out over a tract of land. Preston Lake was always intended to be a mixed use development with commercial space on the edge of the original development plan, and as a part of the current development plan, but it's only a residential development thus far with detached homes, duplexes, townhomes and now an adjacent apartment complex under construction. Again, all residential development - though there is still a possibility it will have some non-residential development as a part of it at some point in the future. Stone Port, located catty-corner to Sentara RMH Medical Center would seem to be one of our area's first mixed-use development, because it has residential uses (apartments) and non-residential uses (retail, office, etc.) Stoney Ridge is a proposed/planned mixed use development on the south end of Harrisonburg and partially in the County. It would almost entirely be residential development (apartments, townhouses, duplexes, detached homes) but does have some intended commercial lots on the front of the property. Boyers Crossing is a proposed mixed use development on the corner of Boyers Road and Port Republic Road including apartments, commercial space and storage units. More on this in the coming days. Am I missing any current or proposed mixed use developments? If so, email me. I suspect we will continue to see further proposals for mixed use developments in the four areas in the County referenced above. Perhaps as further mixed use developments take shape we will become more accustomed to them and more comfortable with them in this marketplace. | |
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142 Unit Multi-Family Development, Two41, Proposed At Intersection Of Blue Ridge Drive, Country Club Road |
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 Bluestone Land, the development entity behind The Colonnade (in downtown Harrisonburg) and Preston Lake Apartments (currently under construction) is proposing to build 142 apartments at the intersection of Blue Ridge Drive and Country Club Court. The proposed site plan is shown above, and here's a rendering of what one of the apartment buildings would look like...  The current owner of the property (alongside the proposed developer) is requesting that the property be rezoned from R-1 to R-5 and is asking for a special use permit to allow for more than 12 units per apartment building. Here are some further details of this proposed community...
You can read more about this here: Updated 2/11/2021: Per the 2/21/2021 Daily News Record, the Planning Commission recommended denial of this rezoning request and City Council sent the request back to Planning Commission for further review. | |
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Rockingham County Completed (in August 2020) Purchase of 28.878 Acres for Stormwater Management |
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 (view a larger image here) I'm late to the party. Thankfully, someone asked if this land transfer had happened, and when I looked, I was surprised to find that it had taken place! As I have mentioned before, Rockingham County had been considering the purchase of approximately 27 Acres between Barrington and Lakewood for stormwater management purposes. This was the lay of the land back in July 2020...
I'll work on getting an update on any potential plans for a layout for use of the land. But in the meantime, I'll point out that the sale of the land has been completed. The "Lake Shenandoah Stormwater Control Authority" purchased 28.878 acres as shown above back in August 2020 for $1,850,000. I'll save you the math and let you know that it sold for approximately $64K per acre. | |
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Office Building, 77 Apartments and 93,600 SF of Storage Units Proposed Amidst Residential Developments, Church, Rescue Squad and Hospital in Rockingham County |
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 View a larger version of the map here. In what would seem to be a bit of a controversial proposed rezoning, Baum Investments LLC is proposing the rezoning of a 5.69 acre parcel at the corner of Port Republic Road and Boyers Road. The property is currently undeveloped, but Baum Investments would like to develop it to include...
As noted in the headline above, and on the map above, these proposed uses would be amidst residential developments, a church, the rescue squad and the hospital campus. You'll find the rezoning packet here. The County approved an Urban Development Area Plan (UDAP) for this area in late 2019 though it is not clear whether this rezoning request align with the County's vision for the area. The above referenced UDAP shows as example of mixed use and townhomes as a good potential fit for this property. Sometimes "mixed use" means a mix of commercial space and residential space -- but the UDAP document describes "mixed use" as developments that include "public amenities such as event and recreation space and fine dining." So, you tell me -- do the proposed uses (office building, apartments, storage units) fall within the scope of how the County thinks a parcel in this general location should be developed (townhomes, event space, recreation space, fine dining)? Am I reading the County's vision document too narrowly? Should we understand their vision document to mean that any sort of commercial use is fine within areas where they show potential mixed use? The Rockingham County Planning Commission meets on February 2nd to discuss this proposed rezoning. If you have comments about this proposed rezoning, you can contact... Updated 1/27/2021 per input from Bradford Dyjak, Director of Planning, Rockingham County - The UDA plan does offer examples of potential appropriate mixture of uses, and a broader definition of "mixed use" is also contained within the UDA Plan glossary, "Mixed of Uses - combines residential, commercial, civic, recreational and open space uses in a diversified but seamless arrangement; also combines first floor retail with second floor apartments and/or offices." Updated 1/29/2021 - Case #REZ20-333 has been postponed by request of the applicant and will not be heard February 2nd. It will be rescheduled and re-advertised at a later date. Full disclosure -- I live in one of the neighboring residential developments, about a half a mile from this proposed rezoning. | |
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Are You The Parent Of A JMU Student Looking To Buy A House For Your Son Or Daughter To Live In With Friends? |
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 With some regularity, I'll hear from parents of JMU students who are interested in buying a house in Harrisonburg, near the JMU campus, with the intent of having their son or daughter live in the house with friends. Not a bad idea, right? Instead of paying rent for several years, you (and the friends of your son or daughter) can be paying off the mortgage on your newly acquired house! But before you sign a contract to purchase a house, keep this in mind... Most (but not all) single family homes (as opposed to duplexes or townhomes) in Harrisonburg are zoned R-1 or R-2. This limits occupancy of the property to no more than to unrelated people - with one exception which I will mention below. So -- before you go buy a five bedroom house with the idea that Johnny and his four best buds can live there -- you should definitely check the zoning of the property. If the house is zoned R-1 or R-2, it will just be able to be Johnny and his best friend living at the house. But wait -- what if you put Johnny on the deed to the house, making him one of the owners of the house -- would this change anything? Why, yes, it would! While Johnny would not then be able to invite all four of his friends back into the fold, he would be able to have his two best friends living there at the house instead of just one friend. Stated more simply... An R-1 or R-2 property can only be occupied by two unrelated people if the owner is not living there, but it can be occupied by the owner plus two unrelated people if the owner is living there! You'll find all the details here. If you're a JMU parent, looking to buy a house off campus, I'm happy to help with the process -- but don't let Johnny get too many friends excited about the idea until you have reviewed the information above. A few final notes... 1. There are some properties in Harrisonburg that have been in non-conforming use (many unrelated people living in them) since before these current zoning regulations were put in place. Those properties are "grandfathered in" and can be continued to be rented in that (non-conforming) manner until/unless there is a 24 month interruption in the non-conforming use. So, technically, you could buy a house for Johnny and his four friends -- but we'd have to find a property that is grandfathered into that non-conforming use and those properties don't come on the market very often. 2. There are likely some property owners out there, now, who are renting their properties to more unrelated people than are legally allowed to live there. Before you jump to "well if they can do it, then I should also be able to do it" I will encourage you to only consider making an investment purchase that allows you to rent the house in a manner that is legal according to local zoning ordinances. It's not worth the risk to try to skirt the zoning regulations. | |
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Overbrook Subdivision in McGaheysville, Virginia Slated to Expand To A Total of 230 Homes |
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 Overbrook, a single family and duplex community in McGaheysville, Virginia is expanding. As currently developed - as built homes or platted lots - the neighborhood includes...
The developer is in the process of getting County approval for an additional 125 homes -- some of which will be single family homes and some of which will be duplexes. This will bring the total size of the development to 230 homes. Here's the proposed site plan - where you'll note that the dark green areas are common areas (including a walking trail) and the light green areas are where homes will be built.  | |
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November 19 Meeting To Discuss Harrisonburg Comprehensive Housing Assessment and Market Study |
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 Mark your calendars for Thursday, November 19th at 6:00 PM to tune in to hear a presentation of the findings of the initial draft of the City's Comprehensive Housing Assessment and Market Study! From the press release from the City...
Here's how to tune in to this meeting... Watching on a computer or mobile device via GoToWebinar. Register in advance here - Webinar ID: 281-556-371. Calling in to listen by phone at +1 (951) 384-3421, Access Code 484-931-436. Watching the meeting live on Public Education Government Channel 3 | |
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Tell the City of Harrisonburg What You Think Should Change (or stay the same) In The Zoning and Subdivision Ordinances |
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 The Zoning and Subdivision Ordinances for the City of Harrisonburg have not been thoroughly updated in over 20 years! There have been a variety of smaller updates to the ordinances over the years, but, as the City points out the result of all of these small changes since 1996/1997 have been... "ordinances containing outdated requirements, internal inconsistencies, and ordinances that can be difficult for community members to comprehend" The City is currently in the midst of updating these ordinances, and they'd like your input! Click here to take a community survey to provide input as the City works on updating these ordinances. Click here to read more about the process for updating the ordinances. | |
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Large Mixed Use Development With 728 Homes (Plus Commercial Space) Planned On 133 Acres Just Outside Harrisonburg |
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 Download the master plan as a PDF here. A 133 acre mixed use development is in the planning / approval process in Rockingham County - just south of the City of Harrisonburg. This development would feature:
This planned development is located just south of the DMV, and backs up to Pikes Church Road. The land needs to be rezoned, slightly (from R-3C to R-5C) for the development as planned to move forward. County staff recommended approval last week and the Rockingham County Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval this week. The next step is for the rezoning request to go before the Board of Supervisors. The developer had previously rezoned the land, in 2009, for a 384 unit residential development. This updated rezoning, 11 years later, would increase the density to 728 units. The developer plans to have common areas for recreational spaces such as turf fields, a playground and walking trails. Download the full packet from the rezoning request here. As a random side note, the developer is seemingly planning to call the development "Bluestone Development" - which might cause a bit of market confusion given the existence of a large neighborhood in Harrisonburg called "Bluestone Hills". Maybe not. I guess if someone says they live in Bluestone, you'll have to ask if that's the City Bluestone or the County Bluestone. | |
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Perhaps Unsurprisingly, Most Harrisonburg Short Term Rentals Are Near EMU, Downtown or JMU |
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 Perhaps it will come as no surprise that most of the short term rentals in the City of Harrisonburg are located close to EMU, Downtown Harrisonburg or JMU. The map above shows short term rentals approved by the City of Harrisonburg as of May 1, 2020. While the City is in the process of adjusting some of their processes and guidelines for how to potentially use your property as a short term rental, the main thing to remember is that you need to get approval for doing so. Learn more about the process of establishing a short term rental in the City of Harrisonburg here. | |
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Rockingham County Considers Purchase of 27 Acres Between Barrington, Lakewood for Stormwater Management Purposes |
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 Rockingham County will likely purchase the 27-ish acre parcel on Taylor Spring Lane between Barrington and Lakewood to use for managing stormwater in the Lake Shenandoah Watershed. The purchase has not been finalized, but the County is in discussions with the land owner regarding the purchase. The County does not have a design for how the property will be used, but according to Lisa Perry, (Environmental and Land Use Manager for Rockingham County) it is safe to say that the low lying areas of the parcel will be used for stormwater storage capacity. My understanding is that only half of the property will be needed for stormwater management and that the County intends to use the other half of the land for a future County park once funding is available to build the park. Here's a reminder of some of the details of the Lake Shenandoah Stormwater Authority...  If you live in (or own property in) the area shown above, you'll have a new tax to pay come December 2020 - a fee that will go towards funding upgrades in the stormwater infrastructure in the Lake Shenandoah Watershed.
These fees should bring in approximately $2.8 million over the next ten years - though the total estimated costs for the needed infrastructure improvements are between $3.15 million and $4.75 million. Also in their June meeting, the Lake Shenandoah Storm water Control Authority Board (made up of the same members as the Rockingham County Board of Supervisors)
If you live in this area, hopefully the news of this new tax isn't a surprise to you -- as it has been discussed for about a year now. The County held the first public hearing on this matter back in July 2019. | |
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How Should The City Improve Parking in Downtown Harrisonburg? |
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 The City wants to know what YOU think about parking in the downtown area. They have developed a series of recommendations from a forum and more than 1000 survey responses. These recommendations include ideas such as:
The City wants to know how much YOU agree with the recommendations they are considering. Take the survey NOW (or before Feb 7, 2020) at the link below... | |
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Will City, County Buy the Denton Building in Downtown Harrisonburg To Expand Courts, Judicial Offices? |
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 Will the City of Harrisonburg and/or Rockingham County be purchasing the Denton Building in downtown Harrisonburg? Maybe? Possibly? Feel free to email me (scott@HarrisonburgHousingToday.com) with any additional information you might have. I've heard about this from a few folks who are plugged in downtown, and there has been some reporting of this possibility in the Daily News Record... "The city and county are looking for more space for courts and judicial offices and have identified the Denton building on Court Square as a possible location." "The Denton building lies on two parcels with three addresses — 50 S. Liberty St., 58 S. Liberty St. and 61 Court Square — with a combined value of nearly $3.9 million, according to the 2019 assessment." "In January, the city and county bought the parking lot and two-story building to the south of the Denton building for $425,000 from CFSMCS LLC, according to Rockingham County real estate records." | |
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Rockingham County Considers Adopting Stone Spring Urban Development Area Plan Into Comprehensive Plan |
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 The Rockingham County Planning Commission will meet tomorrow (Nov 19, 2019) at 6:00 PM in the Rockingham County Administration Center to discuss incorporating the Stone Spring Urban Development Area Plan (pdf) into the Comprehensive Plan. From the plan... The Stone Spring Urban Development Area Plan (Stone Spring UDA) creates a 20-year vision for the development of new walkable neighborhoods and infrastructure investments within four focus areas for growth. This map (from the plan) shows the four focus areas: Stone Port, Stone Ridge, Boyers Crossing and Crossroads...  Further... The Stone Spring UDA provides a blueprint for neighborhood development based on traditional town patterns, known as Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND). TND is based on the principle that neighborhoods should be walkable, achieved by compact, mixed-use development, with pedestrian-oriented development blocks that are sized for easy walking distance and characterized by an interconnected network of streets that are articulated with trees, on-street parking, and a variety of routes for vehicle traffic while facilitating walking, cycling and transit. The Stone Spring UDA Plan focuses on the physical form and massing of buildings—on scale, block size, and the relationship between building edges and the public realm. Here's an example of a potential neighborhood layout in the Boyers Crossing focus area...  And a conceptual layout for Stone Ridge...  A few screen captures don't do justice to this 106 page plan -- so download the final draft of the plan here and take a look through it. And if you live in or near the Stone Spring UDA - buckle up for even more growth in the area... | |
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Planning Commission Recommends Approval of 172 Unit Senior Housing Community (Crownpoint Independent Living) on Apple Valley Road |
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 A developer out of Williamsburg has requested that an 8.38 acre parcel on Apple Valley Road be rezoned to allow for the development of a senior living facility. The community would include 130 group home units (with 1-2 bedrooms) and 42 attached dwellings (duplexes or rowhouses) potentially as shown in the layout above. The group home units will be built as (2) three-story residential structures with a community building between them. Potential community amenities will include outdoor common areas, recreational activities, a dog area, a greenhouse, an electric vehicle charging station and more. The community will likely offer services such as housekeeping, a coffee shop, a hair/nail salon, fitness classes, etc. The living units in this development will be rented, not purchased, per the developer (Andy Piplico) and there will not be age restrictions but the average age of residents will likely be 84 years old. The Planning Commission voted 5-0 to recommend that this development be approved, and the Board of Supervisors will make that final decision in the near future. Read more about this proposed development: | |
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How Many Unrelated People Can Live In A Home In Harrisonburg |
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 It is a common misunderstanding that the zoning classifications can be interpreted as follows...
In fact, it doesn't work that way at all. So, how can we understand the limits of how many unrelated people can live in a property based on the zoning of that property? Below is a table of very helpful data -- tucked within the resource materials for the work session scheduled for tomorrow related to Short Term Rentals in the City of Harrisonburg. The same data can also be found, organized slightly differently, on the City's website here.  download a PDF that you can actually read, here This table outlines how many unrelated people can live in a home (detached home, duplex, townhouse, condo, etc.) in Harrisonburg based on the zoning of that property. Of note, there can be exceptions to these generalities -- based on a special use permit for a property, or if a property use is "grandfathered in" based on that use existing since before zoning regulations limited the use. But this is a very helpful starting point for understanding how many unrelated people can live in a property in the City based on the zoning of that property. | |
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All The Areas That Will Pay A Bit Extra In Taxes To Help Manage Stormwater in The Lake Shenandoah Watershed |
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 download a high resolution PDF here In late August, the Rockingham County Board of Supervisors approved the creation of the Lake Shenandoah Stormwater Authority. The authority will work to manage stormwater and mitigate damage from that stormwater throughout the Lake Shenandoah Watershed. Read more via the DNR on 8/29/2019) here. The Authority will potentially spend around $3.2 million to improve the stormwater system by creating new detention facilities and increasing the capacity of ditches and pipes. Property owners in the area shown above will pay some additional taxes that will fund the work of this Stormwater Authority, though the Authority will also pursue grant funding for the needed infrastructure improvements. As shown on the map above, the Stormwater Control Authority will include all or part of the following areas:
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83% of Harrisonburg Short Term Rental Special Use Permit Applications Approved |
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 The Planning Commission for the City of Harrisonburg will hold a work session on October 29, 2019 at 2:00 PM to discuss Short Term Rental regulations. You'll find the agenda here and one of the attachments (this one) provides a concise overview of the status of each property for which a property owner has applied for a special use permit to use their property as a Short Term Rental. There are a few properties still working their way through the process, but of the 33 properties listed on the summary sheet, 29 have had an outcome of some sort and I illustrated those outcomes on the graph above. A few observations...
It will be interesting to see if there are any adjustments to the regulations or process for applying and reviewing those applications. Stay tuned -- or attend the work session! | |
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How Should Vacant Land Be Developed In The City of Harrisonburg |
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 There are still vacant parcels of land in the City of Harrisonburg that might be developed in the future. Should all of these vacant parcels become student housing? Should they all be for detached homes? Should they all be for retail or professional office space? Clearly, no. As a part of the comprehensive planning process, the City of Harrisonburg develops a Land Use Guide that outlines how land in the City should be used. The Comprehensive Plan is developed over multiple years with many stakeholders, and is intended to be a vision for what the City would like to be in the future. As such, the Plan (and the Land Use Guide) are not regulatory documents that mandate particular uses of land -- but they are a guide that City staff and elected officials use as a reference point when making decisions. Read the Comprehensive Plan here. Download the Nov 13, 2018 version of the Land Use Guide here. Case in point -- the six-story mixed-use building approved last night on 6.6 acres on Reservoir Street. Let's dive into this as an example. As you'll see, the existing land use of the parcel is described as "vacant"...  And when we look at the current zoning, we find that it is zoned R-3, as with most of the surrounding property. This zoning classification allows for single family homes, duplexes or townhouses.  But things get interesting when we look at the Land Use Guide...  Here (above) you'll see that the Land Use Guide recommends that the front of the property be used for Mixed Use and the back of the property be used for Medium Density Residential. You'll see quite a few parcels along Reservoir Street with a Mixed Use designation, likely because Reservoir Street has become more and more of a thoroughfare for the City, with lots of townhouses (Avalon Woods, Breckenridge Court) and student housing (Charleston Townes) in that vicinity. Thus, the City (staff, elected officials, citizens who participated in the comprehensive planning process) thought that it would be reasonable (and best) for those parcels fronting on Reservoir Street to be used for mixed use development. In this particular example, though, things get tricky when considering the intended use and the proposed use from multiple perspectives. The property owner and intended developer of the property proposed that the entire property be used for a mixed use development with retail, office and apartments. This makes sense to them, I suppose, because the front of the property is supposed to be used for mixed use development. Many of the neighboring property owners would seemingly not like to see a mixed use development take place on this site. I suppose I can't ascribe anything particular to how those neighboring property owners would like to see the property developed -- because the main focus of their recent comments have been about how they do not want it to be developed. They don't think that a mixed use development should be approved for this entire parcel. This makes sense to them, I suppose, because the back portion (majority) of the property is intended to be used for a medium density residential development, and not a mixed use development. So, as you can see, the Land Use Guide can be a helpful tool for property owners and developers to use when they are considering ideas for developing land in the City -- though sometimes what "should be done" per the Comprehensive Plan and Land Use Guide is not entirely clear depending on the particular property. Last night, City Council approved the requests from the property owner to rezone the property and allow for the mixed use development to move forward. Read more about the nuances of that decision and discussion here... Daily News Record: City OKs Mixed-Use High-Rise The Harrisonburg Citizen: Council narrowly approves mixed-use development in Reservoir St. neighborhood | |
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Scott Rogers
Funkhouser Real
Estate Group
540-578-0102
scott@funkhousergroup.com
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