May 27 Newsletter: Data dig: Five years of SUPs
Weather: The heat is back, and the humidity stays. High of 88.
On this date in 1771, about 150 people are killed as 12 days of intense rain upstream led to a wall of water sweeping down the James River through Richmond. The river crested at about 45 feet higher than normal.
Today's newsletter sponsored by Virginia Commonwealth University: As a top 50 public research institution, Virginia Commonwealth University has an unparalleled drive to discover, innovate and create. VCU impacts the human experience and tackles the problems of tomorrow. It's a university unlike any you’ve ever seen.
What is an SUP?: Meet Richmond’s most powerful tool to get around zoning rules
For over 65 years, anyone hoping to step outside the lines drawn by Richmond’s zoning ordinance has had a powerful tool at their disposal: the special use permit.
Reporter Sarah Vogelsong reviewed and mapped five years of SUPs to determine where these permits are driving the most development, what kind of development it is and how long the public review process is taking.
Among the discoveries:
- More SUPs have been proposed in the 7th District than any other, but more total units have been approved in the 6th District.
- There are pockets of the city relatively untouched, like Richmond's southwestern corner in the 4th District.
- Just 34 projects accounted for more than 80% of all new units approved (below)
Although the SUP isn’t new, it’s gotten more buzz in recent years as Richmond’s real estate market has heated up and officials have embarked on an overhaul of the city’s zoning, a project known as the code refresh. Read more, and see the interactive maps, here.
ALSO IN HOUSING: Third draft of code refresh to be rolled out in phases starting in June
- The Planning Department will first release a proposal on how to handle some of the most controversial policy issues, then release the full draft. Read more here.
School Board approves substitute teacher outsourcing contracts in split vote
After two nights of long conversations earlier this month, the Richmond School Board voted 5-4 to approve a contract that would outsource the hiring of some substitute teachers for Richmond Public Schools.
A second company, based out of Richmond, will also be tasked with finding some of the new subs. Read more here.
City launches new platform to manage FOIA requests
As Richmond officials continue to try to improve their process for handling public records and transparency, the city has launched a new online portal for filing and tracking Freedom of Information Act requests.
The new online platform will supplement the FOIA library the city is also close to finishing. The library will serve as a digital archive of documents the city has released under FOIA, making government records available to the wider public, not just the person who filed the request. Read more here.
Today's sponsor:
VCU aims to be ‘an international hub’ for research, VP Rao says in annual address
During the recent annual State of the Research event, P. Srirama Rao, Ph.D., VCU vice president for research and innovation:
- Detailed VCU’s robust research growth - 109% growth in sponsored research funding since 2018.
- Reinforced that research is fundamental to VCU’s mission - from undergraduate projects to licensed innovations.
- Provided an overview of the university’s research accomplishments, including recognizing some of VCU’s most notable faculty researchers.
- Announced VCU’s ambitious new goal to reach $1 billion in sponsored research funding.
In other news
- VCU baseball outlasts rain, opponents to make NCAA tournament; Rams will face UNC on Friday
- The Rams are coached by former player Sean Thompson, who at 30 years old is one of the youngest coaches in college sports.
- Neglected Chesterfield landfill needs $173 million to prevent environmental 'catastrophe' (Times-Dispatch)
- The private company that runs the 335-acre dump said in court that its revenue had depleted and its costs spiraled, leaving no money to pay for maintenance.
- A cash crunch put Swift Creek Mill Theatre on hiatus. Now its leaders are pondering its next act. (Richmond BizSense)
- The theater previously had a long-term “angel” donor ensuring bills and staff were paid, though that arrangement ended in 2020.
The editor's desk
Work is well underway on the new Brown's Island, which will be out of service all summer, but will be majorly transformed when it reopens.
Michael Phillips, founding editor
mphillips@richmonder.org
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