How Should Vacant Land Be Developed In The City of Harrisonburg


How Should Vacant Land Be Developed In The City of Harrisonburg
By Scott Rogers • October 23, 2019
City of Harrisonburg Land Use Guide as of Nov 13, 2018 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 Receive Updates by Email Recent Articles: There Are Plenty Of Types Of Houses That Exist That Just Are Not Available To Purchase Home Sales By Price Range In The City Of Harrisonburg Are You Compromising On Aspects Of Your Next Home That You Can Or Cannot Change Later? How Much Slower Are The Winter Months In Our Local Housing Market? Rockingham County and New Home Sales Drive Surge in Area Housing Market Find The Balance Between Optimistic And Realistic Home Pricing Room Size Is Difficult To Understand Solely From Real Estate Photos How Much Would You Value Not Having To Prepare Your Home For Showings? One Out Of Four Homes Is Taking Longer Than A Month To Sell Consider The Cost Of Your Planned Renovations When Planning Your Offer
Have any questions? Contact Scott Rogers at 540-578-0102 or scott@funkhousergroup.com
Based on information from the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Association of REALTORS® or its MLS, for the period Jan 1, 2000 through Nov 21, 2024 (unless otherwise noted).
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