Alexandria’s City Council unanimously voted to end single-family-only zoning, amid a larger effort to increase available housing and boost affordability.
The vote will allow developers to build multi-family homes on lots that previously were for single-family use. It also will add high-rise rentals and condos to industrial areas. The plan has been met with fierce debate.
Vice Mayor Amy Jackson testified that many residents did not receive adequate warning of the potential zoning change.
“They’re not gonna go to our city website automatically to go, ‘Oh, I wonder what’s going on in our city,’” she said. “[…] Our diversity in this city is our strength – I will say it again and again and again. But we didn’t reach everybody when we should have.”
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Supporters of the zoning change say it will make living in Alexandria within reach for more people. Critics say the plan won’t necessarily provide housing for those it was intended to help.
The median home price in Alexandria is close to $1 million.
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Go here to learn more about the city’s Zoning for Housing/Housing for All initiatives.
