This week in the Roanoke Valley, the Roanoke City Council will consider changes to zoning and its plan for Evans Spring, a greenway ribbon-cutting will be held in Roanoke County, and the final public webinar will be held for a housing study in the county.
Here are some details on each of those items:
Roanoke City Council
On Monday, the Roanoke City Council will revisit its controversial 2024 citywide zoning amendments for the third time, as well as minor changes to the Evans Spring plan.
During its April 13 meeting, the Roanoke City Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval of a list of proposed zoning amendments, while adding one amendment during the hearing regarding parking off alleys.
This is the second package of amendments to the first citywide rezoning change in 2024, which allowed for higher-density housing in all parts of the city.
This new set of amendments would reduce the density of dwelling units permitted in certain residential districts; add clarification and supplemental regulations for vape and tobacco establishments, data centers, data processing facilities, and inpatient mental health and substance abuse clinics; add parking requirements for parcels with apartment buildings and townhomes; increase the minimum lot area per dwelling; limit self-storage uses; and clarify other items in the zoning code.
The planning commission also addressed changes to the Evans Spring Plan, the largest open plot of land left in the city, at its last meeting. In February, the city council passed a resolution that kickstarted the process of rewriting the plan for the 150-acre site near Valley View based on community input and recommendations from planning staff. The development guide adopted by the council in 2024 faced opposition from community members who had hoped for smaller-scale development and more community feedback to be included.
During its last meeting, the planning commission recommended adopting minor amendments to the plan, including relabeling the two most developed plans from “recommended” and “optional” to “Option 1” and “Option 2,” extending residential or natural buffers along all developed residentially zoned parcels that abut the site, and removing language in the plan that appears to commit the city to infrastructure investments.
On Monday, the city council will review and consider adoption of these changes to the Evans Spring plan and to the zoning code.
The council will also appoint two new members to the Roanoke City School Board on Monday. The council last month interviewed four candidates: Christopher Link, Darlene Burcham, Derek Kaknes and Donna Littlepage.
The full agenda for Monday’s 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. meetings is here.
Roanoke County greenway ribbon-cutting
On Monday afternoon, Roanoke County will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the official opening of a new 4-mile section of the Roanoke River Greenway at Explore Park.
The new mileage, in four new contiguous segments, extends the greenway from just west of the Blue Ridge Parkway to the end of Rutrough Road on the eastern side of the greenway, according to a press release.
Construction on these segments began in November 2022 and wrapped up in December 2025.
In November, the county held a ribbon-cutting to celebrate the opening of a 0.6-mile stretch of the greenway that connected the West Riverside Drive trailhead to Kingsmill Drive in Salem.
Megan Cronise, assistant director of planning for the county, said in an email that the Roanoke Valley Transportation Planning Organization approved funding from the Virginia Department of Transportation to design a greenway section between that new trailhead parking lot and Green Hill Park.
The new greenway segments advance “long-term plans for a contiguous 26-mile regional greenway corridor stretching from Roanoke County’s Green Hill Park to Explore Park,” the press release states. Before that 26-mile stretch is complete, one more gap on the eastern side must be completed; the county has received funds from the planning organization for VDOT to start designing that segment, Cronise said.
The event will be held at 2 p.m. at 56 Roanoke River Parkway Road.
Roanoke County final housing webinar
On Thursday, Roanoke County will hold its fourth and final public webinar for its housing market analysis study.
RKG Associates, the county’s consultant, will present recommendations for the county to address needs in the housing market.
In February, RKG Associates briefed the Roanoke County Planning Commission on its findings, which showed that demand exists in the county for rentals.
According to a RKG presentation from that work session, the number of families with children is declining in the county, and an increase of young adults is driving demand for smaller homes. The presentation also noted a need for diversity in housing types and prices, and said that the current housing stock faces issues with conditions and needed maintenance. The entire presentation can be seen here.
Those who wish to join the webinar, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, can join here.
