Richmond Code Refresh Zoning Rewrite: What It Means for Commercial Property Owners, Buyers and Tenants

The Richmond Code Refresh zoning rewrite would replace the city’s entire zoning ordinance and assign a new district to every parcel, so it affects what almost any commercial property can be used for and how it can be redeveloped. As of September 24, 2026, it is still a draft: the city released Public Review Draft #3 on August 17, 2026, and City Council has not voted on it. Until Council adopts it, today’s ordinance and zoning map remain the law.

Below: where the rewrite stands, what draft three proposes for commercial and industrial land, and what to do while it is pending. For how zoning plays out on the ground in one of the city’s busiest commercial neighborhoods, see my Scott’s Addition commercial space guide.

What is Richmond’s Code Refresh?

Code Refresh is the rewrite of Richmond’s zoning ordinance called for in the Richmond 300 master plan, which the city adopted in 2020. According to the city’s Code Refresh FAQ, the last citywide zoning update was in 1976, and the project involves creating new zoning categories and mapping them to every parcel in the city.

Where does Code Refresh stand as of September 2026?

Residential issues – accessory dwelling units, household size, places of worship – have driven most of the debate, and the commercial provisions are moving on the same timeline:

An October 13, 2026 Council date had been discussed, but 12 On Your Side reported on September 18 that the mayor’s office called it “only a date floated based on previous conversations” and said it was working with the city attorney’s office on a thorough review. Under Virginia law (Va. Code § 15.2-2285), a zoning ordinance amendment must be referred to the Planning Commission for a recommendation and must get a Council public hearing before adoption, so there are still formal steps ahead.

What does draft three propose for commercial and mixed-use districts?

Draft three sorts the city into four district families: residential, mixed use, industrial, and institutional and open space. There is no stand-alone commercial family. Today’s business districts – names like B-4, B-7, UB and TOD-1 – would be replaced by five mixed-use districts named for their height limits:

• MX-3, MX-5, MX-7 and MX-13: residential, commercial or mixed-use buildings up to 3, 5, 7 or 13 stories.
• MX-U: residential, commercial or mixed-use buildings with no height limit.

Under the draft’s use table, general retail, general food and beverage, office and personal service are allowed by right at any size in all five MX districts, and so are microbreweries and small distilleries and wineries. Small shops, restaurants and offices up to 1,500 square feet would also be possible in residential districts – by right with use standards in the multi-unit districts, or with a conditional use permit in the detached and attached districts – which matters for corner-store and neighborhood-retail buildings.

The bigger changes for commercial owners are the use limits and the building-form rules:

• Drive-throughs would need a conditional use permit in MX-3, MX-5, MX-7 and IX, and would not be allowed in MX-13 or MX-U. Any drive-through must also have a dining room or walk-up window open while it operates.
• Vehicle sales and service would not be allowed in any MX district; it would need a conditional use permit in IX and be allowed by right in IL and IH.
• Build-to and parking location: in MX-3, for example, new buildings must sit within 15 feet of the primary street, fill at least 70% of that frontage, and cannot put parking between the building and the primary street.
• Ground floors: in MX-3, a nonresidential ground story needs at least 12 feet of height and at least 50% windows on the primary street.

Draft three applies its standards by project type – new construction, additions, facade changes, changes of use and so on – so an existing building is not automatically out of compliance. But a pad site that depends on front parking and a drive-through lane could become harder to redevelop or re-tenant the same way.

What about industrial and flex property?

Draft three proposes three industrial districts:

Data centers are defined in draft three but not listed as allowed in any district; VPM reported that the draft explicitly eliminates by-right data centers in industrial zones. For older in-town industrial buildings, the key question is whether a parcel lands in IX, which invites housing and retail but caps warehouse size, or in IL or IH, which protect industrial use – a mapping call that can move land value either way. Small flex users should also read my note on Richmond small-bay flex space.

What happens to existing uses that won’t fit the new district?

Draft three’s nonconformities section lets a lawful use that no longer fits its new district continue. It cannot expand onto space it did not occupy when it became nonconforming, cannot increase in intensity, and a structure housing it cannot be enlarged or structurally altered except for repairs, nonstructural work and code-required fixes. Switching to a different nonconforming use requires the Zoning Administrator to find, among other things, that the new use generates no more vehicle trips, employees, noise, smoke or odor than the old one. Lenders and buyers will price that in.

What should commercial owners, buyers and tenants do now?

1. 1Check your parcel. Compare its current district with its proposed district on the draft three map, linked from the city’s Code Refresh page.
2. 2Read the use table for your actual use, not just the district summary – size tiers, conditional use permits and use standards are where surprises sit.
3. 3Comment if the mapping hurts you. The map comment window runs September 21 through October 2, 2026, and there will be public hearings before adoption.
4. 4Talk to Planning and Development Review (richmond300@rva.gov or 804-646-6704, per the city’s Code Refresh page) about how your parcel is being treated.
5. 5Write it into your documents. Buyers can add zoning-verification and use contingencies; tenants can tie rent commencement to a certificate of occupancy for their use.
6. 6Don’t assume Code Refresh fixes today’s problem. If your use needs relief now, the current ordinance is the one that applies.

One thing Code Refresh does not change: Richmond already eliminated off-street parking minimums in 2023, and as I read draft three, it regulates where and how parking is built rather than how much is required. I cover that in detail in what Richmond’s parking minimum repeal means for commercial property.

The city’s zoning administrator and your land-use attorney are the final word on any parcel. For how this plays out in one affected neighborhood, see my Scott’s Addition guide.

Need help sorting out a property under Code Refresh?

If you are weighing a Richmond purchase, lease or redevelopment while the rewrite is pending, I can help you compare sites under both the current and proposed rules and line up the right questions for the city and your attorney. See my services or get in touch.