Alexandria Planning Commission approves zoning changes to streamline business approvals
Commission also OKs 145-unit affordable housing project; Commissioner Brown announces resignation
The Alexandria Planning Commission unanimously approved zoning changes Tuesday aimed at cutting red tape for restaurants and other businesses, part of a packed agenda that also included a 145-unit affordable housing project in Old Town West.
Commissioner David Brown announced during the meeting that he will resign in February 2026, ending more than 40 years in Alexandria as he and his wife relocate to Seattle.
Commercial zoning overhaul
The commission voted 7-0 to approve a sweeping zoning text amendment that makes restaurants a permitted use rather than requiring administrative approval, allows small live entertainment venues up to 2,000 square feet by right, and reduces the time for change-of-ownership approvals from 30 days to two weeks.
“I’m highly supportive of this whole package of zoning text amendment improvements,” Chair Melissa McMahon said. “What we’re seeing are efficiencies, transparencies, and elements of fairness.”
McMahon praised the changes for putting standards in the zoning ordinance where businesses can find them, rather than buried in individual special use permits.
“The consistency and fairness piece is also that sense that all the restaurants will be held to the same standards,” she said.
Commissioner Jody Manor, drawing on his professional background, said he appreciated the restaurant-related changes “as an old restaurant guy.”
The amendment also allows barber shops, salons and spas with more than 30 feet of frontage in the King Street and Mount Vernon overlay zones by right, permits funeral homes and fraternal clubs without special approval, and adds child and elder care homes to commercial zones.
Commissioner Robert Dube expressed concern about new language establishing a process for addressing nuisance complaints related to vibration, dust, odor, smoke and fumes. He worried the provision could allow one person making two complaints to halt a business operation.
“In your effort to clarify it, it made it muddier than it was,” Dube said, though he supported the overall package.
Staff noted the two-complaint threshold was a compromise and requires staff verification before triggering enforcement.
The changes head to the City Council for final approval on Dec. 13.
Alfred Street Baptist Church affordable housing
The commission voted 7-0 to approve a 145-unit affordable housing development at 598 S. Alfred St. in the Old Town West neighborhood.
Alfred Street Baptist Church and The Community Builders Inc. plan to replace 34 existing affordable units with a new building offering all 145 units at affordable rates. Of those, 111 units will be affordable to households earning up to 60% of area median income, while 34 units will serve households earning up to 30% of AMI.
The project requires rezoning the 1.29-acre site from townhouse to residential multi-unit zoning and includes improvements to Wilkes Street Park.
The church purchased 77 units across three Old Town West properties in 2009. This project represents the first phase, with subsequent phases planned for the remaining properties.
Substandard lot approvals draw discussion
Two requests to build single-family homes on substandard lots generated debate about how the city evaluates such projects.
A proposal at 205 Macarthur Road passed unanimously after Commissioner Brown raised concerns with the applicant about cleaning up trash and the property.
A second project at 2 West Howell Avenue passed 5-2, with Brown and Commissioner Vivian Ramirez opposed. A neighbor spoke against the project.
During the “other business” portion of the meeting, McMahon raised broader questions about the purpose of substandard lot analysis, particularly when projects meet all zoning requirements.
“In both of the cases that we saw tonight, the letter of the zone requirements was being met, but it was still going through the substandard lot process,” McMahon said. “I would benefit from some more discussion on the purpose behind it.”
Brown, who helped develop substandard lot regulations in the 1980s as a civic association member, pushed back.
“I’m only going to be here two more months, but I’m never going to be in favor of any kind of rule that basically says substandard lot, all you got to do is meet the generous dimensional standards of the zone and you’re good to go,” he said.
Other action
The commission approved on consent:
A special use permit for an auto body shop at 612A-B South Pickett St.
A special use permit for light auto repair at 3210 Duke St.
A three-year extension for the Woodbine Rehabilitation Healthcare Facility expansion at 2729 King St.
A zoning text amendment addressing historic preservation regulations was deferred at staff’s request.
The meeting adjourned at approximately 10:35 p.m. City Council will hold its follow-up public hearing Dec. 13 at 9:30 a.m.
> Staff noted the two-complaint threshold was a compromise and requires staff verification before triggering enforcement.
Compromise between what parties? What was their back-and-forth debate that led to a compromise?