RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — This week, Richmond Councilman Mike Jones drew criticism after rejecting an affordable housing project for the city’s ninth district. But Jones is now saying that this particular project would not be in the best interest for the people in that area.
In this week’s Richmond City Council meeting, a special use permit came before the council with the hopes to help address Richmond’s affordable housing crisis.
The idea came from the local nonprofit “Project Homes,” who wanted to turn a vacant residential lot on Carnation Street into a warehouse to build and store modular homes.
However, Jones was one of six council members who shot down the project idea.
Councilwoman Ann Frances Lambert, the only one to vote yes to the project, questioned how this decision made sense in light of Mayor Levar Stoney declaring a housing crisis for the City of Richmond just two weeks ago.
“If Project Homes had been there for over 22 years, they are helping us with our crisis,” Lambert said at this week’s meeting. “What is the problem with building homes to help us with our crisis?”
However, Jones said is not against finding new ways to address the affordable housing crisis, but says this is not the right way to do it.
Jones say that his district has a high percentage of Black and Latino residents whose neighborhoods are already zoned for a high mix of commercial and residential use, so he thinks it is important to retain what residential zoning they do have.
“What many people don’t know, they look at the map but they don’t look at the men and women that live in the communities that I serve,” Jones said. “For me, zoning is the new redlining. I’m just simply saying, let the zoning that has already been done by the city, stand.”
The Chief Executive Officer of Project Homes told 8News that the organization is not upset with the council’s decision. They now plan to move forward with their warehouse plan, just in a different location.
