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Letter: Mayor: Comments were off base

Dear Editor, Re: “Make your voices heard at meeting,” Letters , July 5. Unfortunately, misinformation and unfounded allegations have been published in a recent letter regarding city council’s actions on the issue of building massing regulations.
Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie
Mayor Malcolm Brodie

Dear Editor,

Re: “Make your voices heard at meeting,” Letters, July 5.

Unfortunately, misinformation and unfounded allegations have been published in a recent letter regarding city council’s actions on the issue of building massing regulations.  Moreover, the old picture attached to that published letter depicts a house governed by a Land Use Contract, a separate issue which has long since been addressed.

The building massing regulations to be considered at the upcoming public hearing on July 17 are specifically those proposed by city staff. Though council’s planning committee had endorsed some amendments to the original staff recommendations, those amendments were reversed at the June 26 council meeting by unanimous vote.

For the past two years, council has worked diligently to address various community concerns about house size and related regulations.

We’ve held numerous meetings and heard from hundreds of residents, builders and other stakeholders. There are widely divergent opinions on the appropriate approach for dealing with these issues. Consequently, the city has proposed a number of changes to our regulations to best serve our community.

The most recent set of amendments to building massing regulations, including proposed new rules on setbacks, will go to public hearing on July 17. As always, all are welcome to provide input.

Mayor Malcolm D. Brodie

Richmond