Roanoke Planning Commission Advances End to Single-Family Zoning in Bid for More Housing

City Council is expected to vote Monday on reforms staff say is aimed at increasing housing and decreasing racial and economic inequities.

An end to single-family-only zoning has advanced in Roanoke after the city’s planning commission on Monday recommended reforms that staff say is aimed at increasing housing and decreasing racial and economic inequities. Above, a view of the Belmont neighborhood seen from the Mill Mountain Star Overlook Friday, Sept. 1, 2023, in Roanoke. PHOTO BY SCOTT P. YATES FOR THE ROANOKE RAMBLER

An end to single-family-only zoning has advanced in Roanoke after the city’s planning commission on Monday recommended reforms that staff say is aimed at increasing housing and decreasing racial and economic inequities.

City Council is expected to vote on the measure at its meeting Monday evening.

In Roanoke’s more dense residential neighborhoods, the code change would allow developers to build up to four-unit apartments on interior lots and up to eight units on corner lots.