Author: Lizzie Stone
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Lizzie Stone, city council reporter
City takes steps to address potential predatory towing, neighborhood traffic
Seeking to address concerns about private towing companies, the council on Tuesday established an advisory board as a first step. Council members also moved toward revamping the way the city tracks and implements traffic safety measures in neighborhoods, such as building speed bumps or installing stop signs.
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Harrisonburg, like other cities, seeks answers about how federal grant freeze would affect operations
Harrisonburg officials are still gathering information on how the Trump administration’s move to freeze federal grants might affect the city, Deputy City Manager Amy Snider told the city council on Tuesday.
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City adds restrictions on data centers, allows for developers to pay for public upgrades in zoning applications
Cash proffers — in which developers pay to offset effects on the community like necessary road expansions — will now be permitted in zoning applications after a 4-1 city council vote in favor of the change. City officials explained that all zoning requests would still be considered and adjusted individually, but allowance for cash proffers will provide more flexibility in zoning decisions.
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City to begin cardboard recycling collections on Fridays
Harrisonburg residents can schedule online to have cardboard picked up from their homes beginning next week. The city will begin an opt-in program for recycling-bound cardboard collections on Fridays so people won’t have to bring cardboard to a recycling drop-off point.
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Construction delay forces city to seek temporary location for shelter
Valley Open Doors, which operates annual shelters for people without housing, had planned to use the city’s new permanent shelter, which was projected to open in November. But construction delays are forcing the group to search again for temporary shelter spaces as weather gets colder.
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City employees to get up to 8 weeks of paid parental leave
Beginning in January, city employees can use up to eight weeks of paid parental leave within a six month period — one outcome of an effort to address workers’ requests for broader benefits.
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New park project spearheaded by private group inches ahead
A long-discussed plan for a privately funded group to build a public park on city land took a step forward as the city council on Tuesday approved conceptual designs and tasked the city attorney with finalizing an agreement with the group.
Despite flood of new housing approvals, actual construction has slowed to a trickle in city
Of the 2,886 residential units the city council have approved as part of new developments since January 2021, 55 units are under construction and just 25 have been completed.
