The Newport News Planning Commission advanced a package of zoning text amendments intended to align city definitions for assisted living facilities and group homes with Virginia state law, forwarding each item to City Council on unanimous votes. At their meeting on October 7, the commission also approved a rezoning request that would allow a vacant former restaurant at 12580 Jefferson Avenue to be repurposed as a Bank of America branch, and reviewed a conditional use permit for a faith-based residential care program serving young boys. These matters are planned for City Council consideration on October 27, 2026.
The proposed amendments to definitions for assisted living facilities and group homes carry practical significance because state law requires qualifying licensed residential facilities serving eight or fewer residents to be treated as single-family residential occupancy, according to agency materials. Staff materials state that the existing four-person threshold for assisted living facility congregate classifications overlaps with those smaller protected facilities, a problem the proposed increase to a nine-person minimum threshold is designed to resolve. The amendments would also delete the definition of special residential facility, which staff described as overlapping with the group home classifications and creating confusion.
Beyond the definition changes, the commission considered separate amendments on wireless facility review procedures and site plan waivers, as well as the Bank of America rezoning and the Ziklag House group home permit. Nyoka Hall, Zoning Administrator, presented the wireless facility and definition amendments, describing each as aligning the city’s ordinance with applicable provisions of the Code of Virginia. Saul Gleiser, Senior Planner and Urban Designer, presented the rezoning and group home permit applications, recommending approval of both to be forwarded to City Council.
The commission opened the public hearing on change of zoning application CZ-2026-0003, under which RL 12580, LLC, and Bank of America sought to rezone a 1.64-acre parcel at 12580 Jefferson Avenue from M1 Light Industrial to C1 Retail Commercial with proffers. Gleiser described the property as vacant following its prior use as a restaurant, surrounded by a mix of M1 and C1 properties, and said the One City, One Future 2045 land use map designates the site for community commercial use. The presentation noted that while a bank could operate under M1 zoning through a conditional use permit, rezoning to C1 would allow the use by right and bring the property into conformance with the comprehensive plan. The applicant described planned improvements including ATM canopies, ADA-compliant handicap stall repaving, rebranding elements, and removal of an unsightly dumpster. The commission voted 8 to 0 to recommend approval, with the case scheduled for City Council on October 27, 2026. (0:11:06)
The commission then considered conditional use permit application CU-2026-0006, submitted for the operation of a group home designated as Ziklag House at 823 27th Street, a 0.11-acre R4 Single-Family Dwelling parcel. Gleiser described the Ziklag House Corporation as a faith-based residential center proposing to serve up to four boys between the ages of 8 and 10 who require structured care due to physical, emotional, social, educational, intellectual or spiritual needs, with a qualified adult staff member present 24 hours a day. Domond testified before the commission, stating that residents would be transported to their existing schools to preserve continuity, that participants would be referred by the Virginia Department of Social Services or the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, and that the maximum length of stay would not exceed 24 months. Commissioners questioned the location, the transition plan for residents at the end of the 24-month period and whether any similar homes existed in the Hampton Roads area, with Domond stating the program is her own creation and would be the first of its kind. The commission voted 8 to 0 to recommend approval with 18 conditions, also forwarding the matter to City Council for October 27, 2026. (0:29:40)
The commission took up zoning text amendment ZT-2026-0005, which proposed amending Chapter 45, Section 45-523 of the zoning ordinance governing communication towers, wireless facilities and small cell facilities. Hall explained that the amendment would establish an administrative review process consistent with state statutory requirements for qualifying modifications that do not substantially change a facility’s physical dimensions, covering the addition, removal or replacement of transmission equipment and certain excavation or equipment deployment within 30 feet of an existing facility. The commission voted 8 to 0 to recommend adoption to City Council. (1:16:54)
Hall then presented zoning text amendment ZT-2026-0006, proposing to amend Chapter 33.02, Section 33.02-23 to allow the Director of Planning to grant a site plan waiver for commercial projects involving no more than 1,500 square feet of proposed building or site improvement area. The presentation outlined five criteria a project must satisfy to qualify, including no adverse impact on traffic circulation, no construction or modification of public streets or utilities, no modification of stormwater management facilities and full compliance with zoning and city regulations. Hall clarified in response to a commissioner’s question that the waiver applies to commercial construction under Chapter 33.02, not residential additions, and that the 1,500-square-foot threshold was selected as a reasonable figure below the 2,500-square-foot level, based on the size of requests historically approved through administrative waiver. The commission voted 8 to 0 to recommend adoption. (1:20:34)
Hall presented zoning text amendment ZT-2026-0007, which proposed amending Chapter 45, Section 45-201 to clarify the definitions of assisted living facility, assisted living facility congregate and group home, and to delete the definition of special residential facility. The presentation described four changes: clarifying the assisted living facility definition to reflect state law and incorporate the exclusion of current illegal substance use from the definition of mental illness and developmental disability; raising the minimum occupancy threshold for the congregate classification from four to nine persons; clarifying group home A and B definitions to reflect state requirements on residents served, occupancy, staffing and licensing; and deleting the special residential facility definition to remove overlapping language. Hall explained in response to commissioner questions that the nine-person threshold for the congregate category was chosen because the Virginia state code’s protected class provision covers facilities serving eight or fewer residents, and the revised threshold keeps the congregate classification separate from those smaller protected facilities. The Regulations Committee reviewed and recommended approval on September 16, 2026, according to agency materials. The commission voted 8 to 0 to recommend adoption to City Council. (1:26:38)
The commission considered zoning text amendment ZT-2026-0008, also presented by Hall, which proposed amending Chapter 45, Section 45-402, the permitted residential uses table, to update references consistent with the definition changes adopted under ZT-2026-0007. Hall described three changes to the use table: revising use B.8 group home to reference both the A and B classifications, revising use B.13 assisted living facility to reference both the A and B classifications, and removing use B.15 special residential facility from the table entirely because its definition is being deleted from Section 45-201. The presentation stated that the proposed changes do not expand or reduce the districts where group homes or assisted living facilities are permitted, but update the names and references in the table to reflect the accompanying definition changes. The Regulations Committee reviewed and recommended approval on September 16, 2026. (1:32:50)