Report: Some Richmond 311 flood complaints take years to close

June 8, 2026, Axios Richmond

A new analysis of nearly a decade of Richmond 311 requests found that some neighborhoods with chronic flooding issues report flooding the least.

• And when they do, they face the longest response times.

Why it matters: Researchers and city officials both agree that 311 complaints don't tell the whole story. But they're one of the few public tools available for tracking a problem that disrupts commutes, blocks sidewalks and poses safety risks.

The big picture: Southside ReLeaf and the University of Richmond analyzed 11,478 flood-related 311 tickets between June 2016 and October 2025.

• Those include requests to clear stormwater drains and assess standing water.

Richmond 311 flood calls show uneven reporting, response times

June 5, 2026, VPM

A review of Richmond flood-related 311 calls found that residents in some parts of town report issues less frequently and face much longer wait times for a response from the city.

Julia Norton, a University of Richmond student, reviewed calls between June 2018 and October 2025 with supervisor Stephanie Spera as part of the Go With the Flow community science initiative. Spera, a program coordinator at UR’s Environmental Studies Program, works on that initiative along with the nonprofit Southside ReLeaf.

Norton and Spera found that flooding-related 311 calls had widely varying response times, depending on where in the city they were placed.

The majority of neighborhoods with an average response time over one year are located in Richmond’s Southside. In the city’s 9th Council District, Norton explained, “the average response time was 494.78 days when some of the other districts were less than 150 days.”

Code Refresh isn’t a threat. The status quo is.

May 25, 2026, Richmond Times-Dispatch

by Amy Wentz and Thomas Okuda Fitzpatrick

Many Richmonders are worried about displacement and gentrification. And they should be. We’ve watched neighbors get pushed out. We’ve watched Richmond cease to be a majority-Black city, a distinction it held from 1970 until 2020.

When people ask whether Code Refresh — the first overhaul of Richmond’s zoning code since 1976 — will make that worse, the question deserves a real answer.

The two of us work on these issues every single day, pursuing environmental justice in Southside and fighting to defend Virginians’ civil rights in housing. Here’s what we know:

The status quo is what’s making housing here worse. Code Refresh is how we change it.

Under our existing code, the most privileged neighborhoods are all but walled off from growth. New construction has concentrated in historically Black and Brown communities, where residents often lack the political clout, the money for attorneys or the sheer time to fight zoning meeting after zoning meeting. Developers — many from out of state — have built without serious obstacles in the neighborhoods least equipped to push back.

Our city is already growing — it’s growing without a plan. And the people least able to speak up are losing the most.

That’s the status quo. That’s what we need to change.

A 2024 study from Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia documented double-digit losses of Black residents from core Richmond neighborhoods over the preceding decade. Code Refresh didn’t do that. The status quo did.

Other concerns have focused on tree coverage, and rightly so. Shade and tree canopy are essential to health and quality of life. But Code Refresh isn’t a bulldozer. In fact, the latest draft introduced tree coverage requirements on all new developments, ranging from 10% to 20%, depending on the site. That’s the right move.

The sprawl that hollowed out Richmond in the mid-20th century was made possible by highways paved through Black neighborhoods, and planners who saw Black communities as obstacles to progress. Code Refresh is how we stop repeating those harms, doing our part to limit sprawl, preserve existing affordable housing, and fill in where we can.

Another common worry: new homes will mess with neighborhood character. But that’s far more likely under the status quo. Right now, a developer with enough money and patience can usually secure a special use permit to build whatever they please — because our 1976 code is so outdated that almost nothing can be built without that kind of authorization. Code Refresh sets guardrails, so neighborhoods grow slowly, and in character. Without it? We’ll get more of the same.

You don’t have to take our word for it. The city recently commissioned a study assessing Code Refresh’s likely impact on single-family neighborhoods. The headline finding: Even under the most intense development scenario, single-family neighborhoods citywide would see no more than about 300 new units per year, or less than 1% of the total. Code Refresh isn't a plan to demolish single-family zones — it's a plan for infill, gentle growth and more housing options in more places.

What’s in it for you? When we allow for that gentle growth, we’ll build housing that Richmonders actually want and can afford: duplexes, small apartments, and backyard homes. We can have more small markets, neighborhood pharmacies, coffee shops you can walk to — less time in the car, more time with neighbors. This isn’t some fringe vision: in a recent poll, 85% of Richmond residents said they support allowing neighborhoods to have these sorts of small businesses right down the block.

For now, we’re stuck inside a displacement engine pitting residents against each other. When families of means can’t find a place in their first-choice neighborhood, they bid up the next one. Families there get pushed to a less preferred one. And on down the line, until the people with the fewest options are pushed out entirely. Code Refresh is a release valve — a promise to ease pressure on vulnerable neighborhoods by allowing more homes in the communities that have been protected from growth for decades.

It's no wonder we're hearing the loudest howls from longtime homeowners. Many haven't rented or shopped for a home in decades. In 1985, the median American home cost about 3.5 times the median household income. Today in Richmond, it's more than six times. If you last rented or bought when Reagan was president, you haven't faced this market.

Thing is? Most Richmonders already know this. That same poll found nine in ten said high housing costs have affected them or someone they know. Half of all residents said those costs make it hard to see a future in this city — and among renters, that climbs to two-thirds. The voices against reform are loud, but they are not the majority. Most Richmonders want a city where they — and their children — can afford to stay.

Code Refresh is how we build that city. The status quo isn’t neutral — it’s a choice. It’s time we made a better one.

Thomas Okuda Fitzpatrick is executive director of Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia. He can be reached at tom@homeofva.org. Amy Wentz is co-founder of the nonprofit Southside ReLeaf. She can be reached at amy@southsidereleaf.org.

Williams: Code Refresh must address redress and affordability

May 3, 2026, Richmond Times-Dispatch

Living on Tuxedo Boulevard in Richmond's East End, Sheri Shannon got an informal education in zoning-based inequity as a child during the 1980s.

Shannon, co-founder with Amy Wentz of the environmental justice nonprofit Southside ReLeaf, recalled a neighborhood bereft of trees. The only access to public green space was Oakwood Cemetery.

"I-64 ran behind our house," Shannon explained. "The old city landfill was down the street. As a kid, that was just what I knew. We didn’t have a grocery store within walking distance."

"All that was by design. And it really wasn’t until I got older that I thought, ‘This is environmental racism,'" Shannon said during a recent tree giveaway by Southside ReLeaf in the asphalt parking lot of a Midlothian Turnpike church — part of the nonprofit’s mission to reduce Richmond's documented "heat islands," a health-sapping residue of redlining.

A1 Minute! April 23, 2026: Southside ReLeaf free tree giveaway

April 23, 2026, Richmond Times-Dispatch

Richmond group giving away 200 trees to help ‘Cool the City’

April 22, 2026, CBS 6 WTVR

RICHMOND, Va. — A Richmond nonprofit is working to cool Southside and East End neighborhoods one tree at a time.

Amy Wentz co-founded Southside ReLeaf to help Richmond residents in the hottest neighborhoods add more shade and cool their homes with trees, which is considered nature’s best air conditioner.

“Getting off work, you're walking to the closest bus stop and if you don't have the shade that trees bring, that could be very devastating,” Wentz said.

Hear Together: Go With the Flow

April 19, 2026, WNRN Hear Together

Southside ReLeaf is a nonprofit dedicated to improving the Southside Richmond community by addressing environmental injustices and advocating for equitable green spaces.

Flooding affects neighborhoods across the city — but better data is needed to understand where solutions are most urgently needed. Southside ReLeaf and the University of Richmond welcomes you to join Go with the Flow, a community science project mapping flooding across Richmond. After it rains, participants can report flooding — or no flooding — in their neighborhood using their online survey.

You can visit southsidereleaf.org/flow, or text FLOWRIDERS to 866-719-9501 for reminders, as they aim to build a safer, more resilient Richmond.

Richmond advocacy groups poll residents on key housing issues as city drafts ‘Code Refresh’

April 16, 2026, WRIC ABC 8News

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — A new poll shows Richmonders are feeling the housing squeeze as the city continues drafting its plans for “Code Refresh.”

On Thursday, April 16, local housing advocacy coalition “Homes for All Our Neighborhoods,” hosted a press conference on how residents feel regarding key housing issues.

The coalition conducted the poll by surveying 621 Richmonders from Mar. 20 through Mar. 29 using targeted advertisements and text messages. Several groups based on race, age, renters and owners were surveyed.

“Folks throughout the city want to welcome people into their own neighborhoods and want to ensure that there’s opportunities for new housing throughout that,” said Executive director Tom Fitzpatrick.

For some Richmonders, code refresh is a promise for a better future

April 16, 2026, The Richmonder

Late last year, a member of Richmond’s Zoning Advisory Council challenged planners on a proposal to allow duplexes in all residential neighborhoods, even those with the largest, most spread-out properties.  

“I’ve talked to a lot of people that live in those neighborhoods, and have also heard from a lot of neighborhood associations,” said Charles Menges. “I never heard anybody that agreed this is a good idea.” 

As Richmond continues to overhaul its 1970s-era zoning code, officials have encountered sharp resistance to plans to allow greater density throughout the city, particularly from neighborhood associations and a group organized by former City Councilor Marty Jewell.

But while those criticisms have been loud, not all Richmonders agree that the rezoning effort known as the code refresh is a bad thing. For them, the potential concerns are outweighed by the opportunities that they believe it would unlock: More affordable homes. More shops and services within walking distance. Neighborhoods with a wider range of housing types and residents.

Cool the City: Expanding Richmond’s Tree Canopy to Reduce Heat Disparities

April 15, 2026, CBS 6 Virginia This Morning

RICHMOND, Va. -- Some Richmond neighborhoods experience temperatures up to 16 degrees hotter than others due to a lack of shade trees — a disparity the Cool the City campaign is working to change.

Led by Southside Releaf and supported by Virginia Interfaith Power and Light, Groundwork RVA, and the City of Richmond’s Office of Sustainability, Parks and Recreation, and DPW, the initiative focuses on reducing extreme heat, improving community health, and lowering energy costs through strategic tree planting.

For more information, future planting events, and ways to get involved, visit coolthecity.com.

8News talks with Southside ReLeaf about ‘Cool the City’ campaign

April 13, 2026, WRIC ABC 8News

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — 8News got a visit from a special guest with Southside ReLeaf on Monday to talk about their Cool the City campaign.

8News anchors Autumn Childress and Madison Moore were joined by Amy Wentz, a co-founder of the program, to talk about its mission.

“As we’re talking about record-breaking temperatures, Cool the City is an effort to increase the tree canopy here in Richmond,” Wentz said. “It’s made up of four nonprofit organizations in partnership with the city, and so we’re going to be planting a lot of trees and doing a lot of great stuff to make it cooler.”

For more information and to find upcoming volunteer events, visit the Cool the City website.

Trees take root as Virginia’s frontline defense against urban heat

April 6, 2026, Virginia Mercury

As temperatures climb, some parts of the commonwealth are heating up faster than others — a result of too few trees and too little shade. Neighborhoods without tree canopy can be up to 15 degrees hotter than those with tree cover, and often those areas are home to communities of color and lower income households. 

To address the legacy of redlining and underinvestment in these parts of Virginia localities, state and local groups are working to lower temperatures naturally by planting trees.

Across Richmond, hundreds of tree wells sit empty. Through a $6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the city and community-based groups are working to plant more trees and bring shade to neighborhoods that need it most.

“The neighborhood organizations and these nonprofits are kind of stepping in to assist the city in this effort because we do realize that there are a lot of needs and priorities that the city has to take care of,” said Amy Wentz, co-founder of Southside ReLeaf. 

The Cool the City initiative was created as part of Richmond’s RVAgreen plan to increase tree coverage across the city. Local officials also hired an urban forester for the first time to develop a comprehensive plan identifying where more green space is needed most.  

Canopies and communities: Solutions to combat urban heat island effects

February 26, 2026, Planet Forward

Richmond, Virginia, is home to the Hickory Hill Community Center. This center served as the only African American school during segregation and has been repurposed as a community center. Hickory Hill was pivotal in advancing racial justice in Richmond. To honor the center’s legacy of promoting equity and opportunity, Southside ReLeaf decided to launch a community climate justice initiative at the site.

Southside ReLeaf is a Richmond-based organization that fights for health, justice, and equity in Richmond’s Southside region through creating green spaces. The Southside is a historically redlined neighborhood and a present day urban heat island. By creating green spaces in the Southside, residents have access to shade and cooling air to combat urban heat island effects. 

Southside ReLeaf engaged community members to plant 100 trees and create tree canopy at the Hickory Hill Community Center. While creating tree canopy helped to reduce extreme heat in the area, the project was successful for an additional reason: its focus on community-engagement. Planetary solutions thrive when community members are part of the decision-making processes that affect them and that they are expected to maintain and uphold. 

We need homes with roots, not just roofs

December 24, 2025, Richmond Free Pree

Too often, conversations about solutions pit housing against the environment, as if building affordable homes means cutting down the trees that make our neighborhoods livable. That’s a false choice. Virginia can and must do both: grow an affordable housing market while protecting the natural infrastructure that keeps communities healthy and resilient. 

We need homes with roots, not just roofs

December 16, 2025, Virginia Mercury

If we choose growth that keeps people and trees rooted in the same soil, we can ensure every community has both the homes and the canopy it needs to thrive, write guest columnists Sheri Shannon and Kami Blatt of Southside ReLeaf.

Affordable housing and other nonprofits launch campaign in support of zoning code changes

November 10, 2025, The Richmonder

A coalition including many of Richmond’s most active affordable housing developers has launched a campaign in support of the city’s ongoing effort to overhaul its 1970s-era zoning code. 

Backers of the “Homes for All Our Neighbors” campaign include nonprofits project:HOMES, Richmond Metro Habitat for Humanity, the Better Housing Coalition and Maggie Walker Community Land Trust, all of whom are involved in constructing affordable units, as well as other nonprofits like Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME), the Partnership for Housing Affordability, Southside ReLeaf and RVA YIMBY. 

Growing a Healthier Future in Richmond’s Southside

November 4, 2025, The Phil

In 2019, Sheri Shannon and Amy Wentz heard a shocking statistic: Those who live in the Southside area of Richmond, Virginia, have up to a 20-year life expectancy gap compared to those who live in other parts of the city. This could be attributed to systemic racism, a higher concentration of poverty, exposure to environmental hazards, limited healthy food options and inadequate access to quality health care.

Shannon and Wentz were inspired to make a difference in their community and teamed up to create Southside ReLeaf, a nonprofit dedicated to environmental justice and equitable access to green spaces. It works to improve the quality of life for residents of Southside Richmond by using community-driven strategies to address and combat environmental injustices.

“The work that we do is all about making Southside Richmond greener, healthier and more connected,” said Sarah Wilkinson, communications manager for Southside ReLeaf.

City planners want more feedback on rezoning maps from Southside residents

September 16, 2025, The Richmonder

While members of the Planning Department have been attending neighborhood association meetings to discuss the code refresh over the past few months — city spokesperson Michael Hinkle said officials have been to nearly 30 such meetings to date — Southside has fewer established neighborhood groups, meaning other outreach strategies are necessary. 

Asked about the city’s approach, Hinkle said the Planning Department has used community ambassadors and worked with Southside City Council members and community organizations like Virginia Community Voice and Southside Releaf to hold feedback sessions “in an effort to meet these communities where they are.” 

‘Invaluable service’: the role of community science in the Chesapeake Bay region

July 8, 2025, Bay Journal

Kovaka said formal scientific studies can leave out community concerns or paint broad strokes that don’t reflect what’s happening on the ground. For example, Richmond has data on where the city floods. But Sheri Shannon, co-founder of Southside ReLeaf, said it doesn’t fully reach the neighborhood level. The nonprofit focuses on cooling the city with tree canopy, but a lack of trees to capture rain can also increase flooding.

“It’s not a coincidence that the neighborhoods that have more impervious surfaces and less canopy cover and green spaces are also the ones where we’re seeing hotter temperatures, and also that flooding,” Shannon said.

So, Southside ReLeaf launched a program called Go with the Flow, which allows residents to sign up to submit photos of flooding in their area when it rains. The nonprofit is partnering with the University of Richmond to map the data and plans to present its findings to the city’s public utilities department.

Where the Water Goes

June 30, 2025, Richmond Magazine

An environmental justice nonprofit and the University of Richmond have partnered to fix flooding across the city. Go With the Flow, a community flood mapping project that began March 20 and concludes Sept. 1, invites locals to complete a survey each time it rains.

The online survey asks participants if their area has flooding, standing water or neither and allows users to upload a photo of their surroundings. By capturing location data and images of flooding in neighborhoods across Richmond, the nonprofit organization Southside ReLeaf hopes to help the city identify where improvements in flood infrastructure are needed.

“Our systems just weren’t built for what we’re seeing right now,” says Sheri Shannon, co-founder and director of programs at Southside ReLeaf. “So, we’re hoping that this data will help city leaders ... really make the case for why we need to prioritize flood mitigation in the city, especially in areas like South Side, [which is] already dealing with extreme heat and other social inequities because of how the neighborhoods are designed.”