HARRISONBURG, VA (Rocktown Now) — The Harrisonburg City Council approved a request to amend the Zoning Ordinance to amend the definition of “shopping center” and to provide a parking calculation for shopping centers during last night’s meeting. 

The proposed amendment would revise the definition of “shopping center” to clarify the types of businesses allowed within a shopping center and establish a minimum combined floor area of at least 10,000 square feet.

The definition of shopping center is proposed to be amended as follows:

Photo credit: City of Harrisonburg.

“When we apply it then to Section 10-3-25, so we’re just adding shopping centers in the sub-category,” said Director of Community Development Adam Fletcher. “What we’re stating here is that because of the way shopping centers defined that it’s not a shopping center until it reached that 10,000 square foot mark.”

Fletcher said that because of the way it’s being defined, that means that shopping centers would always be calculating their off-street parking based on one parking space for each 250 square feet of gross floor area. 

The proposed amendment to Section 10-3-25(17) is as follows:

Photo credit: City of Harrisonburg.