A few last-minute tweaks are being offered for Richmond's blueprint for downtown development as residents called last night for the plan to be approved without further changes.

The Planning Commission learned at its fourth public hearing on the draft Downtown Master Plan that Dominion Virginia Power wants to rewrite recommendations for the block bounded by Eighth, Ninth, Cary and Canal streets at the northern end of the Manchester Bridge.

A surface parking lot exists today, but the draft plan calls for a high-rise building designed "in the tradition of great American skyscrapers," with cafés, shops and other services on the ground level.

Planners see an opportunity for the city to make a bold architectural statement on the gateway property, but Dominion Virginia Power isn't convinced.

In an e-mail three weeks ago, a real estate coordinator for the company called for the city to strike language that recommends "active, street-oriented uses" on the ground level and to provide flexibility on development. A company spokesman declined yesterday to discuss the request.

"They basically want to build a parking deck there," said Rachel Flynn, the city's director of community development. "That would be horrible for the gateway."

No one from the utility attended last night's hearing, but residents and other advocates of the plan called for the commission to resist pressure to further whittle away its recommendations.

"This is no time to lose your spine," resident Hollister Lindley said.

Stewart Schwartz, executive director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, took issue with Dominion Virginia Power's request in part because it comes after residents and others have spent the past year drafting and refining the plan. He credited the utility and other corporations for staying downtown but also said the community's needs must be weighed.

"You're part of an urban fabric. You're not in a suburban office park," he said.

Also last night, NewMarket Corp. expressed concerns about recommendations for its expansive Gamble's Hill property, which will include the headquarters for MeadWestvaco.

The master plan embraces development with a wide range of uses, including corporate offices, research facilities, retail and residential, but it also recommends the protection of river views and vistas from the Virginia War Memorial. Andrew M. Condlin, an attorney for NewMarket, suggested language that the river views and vistas would be considered with future development.

Public comment at the hearing was exhausted after an hour, although the meeting at City Hall attracted an overflow crowd of about 75 people. Afterward, Chairman Robert Mills said he hopes the commission can vote July 21 to send the plan to the City Council for final consideration.

"I think we're getting close," he said.
Contact Will Jones at (804) 649-6911 or wjones@timesdispatch.com.