Code Refresh Report

VPM | By Rich Meagher

Published September 17, 2025 at 7:48 PM EDT

A person wearing a patterned shirt and bowtie sits in a conference room. A placard in front of them reads "Director Vonck" — Kevin Vonck, director of Richmond's Office of Planning and Development Review, listens to a presentation during a meeting of the Planning Commission at Richmond City Hall on Monday, September 18, 2023.

The City of Richmond is updating its housing code for the first time in decades. What are people getting right and wrong about the Code Refresh? And what will it do in RVA to shape the future of housing and, well, everything? Listen to this week’s RVA’s Got Issues episode with Kevin Vonck, Director for the Department of Planning and Development Review. Listen on rvasgotissues.vpm.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

About RVA’s Got Issues:

RVA’s Got Issues is VPM’s award-winning podcast that explores the politics and big issues in the news that are defining life in and around Richmond, Virginia. Hosted by Rich Meagher, Professor of Political Science at Randolph-Macon College, this weekly show tackles everything from housing and public transportation to education policy and local government transparency.

Each episode features expert guests who provide insights into Richmond’s biggest issues while offering actionable solutions for community engagement. Whether you’re curious about City Council decisions, school board policies, or how to get involved in local politics, RVA’s Got Issues delivers the knowledge you need to understand what’s happening in your community and what you can do about it.

New episodes drop every Wednesday on all major podcast platforms or at rvasgotissues.vpm.org. You can also join the conversation by sending your questions to [email protected]

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Rich Meagher

Richard J. Meagher [pronounced MARR] is Professor of Political Science, Director of Social Entrepreneurship at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia, and the host of RVA's Got Issues.

Meagher is an expert observer of local and state politics in Richmond and has been featured everywhere from print to television to radio. He is a political analyst for WRIC 8 News, and his commentary and opinion have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and his own RVAPolitics site.

He is also a Faculty Fellow for Brandeis University’s Educational Network for Active Civic Transformation (ENACT), a national program engaging undergraduates in state-level legislative change. Meagher's 2020 book, Local Politics Matters, argues for the importance of participation in city and county politics.

In 2023, he launched the Virginia Amendments Project, a resource for scholars and citizens about amendments to the Constitution of Virginia.

See stories by Rich Meagher