JAMES FREAS: I think we're ready to vote.

KEYRIS MANZANARES: The City of Charlottesville's new zoning ordinance went into effect on February 19th.

James Freas, deputy city manager for operations, says this is about addressing issues of affordability and equity in the housing market.

JAMES FREAS: One of the core values of the City of Charlottesville is that it's a welcoming community and it's a diverse community.

And with that being a core value, I think it was a significant concern that with the increasing cost of living in the city, that we were losing that sense of diversity.

KEYRIS MANZANARES: The new zoning ordinance calls for higher density; requires buildings with 10 or more units to make 10% of them affordable, defined by 60% of the area median income; and eliminates all single-family residential zoning.

Matthew Gillikin with nonprofit group Livable Cville says.

MATTHEW GILLIKIN: Well, the great news is that the new zoning code's not going to destroy any neighborhoods, whereas the existing zoning code was destroying neighborhoods.

And I think if you look closely at certain neighborhoods, they've had major changes in who's able to live there and what the physical landscape of the neighborhood looks like as well.

So this is a way for everywhere in Charlottesville to be part of the solution to our housing crisis.

KEYRIS MANZANARES: But not everyone is on board.

A group of residents from the Barracks Rugby neighborhood is suing the city, alleging the ordinance is void.

VPM News reached out to the attorney representing the residents.

He provided this statement, saying, quote, "This case is about the City of Charlottesville failing to follow specific statutory requirements adopted by the General Assembly to ensure that there is adequate infrastructure for an upzoning like this."

Freas declined to comment on ongoing litigation.

For VPM News, I'm Keyris Manzanares.