Virginia localities would gain new powers to make land-use decisions under legislation several Republican General Assembly delegates proposed Wednesday.
“I know that residents from many Virginia communities witness firsthand the strains placed on Virginia’s transportation network by the commonwealth’s antiquated approach to land use and planning,” said House Speaker William Howell, R-Strafford. “We must adopt a bold new approach to better manage growth and to control sprawl.”
But a Northern Virginia local-government leader panned the ideas, saying the legislation will not solve transportation problems.
“It is a smoke screen for their unwillingness to address the transportation funding crisis,” said Democrat Gerald Connolly, chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. “I am all for local control, but if they really want to do something, they should give localities the ability to deny rezoning based on inadequate infrastructure.”
The first plank of the Republicans’ plan would let local governments designate urban development areas where higher building densities would be allowed. The policy is intended to encourage growth in those areas and allow local governments to plan for that growth by targeting infrastructure improvements in those areas.
The second bill would allow local governments to charge developers an impact fee if they want to build in rural areas. The revenue would help the local government provide infrastructure, such as roads or sewers, to serve the new developments.
The third proposal would put a moratorium on developer-built roads being accepted into the state’s maintenance program. Under the plan, the local government that approved the subdivision or the local neighborhood association would be responsible for maintaining the roads, not the state.
