There are 5 days remaining in the 2018 General Assembly Session and both the House and Senate Committees are beginning to wrap up their work. Much of this week will be spent reconciling the vast differences in the proposed budgets of the House and the Senate and voting on bills that successfully made it out of Committee.
This session has kept HBAV very busy. We have been tracking over 140 pieces of legislation that directly or indirectly impact the residential land development and construction industry in Virginia. At the conclusion of session, HBAV will sound a full listing of bills that passed both chambers and are under review by the Governor.
This week’s update includes some of the legislative highlights of the last several weeks, as well as updates on bills that cleared Committee and were sent to the full House or Senate. Bill headlines include:
- Abandoned School Revitalization Zones
- Liability for Multi-Family Property Owners, Managers, and Operators
- Protecting Virginia’s Code Development Process
- Anti-Affiliated Business Arrangements Legislation Defeated
- Inclusionary Zoning
- Local Government – Permitting, Plan Review, and Protections for Proprietary Documents
- Vested Rights and Nonconforming Use Legislation:
- Tree Ordinance Legislation
- Cluster Development Legislation
- Bills Impacting Specific Localities
- Alexandria
- Chesapeake and Portsmouth
- Rural Tidewater Localities: Accomack, Essex, Gloucester, King and Queen, King William, Lancaster, Mathews, Middlesex, Northampton, Northumberland, Richmond, and Westmoreland
Abandoned School Revitalization Zones:
SB 448 allows localities to establish abandoned school revitalization zones for the purpose of providing incentives to private entities to purchase or develop property or to assembly parcels suitable for economic development that include an abandoned school site. Localities will have the flexibility to craft specific incentives but they can include reduction of permit fees, reduction of user fees, reduction of any type of gross receipts tax or any other type of tax, waiver of tax liens and more. The bill has already passed the Senate and earlier this week, it passed the House Counties, Cities, and Towns Committee.
HBAV supports this legislation and believes it will be another effective tool for localities to spur revitalization and redevelopment.
Liability for Multi-Family Property Owners, Managers, Operators:
HB 209
would have provided that any person owning, operating, or managing a commercial property used primarily for business purposes or residential real property that is owned by a person who owns five or more dwelling units that are used primarily for rental as a dwelling unit shall have the duty to take reasonable precautions to protect the tenants, other authorized occupants, or guests or invitees of such property against injury caused by the criminal conduct of a third party, if the danger of injury by such conduct is known to such owner, operator, or manager or is reasonably foreseeable. The bill provides that the same duty applies to any private security services business contracted to provide services to such person owning, operating, or managing such property.
HBAV was strongly opposed to this legislation and it did not advance this Session.
Protecting Virginia’s Code Development Process:
One of HBAV’s top legislative priorities this Session was to protect Virginia’s current code development process. There were three bills introduced this year that would have fragmented the process by which Virginia updates the USBC, the Statewide Fire Prevention Code, and other codes – and would have ultimately led to significantly more cumbersome and costly regulations.
SB 488
,
HB 1420
, and
HB 1411
would have transferred the authority for the adoption of the Statewide Fire Prevention Code (SFPC) from the Board of Housing and Community Development to the Virginia Fire Services Board. HBAV opposed these bills because the current code development process has been extremely effective in advancing building safety and energy efficiency improvements in Virginia's buildings. Currently, the Board of Housing and Community Development (BHCD) is responsible for reviewing and adopting the Uniform Statewide Building Code (USBC), the Statewide Fire Prevention Code (SFPC), and other codes. The BHCD consists of 14 citizen members with expertise and experience in building construction, energy efficiency, and fire safety, which allows for a vigorous and deliberate code evaluation process over the course of 1.5 to 2 years.
SB 488 was defeated in Committee by a vote of 10 to 4 with one abstention; HB 1420 was stricken from the docket; and HB 1411 was also tabled.
HB 1476
would have directed the Board of Housing and Community Development to amend the USBC to require the installation of arc fault circuit interrupter protection for detached one-family and two-family dwellings and townhouses pursuant to the International Residential Code and in compliance with the requirements of the National Electrical Code.
HBAV opposed this legislation and it did not advance.
Anti-Affiliated Business Arrangements Legislation Defeated:
HB 1028
as introduced would have prohibited a builder, seller, or any other party associated with a real estate transaction from offering, as an option, the use of any affiliated mortgage lender or broker or any other vendor in that transaction. HBAV firmly believes that affiliated business arrangements offer true value to both consumers and our builder members through better interest rates, predictable closing dates, and peace-of-mind for all parties.
HBAV and several other organizations met with the patron several times to discuss our concerns with the legislation - the bill was on the docket last Thursday and the Committee voted to "carry over" the legislation, which means it will not proceed. This is a big victory for HBAV and our industry!
Inclusionary Zoning Legislation:
SB290
sought to grant all localities in the Commonwealth the authority to enact ordinances requiring applicants to set-aside a percentage of units as “affordable”, as defined by the locality. HBAV strongly believes that we need to be encouraging the production of a diversity of housing stock in all regions on the Commonwealth, but these mandatory programs have not been effective in spurring the production of these units. HBAV opposed this legislation but committed to working with the patron of this bill and other stakeholders in the upcoming months on expanding existing affordable housing incentives and developing new, practical solutions that remove the impediments to the production of affordable housing without mandating it. The patron and the proponents of the bill agreed to start those discussions after the General Assembly adjourns. SB 290 passed the Senate, but did not pass the House of Delegates.
Local Government – Permitting, Plan Review, and Protections for Proprietary Documents
SB993
prohibits a local Planning Commission from delaying the official submission of any proposed plat, site plan, or plan of development by requiring pre-submission conferences, meetings, or reviews.
HBAV supported this legislation – it has now passed the House and the Senate!
HB 859
was introduced to allow localities to enter into agreements with each other to provide technical assistance with administration and enforcement of the Building Code.
HBAV supported this legislation and it has successfully passed both the House and the Senate.
Thanks to Delegate Chris Peace for advancing this legislation!
SB 921
was introduced to clarify that information contained in engineering and construction drawings and plans for single-family homes can be shared between a locality's departments. This bill, as originally drafted, contained several provisions that we believed would allow any individual or entity to obtain the proprietary information contained in these construction and engineering documents. HBAV worked hard to protect these documents during previous General Assembly Session. We brought our concerns to Senator Adam Ebbin and he was able to amend the bill to maintain the protections that currently exist. The bill has passed the House and Senate and will now head to the Governor’s desk for review.
HB 164
removes the requirement that a building permit applicant's written statement that he is not subject to licensure or certification as a contractor or subcontractor be supported by an affidavit.
HBAV supported this legislation - it has been signed by the Governor and will become effective July 1, 2018.
Vested Rights and Nonconforming Use Legislation:
HB1595
and
SB972
prohibit local governments from enacting expensive and overreaching mandates to require property owners to retrofit or preclude them from refreshing or maintaining landscape cover materials.
HBAV supports both of these bills and they have passed the House and the Senate.
HB377
was a legislative recommendation from NVBIA and exempts from the requirement to obtain a Virginia Water Protection Permit any impact to a stormwater management facility on dry land.
This bill has now passed both the House and the Senate.
HB 245
would have provided that a nonconforming use may be continued so long as the use is not discontinued for more than one year and meets other conditions. Existing law provides that such use shall not be discontinued for more than two years.
HBAV opposed this legislation and it did not advance.
Tree Ordinance Legislation:
HB 447
would have added
the preservation of mature trees, both as a stormwater management tool and as a means of providing other benefits, to the list of activities that the State Water Resources Board is directed to encourage and promote as it adopts criteria for local governments to use as they consider development in Chesapeake Bay Preservation Areas.
HBAV opposed this legislation and it was defeated by a vote of 6 to 4.
HB 400
would have allowed localities to enact tree replacement and planting ordinances that exceed the requirements of
15.2-961
.
HBAV opposed this legislation and it did not advance.
HB 494
was introduced to authorize any locality within the Chesapeake Bay watershed to adopt an ordinance providing for the planting and replacement of trees during the development process. Currently, only localities with a population density of 75 persons per square mile can adopt these ordinances. These ordinances shall also provide methods of reducing the tree canopy requirements or granting tree cover credit.
HBAV supported this legislation and it has passed both the House and Senate.
Cluster Development Legislation:
HB 341
as originally introduced would have prohibited stormwater management facilities from being located in open space within cluster developments.
Delegate Bob Thomas was very considerate of our concerns with this legislation and agreed to continue the discussion locally after the General Assembly Session- HBAV looks forward to working with FABA and Delegate Thomas on this issue in the interim. This bill was stricken from the docket and will not advance this year.
Alexandria
:
HB 195
would have amended the City’s charter to grant them authority to adopt an ordinance providing for the planting and replacement of trees during the development process. The ordinance shall require that the site plan for any subdivision or development include the planting or replacement of trees on the site to the extent that, at 10 years, minimum tree canopies or covers will meet certain criteria based on zoning, density, and other factors set out in the ordinance. The ordinance shall provide for reasonable provisions for reducing the tree canopy requirements or granting tree cover credit in consideration of the preservation of existing tree cover or for preservation of trees of outstanding age, size, or physical characteristics.
Chesapeake and Portsmouth:
SB 129
adds the City of Chesapeake and Portsmouth to those localities that may require payment by a subdivider or developer of land of a pro rata share of the cost of reasonable and necessary road improvements, located outside the property limits of the land owned or controlled by him but serving an area having related traffic needs to which his subdivision or development will contribute, to reimburse an initial subdivider or developer who has advanced such costs or constructed such road improvements.
Rural Tidewater Localities -
Accomack, Essex, Gloucester, King and Queen, King William, Lancaster, Mathews, Middlesex, Northampton, Northumberland, Richmond, and Westmoreland:
HBAV worked with a group of stakeholders to craft
HB 1307 and
HB 1308, which were both introduced by Delegate Keith Hodges and will have an immediate impact on localities that are 1) subject to the provisions of the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act and 2) eligible to join the Rural Coastal Virginia Community Enhancement Authority (Northern Neck, Middle Peninsula, and Accomack-Northampton planning districts as follows: Accomack, Essex, Gloucester, King and Queen, King William, Lancaster, Mathews, Middlesex, Northampton, Northumberland, Richmond, and Westmoreland). Both of these bills have passed the House and the Senate and will head to the Governor’s office for signature.
Background on HB 1307 and HB 1308:
I
n 2012, the General Assembly passed legislation to better integrate SWMA, E&SC laws, and Stormwater/Erosion and Sediment Control requirements of the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act – this bill required localities to adopt VSMPs by July, 2014. In 2012, E&SC, SWMA, CBPA, MS4 permits, Construction General Permits were transferred to DEQ.
In 2014, legislation was passed that retained the requirement that the new stormwater regulations’ technical criteria had to be implemented statewide by July, 2014. The legislation allowed an agreement in lieu of a stormwater plan for construction of a single family residence and allowed non-MS4 localities to choose to opt in and run their own programs. If they opted out, DEQ would administer the program for them. But if a locality opted out, it would still have to administer stormwater management requirements in two instances – known as the “donut holes”
-Per the E&SC Law (§62.1-44.15:52), in lieu of Minimum Standard 19, all localities have to implement the stormwaterwater quantity requirements (a change added by the Integration Bill in 2012) for land disturbance sites of 10,000 S.F. or more
-For localities subject to the CBPA, they still have to administer stormwater management requirements for all land disturbance sites of 2,500 SF up to one acre.
DEQ convened a stakeholder group in 2015 to look at consolidating the SWMA and the E&SC Law which resulted in the Virginia Erosion and Stormwater Management Act of 2016. This law:
· Consolidated the two laws for localities that are MS4s or choose to “Opt In” to run their own programs.
· Provides for “Opt-In Lite” where DEQ conducts stormwater plan reviews for a locality.
· Enables “Opt out” localities to continue to administer their E&SC Programs while DEQ administers the VSMP for them.
But the “donut hole” issues discussed above remained. So Delegate Keith Hodges introduced HB 1774 to create a workgroup to look at ways to address the “donut hole” issues in rural Tidewater. HBAV was an active participant in this workgroup which ultimately led to the passage of two bills during this Session.
Allows any rural Tidewater locality, as defined in the bill, to comply with water quantity technical criteria for certain land-disturbing activities based on the percentage of impervious cover in the watershed. The bill provides that any eligible locality electing to use certain control standards shall, by ordinance, adopt an official map that indicates the percentage of impervious cover in each watershed within the locality and shall update the map at least annually. The bill allows any such locality to apply one of the following three standards for managing water quantity to any new development project: (i) if the site, as indicated on the map, has less than 5.0 percent impervious cover, the standard shall be a particular State Water Control Board regulation; (ii) if the watershed has 5.0 percent or more but less than 7.5 percent impervious cover, the standard shall be the one-year, 24-hour release method; and (iii) if the watershed has 7.5 percent or more impervious cover, the standard shall be the energy balance method. The bill provides that any project whose construction would cause the watershed in which it is located to step up to the next higher tier shall be evaluated under the energy balance method or a more stringent alternative.
Authorizes any rural Tidewater locality, whether or not it has opted out of administering a stormwater or erosion and sediment control program, to require that a licensed professional retained by the applicant submit a set of plans and supporting calculations for land-disturbing activities that disturb 2,500 square feet or more but less than one acre of land. The bill requires the plans to bear a certification and to be signed and sealed by the professional. The locality is authorized to accept such plans in satisfaction of the local plan review requirement. The bill also directs the Department of Environmental Quality to examine the possibility of expanding the use of the agreement in lieu of a stormwater management plan, currently authorized for use in the construction of certain single-family residences, to include any nonresidential development site of less than one acre in a rural Tidewater locality.
