Spanberger's Virginia housing agenda falls short on local pushback

"A pair of bills would have required local zoning codes to allow multifamily and mixed-use residential development by right across broad swaths of commercially zoned land. Supporters said the approach could convert underused strip malls, parking lots and office corridors into thousands of apartments without case-by-case rezonings."

"Both measures advanced through the House and Senate before stalling amid objections from local governments and some suburban lawmakers, who said the proposal would erode local control over land-use decisions and infrastructure planning."

"The failure of the by-right proposal leaves Virginia's housing affordability strategy weighted toward subsidies and preservation, even as the state's affordable housing shortage is estimated at a minimum of 300,000 homes."

"The General Assembly passed a right-of-first-refusal framework for subsidized affordable properties. The policy gives localities a chance to step in when properties are at risk of sale, allowing cities and counties to preserve existing affordable units rather than see them convert to market-rate housing."

Governor Abigail Spanberger's first-year housing agenda in Virginia achieved mixed results. While the package delivered new funding and tools for affordable housing preservation, it fell short on its most significant supply-side proposal: statewide zoning reform to allow multifamily housing by right in commercially zoned areas. Two bills that would have enabled this conversion of underused commercial spaces into apartments stalled amid opposition from local governments and suburban lawmakers concerned about eroding local control. Despite this setback, lawmakers approved several alternative measures including a right-of-first-refusal framework for subsidized properties, a revolving loan fund for mixed-income developments, and expanded eviction reduction programs. These approved measures provide additional funding streams and administrative tools for local governments, though they maintain reliance on subsidies and preservation rather than supply-side expansion.

Read at www.housingwire.com