Comments Document
I am Denise Mosca, a constituent of Keith Hodges in Gloucester County, living at 6977 Ark Road. Please allow HB 529 and HB1100 to pass out of committee to be considered by the House. Because Virginia is a Dillon Rule state, localities need to be granted the flexibility to manage trees specific to their local planning and individual stormwater response. In a 2020 study Virginia Dept. of Forestry VADOF estimated that Virginia is currently losing 14,000 acres annually to land conversion. From 2014 to 2018 Gloucester County has experienced a net loss of 217 acres of tree cover. The 2020 VADOF study delineated the following benefits of trees (see attachment):
Trees are a low cost option to provide resilience. Keeping healthy, mature trees on site costs far less than taxpayer-funded programs to construct “hard” storm water infrastructure. HB 529 and HB1100 are local option bills; they provide the freedom to the locality to enact the provisions or not. There is a site specific clause for deviation in HB 529 to address hardship of the developer provided that neighborhood stormwater management and tree preservation goals are considered. Fairfax County has adopted this ordinance package as of 2009 and it has neither slowed nor hindered development or stifled affordable housing initiatives. Virginia has already delegated authority to the localities to implement stormwater plans that make the most sense for their circumstances. Please allow localities the low cost options to maintain and increase tree cover for their stormwater planning and all the benefits that trees provide for Virginia.
Comments Document
I am Denise Mosca, a constituent of Keith Hodges in Gloucester County, living at 6977 Ark Road. Please allow HB 529 and HB1100 to pass out of committee to be considered by the House. Because Virginia is a Dillon Rule state, localities need to be granted the flexibility to manage trees specific to their local planning and individual stormwater response. In a 2020 study Virginia Dept. of Forestry VADOF estimated that Virginia is currently losing 14,000 acres annually to land conversion. From 2014 to 2018 Gloucester County has experienced a net loss of 217 acres of tree cover. The 2020 VADOF study delineated the following benefits of trees (see attachment): Trees are a low cost option to provide resilience. Keeping healthy, mature trees on site costs far less than taxpayer-funded programs to construct “hard” storm water infrastructure. HB 529 and HB1100 are local option bills; they provide the freedom to the locality to enact the provisions or not. There is a site specific clause for deviation in HB 529 to address hardship of the developer provided that neighborhood stormwater management and tree preservation goals are considered. Fairfax County has adopted this ordinance package as of 2009 and it has neither slowed nor hindered development or stifled affordable housing initiatives. Virginia has already delegated authority to the localities to implement stormwater plans that make the most sense for their circumstances. Please allow localities the low cost options to maintain and increase tree cover for their stormwater planning and all the benefits that trees provide for Virginia.