Virginia First Cities supports SB 1275 and thanks Senator Jordan for the bill which will help smaller cities with their economic development efforts. Virginia First Cities has eighteen members of varying populations and square mileage. Because of the nature of Virginia's cities --- landlocked and unable to grow --- our members cannot avail themselves of opportunities that fall under the category of mega-sites. With eleven of our eighteen members falling under 35 square miles, we wholeheartedly endorse SB 1430 as an economic development program that can be very helpful to the Commonwealth generally, and to our cities, specifically.

The City of Portsmouth strongly supports this bill. As one of the smaller localities in the Commonwealth of Virginia (that is an older built-out city with economic development needs) by allowing us to compete for a portion of this funding would be extremely helpful and a useful tool in our tool-box. Please support this bill. Thank you

This bill will assist small rural communities with the opportunities to develop small tracts of land. This will allow for job creation and new tax revenue.