Dear Delegates, We are at a juncture in the proverbial road where we simply cannot hide our heads in the sand. Your constiuents have identified there are problems with data center infrastructrure and siting. My question is this. What do we possibly lose if you pass this bill? Knowledge, facts to make better more infromed decisions? From the prospective of THIS community, here in Prince William County, we have been asking for change for a decade on how we incorporate this kind of energy customer into our communities. Isn't it about time we did something? Please pass 1601 out of committee, we cannot be afraid of the facts anymore. Sincerely, Elena Schlossberg 16875 Stormy Drive Haymarket 20169

HB1601 introduces common sense siting prerequisites and prudent precautions for data centers being considered in proximity to sensitive incompatible uses. It would allow a locality to require an assessment of the effects of the proposed facility on water, agricultural resources, parks, historic sites or forestland. Such guidelines reflect the findings of the recent JLARC report and are desperately needed to protect citizens and natural resources from the encroachment of industrial facilities on areas inappropriate for their presence. I urge your support of HB1601. Thank you.

We ask you to please support HB1601. This bill would provide important transparency for the siting of a new high energy use facilities (HEUF) requiring a rezoning, special exception, or special use permit. It is critical to ensure that high impact developments like this will have guardrails to protect residents, schools, and localities. This bill helps to provide the information to do just that, through the requirement that high-energy use facilities (>100 MW) provide localities with a site assessment examining their noise impact on nearby residential areas and schools, and localities and through enabling localities to require electric utilities serving the facility to provide information on new generating units, substations and transmission infrastructure needed to serve the project. Please support HB1601.

My family STRONGLY supports HB 1659, a critical bill that would fund grants through a Local Foundation and Soil Management Fund. This bill would allow funding to support the erosion repair to the area joining our small community with the Leesylvania State Park. This popular state park provides access to thousands of visitors seeking nature trails, bird viewing, kayaking, boat access points, sailing lessons, fishing, family barbecues, and most importantly a home to a variety of species. The sole burden of the cost of the erosion repair would be crippling to the Newport Estate residents. Such grants are made for moments such as this…helping to preserve our treasured natural habitats. This community desperately needs the help of HB1659. Thank you for your consideration.

I strongly support the passage of HB 1659 Local Foundation and Soil Management Fund. Having been a resident of Newport Estates since 2006 and active members of our community and local government, our neighborhood is still resolving issues created by the developer 20+ years ago due to sub-standard soil that was never completely corrected. We have friends and neighbors who were directly impacted and displaced during the previous incidents. Regrettably, our neighborhood is experiencing slope failure again. The demographics of our neighborhood include retirees on fixed budgets as well as new families building a life here. Lack of support for bill HB1659 will result in significant financial impacts to households within our community. Our HOA does not have the additional funds for another restoration project of this complexity and magnitude. This bill will allow our government to provided critical financial support for soil restoration in our neighborhood.

I support HB 1659 Local Foundation and Soil Management Fund. This bill will allow our government to provided needed financial support for soil restoration in our community. Unfortunately, we are experiencing slope failure in because developers had not properly corrected it during construction. Our HOA does not have the funds for restoration project of this magnitude.

I support HB 1659 Local Foundation and Soil Management Fund. I have been a homeowner at Newport Estates since January 1998. I support HB 1659 Local Foundation and Soil Management Fund. This bill will allow our government to provide needed financial support for soil restoration in our community. Unfortunately, we are experiencing slope failure because developers had not properly corrected it during construction. Our HOA does not have the funds for restoration projects of this magnitude. There would be significant financial impacts to households within our community without financial support this bill would allow.

I support HB 1659 Local Foundation and Soil Management Fund.

I support HB 1659 Local Foundation and Soil Management Fund. Our Newport Estates HOA does not have the funds for a restoration project of this magnitude and, without the financial support this bill would provide, home owners will incur a significant financial impact to rectify the problem.

I support HB1659 Local Foundation and Soil Management Fund. Our community is desperately in need of this support to save serval homes from soil erosion due to the slope behind some of our homes.

I support HB 1659 Local Foundation and Soil Management Fund.

I support HB 1659 Local Foundation and Soil Management Fund.

I support HB 1659 Local Foundation and Soil Management Fund. This bill, submitted by our representative, would allow our government to provide needed financial support for our community to address a slope failure issue that has occurred because the original developers did not properly correct it during construction about two decades ago. Our Newport Estates HOA does not have the funds for a restoration project of this magnitude and, without the financial support this bill would provide, home owners will incur a significant financial impact to rectify the problem.

I support HB 1659 Local Foundation and Soil Management Fund.

I support HB 1659 Local Foundation and Soil Management Fund.

I support this bill because this bill will allow our government to provided needed financial support for soil restoration in our community. Unfortunately, we are experiencing slope failure in because developers had not properly corrected it during construction. Our HOA does not have the funds for restoration project of this magnitude. Significant financial impacts to households without financial support this bill would allow. Thank you.

 I support HB 1659 Local Foundation and Soil Management Fund.       •    This bill will allow our government to provided needed financial support for soil restoration in our community.      •    Unfortunately, we are experiencing slope failure in because developers had not properly corrected it during construction.      •    Our HOA does not have the funds for restoration project of this magnitude.     •    Significant financial impacts to households without financial support this bill would allow. 

I support HB 1659 Local Foundation and Soil Management Fund

 I support HB 1659 Local Foundation and Soil Management Fund.   • This bill will allow our government to provided needed financial support for soil restoration in our community.  • Unfortunately, we are experiencing slope failure in because developers had not properly corrected it during construction.  • Our HOA does not have the funds for restoration project of this magnitude. • Significant financial impacts to households without financial support this bill would allow. 

I support HB 1659 Local Foundation and Soil Management Fund. This bill will allow our government to provided needed financial support for soil restoration in our community. Unfortunately, we are experiencing slope failure in because developers had not properly corrected it during construction. Our HOA does not have the funds for restoration project of this magnitude. Significant financial impacts to households without financial support this bill would allow. Thanks for your consideration to this urgent and needed issue in our Woodbridge, VA community.

I support HB 1659 Local Foundation and Soil Management Find.

I am in support of this bill. This bill is crucial for securing the financial assistance needed to restore our community’s soil, which has been severely impacted by slope failure. The issue stems from developers who did not adequately address the slope during construction, leaving the problem unresolved. Our Homeowners Association (HOA) is not equipped with the financial resources to fund a restoration project of this magnitude, and without the support that this bill would provide, households in our community will face significant financial hardships. This bill offers an essential lifeline, helping to mitigate the potential economic impact on residents and ensuring that the necessary environmental repairs can be made.

I support HB 1659 Local Foundation and Soil Management Fund. The erosion is an ongoing issue that the homeowners have had to deal with because the developers never took care of the issue during construction. Without the approval, the cost would add a significant burden to each homeowner that we can not afford.

I support HB 1659 Local Foundation and Soil Management Fund. This bill will allow our government to provided needed financial support for soil restoration in our community, without which there will be rather significant financial impacts to hundreds of families in the community. Thank you for your concern and support in this matter.

“ I support HB 1659 Local Foundation and Soil Management Fund.”,

I support HB 1659 Local Foundation and Soil Management Fund. Our HOA does not have the funds for restoration project of this magnitude.

I support HB 1659 Local Foundation and Soil Management Fund.

Please approve this bill for a temporary easement to fix soil/erosion damage that will negatively impact homeowners. The cost benefit analysis clearly paints this easement as the best solution. Furthermore, the environmental impact is minimal and nature will spontaneously restore the land back to original condition. Finally, this soil conservation benefits the State park that this easement encroaches upon. As a citizen with common sense, this easement is a win-win solution that everyone benefits from. Please approve this bill. V/R, Stephen Bonner...

I am an original homeowner living adjacent to the land that is eroding within the easement behind our street's homes. I was directly affected by a prior landslide in 2007, with a complete loss of my backyard. That slide resulted in my family being forcibly vacated from our home for over three months, while reconstruction took place. Direct access to the area being reconstructed was afforded by the construction of a temporary road from Neabsco Rd, which allowed numerous truck loads of poor-quality soil to be removed and subsequently replaced by more effective soil and crushed stone. I am grateful to Prince William County and the Newport Homeowners Association for coordinating with all parties to restore my property and allow me to return to my home. I am also grateful that a temporary road could be constructed to access the worksite, which increased the efficiency, safety, and speed to restore my property and that of the association.

My name is Heather, and I live on Kings Mountain Rd in the Newport Estate community of Woodbridge, VA. My husband and I enthusiastically support this bill for several reasons. Our property borders Leesylvania State Park— in particular, a strip of eroded land that was once environmentally remedied and has since deteriorated again. We’d like to see this land restored and properly protected, especially considering the history of the land. In addition, as parents to five and lifelong public servants, we worry about the safety of our children and the integrity of our home should this issue continue to go unaddressed. This bill would provide the opportunity for our community to remediate this land once again.

As the Commonwealth's administrator for the C-PACE Program, we are the entity that educates and promotes C-PACE to jurisdictions, property owners and developers, and the A/E/C industry. We are also the entity that designed the Program and is the entity that approves C-PACE transactions based on our Program Guidelines. Seventeen jurisdictions have joined the state program (with an 18th about to join) since it opened in late 2022, representing around 50% of the state's population. Despite the difficult lending environment in 2023-2024, we closed three transactions in three different localities totaling $15,4 million with another anticipated to close in February. This is in four different jurisdictions which shows the broad interest for PACE. These projects have resulted in job creation (two hotels and an assisted living facility) as well as a reduction in energy usage and GHG emissions. As we are the entity in the so-called trenches, we see the roadblocks that developers and property owners encounter when wanting to use C-PACE. The amendments presented to you today are specifically tailored to address these roadblocks and make it easier to use C-PACE. A win-win for all. In summary, these include: 1. Clarifying use of ground leases under specific circumstances 2 Clarifying definitions around eligible properties that had incorrect references 3. Clarifying that recordation taxes are not due as it is not a DOT but a special assessment 4. Requiring timely action on the part of localities to opt into the program and 5. Increasing the lookback financing provision from 2 to 3 years to allow for greater flexibility to owners/developers. We kind ask for your support for these modifications that will increase economic development through the use of this important financing tool in the Commonwealth.

The City of Portsmouth strongly supports this bill as it will help to defray the administrative costs to maintain the tracking of vacant buildings. Please Support. Thank you

The City of Portsmouth strongly supports this bill as it will help to defray the administrative costs to maintain the tracking of vacant buildings. Please Support. Thank you

On behalf of the eighteen older, historic city members of the Virginia First Cities Coalition, we support Delegate Simonds' HB 1826. Our coalition of Virginia's old, historic cities was formed to work on these issues some 25 years ago and we are still at it. We continue to work very hard to make our city neighborhoods, downtowns, commercial and residential spaces income producing, vibrant and productive places. We support our valued member, the City of Newport News, for centering this legislation in their 2025 Legislative Program. We know that vacant building registry programs work, but they are also very time and labor intensive for many of our city departments --- from public safety to building codes to inspections --- We have a great deal of time and effort invested in getting these properties back on the tax rolls. The City of Newport News is asking for an increase in fees that have not been increased in over fourteen years. We think this is important. We'd also like to point out the inordinate amount of time and the costs associated with maintaining, enforcing, ensuring the public safety surrounding these criminally blighted properties. Please support HB 1826

Statement of the Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts in Support of HB 2037 The Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts (VASWCD) is a private nonprofit association of 47 soil and water conservation districts in Virginia. The Association provides and promotes leadership in the conservation of natural resources through stewardship and education programs. It coordinates conservation efforts statewide to focus effectively on issues identified by local member districts. Our mission is to serve and strengthen soil and water conservation districts in the stewardship of natural resources. We are very concerned with the loss of prime farmland and forest to utility scale solar developments in Virginia. Utility scale solar development has significant land use implications. According to a just released study by Virginia Commonwealth University, commissioned by the Virginia Department of Energy, over the last four years Virginia has lost 15,000 acres of forest to utility scale solar projects, and 12,000 acres of farmland. The loss of trees is particularly concerning given the Commonwealth’s obligations under the Chesapeake Bay agreement to plant 48,000 acres of new trees. This puts Virginia significantly in the red when it comes to complying with the Chesapeake Bay agreement forestry component. We think it is far preferable to install solar energy facilities on rooftops, parking lots, and land that has already been disturbed. At the December 2024 annual meeting of the Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts, the Association unanimously expressed opposition to any legislation that would restrict a County government’s current authority to make land use decisions with respect to rejecting or approving industrial utility scale solar projects within the County. Instead, we believe it is much better policy to give County government more authority to promote solar development on parking lots, such as would be accomplished by Delegate Bulova’s HB 2037. We support HB 2037, patroned by Delegate Bulova. The bill would allow local governments more leverage in dealing with developers to secure commitments from those developers to install photovoltaic panels on parking lots associated with the developments. We feel it is appropriate to empower local governments to take actions to improve the environmental quality of their communities. We urge the Committee to promptly take positive action on HB 2037.

Statement of the Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts in Support of HB 2037 The Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts (VASWCD) is a private nonprofit association of 47 soil and water conservation districts in Virginia. The Association provides and promotes leadership in the conservation of natural resources through stewardship and education programs. It coordinates conservation efforts statewide to focus effectively on issues identified by local member districts. Our mission is to serve and strengthen soil and water conservation districts in the stewardship of natural resources. We are very concerned with the loss of prime farmland and forest to utility scale solar developments in Virginia. Utility scale solar development has significant land use implications. According to a just released study by Virginia Commonwealth University, commissioned by the Virginia Department of Energy, over the last four years Virginia has lost 15,000 acres of forest to utility scale solar projects, and 12,000 acres of farmland. The loss of trees is particularly concerning given the Commonwealth’s obligations under the Chesapeake Bay agreement to plant 48,000 acres of new trees. This puts Virginia significantly in the red when it comes to complying with the Chesapeake Bay agreement forestry component. We think it is far preferable to install solar energy facilities on rooftops, parking lots, and land that has already been disturbed. At the December 2024 annual meeting of the Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts, the Association unanimously expressed opposition to any legislation that would restrict a County government’s current authority to make land use decisions with respect to rejecting or approving industrial utility scale solar projects within the County. Instead, we believe it is much better policy to give County government more authority to promote solar development on parking lots, such as would be accomplished by Delegate Bulova’s HB 2037. We support HB 2037, patroned by Delegate Bulova. The bill would allow local governments more leverage in dealing with developers to secure commitments from those developers to install photovoltaic panels on parking lots associated with the developments. We feel it is appropriate to empower local governments to take actions to improve the environmental quality of their communities. We urge the Committee to promptly take positive action on HB 2037.

I highly support this bill and thank the Delegate for sponsoring it. Solar canopies on parking lots are a win-win proposition and have shown success in other states. Solar on parking lots is a great dual use for spaces that are already paved, reducing demand on other lands. This bill allows individual localities to decide whether or not to require solar canopies and whether or not to provide bonuses. The localities most likely to require such canopies are in the urban areas driving most of the increases in energy need; therefore this bill helps those areas to share in mitigating this increase.

The eighteen member cities of the Virginia First Cities Coalition support Delegate Walker's HB 2128 as a practical and much needed update to our efforts to ameliorate blight and derelict buildings in our cities. The imposition of civil penalties on derelict buildings is as important on non-residential buildings as residential buildings/homes. The fact is, our cities are working very hard to make our downtowns, neighborhoods and community spaces vibrant and productive places to live and work. The amendments that Delegate Walker proposes will be most helpful in this regard. We urge your support.

Comments Document

Forwarding the support comments from the City's Human Services Advisory Council comprised of citizens appointed by the City Council. Please see attached letter of support for HB2137. Thank you, Cindy Mester Legislative Affairs Director

On behalf of Hamkae Center working-class and low income Asian Americans that we work with throughout the Commonwealth, I support HB2137 because it supports equitable economic opportunities for working-class and low-income Asian American communities include housing/rent costs, working conditions, wages, employment opportunities, and income inequality. Suja Mathew, Advocacy Manager

Comments Document

On behalf of City of Falls Church Council I have signed up to speak at this 1-16-2025 meeting but on the off chance to many speakers desiring to testify as well as to keep my testimony brief, I am attaching a document with additional details on the affordable housing needs and how this state code change will be beneficial. Thank you for your consideration and service to the citizens of the City and Commonwealth. Cindy Mester