City of Falls Church Council SUPPORTS both SB1011 Affordable Dwelling Unit legislation as outlined in the attachment. In addition, the City Council fully SUPPORTS the current version of SB932, with incorporation of SB1256, regarding the localities Comprehensive Plan may include accessory dwelling units as well as tiny homes. The need for housing type choices, supply and affordable as well as accessible if a vital need in the Commonwealth as well as our locality. The needs are outlined in the attachment. The current version of SB932 is a balanced approach of specifying in the Comprehensive Plan the long term development for such items as housing and affordability while allowing the locality to develop its own program design and ordinance, with full community engagement, as one size does not fit all. We are grateful for the Senators openness to collaborate with localities and amend the legislation to facilitate the desired outcome for all.

On behalf of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce, I am expressing our support for SB932 (Salim) and we urge you all to please support the bill during tomorrow’s Committee meeting. SB932 would encourage the creation of accessory dwelling units throughout the Commonwealth, providing flexibility to homeowners and expanding this tool to address our housing needs to the entire state. At a time when Virginia faces a shortage of attainable housing units, our Commonwealth needs a menu of smart policy options to tackle this problem, including this legislation.

City of Falls Church Council SUPPORTS both SB1011 Affordable Dwelling Unit legislation as outlined in the attachment. In addition, the City Council fully SUPPORTS the current version of SB932, with incorporation of SB1256, regarding the localities Comprehensive Plan may include accessory dwelling units as well as tiny homes. The need for housing type choices, supply and affordable as well as accessible if a vital need in the Commonwealth as well as our locality. The needs are outlined in the attachment. The current version of SB932 is a balanced approach of specifying in the Comprehensive Plan the long term development for such items as housing and affordability while allowing the locality to develop its own program design and ordinance, with full community engagement, as one size does not fit all. We are grateful for the Senators openness to collaborate with localities and amend the legislation to facilitate the desired outcome for all.

My family has been laid to rest beside each other in three different family cemeteries for over 200 years . All three cemeteries are within walking distance of each on land once owned by my family. Since the county purchase of the land surrounding our cemeteries we have been completely stripped of all burial rights next to our loved ones. We now have no where to rest. Recently we had to beg the County for over a week to allow my cousin to rest beside his Mother after his sudden passing. Now my 82 year old Mother is being denied the right of having her brother rest beside their brother. We have maintained this cemeteries for these 200 plus years knowing that we would always be with our loved ones when our time came. Now without hesitation that has painfully been taken from us.

The opponents of SB 1305 say it will protect the “Windfall” of the property owners trying to sell, when will actually have no impact whether the court’s decide to approve the appeals to the zoning change that will make it possible for us to sell. The so-called “Windfall” is actually the astronomical increase in taxes we will have to pay while waiting to see if the lawsuits and appeals against the zoning succeed. The County is threatening to foreclose on our land if we can’t pay the increase in taxes from $8,000 a year to $600,000. The opponents opposition is a no more than a vindictive ploy to punish us for trying to sell, and they have convinced the lawmakers that SB 1305 will somehow help their appeals to prevent the new zoning from going through. SB 1305 will protect ALL Virginia property owners from political ploys that leave them at the mercy of how their counties interpret the zoning law.

My family farm was rezoned in Dec 2023, but the zoning has been challenged. we have been waiting more than a year, and the challenges have still not made it through the court system. Meanwhile, we are racking up huge tax bills and being threatened by Prince William County for not being able to pay the full amount of the reassessed bills. It may be another year before the challenges make it through court. We need relief while we wait for the court's decision.

I reviewed the other comments after my previous post (Publius). The public comments in support of this bill are the property owners who will get a tax handout if you vote for this bill. Please vote against this bill. It is corrupt.

Several property owners in Prince William County stand to make tens of millions of dollars when they sell their land to data center developers. The contracts require them to pay the real estate taxes on the property until closing. Their neighbors challenged the rezoning, which postponed closing. The property owners sued Prince William County in Circuit Court to try and not pay their taxes. So far, they have lost. Now they seek to have the law changed to protect their windfall. McPike, the sponsor for the bill, has received numerous contributions from the data center industry in the last reporting year. Virginia is not a banana republic. Please vote against this bill.

Please vote YES to SB 1305. Without it, all Virginia property owners will be at the mercy of how their counties interpret the law, leaving them exposed to unfair taxation practices possible under the current law. Thank you.

Please support Senate Bill 1305 because it will clarify the effective date of zonings to protect property owners from predatory taxation practices that are possible under the ambiguity in the current zoning law. Is it fair that Prince William County requires its residents to pay the increased taxes when zoning appeals render them unable to sell, whereas Orange County labels their residents’ properties as pending appeal? SB 1305 will correct this disparity that allows some Virginia residents a reprieve while others face financial ruin. Don’t leave Virginia property owners at the mercy of how their counties interpret the zoning law. The residents in your district may become the next victims.

Please support Senate Bill 1305 because it will clarify the effective date of zonings to protect property owners from predatory taxation practices that are possible under the ambiguity in the current zoning law. Is it fair that Prince William County requires its residents to pay the increased taxes when zoning appeals render them unable to sell, whereas Orange County labels their residents’ properties as pending appeal? SB 1305 will correct this disparity that allows some Virginia residents a reprieve while others face financial ruin. Don’t leave Virginia property owners at the mercy of how their counties interpret the zoning law. The residents in your district may become the next victims.

Please support Senate Bill 1305 because it will clarify the effective date of zonings to protect property owners from predatory taxation practices that are possible under the ambiguity in the current zoning law. Is it fair that Prince William County requires its residents to pay the increased taxes when zoning appeals render them unable to sell, whereas Orange County labels their residents’ properties as pending appeal? SB 1305 will correct this disparity that allows some Virginia residents a reprieve while others face financial ruin. Don’t leave Virginia property owners at the mercy of how their counties interpret the zoning law. The residents in your district may become the next victims.

Please support Senate Bill 1305 because it will clarify the effective date of zonings to protect property owners from predatory taxation practices that are possible under the ambiguity in the current zoning law. Is it fair that Prince William County requires its residents to pay the increased taxes, even though they can’t sell due to zoning appeals, whereas Orange County labels their residents’ properties as pending appeal? SB 1305 will correct this disparity that allows some Virginia residents a reprieve while others face financial ruin. Don’t leave Virginia property owners at the mercy of how their counties interpret the zoning law. The residents in your district may become the next victims.

I urge you to oppose SB1305, which has blindsided its sponsor’s own county’s officials. It is not an appeal to fairness; it is an appeal to favoritism. By the sponsor’s own admission, he submitted his bill specifically to relieve Prince William Digital Gateway landowners of their lawful tax liability and does not know how much his bill would cost Prince William County or other counties across Virginia. SB1305 is opposed by elected officials in the sponsor’s own district and the district directly affected by it. SB1305 is a blatant attempt to exempt Prince William County landowners (the bill sponsor's donors) from taxes on land they own and are selling to data centers for the Prince William Digital Gateway. It seeks to overturn a judicial decision upholding the Prince William County's legitimate taxation and interfere with ongoing litigation (Prince William Circuit Court case # CL24005849-00). Oppose this disgraceful bill and its attempted end-run on local government and the courts.

Virginia First Cities endorses SB 1313 and finds the voluntary nature of the bill to be a perfect solution for those high growth localities that are in need of inclusionary zoning tools. If it is good for some localities, it should be good for any locality that is in need of, but currently excluded from using. Please support SB 1313.

Virginia First Cities wholly endorses SB 1476 as a great bill that helps us remediate blight and get properties (with deference to owner checks and balances) back on the tax rolls, productive and attractive. While market forces are generally relied upon to stimulate investment and development in our urban areas, we are seeing a preponderance of circumstances where absentee property ownership or inefficient markets serve as a deterrent to redevelopment. Sometimes this lack of investment also results in health and safety concerns, as VFC can provide numerous examples from our member cities, and as Senator Pillion and Bristol, Va found with Virginia Intermont College. SB 1476 is a response to a particular and tragic circumstance in Bristol, Virginia, but sadly, it is a story that has played out across Virginia. We urge your support for SB 1476.