Please study the impact of data centers on the land, water, air and people before approving them. Limit them to industrail areas and keep them away from residental areas. We must conserve trees to help protect our land from extreme heat and run off. Trees are extremely valuable.

Data centers are so consequential in the amounts of energy and water they use, the amounts of noise the create, and the effects they have on local wildlife, aesthetics, and air quality, it's vital that a locality know what those consequences are before committing to them.

Please support HB153. We need regulations to ensure that data centers are not sited where they harm residential neighborhoods’ quality of life by producing excessive noise, pollution, or making excessive demands on water or power infrastructure or encroaching on a locality’s designated historic or natural areas.

House Bill No. 181 will further allow the City of Roanoke to achieve its housing goals to provide affordable shelter for all residents. Roanoke, like most of the US, is experiencing a housing shortage that has emerged in the wake of the Great Recession. The creation of new housing units slowed and failed to keep pace with growth. Increased demand and stagnant supply have driven up costs for both homebuyers and renters. Housing costs have serious implications for households with limited incomes who end up paying a larger percentage of their income on rent or a mortgage. A quarter of Roanoke's households live in "unaffordable" housing; that is, housing that costs more than 30% of household income. This situation, known as being cost-burdened, results in ever-present stress and increases the vulnerability to eviction and potentially becoming homeless. Roanoke’s Planning staff has been working on removing barriers to housing for several years as it became apparent that a persistent shortage was emerging. City Plan 2040, adopted by City Council in 2020, called for new policies that would allow a range of housing options in every neighborhood including: Housing that is safe, accessible, affordable, and varied. Ensuring complete neighborhoods – work to ensure every neighborhood should offer a wide range of housing options within or in close proximity to commercial areas that provide services, retail, and restaurants; schools and child care, places of worship; and parks and open space. Ensuring residential areas with a mix of housing options (single-family, two-family, townhouse, and multifamily dwellings)

I stand with VCDL on these bills.

Members of the Virginia House of Delegates, I write in support of HB352, which authorizes localities to establish affordable housing performance grant programs by ordinance. Access to affordable housing remains one of the most significant equity challenges facing the Commonwealth. Long-standing disparities in housing availability and affordability continue to disproportionately affect low-income households and communities of color, reinforcing broader inequities in economic opportunity, health outcomes, and community stability. Addressing these challenges requires policy tools that are both equitable and administratively sound. HB352 offers a strong example of such a tool. Its performance-based structure ensures that public funds are awarded only after affordable housing has been constructed or improved, tying public investment to demonstrated results. The requirement for recorded restrictive covenants further protects the public interest by preserving affordability over time and preventing short-term displacement pressures. The bill also reflects sound principles of local governance. Housing markets vary widely across Virginia, and HB352 allows local governments to define affordability, establish transparent criteria, and design grant programs that respond to local conditions. At the same time, limits on grant amounts tied to increases in assessed value help ensure fiscal responsibility and protect local tax bases. From a civil rights and fair housing perspective, expanding the supply of affordable housing is essential to supporting economic mobility and ensuring that families can remain in the communities where they live and work. HB352 strengthens local capacity to advance these goals while maintaining accountability and local control. For these reasons, I respectfully urge the committee to advance HB352 and support policies that promote equitable access to safe, stable, and affordable housing across the Commonwealth. Thank you for your consideration. Respectfully, Nichelle Clark NAACP Virginia State Conference

Please study the impact of data centers on the land, water, air and people before approving them. Limit them to industrail areas and keep them away from residental areas. We must conserve trees to help protect our land from extreme heat and run off. Trees are extremely valuable.

Botetourt County's Board of Supervisors went ahead and made a deal without consideration of the impacts on their constituents. (Or if they did we can't know because the deliberations are hidden behind NDA's.) Ideally a locality would be required to solicit and incorporate public input into their zoning changes, but the SWVA DCTA still supports this measure for requiring mitigation of impacts from data centers.

Thank you for your time considering bill HB598. Bills such as this one open up our great state for competitive business, thus allowing freelancers like myself an opportunity to make a living at home. Over the years I’ve witnessed many talented individuals that call Virginia their home, forced to choose between the career they love and the state they love. We must make Virginia a viable place for our business. We are loosing too many great people, too many great opportunities, and too much local revenue. Please consider helping change that. We are proud Virginians who want to do our part in making this state a special place. We believe that through film we can do that, but we need your help. This bill can and will help that.

Good morning, distinguished Committee members, I write to you today in support of an issue that will play a vital role in reinvigorating the Virginia film industry, bringing jobs and revenue back to the Commonwealth. I am one of hundreds of workers in Virginia who benefited directly – and indirectly – in years past from Virginia’s support of television and movie production. Passing HB 598, the Film Industry Communities Zone; Local Designation legislation, is critical to the future of Virginia’s economy and helping workers like me. Consider my own story as a camera assistant. A few years ago, movies and television productions routinely came to Virginia. People like me enjoyed well-paying jobs that benefited ourselves and our communities in Virginia. But much has changed since Virginia’s film incentives lapsed. Workers like me must routinely leave Virginia to find work and practice our trade. Tonight, for instance, I am writing this while working in North Carolina, where I just wrapped a day of film production for a Netflix series. While I have been fortunate to still live in Richmond, many of my colleagues have been forced to move to North Carolina and other states to make a living. Skilled artists and technicians who love our state have moved away reluctantly – to follow the work and earn a living. This is a loss for Virginia on many different levels. There is an immediate economic impact. For example, today I saw hundreds of workers in North Carolina – not Virginia – earning good money and spending it in the local community. These are jobs and revenue that a few years ago could have been in Virginia. With this proposed legislation, this well-paying industry could once again return. Movie and film production could become much more common in the Commonwealth. The revenue impact of movie production snowballs throughout a community and the state. The impacts are far-reaching. Beyond tax issues, the potential tourism advertisement that comes from Virginia film goes completely muted without an incentivized reason to bring productions here. A lack of a visible film output in Virginia misses valuable opportunities to bring more public attention to the Commonwealth, with real world economic impact from both tourism and industry. The industry also directly drives the livelihoods, wages, and healthcare of those workers. Film production work often leads to union participation, which in turn subsidizes employee healthcare. However, union healthcare is dependent on participation. As industry opportunities diminish in the Commonwealth, film workers face rising costs of public healthcare options or risk losing their healthcare entirely. Healthcare achieved through union production lessens the burden of public cost health on state taxpayers while at the same time helping Virginia workers. To tie these thoughts together, tonight I write to you from North Carolina as one single member out of a production crew of hundreds of people. Crews of this size earn impressive wages, which are taxed by the state before they are spent on goods and services in the local economy. Instead of this happening in North Carolina, this should be happening in Virginia – and this legislation can help make that happen.

On behalf of the hundreds of Virginians who make their lving working in the film and television industry I encourage you to move this piece of legislation forward. Incentive packages like those covered by HB 598 make a huge impact on the viability of our state as a production hub. I am a life long Virginian and have only been able to stay here to practice and refine my craft because lawmakers in your position backed bills similar to this one. Additionally, there are young Virginians studying the craft of filmmaking, if we want this burgeoning talent, and their tax dollars, to stay in Virginia we must choose to invest in them and this field. Please support HB 598, the dividends are life changing.

Please support HB598. I’ve been an active member of the film and television industry in Virginia for over 20 years. I’ve worked alongside our talented technicians and crafts people on so many of the productions that have filmed here. We absolutely have everything it takes to be and stay competitive but only if we have your support. These productions give and put back into our communities immeasurably.

As a Director of Photography within the Film Industry for the past 40 years, I have worked on numerous films almost entirely shot elsewhere. Georgia, New Jersey, New Mexico, United Kingdom, South Africa to name a few. The primary reason being the tax incentives afforded to the production companies. 99% of the crews are always locals whom pay their mortgages, car payments, etc. There is no question that Virginia would be a sought after location as proven in the past, we just need to make it more inviting financially.

Please support HB598, as it is an essential component of Virginia's film industry. One of Virginia's greatest assets to film production are its diverse locations. There are few places in the country where you can shoot the ocean, mountains, cities, and farms, all within close proximity. Each of these locations should have its own zone, as to benefit the community as well as filmmakers. As a 25-year freelancer in the Virginia film community, as well as a small business owner that supports the industry, I kindly ask for your vote on this bill.

I am in support of HB 598. I've been in the film industry for 15 years. Locations are such an important component of filmmaking and bringing movies and television back to Richmond and Virginia. We have talented crew members in all departments who need full time consistent work. The great thing about tv/movies is that they give a huge economic boost to the neighborhoods they film in. The hospitality industry gains business alongside restaurants, theaters, bars, retail, and tourism.

As a local film crew member, I understand the importance and the impact our shows can make on the communities in which we shoot. I have worked on films/shows that have filmed all over the Commonwealth and know the crew and cast have contributed greatly to the municipal, retail, hospitality and service industries. Allowing the communities to find ways to bring this kind of work to their localities is empowering and a great way to stimulate our industry. Our livelihoods. Thank you for your time.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on HB 598. I live in Richmond, VA and have worked on motion picture productions for twenty years alongside hundreds of hard-working local technicians, tradesmen, artists, coordinators, assistants, drivers, office staff, and other workers. Sadly, our once thriving industry is now stagnant because Virginia can’t compete with nearby states. Jobs, a talented workforce, recent graduates and dollars that could have been spent here are forced to go elsewhere. It’s disheartening when a movie or TV show that is set in Virginia is filmed in a nearby state because that state offers more flexible economic support . Virginia has EVERYTHING other states have (great crew, stunning locations, supportive small businesses, etc.); the only thing we lack is the legislation to support our industry. Please help put Virginia BACK on the list of economically viable places to bring film and television production. Please support Virginia’s current AND future workers and businesses by supporting HB 598. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Please support HB598! As a film location scout, I understand the importance of localities having the ability to offer their own incentives to attract film production. Film productions have a significant economic impact on the areas they film, especially for the local businesses. Also, film locations have been known to see a boon to tourism.

I stand with VCDL on these bills.

NVC's economic vision, the NOVA Roadmap, calls on us to build an economy that competes by design, not by default. One of the four main goals is to increase affordability, particularly in housing. This bill sets an ambitious yet achievable goal for localities to increase their housing stock, which would lead to more affordable housing options for the Commonwealth's workforce. Many Northern Virginia localities are hard at work improving their processes, and this reasonable target is something NVC believes we can achieve. We thank Del. Helmer for his leadership on this issue.

NVC's economic vision, the NOVA Roadmap, calls on us to build an economy that competes by design, not by default. One of the four main goals is to increase affordability, particularly in housing. Del. Helmer's bill is a market-based solution that would help encourage more housing development in office and industrial areas in need of redevelopment, but where the conversion from the current uses to residential would be too time consuming to undertake. While there are options that exist to convert aging office buildings to residential, those options typically still adhere to long and expensive regulatory processes. Speeding up these conversions by allowing by right development would incentivize developers to add residential options throughout Northern Virginia in areas with valuable amenities including schools and parks, and that are served by major roadways and mass transit. We thank Del. Helmer for his leadership on this issue and ask you report the bill.

Please support HB816. The core idea is to make it easier to build homes where jobs already exist by changing local zoning restrictions. It would legalize residential construction in many commercial, office, and retail zoning districts where housing is typically restricted, especially in high-opportunity areas with strong job markets. The intent is to allow more housing to be built “by right” (i.e., without expensive and uncertain rezoning processes), reducing costs and speeding up development near jobs. This fits into a broader effort to help workers live closer to employment centers and reduce housing cost burdens that hit families in high-demand regions hardest. 📜 Policy Goals Behind the Bill The policy motivation behind the “Housing Near Jobs” bill and related proposals includes: Increasing the housing supply in high-demand job centers so that working families aren’t priced out of areas where they are employed. Cutting red tape and permitting uncertainty that can delay or deter housing development. Addressing housing affordability by enabling more homes to be built quickly and predictably close to employment hubs. Thank you