Housing

Affordable housing; religious organizations and other nonprofit tax-exempt properties. Allows for the administrative approval of development and construction of housing on land owned by property tax-exempt religious organizations or certain property tax-exempt nonprofit organizations and provides that zoning ordinances shall allow the by-right development and construction of housing on real property owned by such organizations. The bill provides that the review of such developments be completed pursuant to general law and states that localities shall not require a special exception, special use permit, conditional use permit, rezoning, or any discretionary review or approval process. The bill requires that at least 60 percent of the housing development's total units be for affordable housing and that the housing development remain affordable for at least 30 years. The bill also provides that all such housing is subject to local real property taxation following completion, unless explicitly exempted by the locality. The bill has a delayed effective date of September 1, 2026. This bill was incorporated into SB 388.

Charter; City of Virginia Beach; certain land use approvals. Amends the charter for the City of Virginia Beach by providing that no application to rezone property to a higher density or a more intense zoning district south of the blue line, as defined in the bill, shall be approved except by a recorded affirmative vote of three-fourths of all of the members elected to the city council. The bill further provides that no extension of public water and sanitary sewer shall extend south of the blue line absent a public hearing and specific findings by the city council.

Virginia Workforce Housing Assistance Program; report. Establishes the Virginia Workforce Housing Assistance Program to provide grants to eligible employers, defined in the bill, that set up housing down payment assistance programs for employees in amounts equal to the lesser of 15 percent of housing down payment assistance expenses incurred by an eligible employer during the fiscal year or $25,000. The bill specifies that an eligible employer may only receive grants in the aggregate of up to $150,000 across all fiscal years or $250,000 for housing down payment assistance expenses incurred for employees in certain fiscally stressed localities. The bill requires weighting grants according to the household income of participating employees, as measured against the area median income (AMI) for the locality in which the dwelling is located. Any participating employee shall have an annual household income at or below 120 percent of the AMI for the locality in which the employee's dwelling is located and have never owned or purchased under contract for deed, either individually or jointly, a single-family residence in the Commonwealth or outside of the Commonwealth. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2028.