Virginia YIGBY bill puts Spanberger housing agenda on the line

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger has until Monday to sign or veto legislation that would make her state one of the few that allow faith-based organizations to build affordable housing on their properties by overriding local zoning limits.

Spanberger faces pressure from local governments and a small but vocal group of civic organizations to veto the bill, extending the fight after they failed to stop it in the state’s General Assembly.

If she signs the bill, the Commonwealth will join California and Florida in enacting so-called “yes in God’s backyard” (YIGBY) legislation that preempts local zoning control. For Spanberger, the law would be the most consequential affordable housing initiative to advance in her first months in office.

Losing on the broader affordable housing agenda

Shortly after taking office, she presented a housing agenda to improve housing affordability, but the marquee piece ran into a legislative buzzsaw. Lawmakers killed a proposal to allow by-right multifamily and mixed-use projects in many commercially zoned areas.

Lawmakers, however, passed proposals focused on subsidies and preservation of affordable housing.

The YIGBY bill sponsored by state Sen. Jeremy McPike moved on a separate track from the governor’s core housing agenda. Its advocates are mounting their own pressure campaign to persuade the governor to sign it into law.

“We are hopeful, and we are still waiting,” Jessica Sarriot, a co-lead organizer for Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement (VOICE), told The Builder’s Daily.

Voice, a nonpartisan coalition of Northern Virginia faith-based and community organizations, has pushed for the change for several years.

“I feel pretty confident that she will sign this because I think it fits so neatly within her affordability agenda,” Sarriott said. “It can be something that she really celebrates making forward motion on and it’s packed with bipartisan support.”

A Commonwealth housing solution

Virginia continues to face growing housing affordability pressures. Spanberger won on a platform that emphasized improving affordability.

HousingForward Virginia estimates that faith-based organizations control more than 74,000 acres statewide, creating a large potential supply of land for affordable housing.

The Faith in Housing bill would let churches and certain tax-exempt groups build affordable housing on land they already own without local rezoning. The legislation requires at least 60% of units to remain income-restricted for decades and keeps most new housing taxable.

Next steps for Spanberger

The governor has more options than just signing or vetoing, but they could become complicated.

Spanberger could issue a conditional veto and ask the General Assembly to approve amendments, according to Sarriot. The veto becomes official if lawmakers do not approve the changes.

She could also submit her own amendments for lawmakers to vote on. Sarriot said that whether they approve the amendments, the governor could still sign the original bill.

The governor has limited time to act on the bill because she faces a stack of other measures awaiting her decision.

There is precedent for a governor vetoing a housing bill and later signing it into law after changes.

Last year, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont vetoed a bill he initially supported. The legislation would have preempted local zoning authority to encourage missing-middle housing but faced pressure from suburban communities that did not want to lose control. Lamont later followed through on a promise for a special session to craft a compromise and then signed the revised bill.