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Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010

SPECIAL LEGISLATIVE ALERT

Virginia Senate Considering Critical Change to Cash Proffers for Affordable Housing

A committee of the Virginia Senate is now considering an important change to pending legislation concerning local housing funds which could have a significant negative impact on affordable housing in Fairfax County.  The version of House Bill 960, which is expected to be acted on by the Senate Local Government Committee on Tuesday, March 2, provides explicit authority for localities that have not already done so to establish local housing  funds  for the purpose of making grants and loans.  However, the amended version of the bill now being debated would prohibit the use of voluntary cash contributions, or proffers, received via the land use (rezoning) process to provide capital for such  housing funds and could prohibit the use of cash proffers in already established housing funds, such as Fairfax County's Housing Trust Fund. 

This amended version of the bill cou ld prevent Fairfax County from using cash proffers for its Housing Trust Fund. 

  • Proffers have provided more than $24.5 million to the county’s Housing Trust Fund over the last 20 years, representing nearly 50 percent of the total capital raised for the fund through FY 2009. 
  • The Housing Trust Fund has been an essential source of financing for some of the county’s signature affordable housing projects, such as the Little River Glen and Herndon Harbor House senior housing developments. 
  • The Fund has provided development financing for the county’s non-profit partners, including for the preservation of Madison Ridge Apartments by Wesley Housing in 2005.  

A draft of the amended version of House Bill 960 has not yet been posted on the state’s Legislative Information System; an update of this message will be issued when the revised bill is published. 


STATUS OF THE BILL
The bill is expected to be in the Senate Local Government Committee this coming Tuesday, March 2, 2010. Fairfax County has four Senators on that Committee -- Senators Ticer, Puller, Herring and Marsden.  A list of the members of the committee can be found at http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?101+com+S07.