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Falls Church Mayor Letty Hardi recently took the city’s housing priorities to Richmond, testifying during early-morning General Assembly subcommittee meetings on proposals that could reshape local zoning rules across Virginia.
Hardi appeared before House and Senate committees that consider changes affecting local ordinances. Because Virginia follows the Dillon Rule, cities and counties may exercise only the powers granted to them by the General Assembly. That means local zoning policies must remain within the boundaries established by state law.
Testifying in her personal capacity, Hardi supported the “Faith in Housing” bill sponsored by Del. Joshua Cole of Fredericksburg and Sen. Jeremy McPike of Prince William County.
The proposal would require zoning ordinances to permit tax-exempt religious organizations to construct affordable housing on their own land if several conditions are met. The organization must have owned the property for at least five years, at least 60 percent of the homes must remain affordable for 50 years, and the development must comply with Virginia’s fair-housing nondiscrimination laws.
Under the measure, affordable housing means housing available to households earning no more than the area median income, with occupants paying no more than 30 percent of gross income toward housing costs, including utilities.
“I care a lot about housing,” Hardi said. “I know the work we do in Falls Church to address our housing shortage is critical, but we can only do so much locally.”
She argued that housing markets operate regionally and said data shows coordinated regional efforts to increase supply can have four times the impact of action by one locality alone.
Parking mandates also face scrutiny
Hardi also addressed proposals governing how many parking spaces local zoning ordinances may require in new developments.
Virginia currently neither requires nor prohibits local parking minimums, leaving individual jurisdictions free to establish them. Several bills would change that arrangement.
One proposal sponsored by Falls Church Sen. Saddam Salim would prohibit localities from imposing parking minimums, allowing developers and market demand to determine how much parking is necessary. Another measure would establish minimums in transit corridors: half a parking space for each apartment and one space for each single-family house or townhouse.
Hardi described modernizing parking mandates as beneficial to housing, businesses, the environment and historic preservation. Allowing the market to determine parking needs, she argued, would give individual projects greater flexibility rather than impose a uniform approach.
She pointed to Falls Church’s experience after it relaxed parking rules. Hardi said the city issued 15 percent more business occupancy permits and received no complaints about insufficient or overflow parking.
“That is real economic opportunity unlocked,” she said.
In late 2024, the Falls Church City Council voted to exempt the first 1,200 square feet of new nonresidential development from parking requirements.
Residents can watch live or recorded Virginia House and Senate committee meetings and floor sessions online. The public may also attend proceedings in Richmond and observe House and Senate sessions from the galleries.