ARLINGTON, Va. - The Arlington Chamber of Commerce lauds the Senate Local Government Committee for defeating SB 839, a bill which would have permitted local governments to require developers to enter into binding labor contracts as a condition of certain special exception site plan development. The bill would have extended tools designed for land use policy to labor market regulation, and could have stifled development in Virginia by reducing the Commonwealth's competitiveness.
"Had this bill passed, Virginia's development environment would have become more uncertain, with higher and more variable costs," said Chamber President & CEO
Kate Bates. "We could have missed opportunities to expand our housing stock and undermined our economic development."
Local governments approve site plan conditions on a project-by-project basis. By design, site plan conditions are specific to each project's situation. Had SB 839 passed, each site could have had its own, unique set of labor rules imposed by local governments. These rules could have varied widely from project to project and jurisdiction to jurisdiction, creating inconsistency in Virginia's labor market. As site plan conditions can be amended up to the moment they are approved, developers proposing projects would have had to plan for any possible requirement, significantly increasing the cost of developing in Virginia.
The bill was introduced at a Senate Local Government Committee hearing on January 20, but passed by to allow more time for review and public feedback. Several local businesses representing a variety of industries raised concerns about the bill's potential impact on commercial and housing development, prompting the Chamber's action. The Chamber cited these concerns in testimony at a further hearing on January 27, urging the committee not to approve the bill.
In its action today, the Committee referred the issue to the Virginia Housing Commission for further study; the Chamber will continue to engage with the Commission as it completes its study.
"All workers should be treated and compensated appropriately,"
Bates said. "We believe that there are ways to ensure these outcomes that do not risk the vitality of Virginia's commercial and housing development."
