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HB1430 • 2026

Residential development; authorizes any locality to impose impact fees.

<p class=ldtitle>A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 15.2-2328 and 15.2-2329 of the Code of Virginia, relating to impact fees.</p>

Education Taxes
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Cousins
Last action
2026-02-06
Official status
Continued
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details about the required inclusion of plans within comprehensive planning documents.

Residential Impact Fees

This bill allows Virginia's localities to impose impact fees on new residential developments to cover the costs of public facilities necessitated by those developments.

What This Bill Does

  • Allows any locality to set up impact fees for certain residential projects.
  • Removes limits that only allowed specific counties with urban transportation service districts to impose these fees.
  • Expands what public facilities can be funded by these fees, like parks and schools.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Local governments that want to charge impact fees for new residential developments.
  • Developers who build new homes or apartments.
  • Residents and businesses that pay property taxes or live near new developments.

Terms To Know

impact fee
A charge on developers to help cover the cost of building public facilities needed because of a new development.
comprehensive plan
A long-term planning document that local governments use to guide growth and development in their area.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify how much the impact fees can be.
  • It is unclear if all localities will choose to impose these new fees.
  • Some specific details about public facilities are only applicable within the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Bill History

  1. 2026-02-06 Counties, Cities and Towns

    Continued to 2027 in Counties, Cities and Towns (Voice Vote)

  2. 2026-02-05 Subcommittee #3

    Subcommittee recommends continuing to 2027 (Voice Vote)

  3. 2026-02-03 Subcommittee #3

    Assigned HCCT sub: Subcommittee #3

  4. 2026-01-22 House

    Presented and ordered printed 26102796D

  5. 2026-01-22 Counties, Cities and Towns

    Referred to Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns

Official Summary Text

Impact fees; residential development.
Authorizes any locality to impose impact fees on certain residential developments in order to defray the costs of constructing public facilities necessitated by those developments. Under current law, such impact fees have limited applicability and may be imposed only by those counties that have established urban transportation service districts. The bill also deletes provisions of current law that narrow the scope of included public facilities for localities in the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
A BILL to amend and reenact §§
15.2-2328
and
15.2-2329
of the Code of Virginia, relating to impact fees.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That §§
15.2-2328
and
15.2-2329
of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:

§
15.2-2328
. Applicability of article.

The provisions of this article shall apply in their entirety to any locality
that has established an urban transportation service district in accordance with §
15.2-2403.1
. However,

in any locality that has established a
n urban transportation service district in accordance with §
15.2-2403.1
,
the authority granted by this article may be exercised only in areas outside of

the
urban transportation service
districts
and on parcels that are currently zoned agricultural and are being subdivided for by-right residential development. The authority granted by this article shall expire on December 31, 2008, for any locality that has not established an urban transportation service district and adopted an impact fee ordinance pursuant to this article by such date
district
.

§
15.2-2329
. Imposition of impact fees.

A. Any locality that includes within its comprehensive plan a calculation of the capital costs of public facilities necessary to serve residential uses may impose and collect impact fees in amounts consistent with the methodologies used in its comprehensive plan to defray the capital costs of public facilities related to the residential development.

B. Impact fees imposed and collected pursuant to this section shall only be used for public facilities that are impacted by residential development.

C. A locality imposing impact fees as provided in this section shall allow credit against the impact fees for cash proffers collected for the purpose of defraying the capital costs of public facilities related to the residential development. A locality imposing impact fees as provided in this section shall also include within its comprehensive plan a methodology for calculating credit for the value of proffered land donations to accommodate public facilities, and for the construction cost of any public facilities or public improvements the construction of which is required by proffer.

D. A locality imposing impact fees under this section may require that such impact fees be paid prior to and as a condition of the issuance of any necessary building permits for residential uses.

E. For the purposes of this section, "public facilities" shall be deemed to include: (i) roads, streets, and bridges, including rights-of-way, traffic signals, landscaping, and any local components of federal or state highways; (ii) stormwater collection, retention, detention, treatment, and disposal facilities, flood control facilities, and bank and shore protection and enhancement improvements; (iii) parks, open space, and recreation areas and related facilities; (iv) public safety facilities, including police, fire, emergency medical, and rescue facilities; (v) primary and secondary schools and related facilities; and (vi) libraries and related facilities
; however, the definition "public facilities" for counties within the Richmond MSA shall be deemed to include: roads, streets, and bridges, including rights-of-way, traffic signals, landscaping, and any local components of federal or state highways
.