HB708 • 2026

Timely local decision on certain land use permits; incentives and penalties.

<p class=ldtitle>A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 15.2-2209.1:3, relating to timely local decision on certain land use permits.</p>

Housing Labor

Enacted

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

Sponsor: Thomas
Last action: 2026-02-18
Official status: Failed
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source does not specify the exact number of additional FTE positions that can be awarded beyond the first period.

Timely Local Decision on Land Use Permits

This bill sets a one-year limit for localities to make decisions on by-right land use permit applications and includes rewards or penalties based on compliance.

What This Bill Does

Sets a maximum of 12 months for local governments to decide whether to approve, conditionally approve, or deny all by-right permit applications from the date of submission.
Requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to conduct semiannual reviews of each locality's compliance with this time limit and publish reports identifying compliant or noncompliant localities.
Provides state grants to compliant localities sufficient to fund one full-time equivalent position within their planning department for each 12-month period they remain compliant.
Reduces transportation funding by 2% for the following fiscal year for any project in a noncompliant locality, with additional reductions of 2% for each successive review period.

Who It Names or Affects

Local governments that handle land use permit applications
Applicants seeking permits from these local governments

Terms To Know

by-right permit application: A type of land use permit application that does not require a public hearing or special approval.
full-time equivalent (FTE) position: A measure used to represent the workload of an employee in terms of full-time employment.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify what happens if a locality is noncompliant for multiple years.
It remains unclear how localities will be funded to implement these changes without additional state support.

Bill History

2026-02-18 House
Left in Committee Counties, Cities and Towns
2026-01-26 House
Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB708)
2026-01-23 Subcommittee #3
Subcommittee recommends striking from the docket (5-Y 0-N)
2026-01-22 Subcommittee #3
Assigned HCCT sub: Subcommittee #3
2026-01-13 House
Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26104992D
2026-01-13 Counties, Cities and Towns
Referred to Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns

Official Summary Text

Timely local decision on certain land use permits; incentives and penalties.
Requires that the average time period required for a locality to take final action to approve, approve with conditions, or deny all by-right permit applications from the date of submission of such applications to the locality shall not exceed 12 months. The bill requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to conduct semiannual compliance reviews of each locality and to publish and transmit to the Governor and the General Assembly a report identifying each locality as compliant or noncompliant for the applicable review period. The bill provides that any locality determined by the Department to be compliant for the preceding 12-month period shall be eligible to receive a state grant sufficient to fund one full-time equivalent position within the locality's planning department. The bill further provides that if the Department determines that a locality is noncompliant during a review period, the Commonwealth Transportation Board shall reduce program fund allocations from the Commonwealth Transportation Fund to any project within the boundaries of such noncompliant locality by two percent for the following fiscal year.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered
15.2-2209.1:3
, relating to timely local decision on certain land use permits.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding a section numbered
15.2-2209.1:3
as follows:

§
15.2-2209.1:3
. Timely local decision on by-right permitting; compliance review; incentives and penalties.

A. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, general or special,
and
in addition to
time limits imposed in §§
15.2-2259
and
15.2-2260
,

the average
time
period

required
for a locality to
take final action to approve, approve with conditions, or deny
all
by-right permit application
s
from the date of submission of such application
s
to the locality
shall not exceed 12 months
.

For the purposes of this section,
"
submission
"
means the date on which an applicant delivers the application materials to the locality for review. The quality, completeness, or sufficiency of such submission shall have no effect on the commencement of the 12-month period, and no locality shall adopt, enforce, or issue any ordinance, policy, rule, or guidance that alters, delays, or otherwise affects the start of such period.

B.
The Department of Housing and Community Development (the Department) shall conduct semiannual compliance reviews of each locality to determine whether the locality has met the requirements of subsection A during the preceding 12-month period.

The Department shall conduct the first such review during the first two quarters of each fiscal year and the second review during the third and fourth quarters
of each fiscal year
. The Department shall publish and transmit to the Governor and the General Assembly a report identifying each locality as compliant or noncompliant for the applicable review period.

C
. Any locality determined by the Department to be compliant for the preceding 12-month period shall be eligible to receive a state grant sufficient to fund one full-time equivalent (FTE) position within the locality
'
s planning department. Such position shall perform planning or permitting duties at the discretion of the locality. The Department shall administer such grants subject to appropriation by the General Assembly.

For each successive review period in which a locality remains compliant, an additional FTE position for a planner shall be awarded, with no cap on the number of periods for which awards may be
earned
.

D
. If the Department determines that a locality has failed to comply with the requirements of subsection A during a review period,
the Commonwealth
Transportation Board shall reduce program fund allocations from the Commonwealth
Transportation
Fund

to any project within the boundaries
of such noncompliant locality

by two percent for the following fiscal year.

For each successive review period in which a locality remains noncompliant, an additional reduction of two percent shall be applied, with no cap on the number of periods for which reductions may be imposed.

Any funding withheld pursuant to this subsection shall revert to and remain in the Commonwealth Transportation Fund.

E
. Nothing in this section shall be construed to alter or impair any locality
'
s authority to deny a permit application on lawful grounds, nor to modify any procedural or substantive requirement applicable to such permits under other provisions of this title, except as expressly provided
by this section.