[SchoolMatters] Tell Richmond not to eliminate proffers that support public education

[Brian Wheeler]

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This message is not an official communication of the Albemarle County School
Board. It is a private, e-mail-only newsletter written by Brian Wheeler,
At-Large Member of the Albemarle County School Board. 
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I don't often encourage people to voice an opinion on a bill in the General
Assembly, but Senate Bill 768 which would eliminate Virginia's cash proffer
system deserves your consideration.  I encourage you to write members of the
House of Delegates in opposition to SB768 because of the negative impact it
will have on funding schools in Albemarle County.
 
Information on SB768: http://www.richmondsunlight.com/bill/2008/sb768/
 
Voluntary cash proffers from a developer seeking a rezoning allow local
government to get contributions to cover the a portion of the costs of
community infrastructure--Roads, schools, public safety facilities, and
libraries.  Virginia's proffer system is certainly not perfect and our
development community should have clear expectations about what is required
to get a rezoning approved.  That is why the Albemarle County Board of
Supervisors initiated a cash proffer policy last year.  The Board
unanimously established a cash proffer expectation of $17,500 per single
family home and tied this amount to specific projects identified in our
capital improvements budget.  Previously, the expectation had been about
$3,000.
 
SB768 would eliminate cash proffers and replace them with impact fees capped
by Richmond.  Albemarle County could only receive $7,500 per new home
(original bill capped the rate at $5,000).  This is less than half the
amount we receive for new homes under the Board's current cash proffer
policy.  It is an arbitrary amount established by Richmond and has no basis
in local capital project needs.
 
The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors is opposed to SB768 and I urge you
to support their efforts to have this defeated in the House of Delegates.
Just send a quick e-mail to your delegate and tell them to "oppose SB768
because it will make it more difficult for new development to pay its fair
share for community infrastructure in Albemarle County and likely lead to
tax increases by local government."
 
Thanks for your consideration of this important bill.
 
Sincerely,
Brian Wheeler
 
CONTACTS
Delegate David Toscano (57th district) * DelDToscano at house.state.va.us
Delegate Rob Bell (58th district) * DelRBell at house.state.va.us
Delegate Steve Landes (25th district) * delslandes at house.state.va.us
Delegate Watkins Abbitt (59th district) * DelWAbbitt at house.state.va.us
 
MORE INFORMATION
Here is what David Blount with our local Thomas Jefferson Planning District
Commission had to say about SB768 earlier this week:
 
"The Senate passed SB 768 by a narrow 21 to 19 margin on Tuesday. The
substitute version of the bill still repeals local authority to accept
voluntary cash proffers from new residential projects. It also limits the
ability to accept off-site non-cash proffers and limits the amount of impact
fees a locality can impose to an unscientific $7,500 per unit. As currently
written, the bill will leave many localities with inadequate funding for
schools and roads, thus increasing pressure on localities to increase tax
rates to fund capital needs. The bill had been handily approved by the
Senate Finance Committee prior to the floor vote. The battle now shifts to
the House, where the bill likely will be referred to the Counties, Cities
and Towns Committee. As this bill poses such a drastic shift in policy by
attempting to undo 30 years of proffer authority in a mere 30 days, local
governments are asking that legislators defeat the bill or carry it over for
the year so that local governments can have an opportunity to fully analyze
its implications. Please communicate with your delegates about the harmful
effects of this bill. And also thanks go to our members of the Senate
(Senators Deeds, Hanger and Houck) who voted against SB 768 on the Senate
floor."
 
 
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