Virginia Assembly Passes ‘Yes in God’s Backyard’ Bill

The Virginia General Assembly passed a bill that will allow faith-based organizations to build housing on property they own, reports Kate Seltzer in The Virginian-Pilot.

The legislation supports a growing trend dubbed ‘Yes in God’s Backyard’ that has seen churches calling on their local jurisdictions to allow them to build affordable housing on underused property. The effort benefits both local residents who need housing and churches, whose congregations are shrinking, often leaving them with buildings and parking lots larger than they need.

Tavaris McCoy, a pastor and head of an affordable housing consulting firm, says “When churches are interested in getting involved in the work of affordable housing, which is at a crisis level cross our state, then the last thing we need is for them to be further delayed or blocked by zoning.” 

Because Virginia cities are not allowed to permit zoning variations based on a project’s affordability, the new state law “would require localities to allow property tax-exempt nonprofits, including religious organizations, to build multi-family, affordable housing on their land without requiring rezoning, assuming localities don’t have existing regulations to the contrary.” Qualifying projects must reserve 60 percent of the proposed development as affordable housing for 50 years.