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Proffers Debate Heats Up in Chesterfield
Central Virginia’s most populous county also has the region’s highest proffers rate for new home construction. Now Chesterfield County has become the epicenter of the debate on the effects of cash proffers, especially with recent action by Hanover County to reduce the size of its proffers. The issue will be at the forefront of a county Board of Supervisors working session this week. Within the past few weeks, groups on both sides of the debate have become more vocal. An advocacy of those wanting to eliminate proffers, Citizens Against Proffer Taxes, was launched recently and has called for the removal of proffers, which can cost up to $18,966 per house. The group argues that this cost is passed along to the homeowner and makes housing in the county less affordable. Proponents of the proffer system contend the money is needed to pay for services related to new home development, however opponents respond that proffers are just a specialized tax targeting one industry.
BREAKING NEWS: Tysons Corner Tax District Approved
More breaking news, this time from Fairfax County, where the Board of Supervisors approved a special service district tax in Tysons Corner. As we reported last month, Fairfax has been scoring big wins in Tysons Corner but faces revenue challenges. The tax would apply only to a small area to help fund Tysons Corner’s transformation into an urban center with high rises and mixed-use developments. (more…)
Arlington To Focus on Affordable Housing
We recently reported on the flurry of development planned in Arlington, including over 7,000 residential units. However, the county’s new Board of Supervisors chairman and others in Arlington worry that the supply of affordable housing is not keeping pace with other construction. New development is attracting relatively affluent professionals who can afford the county’s relatively high rental rates and home sale prices. (more…)
Tysons Corner Wins Big Tenant but Questions Remain on Taxes
Earlier this week, Gov. McDonnell announced that Washington, D.C.-based Intelsat, a leading provider of satellite services, would be moving its corporate headquarters to Tysons Corner in Fairfax County in mid-2014. The deal includes moving 430 employees to the new 7900 Tysons One Plaza. The announcement is a major victory for the Tysons Corner area that is looking to redefine its image as an urban, mixed-use downtown and further its goal as being more technology driven instead of reliant on government contracting firms. It is also a major victory for Macerich who is developing the new Tysons Corner Center which includes three towers of 1.4 million square feet of office, residential, and hotel space. (more…)
Proffers Eliminated in Hanover and Challenged in Chesterfield
Proffers remain a hot topic around Virginia as two Central Virginia counties take a turn in the proffers spotlight. A rezoning request we reported about from developer Emerson Companies in Chesterfield that includes eliminating proffers was before the county’s Board of Supervisors last night after the planning commission and the planning department both recommended denial. The Board denied the rezoning application on a 4-1 vote. Supervisors opposed to the project rejected it because the request called for the end of cash proffers. A Supervisor noted that the county is currently evaluating its proffer policy and any action on proposals to eliminate proffers should not occur until the proffer study is complete. Emerson Companies was seeking the rezoning in order to build 44 additional apartments in the Chester Village Green community. That project seems unlikely now because the sale of the property to the developer was contingent on the rezoning request’s approval. (more…)
