Residential rezonings should halt temporarily if SB768 passes

Gecker

Seldom have county leaders been so united as they are to defeat SB768 as proposed by State Sen. John Watkins (R-Chesterfield/ Powhatan). The bill proposes doing away with proffers and substituting a flat impact fee of $7,500 for all new homes. The fee would include those lots that were rezoned prior to proffers. The current maximum proffer in Chesterfield is $15,600.

Midlothian Supervisor Dan Gecker recently weighed in on SB768 and how it might impact the future of Roseland and other residential rezonings:

"If 768 becomes law, and we can't take offsite proffers, the current configuration of Roseland would have to change. I don't see Roseland being held hostage, but part of what makes Roseland attractive, aside from the internal design, is the external roadwork. 768 would change the case entirely. Roseland doesn't work without the offsite improvements.

If the proffer system is taken away, and we're given a substandard funding source, it would be irresponsible to continue residential rezonings until we have a financing plan to build our way out of this infrastructure mess we're in.

You can turn down rezonings for reasons of health, safety and welfare - the classic way governments regulate zoning. 768 won't allow us to accommodate growth."