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2004 SESSION

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Senate Committee on Local Government

Chairman: Frederick M. Quayle

Clerk: Carol Lynne Shotton
Staff: Jeffrey Sharp, Jeffrey Gore
Date of Meeting: February 3, 2004
Time and Place: 2:00 p.m. Senate Room B GAB

S.B. 115

Patron: Williams

Automobile graveyards and junkyards. Adds any county with a population of at least 56,000 but less than 57,000 according to the 2000 U.S. Census to the current list of counties that may adopt an ordinance requiring the screening of automobile graveyards and junkyards.

S.B. 123

Patron: Watkins

Transportation impact fees for certain counties. Provides that any county that has been granted a charter by the General Assembly (currently includes Chesterfield, James City and Roanoke) may by ordinance enact reasonable provisions for the assessment of impact fees on new residential development for the purpose of mitigating the effect of such new development on the locality's transportation infrastructure. Any such fees shall be payable at the time of issuance of any building permit. No impact fee shall be assessed if the owner has made proffers of cash for roads or constructed off-site improvements that mitigate the transportation impact from such development but such fees may be assessed to the extent that such proffers and improvements do not mitigate such impact.

S.B. 204

Patron: Quayle

Inoperable motor vehicles. Defines "shielded or screened from view" as not visible by someone standing at ground level from outside of the property on which the subject vehicle is located.

S.B. 227

Patron: Cuccinelli

Permits to sell or purchase pistols or revolvers in counties. Repeals provision that authorized counties to require a permit for the sale and purchase of revolvers and requires that any records created pursuant to that provision that are in the custody of a county be destroyed no later than July 31, 2004.

S.B. 351

Patron: Houck

Local water supply facilities. Authorizes localities to include in their subdivision ordinances provisions allowing the locality to determine whether there are adequate water sources and drinking water distribution infrastructure to deliver sufficient and safe water for human consumption to meet the demand required by a new subdivision. Before it adopts such an ordinance, the locality must identify in its comprehensive plan, and in the local regional water plan required by the state, the (i) adequacy of public water supply facilities that will be used in making such a determination, (ii) the areas where such subdivisions may be located, and (iii) existing water supply and infrastructure needs in the potential growth area. If the locality determines that adequate water supply or related water facilities do not exist, it must provide a timeframe of when such supply or facilities will be adequate to meet the water demand. The determination of what constitutes an adequate water supply is based on the demand projections developed as part of the adopted local or regional water supply plan.

S.B. 368

Patron: Watkins

Charter; City of Richmond. Extends council terms from two to four years, restores language repealed by charter amendments of 1998 related to nomination of council candidates, removes the requirement of a public hearing for council appointees who are removed from office, clarifies language regarding appointment and removal of certain appointees, creates a new group of appropriations that are exempt from lapsing at the close of a fiscal year, allows the director of finance to appoint a designee to certify that funds are available for formal bids and provides that the stormwater utility program may be administered by either the Department of Public Works or the Department of Public Utilities.

S.B. 393

Patron: Quayle

Adequate levels of service for educational facilities. Provides that, concurrent with its periodic review of the comprehensive plan, the planning commission in localities with certain proffer zoning authority, in consultation with the school board and the division superintendent, shall make a study estimating the capacity in elementary, middle and high school facilities that would be needed to meet established levels of service for the locality based on anticipated growth in the locality during the period projected by the comprehensive plan. The recommendations shall be prepared with the active participation of the school board and division superintendent and must include a statement of their concurrence in the recommendations. Such localities may include in their ordinances provisions that no application for approval of the preliminary plat for a new residential subdivision, or for approval of a site plan or plan of development for any other new development incorporating more than five residential units, will be accepted unless it is accompanied by certification issued by the planning commission after consultation with the school board, that proposed subdivisions or other development is consistent with the adopted educational facilities plan for the locality, and will not cause the level of service for the schools available in the locality to serve the new development to decline below the standards established pursuant to this bill. Refusal of an application shall be without prejudice to refiling at such time as the applicant is able to obtain certification. Ordinances adopted under this bill may provide that in lieu of the certification required, if the proposed subdivision or development will cause the level of service for the schools available to serve the proposed subdivision or development to fall below the established standards, as a condition of approval the applicant may elect to pay, and the locality may assess, an educational facilities fee sufficient to cover the costs of additional capital improvements that will be imposed upon the school division in which the new proposed subdivision or development is to be located, which improvements are necessitated by and attributable to the proposed subdivision or development and which are required to maintain the level of service established for the schools serving the proposed subdivision or development.

S.B. 395

Patron: Norment

Inoperable motor vehicles; civil penalties. Replaces the current civil penalty authority for enforcement of inoperable motor vehicle ordinances with provisions that currently apply to zoning violations. The penalty for an initial summons is increased from $50 to $100. The maximum penalty for a series of violations arising from the same set of operative facts is increased from $3,000 to $5,000.

S.B. 413

Patron: Edwards

Rail Transportation Development Authority. Amends the second enactment of Chapter 1041 of the Acts of Assembly of 2003 to provide that that act (creating the Rail Transportation Authority) will become effective on July 1, 2004.

S.B. 437

Patron: Locke

Inoperable motor vehicles. Amends existing provisions that apply to various localities as described by form of government or by population bracket, and makes such provisions available to all localities. Otherwise, the substance of the section, which allows localities by ordinance to prohibit any person from keeping an inoperable vehicle on certain property, except within a fully enclosed building or structure or otherwise shielded or screened from view, is unchanged.

S.B. 478

Patron: Edwards

Charter; County of Roanoke. Provides that the County shall have authority to levy upon the sale or use of cigarettes a tax at a rate not to exceed 0.75 cents per cigarette sold or used, such tax to be collected pursuant to Article 7 (§ 58.1-3830 et seq.) of Chapter 38 of Title 58.1 of the Code.

S.B. 529

Patron: Hanger

Inoperable motor vehicles. Gives localities greater flexibility in defining "inoperable motor vehicles."

S.B. 534

Patron: Stosch

Road impact fees. Adds Henrico County (described by form of government) to those localities that may utilize road impact fees. Also, an obsolete sunset provision is deleted.

S.B. 561

Patron: Lambert

Charter; City of Richmond. Extends council terms from two to four years, restores language repealed by charter amendments of 1998 related to nomination of council candidates, removes the requirement of a public hearing for council appointees who are removed from office, clarifies language regarding appointment and removal of certain appointees, creates a new group of appropriations that are exempt from lapsing at the close of a fiscal year, allows the director of finance to appoint a designee to certify that funds are available for formal bids and provides that the stormwater utility program may be administered by either the Department of Public Works or the Department of Public Utilities.

S.B. 580

Patron: Ticer

Permitted provisions in certain zoning ordinances. Allows localities whose entire geographic area is wholly or partially within an area designated as nonattainment for ozone to include provisions for (i) the reduction of approved uses, density, floor area ratio, or intensity applicable to specific property for which there has been no substantial construction activity performed in good faith pursuant to an approved permit with the preceding three years where the governing body has determined that existing transportation facilities and services, and those facilities for which construction contracts have been executed, are inadequate to meet the level of service specified for transportation in the adopted comprehensive plan and are projected to be inadequate should the property fully develop with the next three years in accordance with existing zoning regulations applicable to it and (ii) the adoption of transportation infrastructure overlay districts to allow, either as a matter of right under applicable zoning regulations or with the approval of a special exception, special use permit, or rezoning application, the transfer of some or all specified development rights from property located outside the boundaries of a transportation infrastructure overlay district to property located within such overlay district. Where adopted, transportation infrastructure overlay districts shall be established to encourage development in areas of the locality where mass transit and other existing or planned transportation facilities or services are projected to best meet the levels of service specified for transportation in the comprehensive plan.

S.B. 661

Patron: Blevins

Certain restrictions on real property. Provides that any municipal or recreational purpose restriction placed on real property acquired by the Commonwealth or from the Commonwealth by any locality on or after July 1, 1993, shall be satisfied if the property is used for tourism purposes that benefit the locality's tourism industry.