GOVERNOR'S VETO

Pursuant to Article V, Section 6, of the Constitution of Virginia, I veto House Bill 529, which seeks to increase the number of localities that can impose an ordinance providing for the planting and replacement of trees during the development process.

Virginia’s current law on tree canopy ordinances strikes a balance between the ability of a locality to hinder residential and commercial development with increased costs and the ability of a locality to preserve tree canopy.  Existing law allows any locality with a population density of at least 75 persons per square mile or any locality within the Chesapeake Bay watershed to adopt such an ordinance. According to the Virginia Department of Forestry, sixty percent of Virginia is in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed already.

Accordingly, I veto this bill.