Mike Toalson, executive vice president of the Home Builders Association of Virginia, vows to fight the impact fees permitted by The Comprehensive Transportation Funding and Reform Act of 2007. The metropolitan dailies have overlooked this obvious follow-up to the legislative duel of the decade. Fortunately, we have the Culpeper Star Exponent to report the story.
The reason that the Home Builders weren’t a factor in the final days of the debate over the landmark legislation, it appears, is that the association was taken by surprise. Reports Liz Mitchell:
“When the governor released his amendments he included an entirely new component that had never been a part of the bill and no public opportunity for comment,” Toalson said. “What he embedded was new road impact fee authority for 67 localities in Virginia, including Culpeper, Fauquier, Green, Louisa and Orange counties.” …
“He embedded it in the bill HB3202 in a form we could not get out,” Toalson said. “Normally, we get an opportunity to vote but it didn’t happen that way. It was crafted in a way that we couldn’t touch it.”
The Transportation Act allows localities to imopse permit fees but does not require them to do so. That shifts the debate over how to finance growth from the General Assembly to 67 separate jurisdictions. In a meeting with the Piedmont Virginia Building Industry Association, Toalson got the troops fired up for the coming battles.
“Are you going to take the cost of doing new business and just eat it,” Toalson asked the room full of builders, real-estate agents and bankers. “No. You’re going to pass it on to the consumer. And then what happens? All the neighbors’ houses become more expensive. And then what happens? Real estate taxes get higher. But it’s, ‘You’re the bad guy. You’re paying your fair share.’ And it’s coming sooner rather than later.”