Lost in the controversy over transportation funding is the fact that the GOP transportation bill, as amended by Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, will make significant changes to the way local governments approach land use and transportation. We’ve chronicled that un-sung aspect of the transportation debate on this blog, mostly from a Republican perspective, mainly because Republicans got out front on the issue.
Now, we hear from Gov. Kaine. Responding to a question from yours truly during a blogger conference yesterday, Kaine praised the land-use elements of the controversial HB 3202. The bill has several worthwhile features, said Kaine, who gave specific credit to Del. Clay Athey, R-Front Royal, for his role in writing the legislation.
Said Kaine: “UDAs and UTSAs are very good ideas. We’ve turned the corner and we’re embracing the notion that land use has to be a part of transportation.”
By UDAs, Kaine was referring to Urban Development Areas, which would require fast-growth counties to create districts designed to accommodate future growth. Local government would concentrate their infrastructure in the UDAs and encourage more compact, New Urbanism-style development, while developers would be forewarned that efforts to develop outside the areas would not be supported. Kaine liked the idea so much that he expanded the eligibility to far more counties and cities than the Republican authors originally contemplated.
By UTSAs, Kaine was referring to Urban Transportation Service Areas, which would typically overlay the UDAs. Kaine amended the legislation to expand the authority of local governments to levy impact fees. He expects that most eligible jurisdictions will jump at the chance “in fairly short order.” Impact fees will help raise revenue for transportation projects and offset development taking place outside the UTSAs.
I don’t yet fully understand the impact-fee aspect of the legislation, but I anticipate that it could become the most far-reaching piece of the bill. We can anticipate lots of sturm and drang as local governments debate setting up UTSAs and adopting impact fees, especially if local home builders associations mobilize to oppose them. Normally, I’m leery of impact fees, which can load disproportionate impact of new development onto developers and newcomers, increasing the cost of real estate and making housing unaffordable. But they may prove worthwhile if they’re used as a cattle prod for developers to create more balanced, more compact and better connected human settlement patterns.
Perhaps the most encouraging news from the Governor is that the current legislation is not the last word on land use reform. Last year, the state broached land use issues when it passed a bill requiring the Virginia Department of Transportation to analyze the regional traffic impact of rezoning projects, Kaine said. This year, UDAs, UTSAs and impact fees constitute another step forward. Looking ahead, Kaine said that his transportation accountability commission is looking into land use issues as well. “I think there will be more [legislation] to come. This is not the work of one session or two.”