Pursuant to legislation adopted in the 2023 legislative session, Section 36-139.9 of the Code of Virginia directs the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) to annually collect housing policy reports from localities with a population greater than 3,500. The reports shall summarize the adoption or amendment of any local policies, ordinances, or processes affecting the development and construction of housing during Fiscal Year 2023 (July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023). DHCD has developed a survey tool, that incorporated recommendations from VACo and the Virginia Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA-VA), for localities to use in the preparation and submission of this required report. The link to the FY2023 Local Housing Policy survey is now live and available here: FY2023 Local Housing Policy Survey. The deadline for completing the survey is September 1, 2023.
According to DHCD, the intent of this survey is to collect information that highlights the efforts localities are making to increase accessibility, affordability, and attainability of housing within the Commonwealth. These efforts may include actions that affect the supply of available land for housing, the variety and availability of housing options, the cost of producing housing units, or the time it takes to go through the land use and permitting processes. Submitted survey responses will be used to generate a locality’s report and will be made available to the public on the DHCD website.
For more information, please contact Chase Sawyer, DHCD Senior Policy Analyst, at chase.sawyer@dhcd.virginia.gov.
VACo Contact: Joe Lerch, AICP