[Update, 4/9/24:]
Gov. Youngkin signed the measure yesterday. Its provisions will got into effect July 1.
[Update, 3/31/24:]
No action yet from Gov. Youngkin on this bill. The governor has until April 8 to sign, veto or amend it.
[Update, 3/4/24:]
A proposal to give historic-preservation advocates more time to mobilize before properties fall to the wrecking ball has made it to the governor’s desk.
The measure by Del. Patrick Hope (D-Arlington) would mandate a 30-day cooling-off period before a locality issues a permit to raze or demolish any building that is, at the time, being considered for local historic status.
Hope’s measure also aimed to give those among the public who testified in an historic-designation hearing the ability to appeal any local-government decision on the matter to the Circuit Court – in effect, giving them procedural parity with the property owner.
While the version adopted by the House of Delegates included that provision, it was stripped out by the state Senate, and rather than fight it, delegates opted to acquiesce the change and shuffle the paperwork to Gov. Youngkin’s desk.
And it would appear the governor will have the last word, as the vote totals (52-47 in passing the House of Delegates, 28-11 in the state Senate and 55-42 when delegates accepted the Senate alterations) largely along party lines suggest an override of a potential veto is not likely.
Hope’s proposal, HB 1395, is in part a reaction to the demolition of the Rouse estate in Arlington, which was being considered for historic status when the Arlington County Board approved a demolition permit rather than get into a legal tussle with a well-heeled property owner.
The mansion house and a number of outbuildings on the Wilson Boulevard site quickly were razed to make way for new housing.
A similar bill was introduced by Hope in the 2022 session, when Republicans controlled the House of Delegates. It was kicked back to 2023 but was killed in subcommittee even before that legislative session started.
[Original article, 2/13/24:]
A Democratic local legislator may need to play nice with Gov. Youngkin and his staff to secure enactment into law of an historic-preservation measure.
The House of Delegates approved the measure by Del. Patrick Hope (D-Arlington), and prospects look reasonable in the state Senate. But since the proposed legislation has picked up significant Republican opposition, its future should it make it to the governor’s desk is a study in uncertainty.
The measure aims to give the public more opportunity to delay and perhaps prevent demolition of properties that are being considered for historic designation. It would require a 30-day cooling-off period before a locality issues a permit to raze or demolish any building that is, at the time, being considered for local historic status.
The measure, if enacted, also would give those in the public who testified in an historic-designation hearing the ability to appeal any local-government decision on the matter to the Circuit Court – in effect, giving them procedural parity with the property owner.
After breezing through a subcommittee on an 8-0 vote, the measure picked up partisan headwinds in the House Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns (passing 11-8) and then on the House floor (passing 52-47). It has been shuttled across the hall to the Senate Committee on Local Governments, where if it continues on its trajectory is likely to win passage in the Senate (which, like the House of Delegates, is narrowly controlled by Democrats in 2024).
A Youngkin veto, however, would likely doom the proposal.
Hope’s propopsal, HB 1395, is in part a reaction to the demolition of the Rouse estate in Arlington, which was being considered for historic status when the Arlington County Board approved a demolition permit rather than get into a legal tussle with a well-heeled property owner.
The mansion house and a number of outbuildings on the Wilson Boulevard site quickly were razed to make way for new housing.
A similar bill was introduced by Hope in the 2022 session, when Republicans controlled the House of Delegates. It was kicked back to 2023 but was killed in subcommittee even before that legislative session started.
