More General Assembly newsRICHMOND
An anti-blight bill borne out of Hampton Roads' struggles with vacant homes appeared to be cruising through the General Assembly when it passed a House committee 22-0 last Friday.
People back home watched closely. City officials in Norfolk had targeted the bill as a priority. Civic activists in Portsmouth had helped craft it.
"This thing had been out on the streets heavily for months, and nobody had ever said 'Peep,' " said Mark Flynn, director of legal services for the Virginia Municipal League.
Instead, somebody said "eminent domain."
By Thursday, the bill's future was in doubt.
"We didn't see it coming," said Bryan Pennington, Norfolk director of intergovernmental relations.
Pennington told a caucus of Hampton Roads legislators Thursday morning that the rumor around the statehouse was that the bill has been "marked for death" in the House.
The opposition surfaced Tuesday at a Senate committee meeting.
Representatives from Waldo & Lyle, a Norfolk law firm that specializes in property rights, and from The Family Foundation, an advocacy group that scrutinizes government intervention, spoke against the bill.
Stephen Clarke, an attorney for Waldo & Lyle, called the bill an end-run attempt around eminent domain laws.
"I think that's when they really started to rally the troops," Pennington said.
Proponents insist the law offers only incentives and makes it easier for cities to work with owners to fix their property.
"It simply does not have anything related to eminent domain," Flynn said.
The legislation, HB1671 and SB1094, would allow localities to offer a tax incentive to owners to demolish or renovate derelict buildings. Cities could ask owners to fix up a property and give them a tax abatement for 15 years. The owner would continue to pay the tax on the home's pre-renovated value during that time.
The legislation allows cities to expedite the permitting process for the owner to remove the property. Cities also could seek a court-ordered sale of such properties if they are delinquent on taxes for one year, instead of the current two years, under the proposed law.
Pennington pointed to the proliferation of vacant dilapidated homes by CM Development in Norfolk and Portsmouth as an impetus for the legislation. The bankrupt housing company came under scrutiny after an investigation by The Virginian-Pilot.
Opponents cite the bill's definition of derelict buildings as their main concern. Under the law, a home that is vacant, boarded-up and not connected to electricity for six months is considered derelict.
That could put vacation homes in jeopardy, said Victoria Cobb, president of The Family Foundation.
"You just can't leave the door open to localities," she said.
Del. Sal Iaquinto, R-Virginia Beach, voted for the bill in a House committee but said he is reconsidering his stance after hearing about the eminent domain concerns.
A staunch property rights advocate, Iaquinto said the bill may be better off going to a courts committee for further scrutiny.
"This is an extremely important issue, and I just want to make sure we get this right," Iaquinto said.
Dave Forster, (757) 222-5563, dave.forster@pilotonline.com
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The last thing I want to see
The last thing I want to see is another law giving a city that can barely keep up with it's own maintenance, can't balance it's budget, and makes a seemingly endless series of poor decisions, MORE power to dictate to private property owners what they must or must not do on property they own. This law may make it easier to deal with "problem" properties, but, as with all things the government undertakes to do, it will grow in scope until there is little it does not apply to. There are already laws that address these issues, why are they not enforced? How long would that beat-up truck with the flat tire sit at the curb on Mowbray Arch? Not long!
Sen. Lucas must want to build something in Olde Huntersville.
THE EMINENT DOMAIN QUESTION
is worthy of discussion. However, saying this could put vacation homes in jeopardy borders on the absurd.
HB 1671 (SB1094) Blight fight
Both Senators Lucas and Locke have been major advocates of this bill and have been enormously helpful in getting it to the floor of the House and Senate. On the Republican side, Del. Marshall's input and the support of his colleagues on the subcommittee were invaluable in getting the bill to the House floor. This is a bi-partisan bill, and citizens from all over the state were invited to participate in creating it. The last-minute opposition (from people who apparently were too busy to sit down and help hammer out the legislation) follows a year of meetings, debate, and circulated drafts and makes a mockery out of the legislative process. Stating that the bill is "an end run around eminent domain," is worse than misleading--it's dishonest and a slap in the face to all the individuals who worked so hard to reach consensus across a broad spectrum of political beliefs. Concerned citizens should contact their representatives and encourage them to vote "yes" on HB1671.
The best way to protect property rights
The best way to protect property rights is to maintain your property and not let it become a danger to your community.
Would you let violent drug dealers, child molesters, stray pit bulls, rats and rabid raccoons live in your own home or allow gang members to use it to hide guns from police? Would you let the roof of your bedroom collapse into a puddle of stagnant water that breeds mosquitos, mold and possum poop and just choose to move into the living room?
That's what these self-centered people are asking neighors, the police, and emergency services to put up with when they abandon buildings. If you behave in a way that you create a danger to your community, you should be stopped. If you can't be responsible enough to own safely own property, don't.
city codes
Maybe the houses or empty buildings would not look so bad if the cities would actually do something about the code violators. These cases go on for years back and forth in court to no resolution.
Where is Senator Lucas?
Instead of trying to build a Taj Mahal in her own honor and taking up the time of two of her fellow senators towards that particular effort, perhaps the good senator should be an advocating vigorously and loudly on THIS particular issue (like: do your job, PLEASE!)
That is: if she really does care about her constituents in Portsmouth!
closing our eyes doesn't make it go away
There are lots of properties across Portsmouth that are vacant and have been vacant for years. There is a document correlation between vacant houses and crime. I don't think someone should be penalized for not renting their house while they take a job rotation out of town for a few years but I also don't think the neighbors should have to deal with drug addicts, hookers, and criminals hiding in a house that has been vacant for 15 plus years in your neighborhood.
Let the legislators that vote against this come visit some of these places. Let them talk to the little old lady in Portsmouth that has this stuff outside her door every night.
The Empire Strikes Back
Our property rights will not be safe until the eminent domain legislation we worked so hard to get passed two years ago is protected by an Amendment to the Virginia Constitution.