HomeMy Public PortalAbout2020_09_22_R100 2021 Legislative Agenda The Town of
Leesburg,
Virginia
PRESENTED: September 22, 2020
RESOLUTION NO. 2020-100 ADOPTED: September 22, 2020
A RESOLUTION: ADOPTION OF THE LEGISLATIVE AGENDA AND
POSITIONS STATEMENT FOR THE 2021 VIRGINIA
GENERAL ASSEMBLY LEGISLATIVE SESSION
WHEREAS, the Virginia General Assembly will convene on January 13, 2020 for the
2021 Legislative Session ; and
WHEREAS, the Town of Leesburg has specific legislative initiatives that it would like
to see addressed during the General Assembly session; and
WHEREAS, the Town of Leesburg has developed a Legislative Agenda to request
specific legislative actions; and
WHEREAS, the Town of Leesburg has developed a Legislative Positions Statement
to provide general guidance on various topics for Town staff and state legislators.
THEREFORE, RESOLVED, by the Council of the Town of Leesburg in Virginia as
follows:
1. The Town's 2021 Legislative Agenda and Positions Statement are adopted as
presented.
PASSED this 22"d day of September, 2020.
Kelly : i rk, yor
Town of Leesburg
ATTEST:
(Ore.deee:Goe."
Clerk of Council
LF\LeesburgRMS\Town_Clerk\Resolutions\2020\0922 2021 Legislative Agenda
Page 1
1 2021 Legislative Agenda (Working Draft)
(Issues are not arranged in priority order) 1
2
A. Ability to Recognize and Enforce Existing Development Approvals for Land that is Annexed 3
or Boundary Line Adjusted into a Jurisdiction 4
The Town Council requests an amendment to Section 15.2-2286 that would add language to 5
allow existing development approvals (proffers, conditions, other obligations) to be recognized 6
and enforced by any locality that may have such land come into its territorial jurisdiction through 7
an annexation, or boundary line adjustment. 8
9
B. City Status 10
The Town Council requests amendment of Virginia Code Section 15.2-3201 and Section 15.2-11
3800 to eliminate restrictions on the granting of city charters to towns with populations more 12
than 40,000. 13
14
A. Remote Meetings of Advisory Boards and Commissions 15
The Town Council requests amending to Section 2.2-3708.2 of the Code of Virginia to allow 16
advisory boards and commissions serving a locality, when not performing any adjudicatory 17
function, to be permitted to conduct meetings virtually, with no requirements for in-person 18
attendance or quorum determination. 19
20
B. State Maintenance Funds for Roadway Paving 21
The Town Council requests that the Virginia Department of Transportation fund road 22
maintenance through the two programs established to help localities with roadway maintenance, 23
the Revenue Sharing maintenance program and the State of Good Repair program. 24
25
C. Unmanned Aircraft Systems (Drones) on Public Lands 26
The Town Council requests that Virginia Code 15.2-926.3 be amended to clarify that the Town 27
has the ability to regulate the use of its public lands, including parks, as it relates to the launching 28
and retrieving of unmanned aircraft systems (drones). 29
30
D.C. Chesapeake Bay TMDL and State Water Quality Management Planning Regulation 31
The Town Council supports the Virginia Municipal Wastewater Association’s position 32
opposing the recently recommended revision of existing nutrient allocation of dischargers (local 33
governments, authorities and industrial facilities). 34
35
E.D. Memorandums of Agreement with the County 36
The Town Council requests an amendment to the Code of Virginia which mandates that counties 37
that contain incorporated towns must provide services to town residents on equal parity with 38
county residents without the necessity of a written agreement and that for those services 39
provided, county regulations and standards apply. 40
41
F.E. Commercial Vehicles on Public Streets 42
The Town Council requests legislation that would amend Section 46.2-1222.1 of the Code of 43
Virginia to allow localities to prohibit the parking of commercial vehicles weighing 8,000 lbs., or 44
more on residential streets. The current minimum gross vehicle weight that can be regulated is 45
12,000 lbs. 46
Town of Leesburg
2021 Legislative Agenda
Page 1
2021 Legislative Positions (Working Draft)
GENERAL POSITIONS 1
(Issues are not arranged in priority order) 2
A. Oppose any reduction of local taxing authority 3
The Town Council opposes any reduction or narrowing of the taxing authority of local 4
governments, including but not limited to business license tax, machinery & tools tax and meals 5
tax. Further, the General Assembly should take no action to restrict the use of current local 6
revenue sources. 7
B. Oppose any reduction of local land use authority 8
The Town Council opposes legislation that weakens local authority to plan and regulate land use, 9
zoning and property maintenance. This authority should remain with local governing bodies. 10
The Town Council generally supports the granting of additional land use, zoning and property 11
maintenance authority to localities, especially in areas experiencing high rates of sustained 12
growth, and as a means to address the fiscal burdens experienced by localities in providing 13
needed public services to local residents. 14
The Town Council supports existing local authority to accept cash and in-kind proffers from 15
developers to assist localities in financing the capital facilities and infrastructure needed to serve 16
new development and opposes legislation to eliminate or restrict that authority. 17
C. Oppose any unfunded mandates 18
The Town Council opposes any new state mandates that are not fully funded by the 19
Commonwealth, and opposes the shifting of fiscal responsibility from the state to localities for 20
existing programs. 21
D. Support revenue sharing with state 22
The Town Council supports any state revenue sharing formula to assist local governments with 23
public infrastructure needs, so long as the formula includes recognition of the needs in high 24
growth localities. 25
POSITIONS ON SPECIFIC ISSUES 26
(Issues are not arranged in priority order) 27
E. Tree Save Efforts 28
The Town Council supports efforts that would strengthen localities’ ability to require private 29
new construction projects to save existing trees. 30
F. Transportation Funding 31
i The Town Council supports state policy changes to reduce state oversight of locally 32
administered transportation projects. Such oversight is duplicative, cumbersome, and 33
Town of Leesburg
2021 Legislative Positions Statement
Page 2
2021 Legislative Positions (Working Draft)
inefficient, and results in unnecessary delays and costs. Periodic state audits of locally 34
administered projects would be more efficient and better policy than constant, day to day 35
oversight. 36
ii The Town Council supports state policy changes to mandate further refinement of VDOT 37
cost estimates for transportation projects in an effort to improve accuracy and thus reduce 38
time lost due to the accumulation of unnecessary excess funds. In those circumstances when 39
excess funds are unavoidable, allow those funds to be allocated to other projects more 40
efficiently. 41
iii Construction of Grade-Separated Interchanges 42
The Town Council requests dedicated funding for the construction of grade-separated 43
interchanges to replace the current at-grade signalized intersections in the following 44
locations: 45
(a) Edwards Ferry Road at the Route 15 Bypass, incorporating the intersection of Fort 46
Evans Road and the Route 15 Bypass, as well as facilities that will allow safe 47
pedestrian passage across the Bypass. 48
Status: Interchange Justification Report is in final review by VDOT and Federal 49
Highway Administration. Environmental Document has been approved. Town has 50
received funding from NVTA ($5.4 million) and VDOT Regional Surface 51
Transportation Program ($8 million). Town has applied for $100 million in VDOT 52
SMART Scale funding. 53
(b) Battlefield Parkway at the Route 15 Bypass. 54
Status: Town has received $2 million in NVTA funding for preparation of an 55
Interchange Justification Report. 56
G. Transient Occupancy Tax 57
The Commonwealth should not allow online travel companies to avoid paying the full transient 58
occupancy tax and the Town Council supports legislation to clarify this in the state code. 59
H. Local Authority to Prohibit Firearms on Public Property 60
The Town Council supports legislation that authorizes localities to adopt ordinances that prohibit 61
firearms and ammunition on property owned or leased by the locality. 62
I.H. Higher Education Presence in Leesburg 63
The Town Council supports funding for a state-supported higher education presence in the Town 64
of Leesburg. 65
J.I. Enforcement of Recycling Regulations 66
The Town Council supports legislation that grants localities the authority to enforce compliance 67
with recycling regulations. 68
Page 3
2021 Legislative Positions (Working Draft)
K.J. Line of Duty Act 69
The Town Council supports the Virginia Municipal League’s position that funding responsibility 70
for the Line of Duty program should be returned to the Commonwealth. 71
L.K. Legal Notice Publication 72
The Town Council supports legislation that would give localities the authority to post legal 73
notices on websites as a substitute for publishing legal notices in print newspapers. 74
M.L. Restoration of HB 599 Law Enforcement Assistance Funding 75
The Town Council supports the General Assembly fully restoring HB 599 Law Enforcement 76
Assistance Funding to funding levels per the established formulas. The Town has lost 77
approximately $171,000 each year since 2009 in reduced funding from the state. 78
N.M. State Funding for School Resource Officers 79
The Town Council supports legislation that would provide state funding for school resource 80
officers at all public elementary, middle, and high schools. 81
O.N. Chesapeake Bay TMDL and State Water Quality Management Planning Regulation 82
The Town Council supports the Virginia Municipal Wastewater Association’s position opposing 83
revision of existing nutrient allocation of dischargers (local governments, authorities and 84
industrial facilities) for the purpose of transferring allocation to new facilities. 85
P.O. Rights to Share Customer Account Information 86
The Town Council opposes any legislation that would restrict the sharing of customer contact 87
information, exclusive of consumption data, between governmental bodies for the purpose of tax 88
collection. 89
Q.P. Automobile Emissions Inspections 90
The Town Council supports the expansion of biennial motor vehicle emissions inspection 91
requirements for localities with significant Northern Virginia commuting populations. 92
R.Q. Dam Safety Funding and Regulations 93
The Town Council urges the federal government and the Commonwealth of Virginia to provide 94
adequate funding for high hazard dam inspection, maintenance, and reconstruction. 95
S.R. Water Quality Funding 96
The Town Council urges the federal government and the Commonwealth of Virginia to provide 97
adequate funding for state and federally mandated capital improvements for sewage treatment 98
plants, Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) requirements, MS-4 Permits, and other storm 99
water systems. 100
Page 4
2021 Legislative Positions (Working Draft)
T.S. Bills of Financial Impact to the Town 101
Reinstate the requirement that bills resulting in a net expenditure and/or net decrease in revenue 102
for local governments be filed on or before the first day the legislature convenes. 103
U.T. Business, Professional and Occupational License (BPOL) Taxes 104
The Town Council opposes legislation that would eliminate the BPOL tax, unless current 105
revenue from the BPOL tax is replaced with new local revenue that is distributed directly to each 106
locality based on point of sale. Further, the Town Council requests that if the BPOL tax is 107
eliminated, localities be granted the authority to issue an annual license to businesses physically 108
located within the locality for a nominal fee. 109
V.U. Wireless Communication Facility Placement 110
The Town Council opposes any legislation that limits the Town’s authority to regulate the 111
placement of wireless communication facilities in Town right-of-way and on Town-owned 112
facilities and rental and permit fees related to such equipment. 113