Kaine's Plan May Embolden Va. Leaders

"The governor's proposal is not anti-development," Homer said. Kaine's plan is "designed to give clear and uniform information about the transportation impact of individual development proposals so that everyone's operating with a basic set of facts. The second part of the governor's proposal is to allow localities to act on those facts. That's not a radical proposal; that's simply good government."

Developers have long argued against attempts to expand the authority of local governments, saying cities and counties can reject requests based on well-founded concerns about overwhelmed roads or other services.

John Foote, a Prince William land-use lawyer, said that if cities and counties rarely reject rezoning requests it's because the requests are generally in line with what local officials want.

"The reality is that they have a great deal of flexibility today," Foote said. "For them to say they don't have any power to control development when there are no roads, it's a bit disingenuous. A locality with good reasons can do it."

Several local officials took issue with that, saying they run the risk of a costly court challenge every time they reject a developer's request. "The minute we do, they turn around and sue us," said Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Chairman Scott K. York (I), whose county lost a major rezoning case last year to a group of developers and landowners represented by Foote. "We don't have all the power we need to appropriately manage growth, . . . and they know we don't."

Local officials and slow-growth advocates said parts of Kaine's proposal could have the most impact in outer suburbs facing intense development pressures. Most inner suburbs mandate traffic impact studies for rezoning requests. Kaine's proposal to require and standardize studies across the state could help understaffed smaller governments that have only developers' data go on, if anything.

Clarifying local governments' authority to reject requests could embolden officials in smaller counties who have lacked the resources or confidence to challenge developers in court.

Kaine's proposal could have significant impact in Northern Virginia as well. Greater constraints on building in outer areas could mean less traffic through the inner suburbs.

Clarifying the right to judge projects based on traffic concerns could give localities a powerful tool in reviewing unpopular proposals for developed areas. Localities often feel constrained from rejecting such plans, for fear of being accused of blocking one development where others were approved.

At the same time, Kaine's proposal to allow transfers of development rights from one part of a county to another could ease the way for high-density projects near transit, the focus of much new development in Fairfax County, said county Supervisor T. Dana Kauffman (D-Lee). If a developer is willing to give up building rights in one area, he said, it might make county residents more willing to accept high density near rail stops.

"If we are to see an increased acceptance of intense development around Metro stations, the surest way to get there is guarantee what other pieces of land won't be developed," Kauffman said.