Virginia County May Freeze All Home Construction For 12 Months

A Prince William County, Va., official has proposed freezing new housing starts and residential construction for one year in response to Northern Virginia’s worsening traffic congestion.

According to the Daily Press, Supervisor W.S. Covington III introduced the resolution last week. On December 5, supervisors will discuss the proposal, which surprised Covington’s colleagues and horrified some local housing industry officials.

“Something like this is devastating to the industry,” said Roy Beckner, director of business development of S.W. Rodgers Co., a Gainesville, Va., developer. “A year’s downtime could be devastating to home builders, a community that is already in a slowdown mode.”

Jim Williams, Executive V.P. of the Northern Virginia Building Industry Association, said that if supervisors approve Covington’s measure, they might as well halt commercial construction, too.

“While there is a connection between housing demand and transportation issues, what the board of supervisors and Mr. Covington have to realize is that home buying follows jobs,” Williams said. “They ought to freeze commercial real estate as well. That would make about as much sense as what they want to do now.”

Covington says the resolution is needed to remedy the transportation system’s erosion. Bolstered by record low mortgage rates and a robust economy, the county population has grown by an astonishing 72 percent over 15 years, from 215,686 to 371,181 residents.

“This is something we need to do to get the governor’s and the General Assembly’s attention,” Covington said of this booming segment of the Virginia housing market. “The resolution recognizes the fact that there is a limit as to how far local governments can go. The state has been collecting these tax dollars for years, and they have been neglecting our infrastructure.”

Attorneys plans to research whether the proposal is legal. Supervisor John D. Jenkins said he believed the measure could pass unanimously. There are no major residential real estate developments coming down the pike in the next 12 months, so the vote could be largely symbolic.

“I think to get the attention of the General Assembly and, you know, the governor, I will say this would be a shot across the bow to say we need some help dealing with these types of problems,” Jenkins said.

Supervisor Maureen S. Caddigan said she would support the measure if the county attorney approves.

“I think it is a good idea to look into it,” Caddigan said. “I would be supportive of it because I think there is a little bit of a slowdown in the market right now.”