Construction fees in Virginia
This state has a general impact fee enabling act. Local governments here charge under a statewide statute, which means there are written limits on what can be charged, how it must be calculated and when it must be refunded.
Va. Code Ann. § 15.2-2317 et seq. (road impact fees); cash proffer provisions
Guiding standard in the act: necessitated by and attributable to. That phrase is the ceiling on what may be charged, and it is the cheapest argument a fee payer has.
Your fee stack in Virginia
Answer four things and get the list of every body that can bill this project, what each one is allowed to charge for, and the rights your state's law gives you before you pay.
What Virginia says about your project
Virginia's real system is cash proffers, not impact fees. Developers "voluntarily" offer land, improvements or money as part of a rezoning application, with no required nexus study and no published schedule.
That makes Virginia the hardest state in the country to budget for in advance, because there is nothing to look up. The number comes out of a negotiation.
Road impact fees are explicitly authorized by statute. A broader list is available only in narrow circumstances involving by-right residential subdivision of agriculturally zoned parcels.
Where proffers have been accepted, their value must be credited against fees.
The 15-year spending window is the longest of any state.
What the fees may pay for
1 of 10 facility categories are eligible here. A charge for anything not on this list is resting on some other authority, and that is a fair question to ask.
| Facility type | Eligible for impact fees |
|---|---|
| Roads and transportation | Yes |
| Water facilities | Not listed |
| Wastewater and sewer | Not listed |
| Stormwater and drainage | Not listed |
| Parks and recreation | Not listed |
| Fire | Not listed |
| Police | Not listed |
| Libraries | Not listed |
| Solid waste | Not listed |
| Schools | Not listed |
What the jurisdiction had to do first
These are the homework requirements in the act. Where one is required and missing, that is a procedural defect you can raise without a lawyer.
| Planning requirement | In the act |
|---|---|
| Written analysis required | Yes |
| Service areas required | Yes |
| List of projects required | Yes |
| Growth projections required | Yes |
| Level of service standards required | Not required |
Timing, credits, refunds and waivers
| Provision | What the act says |
|---|---|
| When the fee may be collected | building permit |
| Advisory committee | 5 to 10 |
| Development industry representation | 40% |
| Spend-or-refund window | 15 years |
| Required update frequency | 2 years |
What to do next in Virginia
- Confirm whether your parcel is in a city or unincorporated, then pull the taxing district list from the assessor's record. Why that list is the real fee list.
- Request the current adopted fee schedule and a written fee estimate for the address. The six-step sequence.
- Call each utility separately. Tap fees usually sit outside the act, and are often the largest line.
- If you are dedicating land or building improvements, request the credit in writing before assessment. How to ask.
- Calendar the refund date. Unspent fees here come back after 15 years. Almost nobody claims these.
- Pay under protest if you intend to dispute anything at all. What that preserves.