A BILL to amend and reenact § 15.2-2286 of the Code of Virginia, relating to local authority on requiring water consumption in zoning ordinance; industrial and commercial facilities.
HB370 amends Virginia’s zoning-enabling statute, § 15.2-2286, to expressly allow local governments to require industrial and commercial facilities to submit annual estimates of water consumption and to consider that water use when deciding rezoning and special use permit applications. The bill is framed as a local land-use authority measure, giving counties, cities, and towns another factor to evaluate when reviewing large development proposals that may affect public water resources.
The bill also makes a broader set of zoning-related changes by adding water consumption to the list of permissible zoning ordinance provisions. Those provisions already cover matters such as special exceptions, enforcement tools, penalties, fees, environmental site assessments, solar and battery standards, contamination disclosure, occupancy enforcement, inspection warrants, and the ability to require payment of delinquent local charges before certain applications proceed. HB370 fits into that framework by expanding the topics localities may regulate or consider in zoning and development review, especially for projects with potential impacts on infrastructure and natural resources.
If enacted, HB370 would amend § 15.2-2286 of the Code of Virginia to authorize localities to incorporate water-consumption reporting and water-resource review into zoning ordinances and land-use decisions for industrial and commercial facilities. This would not mandate a statewide water-use standard, but it would give local governments explicit statutory authority to request annual estimates and weigh public water consumption in rezoning and special use permit determinations. The bill would therefore affect developers, industrial users, commercial applicants, and local planning and zoning officials by expanding the factors that may be considered during local land-use review.
The available legislative history suggests the bill was not advanced out of committee and was continued to the next session by voice vote, indicating limited momentum at this stage. Because there are no recorded committee transcripts or roll-call votes in the provided materials, there is no evidence of strong public debate in the record here. The overall posture appears procedural and cautious rather than openly supportive or hostile, with the bill remaining in subcommittee review.
The main point of contention is likely the scope of local authority over industrial and commercial development, particularly whether localities should be able to require water-consumption estimates and use those estimates in rezoning and special use permit decisions. Supporters would likely view the bill as a planning and resource-management tool for communities facing water-supply constraints, while opponents may see it as adding another layer of regulation and uncertainty for business and development projects. The absence of committee testimony in the provided record makes it impossible to attribute specific arguments to named stakeholders, but the issue centers on balancing local control, economic development, and water-resource protection.