FWD #253 • 414 words

If you have tales of housing being delayed or denied thanks to zoning, we want to hear them.

You spent years shepherding a housing development through the approval process. Neighbors showed up. Hearings dragged on. The project got scaled back — or killed entirely. We want to know what happened. HousingForward Virginia is building a library of real zoning stories from across the Commonwealth, and we need your help filling it.

For our ZONED OUT project, we’re collecting case studies of housing developments that ran into significant rezoning or permitting challenges. Not the smooth approvals — the messy ones. The projects that took twice as long as expected. The ones that got denied, redesigned, or quietly abandoned. And yes, the ones that made it through against the odds.

Whether you’re a developer, a local government staffer, a nonprofit housing provider, or a community advocate, your experience is exactly what we’re looking for.

How You Can Help

If you’ve got a story, take a moment to complete the form linked below. Filling out the necessary info will only take two minutes, but you also have the option to provide greater detail if you’re feeling generous.

Here’s a rundown of the useful information you have that we need:

• The basics: Project type (rental, for-sale, mixed-use), approximate unit count, and locality.
• The obstacle: What specifically triggered the challenge? A rezoning request, a special use permit, a by-right dispute, a density variance? Who raised objections — neighbors, elected officials, planning staff?
• The process: How many hearings? How long did it take from application to final decision? Were conditions attached?
• The outcome: Was it approved as proposed, approved with changes, or denied? Or did the project end up being abandoned, with no certain future?
• The takeaway: What would have made this easier? Was there a specific policy, process, or decision that was the turning point?

If you allow us, we may follow up with questions if a few more details might be beneficial.

Why We’re Collecting These

Virginia localities make many zoning decisions one project at a time, often with little visibility into how those decisions stack up across the state. Aggregate data tells us that housing production is constrained. Case studies will illustrate exactly how this plays in the trenches.

The stories we gather will inform our research, and we’ll use them (with your permission and attribution preferences) in our presentations to highlight the inescapable consequences of short-sighted zoning regulations.