The FWD #280 • 920 words

Heading to the 2026 Virginia Governor’s Housing Conference? Here are the sessions we’re leading, the speakers we’re bringing, and one more we hope you won’t miss.

Every housing reform hits the same moment. The plan is drafted, the data looks good, and then the public hearing starts.

That moment is the thread running through our sessions at this year’s Virginia Governor’s Housing Conference (GHC) [Hampton, Virginia, November 18-20th]. Who shows up to oppose new homes? How do localities make the fiscal case for reform? And once we decide which homes to save, how do we line up the tools and money to do it?

Here’s where to find us.

Plenary: Overcoming Opposition to Housing Reform

Thursday, November 19 | 9:00–10:30 a.m. | Ballroom ABC

Start your Thursday with our plenary featuring Dr. Katherine Levine Einstein, associate professor of political science at Boston University and associate director of BU’s Initiative on Cities.

If you’ve sat through a contentious land use meeting, you’ve seen her research in action. Her book Neighborhood Defenders: Participatory Politics and America’s Housing Crisis (with David Glick and Maxwell Palmer) studied who speaks at local planning and zoning meetings. The short version: the people at the microphone are rarely a cross section of the community. They tend to be older homeowners, and they are far more likely to oppose new housing than the residents they claim to speak for.

Dr. Einstein also co-leads the Menino Survey of Mayors, an annual survey of U.S. mayors. That gives her a rare view of how local leaders themselves think about housing politics. And if you need one more reason to show up, she has taught a course on HBO’s The Wire that boston.com called the “coolest class to take at BU.”

Our Executive Director for Programs, Jonathan Knopf, will open the session and moderate. After Dr. Einstein’s presentation, Jonathan will lead a conversation about what her findings mean for Virginia — especially as localities prepare for the ADU requirement that takes effect in July 2027. We’ll save time for your questions at the end.

Building Virginia’s Preservation Ecosystem: Coordinating Tools, Policy, and Capital

Wednesday, November 18th | 1:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. | Room 106

Building new homes is only half the job. Virginia also loses affordable homes every year as income-restricted properties reach the end of their affordability periods.

This session looks at how Virginia’s preservation work can move from one-off rescues to a coordinated system. We’ll show how the Virginia Affordable Housing Preservation Dashboard helps advocates, planners, and local governments spot at-risk properties early. Then panelists will talk through the policy and capital that need to line up behind that data.

• Pravina Raghavan, CEO, Locus
• Isabel McClain, Director of Policy, Virginia Housing Alliance
• Maria Dougherty, Senior Associate, Housing Forward Virginia

All three organizations helped bring the dashboard to life, so expect a behind-the-scenes look at how it came together and where it goes next.

New to the dashboard? Read our launch post before the session.

Do the Math: Fiscal Impact Analysis and the Case for Zoning Reform in Virginia

Friday, November 20th | 9:30 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. | Room 108

Virginia localities face a familiar bind. Housing demand is rising, but many treat new residential development as a drain on the budget — something to limit, condition, or block to protect the tax base.

This session tests that assumption with data. Joe Minicozzi of Urban3, a national firm that studies fiscal impact and land use economics, will share research on how different development patterns perform. Urban3 builds its models from local tax rolls, infrastructure costs, and revenue per acre. Their findings are consistent: compact, mixed, and missing-middle housing often pays more into local budgets than low-density, sprawl-style growth.

Joe may also touch on other types of analysis, such as how property assessments shape what each parcel contributes to the tax base.

For localities weighing incremental reform — by-right ADUs, modest upzoning along corridors, or a fresh look at parking minimums — this session offers a framework for doing the math. You’ll leave knowing how to:

• Judge development proposals on fiscal merit
• Explain those findings to elected officials and the public
• Build the local case for reform on economic grounds

Want a head start? The Virginia Zoning Atlas shows how much of your locality’s land allows anything beyond single-family homes.

Don’t Miss: Identifying and Protecting Communities Facing Heirs Property

Thursday, November 19th | 2:00 to 3:15 p.m. | Room 101

We also encourage you to join those behind the Richmond Heirs Property Network, where panelists will share outcomes from their recent regional heirs property analysis couched within the realities of scaling and actively connecting households to legal services.

Heirs property and tangled title — family land inherited by many over time — risks housing stability and intergenerational wealth of the residents. It also keeps homes out of reach of repair programs and other assistance, like tax relief. The network’s sessions are a great chance to learn how Virginia communities are tackling the problem with confidentiality and data-informed practices.

See You There

Find us between sessions, too, at our booth! We’d love to hear what’s happening in your community.

The data on opposition, fiscal impact, and preservation is clear enough. GHC is where we figure out what to do with it — together.