Statewide Zoning for Mission Driven Housing
Faith-Based Organizations Across Virginia Call for Bold State Leadership
Faith communities across Virginia are central to community life, witnessing the housing crisis daily in food pantry lines and eviction support requests. With Virginia lacking over 200,000 affordable homes, many congregations feel called to use their land to address this need. However, outdated zoning laws and red tape create barriers that make it difficult for them to answer this call.
The Faith in Housing Act could change that.
Across Virginia, at least 30 faith groups have tried to build housing, but fewer than half have succeeded due to these obstacles. Faith institutions collectively own more than 74,000 acres - nearly twice the size of Richmond - and can play a crucial role in addressing the housing crisis if given the chance. Here are examples from congregations across Virginia that either have gone through or are currently going through the process of building affordable homes on their land.
Stories from Congregations
Building Our Future: The Episcopal Church of the Resurrection, Alexandria, VA
With declining enrollment and increasing operating deficits, something needed to be done. The Church held several forums to determine our possible future. We knew our neighbors needed homes. Over 92% of our congregation said “yes” to gifting our community with affordable housing.
We built The Spire, 113 homes that would be affordable for at least 65 years. We also built a new church with the money raised from the lease to the housing development. If the Faith in Housing Act had been in place, it could have saved us one year and over $100,000.
Stones to Homes: Arlington Presbyterian Church builds Gilliam Place
By 2008, our membership had shrunk to 200, and our aging building was a financial and operational burden. In 2009, we held sessions to chart a path forward, deciding to build affordable housing to help address the local housing crisis. In 2015, we sold our land to APAH (True Ground). For two years, we sought funding, and in 2017, construction began. In 2019, we held a grand opening for 173 new affordable homes and our new church. Thanks to special zoning rules put in place in Arlington, we did not have to apply a variance. Without that, we would never have moved forward. The Faith in Housing Act would have been even more supportive, removing barriers and saving us time and money. There were not many examples of this work when we began, and we look forward to sharing our journey to inspire other congregations. Read more on our website: Arlington Presbyterian.
Redevelopment: Faith, Housing, and Community: Clarendon Presbyterian
In 2021, we began a discernment process that identified a mission to support affordable housing and those facing food insecurity. At the time, we had a church building with high maintenance costs and declining systems such as our roof, plumbing, and electricity. We decided to redevelop our entire property, and include affordable housing, onsite child care, as well as a modernized and right sized church space that would provide both space for our congregation and the community.
Our path is long and expensive, and takes the emotional energy of our entire congregation, pastor, and staff. The Faith in Housing Act would create a clear path for redevelopment, and would have saved us 3 - 4 years of battling over the rezoning, and between $280,000 and $440,000 in lawyers, consultants, and mortgage payments on the additional land that made this possible.
Other examples:
The Solution: Pass Faith in Housing
What is our Solution?
Unfortunately, adding homes for people in need is a complicated process, made harder by Virginia’s complicated land use system. The General Assembly should remove barriers to faith institutions adding affordable housing on their land by changing the law to allow affordable housing as a use of faith-owned land and creating parameters for what types of buildings can be allowed. The General Assembly should mandate an administrative - not automatic - approval process for these homes.