VirginiaLand development; definitions, solar canopies in surface parking areas, delayed effective date.
What it does
Land development; solar canopies in parking areas. Provides that any locality may include in its land development ordinances a provision that requires that an applicant must install a solar canopy over designated surface parking areas. Such provisions shall apply only to nonresidential parking areas with 100 or more new off-street contiguous parking spaces and may require coverage of up to 50 percent of the surface parking area.
More detail
The bill provides that an ordinance adopted pursuant to this bill shall be subject to various additional requirements and shall allow for deviations, in whole or in part, from the requirements of the ordinance when its strict application would prevent the development of uses and densities otherwise allowed by the locality's zoning or development ordinance or when a property owner shows that the solar canopy, if installed as otherwise required under the ordinance, will generate less than 75 percent of the electricity that would be expected, given the nameplate capacity of the solar modules installed on such canopy, if the canopy were to be installed at another location in the locality without surrounding impediments to insolation such as buildings or shading vegetation. Finally, the bill provides that the applicant or owner may use the electric energy generated from such solar canopy to offset the consumption of the parking lot or adjoining building served under the same account. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027. This bill is identical to HB 1234.
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Where it stands
- Introduced
- Passed Senate
- Passed House
- To Governor
- Became Law
Looking ahead
No hearings or votes scheduled.
History
- 2026
- Apr 13Approved by Governor Abigail Spanberger-Chapter 758 (effective 7/1/2026)Became Law
- Mar 10Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026To Governor
- Mar 10Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 10, 2026Minor
- Mar 4Signed by PresidentMajor
- Mar 4Signed by SpeakerMajor
- Mar 4Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB26ER)Major
- Mar 4EnrolledMinor
- Feb 27House amendments agreed to by Senate (20-Y 19-N 0-A)Major
- Vote recorded Concur House Amendments R. Result: pass.Upper
- Feb 25Passed House with amendments (75-Y 21-N 0-A)Passed House
- Vote recorded H VOTE:. Result: pass.Lower
- Feb 25Engrossed by House as amended
- Feb 25Delegate Sewell Floor amendments agreed toMajor
- Feb 25Read third timeMinor
- Feb 25Floor offered Delegate Sewell Amendments
- Feb 24Read second timeMinor
- Feb 20Reported from Counties, Cities and Towns (18-Y 3-N)Minor
- Vote recorded Reported from Counties, Cities and Towns. Result: pass.Lower
- Feb 17Referred to Committee on Counties, Cities and TownsMinor
- Feb 17Read first timeMinor
- Feb 17Placed on Calendar
- Feb 12Read third time and passed Senate (21-Y 19-N 0-A)Passed Senate
- Vote recorded Passage R. Result: pass.Upper
- Feb 11Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute as amended (Voice Vote)Major
- Feb 11Senator Carroll Foy Amendment agreed toMajor
- Feb 11Reading of amendment waived (Voice Vote)
- Feb 11Floor offered Senator Carroll Foy Amendment
- Feb 11Committee substitute agreed toMajor
- Feb 11Read second timeMinor
- Feb 10Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)
- Vote recorded Constitutional reading dispensed R. Result: pass.Upper
- Feb 10Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A)
- Feb 10Rules suspended
- Feb 9Committee substitute printed 26107468D-S1Major
- Vote recorded Reported from Local Government with substitute. Result: pass.Upper
- Feb 9Reported from Local Government with substitute (8-Y 7-N)Minor
- Feb 9Senate committee offered
- 2025
- Nov 17Referred to Committee on Local GovernmentMinor
- Nov 17Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26100558DIntroduced