The “Yes in God’s Backyard” movement is celebrating after the Faith in Housing bill, supporting expedited church-based affordable housing development, has been signed into law. Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) signed state Sen. Jeremy McPike (D-29)’s SB 388 and Del. Joshua Cole (D-65)’s HB 1279, which will eliminate the rezoning step for faith-based organizations and other tax-exempt nonprofits to develop affordable housing on their properties. The law will take effect on Jan. 1, 2027 and will sunset on Jan. 1, 2031 unless reenacted by a future General Assembly. Jessica Sarriot, co-executive director of Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement (VOICE), said the coalition is “thrilled” to see Faith in Housing let churches serve their neighbors with affordable homes. “For us, this is a huge step forward in addressing a housing shortage where Virginia is missing over 300,000 homes,” Sarriot told ARLnow. “It really shows that when communities organize and leaders listen, government can actually deliver real solutions at scale, which is something I think many of us are very hungry to see in these days.” The Faith in Housing law will allow eligible faith-based organizations that have owned the property for at least five years to pursue development by-right. The housing
Lean: n/a · Source quality n/a · Factual vs opinion n/a.
© 2026 Vistoa. All rights reserved.
Limited excerpts, attribution, analysis, and outbound publisher links remain core product boundaries.