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Resident urges council to revisit Town Center SSD surcharge, cites Virginia code and asks for bifurcation
Summary
A Webex speaker asked council to reduce the Town Center special services district surcharge on residential property, argued that the commercial owner Armada Hoffler receives the dominant benefit, and cited Virginia Code §15.2‑2403 as a legal basis for challenge.
A Webex speaker, Lee Mitchell, told council April 22 that the Town Center special services district (SSD) surcharge that applies to residential property should be reduced or eliminated and asked council to investigate the legal validity of the current surcharge arrangement.
Mitchell told council he had submitted a four‑page email and focused on two points at the hearing: whether the SSD produces a "dominant benefit" to Armada Hoffler and affiliated Town Center property owners, and whether council has authority under state law to bifurcate SSD rates by class of real estate. He cited Virginia Code §15.2‑2403, noting the statutory language that SSD services "shall not be undertaken for the sole or dominant benefit of any particular individual, business, or other private entity."
Mitchell asked council to determine whether commercial owners that hold a majority of Town Center parcels are receiving a disproportionate benefit and to use the city's legal authority to set different surcharge rates for residential owners. He told council the surcharge rate for Town Center residential property is 45¢ per $100 of assessed value and asked that it be reduced to zero for residential owners.
Why it matters: The Town Center SSD surcharge affects a small group of residential owners as well as large commercial property owners and developers; legal interpretation of SSD rules could change who bears incremental maintenance and service costs in the district.
Council did not act at the hearing. Mitchell asked for a legal review and for council consideration of bifurcating the SSD surcharge by property class.
