City staff outlines General Assembly changes affecting zoning, procurement and public safety

City staff on Monday summarized actions from the recent General Assembly session and flagged several bills that may require changes to Williamsburg’s code, contracts and procedures.

Michelle Shelton, city staff, told the council the session produced a number of laws and studies that will affect local practice, from a new requirement to post the city’s real property tax‑deferral program online to shortened review deadlines for plats and site plans and statutory changes that allow a locality to designate an employee to review certain development submissions.

Key items highlighted

- Real property tax deferral (House Bill 2029): The law tightens entry rules for the city’s tax‑deferral program for elderly and disabled residents, including requirements that delinquent taxes be paid or an installment agreement be in place before entering the program, that the program be posted “in a clear and conspicuous way” on the city website and that notices be included in annual real property tax bills. The statute also allows prorated mid‑year entries for the deferral program.

- Development review and designated agent (House Bill 2660 series noted in presentation): The General Assembly shortened time frames for local review of plats, site plans and development plans (in many cases from 60 days to 40 or 30 days) and added an administrative review step. Senate Bill 974 permits the locality to designate an employee (commonly the planning director) to review and act on some submissions in place of the planning…