HB 447 Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

Local government or board of zoning appeals land use decisions; third-party standing requirements.

Summary
Contesting local governing body or board of zoning appeals land use decisions; third-party standing requirements. Creates standing for any person who does not have an ownership interest in the property that is the direct subject of a local governing body or board of zoning appeals action if such person has alleged with particularity and proven by clear and convincing evidence that he (i) has an immediate, pecuniary, and substantial interest in the litigation, and not a remote or indirect interest; (ii) owns or occupies real property within or in close proximity to the property that is the subject of the land use determination; and (iii) has suffered (a) a particularized harm to a personal or property right, legal or equitable, or (b) an imposition of a burden or obligation different from that suffered by the general public. The bill clarifies that such standing requirements do not apply to any person who has an ownership interest in the property that is the direct subject of the decision of the local governing body or the board of zoning appeals.
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jan 12, 2026 Last action Feb 16, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Courts of Justice Substitute · 1 edit
MINOR
The bill text was converted from an original introduction to a House substitute version, which includes minor formatting adjustments and a specific date stamp. No substantive policy changes, eligibility criteria, or legal requirements were altered in the text provided.
TECHNICAL

The text was reformatted to include a substitute header, a date stamp (2/13/26), and line numbers, but the actual legal language of the bill remains identical to the original version.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
12
Key actions
3
Committee
7
Feb 16, 2026
Committee
Rereferred to Courts of Justice
lower
Feb 13, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (13-Y 8-N)
lower
Feb 11, 2026
Lower · Passed
Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) (6-Y 4-N)
lower
Feb 11, 2026
Lower · Passed
House subcommittee offered
lower
Feb 2, 2026
Committee
Assigned HCJ sub: Civil
lower
Jan 30, 2026
Committee
Referred from Counties, Cities and Towns and referred to Courts of Justice (Voice Vote)
lower
Jan 12, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Marcus Simon
Marcus Simon
DDemocratic
VA
13