Back in October 2024, the Farmville Town Council heard a presentation on the Zion subdivision, a project they eventually approved. But while going through the details, they learned about a loophole in the town’s ordinances, one that allowed developers to only be required to provide a sidewalk on one side of the street.
Now, as a proposal to close that loophole is before the planning commission, developers and others have argued that it’s not needed. The loophole isn’t a major problem for Farmville, the majority have argued. Instead, the majority of those who spoke at the commission’s Wednesday, Aug. 20 meeting said an overload of regulations, both local and those higher up, contributed to the reduction in new construction. They argued the town needs less regulations and requirements, not more.
North Street Press Club Co-owner and Farmville Downtown Partnership President Jake Romaine said decisions like requiring developers to build at least one sidewalk made it harder for companies to afford to build developments.
“Increasing the cost of new builds isn’t going to fix the housing shortage,” Romaine said. He pointed out that if you look back over the last 100 years in Farmville, you’d see the number of new homes built each year has fallen from an average of 50 to 100 down to five. And for houses that do get built, each new regulation or new requirement is extra money that has to be made up somehow. Often that’s done in the sales price, which pushes a once affordable house out of reach for most younger house hunters.
Keeping away from house hunters
The latest market study of Prince Edward found one in five households earns less than $20,000 a year, while two in five earn less than $35,000. These are your younger residents, new graduates from Longwood or Hampden-Sydney. The problem is that the average home requires annual salaries of around $42,000 for purchase in this area. Those who spoke in favor of developers last week to the planning commission argue it’s because of these extra regulations and requirements.
“While there are absolutely some opportunities for innovation in the private sector, most of the increase in costs, regardless of what you’re hearing about labor and materials, is driven by new regulations,” Virginia State Sen. Luther Cifers told the commission. He pointed out the issues with affordable housing stretch back 15 to 20 years, way before any tariffs appeared on the scene.
“When lot development costs are extremely high, that makes the lot too high in terms of the percentage of build materials to build affordable homes,” Cifer said. He estimated that $225,000 was an affordable price point for most residents in this area. But selling a home for that price “is impossible today with the restrictions that we have for lot development.”
Cifers, who has owned businesses and property in Farmville, said developers end up buying land out in the county, two to three acres of farmland at a time because it’s the cheapest way to build an affordable house they can sell. And so higher priced openings in town just sit.
Looking back for Farmville
This echoes the conversation that took place with the town council last year. Back during the October 2024 meetings we referenced earlier, developer Ben Lapp had explained to the town council he wanted to sell within the $250,000 to $300,000 range, but Farmville’s requirements make that hard.
“I can’t sell a house for $300,000 if it cost me $300,000 and with all the infrastructure (required), we’re selling 15 houses before we even start making a dime,” Lapp said. “The more we tack on, the more infrastructure comes into this, the more expensive and the less affordable it is for people. It’s a lot of money up front to get something like this going and it’s almost not worth it if we have to do many different things to get it to the point where we can sell a house.”
Those were Lapp’s comments during the October 2024 meeting and they’re echoed by a recent Science Direct study.
“Our estimates suggest that metropolitan areas with more extensive regulation can have up to 45% fewer starts and price elasticities that are more than 20% lower than those in less-regulated markets,” the report states.
In other words, if you require more of a developer, then that money has to come from somewhere. And the common practice is to drive up the home’s selling price to balance it out. But in doing so, you drive away younger potential buyers.
Commission torn
Members of the planning commission said they’re torn. On the one hand, the Farmville council asked them to look at ways of closing the loophole that allows developers to only produce sidewalks on one side of a subdivision. But at the same time, they’ve also been asked to look at ways of developing affordable housing.
“On one hand, the comprehensive plan speaks to a pedestrian friendly town, emphasizing pedestrian safety,” said Farmville Planning Commission Chairman Dr. John Miller. “But on the other hand, the comprehensive plan does demand or try to encourage affordable housing.”
Planning commission members held off on making any decisions. Instead, they decided to continue the conversation in next month’s meeting.
