Arlington County Board member Julius “JD” Spain, Sr. (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)
Pastor Alice Tewell of Clarendon Presbyterian Church testifies on the Faith in Housing Act in a Virginia Senate committee (via Virginia General Assembly)
Arlington County Board member JD Spain Sr. is throwing his support behind a state bill to accelerate affordable housing development on church properties.
Spain joined the Rev. Alice Tewell of Clarendon Presbyterian Church — which put its affordable housing proposal in Lyon Village on pause last year amid rising costs coupled with a lengthy approval process — in testifying on behalf of State Sen. Jeremy McPike’s (D-29) Faith in Housing Act.
This legislation would let religious organizations develop housing on their land by right, without needing to go through a special exception, special use or conditional use permit or rezoning process that requires public hearings and votes. The bill would require at least 60% of the homes in a development to be designated as committed affordable units for at least 30 years.
On Monday, the bill advanced from the Senate Committee on Local Government on a 9-4 vote with one abstention for full Senate consideration. If approved, the legislation calls for a delayed effective date of Sept. 1, 2026.
A House companion bill from Del. Joshua Cole (D-65) made it to the full House of Delegates, but an amendment made in committee seeks approval again in the 2027 General Assembly session before it can take effect.
Spain told ARLnow that his testimony on the bill was not on behalf of the full Arlington County Board, which has not taken a position.
“In my opinion, having housing is a civil right,” he said. “I don’t see how we as leaders can meet with our constituents, young, old, in between, early career professionals, seniors, whatever, and not take on this significant challenge that has been around for a while.”
In 2024 and 2025, the County Board-adopted General Assembly Legislative Packages indirectly opposed measures that would streamline faith-based affordable housing development by asking the General Assembly to protect local zoning authority. The board’s adopted 2026 General Assembly Legislative Package does not include the same language but advocates for more local authority to address affordable housing needs.
Members of Arlington-based Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement had attended the Senate committee hearing to support church leaders’ testimony on the bill.
Tewell testified about the difficulties she and True Ground Housing Partners faced in trying to develop Clarendon Presbyterian Church.
“We want to build 90 affordable homes for seniors who we heard were living in their cars on our church property five minutes away from the Metro station so people can live with dignity into their golden years,” Tewell told the Senate Committee on Local Government. “We spent five years and over half a million dollars navigating the process, five years trying to get position, not building, just waiting.”
Tewell said the church is at risk of closing and being turned into single-family homes if the bill doesn’t pass.
“If the bill passes, there is still a path forward,” Tewell said. “Our congregation can remain rooted where we’ve been for over 100 years, serving, worshipping and housing our neighbors as well as the preschool.”
Other churches, like Arlington Presbyterian Church and Central United Methodist Church, had more success developing housing on their properties. They partnered with housing organizations on redevelopment projects for their sites along Columbia Pike and in Ballston, respectively.
Spain expects that amendments to the Faith in Housing legislation are possible if the House and Senate take it to conference. If it does pass, he believes it will cut red tape and prevent well-resourced groups from indefinitely blocking housing.
“This bill reduces uncertainty and delay and it still allows localities to focus on delivering safe and mission-driven housing instead of going into these long, drawn-out rezoning battles,” Spain said.
Other housing-related bills advanced from the Senate Committee on Local Government would:
State Sen. Jennifer Boysko’s (D-38) bill on anti-rent gouging protections — a measure included in the County Board’s legislative package — was delayed to the 2027 General Assembly session.
Another bill proposed by state Sen. Saddam Salim (D-37), which would eliminate parking minimum requirements, did not pass the committee.
