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Time to return decisions to local government
By Jack Haldeman
Oct. 8, 2026
After hearing several citizen complaints during public hearings on three proposed zoning ordinance changes last night, one of my colleagues finally explained: “this wasn’t our idea.”
Our three local governments are busying themselves this fall by amending their zoning ordinances to comply with dozens of abusive, intrusive mandates from state government.
They must do this even if they disagree, because Virginia is a Dillon Rule state in which the state government retains all political power. Local governments exercise only the powers that the state government doles out, and all powers…