Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s Executive Order No. 3, signed Jan. 17, 2026, and effective immediately, launches a statewide push to lower housing costs by speeding residential approvals through multi-agency streamlining, predictable timelines and stronger coordination between state and local agencies. The immediate takeaway for residential developers is clear: While statutes have not yet changed, the Commonwealth is creating near-term pathways to faster, more predictable permitting.
The governor has directed a comprehensive review of regulations and permitting practices that affect residential development, led jointly by the secretaries of Commerce and Trade, Natural and Historic Resources, and Transportation. Covered agencies include the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), the Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR), the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) and the Department of Historic Resources (DHR).
The mandate is to eliminate duplicative or outdated requirements; streamline multi-agency processes; improve state and local alignment; and expand standardized checklists, objective approval criteria and potential pre-approved plans. Agencies must deliver reports within 90 days and the co-lead secretaries must submit consolidated recommendations within 120 days. A new Commission on Unlocking Housing Production will provide updates every six months to drive legislative, regulatory and administrative changes.
In the immediate term, we expect state agencies will seek to eliminate low-value steps, align overlapping reviews and set predictable timelines, with explicit attention to how these changes interface with local permitting. Because much of residential entitlement risk sits at the local level, the instruction to improve coordination between state and local permitting authorities is particularly significant. The co-lead secretaries will propose mechanisms for aligning standards and timelines across sovereigns, which could yield memoranda of understanding, shared checklists or parallel instead of sequential reviews.
The reference to consolidated or streamlined multi-agency permitting raises the prospect of resequencing common friction points. For example, VDOT access and traffic review, DEQ stormwater and erosion control, DHR historic resource consultation, and DCR conservation issues often proceed on different clocks with iterative feedback. A consolidated approach could reduce cycle times by clarifying gatekeeping criteria, standardizing submittal packages and fostering simultaneous reviews where statutory authority allows. While the order does not amend underlying statutes or ordinances, it requires agencies to specify whether proposed changes demand legislative action, creating a pathway for targeted statutory fixes where necessary.
There are opportunities to inform the ongoing processes and build the record to support targeted reforms. McGuireWoods and McGuireWoods Consulting can help you identify objective information, engage constructively with state and local officials, and position your projects to benefit from consolidated reviews and predictable clocks as they come online. To discuss how to leverage this initiative for greater success, flexibility and efficiency in obtaining state and local approvals, contact the authors.