Prince William County supervisors will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, December 16, on a proposed countywide fund that would provide grants to homeowners and homeowner associations facing costly soil and foundation repairs.
The hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the Prince William County Government Center, 1 County Complex Court, in Woodbridge. The Board of County Supervisors is expected to hear public comment and may vote on whether to adopt the ordinance following the hearing.
The proposal would create a Foundation and Soil Management Fund, a new county program authorized by the Virginia General Assembly earlier this year. If adopted, the ordinance would take effect on July 1, 2026.
What the proposal would do
Under the proposed ordinance, Prince William County could use local funds to help offset the cost of repairing foundation failures and soil settlement issues on previously developed land.
Grants would be available to:
- Individual homeowners, capped at $25,000, and
- Common interest communities, such as homeowners associations, are capped at $100,000.
In both cases, grants would be limited to 50% of the total project cost and could be used for design, permitting, construction, and inspection expenses. Funding would be limited to properties between 10 and 40 years old, depending on the type of repair involved.
The program would be administered by county staff, but all grants would require final approval from the Board of County Supervisors. The ordinance does not require the board to fund the program annually; any funding would be subject to future budget decisions.
What happened at the Nov. 18 meeting
The soil fund proposal advanced procedurally on November 18, when supervisors authorized the public hearing scheduled for Tuesday.
That vote did not approve the program itself. No final funding decisions were made, and no grants were authorized at that meeting. Instead, supervisors agreed to bring the proposal forward for public input before deciding whether to adopt it.
Board discussion at the Nov. 18 meeting was limited, and no supervisor formally sponsored or championed the proposal on the dais. County staff presented the ordinance as an implementation of state law rather than an initiative tied to a single board member.
Cost questions and skepticism
While staff has described the program as a way to help residents facing expensive repairs, the proposal has raised concerns among some supervisors, including Coles District Supervisor Yesli Vega.
Vega has publicly questioned whether county government should use taxpayer dollars to pay for repairs on private property and whether doing so could create a precedent for funding other home repairs in the future. In an email sent to constituents following the Nov. 18 meeting, Vega described the proposal as “well-intended” but said it raises “significant questions” about fairness, long-term cost, and the appropriate role of local government.
Preliminary estimates discussed publicly suggest the program could cost tens of millions of dollars over time, though the exact fiscal impact remains uncertain. County staff have said application fees could help offset administrative costs, but no final funding structure has been adopted.
Tuesday’s public hearing will give residents an opportunity to comment before supervisors decide whether to adopt the ordinance as written, amend it, or reject it.
Residents may also submit comments by email to [email protected].
