The way Michael L. Toalson sees it, he’s just trying to defend the rights of Virginians to own their own homes. Boiling down the interests of developers to a Mom-and-apple-pie defense is what makes Toalson’s group, the Home Builders Association of Virginia, one of the most effective lobbying groups in a Virginia Business survey of legislators. The task is especially touchy given the intense emotions that swirl around such conflicting issues as protecting the environment and private property.

So far, the association has struggled to hold the line on development limits promoted by slow-growth activists. In the last session of the General Assembly, the group helped kill legislation that would have allowed localities to limit home construction and assess development fees on new homes to pay for roads and schools. HBAV argues that Virginia has granted localities more than enough authority, through zoning and comprehensive plans, to make decisions about their growth. But while the group was able to stop slow-growth efforts in the 2000 session, it lost a round to environmentalists when the legislature enacted a wetlands protection bill. The group will watch this year to make sure the implementation isn’t too onerous on builders.

The lobby navigates legislative shoals by communicating issues to member companies and urging them to contact local legislators — "grassroots lobbying at its best," says Toalson. Much of its influence is political. The builders run a political action committee that supports candidates who will defend their interests: property rights, smaller government and low taxes. In the 1999 legislative elections, the group doled out about $150,000 to candidates in both parties, making it among the most generous lobbies.

The association wields clout. It has 4,500 member companies and devotes the bulk of its resources to lobbying in Richmond. That’s where the action is in a state that adheres to the so-called Dillon Rule, requiring localities to get specific authorization from the legislature for just about everything, including limits on development.

Toalson credits a strong lobbying team, made up of himself, legislative director Natalee Johnsrud and veteran lobbyist Bill Thomas, who succeeded longtime counsel Carl F. Bowmer. Together the group has formidable experience in Richmond. Toalson formerly lobbied for the Virginia League of Savings Institutions and the Virginia Bankers

Association. Johnsrud, who came to HBAV from the Richmond law firm of Christian and Barton, is preparing for her 11th session. And the politically connected Thomas is a familiar figure at the Capitol, usually with a hand in some of the hottest issues: health care, horse racing and the utilities.