Court Reconsiders ‘Vested Rights’ Case

Court Upholds Denial of Substation Expansion

By Deborah Elkins
Published: March 29, 2013
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Stephanie Dawn Thacker, Zoning

A gas company seeking to expand its natural gas substation in Prince George’s County, Md., cannot challenge the county’s denial of their request in this federal lawsuit; the 4th Circuit affirms the district court decision dismissing the company’s claim under the state’s “mandatory referral statute” and granting summary judgment to the county on state and [...]

Permit Denial Upheld for Waterside Bars

By Deborah Elkins
Published: March 13, 2013
Tags: Justice Cynthia D. Kinser, Supreme Court of Virginia, Zoning

Two bars that operated in Norfolk’s Waterside Festival Marketplace lose their challenge to the city council’s revocation of a blanket special exception and denial of their individual applications to continue their operations; the Supreme Court of Virginia affirms judgment for the city, holding that the bars did not have vested rights and were not denied [...]

‘Urban chickens’ at center of Albemarle zoning lawsuit

By The Associated Press
Published: December 21, 2012
Tags: Albemarle County Circuit Court, Zoning

CHARLOTTESVILLE (AP) Alexander “A.J.” Miller bought the chickens to teach his son about sustainability. His Albemarle County neighbors complained about the sustained stench. Now Miller is going to court to fight to keep his dozen cluckers after being ordered to get rid of them. It’s the kind of clash that’s becoming more common as the [...]

Wireless Tower OK on Farm, Not on Church

By Deborah Elkins
Published: October 24, 2012
Tags: Judge Gerald Bruce Lee, U.S. District Court - Eastern District, Zoning

An Alexandria U.S. District Court upholds denial of a permit for construction of a wireless communications facility on a church tower in Sterling, but says the county board of supervisors violated the federal Telecommunications Act when it denied a permit for construction of a proposed facility on a Lovettsville farm based on the environmental effects [...]

Oyster farmers get OK for homegrown product

By Deborah Elkins
Published: October 22, 2012
Tags: Land Use, York County Circuit Court, Zoning

Two York County landowners can grow oysters on their waterfront residential property for commercial purposes without special use permits, a circuit court held earlier this month. But the county board of supervisors plans to appeal the rulings, according to York County Attorney James E. Barnett Jr. Improvements in oyster-farming allow oysters to mature more quickly [...]

Salvage Auto Site Shutdown Upheld

By Deborah Elkins
Published: July 3, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Clyde H. Hamilton, Zoning

A property owner who operated a salvage automobile wholesaling business on a parcel adjacent to Andrews Air Force Base’s CERCLA Superfund site, and whose business was cited for numerous county code violations, loses an appeal of the dismissal of its due process and state law claims against Prince George’s County, Md., for shutting down the [...]

No Vested Rights in Adjacent Land Use

By Deborah Elkins
Published: June 13, 2012
Tags: Justice S. Bernard Goodwyn, Supreme Court of Virginia, Zoning

In this first-impression case, the Supreme Court of Virginia says a landowner, here of a commercial building, did not acquire a vested right in the zoning classification or use of an adjacent property or in a road shown on a town plan, when the owner of the adjacent property, a church, seeks rezoning in order [...]

New zoning cases ‘reconcilable,’ land use lawyer says

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: May 7, 2012
Tags: Judge Mary Grace O'Brien, Justice Cleo E. Powell, Justice Cynthia D. Kinser, Justice Donald W. Lemons, Justice Elizabeth A. McClanahan, Justice S. Bernard Goodwyn, Justice William C. Mims, Prince William County Circuit Court, Supreme Court of Virginia News, Zoning

The Supreme Court of Virginia’s recent resolution of a zoning case by unpublished order has caused confusion both on the high court and among observers, where none is warranted. In its unpublished order in Town of Occoquan v. Elm Street Development, Inc. (VLW 012-6-062), the high court upheld a decision in favor of a developer [...]

No Standing for Petition Committee

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 1, 2012
Tags: Justice Elizabeth A. McClanahan, Supreme Court of Virginia, Zoning

A city charter provision that authorized plaintiffs to organize a petition drive for a referendum on a zoning ordinance that would allow development on part of Buckroe Beach did not give plaintiffs standing to later sue in circuit court to halt development that allegedly continued even after city council repealed the ordinance at issue, the [...]