A zoning ordinance that went into effect on February 19, 2024 was in place for 497 days before a ruling from Charlottesville Circuit Court Judge Claude Worrell on June 30 rendered the new rules invalid.
The city responded two days later.
“This ruling creates a major disruption to the planning and zoning operations of the City government, but it is a situation that can be managed,” reads a statement sent out at 12:35 p.m.
The city employed the legal services of the firm Gentry Locke to defend a lawsuit filed in January 2024 by a group of property owners who argued the city had not followed state law and regulations in preparing the new zoning code. The plaintiffs in White v. Charlottesville specifically argued that the city did not comply with §15.2-2222.1 and §15.2-2284.
A trial scheduled for June 2026 would have allowed arguments on both sides of that claim to proceed in court. A written order from Judge Worrell from April 30 clearing the way for the trial gave the defense 21 days to file a written response to the latest version of the plaintiff’s written complaint.
Gentry Locke did not respond in time and attorneys for the plaintiffs filed a motion for default judgement on June 2. The city responded on June 3 with a motion seeking to file late but that was not granted.
“It is terribly disappointing that a technical error of filing paperwork could lead to the City not having its development regulations available to the 50,000 residents and property owners in Charlottesville,” said Charlottesville City Manager Sam Sanders. “Our internal staff, at multiple levels, have been working since learning the court’s ruling to evaluate the impacts of this decision and to determine how to function in the interim.”
Sanders said staff is seeking to develop answers for projects that are under construction as well as those waiting for approval.
“We are considering procedural changes we may need to enact to manage the period of actually having no ordinance in effect,” Sanders said.
Council adopted the zoning code on December 18, 2023. The resolution was to repeal the previous zoning and “reordain” the new one. Both are considered Chapter 34.
Council then voted to allow several projects to proceed under the old code. These include a project for a 250-unit apartment building at 1185 Seminole Trail that will soon go before the Planning Commission in their capacity as the Entrance Corridor Review Board. (read my story in C-Ville Weekly)
“City Council has determined that orderly transition from the prior ordinances to the new requirements of Chapter 34 will be assisted by allowing these certain other projects to continue to diligently pursue approval under the repealed ordinance for a limited time,” reads a portion of the resolution. Take a look here.
Back to now.
Sanders said GentryLocke has been asked to help with understanding the impacts of the error.
“John Maddux, the City’s newly appointed City Attorney, has taken the reins and is working to resolve the issues resulting from this representation and directing the course of the City’s next steps,” the release states.
Sanders said the voidance of the code was not due to the merits of the zoning.
“We are confident the City Council will have the opportunity to ensure the bold zoning provisions will again be enacted to guide future development of the City,” Sanders said. “We have been considering actions on how to proceed with securing a zoning ordinance for the City that is unimpeachable on any front.”
Staff in Neighborhood Development Services had anticipated spending this summer working on a series of revisions to the zoning code. The lawsuit did not come up during staff briefings to the Planning Commission or the City Council.
- Charlottesville Planning Commission briefed on forthcoming updates to zoning code, June 13, 2024
- City Council briefed on Neighborhood Development Services work plan, forthcoming zoning changes, June 20, 2024
On July 3, the city sent out more information.
“The City continues to accept all building permit applications, including trade permits,” reads an email that morning. “Applications that do not involve zoning remain under active review.”
“For applications that do involve zoning, we are carefully assessing how best to proceed in light of the recent court decision and are holding them in queue while we await further legal and procedural clarity,” the announcement continues.
One of the plaintiffs who did not want to be identified said in an email that he wants a new zoning code that can be achieved but the city did not provide adequate study.
“Many in the community have asked and never received a VDOT traffic impact study as required by law,” they said. “I wish that the merits of the case were addressed, but the City’s lapse denied that from occurring.”
Charlie Armstrong, vice president of Southern Development, said the lawsuit will slow the construction of new housing desired by many residents. He wants Council to reenact the zoning immediately.
“Then, immediately start a process to conduct any studies the lawsuit was demanding, with the anticipation that having those VDOT studies resolves the lawsuit,” Armstrong said.
City Council’s agenda for the July 7 meeting has been posted but there are so far no items related to the zoning code. I’ll have details on what will be discussed in the next Week Ahead.
Before you go: This story is a combination of stories that went out in the July 2, 2025 and July 3 editions of Charlottesville Community Engagement and then posted here on July 4. Town Crier Productions is a one-person operation that will hopefully expand. You can potentially help that by clicking through to here and learning about support options.
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