On July 21, Charlottesville City Council voted 4 to 0 to refer the voided Development Code to the Planning Commission as one step toward restoring rules thrown out on June 30 by Charlottesville Circuit Court Judge Claude Worrell.
On July 22, the city filed a new motion in the case of White v. Charlottesville to ask Judge Worrell to reconsider granting of default judgment that has halted the city’s ability to use the new zoning code. Attorneys for the plaintiffs had noticed that the city’s law firm, Gentry Locke, had not filed a response to their amended complaint. (read the motion)
“Gentry Locke apologizes to the Court for this inadvertent mistake and stands accountable for it,” reads the motion to reconsider. “That does not mean, however, that default judgment is appropriate.”
The motion goes on to say that the city has acted in good faith and asked for permission to file the response to the amended complaint. An exhibit included in the motion is a May 30 email from Gentry Locke to the plaintiffs outlining the terms for a pretrial scheduling order for the June 2026 trial.
Before you go: This story was first published in the July 23, 2025 edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement and then posted two days later. To learn more about how you can support this work, take a look here!
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