Colonial Beach Town Official charged with trespassing

Town of Colonial Beach:

“Code Enforcement Official Teresa Davis was charged with trespassing following a complaint by the owner of 320 First Street Carl Springer. At the March 28 Town Council meeting, town officials discussed the issue, publicly, with respect to providing Davis with the funds to obtain representation for the case. Four of the six council members at the meeting voted to allow up to $4000 for her attorney. Linda Brubaker and Wanda Goforth voted against the measure and Gary Seeber was absent.

According to the council, Davis saw work occurring at a home and approached the contractor who was on the property. State Code allows for code officials to investigate possible code violations.

'104.6 Right of entry. Where it is necessary to make an inspection to enforce the provisions of this code, or where the building official has reasonable cause to believe that there exists in a structure or upon a premises a condition which is contrary to or in violation of this code which makes the structure or premises unsafe, dangerous or hazardous, the building official is authorized to enter the structure or premises at reasonable times to inspect or to perform the duties imposed by this code, provided that if such structure or premises be occupied that credentials be presented to the occupant and entry requested. If such structure or premises is unoccupied, the building official shall first make a reasonable effort to locate the owner or other person having charge or control of the structure or premises and request entry. If entry is refused, the building official shall have recourse to the remedies provided by law to secure entry.'

Goforth questioned whether or not Davis was within the scope of her job. According to her direct supervisor, Gary Mitchell, town manager Val Foulds and building inspector Dexter Monroe, Davis was following her job description.”

~ Writes Westmoreland News

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Virginia Supreme Court Opinions Affecting Local Government Law

Virginia Supreme Court:

“The Virginia Supreme Court issued opinions this morning.  After last term issuing no opinions significantly affecting Virginia Local Government Law (at least not in this author’s judgment), this term’s opinions are a virtual feast.  Issues involving BZA discretion, nonconforming signs, FOIA, Fraud Against Taxpayer’s Act and more.  Some are cases involving Virginia local governments, others are cases without local governments as parties, but still involve issues affecting Virginia local governments.  As always, congratulations to the winners!”

~Writes Andrew Roberts of Sands Anderson

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AG Herring backs federal Bay cleanup plan

Chesapeake Bay:

“Attorney General Mark R. Herring announced Thursday that he filed an amicus brief in support of the federal Chesapeake Bay cleanup plan that is being challenged in a federal court case by the American Farm Bureau Federation and attorneys general in 21 states. The case is pending before the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals after a federal district court had upheld the plan…

Efforts to clean the bay have been underway since the mid-1980s. The latest plan aims to put enough pollution controls in place by 2025 to restore the bay, with most of the controls being implemented by 2017. The effort could cost Virginians more than $15 billion, according to state estimates.

Former Gov. Bob McDonnell’s administration worked to develop the current cleanup plan. But some environmentalists complained last year that the state was falling behind in meeting certain goals, including the use of modern methods to reduce stormwater runoff.”

~Writes Markus Schmidt of the Richmond Times-Dispatch

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Warrenton holds back 72 homes, lawsuit says

Town of Warrenton:

“A developer is suing Warrenton because he claims that the town's Planning Commission acted unlawfully when considering his proposal for a subdivision off of Winchester Street. Jeffrey Rizer wants to build 72 homes in a development called Winchester Chase, and the Warrenton Planning Commission in August voted 5-2 in favor of the project ... eventually.

Commissioners weren't pleased with the design of the project, though. They turned down several preliminary designs for Winchester Chase. The land is zoned for what Rizer wants to do, but commissioners worried where 72 families' worth of vehicles would go.

During the August vote, Commissioner John Kip said, ‘I cannot accept an entrance on Winchester Street. I think it is a potential hazard. It defaces the existing community on Winchester Street and there are opportunities to interconnect the property in two other directions.’”

~Writes Jonathan Hunley of Fauquier.com

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York sues Seaford resident; oyster farming permit at issue

York County:

“York County is asking a judge to shut down two oyster farms. Seaford resident Anthony Bavuso was served with an injunction Thursday that said he and his wife, Elyse Pyle, were illegally operating their commercial oyster business without a permit, which the state Supreme Court ruled earlier this year the county was right to require.

Dandy resident Greg Garrett is expected to receive a similar document after County Attorney James Barnett files them in York-Poquoson Circuit Court Friday. Since the ruling in January, the two have continued to farm oysters from their homes in violation of the county's ordinance and the court's ruling, Barnett said… Bavuso, who has raised oysters at his Creek Circle home in York Point for his Seaford Oyster Company since 2010, was denied a permit in 2011. Garrett, whose operation began in 2009 on Sandbox Lane, withdrew his permit request the same night.

The two men filed separate lawsuits in Circuit Court arguing that oyster farming was an allowed use of their land under the county's land-use ordinance because their residentially zoned properties allow commercial agriculture. The Circuit Court sided with Garrett and Bavuso.”

~ Writes Ali Rockett of the Daily Press

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Court ruling in land dispute could threaten bike trails

U.S. Supreme Court:

“The Supreme Court's ruling in an obscure Wyoming land dispute Monday could result in the loss of thousands of miles of bicycle trails or cost the government millions of dollars in compensation. The justices ruled 8-1 that government easements used for railroad beds over public and private land in the West expired once the railroads went out of business, and the land must revert to its owners.

Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, said the case was decided based on an 1875 act of Congress and a 1942 Supreme Court decision involving Great Northern Railway. That ruling confirmed that the government merely had received easements without any long-term land rights, he said. The establishment in 1983 of the federal ‘rails to trails’ program didn't change the court's interpretation for easements that expired earlier. ‘We're going to stick with that today,’ Roberts said from the bench.

The decision could jeopardize the ‘rails to trails’ program, responsible for creating more than 1,400 bike and nature trails, many of them built along railroad rights-of-way.”

~Writes Richard Wolfe of USA Today

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Bedford Weaving drops lawsuit to block SML water project

Bedford County:

“A Bedford business is withdrawing a lawsuit filed last month seeking to halt construction on a massive project to pipe water from Smith Mountain Lake to Bedford and Forest. Bedford Weaving filed an injunction Jan. 7 against the Bedford Regional Water Authority in the county’s Circuit Court. The injunction claimed the entity’s creation as a merged system of the city of Bedford’s water and sewer department and Bedford County Public Service Authority did not properly specify the project as called for in the Virginia Water and Waste Act.

Kevin Mottley, a Richmond attorney representing Bedford Weaving, filed a motion for a non-suit Friday. When reached Monday, he did not address the reason for dismissal or comment further. ‘We’re dropping the suit,’ Mottley said. ‘It is what it is.’ Bedford Weaving, a company with 115 employees, claimed in the suit the project would increase rates and provide treated water from Smith Mountain Lake that could have ‘significantly greater hardness,’ leading to operational problems. The company was a customer for years of the former city and was folded into the BRWA customer base when the city reverted to a town last year.

Sam Darby, attorney for the authority, argued in a Jan. 24 response seeking to dismiss the case that the authority is granted ‘broad powers’ in undertaking projects beyond those specified in articles of incorporation and added the Smith Mountain Lake plan would not cause ‘irreparable harm’ to the company. Megan Rapp, authority spokeswoman, said Monday the non-suit motion does not come as a surprise. She said BRWA Chairman Elmer Hodge and another board member had met recently with Bedford Weaving leaders to alleviate concerns.”

~ Writes Justin Faulconer of The (Lynchburg) News & Advance

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Washington County supervisors optimistic about The Falls legislation

Washington County:

“As the Virginia House of Delegates version of the bill that modifies funding language for The Falls retail development — and includes land in Washington County — crosses over into the Senate, county leaders appear cautiously optimistic about its chances. ‘The glass is half-full,’ said Jason Berry, county administrator.

Although the Senate’s version of the bill was defeated — including a substitute motion that would have pulled the 200 acres of county land out — there is hope that House bill 593 will make it out of the Senate Finance Committee during crossover. The bill would change 2012 legislation to provide sales tax revenues to help fund construction of the city’s retail development project off of Interstate 81’s Exit 5. City leaders want to specify how and when the city would get sales tax payments, as each business is completed rather than at completion of the project as originally worded, and county leaders want to be added to the mix. Last fall, the city and county signed an agreement to work together on the legislation.”

~Writes Allie Robinson Gibson of the Bristol Herald Courier

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Winchester BZA Grants Waiver For Planned Cedar Creek Place

City of Winchester:

“The owner of a proposed apartment complex was granted a waiver Wednesday to construct one building a bit taller than allowed in part because the structure is being built into the side of a hill. The Winchester Board of Zoning Appeals voted 5-0 to grant the variance request for Cedar Creek Place LLC. In December, City Council rezoned the property so the company, headed by Scott Rosenfeld, could build 132 apartments and about 10,000 square feet of commercial space at 940 Cedar Creek Grade.

But the topography of the lot — it sloped 31 feet from back to front — created an issue for the developer. One of two four-story buildings planned on the site would measure 59 feet, 6 inches on the elevation facing Cedar Creek Grade. City regulations stipulate that the street-facing elevation is the one used, and the maximum height allowed is 55 feet.

Don Crigler, of city-based DFC Architects, told board members that many area jurisdictions use average elevations to determine the building height, and the average for the unit in question was below the maximum (less than 54 feet). He also said the other four-story building on the site has the same configuration, but it is perpendicular to Cedar Creek Grade and its side elevation is less than 55 feet. The design calls for garages to be on the ground level of the building with four residential floors above it. However, Crigler said the garages only make use of the slope into which the structure is built and do not add to the height.”

~ Writes Vic Bradshaw of The Winchester Star

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Newport News City Council will let courts determine fate of Pur Lux nightclub

City of Newport News:

“The Newport News City Council on Tuesday deferred a vote that would've effectively closed Jefferson Avenue nightclub Pur Lux Lounge. They did so after the club's landlord, Jefferson Restaurant Co., announced at the council meeting that it has already moved to evict Pur Lux.

Council members were poised to revoke a special zoning permit issued in September for the property, that allowed club owner Crystal Sawyer to operate a nightclub provided she met a series of conditions. City officials have said she failed to meet all those conditions but went ahead and opened for business in November anyway.

Matthew W. Smith, an attorney representing Jefferson Restaurant Co.'s managing partner Steven P. Frank, told the council ‘we are in the process of evicting the tenant from the premises.’ Sawyer, a Yorktown Naval Weapons Station employee, objected, saying ‘the eviction process is not under legitimate circumstances.’

She read from a series of emails that she said show city officials pressured Frank to have her evicted. ‘He did this to satisfy the city,’ Sawyer said. City officials and Sawyer have clashed since she started operations. After a series of inspections at the club, the city said Sawyer ran afoul of the conditions of her permit, as well as the city's fire and building codes.”

~ Writes Michael Welles Shapiro of The Daily Press

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City Council's New Ordinance Change Won't Affect City Lawsuit

City of Harrisonburg

“Back in December, the ‘We Support Planning’ group filed a lawsuit claiming the city did not approach the planning process legally with their plans to build a new municipal building. The group believes the city should have referred plans and designs to the planning commission.

Chris Brown, the city attorney, said this code change is not in response to the lawsuit. He said this is something they have been planning for a while, before the suit was filed. He said they still do not believe the municipal building needed to be sent to the planning commission. Brown said the new reference in the city's code is really just about clarification and limiting interpretation by making sure the local ordinance reads the same as the state law…

Thomas Domonoske, the lawyer who filed the lawsuit, said the city code change is an important move for the future but doesn't change the problems they had with the municipal building.”
~Reports Nicole DiAntonio WHSV – ABC3

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Adult Store Owner Expands to NC, Raises Questions About Potential Zoning Issue in Danville

Pittsylvania County

“Kenny Post had no idea how successful his adult store Shhh...Intimacy on a New Level would be in Pittsylvania County, but the response has been overwhelming. ‘It just kept growing month after month, it just keeps getting bigger and bigger,’ said Post. Last year, county officials ordered the store to close. But Post and his business partners won that battle, and the publicity brought them even more support. ‘People like the location of it to keep from driving out of town and they like the discreteness of it,’ said Post.

They originally wanted to open in a higher traffic area of Danville. Post was told his store would violate a zoning code that restricts adult entertainment from certain areas. But he says there's another store selling adult gifts in a retail area. Spencer's is a popular retail chain located inside malls across the country, including the Danville Mall. We checked both stores and found some novelty adult items at Spencer's, similar to those in Post's store. Zoning officials declined to comment.”

~Reports ABC 13

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Virginia Supreme Court ruling costly for James City

James City County

“The Virginia Supreme Court ruled Friday that the county has to return proffer money to five developers and pay their attorney and court costs, settling a case that has spanned more than two years. In the end, the county will refund $270,000 in proffer cash to the developers of Windmill Meadows, White Hall, Liberty Crossing, Williamsburg Landing and Stonehouse, Deputy County Attorney Adam Kinsman said Monday. It will also have to pay interest, likely 6 percent.

The case involves the timing of when proffers are paid to the county. In 2010, the General Assembly limited localities' ability to collect cash proffers early in the development process. Instead, new legislation prohibited localities to collect them until just before a certificate of occupancy was issued.

At the time, James City had proffer agreements outstanding that predated the legislation, so the county continued to collect proffers early, in accordance with its agreements. Windmill Meadows developer Lawrence Beamer said he raised the issue back in 2011, and the county attorney advised him to send a memo to the county. He did so, with the help of the Peninsula Housing & Builders Association, and the county responded by filing suit against him and other affected developers, he said.

The county suit asked the Circuit Court to sort out whether the legislation should apply to proffer agreements retroactively. The legislation did not specifically say whether it should have been, only that it applies to ‘any’ proffers. In early 2012, Judge Robert W. Curran ruled in favor of the developers.”

~Writes Cortney Langley of the The Virginia Gazette

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Ivor man suing Isle of Wight over property rights

Isle of Wight

“An Ivor man concerned about his property rights is bringing suit against Isle of Wight County, and he’s not alone. Joseph Ferguson Jr. has enlisted legal help to defend his right to allow friends to camp on his property.

In response to emailed questions, Ferguson replied, ‘I am not personally speaking to the media at this time,’ and he directed all inquiries to Nisha Whitehead of The Rutherford Institute, a non-profit organization concerned with Americans’ personal freedoms. That organization, in turn, has enlisted the help of Fred Taylor, an attorney with Stallings, Bush and Randall.

Taylor informed The Tidewater News on Thursday that he’s filed the suit ‘regarding a county zoning ordinance that I believe to be misinterpreted. In a nutshell, my client (Joseph Ferguson) allowed a friend of his to stay overnight in a camper (so that he could hunt) on his property/farm. Unfortunately, Isle of Wight County officials deemed this use of the camper would constitute an unauthorized ‘campground’ in violation of local zoning ordinances – a violation that carries the potential of criminal prosecution, to include 30 days in jail and/or up to a $1,000 fine.’”

~Writes Stephen Cowles of the Tidewater News

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Ocean View residents to make dune case to Norfolk

City of Norfolk

“Ocean View residents want to lower sand dunes that they say are taking over their property, but city officials are worried such an alteration could affect Norfolk's ability to get federal funding for flood mitigation.

Seventeen property owners in the Cottage Line area will argue their case before the city's Wetlands Board this afternoon. The residents are seeking permission to lower the dunes to about 10-1/2 feet. In one area, the dunes reach 26 feet.

These Cottage Line residents say the sand dunes near their homes have reached unreasonable heights and are blocking their views. Because the sand is so plentiful, the residents say, the removed portions of the dunes could be redistributed where sand is needed in Ocean View. But environmentalists have expressed opposition, and some city officials have said they are concerned about the requests.”

~Writes Jillian Nolin of the Virginia Pilot

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Should a Governor be prevented from firing a political appointee over policy disagreements?

General Assembly

“Delegate Tim Hugo (R-Centreville) has filed a bill for the upcoming session of the General Assembly that would prevent future governors from firing members of the Commonwealth Transportation Board for opposing their priorities. Current law allows the governor to remove a member of the board ‘at his pleasure.’”

~Writes Charlottesville Tomorrow

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