Charlottesville's New Zoning Ordinance Is In Jeopardy After Judge Claude Worrell Rules Lawsuit May Move Forward

Charlottesville’s New Zoning Ordinance Is In Jeopardy After Judge Claude Worrell Rules Lawsuit May Move Forward

BREAKING NEWS FROM The I Love CVille Network – A portion of the lawsuit against the City of Charlottesville’s radical new zoning ordinance may proceed to the evidence gathering stage after Charlottesville Circuit Court Judge Claude Worrell, II ruled:

“Plaintiffs have provided a sufficient question of fact for the Court to hear evidence regarding the promulgation of the new zoning ordinance. The Court declines to adopt the City’s argument that the legislative record establishes that the City’s decision to adopt the NZO was fairly debatable. Instead, the Court is of the opinion that there may be other evidence that the parties may wish to present prior to this court ruling on the ultimate issue.”

This ruling is significant because it allows a portion of the lawsuit to proceed, which may likely discourage applicants from utilizing the NZO until its uncertain future is decided in court.

Since a group of Charlottesville residents filed a lawsuit in January, 2024 to overturn the city’s new zoning ordinance, I have cautioned the City of Charlottesville, City Council and real estate developers to wait until we hear from Judge Worrell.

My level of caution exponentially increased in September after Judge David Schell ruled in favor of Arlington County, Virginia residents who filed a lawsuit against a similarly radical upzoning plan. Much like Charlottesville, Arlington County attempted to revamp its zoning ordinance to encourage the market to create “missing middle housing,” or, more specifically, more housing inventory to help stabilize housing price points by meeting enhanced renter and buyer demand.

On Tuesday, November 12, Charlottesville City Councilor Lloyd Snook responded to my suggestion of caution by writing to me on Facebook, “We [the City of Charlottesville] were conscious of the Arlington litigation as we were passing what we did.”

Judge Schell cited several failures that led to his ruling, including the Arlington County Board Of Supervisors failing to pass the missing middle zoning amendment in accordance with Virginia law; failing to consider factors like sewage influx; unlawfully delegating authority of expanded housing options (EHO) to staff; and failure to act within the scope of duties delegated from the General Assembly. As a result, the new zoning ordinances in Arlington County will not materialize.

Now, the City of Charlottesville, which was trying to pass an even more radical version of what Arlington County was trying to do, must wait for court proceedings, including what could be a jury trial in the near future. This is a developing story that will most certainly impact Charlottesville’s future, its real estate tax base, housing inventory and housing values.

The I Love CVille Network is the first to report this news. We will analyze Judge Worrell’s ruling on The I Love CVille Show at 12:30 pm today.

Read Judge Worrell’s ruling here: https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:02c5bd5d-f885-41e8-b30e-9f098ff2b257