The Virginia Supreme Court has issued new opinions for September, but none are cases involving local governments, at least not on appeal.  Here is the link to the opinions of the Virginia Supreme Court:  http://www.courts.state.va.us/scndex.htm. There is one opinion, however, that will be of interest to local government attorneys — Doud v. Commonwealth, Record No. 100285, opinion by Senior Justice [...]

There are few things more basic to the practice of local government law than the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.  The Act can be easy to comply with in some respects, and yet can be complex in some details. Violations or suspected violations can hold political or even criminal penalties. Fortunately, local government attorneys, public officials, and citizens [...]

I am often asked. “What kind of law do you practice?”  As a long-time local government attorney, most of my practice involves representing and defending litigation against governments, governmental entities, officials and their employees.  That is what I have done for most of my legal career in private practice and as a full-time attorney with Arlington, Culpeper [...]

When a court interprets or a locality applies a statute, the plain meaning controls as a general rule. The Riverside Owner L.L.C. v. City of Richmond case involved the appropriate amount for a tax exemption earned by a developer under Virginia Code § 58.1-3221 and Richmond City Code § 27-83.  These laws provided for a partial exemption [...]

At the end of June, the Virginia Secretary of Transportation announced a new study dated June 16, 2011 that says something we all have known for a decade or more — the state has no funds to adequately maintain our roads, let alone construct new ones, and that our roads and bridges are in a [...]

On June 9, 2011, the Virginia Supreme Court held that whether equipment within a condemned business is personal property (therefore not valued as part of the take) or a fixture (therefore valued as part of the take) is a question for the condemnation jury, not the trial court.   The holding was the crux of its opinion in [...]

The Virginia Supreme Court issued these new opinions affecting Virginia local government law on June 9, 2011: 100347 Riverside Owner v. City of Richmond 06/09/2011 In a taxpayers’ action for relief from allegedly erroneous assessment of taxes on real property under Code § 58.1-3984, seeking a refund of overpayments, and recovery of attorney’s fees, the [...]

Looks like blight. Or is it? And what can a locality do about it? One of the problem issues for Virginia local governments and their officials and employees across the state is how to deal with blight. Such structures, singular or in groups, can become a large problem to a community.  Often, historic structures fall [...]

Businesses seeking a local government approval (or a denial for someone else’s proposal) may need some guidance. Local governments behave in a way that is different than businesses behave, for legal and political and many other reasons. As an attorney who has practiced local government law most of my career, I have seen approaches to [...]

On May 12, 2011, Sands Anderson PC held a webinar for local government attorneys, assessors, Commissioners of the Revenue, Boards of Equalization and local government staff involved in the local government assessment and appeal process.  The Virginia Municipal League’s Mark Flynn and myself served on the panel. The webinar was a big success!  About 130 [...]