In the trial court, Campbell County lost, and lost big.  The judgment appealed to the Virginia Supreme Court included $ 9 million in damages, plus another $600,000 in attorneys’ fees and costs.  On appeal, the County won just as big.  Campbell County v. Royal, No. 101168 (January 13, 2012). On its face, the law applied by the trial [...]

As discussed on this blog previously, there is a movement afoot in the Virginia General Assembly to transfer the responsibility and costs of the secondary road system in Virginia to your local county, city or town.  See our previous post — VDOT Study: Will State Roads Become Local Again?  (To be clear, secondary roads are more [...]

The Virginia General Assembly adjourned on Sunday, and during its 2011 session, considered, amended, killed and/or adopted thousands of pieces of legislation, plus the Virginia budget.  During the session, the state legislature adopted some important changes in the law affecting local governments.  Over the coming weeks, I will be touching on some of the most significant bills.  [...]

The 2010 Virginia General Assembly adopted HB 1063, which is a helpful simplification of the process by which BZA decisions are appealed to circuit court. It is effective July 1, 2010, and is published at 2010 Virginia Acts of Assembly chapter 241.

A number of local government attorneys have been asking tough questions about HB 374 and SB 632, identical bills which became effective law on July 1. 2010 Va Acts of Assembly ch. 549, 2010 Va Acts of Assembly ch. 613.

On May 19, a team of great folks at Sands Anderson and our special guest Karen Harwood conducted a webinar on the State of Vested Rights (in Zoning), 2010 — the first installment of an ongoing series called the Sands Anderson Land Use Forum. We’ve been busy! (This will explain, in part, the length of [...]

The General Assembly, Virginia Supreme Court and the Virginia State Bar have combined to make the job of our local Boards of Zoning Appeals (BZAs), and that of the local government attorney who deals with them, much more complicated. As a long-time county attorney and currently counsel to the Stafford County BZA, I have seen [...]