Email signup

Fairfax County contests Va. Supreme Court ruling on zMOD even with code readopted

The Fairfax County Government Center (file photo)

(Updated at 2:25 p.m.) Fairfax County officials are hoping to clear up a legal kerfuffle over its zoning ordinance, which was readopted last week after getting voided by the Virginia Supreme Court earlier this year.

Before readopting a modernized version of the zoning ordinance — known as zMod — on May 9, the county filed a petition for a rehearing in the Supreme Court case Berry v. Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.

The court struck down the ordinance on March 23 — nearly two years after it first took effect — because it was originally adopted during a virtual meeting and therefore violated the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.

The court argued that the county’s state of emergency rules for Covid only allowed virtual meetings on issues “necessary to ensure the continuation of essential functions and services,” which it said didn’t include updating a document last overhauled in the 1970s.

Most residents testifying at an in-person public hearing on zMOD’s readoption last week opposed the update.

Even though zMOD has now been reinstated, the county confirmed to FFXnow that it’s still pursuing the request for a rehearing in the Berry case.

“The Berry opinion was broadly framed and has potential implications that reach beyond zMOD,” a county spokesperson said. “The decision affects numerous localities, among many other public bodies, across the Commonwealth who conducted electronic meetings in good faith reliance on the relevant state legislation to protect their residents during the pandemic.”

The petition argued that the Supreme Court’s opinion not only raised questions about close to two years of zoning actions, but also forced “every public body in the Commonwealth that met electronically during the pandemic…to examine its actions and speculate whether this Court would deem them ‘time-sensitive.'”

In the filing, the county argued that the board acted in “good faith” by holding virtual public meetings in the midst of the pandemic, and they were consistent with Virginia’s limits on public gatherings at the time, which had dropped to 10 people when the board authorized public hearings on zMOD in December 2020.

The county also argues that voiding zMod “casts doubt on years of pandemic-era decisions made in good faith reliance on the budget language.”

Walsh Colluci Lubeley & Walsh, a prominent law firm in the area that handles many Fairfax County land use applications, has also filed two amicus briefs on behalf of the Home Builders of Virginia, the Virginia Association for Commercial Real Estate and the Virginia Land Title Association.

They argue that the Supreme Court’s decision has “already had a significant adverse effect on local governments and private sector entities statewide.”

“The court’s reasoning has cast a cloud over a vast number of land use approvals and permits, not just in Fairfax County but throughout the Commonwealth,” one filing states, adding that “the number of applications potentially impacted by the court’s decision cannot be understated.”

The court could rehear the case if any of the seven justices determine there is good cause.

Recent Stories

Laura Schwartz is a licensed Realtor in VA, D.C. and MD with McEnearney Associates in Vienna. You can follow Laura on Instagram at @LauraSchwartzRealtor or her Facebook page. Laura can be reached at 703-283-6120 or Laura@GuidingYourMove.com. If…

Fairfax County’s child welfare system has seen abuse and neglect cases surge over the past year, taxing the dozens of volunteers charged with advocating for those children in foster care…

Another race is in the mix of Reston’s racing options: the Women’s Training Festival 5K. On June 25 at 9 a.m., women will take part in the event, which is…

Robeks, a smoothie franchise, is officially open in West Springfield. Located in Cardinal Forest Plaza (8324B Old Knee Mill Road), the location includes smoothies, juices, açaí bowls and toasts, according…

Potomac Harmony Chorus has a new director! We’re ready
to kick off the season with new music, a new approach, and YOU!

Potomac Harmony is one of 500 choruses in Sweet
Adelines International. We’re a vibrant,
contemporary, inclusive, welcoming, and open community of women singers who
perform four-part harmony, barbershop style, committed to a high level of
achievement through teaching, mentoring, personal growth, and performance. Our vision is to entertain, educate, and
enrich lives through musical expression while promoting the barbershop art
form.

Potomac Harmony recently had our first performance
with our new director, receiving rave reviews! We invite you to stop by any Wednesday
evening and be part of the fun and harmony!

Read More

Submit your own Community Post here.

The Dragons Concord is now open at 11215L Lee Highway, Fairfax, VA 22030! After some delays with construction, we’ve finally opened our doors and are accepting tabletop gamers of all types to come down and enjoy our tailored gaming space.

We have 7 tables exclusively dedicated to TTRPG and Miniature wargaming, including 3 custom gaming tables in their own private, themed gaming rooms. This isn’t the normal game store and while we do have a selection of harder to find retail in the back, our focus is on providing play space and gaming services such as an active roster of storytellers with regular scheduled games you can book through our website or Meetup (www.meetup.com/dragons-concord-gaming).

If you’ve been wanting to get into tabletop or miniature gaming, but haven’t because you couldn’t find a group or a comfortable place to play, come down and check us out!

Submit your own Community Post here.

Army Birthday Festival – Free and Fun

Make Saturday, June 10, 2023 a great day!

Come celebrate the Army Birthday Festival at the National Museum of the U.S. Army from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Rain or Shine!

• Experience outdoor and indoor fun activities, for all

Unveiling of West Ford historical highway marker

Gum Springs will be celebrating 190 years of its founding by freedman West Ford on Saturday, June 17, 2023. To kick-off the celebration, there will be an unveiling of a Virginia historical highway marker for West Ford on Fordson Road

×

Subscribe to our mailing list