CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – As Charlottesville Circuit Judge Claude Worrell kept his June 30 summary judgement rendering the city’s 2024 development code “null and void”, but gave the city time to show its work on a traffic study inquiry, legal analyst Scott Goodman told WINA Morning News this case “is going to go on for a long, long time”. This as city leaders stand ready to pass the same code in short order, perhaps by the end of the year, pending the results of litigation. But Goodman said the plaintiffs in this case, who will have until Wednesday to answer what the city files Monday, appear to have no intent to give up even as city leaders state their clear intentions of instituting the code as soon as it can.
“We’re not planning to change not one iota part of that”, said Mayor JuanDiego Wade to CvilleRightNow.
“I think down the road, of course, there’s going to be amendments and changes to it. But that won’t be done as part of this.”
That said, Goodman said the plaintiffs who’ve filed the suit to stop the city from implementing the code have won.
“The ordinance is not in effect.”
Goodman said the plaintiffs’ intent at this time is to delay, and every day the code cannot be implemented is a victory for them.
“The plaintiffs have gotten their money’s worth so far out of their lawyers.”
Goodman said this is a civil case, so that means taking longer to get through the courts. He notes appeals courts prioritize criminal cases, so it takes a while to get civil cases on the docket.
He said while the plaintiffs are victorious at this point, Judge Worrell does want to hear the merits of the case. Even upon rendering the summary judgement, Goodman opines the judge expected to see the case come back.
Goodman said the plaintiffs have the largest burden in this case because the courts are mainly reticent of overturning actions of elected bodies and officials. That said, there is state code that regulates what local policies must and must not do and the courts are there to make sure official follow the law.
As for the merits of the case involving the city’s failure to do a VDOT traffic study, which City Councilor Lloyd Snook said the city inquired about but VDOT said they didn’t do it for city streets, Goodman said there are grey areas in the law.
“The state in the state code can’t specify every little thing, every “i” that needs to be dotted, every “t” that needs to be crossed. There has to be some room for interpretation, and that’s why we have judges to make that ruling as to whether or not the city did comply.”
