Romito v. Bexley Ass'n

By Judge Herbert C. Gill, Jr.

The parties went before this Court on July 28, 2010, for a hearing to determine the validity of the Defendant’s Declaration recorded in May 2009. This is a matter of first impression for the Commonwealth, and, as such, this Court took the matter under advisement to review the parties’ arguments, as well as the applicable law.

Restrictions on the free use of land, although widely used, are not favored in the law and must be strictly construed. Lovelace v. Orange County Bd. of Zoning Appeals, 276 Va. 155, 661 S.E.2d 831 (2008), quoting Friedberg v. Riverpoint Bldg.…