City of Virginia Beach v. Bell

In this appeal, we consider first whether the City of Virginia Beach (the City) is a proper defendant in this action for inverse condemnation. We next determine whether the denial of a permit required by the City’s Coastal Primary Sand Dune Zoning Ordinance (the Ordinance) constitutes a regulatory taking and thereby requires the City to compensate the property owner for the value of the property taken. Because the denial of the permit was pursuant to the City’s Ordinance, the City is a proper defendant. However, because the City’s Ordinance pre-dates the owner’s acquisition of the property,…