Foster v. Geller

This controversy arose when the contract purchaser of an undeveloped lot, Daniel D. Geller, asked the Director of the Department of Planning and Community Development of the City of Alexandria (the director) to confirm his understanding that a residence could be built on the lot. The lot is approximately 9,000 square feet in size and is situated on terrain described as a ravine or a gulch. In August 1992, the director applied “the fixed point measurement method” and determined that the undeveloped lot did not meet the lot width requirements at the building setback lines established by the…