Vulcan Materials Co. v. Board of Supervisors

The narrow question we decide in this land use controversy is whether the trial court erred in ruling that a landowner was precluded from mounting a court challenge to the authority of a county governing body to act in a zoning matter because the landowner had failed to exhaust administrative remedies before resorting to court action. The issue is a pure question of law; none of the relevant facts is disputed.

In May 1971, appellee Board of Supervisors of Chesterfield County issued a conditional use permit to allow quarrying on a 186-acre tract of land in rural Chesterfield County. The permit…