Lynch v. Spotsylvania County Board of Zoning Appeals

By Judge William H. Ledbetter, Jr.

A two-part question is presented in this zoning appeal: is the zoning administrator empowered by Virginia Code § 15.1 -491 (d)(iii) to make a vested rights determination based on a development proposal rather than an existing state of facts; and, if so, was his decision in this case plainly wrong?

Background

Fox Point, Inc., is in the process of developing a large tract of land between Smith Station Road and Leavells Road known as Fox Point, a 701-lot residential subdivision. In 1989, the County tentatively approved the developer’s preliminary plan for the…