City Council v. Wendy's of Western Virginia, Inc.

In this land use controversy, we consider whether the trial court erred in ruling that a local governing body’s denial of a rezoning petition was arbitrary and capricious.

The pertinent facts are undisputed. The subject property is 1.048 acres of land in the City of Salem presently carrying a R-2 (single family, residential) zoning classification. The property is situated at the northeast comer of the intersection of Route 419 (Electric Road), a north-south, multi-lane street divided by a median, and Midland Road, a two-lane, east-west street.

The property is comprised of two parcels, each…