County Bd. of Arlington County v. Brown

In my view, Code § 15.1-262, by necessary implication, affords the County ample authority to convey a leasehold interest in lands which the County owns in fee simple. It provides: “The governing body of the county shall have power to sell . . . and convey the real property of the county . . . .” There is no limitation on this grant of power, and it therefore extends to the right to convey a fee simple estate.

An estate in fee simple is the largest estate in lands recognized by the law. It consists of the aggregate of all the rights, powers, privileges and immunities (sometimes called the…