BZA Set to Hear Waterfront Petitions

The Board of Zoning Appeals on April 12 is scheduled to hear petitions related to the city’s plan to rezone the waterfront.

There are three appeals that have been filed on the same issue and they will be consolidated, according to the city attorney's office.

Attorney Roy Shannon has filed an appeal for Beth Gibney, Marie Burke and April Kux. Attorney Benjamin Chew has filed two appeal petitions—one for Michael Peck and another for Elizabeth Baldwin—on the issue.

A group of citizens last month filed a petition signed by residents and others who live near the riverside that could have triggered a city requirement for a supermajority City Council vote, or 6-1, on the waterfront plan. The city struck down that petition. Council voted 5-2 to pass the plan in concept on its first reading and 4-2 on its second reading. Alexandria Mayor Bill Euille was absent from the second vote. The zoning portion of the plan can't be finalized by council until these related legal issues are resolved.

The hearing, which is expected to begin at 7:30 p.m. at , will allow the petitioners to plead their case, the city to present its case and the public to make comments.

Council appoints the seven members of the quasi-judicial appeals board. They each serve four-year terms.

There is a case related to the BZA petition .

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