City to Appeal Recent Waterfront Decision by Board of Zoning Appeals

The City of Alexandria will appeal the that overturned the planning director’s decision that a protest petition related to waterfront rezoning was invalid.

The city will appeal the decision because of its influence on the future of the waterfront plan and to get clarification from the Circuit Court as to how the appeals board’s decision could affect future land use.

“The BZA’s decision could have broad implications on future land use decisions throughout the city,” Mayor Bill Euille said in a Saturday statement. “To suggest that any text amendment be subject to a 6-1 supermajority vote of council and the requirements of determining who is eligible to protest is both unreasonable and impractical. We respect the BZA and the opinions of citizens who don’t support the waterfront plan, but for the good of the entire city, we must appeal this decision.”

At the City Council hearing on Saturday morning, Waterfront for All spokeswoman Lynn Hampton urged council to appeal the decision and said it was clear that the BZA at the Thursday meeting "was legislating, not appealing."

Also at that meeting, Mark Mueller with Citizens for an Alternative Alexandria Plan said his group was prepared to fight the issue all the way to the Virginia Supreme Court.

The city has 30 days from the date of the appeals board's decision to appeal in Alexandria Circuit Court.