New Waterfront Complaint Filed in Circuit Court

Three Alexandria women who disagree with the city’s plans to rezone its riverside have filed a court complaint seeking to undo City Council’s March vote allowing buildings such as hotels on the waterfront.

April Burke, Beth Gibney and Marie Kux on Tuesday filed a complaint for declaratory judgment in Alexandria Circuit Court (see attached PDF) “because once again the City of Alexandria is not playing by the rules in making a zoning change,” according to a statement issued by the lawsuit’s supporters, Friends of the Alexandria Waterfront.

They argue that the city’s planning director improperly rejected their appeals to the Board of Zoning Appeals.

• See Council OKs Waterfront Amendments

“The effect of this appeal should have been to stay any vote by Council on waterfront zoning until the City's Board of Zoning Appeals had ruled on the validity of the Iron Ladies' appeal,” reads the group's statement.

By filing the complaint, they are asking the Circuit Court to halt any further council or staff actions on waterfront rezoning until the Board of Zoning Appeals has ruled on the board's appeal.

The plaintiffs appealed two separate decisions by the city's planning and zoning director—on March 14 and March 15—but they were rejected solely "on the merits of each appeal without a hearing or any oversight by the BZA," reads the complaint. "Such obvious partiality on the part of administrators undermines public confidence in the fair and impartial administration of the City's affairs."

The women posit that the question of whether a city official, such as the Department of Planning and Zoning director, may reject an appeal challenging her own decisions and rulings is critical to answer.

They say their case is strong because they see a parallel between their case and a recent lawsuit in Alexandria Circuit Court addressing wrongful termination of a city employee.

• See Jury Awards City Whistleblower in Wrongful Termination Case