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Charlottesville reaches settlement in zoning lawsuit; council authorizes $650,000 for infrastructure and traffic studies
Summary
The city attorney presented a settlement in White v. Charlottesville resolving procedural claims tied to the 2023 zoning ordinance; council approved a resolution and a separate $650,000 allocation for VDOT scoping and growth‑model studies that the settlement requires.
Charlottesville moved to settle the long‑running lawsuit known locally as the zoning case, White v. Charlottesville, and authorized a $650,000 contingency appropriation to fund required transportation and infrastructure studies.
City Attorney John Maddox explained that plaintiffs challenged the city's 2023 zoning code and that the court had narrowed issues to questions about whether the city complied with certain Virginia code submission and capacity‑analysis requirements. Rather than proceed to a multi‑week trial in 2026 and extensive discovery, plaintiffs and the city negotiated a settlement that requires the city to complete specific VDOT scoping and traffic impact studies.
Council adopted the settlement resolution by a recorded vote (5‑0). The council also voted (5‑0) to allocate $650,000 from contingency funds for the infrastructure modeling and VDOT study work described in the settlement and in staff's scope of work. Deputy City Manager James Fries and staff said the amount covers a multi‑part scope that remains subject to refinement during a required scoping meeting with VDOT; staff said they expect the final cost for the VDOT traffic work to be substantially less and that any unused funds would return to the contingency account.
Under the settlement schedule described by Maddox, the city must schedule a scoping meeting with VDOT within 30 days of the signed agreement, complete the traffic impact studies within 120 days of that scoping meeting, and then submit results to VDOT within an additional 30 days. Maddox told council that, while the city believes it has legal defenses, litigation costs and the time required to litigate to trial and through appeals are likely to be substantially higher than the settlement and study costs.
Councilors and staff said the studies will also serve planning purposes beyond satisfying the settlement. Councilor Michael said the modeling and traffic analysis will help the city anticipate infrastructure needs connected to growth and to future land‑use decisions. Staff said the work will inform other planning efforts and will be coordinated with transportation and development projects already in the city's capital plans.
Action taken: Council adopted the settlement resolution and the $650,000 appropriation for the infrastructure study and modeling; both votes were 5–0. Staff will convene the VDOT scoping meeting and refine a final scope and schedule for completion.
