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BZA reviews rules of procedure; agrees to add state tie-vote language, discusses ex parte contacts and funding for alternates
Summary
Board members debated amending rules to address ex parte communications, oath administration for witnesses, and adding a statutory tie-vote provision. The board asked staff to draft revised rules for adoption at the next meeting and discussed an outstanding request to fund a BZA alternate amid a constrained county budget.
Albemarle County’s Board of Zoning Appeals spent a substantial portion of its Feb. 4 meeting reviewing proposed changes to its rules of procedure and discussing board alternates and budget implications.
Board member Kurt Burkhart proposed several amendments, including requiring the chair to administer oaths and compelling witness attendance, adding a link to meeting recordings in the minutes, creating a standing ex parte-communications disclosure step on agendas, and inserting specific state statutory language for tie votes in appeals.
Nut graf: The board did not adopt rule changes immediately but reached consensus to have staff draft revisions that include the Code of Virginia tie-vote language used for appeals; the board also discussed long-running requests to add a paid alternate position and learned county budget guidance currently pressures departments…
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