Seville Investments Corp. v. Loudoun County

60 Va. Cir. 63, 2002 Va. Cir. LEXIS 108
CourtVirginia Circuit Court
DecidedApril 17, 2002
DocketCase No. (Law) 20326
StatusPublished

This text of 60 Va. Cir. 63 (Seville Investments Corp. v. Loudoun County) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Virginia Circuit Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Seville Investments Corp. v. Loudoun County, 60 Va. Cir. 63, 2002 Va. Cir. LEXIS 108 (Va. Super. Ct. 2002).

Opinion

By Judge James H. Chamblin

This cause came before the Court on March 25, 2002, on the Demurrer and Plea in Bar of the County of Loudoun and the Loudoun County Planning Commission to the Bill of Complaint filed by Seville Investments Corporation (“Seville”). For the reasons hereinafter set forth, the Demurrer is sustained in part and overruled in part, and the Plea in Bar is overruled.

Allegations Contained in the Bill of Complaint

In March 2000, Seville submitted a preliminary subdivision plat pursuant to the Loudoun County Land Subdivision and Development Ordinance (“LSDO”) for Westport, Section 1. The property is zoned CR-1 (Countryside Residential-1). The proposed use is a cluster development option under Section 2-506 of the Zoning Ordinance of Loudoun County.

By letter dated July 18,2000, Michael Seigfried, Chief Planner, Loudoun County Department of Building and Development, advised Seville, as follows:

[64]*64Under further staff review of the above referenced preliminary plat of subdivision application, it has been determined that this property is located in an area designated as “rural” within the Dulles South Plan Area.
Based upon the current adopted policies, public utilities are not to be extended into the rural area at this time. Section 2-507(G) of the 1993 Loudoun County Zoning Ordinance states “both public water and public sewer facilities must be provided to the site in accord with the water and wastewater policies of the comprehensive plan.” Prior to proceeding with the application, it will be necessary to demonstrate compliance with the section of the zoning ordinance. If you cannot demonstrate compliance, please withdraw the application.

After addressing staff comments in an earlier letter, Seville submitted a revised preliminary plat on July 31, 2000.

By letter dated August 11, 2000, Terrance D. Wharton, Director of the Loudoun County Department of Building and Development, informed Seville that the preliminary subdivision application was denied. His letter lists eight reasons for denial. Five reasons pertain to the Facilities Standards Manual (FSM). One reason pertains to the LSDO. The other two reasons, numbers 7 and 8, involve the Zoning Ordinance as follows:

7. The application does not comply with Section 2-506(G) of the 1993 Loudoun County Zoning Ordinance. This Section of the Zoning Ordinance requires that public sewer facilities be provided to the site in accord with the wastewater policies of the Comprehensive Plan. The application proposes service by the extension of central utilities into an area not currently planned by these facilities. The application may be modified as indicated in item 6 of this letter.
8. The application does not comply with Section 6-1101(A) of the 1993 Loudoun County Zoning Ordinance. A Commission Permit is required for the extension of public utilities to this portion of the County and no such application has been applied for and granted by the Planning Commission. (See the attached memorandum from the Department of Planning.) The application may be modified as indicated in item 6 of this letter.

The reason stated as item 6 is as follows:

[65]*656. The application fails to comply with Section 8.102(B) of the FSM. The April 20, 2000, letter from the Loudoun County Sanitation Authority (LCSA), which you submitted, states that LCSA utilities cannot be provided to this site under current policies. As an alternative, you may wish to submit an application serving the lots with onsite well and septic systems in accordance with Section 2-505 of the 1993 Loudoun County Zoning Ordinance. As a second alternative, you may submit an application for a Countryside Hamlet under Section 2-503(J) of the 1993 Loudoun County Zoning Ordinance utilizing an onsite communal wastewater system. Please note that both of these alternatives will require compliance with Section 8.102(B)(1) of the FSM.

Westport is located in the Dulles South Area Management Plan (DSAMP) area of Loudoun County. DSAMP is a part of the comprehensive plan for Loudoun County. The Bill of Complaint mentions 1997 amendments to DSAMP, but only asserts legal conclusions as to the effect of such amendments.

A map styled “Dulles South Planning Area Current LCSA Sewer Plans” and denoted as Figure 5 on page 23 of DSAMP shows a gravity sewer line planned by the County and the Loudoun County Sanitation Authority (“LCSA”) at the Westport site.

DSAMP states:

[S]oils in the Dulles South planning area are generally unsuited for development on septic systems and wells due to a high water table, shallow depth to bedrock, and clayey shrink-swell characteristics. Residential development at a suburban scale or even at rural scale (one unit per three acres) and non-residential development that would require on-site facilities are nearly impossible in most of the planning area due to these soil limitations and public health standards regulating septic fields and wells. From a public health standpoint, new residential development at suburban or urban development densities would need some sort of public sewer and water service.

Id. at p. 20.

The soils at Westport are similar to those described in DSAMP. Loudoun County Health Department records indicate that homes located on the Westport property are not suitable for habitation due to failed sewage disposal systems.

The denial letter of August 11, 2000, also stated:

[66]*66Pursuant to Section 1242.04(4) of the LSDO, an appeal may be made to the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) with respect to determinations in paragraphs 7 and 8. An appeal of the final action on this application may be made to the Planning Commission in accordance with Section 1242.04(2)(a) of the LSDO.
Seville filed an appeal to the BZA.

Seville also filed an appeal to the Loudoun County Planning Commission, which can affirm or reverse the denial of the application under § 1242.04(2)(a) of the LSDO. As to this appeal, the Bill of Complaint alleges that Seville, “through its engineer, responded to all outstanding technical comments, thus satisfying all conditions to plat approval. Notwithstanding the submission of this revised plat satisfying the conditions to preliminary approval under the LSDO, the appeal was denied by the Planning Commission....”

Seville asserts that “disapproval of the subdivision application was not properly based on the ordinance applicable thereto or was arbitrary and capricious.”

On October 10, 2000, Seville filed its Bill of Complaint seeking the following relief:

(1) On its appeal under Va. Code § 15.2-2260, a judgment ordering that the preliminary plat is approved, or, in the alternative, directing the Defendants to approve it.
(2) On its prayer for a declaratory judgment, a judgment that the attempt by the Defendants to incorporate the comprehensive plan into the LSDO’s ministerial subdivision process through the Zoning Ordinance is illegal, arbitrary, capricious, ultra vires, and violative of the Dillon Rule.

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Bluebook (online)
60 Va. Cir. 63, 2002 Va. Cir. LEXIS 108, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/seville-investments-corp-v-loudoun-county-vacc-2002.