Charlottesville City Council votes to settle zoning lawsuit

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - Charlottesville City Council has decided to settle the lawsuit brought against its new zoning code, ending nearly two years of legal back-and-forth that was headed for trial.

In early 2024, a group of plaintiffs sued the city, stating it did not follow the requirements to properly pass the ordinance, which is aimed at increasing affordable housing in Charlottesville.

Then, over the summer in 2025, an attorney representing the city missed a key legal deadline, causing Judge Claude Worrell to void the new zoning code.

In August, though, Worrell reversed course, allowing White v. The City of Charlottesville to proceed to trial in September 2026.

But on Monday night, Oct. 20, City Attorney John Maddux stated that the plaintiffs who filed the lawsuit have come to the City with terms for a settlement agreement.

“I think this is the best outcome for us in this case,” Maddux told Council. “I think this is a fantastic outcome for us in this case. It is going to save us a lot of money, that’s what I think it’s going to do, and a lot of time, it’s going bring a lot of stability, and reassurance to our development community, and help us really move forward with some clarity and purpose around our zoning.”

Councilors agreed with Maddux and unanimously voted to settle.

The city subsequently voted to pay $650,000 for an infrastructure study and model. Part of that money will go towards the study with the Virginia Department of Transportation that is required to meet the settlement terms, though Maddux clarified that the settlement piece will be “far, far south” of $650,000, and that the city does not yet have an estimate of how much that settlement-specific study will cost.

Maddux says that within 30 days of signing the agreement, the city will need to schedule a “scoping” meeting with the VDOT. Within 120 days, it will need to conduct a traffic impact study, and then it can take an additional 30 days to provide that information to VDOT.

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