Local government Flashcards
Eminent domain
Any government body may exercise eminent domain and condemn any land, building, or personal property, including any interest of any individual or corporation, whenever:
- public need for property exists; and
- condemner made good faith effort to purchase land directly over owner
Special statutory restrictions for eminent domain. Limited to projects for public uses:
- use by the public or a public corporation
- public facilities such as airports, libs, or jails
- use by a utility or railtoad
- elimination of a specific “blighted” property that has become public safety danger or
- where owner of property located in redevelopment or conservation area agrees to acquisition
Tort claims against counties
Counties absolutely immune from liability in tort
Who has automatic immunity in the government
Top level people- governors, mayor, legislators, city or county council members, heads of major departments and functions
Who is generally automatically immune from liability
Members of town councils, boards of supervisors, and similar boards and commissions
What is the immunity for performing government functions
For simple negligence when interests of sovereign extending immunity are strong
Immunity measured by “4-factor” test
- The nature of the function performed by the employee
- the extent of the governmental entity’s interest and involvement in the function
- the degree of control and direction exercised by the governmental entity over the employee
- whether the alleged wrongful act involved the exercise of judgment and discretion
Does governmental independent contractors have immunity?
No
Government Employee Liability
Employees can be sued for gross negligence and intentional torts
Six months notice requirement for suits against government
Statute bars liability for counties, cities, and towns in negligence cases unless notice in writing is given designed officer within 6 months after the cause of action arises (unless injury prevents giving notice)
What does the notice have to have
Nature of claim, date, time and place where the injury took place
To whom the notice is given
County, city, or town attorney; or mayor or chief executive of the locality
Elements of adverse possession
Hostile, actual, open, notorious, exclusive, and continuous
Disposition of governmental property
Municipal cooperation to sell or lease public property, sale of land must be based on ordinance or resolution passed by three-fourths of governing body, leases of real property by municipality to 40 years
Dillons rule
Locality can exercise only powers granted expressly by statue or charter, unless necessarily implied in powers expressly granted or essential to declare objects and purposes.
FOIA regarding meetings of governing bodies
The FOIA generally prohibits any transaction of public business other than at a public meeting. Under the statute, meetings of a municipality’s governing body must be open, and the members must be physically present. Nonpublic sessions are permissible to discuss certain topics, including the disposition of publicly held property. However, following the conclusion of the nonpublic session, the public body must immediately reconvene in an open meeting and take a recorded vote, with the minutes certifying that only lawfully exempted material was discussed
FOIA regarding release of public records
Under the FOIA, all public records have to be open to citizens and representatives of newspapers and magazines with circulation in the Commonwealth. Provided that the information request complies with the statutory requirements, and the matter is not exempted under the law, the public body must respond promptly, but in all cases within five working days of receiving a request.
Municipal ordinances
Under Virginia law, municipal ordinances are ordinarily enacted by an affirmative vote of a simple majority of the governing body. A provision in a charter may be adopted and approved by the general assembly on any subject not forbidden by the state constitution or state law.
Ordinance to sale public property
The sale of public property must be made by an ordinance passed by a three-fourths vote of all members elected to the governing body.
A landowner who claims that a zoning limitation should not be strictly applied to her parcel of land may seek a variance by showing
that strict application of the zoning restric-tion to her parcel would unreasonably restrict the use of the property, or that granting the variance would alleviate a hardship (1) due to a physical condition relating to property or improvements thereon at the time of the effective date of the ordinance or (2) by granting a reasonable modification to a property or improvements on the request of a person with a disability. Evidence must show: (i) the property interest was acquired in good faith and any hardship was not created by the applicant; (ii) granting the variance will not be of substantial detriment to adjacent and nearby property; (iii) the condition of the property is not of so general or recurring a nature as to permit instead the formulation of a general regulation to be adopted as an amendment to the ordinance; (iv) granting the variance does not result in a use that is not otherwise permitted on such property or a change in the zoning classification; and (v) the relief or remedy sought by the variance application is not available through a special exception process or the process for modification.
Can nonconforming uses of land be grandfathered in
Nonconforming uses that were legal when started can be continued (they are “grandfathered”) so long as the landowner does not expand or change the character of
the use and does not abandon the use for a period of years.
