VA Local Government Law

Question 1

What are the primary units of local government in Virginia?

Answer 1

Counties, cities, towns, service authorities, and other quasi-municipal corporations.

Question 2

How are counties in Virginia governed?

Answer 2

Most counties are governed by their county boards directly, but they may adopt different forms of governance, such as the County Executive form, the County Manager form, the County Manager Plan, and the Urban County Executive form.

Question 3

What is the population requirement for a community to be classified as a city in Virginia?

Answer 3

A city must have a population of 5,000 or more citizens within its boundaries or have become a city by law before July 1, 1971.

Question 4

What distinguishes a town from a city in Virginia?

Answer 4

Towns are not independent of counties and share many governmental functions and services with the county in which they are located. Towns must have a population of 1,000 or more citizens or have legally become a town before July 1, 1971.

Question 5

What are service authorities in Virginia?

Answer 5

Service authorities are arms of local governments given authority to serve specific public functions, including sewer, water and sanitation, recreation, toll roads, municipal housing, and public education.

Question 6

How are local governments created in Virginia?

Answer 6

Local governments may be created by the General Assembly granting a charter or by a special judicial proceeding. Charters are approved by general law, requiring a simple majority vote.

Question 7

What is required for a locality to request a new charter or amend an existing charter in Virginia?

Answer 7

The locality must either hold a public election or a public hearing with proper notice to all citizens to determine whether the voters of the locality want to make such a request.

Question 8

What powers are conferred by a local government charter in Virginia?

Answer 8

The charter confers upon cities and towns all powers set forth in the Uniform Charter Powers Act, namely authority associated with the police power (promotion of health, safety, and general welfare of the community).

Question 9

Can the legality of a municipal corporation’s charter be attacked in a collateral proceeding?

Answer 9

No, a municipal corporation’s legality cannot be attacked in a collateral proceeding or in any suit by a private party. Action must be in the form of a direct proceeding, prosecuted at the insistence of the State by the proper public officer.

Question 10

What is the default remedy for enforcement of contracts to dispose of real property in Virginia?

Answer 10

Specific performance is the default remedy for enforcement of these contracts.

Question 11

What is Dillon’s Rule?

Answer 11

Dillon’s Rule limits the powers of local governments to those explicitly granted by the General Assembly. Local governments only possess powers that are expressly authorized by the state legislature, including any powers reasonably necessary or fairly implied to carry out those functions.

Question 12

What is the “reasonable selection method” rule under Dillon’s Rule?

Answer 12

When a power has been delegated but the manner of its execution has not been specified, localities have reasonable discretion as to the manner in which the power is executed.

Question 13

What is the population requirement for counties adopting the County Manager Plan in Virginia?

Answer 13

Counties adopting the County Manager Plan must have a population density of greater than 500 people per square mile.

Question 14

What is the Urban County Executive form of government?

Answer 14

The Urban County Executive form is available to counties with populations in excess of 90,000. No new municipalities may be established within the county, and the Chairman of the Board of Supervisors is a full-time job elected at-large.

Question 15

What is the difference between governmental and proprietary functions in terms of municipal liability?

Answer 15

Local governments retain sovereign immunity for governmental functions but can be held liable for negligence in proprietary functions. Governmental functions are inherent in legislative and executive powers, while proprietary functions are those similar to private corporations.

Question 16

What is required for a negligence claim against a city in Virginia?

Answer 16

A written statement detailing the nature of the claim, including the time and place of the injury, must be filed within 6 months after the cause of action accrued. This notice must be directed to the City attorney, chief executive, or mayor.

Question 17

What is the police power of municipal governments in Virginia?

Answer 17

The police power allows municipal governments to limit, regulate, or prohibit personal and commercial activity to promote public health, safety, and general welfare. This power cannot extend beyond the municipal limits unless permitted by statute.

Question 18

What happens if a local ordinance conflicts with state law in Virginia?

Answer 18

A locality may not enact an ordinance that is inconsistent with state law. If both the statute and ordinance can stand together, courts will harmonize them. If not, the ordinance will be void.

Question 19

What are some common governmental functions for which municipalities retain sovereign immunity?

Answer 19

Providing emergency services, designing streets, snow removal, maintaining libraries, and operating fire hydrants and fire departments.

Question 20

What is the process for challenging the legality of a municipal corporation’s charter in Virginia?

Answer 20

The legality of a municipal corporation’s charter cannot be challenged in a collateral proceeding or by a private party. It must be challenged in a direct proceeding prosecuted by the proper public officer on behalf of the state.

Question 21

Dillon’s Rule

Answer 21

o Local governments can only exercise power that is (i) expressly given or (ii) necessarily implied by the powers expressly given and essential to the purposes of those powers.
o All doubts must be resolved against the municipality

Question 22

County Tort Liability

Answer 22

Unless waived by statute, counties generally cannot be sued in tort. Counties enjoy sovereign immunity from all tort liability for all activities of their officers, agents, and employees, even when the county is acting in a proprietary
capacity.

Question 23

Municipal Tort Liability

Answer 23

Municipalities (i.e., cities and towns) enjoy sovereign immunity from tort as well as quasi-contract actions when performing public, governmental functions, i.e., acts done “for the common good, without the element of corporate benefit or pecuniary profit.”

Question 24

Governmental functions

Answer 24

Examples of governmental functions for which cities, towns, and other local governmental entities enjoy sovereign immunity include:
i) Ambulance services;
ii) Educational facilities;
iii) Erosion and flooding control structures (e.g., dams, levees, seawalls);
iv) Fire protection;
v) Garbage removal;
vi) Hospitals and nursing homes; and
vii) Police protection.

Question 25

Proprietary functions

Answer 25

Virginia courts have defined certain activities of cities, towns, and other local governmental entities (excluding counties) as proprietary and not subject to sovereign immunity, including:
i) Routine maintenance of streets;
ii) Provision of utilities (e.g., electricity, gas, water, sewer);
iii) Maintenance of recreational facilities (by statute, liability only extends to gross negligence (Va. Code Ann. § 15.2-1809)); and
iv) Operation of housing authorities.

Question 26

Tort liability for proprietary functions

Answer 26

Sovereign immunity does not exist when a municipality is performing a proprietary function. ( one that a private entity can perform, and is not uniquely for the benefit of the general public.)

Question 27

Both Proprietary and Governmental

Answer 27

When a municipality or other local governmental entity’s action constitutes both governmental and proprietary functions, the action is considered to be governmental, and sovereign immunity applies. The following activities, although seemingly falling within activities that constitute proprietary functions, have been protected by sovereign immunity because of their concomitant governmental functions:
i) Snow removal (governmental function—responding to emergency condition to open streets to vital public services);
ii) Removal of trees felled by hurricane (governmental function—responding to emergency condition to open streets to vital public services); and
iii) Repair of malfunctioning traffic light (governmental function—regulation of traffic).

Question 28

Government officers and employees who are negligent

Answer 28

Sovereign immunity may extend to government officers and employees who are negligent in performing a governmental function. Although there is no single all-inclusive rule to determine sovereign immunity, courts consider four factors:
i) The nature of the function;
ii) The extent of the government’s interest and involvement in the function;
iii) The degree of control the government exercises over the employee; and
iv) Whether the act involved the discretion of the employee.

Question 29

wanton or grossly negligent behavior

Answer 29

Sovereign immunity does not protect wanton or grossly negligent behavior, nor does it apply to an employee who acts beyond the scope of employment or who exceeds his authority and discretion.

Question 30

Eminent Domain

Answer 30

Local governments are authorized, by statute, to condemn private land for public use through the power of eminent domain.

Question 31

Public use

Answer 31

Eminent domain authority must be exercised only for “public use,” which, by statute, includes the acquisition of property where the property is taken for:
i) The possession, ownership, occupation, and enjoyment by the public or a public corporation;
ii) Construction, maintenance, or operation of public facilities by a public corporation (e.g., airports, schools, court, jails, libraries, parks, police and fire stations, transportation facilities (roads, bridges, mass transit, ports));
iii) The creation or functioning of any public service corporation or railroad;
iv) The provision of any authorized utility service;
v) The elimination of blight, provided that the property itself is a blighted property; or
vi) As part of a redevelopment or conservation area where the property is abandoned or where acquisition is needed to clear title where one of the owners agrees to such acquisition or the acquisition is by agreement of all of the owners.
In general, property may be taken only if (i) the public interest dominates the private gain, and (ii) the primary purpose is not private financial gain, private benefit, an increase in tax bases or tax revenues, an increase in employment, or economic development

Question 32

Blight

Answer 32

For the purposes of the use of eminent domain to eliminate blight, “blighted property” means any property that endangers the public health or safety in its condition at the time of the filing of the petition for condemnation and is a public nuisance or an individual commercial, industrial, or residential structure or improvement that is beyond repair or unfit for human occupancy or use.
The abatement of a public nuisance does not constitute a taking for public use for which compensation must be paid.

Question 33

Just Compensation

Answer 33

The measure of compensation for taken property is the fair market value at the time of the taking. The value must be no less than the value of the property taken including lost profits and lost access. Any loss in market value of the remaining property from lost access caused by the taking or damaging of the property must take into account any enhancement in value of the remaining property or peculiar benefit to that property from the taking and use of the condemned property. The determination of lost profits must be reasonably certain and the time period is limited to three years from the date of valuation.

Question 34

Tort Liability

Answer 34

Cities and counties may not be found liable for tortious conduct that was committed while carrying out governmental functions.
Counties may never be sued in tort due to their sovereign immunity.
Cities may be sued in tort while carrying out proprietary functions.