Alexandria's Zoning For Housing Faces Lawsuit From Resident Coalition

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Zoning for Housing, a series of zoning reforms designed to boost housing, is facing a lawsuit from a resident coalition.

The Coalition for a Liveable Alexandria, a group that opposed Zoning for Housing, filed the lawsuit in Alexandria Circuit Court. Zoning for Housing received approval from Alexandria City Council in late November 2023.

The lawsuit focuses on one of the more controversial elements of Zoning for Housing, the decision to eliminate single-family home zones by allowing multi-unit dwellings in these zones. With the approval, two-unit and three to four-unit dwellings are permitted in single-family zones. Under the proposed zoning, the city anticipates 66 new residential buildings with 178 units could be developed over a decade.

Coalition for a Liveable Alexandria's chair Roy Byrd called Zoning for Housing "unlawful" and discriminatory" and said it was a "misguided attempt to rewrite zoning regulations for housing."

"Zoning law is complex and esoteric. People often don’t understand their rights, and even if they do, they don’t have the financial means to exercise them against the city government. We are here to be their voice," said Byrd in a statement.

Seven households in Alexandria are named in the lawsuit. The City of Alexandria, City Council and Planning Commission are named as defendants.

A city spokesperson told the Washington Post that the Zoning for Housing approval follows the law and that the city would defend it in court.

YIMBYs of Northern Virginia, a group that advocated for the Zoning for Housing decision, released a statement criticizing the lawsuit.

"City Council did the right thing for Alexandria by unanimously passing Zoning for Housing after years of careful study and public engagement," the group stated. "City staff conducted extensive research assessing the reforms’ impacts to ensure they would benefit our city. Our region has not built enough homes for everyone who works and attends school here, and Zoning for Housing is an important step toward legalizing the housing we desperately need."

Similarly, Arlington County is facing a lawsuit from residents over its approved Missing Middle Housing ordinance. That trial will happen in summer 2024.