Appeal of ordinance enactment or amendment

A.  An aggrieved party, a legal resident of Richmond, a Richmond property owner, or a group of residents or property owners, whether or not incorporated, may appeal a zoning ordinance enactment or amendment by filing a complaint in Washington County superior court within thirty (30) days of the date the ordinance took effect. 

B.  The complaint shall state with specificity the manner in which the ordinance does not conform to the comprehensive community plan or the manner in which it constitutes a taking of private property without just compensation.

C.  Filing of the complaint shall not stay enforcement of the ordinance, but the court may, in its discretion, grant a stay on appropriate terms, which may include the filing of a bond, and make other orders that it deems necessary for an equitable disposition of the appeal.

D.  The court shall conduct the review without a jury. The court shall first consider whether the enactment or amendment conforms to the comprehensive plan. If the enactment or amendment is not in conformance with the comprehensive plan, the court shall invalidate the enactment or amendment, or those parts of the enactment or amendment that are not in conformance with the comprehensive plan. The court shall not revise the ordinance to conform with the comprehensive plan, but may suggest appropriate language as part of the court decision.

E.  In a complaint filed by an aggrieved party, if the court has found that the enactment or amendment conforms to the comprehensive plan, the court shall next determine whether the enactment or amendment works as a taking of property from the aggrieved party without just compensation. If the court determines that there has been a taking, the court shall remand the case to the town council with its findings that a taking has occurred, and order the town to either provide just compensation or rescind the enactment or amendment within thirty (30) days.

(Ord. dated 4-1-14)