Fourteen Deyerle neighborhood homeowners are suing the Roanoke City Council, a developer and property owners over a rezoning that will allow for townhomes to be built in a predominantly single-family neighborhood.
The city council on July 15 rezoned nine parcels along Medmont Circle from residential to a mixed-use planned unit development district, allowing for 24 townhomes to be built.
The suit, which was filed Tuesday in Roanoke City Circuit Court, claims that the city did not provide adequate public notice before a July 8 planning commission public hearing on the rezoning request. It names the council, A. Boone Real Estate — the developers — along with John A. Carter Rental Properties and Keagy Medmont, who own the parcels to be developed.
The Deyerle plaintiffs claim:
- The city failed to publish required notices before approving rezoning plans. On July 1, Virginia law changed the standards for required notices and how soon they need to be made before meetings.
- The city council exceeded its authority in allowing for the mixed-unit development rezoning.
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Correction, 5 p.m. Aug. 14: The lawsuit filed by residents of Roanoke’s Deyerle neighborhood was not related to recent zoning code changes made by the city. An earlier version of this story was incorrect on that point.
