Town Council Responds to Old School Cape Charles Lawsuit
By DORIE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
August 17, 2012
Cape Charles Town Council has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit brought against it by the citizens’ group Old School Cape Charles.
After Town Council voted June 14 to sell the old school and surrounding property adjoining Central Park to a private developer, Old School Cape Charles, LLC, sued.
Led by local resident Wayne Creed, Old School Cape Charles had offered to lease or buy the school property for use as a community center. The group contends that the Town rejected its proposal “without . . . logical basis or explanation,” choosing instead to sell the property to Echelon Resources, Inc., for $10. The lawsuit seeks a Circuit Court order declaring the Town Council’s actions “unlawful and invalid.”
In its response August 7, the Town’s attorney argues that:
— Old School Cape Charles lacks standing to appeal to the Court;
— The Town’s resolution is not a zoning decision that can be appealed, and issues concerning zoning actions “are not ripe for determination”;
— Alleged procedural errors have not been proved;
— Old School Cape Charles failed to state how the sale of the property was not in compliance with the Comprehensive Plan; and
— Old School Cape Charles also failed to state why a “lame duck” Town Council may not bind a future Council, and why the Council’s decisions were “arbitrary, capricious, or violative of constitutional rights.” [Read more…]
