1959

Board of County Sup’rs of Fairfax County v. Carper

Supreme Court of Virginia

200 Va. 653, 107 S.E.2d 390

Landowners filed declaratory judgment action concerning an amendment to County’s zoning law, which amendment was adopted in 1956, alleging it was invalid and unconstitutional. The amendment required land in the western two-thirds of the County have a minimum lot size of two acres. The purpose of the amendment was to solve the water and sewer problems of a rapidly expanding area. The trial court held the real purpose of the amendment was to restrict growth in the western part of the County and channel the population into the eastern one-third for operational economy. The trial court ruled the amendment was unconstitutional and void. The Supreme Court noted local governments had wide discretion creating zoning ordinances in the exercise of police power. Such action was presumed to be valid so long as it was not unreasonable or arbitrary. If the reasonableness of an ordinance was fairly debatable it must be sustained. The exercise of police power was subject to the constitutional guarantee that no property was to be taken without due process. Where there was a conflict, the Constitution was supreme, but the conflict must be clear for the courts to restrain the police power. Making lower income people live in the eastern part of the County served private rather than public interests and bore no relation to health, safety, morals or general welfare. The restriction was unreasonable and arbitrary and the trial court was affirmed.

For further discussion on an unreasonable and arbitrary Fairfax County zoning ordinance, see Board of Supervisors of Fairfax County v. Snell Const. Corp, 214 Va. 655, 202 S.E.2d 889 (1974).

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