Alexandria Waterfront Opponents Keep Battling In Court

Opponents of the Alexandria waterfront plan are taking their fight to court.

Five Old Town residents are filing a complaint that asks the Alexandria Circuit Court to overturn a waterfront redevelopment plan that the Alexandria City Council adopted on a 5-2 vote last month. The plan would more than double the density at three redevelopment sites, increasing from the 300,000 square feet of current development to 800,000 square feet of allowable redevelopment. (If the current buildings were constructed to maximum density, that would be an increase of 650,000 square feet to 800,000 square feet.)

The lawsuit charges that the City Council acted illegally by holding the vote when an appeal to a protest petition had been filed demanding that a supermajority of six votes be required to pass the plan. Because the final vote had only five affirmative votes, the lawsuit says, the plan should be nullified.

City Attorney James Banks says the lawsuit doesn't show a valid cause for action and that he's confident the city will prevail in court. 

Correction: The original version of this article misstated the amount of density that would be allowed under the waterfront plan. The density on the three waterfront parcels would be more than doubled under the plan.