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The Coalition for a Livable Alexandria says it is close to eliminating outstanding legal fees for plaintiffs who challenged the city’s Zoning for Housing initiative, launching its latest fundraising appeal one day after Mayor Alyia Gaskins defended the policy at a public forum.
A donor has pledged to contribute $7,000 if the coalition raises $10,000 by noon Saturday, according to an email sent to supporters Tuesday. The group said meeting the goal would result in full forgiveness of the remaining plaintiff's legal fees.
The coalition has issued a series of appeals since late November. On Nov. 24, the group said $86,000 in legal fees remained outstanding and asked supporters to cover at least half within two weeks. Two days later, the coalition announced law firm Dunn, Craig & Francuzenko had offered to forgive $41,000 if $45,000 was paid by Dec. 15.
By Dec. 1, the group reported raising $17,000. On Dec. 4, the coalition announced a matching challenge: a donor would contribute $5,000 if supporters raised $5,000 in three days. The group said Dec. 7 it had secured that match and was $18,000 short of its goal.
The coalition has claimed total litigation expenses of $252,000 over nearly two years. Annual reports show the group paid $87,313 in legal fees in 2024 and nothing in 2023, when the organization was founded. The lawsuit was filed in January 2024. The coalition has not released 2025 financial data.
The coalition and the law firm did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
The fundraising effort is on behalf of the four remaining plaintiffs: Phylius Burks, David Rainey, Joshua Carias Porto and John E. Craig. Two other plaintiffs, William Corin and Jimm Roberts, voluntarily withdrew from the case earlier this year.
The appeal comes as city officials continue to defend the zoning changes and their historical underpinnings. At a Monday evening forum at the Lyceum, Gaskins and Yoni Appelbaum, deputy executive editor at The Atlantic and author of a book on housing policy, discussed how zoning laws originally designed to enforce racial segregation continue to shape housing outcomes.
Gaskins spoke of her own housing struggles, saying she and her husband work a combined five jobs to afford living in Alexandria and have repeatedly been outbid when trying to purchase a home. She noted the city had approximately 18,000 naturally occurring affordable units in 2000 but now has fewer than 6,000.
“If we’re building more housing, but we’re also losing the housing we have that’s affordable to those who need it most, then in my opinion, we’re trying to tread water,” Gaskins said.
Appelbaum traced zoning’s origins to 1880s California, where officials used land-use laws to restrict Chinese residents to a single block.
“Zoning originates in the United States as a legal mechanism for enforcing racial segregation through laws that are facially neutral,” Appelbaum said.
Ryan Belmore
Since City Council unanimously approved the Zoning for Housing initiative in November 2023, the city has approved 79 accessory dwelling units and approximately 35 additional units under the provision removing dwelling-unit-per-acre limits, according to the city’s website. Six units have been approved or are anticipated under the single-family zoning reform that allows up to four units on lots previously restricted to single-family homes — the provision at the center of the lawsuit.
Judge H. Thomas Padrick Jr. ruled in the city’s favor on Nov. 12, granting summary judgment. The coalition has said it is considering an appeal.
Ryan Belmore
