Zoning lawsuit plaintiffs clear legal fees, signal appeal
Coalition raised $45,000 in three weeks; law firm forgave remaining $41,000
The Coalition for a Livable Alexandria says it has raised enough money to eliminate outstanding legal fees for plaintiffs who challenged the city’s Zoning for Housing initiative, clearing the way for a potential appeal after a judge dismissed the case last month.
The group announced Monday it had raised $45,000 in under three weeks, triggering a deal with law firm Dunn, Craig & Francuzenko to forgive the remaining $41,000 of $86,000 in outstanding fees.
“This milestone is a testament to the unwavering commitment, extraordinary generosity, and inspiring teamwork of everyone involved,” the coalition said in an email to supporters. “Together, you have demonstrated a powerful example of community action and a basis for an effective appeal.”
The coalition and the law firm did not respond to multiple requests for comment during the fundraising campaign.
The case
Judge H. Thomas Padrick Jr. ruled in the city’s favor on Nov. 12, granting summary judgment in the lawsuit challenging the City Council’s 2023 decision to allow construction of up to four housing units on properties previously restricted to single-family homes. A final order dismissing the case with prejudice was entered Nov. 26, according to court records.
A dismissal with prejudice means the lawsuit cannot be refiled in the trial court. The plaintiffs’ only remaining legal option is to appeal to a higher court.
Under Virginia law, the plaintiffs have 30 days from the entry of the final order to file a notice of appeal, setting a deadline of Dec. 26. No appeal had been filed as of Monday.
Plaintiff attrition
The lawsuit, filed in January 2024, originally named 10 plaintiffs, including the coalition itself and individual Alexandria residents. Court records show the case has seen significant attrition over the past year.
The coalition was dismissed from the case in August 2024 after Padrick’s predecessor, Judge David S. Schell, ruled the organization lacked standing because it does not own property in the city. Schell ruled that individual plaintiffs could proceed.
Four individual plaintiffs voluntarily withdrew this year. William Corin and Jimm Roberts filed motions for nonsuit in March, with orders granted in April. Maria Carias Porto and Meghan Rainey — the wives of two remaining plaintiffs — filed motions for nonsuit in April, with orders granted in May.
Court records indicate the remaining plaintiffs include Phylius Burks, David Rainey, Joshua Carias Porto, and John E. Craig. Joyce Pastore also appears as a plaintiff in court records, though she has not been named in the coalition’s public communications about the lawsuit.
David Rainey serves as a director on the coalition’s board.
Subpoenas
Court records show the city issued subpoenas in March to several coalition board members, including Chair Roy Byrd, Treasurer William Shen, and directors Sylvia Alimena, Yvonne Weight Callahan and John Fehrenbach. A subpoena was also issued to Barbara Beach. The plaintiffs filed a motion to quash the subpoenas in April, which was denied in May.
Fundraising campaign
The coalition launched its fundraising push on Nov. 24, telling supporters that $86,000 in legal fees remained outstanding and asking them to cover at least half within two weeks.
Two days later, the group announced the law firm had offered to forgive $41,000 if $45,000 was paid by Dec. 15.
The coalition issued a series of matching challenges over the following weeks. On Dec. 4, the group said a donor would contribute $5,000 if supporters raised $5,000 in three days. On Dec. 7, the coalition announced it had secured that match. On Dec. 9, the group announced another challenge: a donor would contribute $7,000 if supporters raised $10,000 by noon Dec. 13.
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, and the lawsuit had not yet been filed. The coalition has not released 2025 financial data.
Zoning for Housing
City Council unanimously approved the Zoning for Housing initiative in November 2023. The ordinances allow construction of duplexes and buildings with up to four units in neighborhoods previously restricted to single-family homes. The changes also reduced parking requirements.
City officials have defended the initiative as addressing housing affordability challenges and reversing generational impacts of discriminatory housing policies.
At a Dec. 8 forum at the Lyceum, Mayor Alyia Gaskins and Yoni Appelbaum, deputy executive editor at The Atlantic and author of “Stuck: How the Privileged and Propertied Broke the Engine of American Opportunity,” 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.
The mayor closed with conversations she’s had with pastors of historic Black churches whose congregations have largely been displaced from the city.
“Almost every single one of them said, ‘Don’t nobody live here no more. We’ve all had to move out,’” Gaskins said. “The only thing they’re able to do is to drive in from Maryland for church on Sunday and then to drive back out.”
Appelbaum traced zoning’s origins to Modesto, California, in the 1880s, 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.
Opponents of the zoning changes have argued they would increase density, strain infrastructure, and fail to create affordable housing. Gaskins acknowledged at the forum that public discourse around development has grown more hostile during her time in office. Emails that once began “Dear Councilwoman” now often start with “Dear incompetent,” she said.
Since the initiative was approved, 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 at the center of the lawsuit.
The city hired McGuireWoods LLP to defend the zoning changes. The city had spent more than $196,000 on legal fees to the firm as of late February, according to a Freedom of Information Act request obtained by the Alexandria Times.
Strong reporting on the fundraising mechanics behind the appeal. The law firm forgiving $41k is interesting since litigation financing usually doen't work that way in land use disputes. Raised similar amounts for a Californai zoning case in 2022 but we hit a wall when discovery costs ballooned beyond grassroots capacity. The bigger issue is whether an appeal can actually overturn summary judgment on what sounds like pretty straightforward statutory interpretation about permitted uses.