Bedford City Zoning Code
Appendix D
SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT1
VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF BEDFORD
IN RE: Petition of County of Bedford, Virginia ("county") and Town of Bedford, Virginia ("town") for an order affirming a Proposed Voluntary Settlement Agreement pursuant to Sec. 15.2-3400 of the Code of Virginia of 1950, as amended.
CASE NO. CH 98 18734
FINAL ORDER VALIDATING AND AFFIRMING A VOLUNTEER SETTLEMENT BETWEEN THE TOWN OF BEDFORD AND THE COUNTY OF BEDFORD
This proceeding was heard on the 3rd day of June, 1998 on the joint petition of the Town of Bedford, Virginia, ("town") and the County of Bedford, Virginia ("county"), pursuant to chapter 34 of Title 15.2 of the Code of Virginia (1950), as amended, requesting this special court to affirm and validate a voluntary settlement agreement among local governments dated February 9, 1998; upon the report of the commission on local government dated November, 1997, upon evidence heard by the court and exhibits received in evidence; and upon the arguments of counsel.
Editor's note— Printed herein is the Settlement Agreement of the town, as adopted by the council on June 3, 1998. Amendments to the ordinance are indicated by parenthetical history notes following amended provisions. The absence of a history note indicates that the provision remains unchanged from the original ordinance. Obvious misspellings and punctuation errors have been corrected without notation. For stylistic purposes, headings and catchlines have been made uniform and the same system of capitalization, citation to state statutes, and expression of numbers in text as appears in the Code of Ordinances has been used. Additions made for clarity are indicated by brackets. Per Case No. CL 12-1306, heard on Dec. 18, 2012, effective at midnight on June 30, 2013, the City of Bedford transitioned to town status and became the Town of Bedford. This was ratified by the Commonwealth of Virginia and a three judge special court.
[Sec. 1. - Special court.]
a.
This special court, consisting of Judge William N. Alexander, II, Judge Lydia Calvert Taylor, and Judge Clifford R. Weckstein was duly constituted and convened as provided in chapter 30 (section 15.2-3000 et seq.) of title 15.2 of the Code of Virginia (1950), as amended, to hear the joint petition filed pursuant to chapter 39 (section 15.2-3400 et seq.) of title 15.2 of the Code of Virginia (1950), as amended.
b.
The town and the county approved and adopted a Joint Economic Development and Growth Sharing Agreement dated June 2, 1997, which was reviewed by the commission on local government; that commission pursuant to the statutes made and provided for such matters issued a written report dated November, 1997. Upon receipt of the report from the commission, the town and county made certain changes in their agreement in response to the commission's review, and the town and the county, by ordinances, duly adopted by a recorded affirmative vote of a majority of the members of their respective governing bodies approved and adopted a modified Joint Economic Development and Growth Sharing Agreement dated February 9, 1998. Prior to adoption of said ordinances, the town and the county each advertised its intention to approve the modified agreement by publishing a notice once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper having general circulation in their respective jurisdictions. The newspaper publication included a descriptive summary of the modified agreement and a statement that a true copy of the modified agreement was on file in the office of the clerk of the circuit court of Bedford County. Prior to adoption of the ordinances, the town council and the board of supervisors each held a public hearing on the modified agreement.
c.
All necessary jurisdictional and procedural steps have been taken to bring this proceeding before the court.
[Sec. 2. - Findings.]
The court hereby makes the following findings:
a.
The provisions of the agreement are in the best interests of the town, the county, and the Commonwealth of Virginia.
b.
The interest of the Commonwealth of Virginia in promoting the orderly growth and the continued viability of local governments will be furthered by the agreement.
c.
The provisions of the agreement do not conflict with the constitution of Virginia.
[Sec. 3. - Generally.]
The court hereby affirms and validates the modified agreement dated February 9, 1998 entered into by the town and the county pursuant to section 15.2-3400 of the Code of Virginia (1950), as amended. A copy of the agreement is attached hereto as exhibit 1 and is incorporated as part of this order. The terms and conditions of the agreement shall hereafter have full force and effect and shall be binding on future governing bodies of the town and the county.
The approval and validation of the modified agreement by this court shall be effective immediately upon entry of this order; however, the court notes that pursuant to the provisions of section 4.01 of the modified agreement the agreements in article I concerning utility services and the agreements in article II concerning revenue and tax sharing shall be effective only upon adoption by the county board of supervisors of a traditional zoning ordinance covering the economic development areas of the county.
[Sec. 4. - Court adjourned; subject to being reconvened.]
It is ordered that this special court be adjourned, but not dissolved, subject to being reconvened in any manner provided by law.