Motion for Preliminary Injunction and Declaratory Judgements filed in Charlottesville Circuit Court to halt Parkway Construction

Below is a press release distributed by the Coalition to Preserve McIntire Park on February 25, 2008. As of this posting, I am unaware of any scheduled date for the motions to be considered by the Charlottesville Circuit Court. It is important to note that these motions only apply to land owned by the City of Charlottesville north of Melbourne Road. Links to online versions of the two motions are provided in the text of the press release. The relevant City Ordinance and the Deed that are key to these motions are also linked in the text of the motions.

The photo was taken this morning at the Melbourne Road end of the proposed Meadow Creek Parkway alignment on the city owned property that the legal motions claim was provided to VDOT by the City of Charlottesville as a combination of temporary and permanent easements and not in compliance with Article VII, section 9 of the Virginia Constitution. I invite you to read the linked material and decide for yourself whether the transfer of right-of-way to VDOT complies with requirements of the Virginia Constitution.

I will post information as I get it regarding these motions. Stay tuned.

Press Release: Coalition to Preserve McIntire Park files an injunction to stop construction of Meadow Creek Parkway.

Coalition to Preserve McIntire Park
For immediate release
February 25, 2009

Contacts:

John Cruickshank 434 973-0373
Peter Kleeman 434 296-6208
Stratton Salidis 434 882-1069

On February 24, 2009 an attorney representing the Coalition to Preserve McIntire Park (CPMP) filed two motions in the Circuit Court of the City of Charlottesville.

- The first is a motion for declaratory judgment requesting the court to declare the conveyance of land by the City of Charlottesville to VDOT unconstitutional because the transfer of land was not approved by a 3/4 vote of the City Council as required by Article VII Section 9 of the Virginia Constitution.

- The second is a motion for preliminary injunction to halt construction-related activities on land unlawfully conveyed to VDOT.

Attached to this email are the court documents for “Coalition to Preserve McIntire Park v. City of Charlottesville and Commonwealth Department of Transportation.”

The CPMP has made many efforts to convince VDOT and elected officials to abandon plans to build this unnecessary road that would cause serious environmental damage, increase traffic in downtown Charlottesville, and is not wanted by many area residents. We are determined to use all available state and federal laws to prevent the destruction of McIntire Park and protect the rights of citizens. Among those rights is the right to the quiet enjoyment of land donated in perpetuity to our city by Paul Goodloe McIntire for use as a park.

[Note: reformatted as online .html file. Format may differ from original]