Code of Virginia - Title 33.1 Highways, Bridges And Ferries - Section 33.1-152 Appeal to circuit court

§ 33.1-152. Appeal to circuit court

Any one or more of the landowners whose property abuts on the road, landing, or crossing proposed to be abandoned or, if only a section of a road, landing, or crossing is proposed to be abandoned, whose property abuts on such section of the road, landing, or crossing and who petitioned for a public hearing under § 33.1-151, or the Commonwealth Transportation Commissioner, or, if a public landing is involved, the Director of Game and Inland Fisheries, may within thirty days from the entry of the order by the governing body, but not afterwards, appeal from the order to the circuit court of the county in which the section of road, public landing, or the crossing sought to be abandoned is located. Where the governing body fails to enter an order pursuant to § 33.1-151, such person or persons named in this section shall within thirty days from such nonentry, but not afterwards, have a right of appeal to the appropriate circuit court. Such appeals shall be by petition filed in the clerk's office of such court, setting out the order appealed from or the cause appealed from where no order was entered and the grounds of such appeal. Upon the filing of such petition, the clerk of the circuit court shall docket the appeal, giving it a preferred status, and if the appeal be by any of the landowners who filed a petition with the governing body for a public hearing shall have notice of such appeal served upon each member of the governing body of the county pursuant to § 8.01-300 and either the Commonwealth Transportation Commissioner or the Director of Game and Inland Fisheries and if the appeal be by either, notice thereof shall be served upon the governing body of the county and landowners who filed petition with the governing body for a public hearing. No such appeal shall be tried by the court within ten days after notice is given, as hereinabove provided, unless such notice be waived. The circuit court shall decide the appeal based upon the record and upon such other evidence as may be presented by the parties. Upon the hearing of the appeal, the court shall ascertain and by its order determine whether adequate justification exists for the decision of the governing body that public necessity exists for the continuance of the section of road, public landing, or the crossing as a public road, public landing, or crossing, or that the welfare of the public will be served best by abandoning the section of the road, public landing, or the said crossing as a public road or crossing and shall enter its order accordingly.

Upon any such appeal, if it shall appear to the court that by the abandonment of such section of road, public landing, or such crossing as a public road, public landing, or crossing any party to such appeal would be deprived of access to a public road, the court may cause the railway company and the governing body, or either, to be made parties to the proceedings, if not already parties, and may enter such orders as seem to it just and proper for keeping open such section of road, public landing, or such crossing for the benefit of such party or parties as would by such abandonment be deprived of access to a public road.

(Code 1950, § 33-76.9; 1950, p. 732; 1970, c. 322; 1978, c. 187; 1981, c. 323; 1990, c. 190.)

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Last modified: April 16, 2009