The word “and” in the sentence above is critically important. A few years ago, Fluvanna lost a court case brought by a developer against the county because of the word “and” in a county ordinance. The Circuit Court judge lectured the county that the word “and” does not mean “or.” Supervisors can’t choose which conditions to enforce when the word “and” is in the list. That word means that every condition listed must be enforced, the judge said.
When supervisors voted the other night, they enforced a condition from the state code but ignored General Robert’s rule and their own bylaws.
Not only did this action result in passage of a controversial motion without a second, it also seems to have set an unfortunate precedent for the board.
From now on, apparently, supervisors may vote on motions without bothering with a second.
Is that the way we want to run our county government?
Bylaws disregarded
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