Recycled Properties, LLC v. City Council of the City of Chesapeake: Virginia Appeals Court Upholds Denial of Warehouse and Office Site Plan as Expansion of Nonconforming Landfill Use

Zoning & Land Use Ruling Issued
Date
October 13, 2026
Court or forum
Court of Appeals of Virginia
State
Virginia
Presiding judge
Kevin M. Duffan
Property type
Industrial
Amount / scale
Site plan approval; statutory damages claim dismissed
Parties
Appellant (Property Owner): Recycled Properties, LLCAppellee: City Council of the City of ChesapeakeAppellee: City of Chesapeake

On October 13, 2026, the Court of Appeals of Virginia affirmed the dismissal of Recycled Properties, LLC's challenge to the City of Chesapeake's refusal to approve a site plan for a warehouse and office building at its construction-debris landfill. The city had found the buildings would expand a legally nonconforming use and asked for more information and a conditional use permit. The court held the owner's complaint, read with the city's denial letter attached to it, did not plead facts showing the denial was arbitrary or outside the zoning ordinance.

Why it matters

Owners of grandfathered industrial sites often assume they can add support buildings without new approvals; this ruling shows Virginia localities can block new structures that support a nonconforming use and can demand more information before approving a site plan. It also shows how attaching a denial letter to a complaint can sink a site plan appeal at the pleading stage if the complaint does not factually rebut each stated ground.

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Recycled Properties, LLC operates a construction and demolition debris landfill and borrow pit in Chesapeake, Virginia, uses that are legally nonconforming under the city's current zoning. In May 2024 it submitted a site plan to the city's Department of Development and Permits to put up a warehouse and an office building on the property. In August 2024 the city disapproved the plan, reasoning that the buildings would expand the nonconforming use, that it lacked enough information about how the buildings would be used, and that a conditional use permit for the nonconforming operations would be needed before approval. The city also cited past zoning violations, a ground it later withdrew.

Case timeline · 3 entries Latest: October 13, 2026 — Court of Appeals of Virginia affirms dismissal of the owner's challenge

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