On May 9, 2023, a Williams & Connolly pro bono client received a unanimous voice vote from the Town Council of Berryville, Virginia that blight repairs on her historical structure had been satisfied, helping to ensure preservation of the structure. W&C’s client is the heir-owner of a historical log structure in Virginia. After the structure was given a blight notice, and prior to a Town Council vote, two expensive additional repairs were added to the notice. The Council approved these repairs, violating the lawful process established in the blight ordinance and depriving our client and the public of due process by failing to subject the two new repairs to the notice and scrutiny required under the law.  W&C Discovery Attorney Amanda Koman attended Council meetings and wrote a series of letters on our client’s behalf, ultimately persuading the Council that the two additional repairs had been improperly added to the blight notice and saving the property from demolition. 

With the property no longer considered blighted by the Council, our client is focusing on establishing a non-profit to further fund the property’s restoration and transition into a public museum.