Ann Neil Cosby is a member of the firm's Local Government practice group as well as the firm's Environmental and Land Use teams, where her practice is focused primarily on land use and planning issues, code enforcement, and environmental law litigation.

Ann Neil works closely with Zoning and Community Development staff drafting ordinances and policies to implement zoning and land use concerns, as well as state mandates including the Chesapeake Bay Act and other state law enactments. She prosecutes code and regulatory violations before appellate boards and in courts throughout the state. She has represented localities and individuals in informal and formal hearings before the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and the Virginia Department of Health. She has litigated in the Virginia Supreme Court and Federal District Court the extent to which local governments may regulate the land application of biosolids.

Outside of the land use arena, Ann Neil has significant experience with the Telecommunications Act and the regulation of local cable franchises as well as other regulatory matters. On the private side, Ann Neil represents property owners in zoning and land use matters before local and state bodies on both administrative and judicial levels. She has successfully defended commercial clients against claims brought under RCRA and other environmental statutes, and is well versed in the state's Underground Storage Tank Regulations.

Ann Neil assists with the Central Virginia Legal Aid Society' Richmond Protective Order Project. She is also a member of Site Development Committee for Virginia Supportive Housing. She is a volunteer for the American Cancer Society and serves as Chair of the Zoning Committee for the Ginter Park Neighborhood Association.  

Articles

• What Virginia Planners Should Know About Substantive Due Process, CPEAV Newsletter, Fall 2006.
• How to Survive an Enforcement Action: What Virginia Businesses Need to Know about Responding to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (from Virginia Business magazine, June 2006)
• Supreme Court Rules Local Governments Can Condemn To Benefit Private Development (July 2005)
• “THE RESOURCE CONSERVATION AND RECOVERY ACT,” DRI Practice Manual (2001).

Resources

• Tips Card for Implementing New Transportation Requirements & Strategies