City attorney: July 1 state law changes impose zoning, FOIA, tenant-enforcement and gun‑buyback duties
July 06, 2026 | Roanoke City, Virginia
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Laura Karini, Roanoke’s city attorney, briefed the committee on July 6 about state law changes that took effect July 1 and that require city implementation.
"State code trumps city code," Karini told the committee, warning that local ordinances must be updated or otherwise operated consistent with the new state provisions. She summarized a set of statutory changes that the city must address in coming months: zoning amendments imposed by state law, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) restrictions that limit adding items to an agenda after it is published, a transition to the state web filing system for conflict-of-interest disclosures, procurement-law updates and a new statutory mechanism allowing the city to sue landlords on behalf of tenants in some habitability cases (with notice and procedural protections).
Karini said the city will work with planning, code‑enforcement, procurement and communications staff to implement the changes. She noted that the FOIA change means the city generally cannot add agenda items after publication except when those matters are properly the subject of a previously closed meeting. The new procurement language and state filing system will require administrative transitions, she added.
On public safety, Karini said the statute requires the city to institute an annual gun buyback program and that the police and budget offices will coordinate to implement it.
Council members asked procedural follow-ups, including how tenant‑suit settlements would be handled and whether the rental-inspection program could feed into enforcement under the new law; Karini said she would research specific settlement distributions and expected to work with code enforcement to map enforcement pathways.
The committee recessed for closed sessions later in the afternoon after approving the motions to convene such meetings earlier in the morning; the committee will follow up as departments present implementation plans and draft code changes.
"State code trumps city code," Karini told the committee, warning that local ordinances must be updated or otherwise operated consistent with the new state provisions. She summarized a set of statutory changes that the city must address in coming months: zoning amendments imposed by state law, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) restrictions that limit adding items to an agenda after it is published, a transition to the state web filing system for conflict-of-interest disclosures, procurement-law updates and a new statutory mechanism allowing the city to sue landlords on behalf of tenants in some habitability cases (with notice and procedural protections).
Karini said the city will work with planning, code‑enforcement, procurement and communications staff to implement the changes. She noted that the FOIA change means the city generally cannot add agenda items after publication except when those matters are properly the subject of a previously closed meeting. The new procurement language and state filing system will require administrative transitions, she added.
On public safety, Karini said the statute requires the city to institute an annual gun buyback program and that the police and budget offices will coordinate to implement it.
Council members asked procedural follow-ups, including how tenant‑suit settlements would be handled and whether the rental-inspection program could feed into enforcement under the new law; Karini said she would research specific settlement distributions and expected to work with code enforcement to map enforcement pathways.
The committee recessed for closed sessions later in the afternoon after approving the motions to convene such meetings earlier in the morning; the committee will follow up as departments present implementation plans and draft code changes.
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