Terms Used In Virginia Code > Title 25.1 > Chapter 4 - Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies

• Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
• Alternate operator services provider: means a telecommunications company, other than a local exchange company or interexchange company certificated by the State Corporation Commission or an affiliate or agent of such a company, which provides intrastate long distance operator assisted services where human or automated call intervention is necessary for obtaining billing information from the end-user. See Virginia Code 59.1-425
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• Appraisal: means a written statement independently and impartially prepared by a qualified appraiser setting forth an opinion of defined value of an adequately described property as of a specific date, supported by the presentation and analysis of relevant market information. See Virginia Code 25.1-100
• Bank: means a corporation authorized by statute to accept deposits and to hold itself out to the public as engaged in the banking business in the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 6.2-800
• Board: means the Commonwealth Transportation Board. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• Business: means any lawful activity, except a farm operation, conducted primarily:

  1. See Virginia Code 25.1-400

• City: has the meaning assigned to it in § 1-208. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• Commission: means the State Corporation Commission. See Virginia Code 6.2-100
• Commissioner of Highways: means the individual who serves as the chief executive officer of the Department of Transportation. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• Comparable replacement dwelling: means any dwelling that is (i) decent, safe and sanitary; (ii) adequate in size to accommodate the occupants; (iii) within the financial means of the displaced person; (iv) functionally equivalent; (v) in an area not subject to unreasonable adverse environmental conditions; and (vi) in a location generally not less desirable than the location of the displaced person's dwelling with respect to public utilities, facilities, services and the displaced person's place of employment. See Virginia Code 25.1-400
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Court: means the court having jurisdiction as provided in § Virginia Code 25.1-100
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Date of valuation: means the time of the lawful taking by the petitioner, or the date of the filing of the petition pursuant to § Virginia Code 25.1-100
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Department: means the Department of Transportation. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• Displaced person: means :

  1. See Virginia Code 25.1-400

• Division: means the Division of Consumer Counsel in the Department of Law. See Virginia Code 59.1-429
• Dwelling: means the place of permanent or customary and usual residence of a person, according to local custom or law, including a single-family house, a single family unit in a two-family, multi-family, or multi-purpose property; a unit of a condominium or cooperative housing project; a nonhousekeeping unit; a mobile home; or any other residential unit. See Virginia Code 25.1-400
• Embezzlement: In most states, embezzlement is defined as theft/larceny of assets (money or property) by a person in a position of trust or responsibility over those assets. Embezzlement typically occurs in the employment and corporate settings. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
• farm: means any person that obtains at least 51 percent of its annual gross income from agricultural operations and produces the agricultural waste used as feedstock for the waste-to-energy technology, (ii) "agricultural waste" means biomass waste materials capable of decomposition that are produced from the raising of plants and animals during agricultural operations, including animal manures, bedding, plant stalks, hulls, and vegetable matter, and (iii) "waste-to-energy technology" means any technology, including but not limited to a methane digester, that converts agricultural waste into gas, steam, or heat that is used to generate electricity on-site. See Virginia Code 1-222.1
• Farm operation: means any activity conducted solely or primarily for the production of one or more agricultural products or commodities, including timber, for sale or home use, and customarily producing such products or commodities in sufficient quantity to be capable of contributing materially to the operator's support. See Virginia Code 25.1-400
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Handling charge: means any charge, fee or sum of money which is paid by a consumer to receive a prize, gift or any item of value including, but not limited to, promotional fees, redemption fees, registration fees or delivery costs. See Virginia Code 59.1-415
• Highway: means the entire width between the boundary lines of every way or place open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel in the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• in writing: include any representation of words, letters, symbols, numbers, or figures, whether (i) printed or inscribed on a tangible medium or (ii) stored in an electronic or other medium and retrievable in a perceivable form and whether an electronic signature authorized by Virginia Code 1-257
• Includes: means includes, but not limited to. See Virginia Code 1-218
• Indictment: The formal charge issued by a grand jury stating that there is enough evidence that the defendant committed the crime to justify having a trial; it is used primarily for felonies.
• item: means any item or service with monetary value. See Virginia Code 59.1-415
• Land: means real estate and all rights and appurtenances thereto, together with the structures and other improvements thereon, and any right, title, interest, estate or claim in or to real estate. See Virginia Code 25.1-100
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Maintenance: means (i) ordinary maintenance; (ii) maintenance replacement; (iii) operations that include traffic signal synchronization, incident management, and other intelligent transportation system functions; and (iv) any other categories of maintenance that may be designated by the Commissioner of Highways. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• Nonprofit organization: means an organization that is exempt from paying federal income taxes under § 501 of the Internal Revenue Code (Virginia Code 25.1-400
• Notice: means actual notification in the manner prescribed in § Virginia Code 59.1-407
• Overhead high voltage line: means all above ground bare or insulated electrical conductors of voltage in excess of 600 volts measured between conductors or measured between a conductor and the ground, except those conductors that are de-energized and grounded or that are enclosed in rigid metallic conduit or flexible armored conduit. See Virginia Code 59.1-407
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Owner: means any person who owns property, provided that the person's ownership of the property is of record in the land records of the clerk's office of the circuit court of the county or city where the property is located. See Virginia Code 25.1-100
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Pay-per-call service: means any passive, interactive, polling, conference, or other similar audiotext service that is accessed through a 900 number exchange or otherwise, and generates a service-related fee billed to a telephone customer. See Virginia Code 59.1-415
• Person: means natural person, firm, business association, company, partnership, corporation or other legal entity. See Virginia Code 59.1-407
• Person: means any natural person, corporation, trust, partnership, association and any other legal entity. See Virginia Code 59.1-415
• Person: means individual and entity. See Virginia Code 59.1-425
• Person: means any (i) individual or (ii) partnership, corporation, limited liability company, association, or other business entity. See Virginia Code 25.1-400
• Person: means any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or other legal or commercial entity. See Virginia Code 6.2-100
• Person responsible for the work: means the person performing or controlling the work. See Virginia Code 59.1-407
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
• Property: means land and personal property, and any right, title, interest, estate or claim in or to such property. See Virginia Code 25.1-100
• Public telephone equipment provider: means any person who makes available for public use telephone equipment with access to the public switched network where a charge is made to the user for such use and intrastate local or long distance service is provided through such equipment by an alternate operator services provider. See Virginia Code 59.1-425
• real estate: includes lands, tenements and hereditaments, and all rights and appurtenances thereto and interests therein, other than a chattel interest. See Virginia Code 1-219
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Secretary: means the Secretary of Transportation. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
• State: includes District of Columbia;

  (f) "Transit facilities" means all real and personal property located in the Zone, necessary or useful in rendering transit service between points within the Zone, by means of rail, bus, water or air and any other mode of travel, including, without limitation, tracks, rights-of-way, bridges, tunnels, subways, rolling stock for rail, motor vehicle, marine and air transportation, stations, terminals and ports, areas for parking and all equipment, fixtures, buildings and structures and services incidental to or required in connection with the performance of transit service;

  (g) "Transit services" means the transportation of persons and their packages and baggage by means of transit facilities between points within the Zone including the transportation of newspapers, express and mail between such points, and charter service which originates within the Zone but does not include taxicab service or individual-ticket-sales sightseeing operations;

  (h) "Transit Zone" or "Zone" means the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Zone created and described in Section 3 as well as any additional area that may be added pursuant to Section 83(a) of this Compact; and

  (i) "WMATC" means Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Commission. See Virginia Code 33.2-3100

• State agency: means any (i) department, agency or instrumentality of the Commonwealth; (ii) public authority, municipal corporation, local governmental unit or political subdivision of the Commonwealth or any department, agency or instrumentality thereof; (iii) person who has the authority to acquire property by eminent domain under state law; or (iv) two or more of the aforementioned that carry out projects that cause persons to be displaced. See Virginia Code 25.1-100
• sworn: means "affirm" or "affirmed. See Virginia Code 1-250
• Telephone company: means a certificated local exchange telephone company which owns, manages, or controls any plant or equipment or any part of a plant or equipment within the Commonwealth for the conveyance of telephone messages, either directly or indirectly. See Virginia Code 59.1-429
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Uneconomic remnant: means a parcel of real property in which the owner is left with an interest after the partial acquisition of the owner's property and which the state agency has determined has little or no value or utility to the owner. See Virginia Code 25.1-400
• United States: includes the 50 states, the District of Columbia the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-255
• Work: means the physical act of performing or preparing to perform any activity under, over, by, or near overhead high voltage lines, including, but not limited to, the operation, erection, handling, storage, or transportation of any tools, machinery, ladders, antennas, equipment, covered equipment, supplies, materials, or apparatus, or the moving of any house or other structure, whenever such activity is done by a person or entity in pursuit of his trade or business. See Virginia Code 59.1-407