Judge Edward L. Hogshire found Region Ten Community Services Board (www.regionten.org) to be in violation of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (www.usdoj.gove) for holding a closed meeting last February to discuss The Mews, a housing complex for its mentally disabled clients, The Daily Progress reports.
Region Ten, a local mental health agency, will have to pay court fees for Mark Haskins, a city man who has criticized The Mews, located on Little High Street near Martha Jefferson hospital.
 Mark Haskins may have given up the fight against Region Ten, but he will recover his court costs. A judge has ruled the mental health agency must foot the bill because they violated the Freedom of Information Act. |
Region Ten has endured a slew of FOIA requests from Haskins, who represents the Little High Area Neighborhood Association (LHANA) (www.charlottesville.org). LHANA has argued The Mews project should be up for public commentary and a Planning Commission review. LHANA lost that battle last October when the Board of Zoning Appeals said that the complex did not qualify as assisted living.
Region Ten has had several turnovers in administration and says they did their best to comply with the FOIA requests. They were not ordered to hand over notes from the closed session.
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