The Rights of Requesters and the Responsibilities of the Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission (CSPDC) under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act
The Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), located at § 2.2-3700 et seq. of the Code of Virginia, guarantees citizens of the Commonwealth and representatives of the media access to certain public records held by public bodies, public officials, and public employees. A public record is any writing or recording — regardless of whether it is a paper record, an electronic file, an audio or video recording, or any other format — that is prepared or owned by, or in the possession of a public body or its officers, employees, or agents in the transaction of public business. All public records are presumed to be open, and may only be withheld if a specific, statutory exemption applies. The policy of FOIA states that the purpose of FOIA is to promote increased awareness by all persons of governmental activities. In furthering this policy, FOIA requires that the law be interpreted liberally, in favor of access, and that any exemption allowing public records to be withheld must be interpreted narrowly.
Your FOIA Rights
You have the right to request to inspect or receive copies of non-exempt public records, or both. You have the right to request that any charges for the requested records be estimated in advance. If you believe that your FOIA rights have been violated, you may file a petition in district or circuit court to compel compliance with FOIA. Alternatively, you may contact the FOIA Council for a nonbinding advisory opinion.
Making a Request for Records from the Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission (CSPDC)
You may request records by U.S. Mail, e-mail, in person, or over the phone. FOIA does not require that your request be in writing, nor do you need to specifically state that you are requesting records under FOIA. From a practical perspective, it may be helpful to both you and the person receiving your request to put your request in writing. This allows you to create a record of your request and gives the CSPDC a clear statement of what records you are seeking, so that there is no misunderstanding over a verbal request. However, we cannot refuse to respond to your FOIA request if you elect to not put it in writing.
Your request must identify the records you are seeking with “reasonable specificity.” This is a common-sense standard. It does not refer to or limit the volume or number of records you are requesting; instead, it requires that you be specific enough so that we can identify and locate the records you are seeking.
Your request must ask for existing records or documents. FOIA gives you a right to inspect or copy records; it does not apply to a situation where you are asking general questions about the work of the CSPDC, nor does it require the CSPDC to create a record that does not exist.
You may choose to receive electronic records in any format used by the CSPDC in the regular course of business. For example, if you are requesting records maintained in an Excel spreadsheet, you may elect to receive those records electronically via e-mail or on a computer disk, or to receive a printed copy.
If we have questions about your request, please cooperate with staff’s efforts to clarify the type of records you are seeking, or to attempt to reach a reasonable agreement about a response to a large request. Making a FOIA request is not an adversarial process, but we may need to discuss your request with you to ensure that we understand what records you are seeking.
To request records from the CSPDC, you may direct your request to Ann Cundy, FOIA Officer:
Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission
112 MacTanly Place Staunton, Virginia 24401
Telephone: (540) 885-5174
Email: ann@cspdc.org
In addition, the Freedom of Information Advisory Council is available to answer any questions you may have about FOIA. The Council may be contacted by e-mail at foiacouncil@dls.virginia.gov, or by phone at (804) 225-3056 or (toll free) 1-866-448-4100.
The CSPDC’s Responsibilities in Responding to Your Request
The CSPDC must respond to your request within five working days of receiving it. “Day One” is considered the day after your request is received. The five-day period does not include weekends or holidays.
The reason behind your request for public records is irrelevant, and you do not have to state why you want the records before we respond. FOIA does, however, allow the CSPDC to require you to provide your name and legal address.
FOIA requires that the CSPDC make one of the following responses within the five-day period:
• We provide you with the records you have requested in their entirety.
• We withhold all the records you have requested because all records are subject to a specific statutory exemption. If all records are being withheld, we must send you a written response identifying the volume and subject matter of the records being withheld and stating the specific section of the Code of Virginia that allows us to withhold them.
• We provide some of the records you have requested but withhold others. We cannot withhold an entire record if only a portion of it is subject to an exemption; in that instance, we may redact the portion that may be withheld and must provide you with the remainder, along with a written response citing the specific statutory basis for the redaction.
• We inform you in writing that the requested records cannot be found or do not exist. If we know that another public body has the requested records, we must include contact information for that public body in our response.
If it is practically impossible for the CSPDC to fully respond within five working days, we must state this in writing, explaining the conditions that make the response impossible. This allows us seven additional working days to respond, for a total of 12 working days. If you request a very large number of records and we determine we cannot respond within 12 working days without disrupting other organizational responsibilities, we may petition the court for additional time. FOIA requires that we first make a reasonable effort to reach an agreement with you concerning the production of records before seeking additional time from a court.
Costs
The CSPDC may make reasonable charges not to exceed its actual cost incurred in accessing, duplicating, supplying, or searching for the requested records. The CSPDC will not impose any extraneous, intermediary, or surplus fees or expenses to recoup the general costs associated with creating or maintaining records or transacting the general business of the public body. Any duplicating fee charged shall not exceed the actual cost of duplication. All charges shall be estimated in advance at the request of the citizen, as set forth in subsection F of § 2.2-3704 of the Code of Virginia.
FOIA allows us to charge for the actual costs of responding to requests, including staff time spent searching for the requested records, copying costs, or any other costs directly related to supplying the requested records. It cannot include general overhead costs.
Prior to conducting a search for records, the CSPDC will notify the requester in writing that the CSPDC may make reasonable charges not to exceed its actual cost incurred in accessing, duplicating, supplying, or searching for requested records and inquire of the requester whether he would like to request a cost estimate in advance of the supplying of the requested records. You may request that we estimate costs in advance, which will allow you to know about any costs upfront or modify your request to reduce them.
If we estimate that it will cost more than $200 to respond to your request, we may require you to pay a deposit — not to exceed the amount of the estimate — before proceeding. The five-day response period does not include the time between when we request a deposit and when you respond.
If you owe the CSPDC money from a previous FOIA request that has remained unpaid for more than 30 days, we will require payment of the past-due balance before responding to a new request.
Types of Records
The following is a general description of the types of records held by the CSPDC:
• Personnel records concerning employees and officials of the CSPDC
• Records of contracts and agreements to which the CSPDC is a party
• Transportation planning and program documents, including Long-Range Transportation Plans, Transportation Improvement Programs, and Unified Planning Work Programs
• Transit planning and operations records and CSPDC’s role as the designated recipient
• Housing and community development records, including CDBG grant files and housing studies
• Environmental and natural resource planning documents
• Economic development studies and regional data analyses
• Grant applications, awards, and administrative records
• Financial records, including budgets, audits, and expenditure reports
• Board of Commissioners and Executive Committee meeting records, including agendas, minutes, and supporting materials
If you are unsure whether the CSPDC has the records you seek, please contact Ann Cundy at the address above.
Commonly Used Exemptions
The Code of Virginia allows any public body to withhold certain records from public disclosure. The CSPDC commonly withholds records subject to the following exemptions:
• Personnel. Personnel records (§ 2.2-3705.1(1))
• Attorney-Client Privilege. Records subject to attorney-client privilege (§ 2.2-3705.1(2)) or attorney work product (§ 2.2-3705.1(3))
• Working Papers. Working papers and correspondence of the chief executive officer of the CSPDC, which is its Executive Director (§ 2.2-3705.7(2))
• Proprietary Software. Vendor proprietary information software (§ 2.2-3705.1(6))
• Proprietary Procurement Data. Confidential information designated as trade secrets or proprietary information in accordance with Virginia Code § 2.2-4342(F) in connection with any procurement transaction, provided that the bidder, offeror, or contractor must (i) invoke the protections of Virginia Code § 2.2-4342(F) prior to or concurrent with the submission of data or other materials, (ii) identify the data and other materials to be protected, and (iii) state the reasons why protection is necessary.
Proprietary DHCD Grant Information. Information related to a grant application that is determined by the Department of Housing and Community Development to be exempt pursuant to Virginia Code § 2.2-3705.6(32) because release of the information would (i) reveal (a) trade secrets, (b) financial information of a grant applicant that is not a public body, including balance sheets and financial statements, that are not generally available to the public through regulatory disclosure or otherwise or (c) research-related information produced or collected by the applicant in the conduct of or as a result of study or research on medical, rehabilitative, scientific, technical, technological, or scholarly issues, when such information has not been publicly released, published, copyrighted, or patented, and (ii) be harmful to the competitive position of the applicant or grant recipient.
Policy Regarding the Use of Exemptions
It is the general policy of the CSPDC to invoke the personnel records exemption in all instances where it applies, to protect the privacy of employees and officials of the CSPDC.
It is the general policy of the CSPDC to invoke the attorney-client privilege and attorney work product exemptions in all instances where they apply, to protect the confidentiality of legal advice and litigation strategy.
It is the general policy of the CSPDC to invoke Proprietary Software, Proprietary Procurement Data, and Proprietary DHCD Grant Information exemptions where they apply, to protect confidential business information submitted to the CSPDC by contractors and consultants.
It is the general policy of the CSPDC to invoke other applicable exemptions as determined necessary or in the best interest of the CSPDC by the Executive Director.
Contact
Ann Cundy, FOIA Officer
Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission
112 MacTanly Place Staunton, Virginia 24401
Telephone: (540) 885-5174
Email: ann@cspdc.org
Date Approved: March 23, 2026