“It is wholly inappropriate for Councilwoman Trammell to pressure the administration and accuse it of wrongdoing for requiring developers to follow state and federal environmental protection laws that ensure all land development complies with those laws,” Nolan said.

Jackie Coalson, the developer, returned a call Tuesday but said he couldn’t discuss the matter immediately.

Coalson Enterprises and its employees gave Trammell $8,500 in 2019, according to campaign finance information made available through the Virginia Public Access Project. The sum is twice what any other donor has given her, and by far the largest donation reported by a council member last year.

Trammell did not disclose the donations in her remarks Monday. By then, the council chambers had mostly cleared out. Trammell’s colleagues and council staffers who were left appeared perplexed by her statement, which she delivered during the council’s announcements period. Council members typically use the time blocked off at the end of each meeting to share dates of upcoming meetings or community events.

The permit center, based in Room 110 on the ground floor of City Hall, has been the subject of myriad complaints from developers and contractors, who have said delays and disorganization are common.