Purcellville Could Lose Battle Over High School

Purcellville may have won the war over its right to have a say in development just outside its borders, but it may lose its battle against a proposed high school.

Loudoun County Circuit Court Judge Thomas D. Horne ruled Tuesday that the town's unique land-use agreement with the county gives Purcellville an equal say in decisions involving an area of nearly five square miles outside the town limits. But at a court hearing Friday, Horne indicated that because a high school already is shown on a map in the joint agreement, the town might not have the right to review the county's plans to build the school nearby.

Horne said his written decision probably will be issued early this week. At issue in the case that Horne ruled on Tuesday was the nature of the joint agreement, which was adopted in 1995. Horne agreed with Purcellville officials that it was a legally binding document and that changes in the land-use plan needed to be approved by both parties. He rejected the county's argument that the plan was just a guide. County attorneys asked the judge to reconsider his ruling, a motion that he denied on Friday.

Instead, Friday's hearing involved the town's appeals of three zoning decisions -- two decisions by the county's Board of Zoning Appeals and one by Purcellville's Board of Zoning Appeals. Each stated the town did not have jurisdiction over property outside its boundaries. In one of the cases, the county's zoning administrator, Melinda Artman, wrote that the high school project did not need a town permit because a high school already was depicted on the map in the joint agreement.

Horne indicated Friday that it was clear that the high school was a feature on the map, which gave many in the courtroom the impression that he would uphold Artman's decision to deny the town's right to review the project.

The Loudoun school system's attorney, E. William Chapman, issued a brief statement after Friday's hearing saying that the School Board was "encouraged by Judge Horne's ruling from the bench that the [Board of Zoning Appeals'] decisions were correct."

But Purcellville Mayor Robert W. Lazaro Jr. said it is "premature" to draw any conclusion without a written opinion from the judge.

"It's my understanding that the town is going to have a voice . . . and we welcome having that opportunity," he said.

Although a future high school is shown on the map in the agreement, it is not at the site where the county wants to build the facility. The map shows it northeast of town, on property that has since been subdivided for residential development. The location currently proposed by the county, Fields Farm, is northwest of town and about two miles away. The judge is expected to address the issue of how closely facilities need to match the placement of features on the 1995 plan in order for the county to be allowed to bypass town review.

"We're not arguing that it has to be in the exact area, but it has to be within striking distance," Chandra D. Lantz, a lawyer representing the town, told the judge. She said the two locations are far enough apart that they would likely have different effects on transportation and utilities.

The county's attorney argued for the judge to uphold Artman's decision that a new facility does not need a town permit if it is in the "general vicinity" of the feature shown on the map.

After the hearing, Krista Klemens, organizer of the Alliance of Western Loudoun Citizens for Schools, said she was hoping the case would be resolved soon so that children in western Loudoun would have a new school, relieving the crowding at Loudoun Valley High School. "Fields Farm may not be optimal, but it's what we have right now," she said.

Despite the ongoing litigation, school officials have been moving forward with plans to open the proposed high school at the Fields Farm location in fall 2008 or early 2009. They have been holding boundary hearings, and a public hearing before the Loudoun County Planning Commission (to consider a special-exception permit for the school) is scheduled for tomorrow.