Purcellville will ask Supreme Court to rehear planning cases
By Shannon Sollinger
Purcellville will petition the Virginia Supreme Court to rehear arguments in the disputes between the town and the county over which jurisdiction gets to decide what concerning development in the urban growth area surrounding the town.
The court ruled Sept. 12 that the Purcellville Urban Growth Area Management Plan (PUGAMP), signed by elected leaders of the town and county in 1995, is valid and that Purcellville can take part in planning decisions in the 3,100-acre urban growth area.
At the same time, the high court lumped planning and zoning together, and ruled that the town has no decision-making authority in the urban growth area that lies beyond the current town boundaries.
The town has 30 days after the Sept. 12 ruling in the case to petition the Supreme Court for a rehearing, according to the rules of the court. Should the court agree to rehear the case, the county will have 21 days to file its briefs. Oral arguments would follow. The high school project at the center of the disagreement would be on hold until the process plays itself out and the court issues another ruling or declines to rehear the case.
Councilman Gregory Wagner made the motion at the Sept. 17 emergency session of the council to ask the court to clarify the ruling.
The council needs clarification on how and where the court has drawn a line between planning and zoning, Wagner said. The only way to get that clarification, he said, is to ask the court to rehear the case.
"The other piece is a general lack of clarity on the idea of joint management," Wagner said. "Planning is the heart of PUGAMP.”
Wagner said he does not believe the county is trying to get rid of the PUGAMP entirely. "But that could be the unintended consequence" of these challenges, he said.
Council member Joan Lehr seconded the motion. Council members C.J. Walker and Tom Priscilla voted in favor of the petition for a rehearing.
Mayor Bob Lazaro and council members James Wiley and Steve Varmecky voted not to pursue a rehearing.
"I would rather spend our time working on a negotiated settlement," Lazaro said.
According to Lazaro, council member Tom Priscilla has met several times with Board of Supervisors Chairman Scott York (I-at large) to discuss the issues and look for a fair settlement that would open the way for the school to be built.
Still waiting for a day in court is the town's lawsuit challenging the county's plan to build the school with its own on-site sewage system. Loudoun's Circuit Court has put that suit on hold until 90 days after the Supreme Court's decision in the PUGAMP cases. If the Supreme Court agrees to rehear the PUGAMP arguments, the sewer challenge will not be heard until a later date.