By Michael Birnbaum
Originally published at 1:14 p.m., September 12, 2008
Updated at 9:53 a.m., September 13, 2008
Loudoun County, not Purcellville, has the power to review the location of a new high school in western Loudoun, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled yesterday in a decision likely to advance plans for a campus in the region's fastest-growing school system.
High schools are not usually seen as bad neighbors. But in Loudoun, the traffic and infrastructure demands they generate has led Purcellville to fight the construction of a school just outside town limits.
Purcellville officials acknowledge the need for another high school, but they are questioning the location. The town contended in a 2006 lawsuit that the county's chosen site, on a 230-acre parcel north of town known as Fields Farm, violates a 1995 land-use agreement between the county and the town. The county disagreed.
Yesterday, the state's high court found that the location of the planned school is at odds with the 1995 agreement. That will trigger a review by the planning commission that has jurisdiction over the site. The court ruled yesterday that the authority lies with the county's planning commission, not the town's.
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"It looks to me like it is good news for us," said Loudoun School Superintendent Edgar B. Hatrick III. "We look forward to beginning construction."
Purcellville Mayor Robert W. Lazaro Jr. said the court ruling meant the county at least would have to heed the town's concerns. "I'm relieved, because it's been going on long enough," Lazaro said of the legal battle. He added: "We just want the county to work with us, nothing more, nothing less."
Lazaro said he fears that the town of about 6,500 people will be overwhelmed if it is not given a chance to review such major developments near its borders.
"If it's okay for [the school], it's okay for Lowe's. It's okay for Wal-Mart," he said. "We are one of the last real little towns in Northern Virginia."
The county school system, with about 54,000 students in fall 2007, has been growing at a faster rate than any other in the Washington area.
Crowding in western Loudoun schools is apparent every afternoon as school buses and cars choke roads near Loudoun Valley High School in Purcellville. A haze of exhaust settles over the parking lot as cars idle next to the rows of trailers that serve as extra classroom space.
The new school, to be named Woodgrove High, would relieve crowding at Loudoun Valley High and serve developing communities in the county's western sector. A year ago, there were about 1,600 students at Loudoun Valley High.
The court ruling appears to leave few obstacles before the school system can break ground.
The Supreme Court sent the case back to a lower court to work out some details, which might take some additional months. Then the Loudoun County Planning Commission would have to approve the location. County school officials hope to have the school ready by fall 2010.
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