Opinion ID: 1058461
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Town's First Appeal from the County BZA

Text: Artman's June 22, 2006 letter denying the Town's June 19 appeal to the County BZA also contained the following determinations: 1. Development of Fields Farm is exclusively governed by the Loudoun County Zoning Ordinance and only the County Zoning Administrator may make binding determinations regarding the applicable zoning regulations. 2. No Town official is authorized to make any ... determination ... concerning property in the unincorporated portion of the County, [s]pecifically, no Town official has authority to make determinations regarding [c]ommission [p]ermit requirements incorporated as part of the [Loudoun County Zoning Ordinance]. 3. Even where a commission permit may be required for a school facility within the UGA, no commission permit is required from the Town under the Loudoun County Zoning Ordinance. HS-3's development does not require a commission permit in any event because the location of a public high school at Fields Farm is a feature shown on the PUGAMP. The Town appealed these determinations to the County BZA. The County BZA held a public hearing on the matter, but limited its review of the Town's arguments to the extent they related to the Loudoun County Zoning Ordinance, determining that its authority was restricted to ... the interpretation of zoning. The County BZA subsequently denied the Town's appeal and upheld Artman's June 22 determinations. The Town filed a petition for a writ of certiorari in the circuit court pursuant to Code § 15.2-2314, seeking review of the County BZA's decision. Specifically, the Town contended that the County BZA incorrectly concluded that only the County Zoning Administrator and the Loudoun County Zoning Ordinance control determinations regarding the issuance of commission permits for public uses in the UGA; that the PUGAMP requires the Town engage in consistency determinations of proposed public uses in the UGA; that HS-3 is not a feature shown on the PUGAMP; and that, consequently, the commission permit process mandated by Code § 15.2-2232 and the Town and County Zoning Ordinances must be followed. The Board of Supervisors and the School Board filed an answer as intervening defendants, asserting the Town did not have the authority to make decisions concerning new development within the UGA.