BY ROBIN KNEPPER
The Orange County Board of Supervisors will ask a judge to dismiss a lawsuit challenging its approval of a Walmart Supercenter in the Wilderness Battlefield area, the county's attorney said yesterday.
The lawsuit--filed Wednesday in Orange County Circuit Court by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Friends of the Wilderness Battlefield and six local residents--claims the supervisors' approval of a special-use permit for the 138,000-square foot store and surrounding retail center was "flawed in numerous respects."
County Attorney Sharon Pandak released a statement yesterday afternoon saying the board "will vigorously defend its land-use decision-making."
"Plaintiffs want to prevent use of land which they do not own," she wrote.
The Supercenter would anchor a 240,000-square-foot retail center on a 51.5-acre parcel northwest of the intersection of State Routes 3 and 20 and a quarter-mile from the entrance to Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park.
The lawsuit claims supervisors "brushed aside" mounting concerns about the negative impacts the store would have on the park and Civil War battlefield where Gens. Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee first clashed 145 years ago.
It asks the court to invalidate the special-use permit and to prevent the county from approving any similar projects until it adds protection of historic resources into its zoning ordinance.
"The Board respects the Plaintiffs' difference of opinion on this policy matter," Pandak wrote. "However, the land subject to the permit issued to Walmart has not been shown to be land on which a battle was fought. Nor have the federal or state governments prohibited development on this private property."
Among the suit's claims:
The board failed to comply with the county's comprehensive plan, which calls for preservation and protection of historic resources.
The county's zoning ordinance is invalid because it fails to comply with state laws that require such ordinances to provide protections for historic sites.
There were procedural defects in the Planning Commission's three separate votes on the landowners' permit request. As a result, the commission did not make a valid recommendation, as required by law.
In her statement, Pandak wrote, "The Board of Supervisors met procedural requirements and gave substantial opportunities for public input and received opinions for and against the proposed development. The Board complied with legal requirements in approving the special-use permit request."
County supervisors contacted yesterday declined to comment directly on the lawsuit, saying Pandak's statement would stand as the county's response for now. But Supervisor Teel Goodwin said he was not surprised by the legal action.
"I told people that we weren't finished with Walmart yet, that there would be a lawsuit," he said.
Opponents have said they do not oppose a Walmart in Orange County, just the site chosen.
"We regret that it's come to this," Russ Smith, superintendent of Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park, said of the lawsuit. "I hope a reasonable solution can still be worked out, that Walmart will move down the road to a location farther from the battlefield. That's what we've been asking all along."
Robin Knepper: 540/972-5701
Email: rknepper@earthlink.net