Mayberry Not Metropolis

Dear Editor:

I have an honest question for my fellow Town of Purcellville residents: Why did you move to Purcellville? 

My family and I moved to Purcellville because we were tired of living in the big city. We were tired of the traffic, the noise, the graffiti, the trash, the air pollution. We were tired of deteriorating schools, rising crime, rampant drug use, and increasingly profane culture all around us. 

We wanted out. Yet, we weren’t looking to live in isolation. We still wanted ready access to goods and services. We wanted to live in a small town. We found that in Purcellville – a community of neighbors; a small town surrounded by other small towns.

My family and I are committed to keeping Purcellville exactly that – a small town that feels like home wherever you go. Like Mayberry, if you will. Baseball games at Fireman’s Field, breakfast at Purcellville Restaurant, ice cream at Gruto’s, stopping in at Nichols Hardware for a quick fix to a household project, date night at Magnolias, taking a walk or bike ride on the W&OD Trail, driving down flag-lined streets on the 4th of July, stopping in at the American Legion for a cold drink on a hot day, forgetting to secure the garage at night but waking up to everything exactly as I left it because of our low crime rate in this, the “Safest City” in all Virginia. 

Sadly, our quality of life is in danger. There are opposing forces who advocate a very different vision for Purcellville. They want Purcellville to become a metropolis. Let’s be clear about what that means. That means big-box stores, skyscraper hotels, high rise office buildings, industrial parks, and data centers. With that mass urbanization comes more traffic, an ever-increasing transient population and, with that, higher property taxes, higher utility rates, more drugs, and more crime.

We need to manage growth so it fits the aesthetics of our town, as envisioned in our Comprehensive Plan, and ensure that our zoning ordinances reflect that desire. We must support our small business community, invest in our infrastructure, revitalize our many dilapidated buildings, preserve our greenscapes and historic properties, and serve as stewards of our financial resources while working to reduce our debt and mitigate what we all know as the “Purcellville Premium.”

Mayberry Not Metropolis. That sums up my vision for the future of Purcellville. It’s a vision of a small-town with thriving businesses; a community of neighbors dedicated to fiscal responsibility, common sense, and mutual respect. It’s a vision of a Town Council free of personal animosities, childish insults, public sniping, and spill-over vendettas.     

To those whose idea of progress is transforming our “Mayberry” into a metropolis, I reply with the words of John Dutton: “I am the opposite of progress. I’m the wall that it bashes against, and I will not be the one who breaks.”

Join me at nettfortowncouncil.com.

Ben Nett

Purcellville