Purcellville’s Problem

What follows is a personal reflection that gradually gives way to satire—a speculative look at where current civic habits, if left unchecked, could lead. 

By Charlie Houston

Retrospection can bring warm memories or cold anger. I’ve experienced both since moving here thirty years ago. Memory is generous; the present, less so—and often deserving of a raised eyebrow. The warm feelings started immediately, the anger more recently—I’m not happy about sprawl, traffic and taxes.

Our farm is about equidistant from Leesburg and Purcellville so I’ll talk about both, then and now.

Leesburg

Thirty years ago, it was a wonderful small town but, oh has it grown. Groan! When I was a newcomer there were many antique shops downtown. Antique stores generally need low rents, so their predominance was a measure of a slow downtown economy. Now we see restaurants and specialty shops, so downtown is relatively booming. I miss the antique shops, though. The nearest Home Depot back then was in Sterling—an inconvenience when you’re renovating an old, worn-out farm. I don’t remember any shops selling men’s clothing. I also don’t remember much traffic.

In truth, some change has been good. I hate to admit it, but I sometimes visit the Outlet Mall. We have our own Home Depot and more places to eat.

Back then I read the community newspapers but remained generally unaware of local government and politics. That’s the way it should be and still is in Leesburg—a government that functions with little tumult.

 Purcellville

When I was new to Loudoun I loved this little town. Down-home restaurants serving blue plate specials. Antique shops. Some great businesses like Browning Equipment and Nichols Hardware. Now? Pretty farms south of town desecrated with banal subdivisions. Horrid traffic. And constant squabbles at the Town Council, Lordy, featuring loud political venom and personal attacks. It’s puerile, infantile and irksome. 

From eight crow-miles away I can hear the yawping and yelling when its Town Council meets. A knowledgeable friend summed it up, “Lord knows they need some sanity in that town.”

Congress is generally held in low regard, and has some razor-thin decisions but generally avoids the name calling and personal attacks (and lawsuits) that characterize Purcellville politics. In other words, it’s possible for governing bodies to have a modicum of respectfulness. So why not in Purcellville?

Sometimes it’s difficult to figure out what sets Purcellville’s Council to nasty one-sided attacks. As near as I can tell, there are two camps on the Council, the good guys and the bad guys. The good guys are leery of growth. The bad guys love it. They also indulge in sleazy, personal attacks.

With bushels of developer money, if a mythical Council member and mayoral candidate whom I call “Eris” and her slate carry the fall elections, be prepared for more taxes, more growth and more traffic. And more homegrown puerility.

The Town Council is generally divided by one seat so many contentious decisions regarding growth and spending are decided by a single vote. There’s much arguing about annexations, taxes, the police department and Town government in general. Many pro-growth land use ideas were not supported by the town’s Comprehensive Plan or its Zoning Ordinance, so if Eris becomes mayor, she could push her lackeys on a new Town Council to change both foundational documents to suit her growth agenda.

Dramatis Personae

That term means the people in the play, and I’ll name three of them: Former mayor Kwasi Fraser who seems honest, innovative and a victim of dirty politics that would impress the ghost of Richard Nixon. Ben Nett, though I don’t know him but believe the favorable opinions of people whose judgement I trust. Those are among the good guys.

There are three slick and well-connected bad guys and gals.

I already mentioned the third name, “Eris.” (As I said, much of this is fantasy. Or perhaps a bad dream.)Her parents may have gotten “Eris” from a book on Greek mythology but they should have read it more carefully: Eris was the goddess of strife and discord. That given name is very appropriate now. She’s likely the puppet-master behind a lot of Council shenanigans and already has a posse that disrupts meetings and slings mud.

Mythical Eris is running for mayor. If elected, that could be the end of Purcellville as we know it.

 A Bad Dream: Purcellville in 2033

After eight years of Eris’s reign the Council has expanded to 23 members following a 6 -3 vote on her motion in 2032. The fourteen new members were selected by unanimous acclamation of the Council, and include Eris’ brother and sister, eight local developers and her four children.

A combination of new debt and higher taxes let this Town Council ram through massive construction projects. Two were aimed at traffic problems. Using its power of eminent domain, the Town condemned slices of front lawns to widen Main Street to four lanes. 

Eris had the town complete the Northern Collector, now at four lanes and expandable to six. (Due to new residential growth under his leadership, both roads are now clogged with cars after only about six months of smooth flow.) She led the Council to a unanimous vote to annex the Valley Commerce Center, approve the demolition of its low-rise commercial buildings and welcome 2.5 million square feet of data center space there. 

Eminent domain let the Town condemn the country club, where a Walmart has just opened and a Costco is under construction. 

A new landmark is also underway. It’s the ballyhooed Eris Tower, a shiny twenty- story office and apartment tower on 21st Street. To kickstart its marketing the developer has just signed a lease for four floors; the space will be the new Town Hall.

Eris will get a corner office on the top floor. Some wags speculate that she might be a silent partner in the Tower’s ownership.

Satire aside, I have a wan hope that Purcellville’s future returns to the pleasant and civil past it used to enjoy.

A native Georgian, Charles Houston often notes that his home state has less than ten pretty towns and villages, while Loudoun itself has at least fifty. Or forty-nine if Purcellville is lost.