“I’m taking my direction from the mayor, from the vice mayor, from the town manager” –  Summer Wilkes, Planning and Community Development Director

By Valerie Cury

At the May 16 Purcellville Planning Commission meeting commissioners expressed surprise when they found out that Mayor Stan Milan and Vice Mayor Erin Rayner directed the town manager to put out a Request for Quotation, later revised to Request for Qualifications, for a Historic Downtown Master Plan along with Design Guidelines. A master plan for the downtown area is not a priority mentioned in the Town’s 2030 Comprehensive Plan. In addition, something of this nature is a legislative action, and should have been discussed in an open meeting with a majority vote to approve moving forward.

The Vineyard Square approved plan in historic downtown on 21st Street is a 6-story commercial project with 40 condos – even though multi-family housing is not allowed in the C-4 District. This was passed by the Lazaro council (with two extensions) nearly 14 years ago but has not moved forward, although developer Casey Chapman has had active permits for the project during this period. His permits for Vineyard Square are set to expire June 2025. If they expire, he would have to resubmit a proposal with uses that are allowed in this district.

Since 2020 Vice Mayor Erin Rayner has received $72,476 in campaign donations – over $24,000 of which have been from Chapman, his affiliates and one of his relatives’ employees. Chapman’s footprint in the area has grown over recent years to incorporate three homes on Hatcher Avenue which he plans to tear down and replace with larger mixed-use buildings. He and other investors also currently own Valley Business Park on 21st Street.

Planning and Community Development Director Summer Wilkes, who is also the Town’s Zoning Administrator, informed the commissioners that the town has submitted an RFQ for a downtown master plan and design guidelines. She said this “is something the comprehensive plan has obviously noted.”

Planning Commissioner Nedim Ogelman asked if there was “a vote taken to support this from the town council – from the planning commission? This seems like it’s moving ahead without any kind of legislative process.”

Wilkes replied, “This was an initiative of the mayor and vice mayor, and the council. There was no vote.”

“You said the mayor and vice mayor and the council? So they voted?” asked Ogelman. “There was no vote,” said Wilkes.

Ogelman asked how this could then be an initiative. “How do you know this is an initiative of the council?”

Wilkes explained that an RFQ is “an implementation of the comprehensive plan – so anything that is in the comprehensive plan as implementation – is handed to staff to basically implement. Not everything requires a vote.”

Ogelman pointed out that “there is nothing in the comprehensive plan that talks about this [doing a master plan of the downtown].” He explained that when the planning commission has asked the council for support in the past with the comprehensive plan and the zoning ordinance the council would conduct a vote.

Said Ogelman, “The reason you do that is so that you have a transparent process and citizens of the town know and are invested in the idea that you are going to be doing something.” Ogelman said if the process was not discussed in public first and voted on staff could “just look at the comprehensive plan and just move right ahead with the zoning.” 

“This isn’t the way you do representative democracy. This seems like some kind of bureaucratic authoritarianism, like you all are just doing things on your own.” 

Wilkes said that the downtown area is a focus area and therefore has a “recommendation” talking about “additional detail and planning.” 

Commissioner Ron Rise Sr. pointed out that there was a “very well done” masterplan of the area in 2005. “I don’t know what this costs to do, but as a taxpayer, do we really think there is going to be an additional change?”

“My concern is you are going to spend taxpayer money, which is my money and other peoples’ money to do this again and the outcome is going to be the same,” said Rise Sr.

Wilkes said the 2005 master plan was not detailed enough. She said the RFQ is asking for a detailed physical plan with a detailed set of standards to include roads, streets, right of ways, easements and design guidelines.

Rise Sr. asked if there is “an estimated cost to the taxpayers for this?” Wilkes said, “At this point we are soliciting quotes.”

Ogelman said, “Looking through our comprehensive plan the only references to a master plan is for a Parks and Open Space Master Plan.”

Wilkes said that the rational is the “very fact that the downtown has been identified as a focus area.” 

“What about all the other focus areas of the master plan?” asked Ogelman. Wilkes said this is the first and there will be others.

Ogelman said, “I want to see direction and guidance from my elected officials. I want them to take responsibility for what is going on. I don’t want people who are not citizens of the town, who don’t live in town, and who don’t pay the town taxes, making these decisions on their own without any transparency and guidance from the elected representatives.”

Wilkes reiterated, “I’m taking my direction from the mayor and the council. This is not my initiative.”

“Well you’re not taking direction from the council because the council did not vote on this matter,” said Council Member and Planning Commission Liaison Chris Bertaut.

“I understand that, but I am taking my direction not from me but from my superiors.”

“So who are you taking your direction from? Because citizens need to know if their elected representatives through votes are making legislative decisions, or if non-elected people are making decisions on their behalf with no accountability,” said Ogelman.

Finally, Wilkes said, “I’m taking my direction from the mayor, from the vice mayor, from the town manager.”  She added she was taking “her direction from the comprehensive plan.”

Ogelman said, “That is not a strong argument; that is a very weak argument. The comprehensive plan itself did go through a democratic process where the representatives held themselves accountable.”

Ogelman said the process seemed backwards and before the work is done it should go to a vote and “you get your direction and guidance form the elected officials and then you move forward with that.” He said that is what he did when he served on town council.

“The mayor and the vice mayor are members of that elected body; they are not a majority of the members of that elected body.” He said the majority of council may decide to support this, but if it is done in a council meeting then the members would be accountable. 

Wilkes said she is trying to implement the comprehensive plan.

Rise Sr. asked if “there is a line item in the 2025 budget for this activity?” Wilkes said, “We are investigating sources from the remainder of the FY24 budget as well as the FY25 budget.

“So there is a remainder of the FY24 budget that is not allocated? asked Rise Sr. “Yet we have a huge debt payment coming. I would think that money would be put on that as opposed to this. 

“The townspeople especially the most venerable in our town have taken on a very large utility increase cost in the 16 percentile.” Rise Sr. said there is a process problem if monies that are left over are just spent on any project. 

Rise Sr. said, “It should go through the town council in the proper way and be voted on.” That way “they have accountability for it, and can explain why that money is not being put toward” paying down the town’s debt. 

Wilkes said the downtown is the “economic engine” of the town and it should be a top priority. 

Ogelman answered, “I think this position you are taking is a values and policy position that in my opinion you don’t have the authority to take.

“It is not your job to take those kind of value choices and I disagree with you strongly that our comprehensive plan privileges and highlights somehow, focusing on this masterplan idea for downtown over other aspects. That is not sourced in any kind of evidence whatsoever.”

The planning commission voted unanimously on a resolution saying that the proposed downtown masterplan deviated from the “spirit and language of the 2030 Plan Purcellville Comprehensive Plan. The only master plan that the comprehensive plan highlights is to review and update the Parks and Recreation and Open Space Master Plan. They also stressed that completing the zoning ordinance rewrite was a top priority.