“Let’s Keep Purcellville Charming—It’s Called La Dolce Vita”—Pasquale DiBari

By Valerie Cury

After two unsuccessful attempts to annex the property into the Town of Purcellville—first by a previous owner and currently by applicant Chuck Kuhn—the proposed Valley Commerce Center is now under Loudoun County review. The 117.07-acre project at 17110 Purcellville Road is within the Purcellville Joint Land Management Area just outside town limits and seeks to rezone the site from JLMA-3 to Planned Development–Industrial Park (PD-IP). The Board of Supervisors held a public hearing on April 15.

The applicant has reduced the square footage from earlier plans by 288,892 square feet, bringing the project to 986,000 square feet. Revised plans lower building heights to 32 feet on the western portion of the site and 40 feet on the eastern side. The proposal includes a 358-foot setback from the nearest home and a 60-foot-wide reforestation buffer.

The applicant has designated 300,000 square feet—approximately 30% of the project—for warehouse or storage uses, a change intended to reduce water demand. Plans also call for a private water system producing up to 74,880 gallons per day, although the state will limit approved withdrawals to 43,680 gallons per day. That supply could be supplemented by a secondary well generating 15,000 to 20,000 gallons per day, along with on-site wastewater treatment.

To address concerns about groundwater, the developer has proposed a 24-month monitoring program for nearby wells, along with mitigation measures if impacts are detected. Additional proffers include a northbound left-turn lane into Mayfair and a $500,000 contribution toward improvements at the intersection of Hirst Road, Hatcher Avenue, and Purcellville Road. The development is projected to generate 3,086 weekly vehicle trips.

The applicant is also requesting a zoning modification (ZMOD) to eliminate certain road, water and wastewater standards.

The site is bordered by established residential communities, including Wright Farm to the east and Chestnut Hills to the northwest. Across Purcellville Road to the west lies the Mayfair subdivision, a neighborhood of 262 homes. Additional parcels extend to the west, while two adjoining properties to the east fall within the Hillsboro and Forestal districts. A separate 12-acre parcel, once part of the original property, is located to the south.

While the area is largely residential, industrial uses exist nearby but are not directly adjacent.

Staff estimates that if the property were developed with the allowed 39 homes, baseline water demand would be 13,650 gallons per day.

County staff has identified remaining issues with the application. According to Senior Planner and Project Manager Rachael Iwanczuk, the proposal is inconsistent with the development pattern and land use guidance for the Purcellville JLMA Rural Neighborhood Place Type, as outlined in the Loudoun County 2019 General Plan.

Iwanczuk said the place type supports low-density, large-lot and clustered residential development, along with agricultural and rural economy uses.

Additionally, the impacts of the industrial uses are not adequately mitigated with regard to their proximity to residential uses, with County consultants finding a reasonable potential for offsite effects on water availability.

The owner has offered to monitor offsite wells for up to two years, with on-site mitigation if negative effects are detected. The proposals includes an option to eliminate the Northern Collector Road, and expand tree conservation.

Although the County Planning Commission voted 6-2-1 to approve the project, county planning staff has recommended denial. 

In a Feb. 5, 2025, memorandum, staff found the application inconsistent with the County’s 2019 General Plan and the Purcellville Joint Land Management Area Rural Neighborhood Place Type, stating that “impacts associated with the proposed industrial zoning are not adequately mitigated given the immediate proximity to residential uses.” Staff cited the scale and intensity of the proposal as incompatible with nearby residential properties and rural land-use policies.

Supervisor Laura TeKrony (D-Little River) said she is concerned about the use of on-site wells. “The zoning ordinance requires that industrial projects be served by public utilities.” TeKrony added, “We can’t conclude that there won’t necessarily be impacts.” 

She said a third-party consultant reviewed the hydrogeologic study and disagreed with its conclusion that offsite impacts would not occur. 

Iwanczuk said, “The County’s consultant suggested there’s a reasonable potential that there could be offsite effects.”

Chair Phyllis Randall (D-At Large) said, “I see my main job when I’m having these discussions is land use. I say all the time—I love land use and zoning. This is land use … From a land use point of view, this is not an appropriate use.”

Randall said the County needs “this product very much.”  She said, “It is not the use; it is the land use that does not work for me.”

Senior land use planner Michael Romeo of Walsh, Colucci, Lubeley & Walsh, speaking on behalf of the applicant, said the proposal mitigates impacts more effectively than the by-right residential development.

On the western boundary, he said there will be a 125-foot enhanced buffer along Wright Farm and a 358-foot setback from the nearest home in the Wright Farm neighborhood. Romeo said the planned Route 7/690 interchange will bring significant improvements and reduce pressure on Hirst Road. “It will reduce traffic by 25%.” 

Speaking on behalf of the applicant, Jamie Emery of Emery & Garrett Ground Water Investigations said a large well system would require monthly operations and maintenance, allowing for regular monitoring, while individual homes would rely on private wells without centralized oversight.

Supervisor Caleb Kershner (R-Catoctin) said a 4,500-square-foot home typically uses between 2,000 and 4,000 gallons per day during the summer months with sprinkler use.

TeKrony asked Charles Yudd, director of planning and development for JK Land Holdings, for data supporting his assertion that 39 homes on the 117-acre property would consume more water than the proposed nearly one-million-square-foot industrial development.

Yudd said his assessment was based on utility bill data from similar uses in other localities. He said flex uses vary widely in water demand depending on the mix of office and storage, with long-term storage generally requiring low water usage per square foot. He reiterated that overall water demand would be higher under 39 individual homes.

TeKrony responded, “That’s anecdotal, that’s not data.”

Citizen Comments

Mayor Chris Bertaut urged the Board not to move the proposal forward, saying it would have severe and long-lasting impacts on surrounding residential neighborhoods—“and by surrounding, I mean they literally go around this proposal.”

He said it includes more than 600 homes and brings with it catastrophic increases in traffic and long-term impacts to the availability of groundwater for both residential wells and municipal water supply.

At the Jan. 8, 2025, Purcellville Town Council special meeting, Bertaut, along with Vice Mayor Ben Nett and Council members Carol Luke and Susan Khalil, voted against the Valley Commerce Center annexation proposal. 

Council Members Erin Rayner, Kevin Wright, and Caleb Stought did not vote against the application, saying they had previously been part of a council majority that voted to move the process forward.

He added, “This project was rejected by your planning department because it is fundamentally incompatible with uses envisioned in the County’s Comprehensive Plan and also in Purcellville’s Comprehensive Plan for this area.”

Council Member Erin Rayner asked, “Can you please, please remove the Northern Collector Road portion of Mayfair Crown Drive from Purcellville Road that ends at Centerfield Road from the Transportation Plan?”

However, at the Jan. 14, 2025 Purcellville Town Council meeting—more than a year before the April 15, 2026 County public hearing—Rayner declined to vote to remove the Northern Collector Road from Purcellville’s Transportation Plan. She said, “Just randomly removing this without a transportation study is illogical.”

Mayfair resident Dan Carvill said he was speaking for concerns raised by residents from several nearby communities, including 262 homes in Mayfair, 100 in Wright Farm, 34 in Chestnut Hills, 72 in Catoctin Meadows, and 137 in Old Dominion Valley.

“I want you to think back to when you first owned a home—when you were looking for something safe for your family—where your kids could play in the streets. You wanted a home—a place that matched your values. We chose this area for our homes to start our lives.”

Nan Forbes said hundreds of homeowners near this site have made the biggest financial decision in their lives to have a home in Purcellville. “They have invested financially in Purcellville based on a reliance in the Comprehensive Plan. No one bought their home expecting an industrial park next door … There are traffic issues, water issues and a gross denigration of the rural character of Purcellville and western Loudoun County.”

Michael Parish said that the County planning staff has recommended denial of the application finding it inconsistent with the Comprehensive Plan. He said, “This site is designated as rural neighborhood, not an industrial park.” 

“Even after multiple submissions the County has stated that there is insufficient information to evaluate water usage and impacts,” said Parish.

Ryan Goller, who sells and leases industrial and flex space, spoke in support of the proposal, saying there is a shortage of industrial space, especially in western Loudoun. He said the project is needed and aligns with existing development patterns and that he visits the nearby industrial park on Richardson Lane weekly.

Tony Howard, CEO of the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce, said the Chamber supports the proposed Valley Commerce Center. “Loudoun faces a serious imbalance in its economy imbalances created by critical shortages of flex industrial, light manufacturing and warehouse space that is constraining small business growth.”

Audrey Young said the project is “so detrimental to the health and safety of the general welfare of the residents of Purcellville.”

“I support the Valley Commerce Center to help fellow business like mine grow,” said Scott Moffat with Crisak, LLC.

Chase Stewart a commercial real estate broker said she supports the project because there is a need for more flex space. She said that multiple businesses have gone to Prince William to find space.

“Our town faces a real shortage of light commercial rental space that small service businesses rely on to operate” close to the clients his company serves, said business owner Joseph Parker.

President of JK Moving, David Cox said the project would supply much needed supplemental warehouse space “for our long-term customers, including archives and record storage.”

Lloyd Harting said truck traffic is already bad on Purcellville Road—which is a narrow country road with narrow lanes. “It is physically impossible for two tractor trailers to pass each other going in opposite directions and there are two signs on Purcellville Road which specifically state that through trucks are prohibited.”

Council Member Susan Khalil said, “This project is fundamentally incompatible with both the County’s Comprehensive Plan and the Town of Purcellville’s Comprehensive Plan. These plans exist for a reason—to guide thoughtful, consistent growth that reflects the character and long-term vision of our community.” This proposal does the opposite, she said.

Jenilee Belanger, HOA president for Mayfair and speaking on behalf of the 262 homeowners, said, “We are here today in opposition of the proposed Valley Commerce Center as it represents a fundamental departure of the Loudoun County Comprehensive Plan. It’s a conversion from low intensity to an industrial park designation that was never intended for this area.”

Pasquale DiBari, a Wright Farm resident, said the negative impacts cannot be mitigated. “Please oppose it.”

He said the proposal would “industrialize Purcellville from a rural town to a congested mess. It will open a Pandora’s box for greater unwanted infrastructure needs for second and third order effects.”

DiBari said his family originated from southern Italy, where small charming villages align with a way of life for everyday people to interact, worship, eat, shop, raise their families and enjoy life. “It’s called La Dolce Vita.”

Brook Middleton said, “If you are an HVAC contractor or a plumber or a landscaper and operating from your home you just can’t do that. There is just nowhere to go.” He said the application will be an asset to the community. 

Angela Mendez, a Mayfair resident, said the community she grew up in was so dangerous that “we had an emergency plan in place, not for fire, not for earthquakes but for stray bullets.” She said she shared this “so you can understand how important my home is and my community.”

She said she and her husband worked hard, made sacrifices and saved and held onto one dream—“to give our daughter a better life from the one we came from. Moving to Purcellville wasn’t just buying a home; it wasn’t just a transaction; it was the moment that dream came true. “Please protect our children and reject this proposal.”

Application Moved to May 19 for a vote

Kershner said he was maybe on the fence about the application at the beginning of the meeting. Although he is still undecided, the Board is going through the process.

The application is a “very hard” one because it was approved by the Planning Commission yet opposed by staff—and the neighborhoods oppose it. 

The applicant is “a very responsible applicant … and has done more for Loudoun County than I think anyone else in terms of preservation … so when he comes forward with a project like this, I think it’s with careful eyes.”

“The one question I always ask when we have an application in front of us is nothing is not going to happen … what are the chances we get a worse application.”

Kershner said that he has researched large lot homes and the water use for 39 homes will be 1,000 gallons per day at a minimum, which is the same as “this application.”

He said he heard tonight that we need flex industrial and he doesn’t want the applicant to go elsewhere outside the county.

“It boils down to traffic and the 7/690 Interchange will make this a lot likely a project that will work,” he said.