Cross Creek Shopping Center (Costco) Trial Awaits Court's Decision

The matter of James Rohr vs. Board of Supervisors of Fauquier  County and Cross Creek Investments LLC, challenging the Board's approval of Cross Creek Shopping Center with Costco in New Baltimore, was tried before the Honorable Judge Parker on December 17-19, 2008. In the trial, the Board of Supervisors and Developer maintained their position that the mandatory standard under Fauquier County Zoning Ordinance 5-006, that states all special exception uses shall be in accordance with the applicable provisions of the adopted Comprehensive Plan, does not require the Board to follow the Plan, which is just a guide.  Staff from the Office of Community Development, including the Director and the senior planner assigned the Costco application as well as various pending applications in New Baltimore, contended for the first time during this special exception process that the New Baltimore Service District Plan precluding the creation of a destination retail concentration or "big box" store within the Service District, found under the commercial land-use objectives of the Plan on page 20, either only applies to Vint Hill, and no where else within the Service District (Holly Meade), or is ambigious (Rick Carr).

James Rohr presented evidence in support of his claim that the Board's 3-2 approval of the Cross Creek Shopping Center with Costco was unreasonable and arbitrary, to include: The Defendants ignored numbers relating to the actual cardmember count for a Costco store because it would delay the special exception process; The Defendants ignored the regional character of a store such as Costco during the process, which has a radial draw of 25 miles;  Due to traffic concerns when viewed at the projected build-out year of 2012, Defendants reduced the build-out year to 2009, prohibiting a reasonable determination of the impact of the Shopping Center with Costco on the neighborhood and New Baltimore community;  The traffic associated with the shopping center - over 20,000 daily, seven days a week - on roads already deeemed by the County to need traffic calming measures under existing conditions, is unreasonable;  Many improvements identified as necessary are not part of the application, and are not funded nor planned to be done;  and the New Baltimore Comprehensive Plan calls for commercial development that serves the local community, and specifically precludes a retail concentration such as Cross Creek Shopping Center and big box store such as Costco in the Service District.

The Defendants' presented evidence during their case concerning money spent by the County to supply water and sewage to the subject area, which the County wishes to recoup; that specific features related to the project are designed to buffer the project from the community; and that alternative by-right development options exist. 

The Honorable Judge Parker has taken the case under advisement, and the Court's decision is expected some time in the next few weeks.