On February 3, Judge Daniel Bouton of the Orange County circuit court heard arguments from attorneys concerning the proposed Wal-Mart to be built on Route 3 near Fredericksburg, on the hillside that overlooks the Wilderness Battlefield, where 29,000 casualties were sustained during the Civil War.
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READ MORE History repeats itself as Wal-Mart eyes the Wilderness Battlefield |
“We as preservationists can’t move the Battlefield,” argues Zann Nelson, spokesperson for the Friends of the Wilderness Battlefield (FOWB). “They can re-locate a building that hasn’t even broken ground yet.”
The special-use permit was approved by the Orange County Board of Supervisors 4-1 in August, after which time the FOWB, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and six Locust Grove residents filed suit against the Board, claiming that its decision to grant permits was arbitrary, lacked valid recommendation from the planning commission and that the zoning fails to comply with state code.
Sharon Pandak, an attorney representing Orange County, argued that the plaintiffs had no standing to bring suit against the Board, and what their case ultimately boiled down to was that “the board didn’t listen to ‘them.’” Robert Rosenbaum, attorney for the plaintiffs, argued that the Board failed to consider dozens of recommendations from planners and experts, as well as the Governor and the House of Delegates.
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Is a 19th century Civil War site an ideal spot for a 21st century retailer? An 1864 map of the Wilderness Battlefield shows the land that saw 29,000 casualties, and may see a Wal-Mart. |
“This is about traffic, noise and pollution,” Rosenbaum told reporters on February 3. “Real concerns for someone near the project and cause for study.”
“Even if you take their complaint at its very best,” says Pandak, “all it shows is another school of thought for that piece of property.”
But preservationists aren’t giving up that easily. “We have no axe to grind with Orange County, the Board of Supervisors or even Wal-Mart,” says Nelson. “We are opposed to any super-structure of this profile on this location.”
Established by an Act of Congress in 1927, the Wilderness Battlefield is part of the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park (FRSP). The park-owned portion of the Battlefield comprises 2,774 acres, and offers visitors driving tours, walking trails, and tours of the Ellwood Manor, its lone remaining structure on Wilderness.
“If you ask residents if they want a Wal-Mart,” says Nelson, “the answer will be a resounding ‘yes’. But ask them if they’d rather have a Wal-Mart closer to the town of Orange or at the Wilderness Battlefield, and you might get a different answer.”
Judge Bouton must first rule on whether the plaintiffs have standing to even bring this case to trial. Pandak’s first move was to file a demurrer calling for dismissal. She argues that even if what the plaintiffs say is true, the Board of Supervisors was well within its rights to grant Wal-Mart its permits, and that there are no legal grounds for the case.
“As far as the matter of standing goes,” argues Nelson, “one of the elements of Virginia code is that you have a monetary investment in the outcome. Well, for 15 years the FOWB has had a formal agreement with the National Park Services to manage the Ellwood Manor. We have an investment of almost $600,000 raised, which we are responsible for, and which we’ve put back into that house to allow it to be offered to the public as a place of history.”
After hearing arguments from both attorneys for more than three hours, Judge Bouton handed down no opinion on the matter, admitting that it could take several weeks until a final decision is made.
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