Town Council Upholds Decision of the Zoning Administrator

Planning Director and Zoning Administrator Lauren Kopishke stood before the Town Council and defended her notice of noncompliance and enforcement order to HEPTAD, LLC, who are currently aggrieved with that recent zoning decision and sent their representative, Doug Napier, to make an appeal at this special meeting on the evening of Monday, December 16, beginning at 7 p.m. in the Front Royal Town Hall at 102 East Main Street. HEPTAD has accused Kopishke of “downzoning” the two parcels that compose Swan Estates and amount to approximately 98.25 acres adjacent to Leach Run Parkway. This, in their estimation, is a taking of value and an overreach of the zoning administrator’s power.

Town Council prepares to hear presentations from the zoning administrator and a representative of HEPTAD. Royal Examiner Photo Credits: Brenden McHugh.

The HEPTAD property was originally zoned R-S Suburban Residential. In 2012, it was rezoned Planned Neighborhood Development (PND) District with certain conditions. This rezoning greatly enhanced what any developer can do with the property, specifically in terms of density. However, the rezoning was conditional upon the submission of a development plan within a year’s time. Over the past twelve years, that development plan has never been submitted. Instead, the Town Council has granted extensions repeatedly, and the prospect of the Town acquiring a right-of-way to Leach Run Parkway in the aftermath of improvements to the road facilitated by the Industrial Development Authority of the Town of Front Royal and the County of Warren, Virginia (EDA) has never materialized.

Town Attorney George Sonnett sits near Mayor Lori Cockrell throughout the zoning administrator’s defense and HEPTAD’s appeal.

This failure to produce a development plan and the annual claim upon the Town’s good grace has positioned HEPTAD in 2024 to see the collapse of several dominoes: the Town Council’s rejection of the request for a further extension after a previous six-month extension, Kopishke’s notice thereof to HEPTAD, and finally her notice of non-compliance and enforcement order dated December 4, 2024, alerting them that in light of the council’s refusal and due to their failure to meet proffered conditions, the conditional rezoning is revoked, and the property reverts back to R-S.

Zoning Administrator Lauren Kopishke presents to the council a defense of her decision pertaining to HEPTAD’s property.

This new disagreement comes on the heels of a lawsuit from HEPTAD against the Town considering the latter’s refusal to amend the proffered conditions. While that is ongoing, this recent development with the zoning administrator paints dark clouds on the horizon in terms of further litigation. Napier, newly employed by HEPTAD last week, performed the job of HEPTAD’s legal representative, John Foote, in the latter’s absence on Monday evening. He focused attention on the state code, claiming that Kopishke does not have the power to reverse a zoning and that the proper channel for such an outcome would be further legislative action from the Town Council.

Representative of HEPTAD Doug Napier presents to the council an appeal of the zoning administrator’s decision pertaining to HEPTAD’s property.

The primary code he referenced was Section 15.2-2299, which enumerates the authority of the zoning administrator. It reads: “The zoning administrator is vested with all necessary authority on behalf of the governing body of the locality to administer and enforce conditions attached to a rezoning or amendment to a zoning map.” If indeed the law is what it is and it is not being bent to serve a whim, then coming at this with an English degree, Kopishke had the necessary authority to act on behalf of the Town Council to administer and enforce the conditions attached to the rezoning. How precisely she executes that task seems to be the rubbing point here.

It would appear that prior to Kopishke’s decision, HEPTAD was aware that reversal of the conditional rezoning might be a reality. In a letter to Kopishke dated June 18, 2024, Foote said the following: “HEPTAD respectfully requests your formal determination that its property has reverted to its R-S zoning classification.” This request was subsequently withdrawn. Did the zoning administrator, in her December 4 notification, identify a condition that was already a reality and simply underline it? In the absence of an extension and the continuing scarcity of a development plan, does the property not automatically lose its conditional status, the condition being unsatisfied? When Mayor Lori Cockrell commented upon the request for a determination, Napier simply said that HEPTAD is puzzled by the Town’s position and the lack of direction in the Town code and offered no further elaboration regarding the request for a determination.

Having questioned both Kopishke and Napier on a wide range of issues that included but were not limited to the disposition of Leach Run Parkway and the alleged taking of value from the HEPTAD property, the council discussed the appeal prior to voting. Councilwoman Amber Veitenthal, who was instrumental in questioning the respective parties and having made a motion to affirm Kopishke’s decision, contributed her thoughts, saying that “reversing the zoning administrator’s opinion would only further convolute matters … I think, if in fact, the representative and the HEPTAD, LLC as a whole were ready to move forward with the development, they would apply for a rezoning and have a developer or a buyer or themselves, which was said at times was going to be the case and move forward with a fresh set of proffers, with a fresh plan, and I think that’s honestly, unfortunately, in my conversations with some developers, what has deterred them, is that there are twelve years going on thirteen of this snowball that’s been rolling downhill with a lot of people involved.”

The council voted 5-1 in favor of affirming Kopishke’s order of enforcement with Councilman Glenn Wood dissenting. A special closed session followed in which the council would address personnel matters pertaining to the town manager.