Commission backs Purcellville Public Safety Center expansion with conditions over ISR/OSR concerns

The Purcellville Planning Commission recommended approval of a commission permit for an expansion of the Purcellville Public Safety Center (project filings CP 26-01 / SUP 26-02), approving the proposal subject to conditions to address nonconformance with current impervious-surface-ratio (ISR) and open-space-ratio (OSR) requirements.

Planning staff told the commission the site — at 500 North Maple Avenue — is an established institutional-government parcel approved previously under SUP 07-01 and that the expansion adds approximately 7,000 square feet of interior space and a roughly 1,000-square-foot storage building. Staff flagged that the project as submitted would increase impervious area by about 8,000 square feet, leaving the site with an ISR of roughly 0.42 (the ordinance requires 0.31) and an OSR of about 0.53 (the ordinance requires 0.69). Staff recommended approval with conditions that the applicant either meet the ISR/OSR standards or secure a variance or other relief.

Engineer Patrick Van Ize of Timmons Group, speaking for the applicant, and architect Danielle Anderson of Moseley Architects described design goals to preserve apparatus circulation, maintain the building’s existing look and minimize stormwater impacts. Van Ize told the commission that the project is part of a Board of Supervisors capital-improvement plan and that the team seeks to wrap permitting and civil review by November. "We are adding approximately, 8,000 square feet of impervious area," Van Ize said, and estimated the earliest construction start as May 2027 with a 10–12 month build in the best-case schedule.

Commissioners pressed staff and the applicant on alternatives for storage and on whether internal mezzanine storage might avoid footprint expansion; the architect said the existing mechanical and structural layout make converting attic/mezzanine storage impractical and that stakeholder groups opposed removing vehicular circulation needed for apparatus movement and oxygen-fill operations. A commissioner also asked staff and the applicant to use the official facility name consistently; one commissioner said the correct name is the Purcellville Public Safety Center.

The motion to approve the commission permit with the stated conditions passed on a voice tally recorded as three ayes and one abstention. Staff said it will include the commission’s discussion and recommended conditions in materials to the county and any subsequent review.