Letter Intensifies Debate Over Status Of Leesburg Town Attorney

LEESBURG, VA — Three elected Leesburg officials are accusing members of the town council of taking part in a "concerted strategy" to fire the town's attorney. In a letter to the editor of LoudounNow, Mayor Kelly Burke, Vice Mayor Marty Martinez and Councilman Neil Steinberg claimed the town council members, led by Leesburg Councilwoman Suzanne Fox, are trying to terminate the employment contract of Leesburg Town Attorney Barbara Notar "to assist a Loudoun County developer in his attempt to subvert the planning processes of both the Town of Leesburg and Loudoun County."

The four council members — Fox, Tom Dunn, Ron Campbell and Josh Thiel — "appear determined to remove Ms. Notar, whose only offense has been to represent the town in the face of an onslaught of legal attacks by the developer," the Leesburg officials said in the letter published by LoudounNow on Tuesday. The letter also suggested the four council members were unhappy with Notar's leadership in handling a boundary line adjustment process with Loudoun County.

The letter to the editor does not identify the developer by name. But LoudounNow, in an article published later Tuesday, noted that the letter pointed to Fox's acceptance of a $23,000 contribution for her 2019 state Senate campaign from the developer, who the news site identified as David Gregory, the principal of the Zeeland NV property company, which plans to develop the Graydon Manor property west of the town of Leesburg.

In response to the letter, Fox said the allegation that her decisions on the town council are driven by contributions she received for her state Senate campaign are "spurious and baseless allegations [that] appear to be nothing more than politically motivated attacks."

"I have never and would never allow political patronage to influence my actions as a public official. The allegation is offensive and petty," Fox said in an email to Patch.

Fox admits she has been "generally supportive" of some of Gregory's proposed development plans and has been somewhat critical of his treatment by the town. "But I have been similarly supportive of many similar developments proposed by those who have never donated a dime to any of my campaigns, and have also been critical when I have perceived that they have been treated less than fairly," she said.

The proposed development on Graydon Manor land falls outside of the town, but the property is served by the town's sewer system. Town staff has said in presentations to the council that the proposed development on the property, which includes 239 co-housing units, a brewery, winery, convenience store and other amenities, would have a sewage service demand that exceeds the current capabilities of the infrastructure in place to provide service to the property, LoudounNow reported.

Loudoun County officials have taken issue with Gregory's application to develop the Graydon Manor site. Gregory has responded by filing lawsuits against the county, the Loudoun Times-Mirror reported. According to the letter, Leesburg also is facing "threatened litigation over town sewer service to the property."

Steinberg confirmed to LoudounNow that he authored the letter with input from Burk and Martinez. He told the news site that he found it ironic that his council colleagues argued that Notar's employment should be decided in a closed-session discussion when previously they have been opposed to the Graydon Manor project being discussed behind closed doors.

According to the letter to the editor, the four town council members are seeking to remove Notar for how town staff has handled the Graydon Manor project and for the town's position in ongoing negotiations with Loudoun County on a boundary line adjustment.

Notar has served as town attorney since January 2015, Previously, she served as deputy town attorney, beginning in July 2008.

According to a meeting agenda, the town council is scheduled to discuss the annual performance evaluation for Notar, possibly in a closed session, at its next meeting on Jan. 27.

Regarding the letter's references to Notar's status as town attorney, Fox said the attempt to force a public conversation about an internal personnel matter "is wildly inappropriate and violative of our rules of decorum, process and confidentiality."

"No action has been taken on the renewal of Ms. Notar's contract, and I am at a complete loss as to why respected community leaders such as Mr. Steinberg, Mayor Burk, and Mr. Martinez would resort to such irresponsible speculation in such a sensitive matter," she said in the email to Patch. "Slanderous accusations about a colleague and the breaching of employee confidentiality in order to score a few political points, however, is both harmful to the healthy working relationship of our council and potentially exposes the town to liability."