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Oakcrest considers move
The Oakcrest School may have gotten more challenges than it bargained for with its recent land purchase in the Reston-Vienna area, where it hopes to expand.Oakcrest, which opened in 2000, is a small Catholic girls school with about 200 students in grades six to 12. It occupies the former campus of McLean Bible Church on Balls Hill Road in McLean.
Seeking to expand, the school purchased 23 acres of land on Hunter Mill Road between Reston and Vienna in November for about $15 million.
The school's possible problem can be traced back to to the man from whom it bought the property – aspiring developer John Thoburn. For about 20 years, Thoburn has tried various strategies to have the zoning laws for his property changed to allow more intensive residential and commercial uses, alienating neighbors and planning officials alike.
Thoburn and his land reached their height of fame in 2001, when Thoburn was jailed for contempt-of-court charges stemming from a conflict with Fairfax County over landscaping on the property. The Web site www.freejohnthoburn, created by Thoburn at the time, remains up as a digital memorial to that incident.
Virtually all of his applications to get exceptions, amendments and changes to the comprehensive plan have failed, opposed vocally by his neighbors and a local citizens group, the Hunter Mill Defense League.
Although Oakcrest has met with the Defense League and enjoys a good relationship with its McLean neighbors, Hunter Mill Defense League Board member Steve Hull says he and other Hunter Mill residents see Oakcrest's plans as another strategy by Thoburn.
"The school represents a more intense use, and he can use that to say he should be allowed a more intense use on his own property," Hull said.
Although Hull can point to worries about increased traffic and safety as coming simply from the school's own plans, he admits the greater attention of Hunter Mill Road residents will be on what those plans could mean for Thoburn's remaining property.
"John's motives have been clear from the beginning; everything John does is to set precedent and drive up the zoning and density on his property," Hull said.
According to Oakcrest's attorney Greg Riegle, of McGuire-Woods LLP, the school didn't walk into this situation uninformed. In the 1980s, Riegle worked for Fairfax County on one of Thoburn's special exceptions.
"There aren't many places left in Fairfax County with open land like this," said Riegle, who noted that he believes Oakcrest will able to build on the site.
Oakcrest is still in the early stages of its plans for the property, and the final plans for the new site or future plans for its current McLean campus are unknown.
"We think our relationship with our current neighbors speaks for itself, and we hope to have the same in the future," said Head of School Ellen Cavanagh. --- mtayloe@timespapers.com
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