12 Jan 2026 — The Winchester Star
Clarke County Democrats on Saturday adopted a resolution opposing an upscale hotel complex proposed for western Loudoun County.
Portions of the 147 acres the complex would occupy are within Clarke and Fauquier counties. But all construction, as the project is proposed, would be in Loudoun.
“In the absence of full information concerning the environmental and traffic impacts of the resort,” theresolution reads, “the Clarke County Democratic Committee opposes the development ”
Opponents have raised concerns, too, that the hotel would obscure the Paris Mountain area’s rural scenery.
The resolution asks the Clarke County Board of Supervisors to “take all available steps… including legal action” to prevent the project from coming to fruition.
Supervisors Chairman David Weiss already has sent his Loudoun counterpart, Phyllis Randall, a letter voicing the Clarke board’s concerns about the project.
Because development would be in Loudoun, the resort would have to comply with that county’s rules. Also, Loudoun officials would have to approve the project, a formal proposal for which hasn’t yet come before them.
Approximately 40 local Democrats attended the committee’s monthly meeting at the Sanctuary Wellness Center inBerryville. Only one voted against the resolution. The man didn’t identify himself or explain his reasoning.
Committee leaders plan to ask the Clarke County GOP to adopt a similar resolution. Those at the meetinggenerally agreed that preventing the hotel’s development should be a project involving everyone, regardless of their political affiliations.
Purcellville-based Friends of the Blue Ridge Mountains established the Paris Mountain Alliance to fight the resort. Currently, the alliance consists of 18 local and regional environmental organizations, its website shows.
Friends President Bill Waite, who lives in Clarke County, and Terri Catlett, the county’s Millwood Districtsupervisor who’s a Republican, addressed the Democratic Committee about the project.
Preliminary plans for Eastwind Blue Ridge show a “country inn” having 40 guest rooms within two prefabricatedbuildings plus an 88-seat restaurant, a lounge, a spa and multi-purpose areas. The project’s cost is estimated at $20 million.
New York-based Eastwind Hotels would operate the facility, officials have said.
The proposed location is off U.S. 50 (John Mosby Highway) and Route 601 (Blue Ridge Mountain Road). The entrance to the complex would be along Mount Weather Road in Fauquier, with the Loudoun/Fauquier line apparently bisecting it, said Catlett.
According to Catlett, project details were initially filed with Loudoun County for administrative review as a by-right use of land. That means it wouldn’t be subject to discretionary review by the county’s supervisors.
Since then, she said, Loudoun planning and zoning officials have determined the project would necessitate a “special exemption,” for which a discretionary review as well as a public hearing would be required.
“I’ve heard a lot of concerns” about issues such as road access and plans for the hotel to use well water, she said, adding “they’re very legitimate.”
Still, as the project now stands, “Clarke County doesn’t have a voice in it,” Catlett added.
Under Virginia code, counties have no authority to block zoning actions taken by neighboring counties.
“Even though we don’t have a role to say yes or no, we do have a role in controlling access,” Waite said, if thedevelopers try to install an access to the property in Clarke.
Rules for the county’s Forestal-Open Space-Conservation zoning district — the one that the portion of the site in Clarke covers — wouldn’t allow any amenities being proposed for the resort, Catlett mentioned.
FOC rules prohibit country inns from having more than 15 guest rooms. They don’t permit restaurants and spas at all.
Lowell Smith, a Friends board member who attended the meeting, predicted that stormwater runoff problemswill occur if the forest isn’t allowed to remain. That will cause groundwater quality to suffer, he said.
Waite said he understands from the developers that second and third phases to the project eventually may be pursued on land in Clarke and/or Fauquier.
“I’m very concerned” that they haven’t said what those phases would entail, he said.
“Developers are very cagey,” said Smith. “They’re likely to say (publicly) they don’t have plans for a Phase 2 and a Phase 3.”
“Be very careful” in what you believe, he told the audience.
Some in the crowd suggested that Clarke officials try to stop the project by finding out whether the property has any historical connections.
“No idea is a bad idea,” Waite said.
The most feasible one, he said, may be to find someone who will make an offer for the property, buy it and then put it in a conservation easement.
However, buying it could take a lot of money, he and Smith agreed.
THIS STORY IS PROVIDED FREE COURTESY OF THE WINCHESTER STAR.
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