[NOTE: The Martinsburg Journal, specifically reporter Jeff McCoy,
covered this highly divisive issue fairly.
However, earlier this week, perhaps under pressure,
McCoy was reassigned and this letter was never published. Once again outside developers are undermining
our community and civic culture. Here are some of McCoy’s articles for
background:
Harpers Ferry is at war with
itself. Not since the Civil War has the
community been so divided.
Neighbors no longer speak to each
other. Threats of physical violence
spring up on social media. Public
hearings degenerate into tears and shouting.
Armed police keep order at meetings.
Petitions and counter petitions circulate. One lawsuit is now before the West Virginia
Supreme Court of Appeals. An injunction
has just been filed in the Circuit Court.
What is going on?
Harpers Ferry is at a crossroads.
Harpers Ferry is consistently listed as one of the most historic and scenic
small towns in America. Over 300,000
tourists, and numerous movie production companies, bring revenue to the town
every year. Even with this success, the
area is missing a core element that symbolized it as a tourist mecca for
decades.
The Hilltop House Hotel was a defining
presence in Harpers Ferry since Thomas S. Lovett, an African American
businessman and hotelier, constructed the hotel in 1888. The Hotel’s
breathtaking views, great food, and service became a magnet for America’s
elite. It was the Presidential summer retreat before Camp David. Alexander
Graham Bell, Mark Twain, Carl Sandburg, and Pearl S. Buck were among the
notables who stayed at the Hotel. In 1946, Hilltop House hosted the preliminary
meetings which led the establishment of UNESCO.
Those glory days are long gone. A series of owners let the Hotel deteriorate
until it became a decrepit reflection of its storied past. In 2007, SWaN Investors purchased the hotel
and its adjoining properties, promising to restore the facility.
What has happened since SWaN’s arrival
depends on one’s perspective. Is SWaN a
savior or a nefarious “Harold Hill” preying on citizens’ naiveté turning the
“Music Man” plot into a horror story?
Harpers Ferry’s historic district is
protected by layers of town ordinances complying with West Virginia Law and
guidelines from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the
President’s Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. This regulatory environment is intended to
maintain the architectural integrity. Townspeople must submit detailed forms
and drawings, sometime waiting up to two years to alter a rain gutter or
doorway.
Larger projects, and new construction,
must fit into Harpers Ferry’s comprehensive plan. For projects not fitting, the town has the
ability to issue a “Conditional Use Permit” that grants specific waivers in the
face of a compelling community interest.
This is where the current civil war
began. SWaN refused to follow the town’s
ordinances. SWaN refused to go through the Conditional Use Permit process. SWaN demanded that a new “overlay district”
be created, providing them the flexibility to do build what they wanted as big
as they wanted.
Town officials, desperate for a new
Hilltop House complex, bent to SWaN’s every whim. Local citizens raised concerns: will SWaN
actually build a hotel or flip the property to a buyer who could build a
casino, luxury condos, or something else on the site? SWaN did little to calm the fears, requesting
that requirements for a business plan, and even the requirement for a hotel, be
stripped from the draft overlay ordinance.
Town officials went further. Instead of asking SWaN for proffers, town
officials promised SWaN public resources like expanded water and free police
protection. The town has not issued
citations for the eighty police incidents on derelict SWaN properties, while townspeople
are cited for unmowed lawns.
This unequal treatment has raised
concerns that something else is going on.
It is public record that SWaN’s owners have wined and dined town officials. Rumors swirl of other favors or
pay-offs. Private meetings occur with
SWaN. Townspeople’s public comments are
limited to 2-3 minutes while SWaN representatives are given unlimited time.
As the Harpers Ferry’s civil war
begins its ninth year many wheels are turning.
2017 may see prosecutions over town finances, court rulings to enforce
the rule of law, a voter revolt against the town government, and SWaN leaving. SWaN’s supporters, which include the town’s
elected officials, are hoping the new
year brings them victory with the sounds of dynamite blowing-up the overlay
district, clearing the way for a 450 car underground parking ramp, and a
massive building project.
[Scot
Faulkner has been a resident of the Harpers Ferry area since 1987].
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