Church Sues Warrenton Over Steeple Ruling By Ian Shapira Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, October 16, 2003; Page LZ03 Warrenton Baptist Church is asking a Fauquier County Circuit Court judge to reverse a recent Town Council decision that prevents the church from replacing its damaged,130-year-old wooden steeple with a less expensive fiberglass replica. In court documents filed Oct. 9, the church says the Town Council's unanimous decision in September was "arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable" and that it "unreasonably and without lawful justification" imposes thousands of dollars in expenses on the church. The court case is the latest twist in a bitter battle between the 155-year-old church on Main Street and the Town of Warrenton. In June, the town's Architectural Review Board rejected the fiberglass proposal, and the church appealed to the Town Council. Church supporters and opponents packed Town Hall for the meeting, during which Supervisor Larry L. Weeks (R-Scott) threatened to sue Town Council members if they rejected the fiberglass proposal. But the council ruled the synthetic material would cheapen the historic look of the nearly 200-year-old Fauquier County seat. Engineering reports prepared for the church said it would cost about $500,000 for a new wooden steeple, about $354,000 to repair the existing steeple and about $276,000 for a fiberglass replica. The appeal was filed by four church trustees: Rebecca Hayes, a professor at Mary Washington College; Harvey Pearson, a former Fauquier County Circuit Court clerk; William T. Miller, a banker; and William R. Benner, a retired farmer and mail carrier. "It seems clear to me that local authorities have certain control over architectural guidelines, but whether that extends to restoration, I am not sure. That's under question," Hayes said. © 2003 The Washington Post Company