Loudoun’s holiday display nightmare is over — again.
County supervisors on Thursday outlined specific rules that would fast-track the application process for erecting displays at the county courthouse, and allow applicants who win approval to put displays up immediately.
The rules require the county administration to approve applications before anyone can erect a display or gather on the grounds. There had been a handful of applications pending; the board also outlined 10 designated areas for displays on the property.
Last week, the board paved the way to allow public displays — including religious and holiday-related items — at the courthouse. The board-appointed citizen committee charged with handling the requests was not scheduled to meet until Dec. 22, however, necessitating the special meeting on Thursday.
The 11th-hour decision was just in time for some applicants — Hanukkah begins Friday at sundown, and Leesburg is set to hold its annual holiday parade Saturday morning.
The controversy began broiling around Thanksgiving. The citizen committee had voted to ban all displays, igniting a firestorm of opposition after the Rotary Club was denied an application to put up a Christmas tree at the courthouse, as it has for decades.
Despite the board’s reversal, the Leesburg Rotary Club decided to move its annual display to a new location in downtown Leesburg, ending a tradition dating to the 1960s. Club President Ron Rogos said the club did not want to get involved in a political debate.
Members of the committee had said they instituted the ban because they were getting overwhelmed by requests for applications to use the property for public meetings, and that they were wary of potential damage to the property.
Supervisor Jim Burton, I-Blue Ridge, also had expressed concern about plans for a “vulgar parody of the ’12 Days of Christmas'” from Sterling resident Ed Myers.
A “Keep Leesburg Courthouse Nativity Scene” online petition had garnered nearly 1,200 signatures as of Thursday. Residents also poured into a public meeting last week to oppose the ban and bombarded the board with hundreds of e-mails.
