The Virginia Supreme Court announced today  that it will hear an appeal by The Glebe, a Botetourt County retirement facility,  over its status as a tax-exempt religious and benevolent organization. Glebe officials are hoping the high court will reinstate that status.

Initially, at least a half million dollars is riding on the court’s decision. Botetourt County says that’s the amount of taxes and fines for back payment penalties that The Glebe, located off U.S. 220, owes locally.

Lawyers representing Virginia Baptist Homes, The Glebe’s parent company, made oral arguments last month in Richmond before a panel of three Supreme Court justices. The panel ruled Friday that The Glebe’s appeal of a lower court ruling last year that the facility be stripped of its tax exempt status should be heard by the full court.

Botetourt County says The Glebe is a resort for wealthy retirees that doesn’t provide charitable or religious services to its residents. Virginia Baptist Homes says a religious and benevolent tax exemption it has held for more than 30 years applies to all of its properties, including startups such as The Glebe that someday will offer reduced rates.

The county sued Virginia Baptist Homes over the dispute in 2006 and  Circuit Court Judge Michael Irvine sided with the county last year, ruling that the religious and benevolent exemption granted to Virginia Baptist Homes in 1976 by the General Assembly does not automatically apply to all its properties.

In granting the appeal, the court won’t conduct a new trial. It will examine Irvine’s ruling in the case to determine if any errors were made.

"There will be a series of events triggered" by the ruling, said Frank Friedman, a lawyer with the Roanoke-based firm of Woods Rogers PLC.  Friedman was hired by Botetourt County last year to represent the county.  Friedman has argued a number of cases before the high court.

"They’ll file the first brief. We’ll respond to it. They get to reply. Then there’ll be arguments in front of the court," he said.

Virginia Baptist Homes has said in the past that only the state Supreme Court can determine that its tax exemption does not apply to all of its properties.

If the circuit court ruling stands, The Glebe will be required to pay nearly $493,000 in real estate taxes and penalties dating to the facility’s opening in 2005. Annually, the facility would pay on average about $227,000 in taxes based on the current size of the facility,  according to county officials.