Botetourt County officials will fight a legal effort by an upscale Daleville retirement home to avoid paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in real estate taxes.

Virginia Baptist Homes has notified the county that it will file an appeal with the Virginia Supreme Court asking it to reverse a Circuit Court judge's ruling that The Glebe, located off U.S. 220, does not meet state tax-exempt guidelines as a religious or benevolent organization.

"Botetourt County intends to vigorously defend the Circuit Court decision which The Glebe seeks to overturn," Botetourt County Administrator Jerry Burgess said in a statement released Friday. "We believe that all taxpayers deserve to be treated fairly and consistently. The court decided that The Glebe does not meet state religious or benevolent guidelines."

Virginia Baptist Homes President Randall Robinson said last month that the nonprofit corporation was optimistic that the Supreme Court of Virginia would hear the appeal.

Botetourt County officials say The Glebe owes the county more than $250,000 in back taxes and penalties dating to its opening in 2005. It will owe more than $200,000 for the 2007 tax year by the end of the year.

The county sued Virginia Baptist Homes in 2006, arguing that The Glebe is a resort for wealthy retirees and should pay real estate taxes to the county rather than be exempt under guidelines that protect religious and benevolent organizations.

Circuit Court Judge Michael Irvine ruled in June that the tax-exempt status granted to Virginia Baptist Homes in 1976 by the Virginia General Assembly does not provide all its properties with a tax exemption.

In addition to The Glebe, Virginia Baptist Homes has three other facilities: in Newport News, Culpeper and Richmond. All operate on a not-for-profit basis.

The judge ruled that The Glebe fails to satisfy the requirement of being exclusively for religious purposes and rejected Virginia Baptist Homes' argument that The Glebe was a benevolent organization.

Robinson has said The Glebe case highlights Virginia's inadequate laws for determining tax-exempt status for nonprofit retirement facilities.

Burgess said the judge's ruling was correct and should be upheld by the higher court.

"Moreover we regret that county taxpayers will be put to the expense, uncertainty and delay that comes with any appeal," he said.

A panel of three Supreme Court judges must first decide if the appeal has merit before the full court can hear the case.