OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Leesburg Planning Commission Meeting - April 16, 2026

Town Council & Commissions — Thursday, April 16, 2026
BodyLeesburg, Virginia
SessionTown Council & Commissions
DateThursday, April 16, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:42:15

Transcript — Verbatim
0:28

Good evening.

0:29

I call the order.

0:31

This April 16th 2026 meeting of the Leesburg Planning Commission.

0:36

All please rise as you can for a pledge of allegiance.

0:42

Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

0:47

And to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

1:00

Let the record reflect that we do have a physical quorum.

1:04

All commissioners are here tonight.

1:08

Do I hear a motion to adopt the agenda as submitted?

1:14

Seconded.

1:15

Moved and second.

1:16

All in favor say aye.

1:18

Aye.

1:18

Aye.

1:19

Great.

1:21

Do I hear a motion to approve the minutes?

1:23

March 19th, 2026 meeting.

1:26

So moved.

1:26

Second.

1:27

Any changes, corrections?

1:30

Alterations.

1:33

All in favor?

1:34

Aye.

1:35

Aye.

1:37

Let's go down the list.

1:38

Any disclosures, Commissioner?

1:41

No, sir.

1:42

None here.

1:43

None.

1:44

No, sir.

1:45

Never.

1:47

All right.

1:48

Well, we have a very important meeting tonight.

1:50

We're glad that you're all here.

1:53

We have a public hearing on our zoning ordinance update, as well as a work session review.

2:01

We want to be careful and thoughtful.

2:03

I think on all our considerations, as we always are, the importance and impact to this town and many members of our community.

2:10

So that is the chair's statement.

2:15

Do we have any petitioners signed up to speak tonight?

2:20

Nobody signed up.

2:23

Then I will not read the petitioners statement.

2:28

So we'll go right to our uh public hearing on the zoning ordinance rewrite.

2:32

Uh Director David.

2:39

Thank you very much.

2:40

Good evening, Mr.

2:42

Chair and members of the planning commission.

2:44

Tonight is a public hearing on the draft zoning ordinance rewrite.

2:50

And this is a project.

2:52

If you want to follow along at home, you can go online to the resource there at Leesburgva.gov forward slash zoning ordinance rewrite.

3:01

And so I'm going to take us through a little bit of history of how we got here.

3:05

Yes, sir.

3:06

I just need to back up one second, and I need to call the public hearing into order.

3:12

No problem.

3:13

I call the order this April 16th, 2026 public hearing of the Leesburg Planning Commission on the Town of Leesburg zoning ordinance rewrite.

3:24

Planning commissioner draft.

3:38

Persons wishing to address the commission should sign up at the podium.

3:42

Once recognized by the chair, individuals should advance to the podium, state his or her name and address.

3:50

Persons should also indicate whether they are representing themselves and or anyone other than themselves.

3:56

After the presentation or comments, please be seated unless the chair or member of the commission has questions of the petitioner or speaker.

4:04

Statements which are demeaning, defamatory to members of the public staff or commission are inappropriate and out of order.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Zoning Ordinances█████████████████████████████████████████████45%
Public Engagement████████████████16%
Procedural████████████12%
Floodplain Management███████7%
Public Works████4%
Historical Preservation████4%
Historic Preservation███3%
Urban Planning███3%
Affordable Housing██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Leesburg Planning Commission Meeting - April 16, 2026

The Leesburg Planning Commission held a regular meeting on April 16, 2026, featuring a public hearing on the proposed Zoning Ordinance Rewrite, a work session on Floodplain Overlay District amendments, and updates on state legislation. The commission heard from multiple public speakers, debated the rewrite, and voted on several items.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Amy Sibley (823 Melody Court) expressed strong support for the rewrite, praising its clarity and modernized structure, and noted that Table 2-4-1 will allow her to build a porch. She urged approval to proceed with her project.
  • Suzanne Larkins (3 Royal Street SE) opposed the draft, arguing it fails to protect residential use rights in the B-1 district. She cited the removal of protective language regarding residential uses, rear yard setbacks, and conditions for commercial uses, and questioned how the rewrite would protect historic structures and individual property rights.
  • Molly Novotny (Cirata Partners) raised concerns about the Innovation Center (IC) district, noting confusion and redundancy in Division 10 and 11 use standards. She recommended clarifying warehouse and outdoor storage allowances and submitted a memo with detailed suggestions.
  • Morgan Hadlock (Curata Partners, representing Rappaport/Village at Leesburg) requested adjustments to the Mixed-Use (MU) district, including aligning building height with the B-4 standard (70 feet), removing or raising the 50-acre threshold for modifying use mix standards, and ensuring the use table allows flexibility for commercial tenants. She noted the Village is a proffered rezoning.
  • Michael Waters (9 Morvan Park Road NW) recounted property damage from a town storm drain project and urged the town to take responsibility for capital improvement projects, ensuring homeowners are made whole. He also noted his home is in the historic district but was built in 1998, questioning the historic designation.
  • Elizabeth Stutzman (Potomac Station) expressed concern about the Innovation Center designation near her home, particularly allowing manufacturing and industrial uses. She asked for careful guidelines to protect residential quality of life, citing potential noise, odors, and resource demands.
  • Unnamed speaker (Edwards Ferry Road) asked about the timeline for council approval (late 2026) and whether he could appeal to be subject to the new ordinance before adoption. The chair noted that zoning determinations can be appealed but not in anticipation of a new ordinance.
  • R. Bagdeser (301 South King Street, former council member) supported the graphics and illustrations, proposed creating a data center district near the airport, and advocated for eliminating minimum parking requirements in the historic district to promote walkability.

Discussion Items

  • Zoning Ordinance Rewrite (TLZNOA2026-0002): Director James David presented an overview of the three-year process, key changes (reduction from 27 to 15 districts, new use categories, enhanced graphics, attainable housing options, etc.), and the staff recommendation to forward to town council with approval. Commissioners raised numerous questions and concerns, including major public utilities in the Crescent District, definitions, parking credits, and consistency with state legislation (HB 655). After debate, Commissioner Tuck moved to send the rewrite to a future work session on May 7, 2026, with direction to staff to review all public comments made that evening. The motion was seconded and carried (appears unanimous).
  • Floodplain Overlay District Amendments (TLZNOA2025-0001, TLENOA2026-001, TLENOA2026-002): Bill Ackman presented updated findings, including DCR support and a narrowed scope focusing on backwater areas away from stream beds. The commission voted unanimously (three separate motions) to forward all three ordinance amendments to town council with a recommendation of approval.
  • Next Steps on General Assembly Legislative Agenda: Ms. Newton reported that staff is tracking recent state legislation (e.g., HB 655 on manufactured housing) and will provide an informational presentation to the commission on May 21, 2026, with potential recommendations for amendments to the rewrite.

Key Outcomes

  • Zoning Ordinance Rewrite: The commission voted to send the rewrite to a work session on May 7, 2026, for further review of public comments and commissioner questions. No final vote on approval was taken.
  • Floodplain Overlay Amendments: All three amendments (zoning ordinance, DCSM, SLDR) were approved unanimously (all ayes) and forwarded to town council with a recommendation of approval, based on the findings that they further town plan objectives and good practice.
  • State Legislation Update: Staff will present an overview of new state bills at the May 21, 2026 meeting, after which the commission may consider recommending changes to the rewrite.
  • Upcoming Events: The chair and vice chair will attend the PolicyMaker Series on the State of Housing (April 29, 2026); a Boards and Commissions Networking Event is scheduled for April 30, 2026.
  • Agenda Forecast: The May 7, 2026 meeting will include the Liberty Hotel project and the zoning rewrite work session; May 21, 2026 will cover the Crescent District Streetscape Study and the legislative update.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening. I call the order. This April 16th 2026 meeting of the Leesburg Planning Commission. All please rise as you can for a pledge of allegiance. Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Let the record reflect that we do have a physical quorum. All commissioners are here tonight. Do I hear a motion to adopt the agenda as submitted? Seconded. Moved and second. All in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Great. Do I hear a motion to approve the minutes? March 19th, 2026 meeting. So moved. Second. Any changes, corrections? Alterations. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Let's go down the list. Any disclosures, Commissioner? No, sir. None here. None. No, sir. Never. All right. Well, we have a very important meeting tonight. We're glad that you're all here. We have a public hearing on our zoning ordinance update, as well as a work session review. We want to be careful and thoughtful. I think on all our considerations, as we always are, the importance and impact to this town and many members of our community. So that is the chair's statement. Do we have any petitioners signed up to speak tonight? Nobody signed up. Then I will not read the petitioners statement. So we'll go right to our uh public hearing on the zoning ordinance rewrite. Uh Director David. Thank you very much. Good evening, Mr. Chair and members of the planning commission. Tonight is a public hearing on the draft zoning ordinance rewrite. And this is a project. If you want to follow along at home, you can go online to the resource there at Leesburgva.gov forward slash zoning ordinance rewrite. And so I'm going to take us through a little bit of history of how we got here.

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