OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Leesburg Board of Architectural Review Business Meeting - April 22, 2026

Town Council & Commissions — Wednesday, April 22, 2026
BodyLeesburg, Virginia
SessionTown Council & Commissions
DateWednesday, April 22, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 35:46

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

From Jacques Offenbach's Tales of Hoffman.

0:07

This next piece is about as bright and Italian as it gets.

0:12

This is the scherzo from Alfredo Catalani.

0:16

Francesco LaVecchia leads the Rome Symphony Orchestra.

0:32

The meeting is called to order.

0:35

This evening by way of roll call, I am Helen Aikman.

0:39

I'm the chair for 2026.

0:41

Tom O'Neill, our vice chair is not with us this evening.

1:14

20 street moved to consented.

1:19

Second.

1:21

Okay, so the movement, the motion is from Don Scheuerman.

1:25

The second is from Judd Futo.

1:30

I just have one thing to say about that, and if anybody else has comments, they can.

1:48

And I think a lot of uh credit is due there.

1:50

Anyway, any other comments before we vote.

1:54

Well, I will second your comments.

1:57

The uh work that we're doing is extraordinary, and it's the kind of work that we'd love to see.

2:02

Just to get a little particular here, first we need to adopt we we need to um approve a change to the meeting agenda.

2:10

Well, that's what we're doing.

2:12

But you're not with the thing.

2:13

First to just say that we're gonna change the agenda.

2:16

Well, we're just I thought we were just move he moved to change the agenda.

2:20

Okay, great.

2:22

Is that not sufficient?

2:23

Yeah, no, then when you you change the agenda, then you then you add that's when you add the things.

2:31

Did you do that?

2:32

I'm sorry.

2:33

I I move the items eight away.

2:36

Oh, okay.

2:37

Sorry, I'm sorry, I'm doing two things at one time.

2:40

We move on to consent agenda.

2:43

Got it.

2:43

Okay, all right.

2:44

And Judd said yes.

2:46

Okay.

2:47

Okay, so correct me if correct me if I'm wrong, but we're first gonna vote on adding it to the agenda, and then we're gonna adopt the agenda, correct?

2:54

Or okay, so all in favor of adding the um cases in question to the consent agenda.

3:03

Say aye.

3:04

Aye.

3:05

Okay, so that motion passes six to zero to one with uh Tom O'Neill being absent.

3:13

Now we need uh a motion to accept the agenda as amended.

3:18

I move that we adopt the agenda as amended.

3:24

Uh uh.

3:25

Amended.

3:26

There we go.

3:27

Okay, so we have a motion from Judd Futo, and this time we have the second from Don Scheuerman.

3:33

All in favor?

3:34

Aye.

3:34

Aye.

3:35

Okay, so we have an agenda.

3:37

Um the next item on the agenda is approval of meeting minutes from March 2, the March 2 work session, and from the March 18 business meeting.

3:45

I think we have to do these separately because um Tom O'Neill was absent from on March 2.

3:52

Um, although he's not here today, it doesn't make any difference.

3:55

But that doesn't mean we can approve them.

3:57

I guess we can take a motion uh for both in that case.

4:01

I move that we adopt the uh wait you were well I I I have uh I have an edit to to one, but it's um I can give it to the clerk, um, and it's uh just a small edit to the Wednesday, March 18, 2026 minutes.

4:21

So if you could just make your motion to include um both of those sets of minutes and um to be amended with the amend with the edits and it's provided by the committee.

4:36

I move uh that we adopt accept the uh minutes from the March BAR work session and business meeting uh with the edits presented by our parliamentarian.

4:53

Second okay, so we have the motion from Judd Futo, the second from Rick Brown.

5:00

Um all in favor?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Historic Preservation██████████████████████████████████████38%
Procedural███████████████████████████████████35%
Community Events██████████████14%
Public Engagement██████6%
Economic Development████4%
Parks and Recreation███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Leesburg Board of Architectural Review Business Meeting - April 22, 2026

The Leesburg Board of Architectural Review (BAR) held its regular business meeting on April 22, 2026, at 7:00 PM in Council Chambers. The board approved four consent agenda items, recapped the Flower & Garden Festival, discussed the 2026 BAR Annual Report, and appointed representatives to the Joint Architectural Review Board (JARB). Chair Helen Aikman presided; Vice Chair Tom O'Neill was absent.

Consent Calendar

  • TLHPBR2026-0004 – 601 Catoctin Circle NE, Exterior Alterations – Approved unanimously as part of the consent agenda (6-0-1, with O'Neill absent).
  • TLHPBR2026-0006 – 14 Cornwall Street NW, Rear Awnings (St. James Church) – Approved with a 6-0-1 vote (Don Scheuerman recused himself due to his membership on the church property committee; O'Neill absent).
  • TLHPBR2026-0007 – 204 North King Street, Windows and Sunroom Repair – Approved unanimously as part of the consent agenda (6-0-1, O'Neill absent).
  • TLHPBR2026-0008 – 208 North King Street, Addition – Approved unanimously as part of the consent agenda (6-0-1, O'Neill absent).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No members of the public spoke during the public hearing for the consent agenda items.

Discussion Items

  • Flower & Garden Festival Recap – Board members praised the event, noting attendance of an estimated 30,000–40,000 people. Discussion included: a problem with promotional tote bags that failed after washing (vendor will replace them); the desire to purchase a branded tent and tablecloths to improve visibility; and the belief that the booth successfully educated visitors about historic preservation. The board agreed the festival is a worthwhile outreach effort and plans to continue.
  • 2026 BAR Annual Report – The board reviewed the draft annual report. Key suggestions included: replacing references to “staff and BAR” with the unified term “preservation program team”; adding a sentence about the imminent completion of the historic resources survey; and substituting the “Beyond King Street” highlight of Casa de Avila (a new business with signage approval) with a feature on modest vernacular houses being restored (e.g., the “w house” on South Street/Royal and the duplex on North Street) to emphasize preservation of diverse structures. The board decided to defer final approval to the next work session to allow more time for edits, targeting a submission to Town Council by the end of May.
  • JARB Appointees – The board appointed Julie Pastor and Helen Aikman (the same representatives as the previous year) to serve on the Joint Architectural Review Board (JARB) for 2026. The JARB will include representatives from Percival, Middleburg, and Loudoun County (which includes historic villages such as Waterford and Aldie). A selection meeting is expected in early June.

Key Outcomes

  • All four consent agenda items were approved (votes as noted above).
  • The annual report will be revised and considered at the next BAR work session before being sent to Town Council.
  • Julie Pastor and Helen Aikman were appointed as BAR representatives to the JARB.
  • Staff reminders: board members were asked to RSVP to the Boards & Commissions Networking Event (date not specified) and were informed that Preservation Day at Balch Library will be held on May 15, 2026 (morning session only).

Meeting Transcript

From Jacques Offenbach's Tales of Hoffman. This next piece is about as bright and Italian as it gets. This is the scherzo from Alfredo Catalani. Francesco LaVecchia leads the Rome Symphony Orchestra. The meeting is called to order. This evening by way of roll call, I am Helen Aikman. I'm the chair for 2026. Tom O'Neill, our vice chair is not with us this evening. 20 street moved to consented. Second. Okay, so the movement, the motion is from Don Scheuerman. The second is from Judd Futo. I just have one thing to say about that, and if anybody else has comments, they can. And I think a lot of uh credit is due there. Anyway, any other comments before we vote. Well, I will second your comments. The uh work that we're doing is extraordinary, and it's the kind of work that we'd love to see. Just to get a little particular here, first we need to adopt we we need to um approve a change to the meeting agenda. Well, that's what we're doing. But you're not with the thing. First to just say that we're gonna change the agenda. Well, we're just I thought we were just move he moved to change the agenda. Okay, great. Is that not sufficient? Yeah, no, then when you you change the agenda, then you then you add that's when you add the things. Did you do that? I'm sorry. I I move the items eight away. Oh, okay. Sorry, I'm sorry, I'm doing two things at one time. We move on to consent agenda. Got it. Okay, all right. And Judd said yes. Okay. Okay, so correct me if correct me if I'm wrong, but we're first gonna vote on adding it to the agenda, and then we're gonna adopt the agenda, correct? Or okay, so all in favor of adding the um cases in question to the consent agenda. Say aye. Aye. Okay, so that motion passes six to zero to one with uh Tom O'Neill being absent. Now we need uh a motion to accept the agenda as amended. I move that we adopt the agenda as amended. Uh uh. Amended. There we go. Okay, so we have a motion from Judd Futo, and this time we have the second from Don Scheuerman. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Okay, so we have an agenda.

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