Leesburg BAR Work Session – May 4, 2026: Hyundai Signs and Greenway Manor Theatre Approved
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Leesburg Board of Architectural Review Work Session – May 4, 2026
The Leesburg Board of Architectural Review (BAR) held a work session on Monday, May 4, 2026, at 7:00 PM in Council Chambers. All seven members were present. The meeting included discussion and approval of two deferred cases: signage for a Hyundai dealership and the Greenway Manor Theatre addition. The board also approved the 2025 BAR Annual Report and discussed potential zoning ordinance amendments for emergency repairs.
Discussion Items
- TLHPBR2025-0020 – 165 Keystone Court NE, Hyundai Signs: Staff presented an updated proposal reducing the number of signs from seven to five. The key issue was the use of Hyundai Chrome on one sign facing away from East Market Street (toward Keystone Court and a parking lot). The applicant (Chris McNeely, Flanagan Architects) stated the chrome finish could not be changed. Lighting was reduced from 6,000K to 3,500K (halo-lit). Board members expressed comfort with the chrome given the sign’s location and size (22 inches tall, smallest of three main signs). Staff recommended approval with conditions.
- TLHPBR2025-0082 – 1221 South King Street, Greenway Manor Theatre (Building C): The applicant (Maddie Duncan, Equip Studio) presented exterior materials, windows, doors, and porch railings. Materials included Hardy board (moonflower white), field stone (Virginia green, oak ridge, foggy hollow), standing seam metal roof (Pac-Clad 180° seam), and wood stain (golden oak and dark walnut). Discussion covered window operability (only a few operable on south elevation), transom window bird-perch concerns (resolved by providing a detail for staff approval), gutter type (half-round preferred, sized per water study, color bronze to match roof), smoke vent color (matching roof), and roof seam crimping (field-crimped). The board confirmed all other design aspects were acceptable.
- 2025 BAR Annual Report: The report was reviewed and deemed ready for submission to Town Council.
- Zoning Ordinance Updates and Emergency Repairs: A board member raised the need for an administrative process to allow in-kind replacement of historically significant elements damaged by emergencies (e.g., drunk driver hitting a porch). The board discussed adding such a provision to the zoning ordinance and will consider further at a future meeting.
Key Outcomes
- TLHPBR2025-0020 – Approved 7-0: The BAR approved the proposed signs at 165 Keystone Court NE, subject to conditions: (1) any alterations require a revised certificate of appropriateness; (2) all signs shall be halo-illuminated with lights no brighter than 3,500 Kelvins. The finding stated that the use of Hyundai Chrome is appropriate because it is limited to one sign placed opposite Market Street and mostly visible from internal areas.
- TLHPBR2025-0082 – Approved 7-0: The BAR approved the addition to the historic barn at 1221 South King Street, subject to conditions including: (1) any alterations require a revised application; (2) applicant to provide an in-depth list of repairs to historic structures; (3) provide a mock-up of materials for staff review; (4) all windows shall have simple trim; (5) half-round gutters to match roof color (bronze) unless a water study requires an alternative (reviewed by staff); (6) staff will conduct field verification of stone; (7) roof seams shall be crimped, not capped; smoke vent color to match roof; (8) only new windows on the south elevation (school room) shall be operable; (9) transom windows require elevation and cross-section details for staff approval. Snow guards, if needed, also require staff review.
- 2025 BAR Annual Report – Approved 7-0: The report will be forwarded to the Town Council meeting on May 26, 2026.
Meeting Transcript
You may think you know Box Brandenburg concerto number four with the solo violin out front and two recorders providing elegant backup. It's a piece that knows exactly what it is and isn't shy about it. But Bach apparently looked at the Brandenburg and thought, what if we switch things around a little bit? Out goes the violin. In comes the keyboard. The recorders stay, possibly because no one told them about the changes. The result is the keyboard concerto number six, the Brandenburg number four in a different outfit. And rather pleased with itself at that. It's coming up in just 20 minutes. The meeting is called to order. Julie Pastor is over there. She's our parliamentarian, and otherwise we have Rick Brown, Don Scheuerman, JP Andrews, and Judd Fudo present. We have everyone here tonight, which is great. Uh sort of golf course at some point. Today was uh today it was supposed to be the day it was going to be shut down. Yesterday was the last day that people were able to play there. My son played around there yesterday. But this morning in an emergency hearing, um, the US District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in favor of the DC Preservation League. The golf course will remain open, and the um the Park Service backed down and said that it's really uh only intends to remove a few trees. Um the court is going to allow them to remove up to ten trees without permission, but after that they need more permission. Anyway, congratulations to the DC. Um to the DC Preservation League. Okay, so now that that's done, um, let's adopt the meeting agenda. Could I have a motion, please? Second. Okay, we have a motion from Don Shorman, a second from Judd Fudo. All in favor. Aye. Aye. Opposed. The motion passes the the adopt the agenda is adopted by a vote of seven to zero. Next on the agenda is bar member disclosures. Do we have any disclosures this evening? Okay, very good. Next um is the opportunity for petitioners and presentations. This would be a the point at which, if anyone is here from the public and wishes to address a matter that's not on the agenda this evening, this would be the time to do it. Is there anyone who would like to do that? Okay, it seems that there's no one. So now we can move on to the discussion of deferred cases. We have two cases this evening. The first on the agenda is TLHPR 2025-0020. Um 165 Keystone Court Northeast, uh Hyundai uh dealership signs. Hello, madam chair. All right, so this has been kind of a long time coming on this one. Um we last talked about this May 2025 for the signage at the new construction Hyundai dealership at 165 Keystone Court. Um, some of you may see this under construction now from East Market Street. It's right next to uh Meadows Farm Nursery as you come into town. The proposal has been updated here. We've got two service signs, one Hyundai Chrome sign, and then two Safford signs, one of each of a different size, one on the front of the building, one on the back of the building. And so here, the original application included seven signs, the updated includes five.
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