Leesburg Town Council Work Session - June 8, 2026
Leesburg Town Council Work Session - June 8, 2026
The Leesburg Town Council held a work session on June 8, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chamber at Town Hall. The council discussed four main items: a proposed running bamboo containment ordinance, the allocation of new disposable plastic bag tax revenue, an update on the six-point plan for site plan review process improvements, and the future of the airport control tower. The council also approved a proclamation request and entered a closed session to discuss legal and personnel matters related to the airport.
Discussion Items
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Running Bamboo Containment Regulation (Keith Markel, staff): Staff presented background on running bamboo, an invasive plant that spreads via rhizomes, and proposed a containment ordinance modeled after Loudoun and Fairfax counties. The ordinance would be enforced through the nuisance code with a civil penalty capped at $50 for the first offense (set by the state). The ordinance would not ban planting but would require containment to prevent spread onto neighboring properties. Councilmember Cummings expressed opposition to fines, preferring an educational approach, and suggested using the bamboo at Rock Spring Farm for a public workshop. Councilmember Kurkowski asked about retroactive application and was told complaints would be handled regardless of how long the bamboo had been there. After discussion, the council indicated support for moving forward with the ordinance, with the option to bring back a version with or without fines. The mayor confirmed four heads nodded in favor.
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Use of Disposable Plastic Bag Tax Revenue (Keith Markel, staff): Staff explained that new state legislation (passed in 2026, thanks to Delegate Martinez) allows the town to receive a portion of the county's disposable plastic bag tax, estimated at $40,000 in 2027. Revenue is expected to decline as habits change. State law restricts spending to four categories: environmental cleanup, educational programs to reduce waste, mitigating pollution and litter, and providing reusable bags to SNAP/WIC recipients. Staff presented four options: (1) a pilot downtown restaurant food waste composting program (estimated $500 startup + $40,000/year); (2) expansion of the public food waste drop-off program at Liberty Street to a permanent site plus a second location on the east side (estimated $5,000 construction + $10,000/year total); (3) funding the existing Recycle Coach app ($12,000/year); or (4) accumulating the revenue for a future large project. Councilmember Cummings expressed skepticism about restaurant participation, noting many won't even recycle glass. Multiple council members favored option 2, citing high public demand for additional drop-off sites. The council agreed to move forward with option 2, with the understanding that leftover funds could be used for Recycle Coach or saved. The mayor confirmed four hands in support.
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Six Point Plan for Site Plan Review Process Improvements – Quarterly Update (James David, Community Development): Staff provided an update on the 23 process improvements from the six-point plan (updating regulatory documents, behavior change, organizational strategy, changing narrative, quality applications, expedited review). Five of 23 improvements have been completed: simplified site plan fees (base fee of $10,000 + $200/acre, effective April 28), creation of an online DCSM modification form, hosting the annual engineering summit (May 5, with over 50 guests and 25 staff), forming a technical review committee for the DCSM update, and launching a site plan metrics dashboard (average calendar days for submissions). The council discussed the land development advisory group, which is ad hoc but subject to Virginia public meeting laws (notice, minutes as best practice). The council expressed support for the progress.
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Airport Control Tower (Scott Kaufman, Airport Director; Travis Gunnells, Airport Commission Chair): Staff reviewed the history of the airport's remote tower (operated 2016-2023 via Saab, then terminated), the subsequent entry into the FAA's Federal Contract Tower Program, and the commitment to build a physical tower within five years. The FAA is now soliciting airports for a new remote tower program using a system from Frequentis (tested in Atlantic City, expected certification in September 2026). The airport commission analyzed both options and recommended a physical tower, citing risks of remote tower: new technology not yet certified, dependency on a single vendor, uncertain life-cycle costs, and potential network reliability issues. The FAA has provided $418,000 for siting/environmental studies, a grant for design (99% covered), and $4 million in IIJA funds for partial construction. The town is seeking additional federal funding. Council members expressed support for continuing with the physical tower, noting the progress already made and the commission's recommendation. The mayor confirmed four hands in favor of moving forward with the physical tower.
Key Outcomes
- Running Bamboo Regulation: The council directed staff to draft a containment ordinance, with the option to include or exclude fines, and to bring it back for a future vote. The council also expressed interest in an educational workshop using the town's bamboo at Rock Spring Farm.
- Disposable Plastic Bag Tax Revenue: The council decided to allocate the revenue to expand the public food waste drop-off program (option 2), with a second site and permanent status for the Liberty Street site. Leftover funds may be used for the Recycle Coach app or saved for future projects.
- Six Point Plan: The council received the quarterly update and noted the progress. No further action was taken.
- Airport Control Tower: The council affirmed support for the physical tower, continuing with the current design and fundraising efforts. The remote tower remains a backup option should funding for the physical tower fall through.
- Proclamation Request: The council approved a proclamation for Gene Lynette Mattis's 100th birthday, to be presented at the July 28 council meeting.
- Closed Session: The council voted 7-0 to enter a closed session under Va. Code § 2.2-3711(A)(1) and (A)(7) to discuss real property interests at the airport and collective bargaining. After the closed session, the council certified that only exempt matters were discussed. The meeting was then adjourned.
Meeting Transcript
Let me call tonight's town council work session of June 8th, 2026 to order. Our first um item on the agenda for tonight is the running bamboo container regulation. Good evening, Madam Mayor and Council. You all had asked for a discussion work session item to talk about the potential of the town creating a running bamboo containment ordinance. So I'll just give you a little bit of background here as we get started into this. Running bamboo. Uh it's different than clumping bamboo. There's two different primary types. Running bamboo is often planted for privacy, and this is something you'll see in sometimes in residential areas. Uh it is a fast-growing, dense privacy screening. It is also highly invasive if it's not contained properly. And there's a little diagram there showing how the plant operates and through its rhizomes that spread underground in a fairly shallow root system will spread laterally, maybe 15 feet a year, uncontained and can start sending up shoots as it runs along. So in no time you can really spread out and it really expands its space. So localities are authorized to go in and create local ordinances that would regulate the control of them. It does not prevent the planting of running bamboo, but it would allow localities to control that. Loudon County has adopted such an ordinance back in 2025, which is currently in place. And what we're recommending is to really model it after what Loudon County and what Fairfax County have done, which would be making it a civil penalty. It's enforced through the nuisance ordinance, so it's not in the zoning ordinance, it would be a nuisance similar to tall grass and weeds and things like that. It would be capped at $50 for the first offense, and that's set by the state. So we do support you if you do want to move forward with this. So really for you all tonight, just to decide if you do want to move forward with it. If you do, all we need are four head nods, majority support for this. Since it is not in the zoning ordinance, we don't need a formal initiating resolution. And that's all. Thank you. Anyone have any questions on this item? Mr. Kurkowski. Exciting stuff, thank you. Um as I understand, so you we're trying to slow roll a little bit and you're gonna develop some of this stuff. So if these questions are out of line, just let me know. I'm trying to understand. Um, are we gonna be working on the specifics of, for instance, retroactive? You know, if we're establishing an ordinance, does it take place and it's immediately affected to a property, or would it be something that we're gonna um say, hey, it's already there, we're not gonna, you know, stop the creep, if you will. I think once you all have the bamboo, if you do move forward with that and have that in place, then if we did receive a complaint from an adjacent property owner, whether it's been there for 10 years or you know, this summer, we'd be able to go in and cite the property owner because really we're looking for containment to stay on the subject property. If they want to grow bamboo, that's fine. State won't let us say you can't, but we just don't want it traveling across property lines and impacting adjacent property owners. Okay, excellent. Um, and do the surrounding jurisdictions already have these ordinances? A number of them do. Fairfax does. They've got a really robust website with some good information if you're interested. Uh Loudoun County also adopted it a few months ago. Oh, perfect. All right, thank you. Mr. Cummings. Yes. Um so I the picture that you have here, that's at Rock Spring Farm, correct? It is.
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