OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Leesburg Town Council Work Session - July 13, 2026

Town Council & Commissions — Monday, July 13, 2026
BodyLeesburg, Virginia
SessionTown Council & Commissions
DateMonday, July 13, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:45:45

Transcript — Verbatim
1:53

Miss Nasi, you just made it.

1:55

Yay.

1:57

I would like to call tonight's town council work session, July 13th, 2026, to order.

2:03

Our first item for discussion tonight is the St.

2:05

James Historic Cemetery Project.

2:07

Kathleen Hughes, you're going to present.

2:11

Okay.

2:13

Thank you.

2:14

Good evening, everyone.

2:15

Mayor Burke and Town Council members.

2:19

We of the St.

2:21

James Historic Cemetery Committee are very proud to stand before you today and tell you what we've done with your very generous grant that we received from you last summer.

2:33

I'm joined by uh the Reverends Chad Martin and Mary Beth Saunders William and Mills Wilson and Bulch Black History Committee member Jim Roberts, and all the rest of the people here are on our committee, including Judge Horn.

2:51

And we and a few friends.

2:53

So we have come to tell that you um to begin.

2:59

Um excuse me.

3:14

Not just for our group, it's for everyone in Leesburg.

3:19

Thanks to you, um, the historic St.

3:22

James Cemetery now has a complete ground penetrating radar study that was very new and high-tech.

3:29

We have a detailed cemetery conservation plan that covered all hundred and ninety-one standing monuments.

3:55

We have a landscaping concept, which we will turn it into a beautiful place of where people can come sit and contemplate the past and and the future with benches and flowering trees and a unique flowering garden.

4:12

And we have, we believe, put this all together to make a very significant historic site for Leesburg.

4:23

The ground penetrating radar shows what we know to be true by sight alone.

4:28

What we suspected is that the whole area at the back of the cemetery was filled with unmarked burials.

5:01

To say we were stunned would be an understatement.

5:04

The orange areas with you look at the map there.

5:08

The orange areas represent unmarked burials.

5:11

The dotted line areas represent probable graveshafts as well as probable grave cuts.

5:18

So let that sink in.

5:35

So we have our work cut out for us.

6:05

He also recommended safe treatments and cost estimates.

6:09

So we now know that we have a big burden, maybe 87,000 dollars to finish to fix all those monuments, but we have four that are being repaired now.

6:27

Not only was our attempt to preserve the space and eyesore to us and to the town, it was potentially unsafe for anyone exploring our cemetery.

6:39

It has now been repaired.

6:41

That one's been completed, and we have three more tombstones that have been contracted for repairs to be completed by the end of October of 2026.

6:52

Through exhaustive research, we have found that our cemetery holds war veterans from the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the Mexican American War, not including those in the Columbarium.

7:06

There are also many tradespeople, slaves, free blacks, a mailman, a gardener, and many town leaders creating a markercosm of 18th and 19th century Leesburg and Loudoun County.

7:19

This is truly an historic site of significance.

7:24

With the involvement of the Sons of American Revolution, we hope to have markers for many of the war veterans soon.

7:32

And have we got stories to tell?

7:35

We brought a whole bunch of them.

7:37

We had over 40 that are now documented on these signs we put out for the flower and garden show and for visitors to walk around and see who was there.

7:48

So some people only have this sign, and others do have a marker.

7:51

But that's what we're working towards the memorial monument in the works, and our Lakesley was the designer.

7:58

It's waiting now for a brass plaque with just the right words on it to honor every single person in there without but not by name but by recognition.

8:10

That's our next project.

8:13

We also are continuing our research into historic sources and reaching out to community groups and historians and descendants who might have more stories to tell.

8:25

And one of the nicest things we got out of this, it didn't cost us anything because it was done by our landscape designer who's on our committee, Sandy Wilson, is this lovely concept for what the seminary could turn out to be for the town of Leesburg and Loudoun County.

8:42

You can see around the columbarium this over where the original church was built in 1812, that we have flowering trees there and benches, and then this cross shape was her solution, which I think is brilliant to put over the area where there's so many unmarked graves.

8:59

It will be a cross memorial garden of low low growing bulbs that will arise in the spring and honor all those who are buried underneath them.

9:11

So when we have our program in on November 1st, our All Souls Day service.

9:20

We're going to call out the names of all the people we know who are in the cemetery, consecrate the memorial monument, and hope that we will have Mount Zion parishioners to join us in planting all the bulbs.

9:34

So you have very shallow roots, they won't be getting into any graves.

9:38

But then we'll have quite a lovely park there of memory and history.

9:43

So our next act is to start fundraising to finish the landscaping, get all those monuments restored or conserved and put up educational signs and one more major marker in the back inside the garden of the flowers.

10:05

So we and our big goal is also to share the sacred space with our whole community.

10:10

I think Judge Horn is the one who told us that he looked out the window and could see, but could see, and he looked, he envisioned a beautiful green space of memory and history, and that's what it will be.

10:22

So we're we'll send you an invitation, but we hope you'll come join us on November 1st after our service around 11.

10:30

And we're here to oh yeah, we also have a copy of the report for your archives, which I'll give to Eileen.

10:36

Um, and if you would if anyone would like a digital copy of it, we can send that to you.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Zoning Ordinances█████████████████████████████████████████████47%
Historic Preservation████████████████17%
Engineering And Infrastructure█████████9%
Transportation Safety█████████9%
Floodplain Management████4%
Active Transportation███3%
Affordable Housing███3%
Environmental Protection██2%
Parking██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Leesburg Town Council Work Session - July 13, 2026

The Leesburg Town Council held a work session on the evening of July 13, 2026, beginning at 7:00 p.m. The agenda included updates on the St. James Historic Cemetery Project, discussion of the 16 Wirt Street property, bicycle infrastructure planning, and the first of several in-depth reviews of the zoning ordinance rewrite. Council also approved three proclamations and agreed to add a Clubhouse Drive improvement discussion to a future meeting.

St. James Historic Cemetery Project Update

  • Kathleen Hughes (Chair, St. James' Episcopal Church Historic Cemetery Committee) presented the project's progress, funded by a Town grant from summer 2025.
  • The committee completed a ground-penetrating radar study, a conservation plan covering all 191 standing monuments, and a landscaping concept featuring benches, flowering trees, and a cross-shaped memorial garden of low-growing bulbs over unmarked graves.
  • Radar revealed extensive unmarked burials (shown as orange areas on a map). Four tombstones are under repair (one completed, three contracted for completion by October 2026). The estimated cost to repair all monuments is approximately $87,000.
  • Research has identified war veterans from the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and Mexican-American War, as well as slaves, free blacks, tradespeople, and town leaders.
  • The next steps include fundraising (goal ~$100,000) for landscaping, restoration, educational signs, and a memorial monument. An All Souls Day service is planned for November 1, 2026.
  • Council members expressed support and appreciation. Mr. Cummings asked where to donate; the committee will set up a website.

16 Wirt Street Structure – Potential Relocation

  • Keith Markel presented background on the property, purchased by the Town in 2021 for future town hall expansion. The two-story structure (built c. 1920, ~2,000 sq ft lot, six rooms, half bath) is zoned B1 within the Old and Historic District.
  • A third-party study found lead paint, asbestos, and needed major system upgrades (roof, siding, wiring, plumbing). The building is currently vacant and not ADA-compliant.
  • Options discussed: keep and renovate (precludes town hall expansion), relocate (via RFP to interested parties), or demolish.
  • Council members expressed varied opinions: Krukowski supported removal (demolition if no taker); Nasi agreed; Mayor Burke preferred pursuing relocation via RFP before considering demolition; Council member Cummings noted the building is in poor condition and unlikely to be moved.
  • Decision: Council directed staff to develop an RFP for relocation of the structure.

Bicycle Infrastructure Planning

  • James David provided an update on past council discussions and the FY27 budget process, where a $200,000 bicycle plan enhancement request was not funded.
  • Staff applied for a U.S. DOT Safe Streets and Roads for All grant ($300,000 with 20% local match of $60,000) to develop a comprehensive safety action plan and a multimodal mobility plan. The application deadline was end of May 2026; notification takes about a year.
  • Similar grants have been awarded to neighboring jurisdictions (Town of Vienna, City of Fairfax, Town of Herndon, Loudoun County).
  • Council unanimously endorsed continuing the grant application efforts.

Review of Zoning Ordinance Rewrite – Article I (General Provisions) and Article II (Zoning Districts and Dimensional Standards)

  • James David and Mr. Watkins presented the first of several work sessions on the rewrite.
  • Article I establishes foundational framework, including measurement standards (e.g., building height measured from natural grade instead of finished grade).
  • Article II consolidates 24 existing zoning districts into 15, implementing Town Plan character areas. New districts include: Residential Suburban (4 du/ac), Residential Medium (6 du/ac single-family detached, 10 du/ac attached), Residential Urban (22 du/ac), Downtown (5 multifamily units by right, 6+ legislative – as recommended by Planning Commission), Mixed Use (40 du/ac), Innovation Center (24 du/ac), and Crescent District (six sub-districts, max 60 du/ac by rezoning only).
  • Density increases are supported by Town Plan policies, but many parcels are already subject to proffers (~75%). The Planning Commission requested traffic modeling; results led to reducing proposed Crescent District Activity Center density from 100 to 60 du/ac.
  • Council raised concerns about traffic capacity on major corridors, the definition of “urban,” open space requirements, building height measurement, and the impact on the downtown historic district. Staff clarified that the BAR retains authority to reduce setbacks in downtown to maintain harmony and compatibility.
  • The discussion is ongoing; council will continue reviewing subsequent articles at future meetings and may circle back to earlier topics.

Key Outcomes

  • St. James Cemetery: Fundraising continues; committee will share digital report with council.
  • 16 Wirt Street: Staff directed to develop an RFP for relocation of the structure.
  • Bicycle Planning: Council endorsed continued pursuit of federal grant funding.
  • Zoning Rewrite: No final decisions; council will continue deep-dive sessions. Staff will prepare an annotated outline and specific comparison tables for council review.
  • Proclamations Approved: (1) Rotary Club of Leesburg 100th anniversary (presentation July 14, 2026). (2) Performing Arts Commission dedication of August 15 concert in memory of Dr. Stephen Corksey (presentation July 28, 2026). (3) Payroll Week, September 7-11, presented August 24, 2026.
  • Future Meeting Addition: Council agreed to have staff develop an improvement plan for Clubhouse Drive (sidewalk/trail, parking policy, flashing beacons at bypass ramp) and bring it back for a work session in the fall.

Meeting Transcript

Miss Nasi, you just made it. Yay. I would like to call tonight's town council work session, July 13th, 2026, to order. Our first item for discussion tonight is the St. James Historic Cemetery Project. Kathleen Hughes, you're going to present. Okay. Thank you. Good evening, everyone. Mayor Burke and Town Council members. We of the St. James Historic Cemetery Committee are very proud to stand before you today and tell you what we've done with your very generous grant that we received from you last summer. I'm joined by uh the Reverends Chad Martin and Mary Beth Saunders William and Mills Wilson and Bulch Black History Committee member Jim Roberts, and all the rest of the people here are on our committee, including Judge Horn. And we and a few friends. So we have come to tell that you um to begin. Um excuse me. Not just for our group, it's for everyone in Leesburg. Thanks to you, um, the historic St. James Cemetery now has a complete ground penetrating radar study that was very new and high-tech. We have a detailed cemetery conservation plan that covered all hundred and ninety-one standing monuments. We have a landscaping concept, which we will turn it into a beautiful place of where people can come sit and contemplate the past and and the future with benches and flowering trees and a unique flowering garden. And we have, we believe, put this all together to make a very significant historic site for Leesburg. The ground penetrating radar shows what we know to be true by sight alone. What we suspected is that the whole area at the back of the cemetery was filled with unmarked burials. To say we were stunned would be an understatement. The orange areas with you look at the map there. The orange areas represent unmarked burials. The dotted line areas represent probable graveshafts as well as probable grave cuts. So let that sink in. So we have our work cut out for us. He also recommended safe treatments and cost estimates. So we now know that we have a big burden, maybe 87,000 dollars to finish to fix all those monuments, but we have four that are being repaired now. Not only was our attempt to preserve the space and eyesore to us and to the town, it was potentially unsafe for anyone exploring our cemetery. It has now been repaired. That one's been completed, and we have three more tombstones that have been contracted for repairs to be completed by the end of October of 2026. Through exhaustive research, we have found that our cemetery holds war veterans from the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the Mexican American War, not including those in the Columbarium. There are also many tradespeople, slaves, free blacks, a mailman, a gardener, and many town leaders creating a markercosm of 18th and 19th century Leesburg and Loudoun County. This is truly an historic site of significance. With the involvement of the Sons of American Revolution, we hope to have markers for many of the war veterans soon. And have we got stories to tell? We brought a whole bunch of them. We had over 40 that are now documented on these signs we put out for the flower and garden show and for visitors to walk around and see who was there. So some people only have this sign, and others do have a marker. But that's what we're working towards the memorial monument in the works, and our Lakesley was the designer. It's waiting now for a brass plaque with just the right words on it to honor every single person in there without but not by name but by recognition. That's our next project. We also are continuing our research into historic sources and reaching out to community groups and historians and descendants who might have more stories to tell. And one of the nicest things we got out of this, it didn't cost us anything because it was done by our landscape designer who's on our committee, Sandy Wilson, is this lovely concept for what the seminary could turn out to be for the town of Leesburg and Loudoun County. You can see around the columbarium this over where the original church was built in 1812, that we have flowering trees there and benches, and then this cross shape was her solution, which I think is brilliant to put over the area where there's so many unmarked graves. It will be a cross memorial garden of low low growing bulbs that will arise in the spring and honor all those who are buried underneath them.

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