OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Leesburg Town Council Work Session: Wayfinding, Legislative Program, and Zoning Ordinance Rewrite - July 27, 2026

Town Council & Commissions — Monday, July 27, 2026
BodyLeesburg, Virginia
SessionTown Council & Commissions
DateMonday, July 27, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:31:48

Transcript — Verbatim
1:57

Let's uh let me open tonight's town hall meeting of July 27th, 2026.

2:07

Uh are we ready, gentlemen?

2:10

All right, the first item for discussion tonight is the wayfinding signage.

2:22

Get to the beginning of my presentation here.

2:24

Good uh good afternoon, members of council, madam, madam mayor.

2:28

I'm Doug Wagner.

2:29

I'm the Deputy Director of Capital Projects here this evening to um discuss some options uh with the way fund current wayfinding system in town.

2:41

Um the original the system that's in place right now was designed in 2002, implemented in 2003.

2:49

You can see the signs uh what the current design looks like.

2:53

Um the components of a wayfinding system are um the large turbo laser signs, small turboser signs, and then parking directional signs with cementary monument signs as well.

3:08

Um 2003, 23 years ago.

3:13

Um since then, a lot has changed in Leesburg.

3:15

You can see from these couple of examples, a lot of our existing signs are worn, they're damaged, some have incorrect information.

3:24

Um already talked about the first three items.

3:28

Um in 2024, we re-engaged Fraver Fraser and Associates, who was the designer of the original wayfinding system to take a look at um options for refreshing or revising the current the current system to take care of outdated outdated signs, damaged signs.

3:45

And in July of 2025, Fraser gave their findings um to council.

3:51

Um Fraser's recommendation is shown as option one in your packet.

3:55

Um and attachment one shows all the locations, is um to re fresh the sign designs and add new signs um for new destinations, um, adding uh replacing a total of about 74 signs and adding signs.

4:13

Um sign contract our current numbers.

4:16

Um we've estimated that that option will be almost five hundred and twenty-nine thousand dollars to seventy-four signs to essentially this is the refresh refresh design.

4:28

Very similar.

4:29

Um color scheme is a little bit different, but very similar to our previous design.

4:34

Um this is uh a quick simulation of what the the new signs would look like downtown.

4:41

Um this is a map of what I'll be showing as option three, not option one.

4:48

Option one is um is shown in the wayfinding study attachment one.

4:52

Um staff did prepare two additional options for council's discussion.

5:00

Um first would be um option two would basically take the current sign designs um as they are and replace warr signs, damaged signs, or signs that have incorrect information.

5:11

Approximately 26 signs estimate that option would cost uh almost 171,000.

5:18

And then option three would be to replace only the downtown signs.

5:23

Um so take Fraser's recommendations, but only for the downtown signs, and these would be the the new sign design.

5:30

Um development commission voted in favor of option three on May 14th.

5:36

And short presentation and um answer any questions or have any discussion.

5:42

Yes, ma'am.

5:43

Thank you.

5:43

Um anybody have any questions on this?

5:47

Mr.

5:47

Steinberg?

5:48

Yes, thanks.

5:49

Thanks, Doug.

5:50

Um so option three would just replace the downtown signs, but what about damaged signs outside of the downtown?

5:58

We would take all take the rest of the take all of the signs down, damaged signs, um, all the old signs, and put just new signs up in the downtown only.

6:09

So you're saying we would eliminate the signage outside of the downtown area?

6:13

Yes.

6:14

It's only only in historic downtown.

6:15

What would we expect to be the outcome of that in the long term?

6:20

It really just gives direction um direction for people coming into the downtown area and focuses on the downtown area.

6:27

So areas like the airport, um there'd be areas that wouldn't be signed as they are today.

6:36

But at some point we chose to do that signage.

6:38

I would assume that uh there was a reason we thought it was a good idea at the time.

6:45

With the 2000 2002 design, um it was it was recommended in the 2002 design to have all of the signs.

6:54

Okay, and has that logic either by staff or by our our uh consultant changed in terms of the usefulness of the signage?

7:04

Um you wanna good evening, sir.

7:12

The focus at that time was to look at option three, replace and start with the downtown area, and then as funding would be available in out of years, look at moving out from there.

7:23

So it was never an intent to just get rid of the other signs.

7:26

As Doug had mentioned, it was get rid of the ones that were there that were incorrect or in very bad shape.

7:32

Start with the new design downtown, but instead of trying to do the entire town, start with downtown and then move out from there on an annual basis, or however that was put into our budget I see.

7:46

Okay.

7:48

Um out of curiosity, is it more or less expensive to work in sort of a piecemeal fashion?

7:56

In other words, will we spend overall less money if we did the whole project as opposed to just the downtown then pick it up at some future point?

8:10

Costs will go up, so I would think if we do it piecemeal, it it'll cost a little bit more than $530,000.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Zoning Ordinances███████████████████████████████████35%
Short Term Rentals█████████9%
Active Transportation█████████9%
Engineering And Infrastructure████████8%
Procedural████████8%
Public Safety█████5%
Public Engagement████4%
Technology and Innovation███3%
Budget Equity Analysis███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Leesburg Town Council Work Session - July 27, 2026

This work session covered three major items: wayfinding signage, the 2027 General Assembly legislative program, and a review of the zoning ordinance rewrite for Article III (use regulations). The council also approved a proclamation request and discussed future agenda topics, including an e-bike work session. The meeting concluded with a closed session for ongoing litigation.

Discussion Items

  • Wayfinding Signage (Presenters: Doug Wagner, Russell Seymour): Staff presented three options for replacing aging and damaged wayfinding signs. Option 1: full refresh with new design for 74 signs ($529,000). Option 2: replace only 26 damaged/incorrect signs using current design ($171,000). Option 3: replace only downtown signs with new design (estimated cost not specified, but assumed similar to option 1 portion). The Planning Commission recommended Option 3 on May 14, 2026. Council discussed funding from data center revenue or unassigned fund balance, and the need to remove signs in poor condition. Three council members expressed support for Option 3, enough to advance it. Staff will prepare a resolution for the next regular meeting. No funding is currently allocated; council will need to decide on a funding source.

  • 2027 General Assembly Legislative Program (Presenter: Keith Markel): Staff presented a streamlined draft with seven categories. Additions included: supporting attainable housing options, data center tax consistency, procurement clarification between maintenance and construction, and several general position statements on collective bargaining. Council members offered additional requests: adding the Town of Leesburg as a voting member of the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA), petitioning the state to prohibit secrecy/NDAs in project approvals, increasing maximum fines for code violations, requesting funding for local government solar projects, and studying options for e-bike/scooter regulation. Council also discussed removing the size threshold for collective bargaining (disagreement remained). Staff will incorporate feedback and bring a revised program to the August work session for further discussion and potential adoption.

  • Review of Zoning Ordinance Rewrite Article III: Use Regulations (Presenter: James David): Staff introduced a character-based use category system to replace the current list of specific uses, providing more flexibility. The draft includes use tables with permitted (P), limited (L), and special exception (S and M) designations. Key points included: new manufactured home provisions required by state law, multifamily dwelling limit of 5 units by right in the DT district (planning commission recommendation vs. staff’s 10), short-term rental regulations with a 185-day operator occupancy requirement, new live-work unit standards, and updated data center use standards. Council members raised questions about flex space, parking for live-work units, the use of generators and battery backups for data centers, and the number of “L” designations reducing public input. Council agreed to move to Article 4 (development standards) at the August meeting and identified several topics for deep-dive sessions (flex space, permissibility levels, short-term rentals/lodging, live-work parking, and data center generator/battery/TA (tier) regulations).

Key Outcomes

  • Wayfinding: Council supported Option 3 (downtown only with new design) with three votes; staff to draft a resolution for the next regular meeting, potentially using data center or unassigned fund balance.
  • Legislative Program: Staff will revise the draft to include council suggestions (NVTA, NDA, fines, solar, e-bikes) and bring back to the August work session for further review and a final vote.
  • Zoning Ordinance Rewrite: Council agreed to proceed to Article 4 (development standards) at the August work session. Several deep-dive topics were noted for future discussion.
  • Proclamation: Approved a request from the Junior League of Northern Virginia for “Find the Good Day” on September 17, 2026, with presentation on September 8.
  • Future Topics: Council agreed to schedule a future work session on e-bike safety and enforcement.
  • Closed Session: Council voted to enter a closed session for ongoing litigation, followed by a certification motion.

Meeting Transcript

Let's uh let me open tonight's town hall meeting of July 27th, 2026. Uh are we ready, gentlemen? All right, the first item for discussion tonight is the wayfinding signage. Get to the beginning of my presentation here. Good uh good afternoon, members of council, madam, madam mayor. I'm Doug Wagner. I'm the Deputy Director of Capital Projects here this evening to um discuss some options uh with the way fund current wayfinding system in town. Um the original the system that's in place right now was designed in 2002, implemented in 2003. You can see the signs uh what the current design looks like. Um the components of a wayfinding system are um the large turbo laser signs, small turboser signs, and then parking directional signs with cementary monument signs as well. Um 2003, 23 years ago. Um since then, a lot has changed in Leesburg. You can see from these couple of examples, a lot of our existing signs are worn, they're damaged, some have incorrect information. Um already talked about the first three items. Um in 2024, we re-engaged Fraver Fraser and Associates, who was the designer of the original wayfinding system to take a look at um options for refreshing or revising the current the current system to take care of outdated outdated signs, damaged signs. And in July of 2025, Fraser gave their findings um to council. Um Fraser's recommendation is shown as option one in your packet. Um and attachment one shows all the locations, is um to re fresh the sign designs and add new signs um for new destinations, um, adding uh replacing a total of about 74 signs and adding signs. Um sign contract our current numbers. Um we've estimated that that option will be almost five hundred and twenty-nine thousand dollars to seventy-four signs to essentially this is the refresh refresh design. Very similar. Um color scheme is a little bit different, but very similar to our previous design. Um this is uh a quick simulation of what the the new signs would look like downtown. Um this is a map of what I'll be showing as option three, not option one. Option one is um is shown in the wayfinding study attachment one. Um staff did prepare two additional options for council's discussion. Um first would be um option two would basically take the current sign designs um as they are and replace warr signs, damaged signs, or signs that have incorrect information. Approximately 26 signs estimate that option would cost uh almost 171,000. And then option three would be to replace only the downtown signs. Um so take Fraser's recommendations, but only for the downtown signs, and these would be the the new sign design. Um development commission voted in favor of option three on May 14th. And short presentation and um answer any questions or have any discussion. Yes, ma'am. Thank you. Um anybody have any questions on this? Mr. Steinberg? Yes, thanks. Thanks, Doug. Um so option three would just replace the downtown signs, but what about damaged signs outside of the downtown? We would take all take the rest of the take all of the signs down, damaged signs, um, all the old signs, and put just new signs up in the downtown only. So you're saying we would eliminate the signage outside of the downtown area? Yes. It's only only in historic downtown. What would we expect to be the outcome of that in the long term? It really just gives direction um direction for people coming into the downtown area and focuses on the downtown area. So areas like the airport, um there'd be areas that wouldn't be signed as they are today. But at some point we chose to do that signage. I would assume that uh there was a reason we thought it was a good idea at the time. With the 2000 2002 design, um it was it was recommended in the 2002 design to have all of the signs.

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