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Record of Proceedings

Leesburg Board of Zoning Appeals Business Meeting - September 15, 2026

Town Council & Commissions — Tuesday, September 15, 2026
BodyLeesburg, Virginia
SessionTown Council & Commissions
DateTuesday, September 15, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 13:55

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it
1:41

Chairman Vanderleo present.

1:44

Member Marshall.

1:45

Here, present.

1:46

Member Mason Sims.

1:48

Here.

1:49

Member Gutierrez.

1:50

Here.

1:50

Uh Vice Chair Moffett.

1:53

All right.

1:54

We have four voting members present.

1:56

We have a quorum.

1:57

We can conduct business tonight.

2:00

As you all know, this is our semi-annual, or I guess, yes, semi-annual business meeting.

2:06

So we meet mandatorily once in January and again in the fall.

2:11

And so in this meeting, we don't have a lot of business, but we have a few items to hit.

2:16

We've got some meeting minutes to review and approve.

2:19

I'll see if we have any unfinished business.

2:21

And then we will have a brief zoning ordinance update.

2:25

So looking forward to that.

2:27

The first thing I'd like to go over is we have two sets of meeting minutes.

2:32

The October 21st, 2025, and the January 20th, 2026 meeting minutes.

2:38

Has everyone received a copy and had an opportunity to review them?

2:41

I have not received a copy.

2:50

Yeah.

2:51

Would you like to review my version?

2:53

I have a this the first one is a little bit longer.

2:56

If you remember, we actually had a case.

2:59

This was at 26 Wilson Avenue where we had to make an attorney.

3:02

I think we made a good decision there.

3:05

All right, excellent, excellent.

3:10

I know who voted against it.

3:14

Uh do I have any comments to the meeting minutes?

3:19

I have no comments.

3:20

All right.

3:21

I just have one comment to the January twentieth, 20 sorry.

3:28

September September 16th.

3:30

September 16th, 2025 meeting minutes.

3:33

Um and I can set share that with you separately.

3:36

It's just one word was I think printed as park, and I think they meant part.

3:43

Is part this if this neighborhood is park of the town's residential parking program.

3:49

I think yeah, so we're just we're gonna switch one letter.

3:53

Um then here are the meeting minutes for the other meeting if you want to review those as well.

4:01

All right, excellent.

4:02

Any uh do I I'll entertain a motion to approve as amended?

4:07

Second do we need a motion?

4:11

Please.

4:11

Okay, I move that we approve the minutes of the October 21st, 25, 25 meeting as amended.

4:19

Yes.

4:20

And now we're ready for your second, sir.

4:23

Second, thank you.

4:24

All right, all in favor?

4:25

Aye.

4:26

Any opposed?

4:27

All right, we carry four to zero.

4:30

Excellent.

4:31

Thank you all for that.

4:33

Do we have any unfinished business we have to vote?

4:37

I just did one.

4:37

Oh, I'm sorry.

4:38

I missed that.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Zoning Ordinances█████████████████████████████████████████████59%
Procedural███████████████████████████36%
Short Term Rentals████5%
Summary of Proceedings

Leesburg Board of Zoning Appeals Business Meeting

Meeting Date: September 15, 2026, 7:00 PM

The Leesburg Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) held its semi-annual business meeting. With a quorum of four voting members present, the Board approved minutes from prior meetings and received a high-level update on the ongoing zoning ordinance rewrite. No formal appeals or public hearings were conducted.

Approval of Meeting Minutes

  • The Board approved minutes of the October 21, 2025 meeting as amended (one word correction: changed "park" to "part") by a vote of 4-0.
  • The Board approved minutes of the January 20, 2026 meeting by a vote of 4-0. A prior motion was corrected to include both meeting minutes.

Unfinished Business

  • No unfinished business was brought before the Board.

Brief Zoning Ordinance Update

  • Staff provided an overview of the zoning ordinance rewrite process. Council began review of the rewrite on June 22, 2026, and is currently at step seven, covering non-conformities, enforcement procedures, and word usage.
  • Key changes include compressing residential districts (RE, R1, R2, R4 into RS - Residential Suburban) and adding new districts (Neighborhood Center, Innovation Center, OSP for parks/open space). The ordinance now uses a character-based approach to uses instead of a finite list.
  • A comprehensive remapping of the entire town will accompany adoption. Existing proffers will remain in effect.
  • Anticipated finalization is expected within a couple of months. The ordinance will be published online via the ENCODE platform immediately after adoption.
  • Themes identified by Council for further discussion include: zoning district densities, scale in the historic district, use table flexibility, short-term rentals, buy-right vs. legislative reviews, and parking.
  • Public engagement topics have included transition of legislative approvals to ordinance standards, landscaping/buffering, and parking.
  • The Board requested a training session on the ENCODE platform for their January 19, 2027 meeting.

Next Meeting

  • Next scheduled business meeting: January 19, 2027 (unless a case arises earlier).

Meeting Transcript

Chairman Vanderleo present. Member Marshall. Here, present. Member Mason Sims. Here. Member Gutierrez. Here. Uh Vice Chair Moffett. All right. We have four voting members present. We have a quorum. We can conduct business tonight. As you all know, this is our semi-annual, or I guess, yes, semi-annual business meeting. So we meet mandatorily once in January and again in the fall. And so in this meeting, we don't have a lot of business, but we have a few items to hit. We've got some meeting minutes to review and approve. I'll see if we have any unfinished business. And then we will have a brief zoning ordinance update. So looking forward to that. The first thing I'd like to go over is we have two sets of meeting minutes. The October 21st, 2025, and the January 20th, 2026 meeting minutes. Has everyone received a copy and had an opportunity to review them? I have not received a copy. Yeah. Would you like to review my version? I have a this the first one is a little bit longer. If you remember, we actually had a case. This was at 26 Wilson Avenue where we had to make an attorney. I think we made a good decision there. All right, excellent, excellent. I know who voted against it. Uh do I have any comments to the meeting minutes? I have no comments. All right. I just have one comment to the January twentieth, 20 sorry. September September 16th. September 16th, 2025 meeting minutes. Um and I can set share that with you separately. It's just one word was I think printed as park, and I think they meant part. Is part this if this neighborhood is park of the town's residential parking program. I think yeah, so we're just we're gonna switch one letter. Um then here are the meeting minutes for the other meeting if you want to review those as well. All right, excellent. Any uh do I I'll entertain a motion to approve as amended? Second do we need a motion? Please. Okay, I move that we approve the minutes of the October 21st, 25, 25 meeting as amended. Yes. And now we're ready for your second, sir. Second, thank you.

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