Leesburg Town Council Meeting – October 6, 2026

The Leesburg Town Council held its regular meeting at 7:00 p.m. on October 6, 2026, in the Council Chamber at Town Hall, 25 West Market Street. The Council approved routine items, recognized Domestic Violence Awareness Month, heard the Leesburg Movement’s annual report, authorized a Tier 3 Virginia Main Street application, created a Trespass Tow Advisory Board, and began a contested Board of Architectural Review (BAR) appeal for 7 Royal Street SE. Most votes were 7-0; the minutes votes each had one abstention, and the BAR continuation was divided 5-2.

Consent Calendar and Routine Approvals

• Minutes of the September 21, 2026 work session, with Vice Mayor Cimino-Johnson absent, and the September 22, 2026 regular session, with Council Member Wilt absent, were each approved 6-0-1.
• The meeting agenda was adopted 7-0.
• The Council approved the consent agenda 7-0: (a) acceptance and appropriation of Virginia Trees for Clean Water grant funds; (b) authorization to negotiate and acquire property rights for the Townwide Water Line Improvements and Repairs (project 20505); (c) FY2027 Snow and Ice Removal Services contract award; (d) acceptance and appropriation of Virginia DMV Highway Safety grant funds; and (e) updating the Developer Reimbursement Agreement – Westpark Tech Waterline.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Molly Novotny, an urban planner with Curata Partners who said she represents landowners and developers, offered recommendations on the zoning ordinance rewrite. She recommended removing the required residential/non-residential mix percentages in the mixed-use and Innovation Center districts and instead giving Council the power to modify the mix during legislative reviews. She also recommended aligning the Innovation Center phasing language with the mixed-use district language, measuring height from finished grade rather than the proposed existing-grade method, allowing all open-space types in every district, reducing prescriptive open-space design requirements, counting landscape buffers as open space, and following Fairfax City’s parking model of 100% reductions in the historic core and 50% in surrounding areas.

Discussion Items

• Domestic Violence Awareness Month proclamation: The Mayor read and the Council approved a proclamation designating October 2026 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The proclamation cited that domestic violence affects 1 in 3 women, 1 in 4 men, and 1 in 2 transgender and non-binary individuals during their lifetimes, and that in Virginia it is linked to nearly 1 in 4 homicides, with Black women dying at a rate nearly three times higher than white women. Samantha Clarke, CEO of LAWS Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services, accepted the proclamation and reported that LAWS answered 1,600 hotline calls and sheltered almost 230 victims, over half of them children, in the past year. She invited the community to a Town Green awareness event on October 16 at 5:00 p.m.
• Leesburg Movement annual report and Tier 3 application: Erin Weston reported that the Leesburg Movement added two board members, completed a bylaws and fundraising review, and saw Restaurant Week downtown visitors grow from an average of 5,650 per day in 2025 to 7,200 per day in 2026. The organization is applying for Tier 3, Advancing Virginia Main Street; the application is due the following week and is weighted 10% community characteristics, 20% historic built environment, 20% economic environment, and 50% local Main Street program capacity. Town staff explained that Tier 3 would require a full-time manager because Leesburg’s total population exceeds 5,000, and noted the Town currently provides $30,000, office space, and an ex officio member. The Council approved the resolution authorizing the Tier 3 application 7-0.
• Public hearing – Leesburg Trespass Tow Advisory Board: Assistant Town Attorney Jessica Arena presented an ordinance adding Section 2-235 to create the Leesburg Trespass Tow Advisory Board. The Board will evaluate non-consensual trespass tow rates, benchmark them against Northern Virginia localities such as Arlington and Alexandria, and propose a rate ordinance for Council consideration. It will have equal representation from the Leesburg Police Department, licensed towing and recovery operators, and the general public, and will meet no more than four times per year. No public speakers testified, and the Council approved the ordinance with no recorded opposition. Note: the agenda and motion cite Section 2-235; the assistant town attorney’s initial spoken reference was transcribed as “2-234.”

BAR Appeal: 7 Royal Street SE (TLHPBR2026-0018)

• The Council heard an appeal of the BAR’s August 3, 2026 approval of a Certificate of Appropriateness for a second-story addition, pool, patio, parking pad, walkways, and alterations at 7 Royal Street SE, a circa 1895 vernacular contributing structure in the Old and Historic District. The BAR approval was 4-0, with two members recused and one absent.
• Appellants’ spokesperson Suzanne Markins presented six grounds: (1) the BAR did not resolve how the expansion of a nonconforming side-yard setback affected the design, despite having recognized the same issue next door at 9 Royal; (2) the BAR failed to evaluate the full record and cumulative scale and intensity across 7 and 9 Royal, which the BAR itself called “interconnected actions” whose “whole is greater than the sum of the parts”; (3) the project eliminates a long-standing historic driveway and places parking in the front, contrary to guidelines; (4) the pool, hardscaping, and enlarged footprint are too intense for the small historic lot; (5) the rear balcony is an ornamental feature incompatible with the modest vernacular house; and (6) the final design fails to differentiate 7 and 9 Royal, allowing them to “bleed together” into a unified campus, including a front fence, gate, and pergola between the properties. Markins asked the Council to reverse or remand the challenged components.
• Preservation Manager Lauren Murphy defended the approval on behalf of staff and the BAR. She said the BAR lacks authority over zoning nonconformity, use, or future site-plan compliance; the driveway was not a character-defining feature; and neighborhood parking conditions supported the front parking decision. She noted the approval includes a condition requiring the applicant to return if changes occur, and she recommended upholding the BAR decision.
• Benjamin Lay, attorney for the property owner, argued the BAR held three full meetings and did not err; the addition is modest in the context of nearby additions; and speculation about future Hotel Berg use or future zoning violations is not a lawful basis for reversal. He asked the Council to uphold the approval.
• Council Member Wilt said Hotel Berg’s owner told him personally that his purpose in acquiring 7 and 9 Royal was to build a pool with cabanas and bars as an amenity for Hotel Berg guests and members, and Wilt stated he would support the appeal. Council Member Cummings also said he would support the appeal. Council Member Steinberg moved to continue the matter to one of the next two legislative meetings to allow members to review the record; the motion passed 5-2, with Councilmembers Cummings and Nacy voting no.
• Public speaker Kathleen Poles, a neighbor, said a newspaper article quoted Kevin Ash describing the houses as rentals for Hotel Berg and that an existing fence and opening already allow passage between the two properties and Hotel Berg.

Key Outcomes

• The Council approved the Domestic Violence Awareness Month proclamation, the consent agenda, the Leesburg Movement Tier 3 application resolution, and the Trespass Tow Advisory Board ordinance.
• The BAR appeal for 7 Royal Street SE was continued, not decided on the merits. The Town Attorney stated a decision must be rendered by November 16, 2026, and the Council will take it up at one of its next two legislative meetings.
• Council asked the Town Attorney to draft a code amendment enabling the Town to remove unauthorized signs from public rights-of-way.
• The Town Manager reported that two new EV charging stations are now live on the third level of the Town Hall parking garage.
• No regional commission report was given because the NVTA meeting for the month was canceled.