Town Council Work Session – October 26, 2026

Leesburg Town Council met for a work session on October 26, 2026, in the Council Chamber at Town Hall, 25 West Market Street. The agenda listed a Fiscal Year 2028 Budget Work Session (Public Works and CIP), Zoning Ordinance Rewrite 'Dive List' discussions, and increased civil penalties for zoning violations. The available transcript contains no discussion of the Budget Work Session and opens mid-way through the zoning use discussion; no meeting minutes were available. The recorded discussion covered use-table 'dive list' items, short-term residential rentals, data center standards, zoning enforcement penalties, future agenda topics, and a closed session.

Zoning Ordinance Rewrite – 'Dive List' Use Discussions

• Staff and council reviewed Article III use tables, with staff explaining that many proposed changes were intended to implement the Town Plan and streamline administrative approvals. Several council members expressed concern about preserving public input and protecting existing residential neighborhoods.
• Bed-and-breakfasts: Staff confirmed that bed-and-breakfasts are permitted by right downtown and are special exceptions in residential suburban and residential historic districts. A council member asked whether protections for traffic, appearance, and parking had been removed; staff said those concerns are covered by off-street parking requirements, special exception criteria, and compatibility standards, and offered to add standards back if any had been dropped.
• Hotels: Staff described the draft proposal to allow hotels as permitted or limited uses in non-residential and mixed-use districts, with hotels not allowed in residential districts. A downtown hotel would be a limited use subject to a 50-room maximum and a requirement that at least 60% of gross floor area be used for lodging. Several council members objected that limited-use approval is administrative and provides no public hearing. Council informally polled in favor of making hotels a minor special exception in downtown, and in favor of keeping hotels permitted in mixed-use and innovation center districts. Council also expressed support for eliminating or restricting the separate commercial inn category.
• Places of worship/public assembly: Staff presented use standards for limited-use approval, including noise compliance, traffic management plans, occupancy caps, and accessory-use limits. Councilmember Wilt asked for public input for all places of assembly, not only places of worship. Council informally polled four in favor of making places of worship/public assembly minor special exceptions across all discussed districts, including mixed-use districts.
• Drive-throughs: Staff reviewed proposed treatment of restaurants, banks, and pharmacies with drive-throughs, including removing drive-through restaurants from mixed-use districts because they conflict with pedestrian-oriented goals. Councilmember Cummings proposed eliminating banks with drive-throughs in downtown, and four council members supported that change. Other drive-through permissibility provisions were left as proposed. Staff noted walk-up ATMs would not count as drive-through facilities.
• Cemeteries: A council member raised the two Mount Zion cemeteries, noting that one is zoned medical center and the other is in the historic residential district, and asked whether the Black cemetery would be protected differently. Staff said the zoning difference was not intentional and came from existing district mapping, and agreed to review the mapping. Staff also cited state code protections governing cemetery removal.
• Staff noted that the dive list item about maximizing administrative handling of minor matters was intended to find uses that could move from legislative to administrative review. Other dive list questions were held until the November 9 meeting.

Short-Term Residential Rentals

• Staff presented draft changes to short-term residential rental regulations. The draft would require registration in town code rather than a home occupation permit, keep existing limits of one short-term rental per parcel and a maximum of six lodgers for stays under 30 days, and add an operator residency requirement of at least 185 days per year. The Planning Commission had also recommended a 90-day-per-year cap on short-term rental use.
• Council discussed the difficulty of verifying residency, whether existing permit holders would be grandfathered, and whether the town could cap the number of short-term rentals in a neighborhood. The town attorney said Virginia jurisdictions have generally not used numeric caps, but the town can regulate use impacts.
• Town staff and the town attorney explained that the 185-day residency requirement is intended to prevent corporate or absentee ownership, while the 90-day cap was intended to limit the intensity of use. Staff said it was comfortable with the residency requirement but did not support the 90-day cap.
• Council informally polled four in favor of the 185-day residency requirement, so that remained in the draft. The 90-day cap did not receive four votes, and a proposed alternative 180-day cap also did not receive four votes. Council directed staff to strike the 90-day cap while retaining the residency requirement.
• Councilmember Cummings requested a future work session to explore incentives for converting short-term rentals into long-term rentals. Staff agreed to research options, likely in time for the December meeting.

Data Center Use Standards

• Staff reviewed existing data center standards, which were developed with industry representatives and the Piedmont Environmental Council. Data centers are currently proposed as a special exception only in the industrial research district. Standards address building placement, mass and articulation, fenestration, equipment screening, landscaping, generators, and substations.
• Staff cited economic development research showing approximately 230 data centers in Loudoun County, with 56.5 million square feet in operation or under development and 35.7 million square feet approved in the pipeline, and said demand still outpaces supply.
• Council discussed generator hours, battery backup, and adaptive reuse. Staff said generator operating hours were not included because generators must operate during emergencies and substation outages. Council members expressed concern about continuous generator use during heat events and asked whether the town could require adequate battery backup. The town attorney said the town could require terms like 'adequate' or 'sufficient,' but enforcement could be difficult, and energy-efficiency requirements are better addressed through proffers.
• Council did not vote to add generator-hours restrictions, battery backup mandates, or adaptive reuse incentives. Staff was directed to continue monitoring Virginia Municipal League efforts and state-level data center policy.

Increased Civil Penalties for Zoning Violations

• Town Attorney Chris Spera and staff presented the draft zoning enforcement framework. The draft ordinance tracks the maximum civil penalties allowed by state code, with enhanced penalties available for multifamily residential violations under new state law. Staff said it does not recommend adopting the higher multifamily penalty maximums.
• Staff described current enforcement: a complaint-based system, a courtesy letter, a notice of violation with appeal rights to the Board of Zoning Appeals, and referral for legal enforcement if needed. Since 2021, the town has gone to court 14 times on zoning cases, plus two additional declaratory judgment cases involving deceased property owners.
• Possible options discussed included more proactive enforcement, skipping courtesy notices, seeking court injunctions or temporary restraining orders for egregious cases, asking the General Assembly to raise fine limits, and making unpaid zoning fines statutory liens against property.
• Councilmember Wilt asked which tool would address cases where stop-work orders are ignored. The town attorney said temporary restraining orders and injunctions are available tools and can be pursued without following the normal fine process.
• Council expressed support for the current outreach-first approach, for continuing the legislative request for higher penalties, and for using temporary restraining orders in egregious cases. No formal vote was taken on penalty levels.

Future Meeting Topics

• Staff previewed the November 9 work session agenda: live-work parking requirements, sustainability incentive measures, attainable housing, setback consistency, zoning map review, gateway district boundaries, carriageway townhomes overlay review, and legislation from the 2026 Virginia General Assembly related to accessory dwellings, parking, high-energy-use facilities, solar facilities, and affordable housing.
• Retail cannabis was tentatively scheduled for December 7. Staff also noted that a timeline for setting the tax rate is already in progress.

Closed Session

• The Council voted to convene a closed session under Virginia Code § 2.2-2711(A)(7) and (8) to consult with legal counsel and staff about potential litigation related to zoning matters and encroachment on town-owned airport property. The motion was seconded and passed. The meeting adjourned following the closed session.

Key Outcomes

• Council informally supported making hotels a minor special exception downtown and keeping hotels permitted in mixed-use and innovation center districts.
• Council informally supported making places of worship/public assembly minor special exceptions across the board.
• Council informally supported eliminating banks with drive-throughs downtown.
• Council approved the 185-day operator residency requirement for short-term residential rentals and rejected the 90-day and 180-day rental caps, directing staff to strike the 90-day cap.
• Council did not add new data center generator, battery backup, or adaptive reuse requirements.
• Council will continue pursuing state legislative changes for higher zoning penalties and will use temporary restraining orders where appropriate.
• A closed session was authorized for legal consultation on zoning and airport property encroachment matters.