TLUC Special Meeting on Western Loudoun Lodging, Day Camps, and Campgrounds - October 22, 2025
TLUC Special Meeting on Western Loudoun Rural Uses and Standards – October 22, 2025
This special meeting of the Transportation and Land Use Committee (TLUC) focused on the Western Loudoun Rural Uses and Standards CPAM/ZOAM, specifically lodging uses (bed and breakfast homestays, inns, country inns, rural resorts), day and boarding camps, and campgrounds. The meeting was a listening session with invited stakeholders and a committee of the whole discussion. No formal votes were taken; staff will use the input to prepare draft language for future TLUC direction meetings.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Business Sector: Laura Emmelman (Scarlet Springs Farm) expressed that B&Bs are homes and farms, and the flexibility to host private parties is essential for financial sustainability. She urged that concerns be directed at permitted B&Bs, not short-term rentals. Manisha Shah (Stone Manor Boutique Inn) recommended keeping existing regulations that work and focusing on enforcement of current rules. Sherry Shields (Hidden View B&B, President of Loudoun County Bed and Breakfast Guild) warned that proposed changes could make her non-compliant, and that licensed B&Bs are being squeezed out by unregulated short-term rentals, comparing it to taxis vs. Uber.
- Agricultural/Conservation Sector: Kelly Fultman (homestay B&B owner) opposed a minimum of two guest rooms, stating it would eliminate her operation. She advocated closing the loophole that allows lodging uses to be a pretext for event venues and called for enforcement. Sarah Brown (Oakland Green Farm) supported addressing the intensity of uses (e.g., ingress/egress, parking) and noted that enforcement by complaint is problematic because complaints are often not verified in real time. Avis Renshaw (Lost Corner Farm) described negative impacts from events: loud music past 11 PM, lighting, and traffic. She advocated for a 9 PM noise curfew on weeknights for rural venues, emphasizing that rural neighbors deserve quiet.
- Residential Sector: Casey Chapman urged against overregulation, citing the 2019 General Plan's vision for rural tourism and entrepreneurship. Jean Galland stated that lodging uses are often a pretext for event centers, leading to traffic, noise, and light impacts. He called for a maximum cap on attendees and maintained records to prove lodging use. Donnie Walker (B&B owner) supported traditional B&Bs and opposed changes that would harm compliant operators; he emphasized the need for enforcement and noted that the current licensing process is challenging.
- Planning Commission Representatives: Rob and Eve Jasper highlighted issues of enforcement, consistency across uses, and the cumbersome approval process that encourages loopholes. Mark Miller argued that outdoor music should be regulated consistently regardless of the number of attendees, because music is music.
Discussion Items
- Setbacks: The committee discussed maintaining existing setback requirements for lodging structures to avoid creating non-conforming uses. There was interest in potentially creating new setback requirements for structures built solely for event space. Staff noted that country inns require a 200-foot setback from lot lines (or 100 feet from commercial uses), while B&B homestays and inns rely on zoning district setbacks. The landscape buffer for outdoor private parties includes a 50-foot setback and a six-foot fence/berm.
- Noise: The discussion centered on outdoor music cutoff times. Consensus emerged for a consistent standard across lodging uses: 10 PM on Sunday–Thursday and 11 PM on Friday and Saturday. Staff noted that the zoning ordinance sets a 55-decibel limit at the property line, while the codified ordinance prohibits sound audible inside a neighbor’s home with windows closed. Enforcement was a key concern, with suggestions for proactive enforcement and penalties for repeated violations.
- Private Party Attendees: The committee considered increasing the number of times per year that maximum daily attendees may be exceeded (from 20 to 25) and implementing a sliding scale based on property size. There was concern that the current table (Table 5) has no maximum for the number of attendees when exceeding the daily limit, allowing potentially large events. The annual private party permit process was noted as lacking enforcement. Some speakers supported a sliding scale tied to property size and parking capacity.
- Number of Guest Rooms and Proof of Operation: The committee discussed requiring a minimum number of guest rooms to prevent lodging uses from being a pretext for events. Most stakeholders opposed a minimum, arguing it would harm existing B&Bs with historic small structures. Instead, the focus was on requiring proof of operation (e.g., through Transient Occupancy Tax records) before hosting private parties. There was discussion about closing loopholes where operators have few or no occupied rooms but still hold events. The idea of requiring a minimum number of rooms rented by private party attendees was not supported.
- Day Camps, Boarding Camps, and Campgrounds: Staff asked whether these uses should have similar requirements (e.g., setbacks based on intensity). The committee noted that there are currently no known campgrounds in Loudoun County (except Algonkian Park, operated by NVRPA). Speakers expressed interest in promoting campgrounds, especially glamping, but identified barriers such as land cost, infrastructure (septic, water), and natural resource restrictions. The committee did not recommend specific changes but encouraged staff to explore opportunities. The definition of “seasonal” for day camps was questioned, and staff committed to clarifying it.
Key Outcomes
- No formal decisions were made; the meeting was a listening session to gather stakeholder input.
- Staff will prepare draft language for future TLUC direction meetings scheduled for December (food service, MOD, signage), January (farm wineries, limited breweries, limited distilleries, B&Bs), and a third meeting after the eighth stakeholder session.
- The committee expressed general support for:
- Maintaining existing setback requirements for lodging structures, but considering new setbacks for event-only structures.
- Consistent outdoor music cutoff times: 10 PM weekdays, 11 PM weekends.
- Increasing the number of times per year that daily attendee limits may be exceeded (from 20 to 25), with a possible sliding scale based on property size.
- Requiring proof of operation (e.g., TOT records) as a condition for hosting private parties, rather than imposing minimum room numbers.
- Strengthening enforcement, including potential proactive enforcement and penalties for repeated violations.
- The committee acknowledged the need to address water availability (drinking water) in Western Loudoun when considering future development.
- Staff will continue to evaluate campground and day camp regulations, with attention to health and safety and potential for new campground opportunities.
Meeting Transcript
All right, we're gonna start. I would like to call to order the October twenty-second, twenty twenty five Transportation Land Use Committee special meeting. This room has a hearing loop. If you need hearing assistance, switch your hearing aids to telecoil mode. If you need a headset, we have those available as well. Please see the clerk to request one. For this special meeting, committee members will be allowed two minutes for questions. Tonight's meeting will occur in the following order. Staff will provide their introductory presentation following staff's presentation. The TLUC members will have two minutes to ask questions of staff. Then I will call on each stakeholder to provide their comments. Each stakeholder will be allotted three minutes. Then we will take a dinner break if it's five th if it's six thirty. And after returning, the committee and invited stakeholders will then move to the tables in front of the dais for a committee of the whole. Staff will introduce the issue topic. We will hold a 20-minute committee of the whole session with two-minute time limit per speaker. Each person will only speak once per topic. So I'll make sure that I call on everyone if you would like to speak during that 20-minute time. At the conclusion of the meeting, staff will provide a summary of the feedback received as part of the wrap-up session and note any outstanding areas. If needed, the chair may authorize an additional 20-minute committee of the whole with a two-minute time limit per speaker. As a reminder to facilitate an efficient meeting and ensure we gather feedback from all stakeholders on every agenda topic. After this input session, the staff will return to a future regular TLUC meeting to summarize the discussions and receive guidance from the committee on the agenda topics before they begin to draft proposed text. Yes, all right. Everybody's a seasoned veteran now. The final meeting in the stakeholder series will be the miscellaneous meeting where we discuss some of the topics we didn't finish during this process, as well as some other just general cleanup categories that that meeting date has not uh yet been solidified. In addition, we will be uh coming back to T Luck for actual direction on some of the language uh that we will be putting together. Um that will uh those meetings will uh there will be three of those meetings, uh the first one being in December. Uh we will uh ask for direction from TLUC regarding the food service issue, uh MOD and signage. Uh the second T LUC direction meeting, which we anticipate to be held in January uh will be the meeting where TLUC provides staff with direction on farm wineries, limited breweries, and limited distilleries, and bed and breakfasts. Then that third T luck direction meeting uh will not occur until after the eighth stakeholder meeting has occurred, which will be at the beginning of the year. We're again we don't know exactly what that date will be as of yet. Uh again, the purpose for tonight's meeting is to receive stakeholder input and have a have a uh diverse and uh hopefully beneficial back back and forth discussion on the bed and breakfast and lodging topic. Um, you know, staff is going to take the input that we hear, and obviously when we put our staff staff report together, we will uh include include what occurs at this meeting uh for TLUC's benefit when you give us uh direction on this on this topic. Um, there is going to be overlapping issues, particularly in tonight's discussion. We are going to talk about you know uh bed and breakfast uses as well as you know some of the events that are held at those uh uses, uh keeping in mind that in two weeks we'll also be uh having a discussion regarding events at some of the wineries, breweries, and limited distilleries uses. So there is going to be overlap. All I would ask is that you stay focused on the topic tonight, and we will do our best to you know reconcile that when we have our discussion at the next meeting. Now I'd like to turn it over to Dave Schniggenberg, who is going to talk about the current zoning ordinance standards. Uh and uh with that I'll turn it over to Dave. Thanks. Thanks, Brian. So tonight we're gonna be discussing the use specific standards for several uses found in chapter four. Um the use specific standards in section 40301 for bed and breakfast homes days, inns, country inns, rural resorts, section 40302 for day and boarding camp uses, and section 40303 for campgrounds. Uh just as a quick refresher from the April meeting, the use specific standards for the lodging uses in Section 40301 include maximum daily attendees, private parties, hours of operation, landscape buffering and screening, setbacks, number of guest rooms, food service, exterior lighting, noise, and roads and access. The use specific standards for day and boarding camp uses include scaled requirements for minimum law area, maximum daily guests and borders setbacks, as well as additional standards for accessory structures and temporary dwellings, roads and access, and exterior lighting. The use specific standards in section 40303 for the campground uses for the campground use include scaled setback requirements as well, and that's for the minimum law area, maximum number of campsites, setbacks, and maximum size of all structures used for the campground use. Um standards for recreational areas, communications, communication, lighted streets and trails, service buildings, ground cover and roads and access, exterior lighting, as well as additional standards for prohibiting campgrounds from being used as permanent residences, and minimum minimum square footage and width for each campsite. And lastly, we'll be discussing the relevant definitions, which are basically the terms that I kind of just went over the specific sections of, but that's the bed and breakfast home stay, bed and breakfast in, day and boarding camp, uh campground, country in and rural resort. Uh these definitions are of course found in chapter 12 of the zoning ordinance and on pages five and six of the staff report. Uh those brief overview, but I'll turn things back over to Brian.
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