Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Business Meeting - July 7, 2026
Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Business Meeting - July 7, 2026
The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors held its regular business meeting on July 7, 2026, beginning at 9:00 AM. The meeting included adoption of the consent agenda, presentation of Virginia Association of Counties (VACo) Achievement Awards, discussion of an electrical substations white paper, public comments, and votes on several land-use and policy items, including the Secondary Road Six-Year Plan, an agrivoltaics white paper, and two substation applications.
Consent Calendar
- Affordable Dwelling Unit Advisory Board FY 2026 Annual Report – Approved.
- Housing Advisory Board FY 2026 Annual Report – Approved.
- Housing Choice Voucher Resident Advisory Board FY 2026 Annual Report – Approved.
- Loudoun County Natural Resources Strategy – Approved.
- Appointments and Confirmations (Item 2a) – Approved.
- Administrative Items Report of July 7, 2026 – Approved.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Gravel Roads / Secondary Road Six-Year Plan: Multiple residents from the Catoctin and Little River districts spoke in favor of using state funds for targeted improvements to unpaved gravel roads without paving. Speakers (Cindy Kohler, Abigail Lawrence, Craig Bond, Emily Houston, Jane Covington, John Benedict, Thomas Donahue, Paul Basilio, Pauline Nagle, Catherine Jones, Avis Renshaw, Emily Johnson) expressed support for the Rural Roads Bill and criteria-based approaches to improve drainage, stability, and safety while preserving rural character. A representative from the Rural Roads Committee noted that a pilot demonstration project on Old Waterford Road served as a model.
- Substations and Data Centers: Clement Lupton (Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce) urged approval of the Aspen substation for grid reliability. Several residents (Elizabeth Stutzman, Kim Fulmer, Kylie Omer, Stacey Westman) opposed data center expansion near homes, citing noise, air quality, water use, property values, and inadequate community engagement. One speaker (Robert Griffin) made personal remarks about the Chair.
- Other: Pete Holm spoke in support of the Barrister substation, noting its location amid other data centers and substations.
Discussion Items
- Electrical Substations White Paper (Item I-2): Staff and consultant Kimley Horn presented an overview of substation types (air-insulated vs. gas-insulated), siting considerations, screening methods, and proposed definition changes. Supervisors questioned noise impacts, setbacks, costs, cybersecurity risks, and the potential for requiring on-site substations. No formal action taken; the white paper will inform future Phase 2 policy development.
- Secondary Road Six-Year Plan (Item 4): Supervisor Kirshner moved to approve the FY 2027–2032 plan, accepting state funds for future projects pending development of criteria for unpaved road improvements. The motion passed 9-0 after discussion on pilot projects and coordination with VDOT.
- Agrivoltaics White Paper (Item 7): Supervisor Briskman and TeKrony introduced a board member initiative directing the Rural Economic Development Council (REDC) to study agrivoltaics (combining solar and farming) and return with a scope. A friendly amendment to include panel disposal was added. The motion passed 8-1, with Supervisor Kirshner voting against, citing concerns about viewsheds and long-term impacts.
- Aspen Substation (Item 6): After updates on community meetings and enhanced screening, Supervisor Umstead moved to approve the application (LEGI-2024-0038) with conditions including a Pueblo-colored screen wall. The motion carried 8-1, with Supervisor Briskman dissenting due to insufficient visual mitigation and cumulative impacts. Supervisors cited grid reliability as a key justification.
- Barrister Substation (Item 5): Supervisor Sainz moved to approve the application (LEGI-2025-0010) with enhanced buffering and screening. The motion passed 8-1, with Chair Randall voting against, stating it serves data centers, not reliability. Several supervisors praised applicant improvements but called for upfront better design on future applications.
Key Outcomes
- Consent Agenda: Approved (vote tally not specified, but appeared unanimous).
- Secondary Road Six-Year Plan: Approved 9-0.
- Agrivoltaics White Paper: Approved 8-1 (Kirshner opposed).
- Aspen Substation: Approved 8-1 (Briskman opposed).
- Barrister Substation: Approved 8-1 (Randall opposed).
- Closed Sessions: Four closed sessions were held (items XII-1 through XII-4) for property disposition and business expansion discussions; no formal action taken.
- Board Comments: Supervisors disclosed meetings, made announcements (including back-to-school supply drive, transit-on-demand pilot, and Route 15 study), and exchanged remarks regarding town hall procedures and data center policies.
Meeting Transcript
Hi, Mr. Laterno. How are you? Good. You ready? I'd like to call the order of the July seventh, two thousand twenty-six louding county board of supervisors business meeting. This room has a hearing loop. If you need hearing assistance, please put your hearing aid to the telecall mode. If you need a headset, we have those available as well. Please see the clerk to request one to uh this evening, Supervisor Glass is going to do words of inspiration, our prayer and listen and the pledge. Dear Lord, as we just celebrated the 4th of July commemorating our country's 250th, help us remember to lean into the enduring spirit that has guided our country from its founding to this moment. Lord, may you inspire in us a renewed dedication to serve our neighbors, uphold our responsibilities, and seek unity in our community. Help us to carry forward the promise of democracy serving always to strengthen the fabric of Loudon County in our nation. Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Stand for the pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic. Okay, I do not have any additions or deletions to the agenda. I would remind all my colleagues that starting today per uh the General Assembly new state code. Um if we have additions to the agenda, they can go on the agenda, but they cannot be voted on unless uh it is deemed an emergency. And so I just want to remind everybody of that going forward, that's what we're going to be. Before I read the consent agenda, I will say that once again we have a couple of items that did go out on the consent agenda and the package, but but really should never have been on the consent agenda. So I'm not completely sure what's going on there. Um so when when we have pre-agenda, I I will work with staff a little more to have the discussion about what should be and what should not be on the consent agenda and and how and why, because I don't want it it I don't want people to feel like they have to keep taking things off, which that should have never been on in the beginning. So um aspen to the aspen to go in and the barrister substantiations are not on the agenda on the consent agenda and really should have never been on there. We are also not putting the secondary robe on the consent agenda because we have a lot of speakers on that item. In fact, we have speakers on almost all of our action items today, so we will not be putting a lot of things on the consent agenda. What we will be doing is taking a fairly early uh break for closed session because we have a a good amount of time before we can get to public comments, which we can't even get to until six o'clock. So the consent agenda as of now is as follows. Item one A, the Affordable Dwelling Unit Advisory Board 2026 Annual Report. Item 1B, Housing Advisory Board 2026 Annual Report. Item 1C, the Housing Choice Voucher Resident Advisory Board 2026 Annual Report. Item 1D, the National Resources Strategy. Item 2A, appointments and confirmations, and item three, the Minnesota Times Report of July 7, 2026. I will make a motion to approve the agenda. Is there a second? Seconded by Vice Chair Turner. All I would say is um to my colleagues and to everybody, the uh the agenda items um for all of the housing are really interesting and really important, and the boards and the staff are doing a very good job with um with uh talking about the need for attainable homes, uh talking about where giving stats and numbers. Uh this is uh, as we know, a nationwide issue uh to and to have uh an adequate number of homes. And so if you if you have time to at least um read uh or or go over if you can read it in in in full, that's great. But but please try to read up with us because uh they're so important to to take up and to read. Any anybody else? Ms. Brixman. Thank you, Chair Randall. Um, this might be a question for staff, if I may, through the chair. Um, I met with a couple housing advisory board members. Um, I think it was last week or maybe the week before, and they shared that they did receive a presentation about the consultant report on the unmet housing needs strategic plan, but did not receive a copy of the report. Um, and so I was wondering when that report would be made public and be um be able to be read by the housing advisory board um and or the full board. Hello, how are you?
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