Loudoun County Planning Commission Public Hearing – September 22, 2026

The Loudoun County Planning Commission convened a public hearing on September 22, 2026, in Leesburg, Virginia. The commission considered six legislative items: interim additions to two Agricultural and Forestal Districts, two special exceptions for the Kincora Village Center Land Bay N2A, a zoning concept plan amendment (ZCPA) for Old Arcola Residential, a ZCPA for Dulles Logistics, a rezoning/commission permit/special exception package for Dulles North Technology Park, and a countywide zoning ordinance amendment enabling affordable housing by property tax-exempt religious and nonprofit organizations. No members of the public testified on any agenda item. Commissioner Jasper participated remotely but could not join for most of the meeting and was absent from votes on Items 1–5.

Consent Calendar

• The minutes of the July 23, 2026, Planning Commission Public Hearing were adopted by a vote of 8-0-1 (Commissioner Jasper absent).

Public Comments & Testimony

• No public speakers requested to testify on any of the six public hearing items; each public hearing was opened and closed without comment.

Item 1: ALEGI-2026-0003 – Interim Additions to Agricultural and Forestal Districts (Catoctin, Little River)

• Staff (standing in for project manager Rachael Iwanczuk) presented two interim additions totaling 24 acres across two parcels: one new addition to the New Hillsborough AFD and one addition to the New Ebenezer AFD.
• The Agricultural and Forestal District Advisory Committee (ADAC) met in July and recommended approval; staff supported approval.
• Commissioner Miller moved to recommend approval, seconded by Commissioner Myers; the motion carried 8-0-1.

Item 2: LEGI-2025-0043 – Kincora Village Center Land Bay N2A: SPEX-2025-0119 & SPEX-2025-0120 (Broad Run)

• Project manager Matt Kessler presented the application for a roughly 3-acre undeveloped parcel in the Suburban Employment place type, zoned PD-MUB. The Kincora Village Center development was originally approved in July 2010 over 330 acres, with this parcel designated for a fire safety center; a 2013 ZCPA reallocated non-residential uses and revised the designation to allow hotel, commercial, and civic uses.
• The applicant seeks two special exceptions: a four-story, 95,000-square-foot mini warehouse self-storage facility, and a reduction of required parking from 48 to 34 spaces. The plan includes a 900-square-foot pedestrian seating area, a six-foot wrought-iron fence around the secured rear loading area, and green building elements.
• Staff noted the proposal provides just over 15,000 square feet of open space, about half of the roughly 31,000 square feet (30 percent of the site) envisioned by the place type, but staff supported the amount because it advances other 2019 General Plan policies through additional site design and environmental commitments.
• Commissioner Frank expressed disappointment that the hotel originally planned for the parcel is no longer feasible because of the gas station, fire station, daycare, and car wash approved around it, stating “shame on us or the folks who answered our questions, maybe not entirely accurately a couple of years ago,” but noted the contract purchaser before the commission had nothing to do with that history and supported the application as an attractive plan.
• Commissioner Frank moved to forward the application to the Board of Supervisors with a recommendation of approval, seconded by Commissioner Miller; the motion carried 8-0-1.

Item 3: LEGI-2026-0008 – Old Arcola Residential: ZCPA-2026-0005 (Dulles)

• The 32-acre site, located north of Route 50 and south of Arcola Mills Drive on either side of Stone Springs Boulevard, was rezoned in October 2023 from rural commercial and general business to residential for 228 dwelling units, including 73 affordable units on the county-owned parcel containing the former Arcola Elementary School.
• The applicant proposes proffer amendments to: reduce capital facilities (CIF) and regional road contributions for market-rate units; revise the timing of transportation improvements on the county-owned parcel; adjust permitted resource protection area (RPA) encroachments; and align affordable housing commitments with Virginia Housing Development Authority policies.
• Staff opposed the CIF and regional road contribution reduction, stating there is no policy basis to revisit a previously approved proffer agreement, and interpreting the Board of Supervisors’ September 1, 2026, action as applying only to units that had not already been approved. Staff said it would support the application if the reduction request were removed.
• Applicant Michael Capradi (with Michelle Rosati and Ben Miller) argued the Board’s adopted motion — applying to “any legislative application that have not yet been to a planning commission public hearing” — covers this application at its first Planning Commission hearing, and that Loudoun County Public Schools’ October 2025 declining-enrollment analysis (FY 2027–2032 CIP; possibly no new schools needed for up to 10 years) shows the newly approved CIF rates mitigate capital facility impacts. The applicant noted the county is a property owner and signed the Land Development Application.
• Commissioners split over statutory interpretation. Commissioners Combs and Banks argued the Board’s adopted language is clear and unambiguous, while Chair Kears and others sought clarification from the County Attorney’s office. Commissioner Miller noted the language read by the applicant differed from the draft motion in the Board packet; the transcript confirms the adopted version is the controlling document.
• Vice Chair Motoretti’s motion to approve with the CIF/regional road reduction removed and technical proffer revisions added failed in a 4-4 tie. Chair Kears’ substitute motion to send the item to a work session carried 5-3 (Commissioners Combs, Banks, and Myers opposed; Commissioner Jasper absent).
• The applicant requested a denial recommendation instead, citing the October 2026 deadline for the next affordable housing funding round and noting a work session would push financing to February or March. Commissioner Frank noted the earliest Board hearing would be November 12 regardless.
• A motion to reconsider carried 8-0-1. Vice Chair Motoretti’s renewed motion — approval subject to removal of the CIF/regional road contribution reduction and technical proffer revisions — carried 8-0-1. Commissioners Myers, Combs, and Banks voiced strong disagreement with removing the reduction request but voted in deference to the applicant’s preference.
• The application will be forwarded to the Board of Supervisors with a recommendation of approval conditioned on removing the CIF and regional road contribution reduction.

Item 4: LEGI-2026-0001 – Dulles Logistics: ZCPA-2026-0002 (Dulles)

• Project manager Fayula Gordon presented the application for the approximately 8.79-acre Dulles Logistics Center, west of Pleasant Valley Road and north of Route 50, zoned PD-GI and developed with approximately 130,000 square feet of warehouse uses at a maximum FAR of 0.34.
• The applicant requests a ZCPA to amend the approved proffers to install an 11,000-square-foot mezzanine for office and storage use. Applicant’s counsel confirmed the mezzanine is essentially a second story.
• Staff found the application consistent with the 2019 General Plan and recommended approval. No public comments were received.
• Vice Chair Motoretti moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Combs; the motion carried 8-0-1.

Item 5: LEGI-2025-0053 – Dulles North Technology Park: ZMAP-2024-0017, CMPT-2025-0009, SPEX-2025-0101 & SPEX-2025-0102 (Sterling)

• Project manager Matt Kessler presented the application for a just-under-25-acre site in the Sterling District, split-zoned PD-IP and C-1 under the 1972 zoning ordinance, with two existing commercial buildings (approved in 1998 for 280,000 square feet of office and warehouse use) on the southern portion.
• The application proposes a rezoning, commission permit, and two special exceptions for an electrical substation with a 15-foot screen wall, doubled buffer plantings, and an additional 25-foot buffer for open space and pollinator areas. Staff identified incompatibility with the suburban mixed-use place type, which does not anticipate industrial zoning or substation use, and could not support approval without additional information such as maximum height, development footprints, and proffered incompatible uses.
• Applicant Ben Wales (with Brian Downey of BF Soil Companies) announced the application area would be narrowed to the northern portion of the site with a single GIS substation to serve the Dulles Technology Park application heard the prior Thursday. The proposal includes increased setbacks, a 10-foot berm, a minimum 10-foot wall (vs. the typical 6-foot requirement), and doubled required plantings.
• Commissioner Miller called the wall “a prison wall” but praised the berm as “terrific,” and contrasted the proposal with a prior reliability substation roughly half a mile away where the commission was told there was not enough room for berms and trees. Commissioner Combs said, “if we could please get every other substation application to look like this one,” the county would be in much better shape.
• Applicants confirmed they do not yet know where the transmission lines will originate; Dominion Energy has asked for access to the property to conduct studies. The applicants also confirmed the substation and data center were originally part of a larger application filed in November 2024 and split into separate applications, with this substation application accepted for processing in October 2025.
• Chair Kears moved to recommend denial, citing the location, the unknown power source, and his prior opposition to the related data center. The motion failed in a 4-4 tie. After Commissioner Miller offered to abstain to break the deadlock and move the item to the Board, the renewed denial motion carried 4-3-1 (Commissioner Miller abstaining; Commissioners Combs, Myers, and Banks opposed; Commissioner Jasper absent).
• The application will be forwarded to the Board of Supervisors with a recommendation of denial.

Item 6: ZOAM-2026-0004 – Affordable Housing by Property Tax-Exempt Religious and Nonprofit Organizations (Countywide)

• Planner Joe Carter Jr. presented the zoning ordinance amendment implementing House Bill 1279 (approved April 22, 2026; codified as Virginia Code § 15.2-2288.9), which mandates by-right affordable housing development by property tax-exempt religious and nonprofit organizations. The county must adopt the amendment before the legislation takes effect January 1, 2027; the Board of Supervisors initiated the amendment on June 16, 2026.
• The proposed new Section 9.04 establishes “religious or nonprofit organization units” (RENOUs) with: density up to 20 dwelling units per acre; no minimum lot size; maximum 10-foot setbacks; building height up to 45 feet; a 70/30 residential/non-residential split; at least 60 percent of units affordable; rental units up to 80 percent of area median income and purchase units up to 120 percent; 30-year deed restrictions; administrative processing without rezoning or special exception; and deemed compliance with the General Plan.
• Staff estimated approximately 21 eligible parcels totaling roughly 42 acres, of which only nine are greater than one acre, and stated the extent of the requirement in Loudoun is likely minimal.
• Commissioner Miller noted the state code “usurps local zoning authority” but that the county has no choice but to comply, and that the amendment does what the state requires. No public comments were received. Commissioner Jasper joined for this vote.
• Commissioner Myers moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Banks; the motion carried 9-0.

Key Outcomes

• AFD interim additions: recommended approval by a vote of 8-0-1.
• Kincora Village Center Land Bay N2A (SPEX-2025-0119 & SPEX-2025-0120): recommended approval by a vote of 8-0-1.
• Old Arcola Residential ZCPA-2026-0005: recommended approval by a vote of 8-0-1, with the CIF and regional road contribution reduction removed and technical proffer revisions added.
• Dulles Logistics ZCPA-2026-0002: recommended approval by a vote of 8-0-1.
• Dulles North Technology Park (ZMAP-2024-0017, CMPT-2025-0009, SPEX-2025-0101 & SPEX-2025-0102): recommended denial by a vote of 4-3-1 (Commissioner Miller abstaining; Commissioner Jasper absent).
• ZOAM-2026-0004 (affordable housing by religious/nonprofit organizations): recommended approval by a vote of 9-0.
• The Western Loudoun Recreation Center work session is scheduled for October 8, 2026. Chair Kears asked staff to schedule E-Scribe agenda-management training and expressed strong preference for keeping the Walrus ad hoc meetings on an every-other-week schedule, stating weekly meetings would not give members adequate time to absorb the material.