OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Loudoun County FSM PRC Meeting - December 2, 2024

Commissions & Advisory Boards — Monday, December 2, 2024
BodyLoudoun County, Virginia
SessionCommissions & Advisory Boards
DateMonday, December 2, 2024
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:16:13

Transcript — Verbatim
0:19

Melanie.

0:21

Dated October 6, 2022 and the May 16, 2023 PRC bylaws.

0:27

Dave Bryant is going to be participating in the meeting from his home in Ashburn.

0:33

That is not open to the public.

0:34

He can't attend due to a temporary disability.

0:48

As required by law, the physical form of the PRC is present in the Dallas room, and the PRC has made arrangements today's voice to be heard in all persons in the dollars room.

1:01

Record should also reflect that members participating remotely, the reason and the location, and shall also reflect that we are all members of one or more affected groups, and our respective declarations of interest are kept on file.

1:16

Minutes of the facility standards manual public review competitive.

1:24

Again, thank you all for coming in.

1:45

Do we have any public comment other?

1:59

You all should have received a copy of the minutes from our November 7th meeting.

2:20

Okay.

2:23

All in favor, please say aye.

2:25

Aye.

2:33

Annual report of the seems to be lingering.

2:36

I know.

2:37

It's because at our last meeting on November 7th, y'all might recall while we were in here, the board was approving the annual report on the consent agenda at 4 o'clock.

2:47

So that got approved during our meeting, so we're good to go for another year.

2:50

And just a quick update.

2:52

Both of the dooms are scheduled for the December 11th board public hearing, and we're looking at a January 1st attended date.

3:20

So this was um we pretty much finished chapter 8 at the last meeting, but we said we would go back into um 8103, which was the overall section for Platz, uh, is cross-referenced in most sections except for 81036, 8137, so we just want to take one more look at the language and kind of get consensus that we were indeed going to reference this text for the informational exhibit in those other sections.

3:50

So this is just you know an opportunity to look at it really quick.

3:54

It's item number four.

3:56

I'll let you all read through that.

4:08

The yellow is old.

4:09

I don't want you to think I just made those changes.

4:12

That's been there.

5:17

I think we had kind of wore this out at the last meeting, but it this was to say all right, we're going to take this, we're going to put it in sections.

5:25

Right.

5:25

And let me scroll up to like that.

5:27

Maybe the best way to do is just go to the table of contents.

5:30

So you can see I don't know why this you can see 813 submission other miscellaneous plants has all these subsections.

5:39

One through five refer back to 8103 proper, but six, seven, and eight don't.

5:44

So six is easement plants, creation and vacation, seven is dedication by petty, and eight is AR1AR2 division plants, SBB D.

5:55

So we would copy that exact text back in there.

5:58

There's a couple minor tweaks in it where like if you're it says you don't have to provide it, you're only vacating.

6:05

So there's you know something essentially the same text.

6:10

And as I recall, a lot of the discussion and debate was over the Giesman plat.

6:16

Wondering why we would do that for an easement platform, but also realizing that most easement plats are already already gonna have an associated application with them.

6:25

So we kind of whatever.

6:39

I think the classic word would be I think we can live with it.

6:43

Okay.

6:46

A lot of excitement about it.

6:54

I'm here in person with all my stuff.

7:00

All right.

7:01

Now the big topic is uh chapter seven.

7:06

Send an or it sent out text on the proposed amendments.

7:14

And I tried to key this up from the standpoint of it's let staff present kind of the background and basis and informational things.

7:29

Um I really like because this is going to be at least a two-meeting deal.

7:35

Um let's try not to get into the and or should that be a capital A type thing right now.

7:45

Um I think it's really important for us to understand kind of where genesis of these amendments are coming from, and then speak to if there's certainly lack of clarity, turnover conflicts or whatever, let's kind of get those out so staff can really get a chance to maybe do some reworking if needed, or we'll see how it goes.

8:13

So that that's that's the thought.

8:17

I think if we get into the i dotting T crossing, get the cart before the horse, and then may take things off track from where we'd like to make some progress.

8:29

Who's gonna presentation?

8:41

Well, good afternoon, everyone.

8:42

Uh my name's Kyle Dingus, I'm a natural resources engineer here on the natural resources team.

8:48

And I'm excited because I actually love to present in front of people.

8:50

I know that's weird because I'm a forester by background, but this is like really fun for me.

8:55

So uh thank you for letting me be here today.

8:57

So what I'm gonna talk about is staff updates, uh, two chapter seven.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Forestry█████████████████████████████████33%
Zoning Regulations██████████████████████████████30%
Zoning Ordinance████████████████████20%
Procedural████4%
Stormwater Management████4%
Wetland Management███3%
Environmental Protection███3%
Public Records Management██2%
Easement Regulations█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Loudoun County FSM PRC Meeting - December 2, 2024

The Facility Standards Manual (FSM) Public Review Committee (PRC) met on December 2, 2024, to review proposed amendments to Chapters 7 and 8 of the FSM. The committee reached consensus on Chapter 8 revisions and discussed significant new sections for Chapter 7, including a remedial revegetation plan and invasive species management standards. Staff will return in December with revised language based on committee feedback.

Consent Calendar

  • Annual Report Update: The annual report was approved by the Board of Supervisors on the consent agenda during the PRC's previous meeting on November 7, 2024.
  • Approval of Minutes: Minutes from the November 7, 2024, meeting were approved unanimously by voice vote.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comments were offered.

Discussion Items

  • Chapter 8 Amendments (Revisit): Staff revisited the informational exhibit language in FSM sections 8.103, 8.103.6, 8.103.7, and 8.103.8. They proposed copying the text from section 8.103 into sections 8.103.6 (easement plats), 8.103.7 (dedication by plat), and 8.103.8 (AR1/AR2 division plats) with minor adjustments for each context. A committee member noted that most easement plats already have an associated application. The committee reached consensus to proceed with this approach.
  • Chapter 7 Amendments – Staff Presentation: Kyle Dingus, a natural resources engineer, presented updates driven by the new zoning ordinance adopted December 14, 2023. Key changes included:
    • Minor edits to sections 7.304 (forest management plan) and 7.305 (reforestation standards) to update references and rename positions (e.g., “county urban forester” to “director’s designee”).
    • A completely new section: Remedial Revegetation Plan (RRP) – required for zoning violations where land disturbance occurs outside approved limits, particularly in the Mountainside Overlay District and Natural Environmental Resources (NERs). The RRP includes three strategies:
      1. Reforestation plan (planting trees).
      2. Forest management plan (for sites too steep or rocky to plant).
      3. Wildlife habitat planting plan (for areas where woody vegetation is precluded by easements).
    • A new Invasive Plant Species Management Plan section, referenced by the zoning ordinance for the Mountainside Overlay District and limestone/karst overlay districts.
  • Committee Discussion on Chapter 7:
    • Scope and Applicability: Members clarified that the RRP applies only to zoning violations in sensitive areas, not to routine development. The plan triggers when ENS inspectors find unauthorized grading.
    • Terminology: A member expressed concern about the phrase “maximum extent possible” in the zoning ordinance, suggesting “maximum extent practicable” to avoid infinite obligations. Staff acknowledged the concern but noted they cannot change zoning language.
    • Planting Densities: Staff corrected an error: “100 plants per square foot” was unintentional; the correct rate is one plant per square foot, based on NRCS guidance. Planting windows (March–April and October–November) were discussed; members asked whether “shall” could be softened to allow flexibility. Staff agreed to consider adding “unless otherwise approved by the director.”
    • Professionals Required: Staff proposed changing the requirement from “landscape architect, professional forester, or certified arborist” to “qualified professional” to reduce burden for small-scale invasive species removal. Committee supported this change.
    • Easement Review: Language requiring review of all easements (including VRM) was debated. Staff agreed to refine this to apply primarily to legislative applications and large-scale proffers, not voluntary homeowner activities.
    • Structure and Clarity: Members found the organization of the RRP sections confusing because the forest management plan is listed separately but can also be a stand-alone silviculture plan. Staff will add an introductory paragraph to clarify the hierarchy and when each strategy applies.

Key Outcomes

  • Chapter 8: Consensus achieved to adopt the revised informational exhibit language across sections 8.103.6, 8.103.7, and 8.103.8.
  • Chapter 7: Staff will incorporate committee feedback and return with a revised draft at the next meeting on December 5, 2024. Specific revisions will include:
    • Clarifying the structure of the RRP section.
    • Changing “100 plants per square foot” to “one plant per square foot.”
    • Softening planting windows to allow director approval for timing exceptions.
    • Broadening professional qualifications to “qualified professional.”
    • Adjusting easement review requirements to match project scale.
  • Next Steps: The PRC will reconvene on Thursday, December 5, 2024, and January 2, 2025. Upcoming topics include sidewalks and shared-use paths, DCR/DWR information, 10-year private street reserve fund, ADU written agreements, AHU/ADU conversion process, and ESC/stormwater amendments.

Meeting Transcript

Melanie. Dated October 6, 2022 and the May 16, 2023 PRC bylaws. Dave Bryant is going to be participating in the meeting from his home in Ashburn. That is not open to the public. He can't attend due to a temporary disability. As required by law, the physical form of the PRC is present in the Dallas room, and the PRC has made arrangements today's voice to be heard in all persons in the dollars room. Record should also reflect that members participating remotely, the reason and the location, and shall also reflect that we are all members of one or more affected groups, and our respective declarations of interest are kept on file. Minutes of the facility standards manual public review competitive. Again, thank you all for coming in. Do we have any public comment other? You all should have received a copy of the minutes from our November 7th meeting. Okay. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Annual report of the seems to be lingering. I know. It's because at our last meeting on November 7th, y'all might recall while we were in here, the board was approving the annual report on the consent agenda at 4 o'clock. So that got approved during our meeting, so we're good to go for another year. And just a quick update. Both of the dooms are scheduled for the December 11th board public hearing, and we're looking at a January 1st attended date. So this was um we pretty much finished chapter 8 at the last meeting, but we said we would go back into um 8103, which was the overall section for Platz, uh, is cross-referenced in most sections except for 81036, 8137, so we just want to take one more look at the language and kind of get consensus that we were indeed going to reference this text for the informational exhibit in those other sections. So this is just you know an opportunity to look at it really quick. It's item number four. I'll let you all read through that. The yellow is old. I don't want you to think I just made those changes. That's been there. I think we had kind of wore this out at the last meeting, but it this was to say all right, we're going to take this, we're going to put it in sections. Right. And let me scroll up to like that. Maybe the best way to do is just go to the table of contents. So you can see I don't know why this you can see 813 submission other miscellaneous plants has all these subsections. One through five refer back to 8103 proper, but six, seven, and eight don't. So six is easement plants, creation and vacation, seven is dedication by petty, and eight is AR1AR2 division plants, SBB D. So we would copy that exact text back in there. There's a couple minor tweaks in it where like if you're it says you don't have to provide it, you're only vacating. So there's you know something essentially the same text. And as I recall, a lot of the discussion and debate was over the Giesman plat. Wondering why we would do that for an easement platform, but also realizing that most easement plats are already already gonna have an associated application with them. So we kind of whatever. I think the classic word would be I think we can live with it. Okay. A lot of excitement about it. I'm here in person with all my stuff. All right. Now the big topic is uh chapter seven. Send an or it sent out text on the proposed amendments. And I tried to key this up from the standpoint of it's let staff present kind of the background and basis and informational things. Um I really like because this is going to be at least a two-meeting deal. Um let's try not to get into the and or should that be a capital A type thing right now.

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