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Record of Proceedings

Zoning Ordinance Committee Meeting - December 4, 2024

Commissions & Advisory Boards — Wednesday, December 4, 2024
BodyLoudoun County, Virginia
SessionCommissions & Advisory Boards
DateWednesday, December 4, 2024
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:30:27

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it
0:11

Yes, it's very good.

0:19

He was confirmed.

0:21

Okay, so he was confirmed.

0:30

Okay.

0:30

Good morning.

0:35

So this side is not opposed to questions really next week.

0:42

Zoom more.

0:44

Good morning.

0:46

All right, I'm gonna call the meeting order.

0:49

All the zoom review recording.

0:54

Yes.

0:56

Good morning.

0:57

I will call the December 4th, 2024 zoning ordinance committee.

1:02

Committee meeting order.

1:05

Um any review of the agenda.

1:10

Public input.

1:14

Any disclosures.

1:20

Before we jump in, I'm gonna introduce Bill Hatch, who was unanimously approved last night.

1:24

And this is the first time I met you.

1:26

Do you want to tell us a little bit about yourself?

1:28

Sure.

1:29

Thank you very much.

1:30

I appreciate first meeting.

1:31

I have a lot of information to kind of back him up, I hope.

1:36

And not much too much out.

1:39

But yeah, we've been farming for we're in our 75th year.

1:44

Uh dairy farm to be farm, including a winery now.

1:49

And uh Western louding is what we love.

1:53

Okay.

1:54

Welcome to the committee.

2:01

Yeah, and it's good wine is important.

2:06

Yeah, and uh missing the winery board meeting right now because I wanted to be here instead.

2:12

So are they on the first Wednesday of the month?

2:15

They are the first uh want to talk about moving the meeting date.

2:19

That's the first thing on your deputy.

2:22

Can we talk about the time?

2:24

We can we do that at the end?

2:26

Talk about wine if you I was gonna go there.

2:29

4 30 4 30 and winery.

2:34

Oh, I'm not gonna be almost talking about that.

2:37

That is gonna be all agree to something.

2:39

I already see that there, so Zock could wonder the logistics a little bit.

2:47

Welcome to the committee.

2:49

Thank you.

2:49

Um there's come hopefully coming a whole lot to absorb.

2:55

All right, there's uh we have an action report for November 6th.

3:01

Anyone have any comments or changes or we take a motion?

3:05

Let's do first second.

3:08

All favor, um 5 a.m.

3:18

All right, yep.

3:20

So thank you.

3:21

All right, some updates on the projects that we have going on.

3:25

First, starting with the data center standards and locations, CPAM and Zoom.

3:30

Uh phase one, uh, as it says there in the agenda, it's gone through a planning commission work session both on the 14th and then it was a work session after the public hearing on November 22nd last Tuesday.

3:46

Um clarify that it was a work session at public hearing, but also um there's a meeting tomorrow uh evening, another planning commission work session.

3:57

Staff is circling back on some questions from the commission, sharing input from partner groups, and the county attorney will plan to address the commission's questions on grandfathering investing.

4:09

Also, um, after the public hearing portion of the meeting, the planning commission will continue to discuss the data center item Thursday of next week, December 12th.

4:20

Um second one, the zoning wound still remote.

4:25

Oh, yeah.

4:25

Um, can I just ask planning commissioners?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Zoning Regulations███████████████████████████████████████39%
Data Center Development█████████████13%
Community Engagement████████████12%
Public Engagement█████████9%
Personnel Matters████████8%
Procedural███████7%
Equestrian Regulations████4%
Meeting Management████4%
Economic Development██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Zoning Ordinance Committee Meeting - December 4, 2024

The Zoning Ordinance Committee (ZOC) convened on December 4, 2024, at 9:30 AM in the Dulles Room. The meeting covered updates on several Comprehensive Plan Amendments (CPAM) and Zoning Ordinance Amendments (ZOAM), a discussion of the committee's 2024 issues list, and a motion to request involvement in the Clean-Up ZOAM list. Committee members expressed strong frustration with the county's ad hoc planning processes and the lack of effective use of ZOC's expertise.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Action Report for November 6, 2024: The committee unanimously approved the action report from the previous meeting.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comments were made during the public input period.

Discussion Items

  • Data Center Standards & Locations (CPAM/ZOAM-2024-0001): Staff reported that the Planning Commission held work sessions on November 14 and 26, and a public hearing on November 22, with additional work sessions scheduled for December 5 and December 12, 2024. The commission is focusing on vesting and grandfathering rules specific to data centers, as well as areas where data centers should remain by-right. Committee members noted that the 2023 ordinance has not yet been tested by applications and questioned the rush to move to special exception. Planning Commissioner Myers stated that the commission aims to finalize by January 2025.
  • Clean-Up ZOAM (Zoning Ordinance Rewrite Adjustments): Staff indicated that the resolution of intent to amend is expected to be brought to the Board of Supervisors in early 2025, with adoption likely in late spring or early summer. Committee members expressed frustration that the list of issues has not been shared or prioritized. A motion was made by Rich and seconded by Joe, requesting the chair to seek approval from the Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission leadership for ZOC to review the preliminary Clean-Up ZOAM list and provide comments to assist staff. The motion passed unanimously. The committee also discussed broader process failures, with multiple members criticizing the board's ad hoc approach to CPAMs and ZOAMs, which they said undermines the planning commission, ZOC, and public trust.
  • Western Loudoun/Rural Uses and Standards (CPAM/ZOAM-2024-0002): Staff updated that the Transportation and Land Use Committee (TLUC) held the first of seven special stakeholder meetings on November 21, focusing on equestrian uses. The next meeting is January 23, 2025, on ag processing and rural lodging. Committee members noted that the stakeholder group was skewed toward business/tourism (6 of 9) and lacked residential representation, and that the process did not adequately incorporate the four years of comments (80 organizations, 1,400 individuals, 5,000+ comments) from the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite. One member recommended that staff acknowledge the existing comments upfront in future meetings.
  • Manufactured Housing (ZOAM-2024-0003): The Board of Supervisors approved a resolution of intent to amend on November 7, 2024, to clarify that only one manufactured home may be developed as a principal use per lot, and that it can also be an accessory dwelling. The item will be presented to the Planning Commission on December 12, 2024, and is not expected to come to ZOC due to its simplicity and expedited nature. Committee members noted that this could have been bundled with other simple fixes.
  • 2024 List of Issues/Concerns: The subcommittee presented a draft letter and matrix of unvetted issues for the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors. Members discussed adding a paragraph about the broken process and the need for a joint meeting between ZOC and the full Planning Commission. The chair agreed to revise the letter and circulate it for final comment before sending.
  • ZOC Bylaws: The bylaws were approved by the Board of Supervisors on November 7, 2024, with a motion to make the "Visit Loudoun" stakeholder position non-voting (which failed 1-8). No further action was needed.

Key Outcomes

  • Motion on Clean-Up ZOAM List: The committee passed a motion (unanimous) requesting the chair to seek approval for ZOC to review and comment on the preliminary Clean-Up ZOAM list to assist staff, with the goal of reporting back by the February 2025 meeting. The motion emphasized that this should not delay the process.
  • Letter Draft: The chair will update the draft letter to include a paragraph on process concerns and the desire for a joint meeting with the Planning Commission, then circulate for final approval.
  • Upcoming Meetings: The committee decided to cancel the January 15, 2025 meeting unless a need arises. Staff will survey members on preferred meeting times (morning vs. afternoon) and explore alternative dates. The next scheduled meeting is February 2025.
  • New Member: Bill Hatch, a 75-year dairy farmer and winery owner from Western Loudoun, was welcomed as a new member, having been unanimously approved by the Board of Supervisors the previous evening.

Meeting Transcript

Yes, it's very good. He was confirmed. Okay, so he was confirmed. Okay. Good morning. So this side is not opposed to questions really next week. Zoom more. Good morning. All right, I'm gonna call the meeting order. All the zoom review recording. Yes. Good morning. I will call the December 4th, 2024 zoning ordinance committee. Committee meeting order. Um any review of the agenda. Public input. Any disclosures. Before we jump in, I'm gonna introduce Bill Hatch, who was unanimously approved last night. And this is the first time I met you. Do you want to tell us a little bit about yourself? Sure. Thank you very much. I appreciate first meeting. I have a lot of information to kind of back him up, I hope. And not much too much out. But yeah, we've been farming for we're in our 75th year. Uh dairy farm to be farm, including a winery now. And uh Western louding is what we love. Okay. Welcome to the committee. Yeah, and it's good wine is important. Yeah, and uh missing the winery board meeting right now because I wanted to be here instead. So are they on the first Wednesday of the month? They are the first uh want to talk about moving the meeting date. That's the first thing on your deputy. Can we talk about the time? We can we do that at the end? Talk about wine if you I was gonna go there. 4 30 4 30 and winery. Oh, I'm not gonna be almost talking about that. That is gonna be all agree to something. I already see that there, so Zock could wonder the logistics a little bit. Welcome to the committee. Thank you. Um there's come hopefully coming a whole lot to absorb. All right, there's uh we have an action report for November 6th. Anyone have any comments or changes or we take a motion? Let's do first second. All favor, um 5 a.m. All right, yep.

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