OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Loudoun County Standards Manual Public Review Committee Meeting - June 16, 2025

Commissions & Advisory Boards — Monday, June 16, 2025
BodyLoudoun County, Virginia
SessionCommissions & Advisory Boards
DateMonday, June 16, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:23:02

Transcript — Verbatim
0:05

So I'd like to call the order the May 15th, 2025, City Standards Manual Public Review Committee meeting.

0:11

No members are participating remotely.

0:18

And committee members disclose that they are members of one or more affected groups.

0:29

I have to read a special intro in addition here concerning annual adoption of the all virtual meeting and remote participation policy.

0:45

The Virginia Code requires advisory bodies to adopt the all virtual meeting and remote participation policies in their bylaws once annually.

0:54

The procedures will remain the same.

0:56

No changes to the current bylaws bylaws are proposed.

1:01

Adopting the policy enables us to hold all virtual meetings and to participate remotely in your city meetings pursuant to state fall for the remainder of the calendar year.

1:14

I'm going to make a motion to be a second.

1:40

Thank you, Elizabeth.

1:43

Sorry, discussion.

1:47

So a lot of that was fancy language for me.

1:50

Does that mean we are having all of our meetings virtual?

1:56

It allows us to it's this is a requirement that we formally vote on this every year to say that we can have virtual meetings and a court exploited the state code.

2:09

Does not mean we will just mean that we would.

2:17

Having heard that the first time, that makes sense.

2:24

Any opposed asking ends.

2:41

We don't have any public comment.

2:44

Okay.

2:50

And already said there's some suggested suggested edits.

3:10

Megan provided this comment.

3:11

She listened to the recording and said that this particular comment here should have been that a committee member noted that 0.1 is the maximum permissible depth of sheet flow.

3:23

This is pertaining to the level spreader discussion.

3:27

And I had said head.

3:45

I think that's fine.

3:53

Okay.

3:54

We're good.

3:55

Head and depth.

3:57

Two different things.

3:58

Yep.

4:02

We would just need a motion to approve the minutes asked section.

4:06

Thank you, Derek.

4:07

Is there a second?

4:10

Brandon, all in favor, please say aye.

4:12

Aye.

4:13

Any opposed?

4:16

Good.

4:17

I I have to abstain.

4:18

I wasn't there for votes.

4:19

Oh, I'm sorry.

4:21

Thank you.

4:25

Next is the May 1st minutes.

4:28

Yes, I can say a button to close this.

4:31

So many things in the pen.

4:32

Um, so there were um four significant amendments to the May 1st minutes.

4:39

Um the first thing was I told you all I would list the ZOC members with the um the exact liaison and got the list of members.

4:47

So that's new from the draft that I showed you.

4:49

I told you I would have that.

4:51

Um so I made that edit.

4:57

Okay, and then myself a note.

5:03

Um I also added this because I thought we normally have this as a matter of business, and Kevin did facilitate that meeting, and he did indicate that we didn't have any public comment at the meeting.

5:15

So I thought that was important to require.

5:17

So I added that after I sent the minutes to you.

5:21

Um but there are a couple other things here.

5:24

Some of these comments um came from Megan who attended the meeting, and the comments in yellow came from Maggie who proof checked me to make sure that I was saying things correctly and wasn't um gonna be a source of misinformation in my minutes.

5:38

So the first thing was the statement that it was also noted um that defining active rec as anything um requiring equipment is too broad, but then the second half of this and designs have improved such that playgrounds can be constructed over infiltrating or filtering water quality best management practices.

5:58

So Megan, this is a little bit abbreviated to what you gave me just for minutes purposes, yeah.

6:03

So but um this was actually Megan's call.

6:07

So it's kind of important to get this correct.

6:09

Uh once again, so I made I made this correction.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Floodplain Management█████████████████████████████29%
Level Spreaders███████████████15%
Stormwater Management██████████████14%
Zoning Ordinance████████████12%
Technical Memorandum███████████11%
Procedural███████7%
Agricultural Operations██████6%
Zoning Regulation████4%
Wetland Management█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Loudoun County Standards Manual Public Review Committee Meeting - June 16, 2025

The committee met to adopt the annual all-virtual meeting policy, approve past minutes, and conduct a detailed review of proposed amendments to the Floodplain Standards Manual (FSM). Discussions centered on floodplain study requirements, boundary line adjustments, level spreader criteria, and design reference updates. Several technical items were deferred for further analysis.

Consent Calendar

  • The committee unanimously adopted the annual all-virtual meeting and remote participation policy, enabling virtual meetings through the remainder of the calendar year. No changes to current bylaws were proposed.
  • Minutes from the May 1, 2025 meeting were approved with amendments after corrections provided by Megan and Maggie.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comments were presented.

Discussion Items

  • Floodplain Study Exemptions: The committee debated whether boundary line adjustments (BLAs) that consolidate lots should trigger a floodplain study. Staff noted guidance from DCR that consolidation may be considered a subdivision; some members preferred simpler language or removal of the provision. The item was held for further clarification.
  • Design Reference Revisions: The opening statement in section 5200 was adjusted to say "shall apply" instead of "apply in all cases" to better reflect that floodplain studies use different references. A sinuosity diagram will be added as a new figure (Figure 9).
  • Level Spreader Standards: Extensive discussion occurred on the proposed 15 CFS cap for level spreaders within 50 feet of wetlands. Megan suggested removing the CFS limit and using a maximum length of 144 linear feet, allowing compliance with channel and flood protection criteria to govern. The committee agreed to explore this as a limited application under the B criteria before broader implementation.
  • Land Cover Coefficients: Megan proposed reclassifying 'meadow' from its current 'orchard/vineyard' grouping to a lower C factor, closer to 'open space' or 'lawn', to better match TR55 and Virginia runoff values. Staff noted the table has been in use without complaints; no consensus was reached, and the item was left for future discussion.
  • Grandfathering and 'Accepted' Definition: A question from DTCI requested clarification on what 'accepted' means for grandfathering purposes (e.g., completeness check, fee payment). Staff indicated that the definition aligns with past zoning ordinances and a checklist is available.

Key Outcomes

  • The virtual meeting policy was adopted unanimously with no opposition.
  • Minutes from May 1, 2025 were approved as amended.
  • The floodplain study exemption language for BLAs will be revisited after staff consults with DCR.
  • The level spreader CFS threshold and B criteria amendments will be addressed at the June 12, 2025 working meeting, with potential notification to industry ahead of the July 1 implementation date.
  • Several other technical edits (e.g., design references, table updates) were accepted or deferred for minor refinements.

Meeting Transcript

So I'd like to call the order the May 15th, 2025, City Standards Manual Public Review Committee meeting. No members are participating remotely. And committee members disclose that they are members of one or more affected groups. I have to read a special intro in addition here concerning annual adoption of the all virtual meeting and remote participation policy. The Virginia Code requires advisory bodies to adopt the all virtual meeting and remote participation policies in their bylaws once annually. The procedures will remain the same. No changes to the current bylaws bylaws are proposed. Adopting the policy enables us to hold all virtual meetings and to participate remotely in your city meetings pursuant to state fall for the remainder of the calendar year. I'm going to make a motion to be a second. Thank you, Elizabeth. Sorry, discussion. So a lot of that was fancy language for me. Does that mean we are having all of our meetings virtual? It allows us to it's this is a requirement that we formally vote on this every year to say that we can have virtual meetings and a court exploited the state code. Does not mean we will just mean that we would. Having heard that the first time, that makes sense. Any opposed asking ends. We don't have any public comment. Okay. And already said there's some suggested suggested edits. Megan provided this comment. She listened to the recording and said that this particular comment here should have been that a committee member noted that 0.1 is the maximum permissible depth of sheet flow. This is pertaining to the level spreader discussion. And I had said head. I think that's fine. Okay. We're good. Head and depth. Two different things. Yep. We would just need a motion to approve the minutes asked section. Thank you, Derek. Is there a second? Brandon, all in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Good. I I have to abstain. I wasn't there for votes. Oh, I'm sorry. Thank you. Next is the May 1st minutes. Yes, I can say a button to close this. So many things in the pen. Um, so there were um four significant amendments to the May 1st minutes. Um the first thing was I told you all I would list the ZOC members with the um the exact liaison and got the list of members. So that's new from the draft that I showed you. I told you I would have that. Um so I made that edit. Okay, and then myself a note.

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