FSM PRC Meeting: December 4, 2025 – EnCode, Private Roads, Gated Communities
December 4, 2025 Facility Standards Manual Public Review Committee Meeting
The Facility Standards Manual Public Review Committee (FSM PRC) met on December 4, 2025, to discuss the floodplain work group update, the EnCode and LSDO integration project, 10-year private road reserve fund letters, and gated community standards. Peyton Stone participated remotely from Frederick, Maryland due to a personal matter. The meeting was chaired with a quorum present in the Dulles Room. The committee approved the November 6, 2025 meeting minutes.
Consent Calendar
- The November 6, 2025 meeting minutes were approved by unanimous consent.
Discussion Items
- Floodplain Work Group Update: Melanie reported that the work group met on November 12 and 19, with additional meetings scheduled for December 10 and 17. Phil echoed that the discussions have been productive, with a focus on forthcoming language revisions. A full report-out is planned for the January 15, 2026 meeting.
- EnCode FSM and LSDO Integration: Staff presented plans to move the FSM and LSDO into the EnCode platform, similar to Chesterfield County's layout with tiles and internal linking. Jason noted discrepancies between the LSDO version on the codified ordinances and the B&D website; staff confirmed they have aligned the versions and will link to the LSDO in EnCode rather than duplicating it. The committee discussed potential add-on tools (e.g., calculators, land-use lookup) that cost between $2,750 and $5,500 to create with annual maintenance. Committee members expressed skepticism about the utility of these tools for the FSM, noting that the search function and internal links would be more beneficial. Staff will solicit further input via email before proceeding.
- 10-Year Private Road Reserve Fund Letters: The committee reviewed drafts of three letters (HOA, non-HOA, commercial) meant to satisfy zoning ordinance requirements for a 10-year reserve fund study. Jason provided extensive edits. For the HOA letter, members debated the handling of the declarant control period and annexation scenarios; they agreed to allow bracketed optional text. For the non-HOA letter, Jason corrected the timing to require recordation contemporaneously with the initial record plat. For the commercial letter, members concluded that a single template is impractical due to varying ownership structures (leases, multiple owners, associations). Staff will send revised drafts for further comment and aim to finalize by the next meeting on December 18, 2025.
- Gated Communities: Laura presented findings from other jurisdictions (Prince William, Arlington, Fort Myers, Texas) regarding queuing and design standards for gated entrances. Committee members discussed the example of Montebello Farms, where mechanical gate failures caused backups. Key design considerations included bypass lanes, signage, turnarounds, and the location of guest keypads (typically on the left for manned booths). No consensus was reached on whether to adopt specific standards; the committee will continue discussion at a future meeting, with a focus on fail-safe measures rather than prescriptive queue lengths.
Key Outcomes
- Approved the November 6, 2025 meeting minutes unanimously.
- Directed staff to proceed with EnCode integration without additional paid tools unless committee members express preference via email.
- Staff will revise the 10-year private road reserve fund letters based on committee feedback and submit for final review by the December 18, 2025 meeting.
- Gated communities discussion will continue; committee members are to review provided materials and come prepared for further deliberation.
- The next PRC meeting is scheduled for December 18, 2025 (tentatively virtual) and January 15, 2026.
Meeting Transcript
Okay. I would like to call to order the December 4th, 2025 facility standards manual public review committee meeting. Pursuant to Code of Virginia Section 2.23708.3 in accordance with the Board of Supervisors' policies and procedures on advisory boards, commissions, and committees, dated October 6, 2022, and the May 16th, 2023 PRC bylaws. Peyton Stone is participating in the meeting from a remote location in Frederick, Maryland that is not open to the public. He cannot attend due to a personal matter. He made his request within the time frame required by the policy, and the county attorney has determined that he meets the qualifications to participate remotely. As required by law, a physical quorum of the PRC is present in the Dulles room, and the PRC has made arrangements for his voice to be heard by all persons in the Dulles room. The record shall reflect the member participating remotely, the reason and the location. The record shall also reflect that we are members of one or more affected group groups, and our respective declarations or interest are kept on file in the minutes of the facility standards manual public review committee. Thank you for that. So I'm gonna suggest, yes, very well done. I'm gonna suggest that we save the minutes since we can't vote yet. And I have one little update to insert here that the DOAM that we've been working on for the second ZOR implementation was approved on consent at the November board public hearing and will go into effect January 1st of 2026. And I want to thank the committee because that was a 200 page packet and three chapters of work. So thank you very much for helping us get to the finish line on that one. Um so I just wanted to give you an update. Obviously, there's no question, no discussion because it was on consent. So I think we can go ahead and do the floodplain work group update. I'm gonna give you guys some background, and then Melanie's gonna give you the rest of the update. Um so since we met on November 6th, the work group has met on November 12th and November 19th. They have meetings planned on December 10th and December 17th, and I'm planning to do a report out at the January 15th meeting. And with that, I'll segue to Melanie. If you want to kind of share your thoughts. And it's just been really productive. Yeah, it's it's like it's a good group with a lot of good experience and opinions. So yeah, it's been good. Oh, and Phil's here. No, I mean I'll I'll echo that. I think it's been a really good couple discussions. The work group provided you know, input into this revision of language forthcoming, and then we'll spend the two next sessions kind of having a discussion on what we're provided. So that's where we are, but it's been a good discussion. Yeah. Okay. So unless anybody has any other questions for Gwen and Melanie, they're going to leave us and work on their gender bread house, I think, and try to win the competition, but that's okay. Zebla's girl. Damn. Okay, thanks, Phil, for chiming in on that. Um, so we have Pete here. Pete, we didn't do much. We just um Elizabeth read our opening statement. We have Peyton online. We're one member short to take action on minutes. So we moved forward and just we're doing the updates. Um, so the next thing uh to talk about is ENCODE, FSM, and LSDO. So I'm super excited about that because it's like it's everything for me. I have been told that I get to work on putting the MSM and LSDO and ENCODE, like the zoning ordinance, which is huge. Um, all of our figures will be redone. This is just a really exciting effort. But before we before we proceed, we wanted to talk to the committee a little bit. Betsy asked that we check in with you all about some potential tools that we could add.
openpublica.com