Zoning Ordinance Committee Meeting - June 3, 2026
Zoning Ordinance Committee Meeting - June 3, 2026
The Zoning Ordinance Committee (ZOC) met on June 3, 2026, to receive status updates on several ordinance amendments and to discuss the Western Loudoun Rural Uses and Standards (WLRUS) project following a Board of Supervisors action the previous evening. A key focus was the board's directive to form an ad hoc committee to study WLRUS with a June 2027 deadline, which the chair expressed concerns about feasibility given ZOC term expirations and previous timeline issues.
Consent Calendar
- The action report from May 6, 2026 was approved with a motion by Larry Malone and a second by Mr. Jenda. No opposition noted.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No public input was received.
Discussion Items
- Data Center Standards & Location (CPAM-2025-0001/ZOAM-2024-0001): Staff reported the project is tracking, with plans to present an overview at the July 8 ZOC meeting. Standards under development include data center utility substations, microgrids, and battery energy storage systems (BESS).
- Zoning Ordinance Rewrite Adjustments #1 (ZOAM-2025-0001): Staff noted text is nearly ready for review but some portions were fast-tracked into separate items.
- Resolution of Intent to Amend – Chapter 10 Procedures (Placards): Staff reported that the Board of Supervisors adopted this resolution on June 2, 2026, to correct a formatting error that inadvertently required the county to placard every rezoning and Z-map amendment, a requirement not mandated by state law and burdensome for large applications. A ZOC member raised concerns that placards are unreadable; discussion followed on whether this issue could be addressed under the same ROI or would require a separate item. The chair agreed to study the matter and report back in July.
- Resolution of Intent to Amend – Affordable Housing by Religious and Nonprofit Organizations: Staff announced a fast-track ZOAM in response to recent state legislation, requiring changes by January 1, 2027. This item will go to the Board of Supervisors on June 16, 2026, and will not come to ZOC.
- Western Loudoun Rural Uses and Standards (WLRUS): A special discussion focused on the Board of Supervisors' action from the previous evening (June 2, 2026). The board directed the chairs of the Planning Commission and ZOC to form an ad hoc committee to study WLRUS with a goal of returning recommendations to the board by June 2027. The original motion had a September 2026 deadline, but that paragraph was removed. The ZOC chair expressed strong concerns about the feasibility of this timeline, citing the lack of an August ZOC meeting, term expirations on September 30, 2026, and previous experience (staff needed six months to draft). He noted that the board's directive places pressure on ZOC and the Planning Commission without clear staff resources. Members agreed to wait for a potential reconsideration at the next board meeting and to seek clarity from leadership.
Key Outcomes
- Action Report Approved: Unanimous, no roll call vote recorded.
- WLRUS Ad Hoc Committee: The chair will work with the Planning Commission chair and staff to develop a plan to meet the board's schedule. Timing of ZOC's future role remains uncertain.
- Next ZOC Meeting: Scheduled for July 8, 2026 (second Wednesday due to the July 4 holiday). No August meeting is planned.
- Term Expirations: Acknowledged that ZOC member terms expire on September 30, 2026, affecting continuity.
- Motion to Adjourn: Passed with a motion from a member.
Meeting Transcript
So I made it through the traffic on time. You're like because my oldest is home, so I have a built-in baby center. Jim, I still figure it out. I don't definitely have a job yet. So all right, I'm gonna call the meeting in order. Now the pen uh welcome to the June 3rd zoning ordinance committee meeting. Uh seeing no public input. Do we have any disclosures? Seeing none. Can we get a motion for approval on the action report or a comment? Wait, who said that? Larry. Mr. Malone. Second. Mr. Jenda Seconds. All in favor, say aye. Opposed. Ryan. All right. Thank you. So we'll start off there with the data center standards and locations, Zoam and CPAM. Uh the current project plan is still tracking. Um, and that plan is for staff to attend the next July, the July Zoc meeting and um give an overview of the project, kick it off, and bringing text amendments at the subsequent meetings after that. Um, just to give you a little bit of a taste of some of the flavor. Uh we'll be looking at standards for data centers, utility substations. We've got some language for microgrids, best, which is battery energy storage systems, um, and other standards. So we're gonna kick that off, kind of whet your appetite for what we'll be seeing over the next few months with that project. Any questions about that one? All right. The zoning ordinance rewrite adjustments number one. Uh you can see there from the agenda. Uh, don't have a whole lot to report. That's installed at the moment. Uh, we have some text that's just about ready to be reviewed, but uh specifically we've had to pull some text out and fast track those, and I'll get into that in DE below. Um, so I'll just go ahead and jump right into. I think last month in my absence, Bradley Polk. Advise you guys that I was bringing a resolution of intent to amend for chapter 10 and procedures, specifically the placard notice. Um, that motion was passed. Uh the resolution was adopted last night. Um so we'll be continuing on with that. That is a clarification. I know we had some some input on the placards and some things. We can take that up separately. Um, in a in a in a separate item. However, this one is specifically when we went through the zoning ordinance rewrite. The reformatting broke the placard notice part uh paragraph into two, and by reformatting and breaking it into two separate paragraphs, it took away the interpretation that the county did not need to placard every Z map and rezoning that we had, and instead it made it abundantly clear that we do have to. That's not a requirement by state law, and that puts us in a very bad position when we have large rezonings or re uh Z maps like the floodplain overlay district that we're working on right now. So this is being expedited because this is a requirement that puts us in a very bad position.
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