Loudoun County FSM PRC Meeting Summary

The Facility Standards Manual Public Review Committee (FSM PRC) met virtually on October 29, 2026, to approve administrative items, review Gated Community DOAM referral comments, and endorse a floodplain amendment process. Note: the agenda and transcript identify the meeting date as October 15, 2026, while the date supplied for this summary is October 29, 2026.

Consent Calendar

• The committee was called to order under Virginia Code § 2.2-3708.3. No public comment was offered; only committee members and county staff were logged in.
• The committee unanimously approved the September 10, 2026 and October 1, 2026 meeting minutes.
• The committee approved the 2027 meeting schedule: first and third Thursdays, 3:00-5:00 p.m., with meetings canceled when possible and some held virtually. The January 7, 2027 meeting was placed in the Sycolin Road large conference room because the Dulles Room was unavailable; August was reserved but is typically canceled.

Public Comments & Testimony

• None. No members of the public spoke; only staff and committee members were present.

Discussion Items

Gated Community DOAM Referral Comments

• Staff sent 25 referral requests and received 19 responses. Parks and Recreation commented on crosswalks and possibly expanding the protection to public trails, shared-use paths, sidewalks, and other pedestrian/bicycle facilities.
• Fire and Rescue selected the Click2Enter (C2E) emergency access system for electrically operated gates. After discussion about whether C2E is proprietary, the committee agreed to say 'or equivalent approved by the fire marshal'; Fire and Rescue emphasized that the goal is a standardized process/frequency for firefighters.
• The committee extensively debated the scope language. Jason, legal staff, recommended avoiding the undefined term 'residential communities' and using defined terms such as 'multiple principal dwellings or group living uses.' Members discussed single-family driveways, multifamily condominiums, private roads, and Category B roadways. Dave argued any gated entrance can cause backup onto the public road, Kevin raised concerns about single-lot driveways, Megan noted a zoning ordinance/FSM inconsistency between driveways and private roads, and Brandon later argued the wording had become too complicated and favored 'gated residential communities.' Final scope wording was set aside for further wordsmithing.
• Substantive edits discussed included: a 50-foot minimum continuous entryway vehicle storage length for ingress through the gated entrance, measured from the right-of-way or pedestrian crosswalk (whichever is closer) to the processing location; a queuing analysis for gated entrances anticipated to process 60 or more inbound peak-hour trips, based on the latest ITE Trip Generation Manual and other methods approved by the director; possible reduction of the storage length based on an adequate queuing analysis; changing 'visitor rejection' to 'vehicle rejection'; using 'queuing' rather than 'stacking'; and deleting 'proposed' so existing developments adding gates are covered.
• Gated entrances on fire apparatus access roads must comply with the emergency access system provision.
• Staff proposed adding a CPAP/site plan note to Sections 8.106 and 8.107 on the location of gated entrances, but the committee agreed the language still needed simplification and would return to it.

Floodplain DOAM Referral Comments

• Floodplain staff asked the committee to endorse moving a ROIA forward to initiate the public process for future FSM floodplain amendments, rather than reviewing line-by-line at this meeting. Jason's comments will be worked through internally. The committee gave consensus to move the ROIA forward; specific language will return later, with the goal of Board consideration around November 15, 2026 and Planning Commission review in January/February 2027.

Committee Member Issues/Topics

• Megan raised a potential conflict between ordinance language requiring permeable driveways and Fire and Rescue's expectation that C1 driveways be at least gravel for fire access. She will send details to Kevin and Dan (Fire and Rescue) for follow-up.

Key Outcomes

• Approved the September 10 and October 1, 2026 minutes.
• Approved the 2027 meeting schedule.
• Endorsed moving the floodplain ROIA forward.
• Gated community amendment text remains unfinished; terminology, measurement, queuing, and chapter 8 note wording will be refined and brought back.
• Next meetings: Thursday, November 5, 2026 and Thursday, December 3, 2026, both in the Dulles Room.