Planning Commission sends West Belmont rezoning back to work session after debate over open space, unit sizes and parking

The Loudoun County Planning Commission on Oct. 9 voted to send the West Belmont rezoning application (ZMAP 2024-3 / LGGI-2024-018) back to a November work session for additional revisions after more than an hour of detailed staff and applicant presentations and commissioner questions.

Staff planner Allison Burton, of the Department of Planning and Zoning, told the commission the 27.36-acre West Belmont site in the Ashburn election district is proposed for rezoning to allow up to 318 residential units and about 11,000 square feet of commercial space across seven land bays. Burton said the applicant has “provided a commitment to study the intersection of Fort Smith Boulevard and NightwatchWinkle Drive,” and summarized staff’s concerns about the quantity and quality of open space, unit sizes, parking details, and connectivity between land bays.

The applicant team — represented by attorney Collin Gillis of Curata Partners and Brian Conklin of Tapco Properties — described a series of revisions since the July public hearing. Gillis said the proposal reduced the draft’s unit count from 361 to 318, increased open space compared with the prior submittal, enlarged the community building to a minimum of 2,500 square feet (including a 400-square-foot conference room) and committed to a construction management plan that restricts construction access through the adjacent Belmont Green residential streets.

Why it matters: the parcel sits adjacent to the established Belmont Green community and to Belmont Station Elementary School; rezoning decisions…