Leesburg staff recap zoning rewrite, begin review of Article 4; chair raises concern about plats and buffer dimensions
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Summary
Department of Community Development staff recapped Articles 1–3 of a draft zoning ordinance rewrite and began review of Article 4 at a Leesburg work session; the chair flagged concerns that recorded plats and site drawings sometimes show dimensional adjustments that obscure the original zoning standard.
Department of Community Development staff reviewed a draft rewrite of Leesburg's zoning ordinance during a work session, recapping Articles 1–3 and beginning a review of Article 4, staff said.
Director David of the Department of Community Development summarized the earlier sections, saying Article 1 covers general provisions (jurisdiction, authority and measurements) and Article 2 renames and reorganizes zoning districts. Staff described new residential categories (residential suburban, historic residential, residential medium and residential urban), nonresidential and mixed-use districts (commercial neighborhood, commercial suburban, industrial research park, mixed-use downtown and innovation center) and a Crescent District that will be addressed later. The draft also adds special-purpose districts — medical/hospital center, government center, airport — and creates an open space and parks zoning district. Staff said they added a separate division for community amenities to consolidate standards on open space and related features.
"Article 3" is the section staff identified as central to the rewrite, according to staff, because it focuses on use regulations. Staff described a new approach to "use categories" intended to define characteristics of uses rather than listing every possible use. The draft includes a use table that assigns permitting paths (for example, minor special exception or special exception), and it defines limited uses with codified standards, accessory uses, temporary uses and communications facilities. Staff said the commission asked to place the new use-category approach on a deep-dive list for further discussion.
Madam Chair raised a separate concern about how applications and recorded plats are treated in practice. She said some site drawings and plats have been given informal "tolerances" or adjustments to buffer dimensions, which can make it unclear what zoning or dimensional standard originally applied. She asked whether the draft ordinance can clarify when such adjustments become formal deviations and when they should be reflected on official plats or plans for review.
Staff and commissioners did not take any formal votes during the portion of the meeting on the zoning rewrite recorded in the transcript. Staff indicated they will return to the use-category approach for a deeper review on the commission's dive list. The Crescent District and any remaining items in Article 4 will be considered in later sessions, staff said.
No statutes, ordinances or formal resolutions were cited in the portion of the transcript provided.
