Planning commission forwards Enterprise rental and wash-bay special exception for 17 Fort Evans Road

The Leesburg Planning Commission on June 5 voted to forward special-exception application TLSP EX 2024-0017 to the town council with a recommendation of approval to allow a vehicle rental facility and a wash bay at 17 Fort Evans Road.

Staff said the proposal would retain an existing auto-oriented business, reuse two existing structures and provide new buffering and landscaping. Debbie Perry, planner in the Department of Community Development, told the commission the applicant requests five modifications tied to buffers, facade fenestration, loading space, and allowable building materials, and that staff recommends approval with conditions including a limit of five on-site employees per shift, no vehicle sales, and sign compliance with Article 15 of the zoning ordinance.

Perry said the applicant will install a six-foot masonry wall along portions of the condominium property line that will allow a reduced buffer in accord with the zoning ordinance’s allowance for a masonry wall mitigation. She described site circulation that requires smaller buffer widths at several points to permit vehicles to maneuver around existing buildings, and she explained staff found the proposed design “meets the spirit of the ordinance.”

Michelle Rosati, zoning attorney for the applicant, described the project as an adaptive reuse that reduces building mass, adds street trees, and improves the Fort Evans frontage while allowing Enterprise to remain in town. Owner Magic Keihan spoke in support of the application and described long-term disrepair at the site; he said retaining Enterprise would be helpful to the property owner.

Commissioners asked about buffer widths, fenestration constraints inside the “clean car” building and where rental vehicles will be stored; staff and the applicant explained the clean-car bay houses mechanical equipment and refuse and that vehicle inventory will be kept in the fenced storage area shown on the special-exception plat. Staff also noted the parking, lighting, and transportation review concluded the site's trip generation would be manageable on the existing road network and that three light poles nearest the condominiums will have back shielding to avoid light spill.

The motion forwarded TLSP EX 2024-0017, the special-exception plat dated 04/22/2025, modifications 1–5, and the conditions enumerated in the 06/05/2025 staff report, as amended through the public hearing, to the town council with a recommendation of approval. The commission did not record a roll-call tally in the transcript portion presented here; commissioners voted in favor during the hearing.

The council will consider the application at a later meeting; the commission’s motion directs town staff to carry forward the stated conditions and the modifications discussed during the public hearing.