Leesburg Planning Commission weighs parking rules, tree preservation and noise limits in zoning rewrite

The Leesburg Planning Commission on July 10 continued a work session on a zoning-ordinance rewrite, reviewing Article 4 — development standards — and spending most of its time on parking rules, the town’s long-running "payment in lieu" program for downtown parking, tree-preservation language, outdoor lighting rules and noise limits. Director David and Department of Community Development staff Mike Watkins and Brian Boucher led the presentation and took commissioners’ questions.

Why it matters: the proposed development standards will set the town’s rules for parking supply, when developers may pay fees instead of providing on-site spaces, how the town preserves trees and controls lighting and continuous noise — all items that affect downtown redevelopment, housing affordability and neighborhood livability.

Staff presentation and the scope of Article 4

Department staff told the commission Article 4 gathers development rules that apply to new development, redevelopment, expansions and changes of use. The draft adds parking ratios for every listed use, and for the first time proposes some maximums as well as minimums, staff said. The division also includes standards for pedestrian circulation, tree preservation and landscaping, sustainability incentives tied to a point system (which could yield density or height bonuses), outdoor lighting and noise limits.

Payment-in-lieu for downtown parking and the H1 overlay

Commissioners devoted the longest portion of the meeting to the town’s payment-in-lieu program, which lets qualifying projects near downtown pay a fee instead of providing all required on-site parking. "The payment in lieu only exists in the H1 Overlay District," Brian Boucher of the Department of Community Development said during the session.

Staff described the program’s current mechanics and history: the fee is charged per parking space, it has long been available to some downtown projects and…