Leesburg planning commissioners take detailed second look at Article 3 of zoning rewrite; schools, short‑term rentals and mixed‑use rules draw questions

Leesburg Planning Commission members spent their meeting reviewing Article 3 (use regulations) of the town’s draft zoning ordinance rewrite, taking public comment and debating whether dozens of uses should be permitted by right, limited, or subject to special exception. The work session ranged across childcare and short‑term rentals, congregate housing and group homes, telecom testing facilities, and whether public schools should remain permitted by right or become special‑exception uses.

The zoning rewrite is part of a council‑endorsed project to align the town code with the town plan, modernize definitions and procedures, and launch an online interactive platform. Staff framed the meeting as a detailed review of Division 10 use tables and associated use‑specific standards; commissioners paused repeatedly to ask staff for clarifications and to place items on a “dive list” for later, deeper consideration.

Developer Morgan Hadlock of Curata Partners, who said her firm has multiple Leesburg applications pending and that she is a Leesburg resident, told the commission the draft creates "a lot of sort of layers to work through" and asked staff to consider ways to streamline how applicants and reviewers determine which standards apply to a given use. Beverly Tate, planning and GIS services director for Loudoun County Public Schools, asked the commission to keep public schools permitted by right rather than moving them to special‑exception review and to adopt tiered parking ratios for elementary, middle and high schools rather than the draft’s single ratio for all educational facilities.

Staff presentation and public‑comment context

Brian Boucher of the Department of Community Development summarized the project history: the rewrite began in 2023, the commission’s in‑depth review began in February, and a 60‑day public comment period that opened March 6 runs through May 5. Boucher noted some draft sections were released as placeholders and that when the town releases finalized text for those sections staff will give an additional 60 days for public review.

Boucher and other staff explained the draft’s permissibility codes: P = permitted by right; L = limited (by‑right if the use meets codified additional standards); M = minor special exception (administrative review routed to council); S = special exception (planning commission…