Leesburg planning commission continues Article 3 rewrite, debates use permissions for schools, short‑term rentals and telecom testing

At a Leesburg Planning Commission work session on April 24, 2025, commissioners and staff continued their line‑by‑line review of Article 3 (use regulations) of the town's zoning ordinance rewrite, discussing which land uses should be permitted by right, limited, or require special exception review and flagging sections for a deeper follow‑up.

The drafting team described a three‑tiered permissibility approach in the proposed use tables (P = permitted by right, L = limited use with codified standards, M = minor special exception, S = special exception) and asked commissioners to identify items that should be moved, clarified, or removed. Staff said the broader rewrite began in summer 2023, the commission's in‑depth review started in February 2025, and a 60‑day public comment period opened March 6 and is scheduled to close May 5.

Why it matters: changes to use tables and use standards determine where schools, care facilities, short‑term rentals, retail, industrial and other activities can locate in Leesburg. Those determinations affect neighborhood character, permitting timelines and whether expansions or new facilities would require higher levels of public review.

Staff overview and process

Bridal Boucher of the Department of Community Development and other staff walked commissioners through Division 10 (use tables) and explained the L category's intent: uses labeled L remain by right but must meet additional, codified use standards so the zoning administrator can approve them administratively if all standards are satisfied. Boucher said earlier divisions and placeholders (for example, Crescent District, sign regulations and attainable housing) will receive a full 60‑day review period when that text is ready.

Public comments and school district concerns

Morgan Hadlock, an associate with Curata Partners and a Leesburg resident, urged staff to "streamline that thought process" and offered the firm's assistance on the mixed‑use center designation, saying the current draft could "preclude the Village at Leesburg from continuing to adapt and attract the uses that it's seeking to bring into the town." Hadlock asked staff for a deep dive on that zoning designation.

A representative from Loudoun County Public Schools, identified in the session as the Planning and GIS services director for LCPS, said, "The draft ordinance proposes to rezone all existing public school…