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Leesburg planning staff opens public review of zoning ordinance rewrite on ENCODE Plus; commissioners briefed on comment process
Summary
Planning staff demonstrated the publicly available draft zoning ordinance on the ENCODE Plus platform, outlined the review schedule and asked commissioners to submit comments in advance of packet deadlines. The public comment period for the initial release runs through May 5, 2025.
Planning Department staff told the Leesburg Planning Commission on March 20 that the public-review draft of the town's zoning-ordinance rewrite is live on the ENCODE Plus online platform and available for review and comment. Staff walked commissioners through how to access the draft, find related documents (existing ordinance, subdivision regulations, town plan) and submit comments tied to specific sections.
Staff emphasized schedule and submission logistics: the Commission will begin in-depth review of Articles 1 and 2 at its April 3 work session and was asked to submit comments by the Tuesday before each packet deadline so staff can compile comment reports for the agenda packet. The public review period for the initial draft remains open through May 5, 2025; some sections (Crescent District, sign regulations, tree preservation and affordable housing) were deferred for later release because they require additional state or regional coordination.
Why it matters: The rewrite reorganizes district names and many substantive rules; it moves certain technical matters between the zoning ordinance and the town's development manual and will affect how the town regulates residential and nonresidential development. Staff demonstrated the map viewer and the comment workflow, and outlined that comments submitted in ENCODE Plus are captured, reviewed and summarized for future packets.
Key procedural points Staff showed commissioners how to place comments tied to specific sections; comments entered into the platform are visible to staff and are compiled into public comment reports for subsequent packets. Staff advised commissioners that comments submitted by the Tuesday before a packet will be included in that packet; comments submitted after that cut-off will still be captured for later packets. The staff presentation also described the mapping tool included with the draft and explained that redline comparisons are available but may appear extensive because the rewrite relocates and renames many sections.
Public outreach and next steps Staff reported the draft was distributed by email to stakeholders who participated in earlier focus-group work and that the project page includes the draft ordinance, existing regulations and accompanying maps. Staff plans to prepare a public-comment report for the July 3 Planning Commission meeting. The Planning Commission will later hold a formal public hearing before forwarding a draft recommendation to Town Council per the project timeline.
Ending note Staff encouraged commissioners to use their town email addresses for ENCODE Plus submissions and to paste longer comments as needed; the platform does not impose a character limit on comments.
