Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Leesburg planners review draft zoning map; staff proposes consolidation of districts and new activity‑center approach
Summary
Planning staff presented a first cut of a rewired zoning map and district structure intended to align zoning with the 2022 town plan and recent Crescent District guidance. The draft consolidates roughly 24 existing districts into 12 base districts plus three new districts, introduces an Innovation Center district, and proposes retaining planned‑
The Leesburg Planning Commission on Feb. 6 took its first formal look at a draft zoning map produced as part of a broader zoning ordinance rewrite, and staff previewed next steps for an online public comment period and a 60‑day review window.
Betsy Arnett, project manager for the ordinance rewrite, and project staff presented a draft map that collapses many existing districts into a smaller set of base districts, adds three new districts and aligns the map with character areas in the 2022 Leesburg Legacy town plan and the Crescent District master plan. Arnett said staff used the town plan character areas as the starting point “to form up the new zoning map and zoning district names.”
The draft reduces the number of base districts and proposes new district names intended to reflect policy character areas: residential suburban (single‑family), residential medium (townhouses, mixed housing types), residential urban (multifamily), downtown (DT), commercial suburban (regional retail), mixed use center, innovation center (employment/research/ campus), industrial research park, Crescent District (CD), government center, medical center and open space/parks. Staff recommended treating previously used planned‑development districts (PEC, PRC, PRN and others) as “legacy” districts: they would remain on the books for administration of earlier approvals and proffers but would not be available as a first choice for future rezonings.
Commissioners and staff discussed several specific translation choices and cleanup items. Points raised during the discussion included:
- Boundaries and character: Commissioners asked how the downtown character area relates to older residential neighborhoods (Loanbach/Lowenbach and surrounding blocks). Staff said the town plan’s downtown character area is broader than the downtown commercial zoning district and acknowledged the need to refine boundaries as the rewrite proceeds, particularly where residential character should be preserved.
- Proffers and legacy approvals: Staff noted many parcels remain subject to proffers; the new base zoning would not negate existing proffers. The presentation flagged an intention to attach proffer documents to map parcel entries in the online system so users can see proffer restrictions when they click a parcel.
- New innovation and Crescent designations: The innovation center district is intended to implement town plan language that envisions a mixed‑use, employment‑centric district for technology, research, headquarters and similar uses. The Crescent District will likely include activity‑center subdistricts and carry special design and streetscape standards.
- Overlays and ancillary maps: Staff said the draft map currently omits some overlays (historic district boundaries, gateway overlays, noise and floodplain layers) for clarity in the first cut but planned to add overlay layers and make them viewable in the online mapping tool.
- Public comment handling: Staff reviewed the public‑comment worksheets (
