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After wide debate over buffers and height, supervisors forward Panovich rezoning to Jan. 21 business meeting
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Summary
The board voted to forward the Panovich property rezoning (ZMAP 2024‑6) to the Jan. 21, 2026 business meeting after extended discussion about compatibility with the suburban‑neighborhood place type, proposed reductions in setbacks and buffers, building‑height transitions, and proffered out uses; environmental group opposition and local owner support were both heard.
After extensive questioning, public testimony and applicant presentations, the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors voted to forward the Panovich Property Rezoning (ZMAP 2024‑6 / LEHI 2024‑26) to the Jan. 21, 2026 business meeting for action.
Planning staff described the request to rezone two parcels near Arcola Mills Drive and North Star Boulevard from CR‑1/Legacy and existing IP to IP, and noted proposed reductions in building setbacks (from 75 feet to 35 feet in one location) and elimination of a 25‑foot buffer adjacent to an existing daycare. Staff said the suburban‑neighborhood place type anticipates primarily residential, retail and service uses and that allowing additional industrial uses could be incompatible; staff recommended the applicant proffer out certain industrial uses and recommended enhanced screening and larger setbacks if the rezoning moved forward.
Applicant representatives said the area’s land use has shifted over the last decade, pointed to nearby data‑center and utility projects, and proposed proffers including enhanced buffers, a berm, limitations on building materials/lighting and exclusion of heavy manufacturing and warehousing. The applicant described a proposed building‑height transition designed to limit visual impacts on Briarfield Estates: lower height (45 feet) closest to homes and higher building mass set further back (up to 65 feet), and said cross sections and more precise distance measurements would be provided to the board.
Public testimony was split: a landowner and developer who led the Evergreen Mills application said surrounding approvals and construction (substation, data centers) make industrial rezoning consistent with current development and that nearby property owners he contacted favored the application; the owner entity of the daycare operating on the adjacent parcel said staff responses addressed their questions and they would not object. The Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) opposed the rezoning, saying the proposal undermines the plan’s suburban‑neighborhood place type and lacks a specific public purpose to justify reducing buffers and setbacks; PEC cited a state code provision read into the record.
Supervisor Crony moved to forward the application to the Jan. 21, 2026 meeting for action so staff and the applicant can provide additional information and work on compatibility measures. The motion was seconded and carried in the hearing (vote recorded as 9‑0). Board members requested detailed distances from proposed building edges to the nearest homes, design‑guideline illustrations from street view, and continued negotiation on proffers to improve compatibility.
