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Leesburg Planning Commission
Meeting Minutes
July 20, 2017
The Leesburg Planning Commission met on Thursday, July 20, 2017 in the Town Council
Chamber, 25 West Market Street, Leesburg, VA 20176. Staff members present included Susan
Berry -Hill, Shelby Caputo, Rich Klusek, and Debi Parry.
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by Chairman Welsh Chamblin
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE AND ROLL CALL
Members Present: Chairman Welsh Chamblin, Commissioners Babbin, Barnes, Kidder,
Lanham, Robinson, and Walker
ADOPTION OF AGENDA
Chairman Welsh Chamblin called for a motion to amend the agenda due to the applicant's
request to postpone the public hearing for TLZM-2012-0004 Brickyard.
Motion: Commissioner Kidder
Second: Commissioner Robinson
Vote: 7-0
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
July 6, 2017
Motion: Commissioner Babbin
Second: Commissioner Kidder
Vote: 7-0
DISCLOSURE OF MEETINGS
None
CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT
Chairman Welsh Chamblin stated that she would be in attendance for the Eastern Gateway
District update, however she will be recusing herself from the Christ Community Lutheran
Church County referral discussion and will be departing the meeting at that time.
Chairman Welsh Chamblin informed the Commission that there was a potential action item for
the August 17`x', 2017 meeting and asked the Commission members if they would be available to
meet on that day. She explained that the second meeting in August is usually not held due to
summer break.
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July 20, 2017 Minutes
Susan Berry -Hill, Director, Department of Planning and Zoning informed the Commission that
the applicant was not ready to go on August 17th. Additionally, Council Chamber would not be
available as they will be working on the projectors during the month of August.
Chairman Welsh Chamblin asked if there was any objection to not meeting on August 17th.
Seeing none, she cancelled the August 17th meeting.
PETITIONERS
None
PUBLIC HEARING
None
SUBDIVISION AND LAND DEVELOPMENT
None
ZONING
None
COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING
None
SRTC REPORT
Commissioner Robinson stated that she was unable to attend the SRTC meeting.
STAFF AND COMMITTEE REPORTS
Eastern Gateway District Update, Rich Klusek, Sr. Project Manager
Mr. Klusek gave an update on the status of this project since coming before the Planning
Commission in April. Staff met with stakeholders in May, held a public meeting on June 20th,
and are in the process of working on preparing the first draft of the plan. After this draft is
prepared staff would like to reach out to the stakeholder community in August for their reaction.
This will be followed by another public meeting/open house format in September to gain public
feedback. The hope is to complete the draft in October and bring it to the Planning Commission
in November. He noted that staff would welcome feedback from the Planning Commission prior
to bringing the final draft plan before them in November.
About twenty five members of the public attended the meeting on June 20th where staff briefed
the public on all of the plan elements being considered which include land use, transportation,
parks and open space, community facilities, Town services, design, and economic development.
At this n-ieeting, there was an opportunity for the public to provide input and feedback using a
digital polling app. Paper ballot sheets were also available and were tallied after the meeting and
included in the survey results. There were also tables set up where staff dealt with the various
elements of the plan for the public to provide input and ask questions.
The results of the outreach provided information on transportation, walkability, retail, etc. One
of the main points is that both the stakeholder community and the public really viewed this study
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July 20, 2017 Minutes
area as having many distinctive areas. Each quadrant of the study area has its own unique
identity which should continue in the future. Key themes were highlighted by the public and
stakeholder community and included:
• Walkability — Most favored walkability, however it was emphasized that there were
some auto oriented uses in the study area currently and should remain in the future (i.e.
Lowes, Trailview Boulevard, and Cardinal Park)
• Desian — Brick was chosen as the building material that best reflects Leesburg's
traditional appearance and an overwhelming majority of responses supported efforts to
improve streetscaping in the Eastern Gateway District by adding more trees, landscaping,
and other design elements. H-2 guidelines were also discussed and several people were
in favor of having additional measures of design in this study area
• Density — Most people were willing to support some form of residential density in this
gateway district to make a mixed-use neighborhood more viable.
• band Use Mix — The majority of people felt that the most important element of a mixed
use development was a good mix of residential and other uses. The top Town wide
community issue that must be addressed was high taxes.
• Transportation — Items that need to be addressed include enhancing roadway
connectivity, evaluating transit opportunities, managing traffic congestion, and improving
bicycle and pedestrian connectivity.
• Facility Needs — A lot of people were in favor of a public facility of some kind but there
wasn't consensus as to what type. Additionally, the majority agreed that new
development should include large gathering spaces to allow for community events and
that the Town should provide incentives to developers that provide needed facilities.
• Economic Development — It was felt that the Town should invest in economic
development tools tied with bicycle and pedestrian improvements in the Eastern Gateway
Area.
• Development Process — Most felt that reducing the number of regulations and expediting
the development review process were the best opportunities to promote economic
development.
• Tourism — Most felt that Leesburg's biggest strength was its historic downtown and
thought the Town should enhance efforts to promote tourism.
Mr. Klusek discussed the next steps and showed a map of this study area explaining that this map
represents a thirty year vision and will be used to provide guidance as the plan moves forward.
Specifically, the areas shown in green depict where something will be created. Staff felt that the
property in the northeast quadrant, currently owned by Peterson, will most likely be developed
into some form of a new mixed-use community which is something that appears to be desired by
both the public and stakeholder community. Staff will continue to work with that landowner, as
well as others, to determine what makes sense economically and what will achieve the best
balance in terms of tax revenues, residential development, transportation impact management,
etc. A lot of the residential component associated with the Leegate development will most
likely move forward, however, there is the opportunity to look at the other areas designated for
nonresidential development and consider what changes could be made in those areas to enhance
the development and better serve the community. The areas shown in purple are most likely to
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July 20, 2017 Minutes
evolve into something but generally will not change much over the next thirty years. Cardinal
Park has its own identity with a mix of light industrial uses and provides valuable tax generation
to the Town. This type of land use is very much in demand in the Town and throughout the
region. The areas in gray would largely be maintained and there are not a lot of changes
foreseen to the land use designations (i.e. Lowes and The Village at Leesburg). Lastly, the
remaining areas could be enhanced and there might be an opportunity to enhance the Potomac
Station Development in terms of roadway connectivity and the Battlefield Parkway interchange
that will be constructed in the future.
Commissioner Barnes asked if it were possible to conduct a Town wide survey online. Mr.
Klusek explained that a prior Town wide online survey was done in the early stages of the
project and approximately 150 people responded. The latter survey served to narrow down
certain responses such as what is meant by mixed-use development and he felt that the results
represent what a lot of people are thinking.
Commissioner Kidder asked how he would evaluate the character of the group in terms of
evaluating their responses. Mr. Klusek responded that the group consisted of a mix of land
owners and residents.
Commissioner Robinson expressed concern regarding the transportation responses and the
impact of the future Battlefield interchange. She suggested something like a trolley to encourage
transportation between districts to provide more connectivity. Additionally, she would like to
drill down on recreational facilities to gain more specifics and would like to encourage that these
facilities be large enough to attract a lot of visitors.
Commissioner Lanham asked if there were plans for subsequent public input sessions and
suggested that these sessions be held in the Eastern Gateway District study area. Mr. Klusek
responded that there will be additional public input sessions and staff was looking at ways to do
more online engagement such as a live internet based meeting.
Commissioner Babbin commented that the Economic Development Steering Committee has just
begun discussing transportation and bus systems as it was felt that any type of bus system would
have to be part of a bigger route system, possibly with the County, to make it more cost
effective. She expressed concern regarding the potential Peterson property mixed-use
development as there are a number of businesses in the Village at Leesburg that are failing.
There has been a lot of turnover and the businesses are struggling for a variety of reasons. It was
her opinion that the average citizen is not taking all of this into consideration when responding to
survey questions and it is important to put everything in the right context in order to do what is
right for the Town in the bigger picture.
Commissioner Walker commented that she would like to hear from a larger group of people as
she did not think twenty-five was representative given the Town's large population.
Chairman Welsh Chamblin thought that while it was great to have the public forums, the
numbers are reflective of community participation. She agreed with Commissioner Robinson
about honing in on specifics with regard to public facilities.
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Chairman Welsh Chamblin called for additional comments. Seeing none, she turned the meeting
over to Commissioner Robinson at 7:41 pm and departed the meeting.
Christ Community Lutheran Church County Referral SPEX-2017-0017, SPEX-2017-0016,
Susan Berry --Hill, Director, Department of Planning and Zoning
Ms. Berry -Hill explained that occasionally Loudoun County will send the Town referrals on land
development applications they are currently reviewing. The State Code requires that
jurisdictions notice other jurisdictions that are within'/2 mile of a proposed rezoning or plan
amendment. The County and the Town have a good working relationship in that respect and will
often send each other referrals on land development applications, plan amendments, and text
amendments.
The proposed application site is located outside of the corporate limits and is adjacent to the
Woodlea neighborhood on South King Street. This application is not located in the Joint Land
Management Area (JLMA) and is not in an area that the Town would anticipate to annex in the
future. The Applicant is proposing a large 2 story church, the relocation of their day care center,
currently located in the South King Street Shopping Center, to this site, and a sanctuary. The
plan also includes a 2 story multi-purpose facility which would be constructed at a later phase of
development. This is the first submission from the County. Typically, in these situations, staff is
looking for potential impacts that might occur to Town adjoining properties such as
transportation, storm water management or floodplain, and site development such as lighting or
proximity of activity to our existing corporate limits.
The applicant had approached the Town to see if central utilities could be provided to the site
from the Town. County and Town policies prohibit providing utilities to the County's Rural
Policy Area unless it is for purposes of developing a public facility such as a school. The Town
can extend utilities into the JLMA should the Council wish to do so.
Commissioner Babbin asked for clarification of the theory behind the policy of not extending
utilities as water and sewer are a money making venture for the Town and the Applicant is
willing to pay for these services and the cost of running the lines to connect them. Ms. Berry -
Hill responded that it is a growth management policy which directs where we want to see our
growth which is currently in the JLMA. These areas are jointly planned by both the Town and
the County.
Ms. Berry -Hill completed her presentation with the draft comments from staff which include on-
site utilities (well and septic), and the following recommended conditions of approval:
• Assure adequate parking on-site with submission of a Parking Plan
• No signal on S. King Street/Route 15
• Egress to and from the church should be managed for services and activities
• Widen Route 15 to a 4 -lane facility per the Countywide Transportation Plan
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Assure that there will be no off-site storm water runoff issues prior to approval of the first
site plan
Assure there is no overhead light trespass onto residential neighboring properties
Commissioner Lanham asked what type of input staff was looking for on this referral. Ms.
Berry -Hill responded that she was looking for the Commission's input and if they wished to add
any recommendations to the final comment letter. She further explained that she had wanted to
bring this application to the Commission's attention as both the residents of Woodlea Manor and
Town Council have been following it closely.
Commissioner Robinson noted that this property is located in a limestone overlay district and ex-
pressed concerns over the lack of the County required geo-physical study, storm water
management and drainage, feasibility of septic field, feasibility of site development, and traffic.
Commissioner Lanham noted that he had read the County referrals and the Health Department
had not received any information from the Applicant. He expressed concern over the septic
system failing and the potential need for water and sewer.
Ms. Berry -Hill responded that she will follow up on the Commission's environmental concerns
and find out the status of the geo-physical study.
Commissioner Babbin suggested that an exception be made to the policies prohibiting the
extension of water and sewer to the County's Rural Policy Area as it would be in the Town's
interest to provide a safe facility for the day care and not have septic and well issues impact the
adjacent Woodlea neighborhood. She suggested that the Commission consider making a
recommendation to Council. Ms. Berry -Hill explained that the decision to extend water and
sewer is made by Council however, the Planning Commission can make such a recommendation.
Commissioner Robinson asked if the comment letter could include a condition that the well
pump house be noise free. Ms. Berry -Hill agreed to add this recommended condition.
Commissioner Babbin asked the Commission members if they would be agreeable to making a
recommendation to Council about extending water and sewer to this site as she felt that well and
septic systems created a public health and safety hazard.
Commissioner Barnes suggested that each Commission member speak with their Council
representative individually.
Commissioner Babbin felt that they should do both; reach out individually and as a body. She
asked staff if, in addition to policy, there were any practical reasons for not extending services to
the Rural Policy Area, Ms. Berry -Hill responded that it could potentially create a precedent for
allowing adjoining areas outside the JMLA to connect to Town water and sewer.
After further discussion, it was determined that the Commissioners would speak with their
Council members on an individual basis and will revisit this topic if needed at a later date.
Leesburg Planning Commission
July 20, 2017 Minutes
OLD BUSINESS
Ms. Berry -Hill explained that Commissioner Kidder wished to follow up on some emails
regarding the Plaza Street decision that the Planning Commission addressed at their July 6th
meeting. At that meeting the Commission voted to send a recommendation to Town Council that
both Council and the Town Manager consider every possible way to save trees and put a
sidewalk on the west side of Plaza Street south of Edwards Ferry Road to the Police Station.
After the Planning Commission took action, a suggestion was made to consider a crosswalk from
the apartment complex to the east side of the street as a possible solution.
Commissioner Kidder explained that there are a lot of streets in Leesburg that have sidewalks on
only one side of the street and she felt that a crosswalk would be an appropriate solution in this
area. It would eliminate the need for a sidewalk on the west side, mitigate pedestrian safety and
save the mature trees that could potentially be removed if a sidewalk were to be constructed.
She asked the Commission to endorse the addition of this solution to what she was going to
present to Town Council on August 8t"
Commissioner Babbin expressed concern regarding the design of the crosswalk as well as its
effectiveness. She did not have a problem with Commissioner Kidder adding it as a suggestion
as long as it was clear that the Commission has not received an endorsement for a crosswalk
from the Town's traffic and safety staff.
The Commission was agreeable to add this suggestion to the approved recommendation.
NEW BUSINESS
The Meeting was adjourned at 8:24 pm
Approved by:
a, en Cicalese, 'ommission Clerk
(� ydsay Wel Chamblin, Chair
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