HomeMy Public PortalAbout2011_tcmin0913COUNCIL MEETING September 13, 2011
Council Chambers, 25 West Market Street, 7:30 p.m. Mayor Umstattd presiding.
Council Members Present: David Butler, Thomas Dunn, Katie Sheldon Hammler,
Kenneth "Ken" Reid, Kevin D. Wright, and Mayor Umstattd.
Council Members Absent: Fernando "Marty" Martinez. Council Member Dunn
arrived at 7:44 p.m. Council Member Reid left at 10:30 p.m., Council Member Dunn
left at 10:42 p.m.
Staff Present: Town Manager John Wells, Town Attorney Jeanette Irby, Deputy
Director of Utilities Aref Etemadi, Director of Planning and Zoning Susan Berry Hill,
Deputy Director of Planning and Zoning Brian Boucher, Zoning Administrator Chris
Murphy, Deputy Zoning Administrator Wade Burkholder, and Clerk of Council Lee
Ann Green
AGENDA ITEMS
1. CALL TO ORDER
2. INVOCATION: Council Member Reid
3. SALUTE TO THE FLAG: Council Member Hammler
4. ROLL CALL: Showing Council Member Martinez absent. Council Member
Dunn arrived at 7:44 p.m.
5. MINUTES
UTES
a. Regular Session Minutes of August 30, 2011
On a motion by Vice Mayor Wright, seconded by Council Member
Butler, the minutes of the August 30 regular session were approved approved 5 -0-
2 (Dunn /Martinez absent).
6. ADOPTING THE MEETING AGENDA
On a motion by Vice Mayor Wright, seconded by Council Member Butler, the
meeting agenda was approved after moving Item l la to the Consent Agenda and
addition of resolutions to appoint Commission and Committee members, by the
following vote:
Aye: Butler, Hammler, Reid, Wright and Mayor Umstattd
Nay: None
Vote: 5 -0 -2 (Dunn /Martinez absent)
7. PRESENTATIONS
a. Resolution of Respect Bob Huber
On a motion by Vice Mayor Wright, seconded by Council Member Reid,
the following Resolution of Respect was approved:
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COUNCIL MEETING September 13, 2011
RESOLUTION OF RESPECT
Robert Ambrose Huber
WHEREAS, Robert "Bob" Huber was born on September 29, 1926 in
Cresson, Pennsylvania; and
WHEREAS, he served his country in the U.S. Navy and was a veteran of
World War II; and
WHEREAS, he was a loving husband to his wife, Georgia, and father to
five children; and
WHEREAS, he served as a surveyor and cartographer for the U.S.
Geological Survey with over 30 years of service; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Huber was a long time contributing member of the
Loudoun County business community; and
WHEREAS, his involvement with Little League Baseball enriched the
lives of countless participants over 25 years of volunteerism as a groundskeeper,
coach, umpire and officer; and
WHEREAS, Little League Baseball and the Town of Leesburg recognized
his service by naming a baseball field at Freedom Park in his name
THEREFORE, RESOLVED that the Mayor and members of the Council
of the Town of Leesburg in Virginia extend their sympathy and respect to the
family and everyone whose lives were touched by Mr. Huber; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this Resolution of Respect be spread
upon the minutes of this meeting and that a copy be presented to his family.
PASSED this 13 day of September, 2011.
b. Proclamation Constitution Week
On a motion by Council Member Reid, seconded by Council Member
Butler, the following was proclaimed:
PROCLAMATION
Constitution Week
September 17 -23, 2011
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COUNCIL MEETING September 13, 2011
WHEREAS, September 17, 2011, marks the two hundred twenty- fourth
anniversary of the drafting of the Constitution of the United States of America by
the Constitutional Convention; and
WHEREAS, it is fitting and proper to accord official recognition to this
magnificent document and its memorable anniversary; and to the patriotic
celebrations which will commemorate the occasion; and
WHEREAS, Public Law 915 guarantees the issuing of a proclamation
each year by the President of the United States of America designating September
17 through 23 as Constitution Week.
THEREFORE, PROCLAIMED, by the Council of the Town of
Leesburg in Virginia the week of September 17 through 23, 2011 as Constitution
Week in the Town of Leesburg and further ask our citizens to reaffirm the ideals
of that the framers of the constitution had in 1787 by vigilantly protecting the
freedoms guaranteed to us through this guardian of our liberties, remembering
that lost rights may never be regained.
PROCLAIMED this 13" day of September, 2011.
c. Proclamation Hispanic Heritage Month
On a motion by Council Member Reid, seconded by Council Member
Butler, the following was proclaimed:
PROCLAMATION
Hispanic Heritage Month
September 15 October 15, 2011
WHEREAS, September 15 through October 15, commemorating the
anniversary of independence for seven Latin American countries, is designated
by the Federal government in 1988 as a time to recognize the achievements and
contributions of Hispanics in this country; and
WHEREAS, this year's theme is "Many Backgrounds, Many Stories, One
American Spirit and
WHEREAS, the significant achievements of the Hispanic community
have and continue to shape our nation's history; and
WHEREAS, local cultural institutions are sponsoring various events
celebrating Hispanic heritage and culture through October; and
WHEREAS, Leesburg's Hispanic community continues to make
significant cultural and economic contributions to our Town; and
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COUNCIL MEETING September 13, 2011
THEREFORE, the Mayor and Council of the Town of Leesburg in
Virginia hereby proclaim September 15 October 15, 2011 as Hispanic Heritage
Month and encourage all residents to join in recognizing and preserving the
contributions made by Hispanic Americans.
PROCLAIMED this 13` day of September 2011.
8. PETITIONERS
The petitioner's section was opened at 8:05 p.m.
John Mileo, 19470 Promenade Drive, Lansdowne, asked that the current
Holiday Parade be renamed "Christmas Parade He extended his best wishes to
Council Members Butler and Reid in their campaigns for higher office. He stated he
read that the town attorney had concerns that changing the name to Christmas and
Hanukah Parade may be perceived as not being "inclusive of all groups He stated this
line of thinking is preposterous. He stated changing the name to give due recognition to
the actual holiday name, whether it be Christmas or in conjunction with Hanukah,
should not be construed to be anything other than what it is, recognizing and respecting
the proper name of the holiday being celebrated.
Julie Rogers, 825 Tall Oaks Square, introduced her daughter, Amber. She stated
Amber was struck by a hit and run driver on August 31. She stated while she
understands that the proposed traffic light may not be able to be installed before 2014,
she hopes that something can be done as a temporary solution until a light can be
installed. She stated her daughter was lucky as the impact only gave her daughter a deep
muscle bruise. She noted that the local newspaper contained erroneous information.
Joyce Gerber, 112 Catoctin Circle, NE, stated she opposes the barrier being taken
down at the end of Catoctin Circle at this time. She stated there are adults, children and
animals that cross the street every day.
Stephen Campbell, 219 Catoctin Circle, NE, stated he would like the barrier to
stay in place.
Paul Kreingold, 207 Catoctin Circle, NE, stated he is speaking in response to a
petition asking Council to open up Catoctin Circle in the near future. He stated since
1995, there was a promise until the entire project was completed, Catoctin Circle would
stay closed for safety reasons. He stated it seems to be capricious at this point to
abandon this policy after all this time. He stated there was a tremendous amount of dust
and disruption associated with the improvements but the town did a great job on this
project.
Rob Montgomery, 121 Woodberry Road, NE, presented Council with a petition
signed by 100 citizens to open Catoctin Circle. He stated for 16 years, Woodberry Road
has had the traffic. He stated the planned closure of Woodberry for improvements
would leave the unimproved Prince Street as the only connector between Edwards Ferry
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Road and North Street. He stated the 100 signatures are primarily from Prince Street,
Woodberry Road, Edwards Ferry and some from Brown's Meadow. He stated
everyone likes people keeping commitments but over the years, as circumstances have
changed, barricades have been taken down. He stated Woodberry and Prince have
become major traffic channels between North Street and Edwards Ferry. He stated their
belief it would be in the greater good for the majority of residents to remove the
barricade now since Catoctin Circle is completed.
Lida Henderson, 115 Prince Street, NE, stated that Prince Street takes the brunt
of the traffic. She stated she has requested speed bumps or stop signs to get people to
slow down. She stated tax dollars did a great job of widening Catoctin Circle and the
roundabout is phenomenal. She stated that Catoctin is one of the streets that goes
through the town and should be open to mitigate the traffic problems occurring on
Prince and Woodberry.
Tom Hinders, 21 Linden Hill Way, stated his continued support for the previous
Council votes on providing the access road for Linden Hill.
Sondra Camp, 31 Linden Hill Way, stated she is tired and is ready to have a
decision made.
Lawrence Schonberger, 212 Prince Street, NE, stated he is in favor of opening
Catoctin Circle. He cited the Town Plan, Transportation Element, Objective 3 as stating
"To develop and expand the town's transportation system in a manner that does not
adversely impact community and neighborhood integrity He stated that no one
anticipated this would take 16 years and the original agreement was that no roads would
open unless all roads opened. He stated slowly the barricades have come down for
various changing circumstances and it is time to consider the next logical alternative to
deal with the closing of Woodberry Road.
Terri Azie, 104 Elkridge Way, NE, petitioned the Council to rescind the
resolution to keep the barricades in place. She stated the road should be opened as there
are five subdivisions located north of the barricades with a lot of families doing a lot of
errands. She stated the barricade blocks their access to businesses in Leesburg. She
stated this is a public road, paid for with public funds. She submitted emails from
neighbors who would also like Catoctin opened.
Brian Caney, 412 Blue Ridge Avenue, NE, stated he is at the corner of Catoctin
and Blue Ridge and can see cars zig- zagging through all the time. He stated
convenience of errands is not as important as speed. He stated he would prefer that
people have to zig -zag because it slows them down. He noted that all the improvements
have not been completed as there are still speed tables to be installed, stop signs
installed, and a possible light at the intersection of Edwards Ferry and Catoctin Circle.
He stated those things need to be resolved before any debate should occur.
Gigi Robinson, 207 Prince Street, NE, asked Council to open Catoctin Circle.
She distributed a timeline and a proposed resolution. She noted the original resolution
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closed almost all of Lowenbach including Mayfair, sections of North and Marshall. She
stated the resolution made a separate section to indicate when connections to the streets
could be approved "all connections to North Street referenced in alternative 1, and the
opening of North Street and Marshall Drive as a through streets, respectively, shall all
occur on the same day". She stated starting in 1999, the barricades started coming down
and North Street and Marshall became through streets without any improvements to
these streets because trucks were having difficulty turning around and improved access
was needed for emergency vehicles, police, trash collection, road maintenance, access by
citizens, improved street sweeping and snow removal. She noted in 2004, the Council
established the Lowenbach Ad Hoc Committee which recommended improvements to
the neighborhoods including a three way stop at the T- intersection of Blue Ridge and
Prince Street; however, it has never been installed. She asked that the one year warranty
from Tessa be used to test Catoctin Circle with actual traffic.
Raymond Jones, 33 Linden Hill Way, stated his neighborhood has been coming
to the Council for almost two years to fmd a remedy for the harm that will be caused by
the widening of Route 15. He stated the access road is not the neighborhood's first
choice, but is the only one that can be supported by the engineers. He stated recent
opposition to this has made conflicting claims that Linden Hill Way is too small for a
large expenditure of town funds, but will also cause severe traffic congestion to Country
Club. He stated the plans for the access road will add an extra turn lane for Country
Club.
Michael Merrin, 305 North Street, NE, questioned what the metrics are for the
expected traffic once Woodberry Road is closed and Catoctin is opened. He stated all
he has heard are observations and actual numbers are needed before a decision can be
made.
Wendy Overton, stated this was a complete surprise to the entire Lowenbach Ad-
Hoc committee, of which she is a member. She submitted a letter from a neighbor who
does not want the road opened. She stated the project is not complete and taking down
the barrier will unleash traffic. She stated opening the road will increase traffic by
2000% based on the town's own estimates. She stated there are no connecting sidewalks
in the neighborhood. She noted that there are children that have to walk to the bus
stops. She stated she understands the convenience factor, but for the safety of the
neighborhood, the barricade needs to remain until the improvements are complete. She
requested that Council not be swayed by the need for convenience of others.
Rufus Campbell, 216 Catoctin Circle, NE, stated this agreement was made in
1995 so that the improvements could be completed in the entire Lowenbach subdivision.
He stated people on Prince Street want the barricades to come down on Catoctin and the
estimate is 5000 cars per day to come down Catoctin. He requested a traffic check on
Prince Street and Woodberry to fmd out how many cars use those streets every day. He
stated cars used to do 50 mph on Marshall before the speed bumps were put in. He
expressed concern over the corner stakes for the property lines and the slope of the
driveways.
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COUNCIL MEETING September 13, 2011
Peter Commanduras, 508 Edwards Ferry Road, NE, stated he was involved in
the Ad -Hoc Committee and is representing that committee. He noted that Lowenbach
was built in the 1930s and set out as subdivisions were at the time. He stated the
improvement project was meant to bring the streets up to current standards. He stated
the narrowness of the streets have created some problems. He noted that currently only
Phase 1 of the project is complete and in order to complete Phase 2 and 3, the
construction crews will be hampered and endangered by traffic. He stated the current
agreement was made by the neighborhood, town staff and Council. He stated if Council
does not act upon the recommended advice of ad -hoc committees, then don't have ad-
hoc committees. He stated one street should not be forced to bear all the traffic.
Larr Kelly, 404 Edwards Ferry Road, NE, stated currently between Harrison and
Mayfair, there are two substandard streets serving the north /south motion Prince and
Woodberry. He stated closing Woodberry will push all the traffic onto Prince. He
stated $1 million has been spent on Catoctin Circle to make a basketball court for
someone. He stated safety is enhanced in a grid pattern. He stated he understands the
agreement from 1995; however, other streets have been opened so the agreement has
already been broken. He asked that the load be shared by opening the road.
Dana Eddy, 114 Catoctin Circle, NE, expressed her sympathy for the others on
Catoctin. She stated she also sympathizes with those on the surrounding streets;
however, her biggest concern is that Catoctin is not completed. She stated her
experience has not been positive with this construction project. Further, she stated her
biggest concern is the four -way stop on Catoctin at Edwards Ferry because people do
not follow the four -way stop laws. She stated without speed bumps, proper signage or
something to make people respect the four -way stop, there will be problems at that
intersection. She stated this is not the proper time to open this road and the project has
not followed through in the timeline that was originally proposed. She stated she is fine
with the barricade coming down, but not at this time.
Doris Kidder, 139 Woodberry Road, stated the Planning Commission has
discussed the four -way stop at Edwards Ferry Road. She stated a survey done showed
no accidents in 20 years. She stated she does not think it is fair to have some people to
have private parking and basketball courts and other people to have traffic. She stated a
community should share the wealth and the problems. She stated it does not make any
sense to have the smaller streets bearing the brunt of the traffic.
Joyce Gerber, 112 Catoctin Circle, NE, stated she has lived in her house on
Catoctin Circle for 50 years and it was one of the houses first houses there. She stated
the barrier has been up all that time. She stated she does not think the street should be a
freeway. She stated she has sat on her porch and watched the cars speed up the road.
She stated the police department only sits there to catch two cars. She stated the barrier
should remain because they don't want speeders on their street. She stated that Catoctin
Circle is not finished.
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Mary Barnes, addressed the question of whether Linden Hill is worth an access
road. She stated if they were petitioning for a stoplight, no one would question the cost
but the stop light was rejected.
Council Member Hammler: Pardon me for interrupting. There were a number
of emails that we received. Several citizens had specifically asked for their letters to be
read on various topics. Given the number of petitioners, I don't know how you, Madam
Mayor, would like to handle that. Perhaps they could just be addressed in the minutes.
There was a Mrs. Tarkington regarding the Linden Hill issue. There was a Ms. Elvin
regarding opening up Catoctin and many on both sides of the Catoctin issue. If I may,
one other issue... last night, there was not a quorum for the work session. The Vice
Mayor, myself and Dave Butler were the only ones unfortunately at the work session,
but I was planning to bring under new business, bring up the Catoctin issue at the next
work session. So, I would appreciate being able to add that either under new business
tonight, but ensure that we could bring that topic back... an update from the staff
regarding the actual state of the improvements and what has changed relative to phasing
that project.
Mayor: Very good, Katie. Thank you. I think given that we have a public
hearing. I think all members of Council have seen the emails. So, we won't be reading
them unless all of Council wants to, but we do have a lot of business and we have some
citizens who are here tonight who are waiting for a vote. So, I think we should probably
get to it.
The petitioner's section was closed at 9:14 p.m.
9. APPROVAL OF THE CONSENT AGENDA
On a motion by Vice Mayor Kevin Wright, seconded by Council Member Ken
Reid, the following items were moved for approval as part of the Consent Agenda:
a. Supplemental Appropriation for the George Mason Enterprise Center
Leesburg
RESOLUTION 2011 -112
Approving a FY2012 Supplemental Appropriation in the Amount of
$236,764 for Nine Months Rent for the George Mason Enterprise Center
Leesburg
b. Supplemental Appropriation for the Recreation Outreach for Community
Kids (R.O.C.K.) Program for a Donation from Leesburg Presbyterian Church
RESOLUTION 2011 -113
Approving a Supplemental Appropriation from a Donation of $400.00
from the Leesburg Presbyterian Church
c. Authorizing the Town Manager to Sign a Special Exception Application
for Dominion Power
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COUNCIL MEETING September 13, 2011
MOTION 2011 -029
I move that the Town Council authorize the Town Manager to execute a
special exception and land development (subdivision) application with
Dominion Virginia Power with the understanding that the town can
withdraw its consent if agreement cannot be reached on the property
acquisition
d. Initiating Amendments to the Town Code to Conform to Changes to the
Virginia State Code
RESOLUTION 2011 -114
Initiating Amendments to Various Articles and Sections of the Leesburg
Town Code Addressing Minor Changes, Making Corrections and
Clarifications as Necessary
e. Acceptance of Grant Offers for Runway 17 Safety Area Land Acquisition
MOTION 2011 -030
I move to authorize the Town Manager to execute the acceptance of grant
offer from the Federal Aviation Administration for AIP project 3-51 -0027-
036 -2011 (Improve Runway 17/35 Safety Area Phase One and Land
Acquisition Phase Two)
f. Adopting a State Mandated Water Supply Plan Authorizing a Public
Hearing
MOTION 2011 -031
I move to authorize the Town Manager to advertise a public hearing for
adoption of a State Mandated Water Supply Plan as soon as practical
The Consent Agenda was approved by the following vote:
Aye: Butler, Hammler, Reid, Wright and Mayor Umstattd
Nay: None
Vote: 5 -0 -2 (Dunn /Martinez absent)
10. PUBLIC HEARINGS
a. Approving TLOA 2010 -0005 Amending the Zoning Ordinance for
Temporary Uses in the R -1 District
The public hearing was opened at 9:17 p.m.
Wade Burkholder: The central question surrounding this text amendment
is should the zoning ordinance be amended to add "fair" as a temporary use with
minimal use standards in the R -1 single family residential zoning district. By the
way of a little bit of background, the town has been approached by the Aurora
School and ARC of Loudoun to operate a temporary fair as a fundraising event
on weekends throughout the month of October. This facility is located within the
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R -1 single family residential zoning district and they are operating under special
exception TLSE 2008 -0011, which was approved in December of 2008. Per the
zoning ordinance, such uses are considered commercial and institutional uses.
For example, they have the school of general education, they also have the child
care center on this site, so those are considered commercial and institutional uses
under the zoning ordinance within the R -1 zoning district by special exception.
The R -1 district is a predominately single family detached district with a one acre
lot minimum. They can have certain permanent non residential uses either by
right or through special exception approval. We do have at least five commercial
activities that are allowed by right or special exception in the R -1 district. Such
uses as child care centers, as I mentioned, and recreation facilities. There are the
opportunities for places of worship to locate in the R -1 district by special
exception and fire and rescue facilities are by right uses in R -1 single family
districts. Though predominately a single family detached residential district, you
do have those other uses that can be approved but aren't residential in nature.
For zoning purposes, a temporary use is a use that is established for a
fixed period of time with the intent to discontinue such use upon the expiration of
such a time and does not involve the construction or alteration of any permanent
building or structure. Currently, the zoning ordinance does not permit a fair as a
temporary use in any residential zoning district. The ordinance does permit
things like way side stands, Christmas tree sales and other similar temporary
uses. This time of year, you will see pumpkin sales or, you know, the decorative
corn, things like that. So, those uses are along the lines of what is currently
permitted by ordinance. Now, on March 8 of this year, Town Council initiated a
zoning ordinance text amendment to consider a carnival, festival, and /or fair as a
permissible temporary use within the R -1 district. The Planning Commission on
September 1 held a public hearing to consider this request to amend the zoning
ordinance for those three uses. Upon deliberation and discussion, the public
hearing was closed with the planning commission and the planning commission
recommended denial of TLOA 2011 -0005 by a vote of 6 -0 -1 based on the
following major reason. That reason was that the ordinance as proposed was too
broad because it would permit carnivals, fairs and festivals in the R -1 zoning
district without providing sufficient controls that ensured that these uses would
not become burdensome to neighbors and the town. The key question, or the key
concept that the planning commission was looking at throughout their public
hearing was considering what the potential impacts these uses could have within
the R -1 district due to the uses, nature, design and location. Upon using the
standard, the planning commission identified in more detail some of the parts of
the proposed amendment that gave them the most concern. The first being that
the carnival use tended to imply more mechanical rides such as ferris wheels,
merry go- rounds and those sorts of mechanical rides that might be of more of a
disturbance to the neighborhood than really what they were comfortable with. A
second reason was that the carnival, festival and fair uses have never been
permitted in any residential zoning district before and they felt that these uses
may have unintended consequences and therefore we needed to step back and
look for a smaller scope to fit what the proposed use at the Paxton campus was
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COUNCIL MEETING September 13, 2011
actually going to be. There was concern regarding the lack of notice provided to
the surrounding neighborhood of the public hearing. As you know, for zoning
ordinance text amendments, we do not send individual neighborhood notices.
We post the property and we put legal notice in the newspaper, but individual
homeowners are not notified and they were concerned that the neighborhood
wasn't getting a chance to address this request. The written notice, which is
condition 12, which I will get to in a minute, implies that the neighbors have a
say in the issuance of any temporary use permit, where the intent is not the same
type of notice that is provided with a special exception and rezoning applications.
The permit for a temporary use is not a public hearing, so members of the
planning commission were concerned that would get the neighbors hopeful that
they might have a venue in a public hearing setting where they could address
concerns that they might have and those sorts of things. The second main area of
the planning commission's analysis is that the features of such events, especially
the noise and lighting could have negative impacts on the surrounding residential
uses. More specifically, the concern was over the ending time of 11 p.m. was too
late of an ending time for a residential neighborhood.
The third part of their analysis states that the draft ordinance placed a
burden on town resources to ensure that events go as planned. More specifically,
the stated concerns were that staff would not be able to be present on location at
all times to ensure that the event was being ran per the use conditions of the
actual temporary use permit. Additional comments that came out of the
Planning Commission public hearing is that the planning commission
recommended exploring special use permits or special exceptions as a possible
way to allow such activities in the R -1 zoning district. They also suggested
possibly limiting these events to be held only for nonprofit 501c(3) organizations.
Staff checked with the town attorney and on her advice, it was recommended that
we not limit it to these organizations as it would be too limiting of a factor as to
who could participate in such a use. So, that was a suggestion that they made but
is not included in tonight's draft ordinance. Several commissioners did express
support for the proposed Paxton use, but could not support the amendment as it
was presented at the public hearing.
As a result, between the first and tonight, staff revised the draft ordinance
to address the concerns of the planning commission and we provided further
controls and limited the proposed temporary use to only a fair. So, we took the
carnival use out and we have taken the festival use out and limited the use to
simply a fair as well as adding some of these other safeguards to protect any
neighborhood concerns. More specifically, as I said, we deleted carnivals and
festivals. We added a condition prohibiting outdoor mechanical rides so there
will be no ferris wheels, no merry go- rounds, any of those nature. We added a
condition limiting outdoor performances to no later than 7 p.m. and we limited...
there was a slight change in the hours of operation in that the fair could begin at
10 a.m., but any performance activity that is being held from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m.
must be in a fully enclosed building. So, there won't be any noise concerns or
anything like that after 10 p.m. So, we kind of addressed that noise concern in
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that manner. We added a noise condition that requires compliance with the
town code and zoning ordinance and limits the use of unenclosed mechanical
equipment to before 7 p.m. We have limited sound amplifying equipment to no
later than 7 p.m. and we have added a revocation provision to clarify that a
permit for a temporary fair may be revoked early for noncompliance with any of
the conditions that are put on the permit.
So, we have reached the amended proposed use conditions. Very quickly,
I will run through these. The first one being existing uses. A fair can only be... a
temporary use permit for a fair can only be issued upon a parcel with a
preexisting business or use on it. Reason being is the facilities are already there.
There is an expectation of activity on that lot. Different expectation for a lot that
may be vacant. A neighborhood may not expect this fair to come in if it is a
vacant lot. They can also combine the fair use with the existing facilities in some
manner to accommodate the indoor performances and that sort of thing that we
talked about. Duration, three consecutive days five times a year. You can
combine that into 15 straight days. We provide flexibility in the permit to
however many days in a row you need it or etc. So, it can be used in any number
of ways there. Location no such activity shall be located closer than 300 feet to
a residential use. This is a slide of the Paxton property. You can obviously see
the residential uses surrounding the property. Approximately the 300 foot...
anyway, I wanted to show you where the 300 foot line from the residential use
was going to be, but...
Dunn: Can you take your time... I would like to see that.
Burkholder: Yeah, I will see what I can do here.
Reid: This is just a housekeeping question. R -1 single family district, do
we have to reference the H -1 in this case because this property is in the H -1 or no?
Burkholder: No, because this being a temporary use we wouldn't need to
go that far. The zoning district would be sufficient. Pretty much the center of the
screen is the mansion house. The 300 foot line comes right about up to this area
here from the structures down here. Then, you're drawing sort of an angle
parallel to that property line at 300 feet and continuing on up. Then, it will cut
across the field out to Catoctin Circle.
Dunn: It looks like your line might have been a little close on the left side,
but basically you are looking at the larger field area...
Burkholder: Right, then the main mansion house and some of those barn
buildings would still be the area. The fourth condition, again I mentioned there
are no mechanical rides. I mentioned the fifth, outdoor performances shall not be
permitted after 7 p.m. Performances after that time must be in a fully enclosed
building. Off street parking and access, adequate provisions must be made for off
street parking. Safe ingress and egress must be provided as shown on a parking
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September 13, 2011
plan and approved by the zoning administrator. Specifically, in this Paxton case,
they will not be using the Wildman entrance. Any ingress /egress will be from
Catoctin Circle. I mentioned the hours of operation under 7. Noise, again, we
are stating that you have to be compliant with the town code and the zoning
ordinances specific sections. Sound amplifying equipment, we are following the
town code's language and it says use of sound amplifying equipment shall be
registered with the town manager at least 48 hours in advance of the use. Such
equipment shall not extend past 7 p.m. on any day as part of a fair temporary use
permit. Then, the illumination plan, we are just making sure that there is not
excessive glare onto the residential neighborhood. In this particular example
again with Paxton, they went through the special exception application. They
already have a lighting plan on file with us. We know where they are going to be
setting up some lighting for their parking area. We do not see any concern with
the lighting in that particular case. The revocation permit, again this is language
that is already in the zoning ordinance for things like home occupation permits, if
we would find that there is a violation of the permit, this just says the zoning
administrator has the right to revoke the permit and the shall therefore stop. So,
we just added that again to further address some of the concerns of the planning
commission. With other potential locations in Leesburg, we know the R -1
district up where the Paxton campus is. We also have in the southeast...I'm
sorry, southwest part of town, Evergreen Elementary, Evergreen Mills
Elementary and then Simpson Middle School. Those could be potential uses or
parcels for a fair as well. You could eventually see something on the
Meadowbrook property that might allow the fair to happen and then the property
on Route 7 heading east out of town. I want to make clear that the R -1 of Ida
Lee Park, these temporary uses do not apply to public property. They are only
permitting this use on private land for zoning purposes to protect the health,
safety, welfare of any residential district. Any event that goes on on any park
land or at Ida Lee, the community events committee, which is operated through
the parks and recreation department sets those permits up. That is primarily.. like
I said, any kind of fair or event they would have at Ida Lee on any public
property would be handled by them and not this permit. There are a few other
pieces of land out there that you might see this use on at some time in the future.
Just a brief run down of a few other jurisdictions. These temporary use
regulations vary per jurisdiction per event type. You can see in Herndon, they
allow four days with a maximum of three occurrences per parcel per year.
Loudoun County, within a year, they will issue 10 temporary nonexempt special
events, maximum duration of 14 days per event per parcel. Clarify what a
nonexempt special event is. They draw the line at the expectation of 100 guests
or more. So, if your event is thought to be generating 100 or more guests to the
event, then they would require the special event permit. Manassas, again no
more than three such permits shall be issued for the same lot during a calendar
year and they rely on some language that gives the zoning administrator's review
a lot of consideration there. One other real quick amendment is the section 9.5.2
Temporary Use uses in the residential districts. And that's to add (4) Fair in the
R -1 single family residential district. Staff is recommending approval of the text
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COUNCIL MEETING September 13, 2011
amendment adding a fair use as a temporary use with the proposed stated
minimal use standards in the R -1 single family residential zoning district as
presented in your staff report this evening. I am happy to answer questions at
this time.
Reid: Since you are all in the room here, I want to congratulate you all on
your VML award. I want to congratulate you for your VML award on the
process improvements.
Wright: A couple of questions. So, Wade I relooked through the staff
report and your presentation. Where are we defining what a fair is?
Burkholder: A fair... being defined as an event usually for the benefit of a
charity or public institution including entertainment and the sale of goods.
report?
Wright: Is that definition in the ordinance, or was it only in the staff
Burkholder: It was in the staff report on page 5.
Wright: Where in the ordinance does that appear? Does it appear
anywhere?
Burkholder: It actually currently does not.
Wright: Is that a problem?
Burkholder: Certainly, something that could be added; however, it would
not be possible to add that currently because we did not legally advertise changes
to article 18 Definitions.
Wright: So, what is the difference between what you just defined as a fair
and what I have seen happen until they moved out of town at Loudoun Country
Day School every year? All of the schools that exist within these R -1 districts
that have what they call fairs, that sound very close to your definition and they
have big blow up bouncy houses and climbing things and everything else... have
they been... what I am failing to understand so I'll cut to the chase of my
question. Why do Paxton or anyone else who has this use need a permit at all?
Where it seems to me we have been allowing these by right at all of the schools
and Paxton is basically a private school, I believe, for years?
Burkholder: It is the duration, I believe, of the actual event going the
entire month whereas many of the schools may have it for a day or a weekend.
This...
Wright: Okay, so my follow -on question to that point is if you think of
some of the concerns be it the noise generation or stuff like that.... I know the
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COUNCIL MEETING September 13, 2011
high schools are kind of a bad example because the high schools are in R -E,
which is a more narrowly defined district, but they make a lot of noise every
Friday. Right now, Tuscarora every night because they are the only ball field
that is playable. Is their use determined to be ancillary to the school use? They
generate noise until 10 p.m. because that's when the noise ordinance tells them
they have to stop.
Burkholder: To the degree that noise is expected... I think when you get
into the R -1 district, this type of use is not expected so we are trying to provide
safeguards for the residential component of this district while still permitting an
event of this length to occur.
Wright: I guess my challenge there is one of your examples you gave of
where we are not going to worry about the permit is Ida Lee and I assure you that
they have a lot more than 100 people show up for a lot bigger fair than what is
being talked about here and it is in an R -1 area, but the use is a park so people are
anticipating community gatherings to occur at a park just like at Loudoun
Country Day folks would kind of figure out when to avoid it. Especially the
neighbors, they kind of knew, okay X weekend in October, don't hold a backyard
party because all the parking is going to be consumed by Country Day's Fall Fun
Fair similar with the other schools. I guess I am just struggling as to why we
define this as something we need to do. Here is my thing, if Council took no
action and we didn't pass this and they had over a period of consecutive
weekends an event that is similar to a fall fun fair, what exactly are they in
violation of?
Boucher: I think one thing that is important to remember here, is this is
not a normal school activity. You are inviting the general public out to as late as
11 o'clock to engage in something you wouldn't normally think was a school
activity and they are not doing it once, they are doing it 15 times. So, if you
don't classify this as something we might want some control on, I think what you
would be saying is any public or private school can do any type of event at any...
basically between dawn and 11 o'clock without any regulation. And it's about
expectations. One thing when we look at the R -1 district, we do regulate uses
that are there and one of the things we regulate pretty specifically are commercial
uses. In this case, if you take the... schools are expected. I think that is one
thing, if they did something where it was like that during the day for the school
kids, etc., I think we would say fine, go to it. What is different here is you are
inviting the general public over a period of nights to come to an event that, again,
you normally wouldn't associate with a school. They are doing it as a fundraiser.
Schools do have fundraisers. But, I think in this particular case, it's the hours of
operation and the type of event... the type of fundraiser. I think that's what
distinguishes it. The concern of staff is if you don't regulate something like this,
then you just told the people who live next to Paxton or any other school in town
that they can do any commercial venture they want as long as it raises dollars for
the school and they can do it in these long hours. I think that our experience has
shown, when you have things like that, you can get complaints. I would say,
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COUNCIL MEETING September 13, 2011
Councilman Wright, people do have an expectation, so they do kind of say, all
right, they are doing their fund raiser, I have got to adjust my day. This might be
different for people. You know, it's October. I like to be outside and oh, they are
having that every day, every weekend in October. That's one reason there was
the notice in here to people, that's to give them an opportunity to adjust their
schedules because it's not the normal thing they would expect.
Wright: That last question I would ask for now, I may have some follow
ups. In some of the restrictions we put in to address the planning commission
area, the one that jumps out at me is not as much the hours limited but the
outdoor performances and noise limited to 7 p.m. The flag that raised in my
mind is if I am hosting a wedding in my backyard and I happen to live in the R -1.
I'm sorry, I couldn't come up with a better example. I can make noise until 10 by
law, so we are actually putting something more restrictive on the use. I just
worry about the precedent that sets because that basically supersedes the noise
ordinance. So, by them getting a permit for something that I am still not sold that
we need a permit for, but we will get past that. But by them getting a permit,
they have actually lost a right of using their property that they would have
otherwise had through the noise ordinance.
Mayor: Let me address one of the Vice Mayor's concerns. I tend to agree.
I asked John initially why do we even need to do this. But the thing is if we don't
pass this tonight, then it goes back to an administrative decision and they will be
told no, they can't do it. They need to move forward. We can certainly tinker
with this, but Brian did sit down with Steve and with Scott and try to determine
what they needed this year. I know that Scott didn't get a chance to look at the
proposed ordinance until tonight and I would be interested to know if there are
any comments from Jennifer, Scott or Steve on it, but I really want to see us get
this through tonight so they can go forward this year and then we can revisit it if
we need to well before next year's event.
Boucher: I will say one thing about the time, we did discuss it with them
and it kind of would fit their program. Part of this proceeding with caution,
because this will happen on so many consecutive weekends, there are other
places this could occur so we were trying to... proceeding with caution. If this is
successful, hopefully none of us hear any complaints about noise through this,
then it is something that certainly experience would tell us may be able to be
lightened up in the future. The thing to remember, it is less hours than you
would normally get, but it is a commercial venture and could have incredibly
large amounts of people going there. And again, think this could happen on a
few other lots in town, potentially. So we are looking at the picture in total and
proceeding cautiously at the moment. It does seem to fit what their program is at
the present time.
Wright: I lied. I have one more question. So, whoever wants to address
this from a precedence standpoint... the only other thing I am getting stuck in my
head is the things that we have allowed. So, the example with the schools, their
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COUNCIL MEETING September 13, 2011
fairs they have been doing without having to do a permit. To even the churches
that will shift services outdoors for easter, that they get permits for their tents and
all that. With the definition not being in there, which I know we can catch up to,
from a zoning administrator standpoint or a former zoning administrator
standpoint since you made the mistake of standing at the mic too long, how... do
as the Mayor suggests and pull this through to address the current issue, how can
we be assured that we are not redefining uses that have been allowed by right as
something that is no longer by right and asked to comply with this.
Boucher: That's actually a good question because we were not looking to
make those things qualify as temporary uses. I think the thing here, and if you
need to distinguish it, is perhaps the unusual nature... the commercial nature and
something that is not normally associated with a school. Fundraisers are, but I
would say that ones of this type are not traditionally associated. I think that is...
I think if I am the zoning administrator making the call with this now, that's
what I am basing it one. What I'd say, if you are going to say Frances Hazel
Reid, you want to do a little carnival, fair out there, the kind of normal thing you
do every year, it has all the students there, it has the parents there... that's not
this. I would use that as a distinguishing factor.
Wright: So, it's kind of a large, general public, commercial event. That's
kind of one of your flags. So, if I'm at church and I'm holding an outdoor service
for Easter, that's not a commercial event.
Boucher: yes, it's not saying parents, this is our day, we want you all to
show up with the kids and we are going to do this. It's actually really aiming at
people who don't go to school here as a fundraiser for it. That commercial aspect
of it I think is what really differentiates it.
Hammler: I'm not sure who to ask this question to but my understanding
is there was something very similar last year. Certainly, there was the haunted
house at Paxton. Did we receive complaints? Was it in violation last year and
therefore it required some update to the ordinance this year?
Burkholder: In fact, it was a violation last year in the fact that they did
not receive a temporary use permit. To my knowledge, we did not receive any
complaints for noise or anything such as that, but the actual use was in violation
last year.
Hammler: Well the complaints I heard, because you probably saw my
house on the outside there. It was way too scary for the little kids. But, I know
everybody really enjoyed it. I guess I'm still having a lot of the issues that Kevin
was in terms of I mean I wouldn't consider the definition of a haunted house as a
fair as an example. When I started thinking about what a fair is I was thinking
that had more to do with daylight hours and it seemed excessive from a
regulation perspective in terms of the added illumination requirement and how
you were going to enforce that and the noise and okay indoor versus outdoor.
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COUNCIL MEETING September 13, 2011
Well, does that mean that if you have four flaps around a tent, you are going to
throw that up and hypothetically that could become indoor. Why couldn't we
keep it as simple as the Manassas definition and now I always get concerned
when Council gets asked well, sorry, we can't go back and redefine the
advertisement. My best example is what happened when we needed to float a
bond for utility system and not having another public hearing as an example.
But, I certainly understand Kristen's point regarding not holding up this year's
fair; however, in reading this and just seeing a lot of discrepancies, I do feel
uncomfortable with generally proceeding as is at this point, so I'll continue to
listen.
Butler: I guess since the little kids found it too scary, maybe we should
say that the outdoor activity is only permitted from 7 -10 p.m. I'm okay with the
7 p.m. because for some of the other events that we talked about, they are
basically one shot deals and I think that people have a different expectation for a
one shot deal... oh yeah, the neighbors or the school or something, they are
having a wedding tonight. It's not normal, but hey we will go with it, but if
somebody has something every weekend for a bunch of weekends I think the
expectations of people are different and so I think we need... I agree that we need
to set some level of expectation. I'm okay with adding in the definition in
tonight. I don't really care what section it's in. I understand the concern about
not advertising Section 18 or whatever it was, but I think if I went around and
took a poll and said how many people did not come to the public hearing tonight
because they didn't realize we were going to add a definition to Section 18, the
answer would probably be zero.
Hammler: But legally, we may not be able to do that.
Irby: You are perfectly fine in adding the definition.
Hammler: That would narrow it considerably, if we could find a haunted
house program...
Butler: So, whatever happens, I would like to make sure that I would... I
know I'm not making an official motion, but I would like to make sure we add
the definition into that. I have every expectation that if we vote on this ordinance
tonight with the definition, that Chief Price will not come in immediately and
drag us out of the room. But, I do think this is necessary and I do think it's good.
I applaud the planning commission for coming up with their objections so we
narrowed it down to something that is not quite so big as it was before. I am
assuming the things like the Loudoun County fair, if it were in town, we would
classify that as a carnival regardless of the name, right? Because that has items
that I am certain would have the neighbors raise their eyebrows, if that were to
occur.
Jennifer Lassiter, I applaud the staff of the town of Leesburg. They have
always worked with us and have worked with us diligently for almost a year now
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COUNCIL MEETING September 13, 2011
in trying to get something to you that will get us in compliance. Most of what
you have read tonight is basically tailored after what we are particularly planning
this year. That is where the 7 o'clock time frame comes from. Of course, I
would love more flexibility with that in the event that we do something different
or go beyond the scope of Shocktober. It is most important to me that we get to
maximize our property and have it help the kids in any way that we can. The
part of the.. other than the time limitation, the revocation clause is another area
of concern because it is something that we planned for. On Novemberl we will
start planning for Shocktober next year so to think that on day 2 it could be
revoked, that is troubling. But what is more troubling is that it is September 13
and we have 12 days. Whatever you guys need from us, we will continue to
work with you and we appreciate you working with us and I am happy to answer
any questions. It is too scary for little kids at night, which is why we have stuff
during the day now for little kids and our kids can enjoy it. I still wouldn't go if I
were you, though. It's still scary.
Hammler: That being said, I should have said the flip side of that is how
many people expressed how much they loved the haunted house that were
teenagers and up. It has been a wonderful neighborhood activity.
Lassiter: That is a good point. We are trying to be good neighbors. So,
anything that you want... that you think will help us do that, that's what we are
here to do.
Hammler: Jennifer, how much did this process cost to go through
basically this ordinance change in order to be able to put on this year's fair? If
you don't mind disclosing, just in terms of the process for now, if approved being
in compliance with the town? It was town initiated? Okay.
Lassiter: I'm not sure what you are asking me.
Hammler: I don't believe my question is relevant. It has been clarified
that it was town initiated.
Mayor: Do you guys have something as to definition of fair at this point?
Boucher: I guess we can shoot something out here. We hadn't quite
figured writing it all down, but perhaps we could say a fair, if you are adding a
definition, a fair is an event including, but not limited to, a haunted house or
other seasonal celebration usually for the benefit of a charity or public institution
including entertainment and the sale of goods.
Mayor: Folks, Steve, Jennifer, Scott, if you heard that, does that seem to
meet what you need it to meet this year? Okay. Well seeing that there is no
other public comment, we are going to close the public hearing and it does come
back to Council for a vote on the ordinance.
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COUNCIL MEETING September 13, 2011
The public hearing was closed at 10:01 p.m.
On a motion by Council Member Reid, seconded by Council Member
Butler, the following was proposed:
RESOLUTION 2011
Amending the Leesburg Zoning Ordinance to Permit a "Fair" as a
Temporary Use in the R -1 Single Family Residential Zoning District
Mayor: As I understand it, that ordinance would include that definition
language.
Reid: I just want to thank the Paxton and ARC folks for being so diligent
in dealing with the process. This looks like it has taken about six months. I wish
it had not taken that long. But, this is what we are dealing with and we have to
go through the planning commission and go through all these ordinance hoops. I
trust you are going to have a great festival and you will abide by the rules. Fair!
Excuse me. We hadn't defined fair yet, so I called it a festival. Excuse me.
Shocktober. I'll try to be there too.
Dunn: For staff, we said that the main issue was the timing of it, the fact
that it was consecutive 15 days. What is our current allowance for time for
people putting on special events?
Burkholder: Again, it varies. Christmas tree sales are 30 days. Other
events on a temporary use permit can be defined for like way side stands are
going to be weekends throughout the summer, so it is going to vary per what
event.
Dunn: Do we not have a time limit for a fair?
Burkholder: No.
Dunn: So a fair could have gone on indefinitely?
Burkholder: Well, it would have been an illegal use prior to tonight since
it did not exist in the ordinance, but....we are defining fair now as three and five
or fifteen consecutive days. That's what the definition now is of a fair.
Dunn: So any of the type of fairs, going back to Kevin's point. Any of
these fairs that are being put on, they just didn't reach the level of scrutiny
because they were only done for a day or two, but we did actually allow them.
So, since we allowed fairs, there really wasn't no time limit to what we were
willing to allow. So in essence, I guess this is where I am caught on this one. We
want to allow the Paxton to go forward, but we are also creating a lot of
regulation in order to do that when I don't know that we even need to do that. I
hate to have to be forced into creating a lot of regulation just for what I call spot
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COUNCIL MEETING September 13, 2011
zoning. In my business, in banking or with real estate, it would be spot
appraising. We don't like spot anything. I'm caught on this because in one thing
and I'm a big supporter of Paxton. I think you all know that I have supported
you. Thank you for helping us out with the cub scouts this year with the go kart
whatever it was. We started out rough with some fatalities... karts, not the
scouts. And I think that Paxton has been a good friend of Leesburg. As many of
you know, I have a son with special needs so I know and respect what you do. I
have a little problem with this though as it is in a residential area and we have to
be concerned about people in the community and their homes. I want to be able
to allow this to go forward, but I don't want it to be something where we just
now load on a bunch of regulations to say we are allowing what we have already
been allowing. Nothing says that we can't do this and now we are having to say,
now you can do it. That's a little tough for me to get my brain wrapped around.
I wish we weren't having to just load up the regulations or the town ordinance
with all these regulations just to do this. I would almost rather we find a way of
letting Paxton use Ida Lee than having to come up with all these regulations.
That would be my choice. By the way, a couple of questions. You brought up
on one of your slides, you pointed out Herndon and Loudoun allowed certain
things, but they weren't allowed in residential areas. You pointed out that
Manassas allows it, but it was in the commercial area. What about Herndon and
Loudoun. What are those zoned?
Burkholder: They do permit them.
Dunn: Residential.
Burkholder: Throughout.
Dunn: So, it's throughout. Okay. And this issue about fair. Again, I
think that can be... one man's fair is another lady's festival. The other thing too
about the music being indoors. I know from... and forgive my neighbors if they
are watching and I am sure they are not if they had any sense about them. They
have a band in their basement that they are always trying to put together, the
teenagers and I can assure you that it is inside a building and I still hear it. It... I
almost question whether we should be allowing it to go as late as 11 o'clock. It
seems a little late for me. Again, I have young kids and it seems a little late. This
is a tough one for me because I really don't think we are there yet and I had
hoped that these types of things that we are having to do as a Council on the fly,
that this should have been before the Planning Commission. You got feedback
from the planning commission... they denied it and you came up with some
things that they may have recommended, but I would have liked to have seen the
planning commission have a chance to look at this, but unfortunately it is 13 days
away from when they are trying to start this. If we were to say no to this, what
stops them from going forward, really?
Burkholder: It is determined that this use does indeed need a temporary
use permit issued for it and if we did not go forward and put this use as an
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COUNCIL MEETING September 13, 2011
allowable use in the R -1, they would therefore be facing the zoning violation
process going forward. So, they would be in violation.
Dunn: But where does it say they can't do this?
Burkholder: Well, it's not a defined use in the R -1 under Section 9.5.2.
The only things permitted as temporary uses are way side stands and Christmas
tree sales.
that.
Dunn: In the R -1?
Burkholder: In any residential.
Dunn: But we have been allowing it. We have been allowing other than
Wells: If I may, Council Member Dunn, because I might be the one
getting the phone call, so I would like to weigh in. The concern would be if
something isn't passed and there is a call and a complaint as to what is being
allowed and the question is asked... if I am asked, is that permitted? Or do they
have a permit to operate that, the answer is going to be no and I am going to be
put in an awkward position of having to shut it down because they are not legally
permitted. It is similar to other activities, but it is not the same by how we are
defining this activity based upon its location, duration, and level of noise. It
becomes a neighborhood issue. Again, if the neighbors were to call and
complain, we are going to be in an awkward position. My advice would be to
pass this. It's not the most perfect thing, but I think we can go back and clean it
up. We are not going to be going out and applying this to other types of things
that are happening. This gets us through this event and that would be my point.
Again, I don't want to be in a position of having to contact the folks at the ARC
and say I have got noise complaints coming in. It's not a permitted event. We
had noted it wasn't permitted. I don't know how to come back at this point.
Dunn: What then stops us from requiring now having to permit every
other school fair that might be in an R -1?
Wells: Because I think the point that was made earlier is there is a certain
expectation of what you get when you live near a school. This is a school, but it
is not a traditional school in the sense of having football games, marching
bands... this is a different type of school and I think until there is a track record if
you will between the neighbors and the school, it is a bit of an unknown as to
what you would expect on the property.
Burkholder: If I may... again, we are not applying this to public
properties. This would be on private property. It doesn't necessarily address the
church issue, but schools... you know this isn't the permit that would cover
public schools or Ida Lee or that sort...
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COUNCIL MEETING September 13, 2011
Dunn: I even wrote down in my notes, what about community property,
Tavistock's common area where they have their pool and they might have
ground that could afford a fair. They are going to now be required to do a permit
for even one day.
Dunn: If somebody was displeased about it, you would get a phone call.
Are we putting a time limit like if it exceeds 10 days, it must be permitted? I am
trying to find a way of having to limit one day you know girl scout meeting out
on the grounds and having a moon bounce.
Boucher: Council Member, if I may, I think that is not what this is aiming
at. That is not what we have traditionally regulated in the town. This isn't
changing that. What is happening here is this is not a girl scout meeting. This is
something that is going to have perhaps thousands of people attend over a period
of 15 nights. It is in a residential neighborhood. It is run by a school that is
seeking to raise some funds through this. That is not a traditional school activity.
Schools do have certain events. They have parent teacher night. They have
parents night.
Dunn: I'm saying even take away the school. If it's a community lot.
Boucher: If it is a community thing again, if a community was going to
do something small like that at their center, that's not the type of thing we are
going to ask them to do. That's something I think you could very well expect.
Dunn: But if John gets the phone call that says if this has been permitted.
Boucher: It's not a commercial event. It's not the type of thing you could
normally permit. We are not going to make everybody who wants to do a block
party come in and now get a zoning permit. I think what this is aiming at, this is
a commercial venture. What this thing is is raising money. It's bringing people
who don't live in the community, don't live in the site, to come to a commercial
event to raise money. I think that's what distinguishes it from a normal event
you would expect if you had a type of school nearby. So, we are not going to get
in to events that are traditionally held on these schools, but they are still going to
be allowed to be done... or in a community center. A lot of communities do that.
That is still the type of thing they can do. When communities get together, we
want to encourage that, so we are not going to make a permit to do it.
Dunn: Here is what I am trying to get at Brian. I want to make sure we
are protecting those small money raising events that may only be running for one
to maybe three days from having to be permitted. Is there anything that protects
them in this ordinance from the one person who calls up and says I just don't like
it. Is it permitted? And John has to say, well no it isn't. Is there anything in this
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COUNCIL MEETING September 13, 2011
ordinance that would protect them from having to go through that permit
process? It does not look like it to me.
Boucher: I guess then it's just something the zoning administrator will
have to make a call on. I think it's a reasonableness issue and what is really being
aimed at.
Wells: The question I am going to ask when I get that call before I say
shut it down, I would not say that. The question is going to be does it require a
permit? I would expect that in prior examples for the scouting event, for the one
day thing here or there, this doesn't compel somebody else to do them. I think
the answer I would get back after calling Chris is that is not required under our
code and I would respond back to the individual that it doesn't require a permit.
Dunn: Let me... calm down Ken, I know you are ready to go, but I want
to make sure we are getting ready to do what I call again, a spot ordinance. But,
we are making... passing regulations that affect the whole town. If I wanted to
put on...
Boucher: Certain districts in the town. In the R -1 District.
Dunn: That's correct, in the R -1. If I wanted to take a community lot that
is in the R -1 and do the exact same fair they are going to do for one day, would I
need a permit?
Boucher: If you are going to do something like this, you are really aiming
at people off site, you have got a commercial thing that is not normally associated
with the school, I think in that case we would say yes.
Dunn: Okay. That's what I am trying to get to. So, should we then
because you brought this up. You said this is a matter of time. The time that
they are doing it. The length of time is going to be an impact on the community.
Boucher: I would say it's one of the issues long term.
Dunn: Should there be something in the ordinance that says a permit is
required when the fair exceeds a certain time limit, whether that be five days, ten
days, or fourteen days. That way, we don't have to require a permit and have to
go through all these regulations for the smaller, shorter time period fairs.
Boucher: Again, I would say that's up to Council. Let me say this. If
you think staff has been too cautious. You know, I only give my history as a
zoning administrator, I'll admit that influenced me a little bit, I had to answer a
lot of noise calls when I was zoning administrator. People would hear music
sometimes much farther than 300 feet away and they would call me on Saturday
and it was three times I came downtown and chased bands inside because people
who didn't live anywhere close heard it and were complaining. What I learned
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COUNCIL MEETING September 13, 2011
from that is people in neighborhoods have certain expectations. I think if the
school runs a normal type fair... oh, it's the school. It's the foot game, okay, it's
a school. That's what they do. When you start getting into the things that are
out of the ordinary and then things that also run many nights, which also makes
it more unusual, then I think that's the time it's good to have some regulation.
You used spot zoning. I will say this, often we change the zoning ordinance to fit
circumstances. Here, we have never allowed a commercial venture like this in a
residential district. Our current ordinance says you can't have it at all. What we
are looking to do is actually add something we haven't permitted at all before.
We are proceeding a bit cautiously and your concerns are definitely heard and
you are asking good questions because you don't want to punish the little guy
when it is something that is kind of inconsequential as far as the neighborhood is
concerned. So, we don't want to make too much regulations at first.
Dunn: Or if they even want to do a big fair for a shorter period of time. I
don't want to have to force them to go through that...
Boucher: I would say the time limit, one reason we have a lot of these
regulations is fairs can sometimes be very large and you want to make sure you
are taking into account the things that can affect the neighborhood... the impacts
on the neighborhood. Sometimes it can be a one day fair but get people just as
aggravated as one that may go on for several days, so that is why we have the
regulation. Now, how they meet the regulation, a lot of it they work with staff
and something that is really small, a one day commercial venture, they are not
going to have to do a whole lot. I mean, it's going to be a much simpler,
probably a much simpler operation, but at least with the regulation we get the
chance to look at that and try to assess the impact on the neighbors. That's really
what this was aiming at, where we are doing something we haven't allowed
before, give the folks around it... to tell you the truth, they will probably call you
all first. We are probably the second line... either he gets called first, or you all.
Then we hear about it to do something, but we are trying to proceed a bit
cautiously. The only thing I will say is if we have been too cautious,
interesting... we were at the commission and the commission thought we were
not cautious enough. From my standpoint, it has been very interesting to see the
dichotomy. So, what we were trying to do is find something in the middle that
allowed what was proposed to proceed, to give us normal regulation... a
reasonable amount of regulation given what it is and if it turns out that this was
very successful, it might be the kind of thing that we could always revisit. You
know we could always open this up more, or frankly refine it if we find out some
of the fears that we had as staff really haven't come to fruition.
Dunn: Well, I would encourage Council maybe tonight to do it, or the
planning commission to bring it up or staff that the permits be... in this ordinance
that say that permits are required on fairs in excess of whatever day we feel is
acceptable to a community.
25 1 F'
COUNCIL MEETING September 13, 2011
Wells: Not to belabor the point, but the most.... The event that I have
received the most negative complaints on was a one day event. Not a multi -day
event. It wasn't in the town, but it impacted the town that was the beer fest in
terms of traffic and everything that went with that. I think it's a matter of
understanding what the event is in and of itself. You can have something very
impactful that's only one afternoon or you can have something moderately
impactful that goes on for 15 days, so I wouldn't my only advice is let's try to
take them on a case by case basis. Lets understand the event. The key thing here
is notification in my opinion. Its making sure that you put fair parameters on the
neighbors are advised. We are not looking to create more regulation, just make
sure that there is a balance between what people are expecting and hopefully
providing an opportunity for a great event. But again, I will just use the beer fest
and no disrespect to our friends at Morven Park, but I got more calls about that
than anything I have ever been involved with here.
Wright: I am still... I still find myself at least with the definition... so
maybe someone could tell me how we got here. Was there a zoning
administrator determination that determined what occurred last year was not a
permitted use and therefore not legal and that's the reason we are here?
Burkholder: yes.
Wright; Just for sheer morbid curiosity, what would have been the
process if somebody wanted to have appealed that decision to highlight every
school does the same thing by right every year.
Burkholder: The appeal process for a determination is to the BZA. They
would have 30 days to appeal to the BZA.
Wright: Okay, so that explains how we got to this point. I guess and I
think you answered it clearly before. Now that we have the definition, I am a
little better. My problem is I am still sitting here based on what you have
described. I don't view the use that they are proposing different than the
ancillary use that I would see at Tuscarora because they make a lot more noise
than that every night which I can actually hear from my home. I actually hear
County and Tuscarora fairly clearly. I don't think I hear Heritage, but it's not
necessarily unanticipated, and it's ancillary, but they do it every time and I ensure
you they encourage the general public to come out so some of the triggers that
you are using in your definition give me the same pause and I just think that we
need to be more succinct in what that definition is of what is generating the
trigger and I think the trigger is a target audience broader than the base
community, so you take the schools community fairs or whatever they do, their
target audience is the community of the school with some ancillary attendance.
The same can be said for the football games. They are going for the community
of the school, which may be a broader community, so I think what is going to the
definition here is their target audience is broader than the general kind of target
audience that would usually go to that facility.
26 I i g c
COUNCIL MEETING September 13, 2011
Boucher: What you would normally get from a school activity. Most
school activities are related to the school program, etc. Like the sports program.
Here, you don't have to have a haunted house. In this case, they are going to
have it 15 nights. If you don't, I think, limit something like this in a residential
district, what's to prevent them from just having a company that says can I run
this out of your buildings every weekend of the year. Then suddenly, you have
just introduced... let's just say they don't do it a few times so we don't call it a
permanent use, it's temporary, but that's what you could get into. So, again I
think staff is proceeding... certainly we are proceeding cautiously on this, but we
are introducing types of uses that we haven't occurring this often of this nature in
residential districts before.
Wright: Okay, so what assurance can I have and I think to Tom's point as
well, that the normal fairs that we are thinking of and we have used as the
examples are not going to get a determination that says they need this permit
now that we have defined this and passed this?
Boucher: I think the zoning administrator is the best one to answer that.
You know, any ordinance there is an intent behind it. I think we have all
discussed the intent here. That is something that would guide him in the future
when he is taking a look at this thing.
Chris Murphy: I apologize, I had four people talking to me at once when
you were asking a question. If you don't mind asking it again?
Wright: Not a problem, so from a zoning administrator standpoint, what
assurance can you give us that the definition that would generate permit as
described here for these broader events and that we are not going to see churches
or schools that have been doing these fall fun fairs, if you will, for years you
know on a Saturday in October, or whatever, not having to have a permit. What
assurance can we have that passing this is not going to generate a determination
that those need that permit as well?
Murphy: Well, in my mind it has been the practice of the town, at least
for the schools, the Loudoun County public schools is that when they have their
field days, etc., people are going to expect that a school is going to have an event
for the children of that school. It's not going to be open to the general public. It's
not going to be a generator other than the kids at the school and perhaps their
parents come out for the day. An event like this, where you are going to take a
building, turn it into something that it's not for an event to attract the general
public, as many as they possibly can accommodate for the purpose of raising
money for what they do there is something different. Something that I am going
to say this is going to require a permit for that. That's where I am drawing the
line... basically the degree of it, the intensity of it, versus the common practice
and the common expectation of public school and what public schools do versus
you know this is a private entity on private property. It is a school for special
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COUNCIL MEETING September 13, 2011
needs children. You don't expect them to have haunted houses that are going to
generate potentially thousands of visitors over that entire month. You are not
going to expect them to have festivals every single weekend through an entire
month. So what we want to do is ensure that if someone is inclined to do
something like that, we want to make sure that we have conditions in place to
make sure that people are properly notified, setbacks are adhered to, noise
regulations are adhered to and if they are not, we have the authority to tell them
no, that's it. You are done. Stop them or the next year when they come in say
no based on past practice or regulate that even more to make sure that we don't
have the complaints that we had the year before. So this is where I am coming in
with that and that's how I am leaning towards a determination to make sure what
has been happening in the town can't continue to happen and we add things like
this that we have regulations in place that ensure that it does not impact the
community that has become accustomed to something other than what this may
be.
Wright: I feel a little better. I am still worried that there is room there,
but I am going to trust that the determinations don't get us into trouble because I
didn't hear everything I wanted to hear.
Boucher: One thing you all did last time is initiated a batch amendment.
Madam Mayor, I think when we were discussing this, if there are any real
problems with this, we have got going and in the next couple of months that's
going to be at the commission. I think certainly the definition is something we
can work on to eliminate things that are like normal school events... things you
would normally expect to happen at a school or part of a community celebration.
I think we can come up with some language that is perhaps... if we give a little
more thought to it, it will get us where the folks need to be.
Hammler: That was actually going to be what my thoughts were based on
what you were hearing tonight, what would you amend if we had the time to go
back to the drawing board and in as much as we certainly can still have you come
back, I certainly would appreciate your giving it more thought. I will be
supporting it for the reason that Kristen mentioned earlier, that we need to move
forward to support Paxton. Just two quick disclosures, I do live back... my house
backs up to Paxton and secondly, I did ask Jennifer after the last Halloween
parade and knowing what I knew about the great haunted house, would the
actors be able to be part of our trolley at the head of our Halloween parade. So, I
felt that needs to be a disclosure because I did request that. I am assuming I can
vote on this. Jennifer did say yes and she is going to be working, Madam Mayor,
with Parks and Rec to get us a little bit more fun and interesting than we have in
the past years with the Council at the front of the parade. I just wanted to
mention those two disclosures.
Butler: I just wanted to say as far as I am concerned you can vote on it,
unless you are getting a cut of the proceeds, from the Shocktober. So, yes, I am
28 1 1) ,i g e
COUNCIL MEETING September 13, 2011
perfectly comfortable with this because of our definition of commercial activity. I
am looking forward to voting for it.
Hammier: Just so as you know, the haunted house will be over before the
parade. There is no additional patronage after that.
11. ORDINANCES
a. None
The motion was approved by the following vote:
Aye: Butler, Dunn, Hammier, Reid, Wright and Mayor Umstattd
Nay: None
Vote: 6 -0 -1 (Martinez absent)
Council Member Reid left the meeting at 10:30 p.m.
12. RESOLUTIONS AND MOTIONS
a. None
13. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
a. None
14. NEW BUSINESS
a. Making Appointments to Boards and Commissions
On a motion by Vice Mayor Wright, seconded by Council Member
Butler, the following was proposed:
RESOLUTION 2011 -115
Making an Appointment to the Standing Residential Traffic Committee
(Pickrell)
Hammier: Madam Mayor, my question is more broad so I apologize for
just interjecting. Just looking at this, I can't tell who nominated whom for what
commission. So, if someone could just explain what we are going to be running
through short of just reacting to each one.
Wright: No one has nominated anyone until we made the motions. You
have the other names there. You have one, two, three, four different individuals
who have applied for the Commission on Public Art that has been open for a
while. The other motion that may come forward is if we have someone who is
able to discern who we want to put on Public Art. Then we can discern that. If
we can't as a Council, we can't. So, I'm doing the easy one first. I think the
Mayor sent an email out in July or early August about the vacancy and that we
had several applications for Art.
The motion was approved by the following vote:
Aye: Butler, Dunn, Hammier, Wright and Mayor Umstattd
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COUNCIL MEETING September 13, 2011
Nay: None
Vote: 5 -0 -2 (Martinez /Reid absent)
Mayor: There is the Public Art Commission. Does anyone want to make
a nomination for that?
Wright: Tom, it's your vacancy, do you have a preference, before there is
a broader....
Dunn: I didn't know I had a vacancy.
Hammier: In that case, Madam Mayor, I think that somebody should be
advocating and discerning between the applicants who has actually met with
them and /or reviewed this material, because I have not.
Wright: Can I at least... Can we get a commitment... well this vacancy
has been going for a while. I know the Mayor actually communicated that.
Again, it's kind of a side effect of our lack of quorum last night. It would be nice
if we could get a commitment that one way or another that we make an
appointment at our next set of meetings so that we can fill that vacancy.
Hammier: I'm happy to vote tonight if someone has done the research and
can make a recommendation and advocate for who should fill the vacancy.
Mayor: I'm not hearing any motion. Dave?
Wright: I'd say in fairness, with Council Member Dunn's comment that
he hadn't seen this, let's give it the two weeks and put it on the next agenda and
one way or another we will be able to make a decision.
Mayor: Very good. That will be deferred for two weeks.
Hammier: Madam Mayor... before we move to Council Member
Comments....
Butler: I thought we were going to discuss a little bit about putting the
Catoctin Circle barriers on the agenda for the next work session. I think as of last
night, we would have done it if there had been a quorum. I think that based on
the amount of residential input that we received tonight, there is a lot of energy
around it and so I think Council dealing with it sooner rather than later is
probably better. So, I'd like... I'd just like...
Mayor: Are you trying to make a motion to suspend the rules?
Hammier: Madam Mayor, we think just the chair should rule in light of
the fact that there was no quorum yesterday.
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COUNCIL MEETING September 13, 2011
Irby: Just to add something to the agenda, and to conduct official
business, it is.
Hammier: Jeanette, we can't hear at this end. Would the chair rule on
this and add this to the next work session or do we have to suspend the rules?
Irby: They are your rules. You require that you suspend the rules.
Hammier: So the Council has to suspend the rules to be able to add a
work session agenda despite the fact that there was extenuating circumstances
yesterday?
Irby: It was not an emergency, you just didn't have a quorum. So, I
wouldn't call that extenuating circumstances.
Mayor: Alright, is there is there a motion to suspend the rules?
Butler: I move to suspend the rules to allow us to put the Catoctin Circle
Barrier discussion on at the next work session, because this is a resident initiated
item and there seems to be much energy around it and so for the benefit of the
residents, I think that if Council deals with it sooner, rather than later, it's to their
benefit.
Hammier: I'll second that.
The motion to suspend the rules was approved by the following vote:
Aye: Butler, Hammier, and Wright
Nay: Mayor Umstattd
Vote: 3 -1 -2 -1 (Martinez /Reid absent, Dunn abstaining)
Mayor: So, that carries three....
Irby: It has to be unanimous.
Mayor: Okay, now I just looked at my cheat sheet and it says two thirds.
Irby: Okay, then go with two thirds.
Mayor: Okay, I think it's two thirds.
Butler: Yes, it's two thirds.
Mayor: Alright, so it passes with a two thirds vote.
Irby: Are you looking at the Council Rules Cheat Sheet or the Robert's
Rules of Order Cheat Sheet.
31 1[)
COUNCIL MEETING September 13, 2011
Hammier: We are looking for your guidance, Jeanette. Whatever you
legally...
Irby: I think you should just put it on the agenda.
Mayor: I'm looking for the cheat sheet...
Hammler: Well, we asked you if the chair could rule and you said we
couldn't do that. But then the chair probably wouldn't have ruled...
Wright: I think the request is only to have a discussion item on a work
session, because I don't think they are asking for action. So, if we get to the work
session and they are going to try for action, that would then follow... there is
time for our rules to intervene before there is an action. So, I think as chair you
could say sure, fine, we will put it on the agenda.
Mayor: Well, we already have our two thirds vote, and it's the Council
cheat sheet and it says two thirds. So, it's on. It's going to be on.
Hammler: Even though we don't have a motion to put it on, because we
just suspended the rules? Alright, I thought we just suspended the rules and we
hadn't voted to put it on yet.
Mayor: If you would like to do that as well, we could do that. As I
understand it, the two thirds motion was a joint motion to suspend the rules and
get it on the next work session.
Hammler: Okay, in that case, I would have had further comments.
Never mind.
Council Member Dunn left at 10:38 p.m.
15. COUNCIL COMMENTS
Vice Mayor Wright: Just briefly, appreciated the great job for the 9/11
ceremony. I thought that was very nicely done. Also, very much appreciated the hard
work of the Leesburg Dogs group in hosting the dog swim. This year for the first year
we were going not only as observers, but actually had a participant, although our
particular participant could not understand why there was a lot of dogs getting baths and
chose to observe that from a safe distance as opposed to participating and getting
groomed. Just didn't understand.
Council Member Hammler: I just wanted to thank staff, especially Jeremy and
Rachel for the absolutely wonderful 9/11 ceremony. It was wonderful seeing everybody
out there. A couple of quick comments regarding that. I just also wanted to say thank
you for the spot light on the flag. I know that we now fly flag over the Freedom
Memorial even after dark during the games. I did get a comment back that some of the
names are fading on the memorial, so we may want to take a look at that. A couple of
32 1 r
COUNCIL MEETING September 13, 2011
other quick things. I wanted to congratulate Cleaners4Less that had the ribbon cutting
on the 10 Madam Mayor was there cutting the ribbon. It was really a great turnout.
Living in Exeter down the street, I have to say, I am very excited about having $1.99 dry
cleaning so it's great we are filling up that whole community center. Just they will be
great neighbors and a great place to drop off your dry cleaning. A couple of quick things
regarding the EDC. The Loudoun EDC, I am very happy to report that Mayor Walker
is back and attending, so we were thrilled to see her there last Friday. I am continually
amazed by the leadership that Leesburg shows on many of the topics that come forward
at the county level that we have really initiated things like the Mason Enterprise Center,
what the County is now pursuing in terms of the Arts and Cultural District, way
finding... many people at the County are so excited about the airshow and our airport.
So, I just wanted to commend staff and everybody involved in so many of these key
efforts. Keep an eye out on rail. We had an update on rail. It's eye opening in terms of
the decisions that are going to be coming forward quickly and the Board will be looking
at how we would, as taxpayers, pay for a $300 million expense, whether it's $0.05 on the
tax rate or a bond that we probably can't float. So, we will all need to closely scrutinize
that. There was a big discussion about data centers. The revenue is about $5 million for
about 250,000 square feet of space and generates about 35 jobs. I know around our
airport, we are looking at that as a key economic initiative. So, a good discussion about
the fact that it really does create jobs, does create revenue. John, just keep an eye on
what we can be doing if that makes sense from a town perspective. Looking forward...
from an upcoming events perspective. Looking forward to the Country Club
information session regarding Linden Hill and the financial forum that is coming up on
Thursday that our economic development commission, another leadership element,
organized. I did want to formally say thank you to everybody who showed up regarding
opening up Catoctin issue. We have received so many emails and I have received so
many calls and different levels of discussion. So, I do think that it is critically important
that we receive an update from staff regarding any other additional improvements that
are being made on Catoctin, John You know, the discussion about the light, driveways
that are still impacted and what has changed since the original resolution in terms of the
phasing of the project and the $2.2 million improvements on Catoctin. So, I look
forward to a healthy discussion and a kind of rational decision making on moving
forward. With that, I just appreciate everybody listening, because I know it has been a
long night.
Council Member Butler: First, I would just like to add on to what Katie said
about data centers. Data centers are in our best interest at this point because the faster
they build the data centers, then the faster they have to build the natural gas generating
plant and the faster we get millions of dollars into our utility fund. Which would solve a
lot of problems. So, I am all for that. I would like to give kudos to the IT staff at the
town just in remembrance that this has now been one year that we have had all of our
council meetings on Sharepoint. I find that I love the Sharepoint, the only down side is
that it eliminates the one must reason why I had to go visit my mail box. So, now I have
to go visit the mail box because it needs to be checked for everything else. But,
Sharepoint has been great and I have really appreciated it. I do have one disclosure. I
had a conversation with Mike Banzhaf around the Village at Leesburg proffers. I think
it might be a good idea around the Linden Hill project that the last expectation I had
3311,.18
COUNCIL MEETING September 13, 2011
was that at the auction for the house, that the odds were supremely high that it would be
a non -event as far as we were concerned. But I think the expectation is on both sides of
the Linden Hill discussion that it may be more eventful than I was lead to believe. So, if
in fact, our expectation is still that it will be a non event, we may want to reach out to
some of those folks and just say look, this is... don't be overwhelmed or underwhelmed
by what happens at the auction. Last, definitely not least, I loved the 9/11 ceremony at
Freedom Park. I think it was great. I just wanted to... on a personal note, I spent half
the day watching 9/11 recap shows, which I am not sure was a great idea or not.
Because it really brought back a lot of memories of the day and especially I definitely
appreciate the heartache and everything else that came from the victims of that event. I
think the most moving part of the shows that I watched was when they focused in on all
these gentlemen, I say gentlemen because I think it was almost exclusively gentlemen,
with hats that say FDNY. Not only... I mean to me they were the true heroes who were
willing to climb up the stairs with sometimes up to 100 pounds of gear on their, at least
one reached the 78t floor with all of this gear and they definitely put themselves in
harms way, 343, I believe did not survive. But the single most moving part of even that
was when they showed pictures and some discussions with some of the children, again
almost exclusively sons of these firefighters who are now firefighters themselves, and
who became firefighters for the express purpose of honoring their fathers that were lost
in that event. The courage of both generations far exceeds anything that I believe I
would ever be capable of. So, I really appreciate them and I was glad that there was a
focus on them and that event.
16. MAYOR'S COMMENTS
Thank you for everybody who is up here for coming to the 9/11 event and thanks
also to Council Member Reid and Supervisor Burk and States Senator Mark Herring.
Also, I really appreciate the Leesburg Volunteer Fire Department that has always been a
strong supporter of that event and our police department for showing their support every
year and to the crowd that was extremely supportive of this event continuing and I got to
talk with quite a few people afterwards and they really appreciated Council's keeping
this event going, so I really appreciate Council's continued support. I don't really have
anything else given the lateness of the hour.
17. MANAGER'S COMMENTS
Just very quickly, if you haven't seen it, there is an email from Mr. Parker
indicating that due to the expected bad weather Thursday afternoon, the Wolf Furniture
welcome, quasi ground breaking, here we come event is being rescheduled, so don't
show up at the site Thursday afternoon, you will be there by yourself. Please don't do
that, but that is being rescheduled again pending the weather issue. Second thing,
Council Member Hammler mentioned... the Mason Enterprise Center, furniture is
moving into that building and we expect it to be fully operational over the next couple of
weeks. Everything is working fine. We have an occupancy permit and staff from
Marantha and Debi will be moving in. Also, Mason University did complete the hire
for the center director and she will be starting early October. As soon as I get a name
that I remember, at this point, it's not that it hasn't been given to me, at this hour I
forgot. I will get that to everybody. She is relocating from out of state. We will get that
information to you. We are very excited about that hiring.
34I 1,
COUNCIL MEETING September 13, 2011
Council Member Hammier: May I add two other quick things... One, I have
noticed Roger Stouss is coming Rust Library in October. Everything reports up to him.
It would be nice if we somehow all got over there and said hello to him... I think it's the
18t of October for a presentation on hi -tech and the region. The two, I think, key people
that I was hoping somebody after me would recognize, because I meant to were our
speakers at the 9/11 ceremony, Chief Price and Loudoun County Deputy Fire Chief
Randall Shank. I thought they did a lovely job. A really wonderful balance between
kind of the passion... you know of the values and principles that Chief Price brought
out, but I was really struck by just the level of information and the technical information
that the fire... deputy chief provided and I did receive feedback afterwards how
important it was that we should find ways to communicate to the broader community
here is all the things we have invested in with your tax dollars to keep us safe after 9/11
and basically promote that. I thought it was very valuable information as well as being
very moving and thank you, Kristen, for reading the lovely letter about our motorcycle
ride and our support of essentially symbolically what we are winning the war against,
which is, you know, our country's based on freedom from fear and we chose not to live
by anything but our courage on that day.
18. ADJOURNMENT
On a motion by Vice Mayor Wright, seconded by Council Member Butler, the
meeting was adjourned at 10:50 p.m.
Ti.
Clerk of iu cil
2011 tcmin0913
Kristen C mstattd, Mayor
Town of Leesburg
35 1