HomeMy Public PortalAboutTOL NR 2019-10-28 Charrette Schedule
Town of Leesburg
News Release
For Immediate Release
Monday, October 28, 2019
Media Contact:
Leah Kosin, Assistant Public Information Officer
lkosin@leesburgva.gov 703-771-2781
Town Plan Charrette to be Held November 7 to 12, 2019
The six day event, hosted by the Town’s consultants and staff, will give residents
and stakeholders an opportunity to participate in development of the draft
Town Plan.
Leesburg, VA (October 28, 2019) – Stantec Architecture, the Town’s consultant hired to assist
in the development of the Town Plan, along with Town staff, will host a Town Plan charrette
from Thursday, November 7 to Tuesday, November 12 at Ida Lee Park Recreation Center.
The six-day event will give residents and stakeholders a chance to provide input and ask
questions as the project team works to develop a first draft of the plan including potential
future growth and development scenarios. The charrette and Town Plan will cover a range of
topics like quality of life, transportation, housing and neighborhoods, economic development,
and town authenticity.
The charrette will start with a kickoff presentation that will take place in the Council Chambers
during the Planning Commission’s regular meeting at 7 p.m. on November 7 and will end with a
closing presentation in the lower level of Ida Lee Recreation Center at 11:30 a.m. on November
12.
The public is invited to drop by Ida Lee Park Recreation Center during open studio hours from
Thursday to Monday to ask questions, provide feedback, or speak with a project team member
about their vision for the future of Leesburg.
“The charrette event offers a great opportunity for residents, business owners, employees, and
property owners to work directly with Town staff and their consultant team to envision the
community’s future,” said Matt Noonkester from City Explained, Inc., a member of the Town’s
consultant team. “Different ideas will be tested in an open forum, where participants will
measure impacts, evaluate tradeoffs, and compare outcomes to stated visions and community
values for different ideas about how Leesburg should grow ― or if it should grow ― through
2040.”
“Asking people to think 20 years into the future is a challenge because it is far away,”
Noonkester added. “Our job is to bring that story into ‘now terms’ to demonstrate how every
decision you make from this point forward reinforces that 20-year vision.”
The team will solicit additional feedback through pop-up events and brief surveys at various
locations around Town during the evening hours of Friday, November 8.
A full schedule showing all open hours and times for detailed discussions is available on the
project website at legacy.leesburgva.gov.
The Leesburg Town Plan is a policy document that guides the future development of the Town.
The current plan was adopted in June 2012. The Town has hired a team of consultants led by
Stantec Architecture and City Explained, Inc. to produce a complete rewrite of the Town Plan.
The project is expected to be completed in Summer 2020. For more information about the Town
Plan Update, contact project managers Scott Parker (sparker@leesburgva.gov or 703-771-2771)
and Richard Klusek (rklusek@leesburgva.gov or 703-771-2758).
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