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HomeMy Public PortalAboutTOL PR 2011-09-07 VML award Town of Leesburg News Release For Immediate Release Leesburg Receives Virginia Municipal League Achievement Award For Overhaul of Town’s Land Development Processes Leesburg, VA (September 7, 2011) – The Town of Leesburg has been recognized by the Virginia Municipal League with a 2011 Achievement Award for the Town’s initiative to overhaul its cumbersome land development application and permit process. The Town submitted an award nomination describing how it streamlined the land development process after acknowledging in 2008 that that old process was an impediment to economic development. Leesburg’s entry was judged as the best entry in the category for local governments with populations between 35,001 and 90,000. There were eight entries submitted in this category. The entries in the five population categories were evaluated on criteria that emphasized innovation, efficiency and entrepreneurship. In October 2007, Wolf Furniture cancelled the construction of a new furniture showroom in Leesburg, citing the length of the Town’s site plan approval process. Following this embarrassing announcement, the Town began a complete reorganization of the entire land development process, with the goal of creating a shorter, more predictable and transparent system. The reorganization took six months to implement, using no new funding or additional staff positions. “No organization wants to be faced with a system failure,” said John Wells, Leesburg’s Town Manager. “But when that did happen to Leesburg, I’m proud of how we responded. We owned up to our shortcomings. We didn’t just tweak the existing system. We completely reorganized our land development processes, including the creation of a new department that now has ownership of the site plan approval process.” “It was a difficult process,” he continued. “But with the staff’s hard work and Town Council support, it has paid off. Our reputation in the development community is greatly improved. Wolf Furniture came back. And now, Leesburg has been recognized among our peers for this accomplishment.” Leesburg officials will be presented with the 2011 VML Achievement Award on the evening of October 4, 2011 during the Virginia Municipal League annual conference in Henrico County. A copy of the Town’s winning award nomination is available on the Town website at www.leesburgva.gov/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=8024. (more) TOL PR 2011-09-07 VML Award Page 2 The Virginia Municipal League is a statewide, non-profit, non-partisan association of city, town and county governments established in 1905 to improve and assist local governments through legislative advocacy, research, education and other services. The membership includes all 39 cities in the Commonwealth, 159 towns and ten counties. Contact: Betsy Fields Research & Communications Manager bfields@leesburgva.gov 703-771-2734 # # #