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TOWN OF LEESBURG
Town Hall, 25 West Market Street
AGENDA
Town Council Meeting
April 27, 2021
7:00 PM
Council Chamber
REMOTE PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
WebEx Event Address:
https://leesburg.webex.com/leesburg/onstage/g.php?MTID=e21c542bff3e5ff8df266442b4fd08079
Phone: 1-415-655-0001
Access Code: 133 663 0760
1. CALL TO ORDER
2. INVOCATION
a. Pastor Drew Clyde, HEADWAY Church
3. SALUTE TO THE FLAG
a. Council Member Cummings
4. ROLL CALL
MOTION
I move to allow _____________________ to electronically participate in the April 27,
2021, Town Council Meeting.
5. MINUTES
a. Work Session Minutes of April 12, 2021
b. Regular Session Minutes of April 13, 2021
6. ADOPTING THE MEETING AGENDA (AMENDMENTS AND DELETIONS)
7. CERTIFICATES OF RECOGNITION
8. PRESENTATION OF PROCLAMATIONS
a. National Drinking Water Week
b. National Day of Prayer
c. World Ovarian Cancer Day
9. PRESENTATIONS
REVISED
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10. REGIONAL COMMISSION REPORTS
11. PETITIONERS
12. APPROVAL OF THE CONSENT AGENDA
a. World Ovarian Cancer Day
MOTION
Motion to Approve Illumination of the Town Parking Garage on Saturday, May
8, 2021, for World Ovarian Cancer Day.
b. Authorization to Enter into Utility Easement Encroachment Agreement with
Loudoun County Board of Supervisors for the Loudoun Animal Services
Facility
RESOLUTION
Authorization to Enter into Utility Easement Encroachment Agreement with
Loudoun County Board of Supervisors for the Loudoun Animal Services
Facility
c. Authorization to Enter into Encroachment Agreement with Kettler Goose Creek
Commercial LLC and Goose Creek Club Homeowners Association, Inc.
RESOLUTION
Authorization to Enter into Encroachment Agreement with Kettler Goose Creek
Commercial LLC and Goose Creek Club Homeowners Association, Inc.
d. Initiation of Amendments to the Zoning Ordinance to Define and Create Use
Standards for Donation Boxes
RESOLUTION
Initiation of Amendments to Articles 9 and 18 of the Zoning Ordinance to
Define and Create Use Standards for Donation Boxes
e. Initiation of Amendments to Town Documents to Incorporate Disclosure of
Potential Adverse Impacts during the Land Development Approval Process
RESOLUTION
Initiation of Amendments to the Town Code, Zoning Ordinance, Design
Construction Standards Manual, and Subdivision Land Development
Regulations to Incorporate Disclosure of Potential Adverse Impacts during the
Land Development Approval Process
f. Motion to Approve Fee Waiver for Young Kings Movement Event on Saturday,
May 1, 2021
MOTION
I move to approve a fee waiver for the Young Kings Movement Food Truck
Fundraiser and Car Show Event on Saturday, May 1, 2021 for police services
estimated at $325.
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13. RESOLUTIONS / ORDINANCES / MOTIONS
a. Water and Sanitary Sewer Service Extension Approval to Virginia Tech Marion
duPont Scott Equine Center
RESOLUTION
Conditional Approval of Water and Sanitary Extensions to Virginia Tech
Marion duPont Scott Equine Center
a. Water and Sanitary Sewer Service Extension Approval to Cattail Run
RESOLUTION
Conditional Approval of Water and Sanitary Extensions to Cattail Run
c. Water and Sanitary Sewer Service Extension Request for Tuscarora Crossing
Land Bays 1, 3, 5, 6 and 7
RESOLUTION
Deferring Consideration of Water and Sanitary Sewer Extension to Tuscarora
Crossing Land Bays 1, 3, 5, 6 and 7
b. Douglass High School Commemorative Committee
RESOLUTION
Appoint a Representative to the Douglass High School Commemorative
Committee that has Been Established by the Loudoun County Public School
Board
c. Collective Bargaining (Dependent Upon Council Direction) - REVISED
RESOLUTION
Authorizing Collective Bargaining with Eligible Town Employees
d. Motion to Approve the National Public Works Week Proclamation
(Sponsor: Mayor Burk)
MOTION
I move to approve the proclamation for National Public Works Week to be
proclaimed at the May 11, 2021, Town Council Meeting.
e. Motion to Approve the National Preservation Month Proclamation
(Sponsor: Council Member Cummings)
MOTION
I move to approve the Proclamation for National Preservation Month to be
proclaimed at the May 11, 2021, Town Council Meeting.
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f. Motion to Approve the Fair Housing Month Proclamation (Sponsor: Council
Member Cummings)
MOTION
I move to approve the Proclamation for Fair Housing Month to be proclaimed at
the April 27, 2021, Town Council Meeting.
14. PUBLIC HEARINGS
a. Initiating and Establishing a Process for Soliciting Proposals and Granting Non-
Exclusive Telecommunications Facility Franchises
ORDINANCE
Initiating and Establishing a Process for Soliciting Proposals and Granting Non-
Exclusive Telecommunications Facility Franchises
15. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
16. NEW BUSINESS
17. COUNCIL DISCLOSURES AND COMMENTS / ADDITIONS TO FUTURE
MEETINGS
a. Future Council Meetings and Agenda Topics
18. MAYOR DISCLOSURES AND COMMENTS / ADDITIONS TO
FUTURE MEETINGS
19. TOWN MANAGER COMMENTS
20. CLOSED SESSION
21. ADJOURNMENT
ASSISTIVE LISTENING SYSTEM
Qualified individuals with a disability who require a reasonable accommodation to attend and/or participate
in this meeting should contact the Clerk of Council at eboeing@leesburgva.gov or 703-771-2733 to request the
accommodation. Three days advance notice is requested. Meetings are broadcast live on the Town’s local
government access cable TV channel (Comcast 67 and Verizon 35) and streamed live on the website at
www.leesburgva.gov/webcasts. All Town Council, Board and Commission meetings are recorded and can be
found on the Town’s Web site at www.leesburgva.gov
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REGULARLY SHEDULED COUNCIL MEETINGS
Citizens are invited to attend and participate in Town Council meetings. The petitioner’s portion of the meeting
and scheduled public hearings offer the public two opportunities to present their views to the Council during
its meeting.
Petitioners
The petitioners’ portion of the Council agenda is the first item taken up by the Council following proclamations
and certificates of appreciation. This part of the meeting affords individuals the opportunity to address the
Council on any matter not scheduled for a public hearing. Prior to the meeting, those citizens wishing to speak
should sign the Clerk’s Register on the podium at the front of the Chambers. The Mayor will announce the
availability of the sign-up sheet at the beginning of all regular meetings. Petitioners’ presentations should be
limited to five minutes.
Public Hearings
Certain items of Town business can only be conducted after the Town Council conducts an advertised public
hearing. Certain major issues affecting the town’s government can also be scheduled for public hearing at the
option of the Council. Adoption of the town budget, rezonings, special exceptions and amendments to the
Town’s subdivision and zoning ordinances all require a public hearing.
Decorum
A person addressing the Council as a petitioner, or during a public hearing, should advance to the podium
when recognized by the Mayor and state his or her name and address. Persons should also indicate whether
they are representing anyone other than themselves. After the presentation or comments, the Mayor or
members of Council may have questions of the petitioner. Decorum will be maintained. Statements, which are
demeaning or defamatory to members of the public, the staff or the Council, are inappropriate and out of order.
OTHER COUNCIL MEETINGS
Work Sessions/Committee of the Whole
Council may elect to place an item on the Tuesday night meeting agenda for action. Items will only be added
to the agenda if agreed to by a majority of Council present.
Closed Sessions
Under certain circumstances, the Virginia Freedom of Information Act permits the Town Council to meet in
a session where the public is excluded. This may be a discussion of personnel matters, legal matters, the
acquisition or sale of property and other selected topics. The Council can only go into closed session from a
public session and the notice must cite the specific statutory authority to go into closed session and also indicate
the general topic to be discussed. Only those matters in the adopted motion to go into closed session can be
discussed at that time.
TOWN COUNCIL AGENDA MATERIALS
Generally, all items on the regular Council agenda have been first considered at the Council Committee of the
Whole. Individual council members, however, can request full Council action on an item considered, but not
reported out of committee. Materials previously distributed to the Council on Wednesday are available to
citizens on request from the Clerk’s Office. Citizens may also provide the Clerk of Council with an e-mail
address or self-addressed, stamped envelopes and Council agendas will be provided to the citizens without
further charge. For more information, call the Clerk’s Office at (703) 771-2733 during normal business hours
or e-mail at clerk@leesburgva.gov. Meeting agenda packets are available for public inspection in the lobby of
Town Hall on Wednesdays prior to the scheduled meeting. Council agendas can also be viewed on the town’s
World Wide Web site at http://www.leesburgva.gov.
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Council Work Session April 12, 2021
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Council Chamber, 25 West Market Street, 7:00 p.m. Mayor Kelly Burk presiding.
Council Members Present: Ara Bagdasarian, Zach Cummings, Suzanne Fox, Vice
Mayor Martinez, Kari Nacy, Neil Steinberg and Mayor Kelly Burk.
Council Members Absent: None.
Staff Present: Town Manager Kaj Dentler, Town Attorney Christopher Spera,
Deputy Town Manager Keith Markel, Director of Finance and Administrative
Services Clark Case, Director of Public Works and Capital Projects Renee LaFollette,
Director of Planning and Zoning Susan Berry Hill, Director of Economic
Development Russell Seymour, Airport Director Scott Coffman, Management and
Budget Officer Jason Cournoyer, Senior Management Analyst Cole Fazenbaker, and
Clerk of Council Eileen Boeing.
Minutes prepared by Executive Associate Corina Alvarez.
AGENDA ITEMS
1. Items for Discussion
a. Sycolin Cemetery: Memorandum of Understanding with Loudoun
Freedom Center
Mr. Markel provided historic information regarding the Leesburg
Airport Runway Protection Zone and the improvements made to the site. Mr.
Markel also presented the land transfer process and the draft memorandum of
understanding between the Town and the Loudoun Freedom Center.
Council and staff discussed the item.
It was the consensus of the Council to move forward with the Memorandum of
Understanding as presented by staff, without the inclusion of drainage improvements.
b. Town of Round Hill’s Accessory Dwelling Unit Ordinance
Ms. Susan Berry Hill introduced Ms. Melissa Hynes, Town
Administrator and Zoning Administrator for the Town of Round Hill. Ms.
Hynes presented Round Hill’s Accessory Dwelling initiative.
Council and staff discussed the item.
c. Affordable Housing
Ms. Berry Hill gave a presentation on Affordable Housing per Council’s
request of March 9, 2021.
Council and staff discussed the item.
d. Airport Ad Hoc Committee Final Report
Mr. Coffman gave a presentation of the Ad Hoc Committee’s
recommendations regarding the structure of the Airport Commission.
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Council and staff discussed the item.
It was the consensus of the Council to move forward with the Town Code changes
to the Airport Commission.
e. American Recovery Funds & Community Project Funding Request
Mr. Case gave a presentation on the American Recovery Funds and the
Community Project Funding Request.
Council and staff discussed the item.
It was the consensus of the Council to prioritize the following projects as the top
three for submission to the Community Project Funding request:
Police Department Expansion
Lawson Road Pedestrian Crossing
Town Branch at Mosby Drive
2. Additions to Future Council Meetings
Council Member Fox requested a discussion on accessory housing.
It was the consensus of the Council to add this item to a future work session.
Vice Mayor Martinez requested a discussion on the establishment of a sub-
committee to determine if a Police Advisory or Police Oversight Commission is
needed.
It was the consensus of the Council to add this item to a future work session.
Vice Mayor Martinez requested a discussion on the creation of a Main Street
Program for Leesburg.
It was the consensus of the Council to add this item to a future work session.
Council Member Cummings requested a Proclamation for National
Preservation Month.
It was the consensus of the Council to present this proclamation at a future Council
meeting.
3. Adjournment
On a motion by Vice Mayor Martinez, seconded by Council Member Steinberg, the
meeting was adjourned at 9:21 p.m.
Clerk of Council
2021_tcwsmin0412
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April 12, 2021 – Town Council Work Session
(Note: This is a transcript prepared by a Town contractor based on the video of the meeting. It may
not be entirely accurate. For greater accuracy, we encourage you to review the video of the meeting
that is on the Town’s Web site – www.leesburgva.gov or refer to the approved Council meeting
minutes. Council meeting videos are retained for three calendar years after a meeting per Library
of Virginia Records Retention guidelines.)
Mayor Kelly Burk: I'd like to call to order the Town Hall work session for April 12th, 2021. I'm asking
everybody to please remember to move your mics close to you. With our masks on it's very hard to
understand us. I would appreciate it if you would move the mics closer to you.
Council Member Neil Steinberg: Madam Mayor?
Mayor Burk: We have-- Yes.
Council Member Steinberg: I was wondering if we could move item D forward so that Mr. Boykin doesn’t
have to sit here through all the rest of this discussion.
Mayor Burk: I think we need to stay with the agenda.
Council Member Steinberg: Okay. Thank you.
Mayor Burk: Thank you. The Sycolin Cemetery, we have nobody that's remotely participating. Everybody's
here today. The first one is the Sycolin Cemetery.
Keith Markel: Good evening madam Mayor and Council members. I'm happy to be back here tonight before
you to share an update and get your recommendations as we move forward with the land transfer process
of the Sycolin Cemetery out on Airport property. This evening, we'll be discussing the memorandum of
understanding between the Loudoun Freedom Center and the Town of Leesburg as part of that conveyance
process.
Just to give you a little background and for those watching this evening about the parcels that we're talking
about. The Town purchased five parcels about 30 years ago in 1994 for support of the Airport. This was
land that was needed for the Runway Protection Zone, the RPZ, and this is land that is required by the FAA
at the ends of the runways and this provides protection for folks on the ground should there be an air crash,
inadvertent landing, early landing. We've had issues out here on the site. We've actually seen in our true
fashion where RPZs are necessary and have come in quite beneficial in this specific area.
The Town has mowed and maintained the upper field which is part of the RPZ, and we'll show you here on
a map in just a moment. Up until 2015 the Town had not gone into the woods and done any work within
that space, so everything was up on the upper levels, up on that mowed area. Here you can see on this
image, you can see up in the top corner there the end of the runway, the Leesburg Executive Airport's
runway, and then you can see and I'll draw here to show you just that area of the RPZ, that Runway
Protection Zone.
You see this mowed area of these five parcels that the Town owns. Outside of the RPZ is natural woods.
That's the way that the Town purchased the land back in 1990 and within the wooded area are two separate
burial areas associated with the Sycolin Baptist Church and that church is located on the southern side of
the photograph here along Sycolin Road which separates this RPZ land on the east side from the Airport
on the west side. Everything in green outlined is Town-owned property.
Here, just to give you another angle as orientation shifts here 45 degrees but it's the Airport Master Plan. It
shows you the existing RPZ, which is that red trapezoid and you can see how that's marked out with that
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mowed area. Then in those red boxes, the burial areas outside of RPZ down in the woods, and then a
rough alignment of the future Sycolin Road widening.
Currently, Sycolin Road is two lanes in this area, and as it's expanded out to four lanes, as the County's
plan. We don't know the timeline but we know that they will be expanding out at some point to four lanes,
and it will tie back in with Crosstrail Boulevard just to the south of the Airport. We expect the County will arc
that road in a fashion similar to what's being shown here on the master plan.
A bit of parcel history, the Town parcels that were purchased 30 years ago, originally back after the Civil
War were known as Egypt Farm, and it was subdivided and was divided out and sold several times before
it's purchased by members of two families of the Sycolin Baptist Church. The church itself was established
in 1884 meeting at homes and different locations in that general area. The church building that you see
today was built in 1899.
The known burials that happened on the property that's currently owned by the Town took place, from all
the records that we found and from the records created by Mr. Koenig who wrote a detailed report on the
project, and as well as other research done by Rivanna Archeological Survey, those burials took place
between 1913 and 1954. There's nothing in the historical record that suggested this as a slave cemetery,
but these were all folks living and worshiping there at the lower Sycolin Baptist Church and were from all
records members of that community.
Just to give you a little background on the great partnership that the Town has had with Loudoun Freedom
Center over the past several years. We've undertaken several projects together, some jointly some
independently. We've done grave identifications using GPS and ground-penetrating radar. We've done
numerous site cleanups and clearing of the site from trash and debris that was put back there decades ago,
long before the Town bought the property, but the Town did play a big part in cleaning this up. We've
installed signage and fencing. We've created paths that provide nice clear access down to the burial areas,
which did not exist before. We also took part in large tree and vegetation removal, so a lot of down timbers
and things in this wooded area, and cleaning up the space. You can see just some photographs of some
of the projects that have been undertaken over the past several years, as well as the informational signage
at one of the path trailheads there. It tells a bit of the history of this community and the folks that are known
to be buried there.
Just to give you a little visual depiction of what you'll see out there today, these photographs were taken
after the work of Rivanna when they came in to do the cemetery delineation work. You can see the paths
that were installed, the clearing that took place, the fencing around the burial areas that the Town installed
to demark the burial areas to make sure that there was nothing to be disturbed inside.
Now back in 2019 you all passed resolution 2019-105 and that called for the Town to move forward with all
necessary work to take place to transfer this land to the Loudoun Freedom Center. That included the
delineation survey, the survey plats, land development applications, all of those documents. We've been
working on that since that time and we're happy to report that much of this is complete today. We've
completed the cemetery delineation study with Rivanna Archaeological Services at just over $50K. We've
paid for the plat and the survey work with Christopher Consultants, which is a total of $20K.
Then the Town has in kind provided all of the legal work and did research from our legal team and from our
land acquisitions team to develop the MOU to provide all the documents and all the negotiations and
detailed workings with Loudoun County to make sure everything is in order. We are falling under the
County's new cemetery subdivision process. That's added to some delay, added to some of the obligations
of the Town to create this, but things are moving forward and we are near the finish line, which brings us to
this evening with the Memorandum of Understanding.
The land as we are proposing to be carved out and gifted to the Loudoun Freedom Center would look like
this. There on those red areas, you'll see the existing cemeteries as they were fenced off. The County is
requiring now, as part of the new cemetery delineation and subdivision process a 25-foot buffer zone
immediately adjacent to the burial areas and an additional 25-foot preservation buffer.
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In a sense, you've got 50 feet of buffer, non-disturbed area there between the cemetery and any future
activity. Not that that's a big deal because the Town has no plans of doing any construction in this area.
The whole purpose of the purchase of this land is to be runway protection zone, so there is no risk of the
Town having any future development in this area.
What we're proposing for you is a subdivision carving out what the County would call an outlaw, to carve
off this 1.6 acres, everything in blue, and outlined in red, and gift that to Loudoun Freedom Center. We've
had numerous discussions with the Freedom Center staff and director and they are in support of the
configuration that you see here on this map.
We're also proposing that, at the request of the Loudoun Freedom Center to designate the space between
the two existing burial areas as cemetery space. There is interest on the Loudoun Freedom Center's part
to have future burials. There is nothing in the current draft of the MOU that would prohibit any future burials,
and the Town is not proposing any prohibition on that. What we would do by calling the space in between
cemetery would allow them to have that option in the future should they wish to do it and they're able to
meet any County or State requirements for burials on this site.
Few of the high points of the MOU as it exists in draft form today. Again, we have sat down with these folks
from Loudoun Freedom Center and discussed this. There is full agreement on all parts except for site
drainage and the MOU does call out the maintenance. Ultimately, you will be conveying this land free and
clear to them, and the maintenance on this parcel would be their responsibility from that point forward. The
mowing, tree removal any of those things, anything that they want to do would be at their costs and their
option.
They would be responsible for the maintenance, as well as for the trail that would lead down to the existing
burial areas. We would take care of the mowing, and the maintaining of the Runway Protection Zone up on
the top, up on the field. We provide that access and it'd be a temporary access until such time as the road,
the realignment takes place with Sycolin Road, and at that point, they would firm up the exact location of
the permanent access agreements. There has been some concern raised by the Loudoun Freedom Center
on drainage on the site and so that is the one outstanding item here that needs to be decided which we
bring forward for your consideration this evening.
The drainage is an issue according to the Freedom Center. We do note this as a wet area. It has wet soils,
there are natural springs on the site. The Town has done nothing in its ownership during this time to change
the grading on the land but the burial areas do fall at the bottom of a steep slope from that field. So, the
Town hasn't contributed any rainwater to it, it's just been the natural flow of water down to these areas. In
wet weather, as you know, those grave shafts, depressions do collect and hold water and so there are
some moisture issues there. Here are just some photographs they have taken in the past year showing wet
weather in the wintertime, where the standing waters in the burial areas, as well as some of the muddy
areas near the spring on that southern burial location.
The drainage modifications would be significant disturbance to the area. We've had our staff go and take a
look at this and get quotes from contractors looking at possible modifications to the site. We've got a number
of issues to contend with here- and if I could just have a few more minutes to go through these details we’ll
wrap it.
Mayor Burk: Go ahead.
Keith Markel: Thank you. We have three options for you. These are just estimates in cost so we do not
know the exact number. Once we get into it these costs could increase but these are based on a rough
estimating of what work would be required for the site. We have the ditch option at $125K, a French drain
option, and a French drain with the wall option at $210K.
All of these would require a significant land disturbance, removal of trees, removal of roots to allow this
work to take place. This is something the staff feels is not a guarantee of solving the drainage concerns
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that were raised by the Freedom Center. We do know it's a wet area. Again, we know the soils do contain
this water, it has high bedrock location here, so it's just poorly drained soil to begin with.
We're not certain that any of this work would truly get to a drying of that soil to a point where the Freedom
Center would be comfortable with this. We do also recognize the sensitivity of working in and around these
burial areas. This is something that's been made very clear to us from the Loudoun Freedom Center over
many years that we've been working on this together. For those reasons, we do not recommend moving
forward with any modifications to the existing drainage and the natural drainage course of the water on this
site. Our recommendation for you this evening is to recommend approval of the draft memorandum of
understanding as it's presented to you on draft form, and again, we're not recommending any drainage
recommendations to this site as requested.
With that I'm happy to answer any questions you may have.
Mayor Burk: Thank you, Mr. Markel. Council Member Nacy, any questions? Ms. Fox?
Council Member Suzanne Fox: Thank you, I've got a few. Is this a memorandum of understanding or
agreement? Just out of curiosity, I heard you say understanding, I thought it was an agreement.
Keith Markel: With have different terminology and we can-- I don't know if there's a real specific, and we
can turn to the Town Attorney on this one, but we've been using, I think, more times than not memorandum
of understanding.
Council Member Fox: Okay. The reason I ask is because under the recitals, number two, it says transfer
on an as-is basis. If we adopt this particular agreement that would mean no stormwater, anything.
Keith Markel: Correct. There's provision.
Council Member Fox: If we adopt it as it stands, that's what that would--
Keith Markel: Correct.
Council Member Fox: Okay.
Keith Markel: The actual document is called agreement for donation of real estate, so we're going to be
using the term memorandum of understanding in the formal documents as it stands.
Council Member Fox: All right, so just a few questions. You said we purchased in 1990 but we really didn't
go down into the woods until about 2015 when we started figuring out some issues. Is that when we figured
out that there was a burial site down there?
Keith Markel: The Town was aware when it purchased land in 1990 that there were burials on the site but
there was no real research or investigation into that. I don't know the thinking at that time but I don't think
anybody realized the size and scope of the burial area. It wasn't until around 2015 when the Loudoun
Freedom Center approached the Town and wanted to look at this closer. That's when the Town said, "Great.
Let's get into this. Let's really research it.” Then Jim Koenig around that time had also written his report
based on his own genealogy research that he's done on the lower Sycolin community. All these things
came together around that time and that's when we really created that partnership with the Freedom Center
to do this work that you see today.
Council Member Fox: The church that had this before since 19- or whenever the burial started, had they
ever come to the Town at any previous time with any concerns or anything?
Keith Markel: None that am aware of, no, and I did meet with the pastor a little over a year ago and I asked
their opinion on the process and the Loudoun Freedom Center's interest in the parcel. They are a small
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congregation. They still meet but they're not a large group and he felt that it would be beyond them to be
able to take care of, maintain or own these parcels. He was very open to something being done but they
did not have interest in ownership or future maintenance of the site.
Council Member Fox: I understand the rationale behind the staff's recommendation to not do the
stormwater management. I’m wondering -- There's no land disturbance, it's pretty much an all-natural area
except for the site that's down there. I'm wondering if there was a house down there would, and somebody
approached us to mitigate, would we do something like that?
Keith Markel: We wouldn’t because all of this land is located in Loudoun County, so it's outside of the
Town's corporate limits. There's flood plain down there, just beyond the burial areas or the creek channel
and it's a steep slope up the far side that goes into the County's park land. Typically, I don't think there'd be
any construction taking place down in this low area. It's very, very wet most of the year.
Council Member Fox: You said, I read through, and there was a natural springs down there that's also
contributing to this?
Keith Markel: That is correct. Yes, so that was identified in the Rivanna study, and you can see there's a
small stone design around this natural spring which dates back many, many years. It could be over a
hundred years old perhaps. We just know it's a naturally wet area and with continuous flow.
Council Member Fox: Can you clarify whether or not the Loudoun Freedom Center will like us to go on-
site and do mitigation or do mitigation just on the upper part of the property that we're going to be mowing?
Keith Markel: I think their goal is to have a dry cemetery area and however that could happen, I think, they
would be open to that. If you go too far away from the burial areas there's going to be too much space
between. If you get too close, you run the risk of damage to the sacred space that is the burial areas.
Council Member Fox: Have we had issues with that kind of-- Have we done work where we've actually
disturbed anything?
Keith Markel: We haven't disturbed any grave areas, but we have had disturbance in the general area,
which has been of great concern to Loudoun Freedom Center. We had a lawnmower get stuck as we had
gone in to try to mow around the cemetery during wet weather, which did cause a lot of concern with the
Freedom Center. We had a washout of an early gravel trail. One of the burial areas where we had since
gone in and cleaned that out well, but that also was of great concern to them as well.
Council Member Fox: Okay, thank you.
Mayor Burk: Mr. Bagdasarian?
Council Member Ara Bagdasarian: Yes, thank you. Just a couple of questions. As part of the process,
was there a term sheet that was defined prior to correcting the MOU? Was that part of the process?
Keith Markel: No formal term sheet, just conversations back and forth, and discussions over the years that
kind of all developed into this. What staff did was took all of those thoughts, we got all of our different
departments that are impacted by this, the Airport, Public Works, the Attorney's Office, and sat down and
came up with all the lists of things that had been discussed over the years, and put that into the framework
of the document.
Council Member Bagdasarian: Were the terms agreed upon beforehand or just in general terms about
the donation of the land and transfer of the property rights?
Keith Markel: In 2019, when Council considered the gifting of the land to the Freedom Center, it was
always to gift the land free and clear at no cost to the Freedom Center. We discussed with FAA since the
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Item a.
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land was purchased with Federal dollars, would they be agreeable to this. They consented to that. The
Town agreed at that point to do the study work, the survey work, all the preparation of all the documents
necessary to transfer that land so that the Freedom Center would get this parcel of land free and clear.
That they would own fee simple and be able to use as they wish within the confines of the easements that
are placed for Loudoun County, and the avigation easements related to the Airport that the FAA requires.
Council Member Bagdasarian: Including the additional outlot A for potential future use, correct?
Keith Markel: That was a new addition to it. That was just something that ended into the discussion in the
last few months, is that interest of the Freedom Center to have future burials in the site. That was never
something that was part of the consideration back in 2019 and 2020 but has since become something that
they're interested in, similar to what they're exploring to do at Belmont.
I think that's an interest here at this site and so something that we have incorporated into the document,
not that the Town's granting permission because we won't own the land at that point, obviously. It will be
outside of the Town's jurisdictional boundaries at that point, but we've got nothing in the document that
would prohibit that so long as it meets all the State and County requirements.
Council Member Bagdasarian: That makes sense. Thank you.
Mayor Burk: Mr. Steinberg?
Council Member Steinberg: Thank you. Thanks for the presentation, Keith. Just for clarification, if my
memory serves me, the church actually never actually owned the cemetery. Is that correct?
Keith Markel: They did not. The land back in the 1880s was purchased by two trustees of the church, so
members of the church community, but the church itself never owned these burial areas fee simple.
Council Member Steinberg: Thanks. Currently, there are an additional two properties between the
cemetery and the church property. Is that also correct?
Keith Markel: Yes. I can show you. There's one parcel that's not owned by the Town, if you wanted to have
clear access from the church to the parcel. There's one 15-foot strip of land that separates the two that the
Town does not own.
Council Member Steinberg: When we decided to gift the land I realized that the value of land is minimal.
Was it about $17K or give or take $14K?
Keith Markel: It was in that range, right. Because it doesn't have any development value for it and because
access is very limited that the land has very minimal value but I think that was the range that we were
looking at.
Council Member Steinberg: In one of the slides you showed roughly $71K in expense to the Town but
our report in our agenda shows $81K so is the difference there, the $10K, is that staff time?
Keith Markel: No, it would be Public Works time. Included it was in the staff report includes the fence
installation, the ongoing annual weed maintenance, weed eating, mowing, any upkeep provided by our
Public Works staff.
Council Member Steinberg: The $71K, is that inclusive of staff time spent on--
Keith Markel: No, it is not.
Council Member Steinberg: It is not?
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Item a.
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Keith Markel: No. So all the Town Attorney's time and all of our staff time done in research and
development of the documents necessary for the land transfer are not included. All you're seeing there in
that cost is the hard cost that we've actually had to write checks for, would be to Rivanna, who did the
survey work just over $50K and $20K to our outside consulting survey crews to do that work for the plat
development.
Council Member Steinberg: So it would be fair to say that at this stage the Town's gift is in excess of
$100K.
Keith Markel: You're in that range, yes.
Council Member Steinberg: Okay, thanks. Can you go back to the slide that showed the conservation
zone and the buffer zone?
Keith Markel: This one or going back to the actual area to be gifted?
Council Member Steinberg: Yes.
Keith Markel: All right.
Council Member Steinberg: The outline doesn't appear to include the entire conservation zone. Why is
that?
Keith Markel: Because the future road alignment, and we don't know where that falls- somewhere up here.
As you can see this is the Runway Protection Zone that exists today. At some point, the County will come
through and create the new Sycolin Road, the new four-lane realignment. The intent here was to gift as
much land as possible on the creek side of the land to the Freedom Center. You see we've gone right to
the property line here, on this side. We've gone to the property line on this side here but on the side closest
to the roadway we've tried to stay sufficiently away from the burial areas. You've got the 50-foot buffer
space that will provide a guaranteed buffer and then anything beyond that we're leaving in the Town's
ownership for future road development needs, for temporary grading, drainage, any of those issues.
Council Member Steinberg: Originally, it said there's a total of 50-foot. You've got a buffer zone and a
conservation zone of 25 feet each, so the green area is not conveying?
Keith Markel: That's correct.
Council Member Steinberg: Okay.
Keith Markel: Just conveying is what's in blue and outlined in the red.
Council Member Steinberg: Do we have any idea of the County's timetable for relocating that little loop
of Sycolin Road?
Keith Markel: We do not. We don't have a firm timeline.
Council Member Steinberg: But when they do the expectation might well be that a lot of work is going to
happen in that area?
Keith Markel: Right. Definitely in the- because they will develop the road on the far side of the Airport
runway so that means they'll push it out into that mowed field most likely. You could see on that one picture
where it shows how it arcs out into that mowed space which puts it outside of the cemetery. I don't think
there's the risk of coming anywhere close to the cemetery that's at the bottom of that steep slope but we
believe probably in the upper field will be part of the road construction.
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Item a.
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Council Member Steinberg: Okay, thanks.
Mayor Burk: Mr. Martinez?
Vice Mayor Fernando “Marty” Martinez: I'm just curious, are you able to account for all the staff hours
used on this project?
Keith Markel: We could if, I guess, we went back and counted them up but we haven't been keeping
detailed track.
Vice Mayor Martinez: Okay. Well, I just think it'd be nice to know how much time and money spent by staff
to put this project through. I'm not making it an ask. I'm just saying somewhere down the line you can
account for it, that'd be great. Thank you.
Mayor Burk: Mr. Cummings?
Council Member Zach Cummings: Thank you. Quickly on the agreement for donation of real estate. At
this point, I just want to make sure I'm clear where we are in the process. At this point, this has been drafted
by the Town Attorney and has the Loudoun Freedom Center seen this MOU and had their input put into it?
Keith Markel: Absolutely, yes. We've had numerous meetings, looking at the document that you're seeing
and there's verbal agreement with them on everything other than the drainage consideration that we're
bringing here tonight.
Council Member Cummings: Okay. Then on the drainage, the figures that you put together, the plans that
you've worked with is that then with Public Works or is it with an outside company that has success in
working with historically important land?
Keith Markel: Well, working with local contractors who were able to get out and come and give some rough
ballpark estimates. Again, just treat these all as rough estimates and the number is probably the starting
point. Then we'll go north of that based on site conditions because there's been no geo-tech work, there's
been no borings, no nothing. We know, based on the soil maps and the geology in this area, there's rock
that shows up, very shallow, and if you saw how they built Crosstrail Boulevard through all the rock that
had to be moved there, well, that's in the same general area, so there could be a lot of impact there once
you start uncovering things.
Those are a starting point for discussion of what it would look like. They are based on estimates from
contractors that do work in this area, not specific to historic sites or cemetery sites, but based on linear feet
of pipe, the amount of disturbance, tree removal, and those sorts of things were factors that went into the
cost.
Council Member Cummings: Just to clarify, even with all this work done, it still could flood.
Keith Markel: Flood or, B, wet to the point where the ground is saturated and will be wet and hold water
for much of the year during wet weather season.
Christopher Spera: Keith, if I could interrupt or supplement your answer. The other thing we have to
remember is that whatever we do, if we did anything with respect to drainage, there is the potential that that
drainage situation would change with the road construction. That's the unsaid piece here, is that while it's
unlikely that the road construction would remove completely that hillside, there could be significant
modifications as a result of the final orientation of that road that would have some impacts either positive
or negative on the drainage. That would be an issue between the Freedom Center and Loudoun County at
the time of road construction.
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Item a.
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Keith Markel: You'll see here on this drawing that there is some space here reserved, that wide space just
south of the blue box area. That's what we're calling for. If they did have to convey that water and find an
adequate source to convey that water down to the creek that would be the path that we take. It'd be well
outside of the burial areas. It wouldn't disturb that space, but it is reserved for that purpose in the future.
Council Member Cummings: I guess my last question, I'm not trying to be a pessimist, but if the Freedom
Center decides that the as-is agreement for transfer isn't what they would like and they decide not to move
forward, does the Town- do we have a plan of what we would do with the cemetery?
Keith Markel: It's certainly your prerogative, but we would recommend that you maintain it the way that
we're maintaining it today. There's certainly no harm in the Town maintaining ownership of this and we
could maintain it to whatever level you deem appropriate. For the past several years, this is the level that
the Town has been keeping it. It's certainly something, if they did not want to have the land conveyed to
them and gifted to them, you could just maintain ownership and leave it in the state you see it tonight.
Council Member Cummings: Okay, thank you.
Mayor Burk: I have a couple of questions. You said that they are-- Well, first off, this is the burial sites are,
when you say down a steep slope, it is really a steep slope and there's a stream down there but more than
that, there's more than one spring, I believe, if I remember seeing when I was down there. I'm not sure how
you would drain a spring, but it is right beside the creek and purposely that was part of the plan when they
developed that cemetery.
I'm skeptical that that $125K is going to do it to fix the drainage. It's been like that for forever, as long as it's
been there. If the Freedom Center, the Loudoun Freedom Center does open it up to burials, where would
people park? You can't park at these gravesites. It's way down at the bottom of the hill. Where would they
park if you have a cemetery where you've got 50, 100 people? Where are they all going to park?
Keith Markel: That is a concern because you cannot use the Runway Protection Zone as a large parking
field based on FAA requirements. We call out in the agreement that they could have one, two, three vehicles
up to three vehicles parked in the field as we do today when we go out and mow or inspect the site, but
anything larger than that, they would need to shuttle visitors to the site. We've offered use of the Airport
parking lot. The park and ride that the County owns is just down the street so they could do a kind of a
carpool shuttling to the site, or they can work out an agreement with the church. They have a large parking
lot just to the south of this, and they can work out an agreement with the adjacent property owner that sits
between the Town's project property and the church. That'd be another alternative for them as well.
Mayor Burk: I don't see the Airport parking during the day being a viable source of parking but--
Keith Markel: We offer that because that's something we had to offer but practically, the park and ride lot
is closer and they could use the County park and ride lot as well.
Mayor Burk: Then are we- and this is more for the attorney. I recently had a discussion with the people
from the Methodist church and they have an issue with their church cemetery and they're very interested in
what we're doing. Would this set a precedent that it would be harder to deny another church or another
organization that has a cemetery to come in and say, "We've got issues, we're in the Town, can you help
us with the trees that are on our cemetery that are pulling up the graves?"
Christopher Spera: I think from a precedential perspective, anything that we do beyond facilitating the
donation, you probably do run some danger there of establishing a precedent. I think that the actual
donation is really a one-off to me. I don't think you establish any precedent by conveying the land, but in
good faith and with pure intentions we needed to expand the Runway Protection Zone.
The nature of the land was such that we had to buy all of these lots, which included this portion, which we
frankly didn't need but not buying it wasn't an option. We buy it and then we discover here's what's there. It
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Item a.
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is culturally valuable to a group within the greater Leesburg community and so we find a way to respect that
value and facilitate a transfer. This is really, to me, it's very different that we sort of happened upon this
burial area through an acquisition of land for a completely different public purpose, as opposed to, "Hey,
we've got a cemetery in the Town. Can you help us out?" I think that's a church transaction of a very different
nature.
I'm worried less about precedential impact on the donation but once we go beyond the donation and engage
in improvements, then I think that you're correct to be sensitive to precedential impact.
Mayor Burk: All right. Thank you. Does anybody else have any follow-up questions at this point? Mr.
Cummings?
Council Member Cummings: Thank you. One question, and it doesn't need to be answered tonight, but
one thing maybe to look at, going back to what the Mayor just mentioned. Maybe if the preservation planner
could maybe look at the State or Federal to see if there are any available grants or funding opportunities
for individual either non-profits or organizations that help with historic preservation with cemeteries or
anything. Maybe that would be helpful to have on hand if others approach us looking for any information.
Mayor Burk: All right, so you need from us tonight to know if there are four people that would like to have
a public hearing on the donation of land agreement, is that the correct terminology, to the Loudoun Freedom
Center for the cemetery property? Are there four people that would be interested in having that public
hearing? We are not including any improvements in it. We're just doing it as is. All right. Oh, everybody.
Okay.
Keith Markel: You're comfortable with the memorandum of understanding as it's shown here this evening
so we can report back to the Freedom Center that this is the direction the Town wishes to go with.
Mayor Burk: All right.
Keith Markel: Very good.
Mayor Burk: Thank you very much-
Keith Markel: Thank you.
Mayor Burk: -even though you went over.
Keith Markel: I'm sorry. Hey, it might be my first time doing that, so I do apologize.
Mayor Burk: I know, I'm very disappointed. Thank you. Our next one is the Town of Round Hill's Accessory
Dwelling Unit Ordinance. We have Melissa Hynes here, she's the administrator for the Town of Round Hill.
Susan Berry Hill: Madam Mayor, I just wanted to introduce to you. At your request, you asked for a
representative of Round Hill to come and talk to you about accessory dwelling units and Round Hill has
enacted an ordinance recently. Melissa is the Town Manager for the town and she's here to talk about that.
Mayor Burk: Hello.
Melissa Hynes: Good evening. Can you hear me?
Mayor Burk: Yes.
Melissa Hynes: My name is Melissa Hynes. I am the Tow Administrator and I'm also the Zoning
Administrator because we're a tiny town. Thank you for inviting me tonight to share our project with you that
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Item a.
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we took about two-and-a-half years to complete but we're very proud of it. Again, this is not the silver bullet
to affordable housing, but it's like I said, an alternative to help with the problem in our small town.
Just to remind you our legislation was based on regulations created by Arlington, Virginia. From what I
understand, Arlington had created an accessory dwelling ordinance years ago and after 5 to 10 years, only
8 people ever actually used it. They went back and said, "Well, what's holding people up?" They realized it
was too restrictive and they had to lessen some of the regulations to make it more friendly.
Just as a reminder, before I go into my presentation. What is an accessory dwelling? An accessory dwelling
is a smaller, independent second dwelling on a single-family lot. It's different than a duplex, when you take
one house and you make it into two. It's always secondary. It's smaller. It's accessory. They have their own
living, bathroom, and kitchen space. Typically people would want one for a relative to age in place or to
bring in additional income by renting the space. Both Arlington and Round Hill have accessory dwellings
that take in different forms. You could have it located within your house, in your basement. You could build
an addition and make that your accessory dwelling or you could have it outside of your house, in your
garage or build a tiny home.
Just as a reminder, this all started back when we were working on our comprehensive plan in 2015 and
2016. We adopted it in 2017. Two of our goals were to provide owners with more options to utilize their
residence for income-generating purposes, which benefit both the homeowner and the town. Second, the
town wanted to do their little tiny part to help with affordable housing and workforce housing creation in
Western Loudoun County but, of course, in incremental stages. They're appropriately sized for a small town
like Round Hill.
The groups of people that we were focused on were the local workforce, maybe a teacher, firefighter, police
officer. We actually had two professors who worked at Patrick Henry living in a grandfathered apartment.
They'd been there for years. When the homeowner wanted to move, they thought they could subdivide and
buy it. When I tried to explain the process, they were like, "We're just going to move to West Virginia."
Residents who were seniors-- There's no senior housing in Round Hill and so we have a lot of seniors who
end up living at big old Victorian house up until they're 90, 95 until they die because they want to stay in
Round Hill, but they're all alone in this big house. So we we're wondering, "Well, what can we do? Can we
have a caregiver live with them? Can they rent out part of their house to a tenant to make some extra
money?" We have some seniors who'd want to live in a tiny house and then rent out the big house. Then
caregivers, like I said, and then family members of residents, which was kind of the impetus of the whole
conversation about, if you have in-laws that want to come live with you, how do you build a home for them
in your backyard?
When we went through our comprehensive plan process, just like everybody else, we talked about
affordable housing. We can all preach the good ideas and the gospel of affordable housing but when you
don't have enough land and the public doesn't support it, your hands are tied, and so we had both. We have
less than 30 buildable acres in Round Hill, and if it’s prime real estate, everybody has an idea how to use
it. Furthermore, if a developer comes in with a high-density neighborhood idea or apartment building, or a
townhouse community, it's shut down day one.
Finally, like I said, another challenge was when seniors stay in their home and don't leave, that home is not
going into the mix. Normally, you have that life cycle of a house. When a certain point your kids leave, you
downsize into a retirement community, but if you have seniors living in a big old five-bedroom house, the
house is not going back into the mix for another family.
Our biggest challenge that probably took over a year of debate and discussion was, who should live in
accessory dwelling? For me as a zoning administrator, I kept telling my Council that if it's only for a family
member, who's going to be the person to knock on a door and say, are you related? My biggest fear was
people calling up saying, "Susie Smith has someone living in an apartment in their garage, and I don't think
that's their relative. I think that's a stranger." I never could put my mind around how to corner people and
say, "Prove to me that you are a family member.”
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Item a.
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The second part was even if you could afford to build a second dwelling for a family member that's a really
big investment. It's a big decision, $50K, $100K and if you can't sell that later on when you go to sell your
house if it's restricted, you tell the future homeowner, "Well, that's only if grandma lives with you. You can't
rent it out. You can’t make money on it." You hesitate. You're like, "Is it really worth that $50K, $100K?"
In my opinion, and it took a long time but we finally got to that point with the Council that-- It was right about
the same time the State was talking about Airbnb, to lessen the rules about Airbnb. It was like this perfect
storm of us talking about affordable housing, accessory dwellings, Airbnbs, and it all kind of wrapped up
into one in that when you have this accessory dwelling on your property, you can do a lot of things with it.
It can be for a renter, it can be for Airbnb, it can be for grandma. All this tied together builds a great economic
opportunity for a tiny town like Round Hill, that's built out, and it's not going to see any other change or
development.
The thing that we had to talk through a lot was that perception of a renter. Renter is such a dirty word. When
people think about renters, they think, "The other, somebody who doesn't care about town. You don't have
the same commitment to the community in prime homeownership." I'm a big believer that renters can be
just as passionate about their hometown as anybody else. You could be a lifetime renter and still want to
put the money into your home. My point is that when you've got a renter and a family member, what's the
difference? It's still a tenant, it's still someone living in your backyard, and that's what I try to get with my
Council that, "Are you okay with a second family living in someone's backyard? They have a second grill,
a second dog? They have family fights."
With a renter, you can have a lease. I used to say if my sister moved in my backyard as a family member,
and she started to be a horrible tenant and I wanted to kick her out, my mom would get mad at me and say,
"You can't kick your sister out," but if you have a lease, at least, when the tenant starts to act bad, you can
kick them out. The biggest challenge we had to make this work was removing that idea of renter versus
family member and just focus on what does it mean to have a tenant living on your property? Then we
developed a set of use standards that addressed all the concerns you might have about that second tenant
or second family.
When you think about your own accessory dwelling policy, like I said, there's different options. You have
the separate dwelling. I keep forgetting I have this in front of me. I apologize. You have a separate dwelling
so think of another home on the property or you can convert your garage into a classic garage apartment.
You can convert your existing home by building an apartment in your basement or in your attic. For Round
Hill, most of our homes are historic and don't really have real basements so that wasn't a big thing but we
do have some new neighborhoods that have the ability to do a basement apartment. We were mostly
focused on the exterior accessory apartments, the backyard dwelling. Also, we talked about, you could
build an addition. If you build an addition you could have an accessory apartment.
For Round Hill, this is how we made up our mix of accessory apartments. Now mind you, the reason why
we called it an accessory apartment is because dwelling makes you think second dwelling, like duplex.
Apartment reminds you it's minor, it's secondary, it's accessory. It needs to always be smaller than the
bigger. Interior accessory apartment would be a basement conversion. An exterior accessory apartment
could also be a converted garage. Exterior accessory apartment could be a detached house so it's not your
garage, it's a separate smaller dwelling, or it could be an addition to the back of your house that's another
interior accessory apartment. When you look into our zoning ordinance, we have a definition for interior and
a definition for exterior with different sets of regulations as far as talking about where the door is and how
it's perceived from the street.
How do you split this all out? Well, the thing about is this. If I lived in Round Hill and I wanted to build an
accessory apartment, I could get my zoning permit from the town, and then I had to choose how I'm going
to use it. Is it going to be a long-term rental, meaning a year-long tenant, would be here for a long time,
multiple years, or is it a short-term rental like an Airbnb, where your there less than 30 days? If that's the
case, you have to get an accessory homestay permit.
I'll speak quickly.
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Item a.
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Mayor Burk: Are you almost finished?
Melissa Hynes: Almost, yes. Then a family caregiver suite is when you don't charge anything to live in the
accessory apartment. It's free. Just grandma or the caregiver. Then recreational space is if it's just your
man cave. It's your extra space. You built your accessory apartment and then you've decided not to have
anybody to live in it. It's just your extra space. Real quick, if it's an accessory apartment and it's occupied
by a family member, there's no rent, you don't need a business license. If it has a tenant and you get rent,
you have to have a business license. If it's a short-term rental, business license and a homestay permit.
Then if it's just your guest cottage, you don't need to do anything. If it's your man cave, you don't have to
do anything either.
Basically, once a year, once you're registered as an apartment in Round Hill, we will send you a letter once
a year saying, "How are you using it?" If it's the same, nothing happens. If you've gone from man cave to
an Airbnb, you have to file a new zoning permit to get approval. If we find out that you have an illegal use,
maybe you never told us that you started charging rent, you'll be sited with zoning violation, go into the
process, to come back into conformance with the zoning ordinance.
This is the end of my presentation. This was the easiest way for us if you just think about it as this as, if you
want to have an accessory apartment, you have an accessory apartment, it's not going anywhere, but from
that point on, it's like having a dog, you have to register it and tell us what you're doing with it. Once a year,
you just reregister, you tell us how you're using it. You make sure you're in compliance with the zoning,
you're following the rules, you have the right licenses. Then when you go to sell your home, it's that much
easier to tell the next homeowner, "I have a registered accessory apartment, here are the rules, here are
the expectations." That's all.
Mayor Burk: Thank you. Are there any questions, Ms. Fox?
Council Member Fox: Thank you. First, I want to thank you for coming down here and explaining all this
to us. As I read through the slide show earlier, I actually got a little bit excited about this. You said you got
your idea from Arlington, which is pretty dense. I think of a dense, more urban area in Arlington. That
actually works there too, I suppose.
Melissa Hynes: Yes.
Council Member Fox: Interesting. Now, when you did this, when you passed this in Round Hill, there was
no consideration that you really had to take into- nothing that you had to take into consideration with the
County. This is something that you could do and the County didn't have to administer any ADU, anything
like that.
Melissa Hynes: No, we've already approved two or three of them and they only had the two is, in our
standards, is you have to comply with their regulations for building code and fire marshal but we already
have a good relationship with the County like you probably do for that and getting an address assigned to
it.
Council Member Fox: Oh, yes, you think about that, but as I think about how ADUs are administered right
now, they're strictly through the County so if we're serious about-- I've heard a lot of talk about, "Hey, my
parents are aging. I don't want them to move away. They want to stay here. Oh, my kids can't live by me. I
want them to be able to live here." Things like that. I've heard a lot of, not just from Council, but from folks
in the area. If we're actually serious about this, maybe we can see what can get done through deregulation,
which is what you were talking about, and maybe even tax incentives. I mean, if we really want to use it for
affordable housing and not for a different homestay, HomeAway, whatever we have, we could look at
different ways. We can do that through, I guess, normal market mechanisms. Was that how you approach
this?
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Item a.
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Melissa Hynes: Yes, we already have a demand. We had people with illegal apartments and we were
trying to find a way to bring them into the light. Yes, it's like a home occupation. It's like home-based
business to have that extra income for some people. The market was already pushing for Airbnb or rentals
or-- Then we had a large amount of people that wanted to have grandma move in the backyard type of
thing as well. We just didn't have the right mechanism to let people build a whole dwelling just for grandma
because then you run the risk, when they sell their house, now they have this perfectly good apartment in
their backyard that maybe grandma doesn't want, and what do they do with it?
Council Member Fox: Yes, I would think there are a couple of problems I can see is if you wanted to sell
your house and you have a renter in there, I suppose you can't just take care of that. You have to let the--
Melissa Hynes: Yes, you need to have a lease.
Council Member Fox: The renter gets to stay basically.
Melissa Hynes: A funny story. Our Planning Commissioner chair during this legislation went to buy a
house somewhere else in town and there was an illegal apartment in the house he was buying. He had to
tell the person, "You can't have the permit. I'm going to shut you down," but at the time there was a tenant
in the house, in the apartment. He let the woman stay there for a month or so until she got a place to stay
but it was hard for-- Exactly, having an apartment if you don't have a plan set-up what to do with the tenants.
Yes, I think that'd be a lease between the owner and the tenant to work that out.
Council Member Fox: One last question, the restrictions, you know how homeowners’ associations are
more restrictive than zoning ordinances are. They have to work within homeowners associations’
guidelines.
Melissa Hynes: Yes. HOA would trump the town. The HOA says no, then.
Council Member Fox: Okay. That's it. Thank you very much.
Mayor Burk: Mr. Steinberg?
Council Member Steinberg: Thanks and thanks for the participation. Presentation, excuse me. Did you
say in all the time Arlington has had the ordinance, they've only had eight applications?
Melissa Hynes: I want to say pre this one. They had an older version that wasn't getting traction because
it was so conservative and so restrictive that no one was taking advantage of it. They wanted people to.
They went back and they gutted it and started over again. I don't know their new numbers, but at the time,
Arlington only eight probably had taken advantage of it.
Council Member Steinberg: A few questions in no particular order. Why out of curiosity, are you including
the recreational space as part of this discussion? It doesn't seem to be really part of an affordable dwelling
conversation. It's just an accessory building.
Melissa Hynes: If I have a house and I build an accessory apartment, and I tell the zoning administrator,
it's for an Airbnb or for grandma. Then when I sell it to you, and you say, "I don't want a tenant, I don't want
anybody to use it." You register your apartment with the town as recreational space. No one lives there. I'm
not charging money. Now if all of a sudden, one day somebody sees somebody coming in and out of your
house, they might call the zoning administrator and say, "I think he has a tenant living in his garage." Then
I would contact you and say, "Do you want to fill out the paperwork to make your apartment legal again?"
It's not really part of the conversation. It's more what to do with an accessory apartment that's not being
used as housing.
Council Member Steinberg: It's part of the administrative discussion. Out of curiosity do the interior
accessory apartments change the tax assessment in any way? How do you account for that?
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Melissa Hynes: I cannot speak to that but I would assume it increases the value of the home because of
the second dwelling inside the home.
Council Member Steinberg: It could conceivably also raise taxes.
Melissa Hynes: Yes, so we thought about that as well. We haven't done any data yet about the value of
the homes going up because we only have two right now.
Council Member Steinberg: Now Round Hill has some fairly distinct areas. Obviously, the older more
historic areas, which sit on large lots and are widely spaced versus say the more current housing that's
been built in the last 20 years or so now, as Councilwoman Fox alluded, I assume those may or may not
be governed by HOA in which case this whole conversation isn't part of their discussion. Does your
ordinance in any way apply to some of those homes as well or is it--
Melissa Hynes: Historic homes or the HOA homes?
Council Member Steinberg: The older home, the older areas of Round Hill.
Melissa Hynes: All around. If you look at Round Hill the historic part is intact, the new part is actually in
the County.
Council Member Steinberg: It's actually in the County. Your ordinance is only applying there's nothing
new within the town.
Melissa Hynes: We have one modern neighborhood that's been built in the past five years that is in town,
and they actually had people in that community with illegal apartments, where people have converted their
basement into an apartment. Yes, we have new houses and yes, they could benefit from it but if their HOA
one day decided we don't want apartments then their HOA would trump town regulations.
Council Member Steinberg: Since Leesburg is obviously a much more dense area than Round Hill and
you're an administrator and a zoning administrator, you may not have the answer. How in your planning
process can you account then for potential parking issues? Obviously, population increases, it would be
the County's problem as far as school population. All of these are factors that go into the planning process.
It seems that the accessory dwelling process might open gates.
Melissa Hynes: We put such strict standards in place where you can’t have more than three people live in
it. We can imagine a mom and dad and a baby mom and dad and a toddler, a mom with two kids and the
space is so small, we don't expect large families moving in. The cost is so great to actually build an
accessory dwelling that meets all the standards, we don't predict a large group of people to participate. We
might maybe see one or two every year. Part of the whole idea of the sensitivity to nuisances in our
standards, you basically said if you become a nuisance, you're over parked, it no longer looks like a primary
residence, and this tiny home, you won't be able to have your permit anymore. We're very focused on
making sure that this thing does not impact the neighborhood and doesn't impact the adjacent property.
Council Member Steinberg: In your ordinance is the property owner required to live in the primary
residence?
Melissa Hynes: Yes, that was very, very important. It can't be that the primary house is a rental and the
secondary houses is a rental. It's important that this is a benefit only to the owner as maybe extra income
and that they're responsible for the tenant. They're living on-site making sure the tenants' keeping their
nose clean, versus an absentee landlord.
Council Member Steinberg: I would perceive that as a fairly important point because you can have a--
Okay, good.
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Item a.
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Melissa Hynes: Oh, I'm sorry.
Council Member Steinberg: We answered that. We answered that. Out of curiosity, this requires a lot of
oversight, it seems to me, so how do you create a sort of robust enforcement process?
Melissa Hynes: Round Hill, I don't know about Leesburg, we're complaint-driven for zoning. Somebody
has to call and complain for us to go out investigate. As long as you're not causing a problem for your
neighbors, we don't go out to investigate. It's very important that you do that annual registration process so
that we keep track of you, and that if we fact check, maybe Craigslist to see apartments in the area for rent,
and we noticed there's an apartment for rent and it's not in our database, we'll send you a violation notice.
Council Member Steinberg: Okay, and we know Airbnb and others are getting to be a pretty big thing
these days, do you have any perception or any feeling that might, maybe not in Round Hill, but in a denser
area, that could potentially become an issue for neighbors?
Melissa Hynes: We're actually quite dense, most of our lots are around third to half-acre. While we're a
small population, we have to get a small lot, so we're dense in a mindset, like the way you can throw a rock
at your neighbor's house. If you're thinking of large lots, you're outside of town limits, probably. Again, it's a
market-driven thing where I think that maybe 5% of people might take advantage of it, but not the whole
town because most people don't want someone in their backyard, to be honest. But there are some people
who might take advantage of it as an income-producing thing or for family.
Council Member Steinberg: Okay, thank you.
Mayor Burk: Ms. Nacy?
Council Member Kari Nacy: Oh, I don’t have any -- I mean, it was an outstanding presentation and you've
laid everything out really clearly. It's definitely interesting the way that you approach the zoning ordinances.
I can already think of a few applications that it might be helpful in Leesburg. I don't really have any questions,
just thank you.
Melissa Hynes: I didn't want to bore you with the standards. If you want more information about the actual
standards, I can make sure you get a copy from--
Mayor Burk: Mr. Bagdasarian?
Council Member Bagdasarian: Yes, thank you, Melissa. Appreciate it. Interesting enough, we have
friends around North King Street that just built an addition for the mother to move in a single story that was
in a duplex or two-floor home. How does the Town of Leesburg handle such cases today when it comes to
accessory dwellings? Is it a one-off special exception? How do we handle this?
Susan Berry Hill: We have a provision in our zoning ordinance called the extended family unit. It applies
in the R4, six, and eight districts, and it was approved in 2012. It's kind of like the granny flat concept that
Ms. Hynes was talking about, that was the purpose of it. If you meet certain performance standards in our
zoning ordinance for that, it's a permitted use by right. If you don't meet one of those standards, you have
the opportunity to seek a special exception application and get it approved through Council. For example,
if the purpose of it was for family members, and that's how it's described, however, if you wanted to have a
tenant that's not related through blood move in, you could apply for a special exception, and Council could
consider that.
Council Member Bagdasarian: Great, thank you. Just one last question, so how did the community
respond to the discussions? Was there concern about neighbors having undesirable yards and structures
that would be constructed for this purpose?
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Item a.
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Melissa Hynes: That was more internally. The Council was very much divided for a long time. Like I said
it took multiple, multiple meetings for the Council to all agree to what they wanted. In the end that just meant
a longer list of standards to the point where the second dwelling has to look like the main dwelling and it
just has to blend in and it can't stand out. Design was very important. So even having that basement
apartment, you couldn't have a second door upfront to make it look odd. It had to look like it was all one
house from a passer-by. Like I said, that-- because the Council itself was so divided is what made the
standards so strong because I had kept coming back to the table with more standards to address all of their
concerns.
Council Member Bagdasarian: Were there different standards for the historic district?
Melissa Hynes: We don't have a historic district. We treated all as historic in that Round Hill is very proud
of its hometown character. It's very sensitive to design. We actually don't have a legal -- I can't think of the
word, but like a registered district with design standards.
Council Member Bagdasarian: Does it pertain differently to historic homes that are designated historic in
Round Hill?
Melissa Hynes: The standard speak to making sure that you protect the integrity of the home, the
neighborhood keeping character. The design has to be approved by the zoning administrator. You can't
just put anything in the backyard.
Council Member Bagdasarian: Thank you.
Mayor Burk: Mr. Martinez?
Vice Mayor Martinez: No questions, just to thank you for being here.
Melissa Hynes: Thank you.
Mayor Burk: Mr. Cummings?
Council Member Cummings: Microphone issues tonight. Thank you, Ms. Hynes for coming and
presenting your presentation and kudos to you and to the Town Council in Round Hill, because there are a
lot of folks who, whether you're campaigning or you're just out talking to people, when they bring up, “We
need to make houses more affordable, we need to help people have a place to live in Loudoun County”.
Unfortunately, no one has the gumption, I'll say, to actually do something like these accessory dwelling
units. They're different than the affordable dwelling units that the County provides. These are actually for
anyone in an accessory dwelling unit and it increases the supply in the market and it is a market fix with a
little bit of government help to the housing affordability problem.
I just say kudos that you were able to walk through this process with your members and make this happen
because there's a lot of noise for something that is really helpful and really all communities, in my opinion,
should be looking at accessory dwelling units to help fight back against the market supply and demand that
we're having, and it's not going anywhere with the price of being able to afford to live here. Thank you.
Melissa Hynes: Thank you. I will be honest. We had one Council member who told me, "Melissa, we
shouldn't be the first to do it in Loudoun County. Can we wait for somebody else to do it first?" I said, "Well,
we're 18 months into it. You should go all the way."
Mayor Burk: Can you tell me you don't have any requirements on lot size?
Melissa Hynes: No, you have to comply with the zoning. We have a very generous accessory building.
You can have up to 1,600 feet on your lot for your accessory dwelling, not dwelling, for a garage. As long
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Item a.
Page 18| April 12, 2021
as you met the accessory structure requirements for building a garage that's what you have, setbacks,
height, lot size. You can't make a non-conforming lot more non-conforming that kind of thing. If you couldn't
do a garage, you couldn't do this.
Mayor Burk: What happens if you have a garage and you want to make another building?
Melissa Hynes: Well, it goes back to lot coverage. Zoning has a limit on how much you can cover the lot
percentage. If your lot is too small, you couldn't have both. You could convert the garage into something,
but you couldn't build a second.
Mayor Burk: The neighbors have no input into you converting this garage into another house with another
family. You'll have two families of kids running around --
Melissa Hynes: [Unintelligible].
Mayor Burk: -- dogs, things that are going on.
Melissa Hynes: Right. So it goes back to -- We had a member of the Council who had six children. When
the conversations we had [unintelligible] between us was husband, wife, six kids, and two dogs. It was
very controversial. This Council went a long way of trying to making sure that all those things you just said
was thought about. That you didn't become a nuisance. The neighbor did call, we didn’t cite through the
violation of not complying with the ordinance, much scrutiny to beyond you for having a second dwelling on
your lot.
Mayor Burk: I'm really surprised that you included the Airbnb situation because we get a number of
complaints in regard to people renting out their houses or renting out an apartment. Now you build an
accessory building for renters. That would be a very interesting dynamic here. I don't know. I don't know
how well that would go over.
Melissa Hynes: We have very strict standards that if you become a nuisance, you lose the ability to rent it
out. You would lose your rental permit.
Mayor Burk: When someone asks a question about the value, the tax value, the assessment, if you had
this apartment why would it be an advantage? Because if I buy it and I don't want to use this apartment that
I've created, let's say downstairs, I now have an apartment down there that I don't want to have a tenant,
so that piece of property is not as valuable as it would have been if it had stayed just a single-family home.
Melissa Hynes: I'm not an assessor so I don't know how that works but you could still use it as a living
space. It would still just be a living room, maybe a kitchenette or something. It would be how you would
want it versus somebody else.
Mayor Burk: This is a question for Susan. Do we know how many people now have those apartments
grant? What do they call, what did you call them?
Susan Berry Hill: Extended family residents or units. We had one application since 2012 for that.
Mayor Burk: You've had one? Oh, that's interesting because --
Susan Berry Hill: Yes, there is one unit.
Mayor Burk: -- I know quite a few people that have converted their downstairs into-- interesting.
Melissa Hynes: That's what we face in Round Hill. A lot of people had [crosstalk] --
Mayor Burk: Won’t be doing that one.
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Item a.
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Melissa Hynes: -- without flying under the radar. I've worked in bigger cities before with section eight
problems where tenants feel like they can't come forward a bad landlord. One of my fears with people
converting basements into scary apartments and telling them, "Don't you tell the government, or we're
kicking you out." So it’s making sure that permits come to the light, not secrets.
Mayor Burk: All right, thank you very much. We appreciate the information and please say hello to Scott.
Melissa Hynes: All right. Thank you.
Mayor Burk: Have a safe trip back. All right, Susan.
Susan Berry Hill: Okay. We're moving more to the general topic of affordable housing now and at your
March 9th meeting, a request was made by Council to have a work session discussion about what is
workforce housing, and also what is Legacy Leesburg Town Plan, our draft plan, how is that addressing
affordable housing? That's the purpose of this work session item tonight.
I'm going to give you just a little bit of background real quickly on this. In 2005 Town Plan and the 2012
Town Plan there's policy guidance in chapter seven to encourage high-quality housing stock that
accommodates workforce housing and addresses all affordability levels. That language specifically noted
that housing should address accessibility, special needs populations, first-time buyers, or empty nesters.
That policy language has been in our Town Plan for many years.
We implemented that policy direction with a zoning ordinance amendment. This happened in 2009 where
we adopted our inclusionary zoning, which is our ADU ordinance. I'm not going to go into the specifics here.
I did go over this back in November when we talked about affordable housing there, but I wanted to include
these slides just so that our new members on Council know that we do have an ADU ordinance. It is
addressing that area of the spectrum between 30 and 70% area median income.
It addresses single-family detached and single-family attached development, as well as multi-family
development. You can see the standards here. I'm not going to go into specifics on that, but again, my
purpose in bringing this up is just to let you know that it does exist. This is one tool that we have that we
use currently. The ordinance does specify that the ADU units should be interspersed during the
development of the project.
Also, there is an option for a cash in lieu that can be provided for single-family detached. We have not seen
anybody exercise that option in Leesburg but if somebody were to do that, we would work with the County
on setting that or working with them on their formula that they have for that cash in lieu provision and those
requests go to the Affordable Dwelling Unit Advisory Board at the County.
We have a memorandum of agreement with the County, and it was initially approved in 2008 and then was
updated again in 2018 and it caps the number of ADUs in the ordinance at 120 that will be administered by
the County. Currently, we have 44 units that have been approved as ADUs in the Town and there are no
issues right now with the MOU so it's working fine. Now that brings us up to today. Looking at the issue of
affordable housing that is a big issue in Loudoun County as you probably all know.
The County did a needs assessment back in 2015, the board of supervisors addressed it in 2017. The
purpose of that was to study what are the unmet housing needs in the County? It's helpful to look at this
affordability question on a spectrum. You have on the far left here, the zero to 30% area median income,
which is very low, folks that are in real need of help with housing, covering housing costs. Moving towards
30 to 70% area median income, that is the area on the spectrum that our ADU ordinance is targeted to
address.
Then you have anything over 70%, which is moving towards that market-rate point. The question was
asked, what is workforce housing? At its most simplest level workforce housing addresses housing that's
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Item a.
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priced for middle-income individuals and families. It's very general, but if you were to look on this spectrum
what is the area that, that addresses, it can be 80 to 120% of AMI.
In the County needs assessment, it was interesting that almost 22K households in Loudoun County had
household incomes at or below 50% AMI. This is showing that even five years ago, six years ago, this was
a problem, it's increased today. Interestingly last week on April 1st, the County released their unmet housing
needs strategic plan, it was presented to the board of supervisors.
It's a very interesting document. It is a very comprehensive approach to addressing unmet housing needs.
Currently they’re up-to-date, this time the County has done several things to address affordable housing.
They've done programmatic things approaches to address, for example, voucher housing, they administer
Federal programs for very low-income individuals so they do that and then they have an inclusionary zoning
ordinance, the ADU ordinance, they've had that in place for years.
What this strategic plan is doing, and it's an implementation step of their 2019 comprehensive plan. What
this does, is it expands upon what the County has traditionally done to address affordable housing. It does
so and the document is very comprehensive. It has strategies that are very simple to administer, some that
are regulatory, some that are informational, but then they have structural changes too when you start getting
into the more complex ways that they're addressing affordable housing, such as buying land to work with
non-profits to build affordable housing on and to retain those units in perpetuity for affordable housing.
Their strategic plan goes from A to Z in terms of complexity and different types of strategies. That brings us
to Leesburg and Legacy Leesburg, our draft Town Plan. The basis for our plan, we looked at a number of
things. One of the things we looked at was our Economic Development Steering Committee that as you
remember met several years ago, one of the issues that came out of that when we met with businesses in
Town was that it's hard to find affordable housing for workers of a lot of businesses, especially in the
hospitality sector.
That was anecdotal information that came forth out of that process. Then moving forward into the public
input and engagement portion of our Legacy Leesburg Town Plan, we heard over and over again from
different members of our residents that they were in need of affordable housing in Leesburg. We need
housing for empty nesters, as well as the young spectrum, younger folks who are wanting to start their
careers here and in need of affordable housing. Our market study that we did as a part of that Town Plan
process found that in Leesburg, 50% of renters spend more than 30% of their income on housing and 25%
of homeowners spend more than 30% of their income on housing.
That's exacerbated by the fact that we have a very low inventory of for-sale units. That's all over the Metro
area, but it's true in Leesburg as well and the Legacy Leesburg Town policy emphasizes housing
affordability and diversity. Looking at one of the guiding principles in the plan, if you look at second sentence
on this guiding principle, it says, "Seek opportunities to offer a variety of housing types at a variety of price
points that appeal to a wide range of households and enable residents to live in Leesburg throughout all
stages of life."
There are a number of strategies in the draft plan. In general, it suggests conducting a housing needs study
similar to what the County did but not probably as involved as the County's strategic plan or housing needs
study. It suggests developing an affordable housing plan based on those needs so that we know what part
of the spectrum of affordability we really need to focus on.
The question's been asked by Council in the past, last fall, and I think you're interested now, what kinds of
strategies can we adopt that would address affordable housing in Town? They can be regulatory, some
communities are reducing the parking requirements for affordable projects. Some are looking at procedural
changes perhaps fast-tracking developments, proposals that have affordable units, or they can be
collaborative.
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Item a.
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One of the points in the County's strategic plan is that they will work with the towns in Loudoun County on
sharing data and analysis on affordable housing and will probably work with us on different strategies. The
question for you tonight, and I'm finishing here is, should the Town take a more proactive role in trying to
get more affordable housing in Leesburg? If you're interested in responding to that tonight you can, or you
can defer until a later time when the draft plan comes to you, as recommended to you from the Planning
Commission and that concludes my presentation.
Mayor Burk: Okay. Thank you. Could we get a copy of the County's new plan, new study?
Susan Berry Hill: Yes.
Mayor Burk: That would be useful, are there any questions, anyone? Ms. Nacy?
Council Member Nacy: Mine was going to be similar, since the County has agreed as part of their strategic
plan to be helpful to the towns, could we get the specific data on the Leesburg housing needs study that
the County did? Do you think they would be willing to share with them?
Susan Berry Hill: Yes, yes.
Council Member Nacy: I think that would be helpful in us trying to figure out and maybe even save us
money on doing our own housing needs study.
Susan Berry Hill: Absolutely. We can try to get whatever they've got. Their study areas may overlap a little
bit into the County, but we can get whatever, what they have.
Council Member Nacy: Okay. Thank you.
Mayor Burk: Mr. Bagdasarian?
Council Member Bagdasarian: Yes. [Unintelligible].
Mayor Burk: Mr. Martinez?
Vice Mayor Martinez: Being an old guy on the Council, we've gone through this discussion several times
and we just could never find the political will to move forward to do something. I would like to see
alternatives, what we can do to implement, and maybe we can go through, do a roll call and see which ones
we want to try. I know we can work with the County. Is there anything we can do individually or not
individually, but as a Council to convince developers to add more ADU units?
I know currently a lot of our affordable dwelling, there's a fund or some sort with the County where people
can apply to get some help being able to afford houses and stuff. I really don't know. I know there's a few
people in Leesburg that have taken advantage of it, but I don't know how many is out there and how well
advertised it is. I know some teachers are looking to take advantage of the County program, but I would
like to see what kind of alternatives we as a Town can do to bring more affordable housing into our Town,
and not have to worry about residents always having to go to the County and hope that they have room
because the County's a lot bigger place than the Town of Leesburg, and it's hard for residents to compete
with other residents in the County. I'd like to find a way we could keep it local here to the Town. Thank you,
and I really appreciate your presentation. I know we've done this before, and hopefully, if we do it enough,
we're going to get something done and resolved. Thank you.
Mayor Burk: Mr. Cummings?
Council Member Cummings: Thank you. In your opinion, are there any current zoning ordinances that
are prohibiting folks, developers, whether large or small, from being able to maximize, say, their lot to build
an add-on for affordable housing or housing in general?
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Item a.
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Susan Berry Hill: We could probably look at-- I listened with interest to Ms. Hynes' presentation, and what
Round Hill had done, and accessory dwelling units. We have two different approaches for two different
things, one being the granny flat approach, which I explained. We also, last year, approved the homestay
provisions, which allows residents to use their property for Airbnb purposes. However, they have to register
with the Town, and there's certain requirements for that. Unlike Round Hill, we have two separate paths for
that, and we probably could look at that and simplify it. That might be something that we want to put as a
strategy for addressing affordable housing in the Town.
Council Member Cummings: A follow-up question to that, a broad question. Does our zoning look at
developers? We all use the word developer as someone who builds, I think we all think of them as the 75-
unit condo building being built down the road. Do we look at smaller, local developers, someone who has
a lot? Do we treat them any different? If I had a lot, and I want to add two apartments to my lot, does the
zoning ordinance look at them any differently than a developer who's coming in to put up 75 units?
Susan Berry Hill: Well, the base is your zoning district, and what does that zoning district allow? For
smaller developments, we are approaching build-out too, just like Round Hill is. We don't have a lot of
greenfield development. We have some amount of infill, and sometimes we're seeing some pressure on
our existing neighborhoods to infill something that's a little denser than what's currently surrounding it.
That's something we can look at. I think that we don't want unintended consequences of introducing density
where it shouldn't be. There may be things that we can do, as we look into this affordable housing issue, is
what can we do for infill development? Then, there are different strategies for those bigger developments
that developers will gravitate towards. There's probably a number of strategies we can look at for small-
scale development as well as larger-scale redevelopment.
Council Member Cummings: Yes, I think that would be great to have because, just to sum up my thoughts
here is, we have a lot of folks who want to invest their own money into making Leesburg even better, and,
in my opinion, we should be able to separate the major developments that are going in greenfield to build
up, as separate from when we're looking at redevelopment. I hope, in the Town Plan discussions we'll
continue to have those discussions about what type of redevelopment we want here in Leesburg, and what
it looks like, and allow folks to spend their money here, and continue to add to our Town.
Mayor Burk: Mr. Steinberg?
Council Member Steinberg: Thanks for your presentation, Susan. It's my opinion, contrary to what several
of the Planning Commission members opined, that we're not going to convince developers to provide ADUs.
It's just not going to happen. We have to have the political will to create vehicles that require such things.
What are we going to learn from the draft plan that will help us make any concrete decisions that we don't
already know now, honestly?
Susan Berry Hill: Well, I think the draft plan is setting the framework for community development broadly.
On this issue, through the market study that our consultant did and what we've learned, as I mentioned, we
do have housing needs, unmet housing needs in Leesburg. There are people who are stressed with paying
their mortgages or paying rent, especially renters. The question that the plan provides is, we're in that
question, but it tees up this issue of affordability and diversity in housing and list it as -- it should be
something that Town is a goal that we address, the implementation strategies are very general in the plan
and it's suggesting that if this is a priority with Council, then you should look into it further and develop your
own strategic plan that addresses what needs Leesburg has.
The Town Plan is not going to provide all the strategic answers for affordable housing. We can't, otherwise,
it would be a 500-page document. We can't put that level -- we have to know, staff has to know too, when
you adopt the Town Plan, what are your priorities going to be? Where is affordable housing? There's over
75 strategies in this plan right now. Out of those, what are your priorities? What do you want staff to be
working on? If affordable housing is one of those top priorities, then we'll work at finding out what are those
specific strategies that are going to work for Leesburg.
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Item a.
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Council Member Steinberg: I don't think I'd be off the mark if I said the consensus of this Council, without
taking a headcount, is that affordable housing is certainly a priority not only in Leesburg, but the County
and the rest of the country for that matter. Yet somehow we never seem to get there. Your report alludes
to a study in 2015 and the County is doing another one now. We keep having committees and studies and
yet somehow we just never quite achieve the goals that we're looking for.
That becomes the real question, how do we actually get to the point where we can formulate a strong
ordinance that says, this is what you must do, this is what our expectations are. I know, as you said that
Leesburg is primarily built out but we do have infill development. I don't know if, for example, we are too
late for a development like Leesburg Village and others. We know at some point, we will be building out,
say the Walmart, the old Walmart parking lot, almost certainly.
We know there will be opportunities, some of which are years down the road. How do we as a Council start
to turn this around now? What kind of a timeframe, can we say in a year, we'd like a solid ordinance with
reasonable strategies that help us get well down the path of providing affordable housing? Understanding
that it's an economic issue, but it's an economic issue for everybody, especially the people who can't afford
housing. Somehow, we've got to break this logjam and figure out how to do that. Is that something we might
have expectations for suggestions coming from staff or do we have to spitball on ourselves and come to
you and say what we want?
Susan Berry Hill: I think you'll have the opportunity. Once the Town Plan comes to you, the last chapter in
the plan is the implementation chapter. It will list all of the different goals and strategies that are in the plan.
At that time, you'll have an opportunity to look at that and prioritize what's important to you. What do you
want staff to be working on to implement that plan? That would be the time when you would say if there's
consensus or a majority on Council, we want staff to be working on affordable housing, and provide that
direction at that time. Then we would figure out how to address your preference.
Council Member Steinberg: Is it your professional advice, then that we do wait to see the draft plan, as
opposed to saying, we don't want to wait to see the plan we know what do we want to do, now, how do we
move along and start [unintelligible].
Susan Berry Hill: I would advise waiting for this plan. Because I think it's important to consider everything
that it's bringing to you. There may be other priorities that come forward in the plan that you want to address
too or in place of, I don't know. That would be something that Council should discuss.
Council Member Steinberg: Okay. Thank you.
Mayor Burk: Ms. Fox?
Council Member Fox: Thanks. Yes. I have a couple of questions. One has to do with the Commissioners
and I read that the Commission was pretty split. Did they come up with any proposals for the Town to
approach affordable housing? It sounds like they were split, but did they have any ideas? Because it sounds
like we're putting the cart before the horse here.
Susan Berry Hill: It was a very general conversation and it was again-- oops, I passed it, on this guiding
principle, which as you can see is very general, but the discussion was there's the second sentence in the
guiding principle that focuses on affordable housing and housing to meet all stages of life. There was
definitely a difference of opinions on members of the Commission. Some felt we should not be addressing
affordable housing, that that should be left to the marketplace.
Others felt, no. We didn't get into the bigger discussion which will happen when we get into the next chapter
which addresses the strategies. But at this point, if there's direction from Council tonight, generally that
yes, we do want to address affordable housing, I'll take that back to the Planning Commission and say, yes,
we think probably the wording should stay the same in the guiding principle and that the strategies that we
come forward with that maybe where the meat is in terms of the direction we're going.
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Council Member Fox: Okay. If I heard you correctly, workforce housing is defined as 80 to 100% of AMI,
ADU 30 to 70%. I might be wrong here, but what I'm seeing us do is trying to hedge towards some sort of
housing that may be a government would own manage, maintain, administer. That's not what we're hedging
towards?
Susan Berry Hill: No, I don't think so. That's up to the Council but that's a big solution. When I looked at
the unmet housing strategic plan that the County did, it was very interesting. Now they're starting from very
low cost, low work options to addressing affordable housing all the way to some of the big things. We should
look at whatever options will get us the most bang for the buck in terms of addressing our own affordability
needs.
Council Member Fox: One of the things that I heard this evening when we were discussing the accessory
dwelling units was and I made a point to ask this, how much can we do without the County? I think Mr.
Martinez actually alluded to that as well. What can we do that we don't have to ask the County's permission
for, or have to wait on them to administer something?
That actually came up as nothing. This is something actually. These accessory houses that we might think
about because we would be free and clear of that obligation. The other things that I was thinking of, one of
my things is to make sure we find options that either minimize or eliminate taxpayer liability. I was thinking,
how can we incentivize either somebody who's looking to build something?
The only thing I can think of at this point is to create tax incentives, something we can do as a Town, or
look at other incentives, like great land deals that we might own and use it for affordable housing, as long
as it's used for affordable housing. Those are the kinds of things I think we could do as a Town without the
County. Of course, we should partner with them because they do administer ADUs but I think there are a
lot of things here that we can actually do.
Susan Berry Hill: We can, I think there are regulatory things we could do in our zoning ordinance or
procedural things in terms of how we look at land development applications that have an affordable
component. I think there are probably a number of things that we can do and maybe informational things
that let our residents know about the loan programs and all of the other things the County administers.
Maybe there's a piece that we can play in that through outreach to our residents, to let them know about
that.
Council Member Fox: If the Council leans toward looking closer at the accessory dwelling units, what I
understand is from the conversation that happened, that anything that was Airbnb, and I know there's a lot
of controversy around Airbnb. I get it. I really honestly do. The owner of the property has to be there for any
sort of anything.
Susan Berry Hill: Yes.
Council Member Fox: Okay. All right. Thank you
Mayor Burk: I do have to laugh. Here we're talking about doing something without the County and usually,
we're saying we want the County to help out so it's kind of funny. The one thing I'm concerned about with
all of our discussion, I think you can see that we all are concerned about affordable housing, but we have
to be very careful of the unintended consequences. Whether it's increasing density. In my neighborhood,
we have 10 homes, with most people have two cars. Now you're going to add another family. You're going
to have, instead of 10 homes, you're going to have 20 homes, and you're going to have 20 cars.
Most people have two cars. What is the ramification of that? What is the impact? We need to think about
what is the impact? Whether we don't take care of it, but most certainly schools are part of what is very
important to us here in Loudoun and Leesburg and we don't want to overburden such places. We need to
also think about the increase in staff. If we're going to take over these big projects we better be careful as
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to how much that implication is to what staff has. That doesn't mean that we can't move on and we can't
come up with ideas of what we can do and how we can do it.
We just have to keep in mind at all times that there are unintended consequences that we need to think
about. Most certainly I think you can hear from everybody here that everybody is interested. Unless I hear
otherwise, I'm going to say that we will follow your recommendation and wait for the Town Plan, and then
bring it up at that point. Well, thank you very much. Again, thank you Ms. Hynes for coming and a very
interesting presentation. Next, we have the Airport Ad Hoc Committee Final Report. Mr. Coffman?
Scott Coffman: Good evening, Madam Mayor and members of the Council. As you know in February, this
Council appointed an Ad Hoc Committee to study the structure of the Airport Commission. Included on the
membership was Council members, which Vice Mayor Martinez chaired the committee, and Mr. Steinberg
and Ms. Nacy also participated. Also on the committee, we invited all Airport business owners to send a
representative of the 12 businesses, eight of us took us up on the offer. They were well represented by
flight schools, aircraft maintenance shop, the helicopter operator, all participated.
The committee met three times. Mr. Martinez had organized some presentations, for giving the background
on the Airport, the Airport Commission, what it does, where it receives its funding, some of the initiatives
that have been taken in the past that have brought the Airport to where it is today, and what the Airport
master plan and guidance is for going forward. We gave everybody some good background. The committee
continued to discuss ideas and make suggestions and everybody's voice was heard. At the final meeting,
the ideas all gathered around three common goals and they were one, to improve the Airport business
operator's input to the Commission, to have their voices heard, it was to improve citizen involvement in the
Airport Commission. Finally, it was to provide a membership that was well-qualified in the Airport operations
and business aspects of what they do in their role. The committee came out with a final report. They took
all the ideas and voted. The final recommendations were, as I've got listed up here, were to form an Airport
business association. This would be either a formal or informal. Mr. Spera can talk a little bit about that.
We only recognize one business association that would come together on their own. This would not the
Town organization. This would be their own business organization. They could choose a representative.
This is the recommendation, who would serve as a voting member of the Airport Commission that would
be an eighth member. That was to give the voice to the Airport businesses. The goal of providing citizen
involvement was to involve the Loudoun County Economic Development Commission and have a liaison
attend the Airport Commission meetings and work together on supporting businesses and reaching out to
the community. The committee reviewed the current process for the seven members of the Commission
and did not support any changes to the current nomination and appointing of other Commission members.
That's really the gist of the votes of or the output of the committee and I'll let you all discuss.
Mayor Burk: Anyone have any questions? Ms. Fox?
Council Member Fox: Thank you. Scott, you said one voting member would be an eighth member of the
Airport Commission, correct?
Scott Coffman: Correct.
Council Member Fox: Usually, there's an odd number. How would that work?
Scott Coffman: Correct. There was some brief discussion of it, and they would adopt something in their
bylaws on how to treat tie votes.
Council Member Fox: I think that's the only question I had. No changes to the current process for
appointment and confirmation of Commission members. If we have an Airport business association, does
that preclude any of the Airport employees from being appointed, or we just leave that alone?
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Scott Coffman: The committee did not discuss that. That's typically something that I let Chris address on
any conflict of interest between employees and how they would be represented on the Committee or the
Commission.
Council Member Fox: Thank you.
Mayor Burk: Anyone else having questions? Mr. Bagdasarian?
Council Member Bagdasarian: This is really more directed towards Mr. Spera, but just as a preface I
know at one point in time the Airport Commission had an EDC liaison, and I thought there was a solid link
that way, so I'm not sure why that process ended. But in regards to the actual association, how formalized
do you recommend this being as they need to be a 501-c-6 trade organization? Can it be just a more of an
informal type of organization?
Christopher Spera: My concern, when I discussed this with Scott was less about how formal or informal
the structure was, but rather that we just identified the one that would be, if we were to adopt something
like this, which gave that entity a seat at the table. There would be nothing to prevent -- you had the Airport
businesses association, and then you had the Airport businesses society and then you have the
amalgamation of Airport businesses and they could choose to organize however they wanted. I think the
key was to just identify and recognize one. They could do whatever else they wanted in addition, but we
would recognize one and give that one entity the seat at the table.
That was really my concern, and less focused on the formality or informality of how they structured. That
would really be up to them how much dues they wanted to charge, do they want it to become a not-for-
profit corporation? It really would depend on what their scope was, what their mission was. If they wanted
to engage in fundraising or some type of promotion, you might want to create a not-for-profit entity. If all
you really wanted to do was create an organization that would meet periodically and then provide input to
the Airport Commission, you could do that informally without creating a legal entity.
Council Member Bagdasarian: Where the outcome would still be the same regardless of that. I look at it
as the Downtown Business Association represents the businesses of the Downtown as it did at one point
in time, but I think that makes sense. Thank you.
Mayor Burk: Who else at this point? Thank you, Mr. Coffman. Appreciate you coming forward.
Christopher Spera: Madam Mayor, if I could simply make a brief supplement to what Scott presented.
Parallel to this, as I think each of you know, I undertook a review of the two sections of the Town Code that
directly relate to what the Airport Commission's role is, as well as a review of the 45 pages or so of the
Airport regulations. Parallel to the process that the Vice Mayor administers and that Scott participated in, I
undertook that review. I have shared the results of that, my proposed line edits, which were exclusively
focused on making sure that the Commission sat in an advisory function as opposed to an adjudicatory
function, and shared those with the Airport Commission itself, in addition to Scott. We actually took
advantage of a couple of other things that were essentially mistakes or other things we could have fixed,
but that proceeded on a parallel path. I think we're in pretty good shape on bringing that to you as well.
Mayor Burk: Thank you very much. Appreciate it. The next one is--
Vice Mayor Martinez: Madam Mayor, Scott, Chris, when will you want to bring this to Council for a formal
vote on the recommendations?
Christopher Spera: My thought was that since I've got some proposed changes to the Town Code we've
got to wait at least a couple of weeks. We have to notice that. Typically, we go two meetings hence. To me
it would make sense to put it all together. We would bring you the proposed code changes, the revised set
of regulations, and then tee up this for any of these recommendations that you wanted to act upon.
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Item a.
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Mayor Burk: It doesn’t have to go to a public hearing?
Christopher Spera: I'm sorry.
Mayor Burk: It doesn't have to go to a public hearing?
Christopher Spera: The code changes do.
Mayor Burk: They do, okay.
Christopher Spera: The changes to the Town Code that requires an ordinance that does require a public
hearing. The approval of the regulations do not, but to me it doesn't make any sense to separate them. Let
the requirement of the public hearing on the code change be the timing driver. I think two meetings from
tomorrow would probably be the right time, subject to Mr. Dentler's sound counsel on that. I know he
manages that very carefully.
Vice Mayor Martinez: I just wanted to thank the Town Attorney, Scott, and Russell Seymour for all their
help, and the participation of Council Member Steinberg and Nacy for being there. Thank you, all, I really
appreciate all the help you gave me.
Council Member Fox: Madam Mayor? I have a quick clarifying question that Mr. Spera was talking about.
First of all, I sat in on a couple of these meetings and they were very well run. You had a lot of people to
deal with and I thought of it as very, very well run. Thanks for serving. The other question I had, with all the
changes that are going to happen, will we be seeking Commission input on this? Will it go to Commission
before it comes to us, the Airport Commission, or will it come straight to us?
Christopher Spera: I have shared the revisions that I am proposing both to the Town Code and to the
Airport regs. I've already shared those with the Airport Commission.
Council Member Fox: Okay, thank you.
Christopher Spera: The only thing I suppose it would be -- the Ad Hoc Committee has made its
recommendations. Everyone knows what they are. The Airport Commission will be free to comment on do
they support, do they not support it. Other than that, I don't think that there's any additional outreach that
needs to happen beyond that associated with the normal public hearing.
Council Member Fox: Okay, thank you.
Mayor Burk: Thank you. Thank you very much. We are now at the American Recovery Fund and
Community Projects Funding Request.
Clark Case: Good evening, Mayor Burk, Vice Mayor Martinez, Members of the Council and Members of
the public here in the chamber and at home. My name is Clark Case. I'm the Director of Finance and
Administrative Services for the Town. I'm here to talk about two particular Federal funding opportunities for
the Town. The first is the American Rescue Plan Act, which we refer to by its acronym of ARPA. The second
is some community project funding that can be included in the Federal government's earmarked projects
for the next Federal fiscal year. The Town is expected to receive funding from ARPA, which was signed
into law on March 11.
The funding amount that was initially published when the Act was passed for the Town of Leesburg was
$48.83 million. That looked high to us. However, the official allocation is not yet known because it's subject
to the US Department of Treasury's recalculations of all the allocations. We've had extensive discussions
amongst the professional organizations that the Town is a member with. Their opinion is that the
independent towns were double-counted in the Community Development Block Grant database that the
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initial allocation was published from, and that resulted in a significantly overstated amount to be allocated
to the Town.
Their estimate, I would call the back of the envelope estimate, was that the allocation can be as low as
$7M. The Treasury guidance though will be official. We will get that guidance, we will find out what the
allocation is in May. The funding is expected to be received in two payments of 50% no later than May 11
of 2021 and a second 50% no earlier than 12 months later. The Department of Treasury is to provide official
guidance to us on the allocation, the eligible uses, and what procedures we have to follow to receive the
funding and what we can use the funding on.
There's confusion in that area as well, because the towns are not explicitly listed in the section of the Act
that says that you can use the money to replace lost revenues due to COVID. That is mentioned in the
State section, but not mentioned in the local government section directly, and they’re restrictions mentioned
in the State sections like not being able to contribute to a pension plan that's underfunded. That's not
explicitly mentioned in the town's local government section. The Federal guidance, the Treasury guidance
was sure to answer for us those questions.
The way the Treasury Department addresses this sort of guidance, as they call it, is they release a list of
frequently asked questions and answers. Those are considered authoritative. They follow the same
procedure when the CARES money was passed. They did 19 revisions to those frequently asked questions
after the initial set were released. The rules can change even after the initial guidance. Treasury did see
that that was ineffective, especially in the short timeframes. They reached out to the local government
community, the Government Finance Officers Association, League of Municipalities and others, asking,
"What do you need to see in the guidance?"
We have been supplying that information to them. We do not know when they will issue their guidance.
They are not saying anything about reallocations at this stage. There's a lot we don't know yet. The
Government Finance Officers Association is urging town Councils to be patient, take a wait-and-see-what-
you're-getting approach, and also wait and see what the guidance says about what you can do with the
money. They urge local governments to spend this money on one time things. Do not spend it on ongoing
programs, because when the Federal government funding disappears, you'll have to raise taxes to make it
up or slash services, or cut back programs that have become popular.
It's a little bit of a honey trap. They say don't fall into it. The second thing I want to talk about is the
Community Project Funding, which is the earmark projects for the next Federal budget. Those earmark
projects are likely to focus on infrastructure, transportation projects like streets, environmental projects,
some that are storm water projects, utilities, airport, and any other project that has a very large stakeholder
support. Congresswoman Wexton has solicited the various local governments within her jurisdiction to ask
them for what are their priorities. Each of the towns has been asked to submit no more than 10 projects
with the top three projects prioritized no later than April 16 to Congresswoman Wexton’s staff.
Obviously, we have a very short period of time. They want clear documentation as to what is the scope and
nature of the project, and they want clear endorsement of the local elected officials of any projects that's
included, and they urge us to pick projects that have widespread community support. We need Town
Council's direction on what should be on this list of 10 projects. We did not want Council just have to come
up with that out of thin air on one evening. We went back through the Town's CIP. We looked for projects
that were included in the CIP that have large G.O. bond funding, for example, that if funded by another
Federal grant would free G.O. bond funding for other Town priorities.
We included projects that we knew had stakeholder support from the community and stakeholder support
from the elected officials, because they were included in the Town's CIP. This is the list of projects. We
have put together a spreadsheet so as Town Council proposes changes to this prioritization that we can do
that on the fly, and you will see the effect of those as you go. The thing we caution you on is that we have
a very short timeframe to turn around, so any project we add to the list will need to be something where we
have a clear definition what that project is and there was really very little time to do that.
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We also have to be able to document that there's stakeholder support. There's no time to go out and find
that stakeholder support before now and the 16th. With that, we would ask that you set the priorities for this
list to be passed by resolution tomorrow night. We have the budget team here. We have Renee LaFollette
here to answer any of your questions about the project list. Of course, we will be projecting the project list
on the screen for you to make your changes as you go. With that we're ready to start.
Mayor Burk: Mr. Bagdasarian, any questions?
Council Member Bagdasarian: Is the list in the resolution is that the prioritization that you have listed?
Clark Case: This was our list we put together to give you a starting point. We didn't want to just throw this
up and say, "Give us your 10 projects." That would have been unreasonable as an expectation. The Town
Manager together with his team of people, we went through. We tried to put it together and Kaj put in what
he felt was the best priority order based on the budget hearings and the CIP hearings that we held. This is
a list we came up with that is the starting point for Council to work from.
Council Member Bagdasarian: The first one, the bypass on Edwards Ferry Road, what level of impact
would that make if we were to receive funding for that?
Clark Case: You're looking at $163M. There's no way the Town and the County can fund that by ourselves.
We're going to have to have Federal funding. That Federal funding has not been forthcoming so that project
is in our future projects list. We don't have the money to fund it at this time. I think everybody knows just
how important that traffic jam is to the Town's citizens and virtually everybody who drives through. It's a
very large dollar amount.
If we could get the Federal government to fund that, that would be huge for the Town and it would certainly
save us our portion of the VDOT funding, which might be as much as 20%. If you do the math, if we have
$32M of Town G.O. bonds that we would have to come up with, perhaps, if we couldn't find other funding
towards this. There is a very large stake in getting that project passed. We do know there's widespread
support through the Town for that. I'm sorry, we're having technical difficulties.
Council Member Bagdasarian: I was hearing things.
Kaj Dentler: Can you just put the slide back up and we can make adjustments?
Eileen Boeing: You know what, I can pull it up.
Council Member Bagdasarian: Just one quick follow-up on that, were there any other Federal funding
opportunities that we were looking at aside from this assistance?
Clark Case: Well, yes, the ARPA projects that will give us Federal funding as well once we know what we
can spend the money on. We're absolutely looking at that. In addition to that, as other Federal funds are
made available from ARPA projects that were given to the states, the states may be making some of that
funding available to us as well. For example, on the Route 15 bypass, a lot of that Federal Department of
Transportation money would go to the State of Virginia and would wind up in VDOT coffers and they would
be contributing their portion towards that project, probably from the ARPA funding or from the earmark
funding. Both the County and the Town would be looking to perhaps get Federal funding for their portions
of this very large interchange.
Council Member Bagdasarian: Thank you very much. Appreciate it.
Mayor Burk: Mr. Martinez?
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Item a.
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Clark Case: I got it on my screen here. There it is. This is the dynamic list that you all can make your
changes to. Of course, we have the Capital Project summary pages for each one of these projects. If you
need more information on the projects, we can flip down to that summary page if you wish.
Mayor Burk: That's fine. But let's let everybody ask their questions of the project at this point, if that's okay
with you. Mr. Martinez?
Vice Mayor Martinez: I was wondering why the Police Department's building or enhancement to their
building is not in there. It's a $20M project.
Mayor Burk: It's down there.
Council Member Fox: It's in there.
Clark Case: It's in there at $18.75M.
Vice Mayor Martinez: I'm sorry, I missed that.
Clark Case: It's number nine on the list and that was certainly a very substantial amount of G.O. bond
money to be used for other projects.
Vice Mayor Martinez: Right. Well, I guess I'm surprised it's not number one. I think that's one of the things
that we really need to focus on in public safety is increasing that building or improving the building, adding
to it. Other than that, we just need to figure out which comes first in our top three. I know that the Police
Department building would be my number one. Thank you.
Mayor Burk: Ms. Fox?
Council Member Fox: Thanks. Quick question, what's the $7M figure, the low end? It was in the staff
report you heard would go anywhere go from $7M up to $48.8M.
Clark Case: The $7M was an estimate from one of the associations as to what the lowest number we might
be getting would be. Again, this was their calculation. I don't give it any more credence than I do the $48M
at this stage. We just don't know. There's a lot of doubt as to what that number will be and we won't know
until the Treasury does its calculations. Treasury can go through and say, "No, we meant to do that and it's
$48.8 is it." We just don't know.
Council Member Fox: Okay, quick question about the bypass. I agree with Vice Mayor Martinez, Police
station expansion is my number one. I would like to see the Town Branch at Mosby Drive. That could be
pulled up in any way shape or form. I think that would be neat to go ahead and get that flooding mitigation
and that restoration taken care of for those residents, but the bypass, this money has to be used by 2024.
We're not going to get the bypass done by 2024. Could we use these funds by that time? What is our
portion? What is our share?
Renee LaFollette: The portion that we would ask for would not be the full $163M. The $6M that's shown
is for design. The design work we could have done in the timeframe for this funding.
Council Member Fox: So $6M?
Renee LaFollette: The $163M, if it goes to a Federal earmark through the Congressional office, the second
piece, not the RF funding, but the Congressional, with Senator Wexton. There are a number of other
earmark bills that will be coming up that may give us the opportunity to go for all of that and not have the
tight time window for extending the money.
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I'll liken it to the Battlefield, Kinkaid to 7 project that was finished a number of years ago. That one got a
Congressional earmark from Frank Wolf. At the time, that funded almost half of that project. To have it on
our list for Wexton to be able to go after it in multiple pieces through different earmarks is probably one of
the better ways to go. We do have a smart scale application in for this which goes through the State and
they would use that application also to go after Federal funds.
Mayor Burk: Excuse me for interrupting you for one second, but I need a clarification here. What we're
doing right now is for Senator Wexton's earmarks. It has nothing to do with the COVID money, so we're not
limited in the time.
Council Member Fox: Oh, got you.
Clark Case: That's correct. Do not confuse the ARPA money, which has a two-year limit on it, with the
earmarks.
Mayor Burk: We’re not talking about that.
Council Member Fox: Okay. This is the --
Clark Case: The earmark limits will be passed by each earmark bill, so any restrictions will be in the
passage of the legislation that gives you the earmark. There might not be any, or it might be five years.
Council Member Fox: Okay.
Clark Case: It is going to be whatever grant award stipulates as the time frame. For a large project like the
Route 15 bypass, it's probably going to be your typical VDOT grant, which is you've got to complete it within
the reasonable timeframe.
Council Member Fox: I see.
Clark Case: It's not limited to the ARPA the same way, so it doesn't have that two-year timeframe on it.
Kaj Dentler: Different funding.
Clark Case: Different funding –
Council Member Fox: Understood.
Clark Case: -- different mechanism providing the funding.
Council Member Fox: Okay.
Vice Mayor Martinez: If I might offer a correction, did you guys say Senator Wexton? I'm sure she
appreciates the promotion but—
Mayor Burk: I did. I did. [crosstalk] I apologize. I was the one who said that.
Clark Case: All day long as I practiced my presentation, I've been calling her Council member.
Council Member Fox: Okay, that's it. Thank you.
Mayor Burk: Okay. Mr. Cummings?
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Council Member Cummings: Yes. Thank you for clarifying that. I want to just put out that, because we're
going back to the earmarks, working on Capitol Hill, we could get none of this as well. The reality is this is
just our wish list to the Congresswoman, and if she is able to persuade the other members of Congress to
add this to the bill as an earmark, then we might be able to get some funding. With that in mind, does staff
have a plan? Or do my fellow Council members have a plan to work with the Congresswoman to ensure
that our earmarks are a priority to her office?
Mayor Burk: They will be.
Kaj Dentler: Well, I’ll address that. The Congresswoman is going to select her top 10 -- Can you hear me?
Congresswoman is going to select her top 10 in essence, and then identify three from that that she's really
going to push. That's the basic theory. That's coming from across her entire district. Not just Leesburg.
Mayor Burk: Not just Leesburg.
Kaj Dentler: We'll put in our top 10, identify our preferred three but she then has to make a decision with
the limited amount of options she has. We have to choose wisely of things that we think she would be
supportive of, that she knows there's good stakeholder support for, provides benefit as broad as possible,
not only communities but public safety, emergency management, environmental, recreation, open space,
infrastructure. She's going to look to cover a lot of areas. We've talked with her staff so we have an idea.
All of these ideas have been flushed out to them. All of them have options. We don't know what she'll
choose, if that helps you.
Council Member Cummings: Sure.
Kaj Dentler: If that helps you.
Council Member Cummings: Yes, it does. With the Route 15 bypass, again, I'm asking because so
maybe folks on staff have been here when earmarks were part of the budgeting process and the legislative
process. Would it help us in maybe getting some of that funding if the County also saw that as a project
that they're interested in?
Kaj Dentler: Correct. That's been discussed as well. Any overlap of agencies or jurisdictions is a bonus for
Congresswoman Wexton because then she's serving more parties as a result. So, yes. That is an
advantage.
Mayor Burk: Is that one of the County's priorities?
Kaj Dentler: Correct.
Mayor Burk: Mr. Steinberg?
Council Member Fox: May I ask a question?
Council Member Steinberg: Go ahead.
Council Member Fox: I'm sorry. Thank you, Mr. Steinberg. Doesn’t the County give us a little bit of a push
after the NVTA? The PCAC committee didn't recommend to NVTA that we would get monies for Edwards
Ferry. The County stepped up a little bit. Is that correct? Am I remembering this correctly, Mayor?
Mayor Burk: I'm not sure. I’m not sure.
Council Member Fox: We needed to be able to keep going and we weren't going to get the money to keep
going.
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Item a.
Page 33| April 12, 2021
Renee LaFollette: Correct. This is a project that obviously is in competition with other County projects. At
the time that we had three interchange projects in our CIP Battlefield-7 bypass, Edwards Ferry, Fort Evans,
and also bypass at Battlefield. This was our number two ranked interchange. At the time, the County did
support us as this being the number two most important interchange in this area. That has shifted slightly
with the County and I don't know exactly where they have this project in their order of priority. We do have
$5.4M of NVTA funding that we have started working with VDOT to start moving the design forward.
What we've been told by NVTA staff and also the County staff is that once we start getting into design and
we start getting some movement on the project, it will be easier for them to recommend this project for
funding. The way they do their ranking and ratings of projects, for some reason this project is not scoring
very high on smart scale or the NVTA rankings right now. Part of that is because we haven't been able to
move the project forward. We've worked with VDOT and they're working outside of their comfort zone and
their normal process to start pushing this design forward. I hope that helps.
Council Member Fox: I just remembered Mayor and I met virtually and petitioned Chair Randall to help us
out by keeping the project alive. That's what I'm asking.
Renee LaFollette: They want us to keep the project alive but I don't know where it ranks in their order
priority for all of their interchanges.
Council Member Fox: Thank you.
Mayor Burk: Mr. Steinberg?
Council Member Steinberg: Thanks. This clarification is really helpful. It seems that if we can come up
with projects that have a more, or at least some regional appeal then they might be viewed more favorably
than some of these more parochial projects that we have on this list. Is that a fair assumption?
Kaj Dentler: I say possibly.
Mayor Burk: In my discussions with her staff, they said not. They were like, "Look at something that's going
to affect Leesburg. That would be community, environmental, that kind of stuff."
Kaj Dentler: It's very broad, it's moving fast, there's not a lot of time. One of the comments that her staff
made was projects, big and small. It's all over the board. I was on a conference call today with the Secretary
of Finance for the State and they're trying to interpret the rules and anticipate what's coming, but stuff's
coming at you so fast you got to make the best decision that you can at the time. The answer could be
anything. I would not just limit it to what your regional, you pick what you feel your best what you want to
get.
Council Member Steinberg: So let me ask a question.
Kaj Dentler: They will help us, if she sees something that we like that we
Mayor Burk: You haven’t talked. [crosstalk]
Council Member Steinberg: Something that also relates to 15, but a project I think is a little further along
would be the section from Battlefield up to Montresor. I know that our part of that is very small. What are
we on the hook for the interchange of North King Street and the bypass on North 15? Where are we on
that?
Renee LaFollette: Are you talking about north of Town between Battlefield and Montresor?
Council Member Steinberg: Yes. Once you get above Battlefield, that --
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Item a.
Page 34| April 12, 2021
Renee LaFollette: We're not on the hook for any of that, except reviewing plans at the current time. The
County has applied to NVTA and has received funding for all of that project --
Council Member Steinberg: All of that.
Renee LaFollette: including design for the later phase which is Montresor further north.
Council Member Steinberg: Yes.
Renee LaFollette: They're in engineering design work currently for that section.
Council Member Steinberg: So we don't have to worry about any of that?
Renee LaFollette: No.
Council Member Steinberg: Do the projects have to be specifically named? We, obviously, have a lot of
utility projects other than the one I see here. I see this western pressure zone pop station, but almost you
would think almost any of our utility projects might qualify. Why this one versus anything else?
Kaj Dentler: Primarily, this is more of an emergency management perspective. So we're trying to give her
a broad choices of projects that we have and we need. The driver for that is really emergency management,
and ensure that our infrastructure for water and sewer provisions are available.
Council Member Steinberg: Exactly.
Kaj Dentler: That is something that has been identified in all of the bills, even the ARPA and then the
intended infrastructure bill that President Biden will put forward.
Council Member Steinberg: I'm not sure where the Veterans Park project -- what is that project exactly?
Council Member Nacy: I was going to ask that too.
Council Member Steinberg: Veterans Park, what are we talking about there?
Kaj Dentler: Veterans Park is – so we have 86 acres on the Potomac right beside Ball's Bluff. County
donated $4M or contributed $4M to the Town. We bought that in 2000 in arrangement with the North Virginia
Park Authority, now known as Nova Parks. We view this project as a good stakeholder project.
Council Member Steinberg: Okay.
Kaj Dentler: You have the County has contributed a significant amount of money, you had Nova Parks
was involved with the acquisition, it's environmental, it's conservation, it’s is on the Potomac, it's recreation,
it's open space and it's moving forward in design. You've already awarded the contract for design. We saw
that as an attractive project dependent upon what she's looking for.
Council Member Steinberg: As it now stands, we're stuck on the Evergreen Mill project. That's basically
no pun intended, road-blocked. It's not going anywhere at this point?
Renee LaFollette: Are you talking about the Evergreen Mill Road widening project?
Council Member Steinberg: Whatever I’m reading – yes.
Renee LaFollette: That project is in design currently and we actually have a public input meeting on
Wednesday.
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Item a.
Page 35| April 12, 2021
Council Member Steinberg: Yes.
Renee LaFollette: That design is moving forward to be able to move into land acquisition in a couple of
years. We do have a funding shortfall for construction in out years of the plan, but-
Council Member Steinberg: No portion of that project is proffered by the development going on there?
Renee LaFollette: No.
Council Member Steinberg: Fine, thanks.
Renee LaFollette: I wish I could answer otherwise.
Mayor Burk: Ms. Nacy?
Council Member Nacy: Thank you, for Veterans Park was going to be one of my questions too. The Town
grant at Mosby Drive, that 1.4 is if we get that grant? That's what we need in addition to all the stuff on the
right there.
Renee LaFollette: Yes. That would be the Town's portion of that project if we did not receive the grant.
Council Member Nacy: If we don't get the grant, then it's really $2.4M that we need?
Renee LaFollette: Correct.
Council Member Nacy: That would be, in my opinion, a priority that we maybe move up a little bit. I mean,
it's at the top, right? It's recent, it’s on the minds of a lot of residents. It would be a huge help from something
that's been going on since the ‘80s, et cetera, et cetera. I was actually going to suggest bumping down
Evergreen Mill widening a bit for some more Town-specific things that go along with what the
Congresswoman is looking for stakeholder-wise. Anyway, recently Town Branch and Lawson Road are on
the forefront. I think those are in good places or it could even be bumped up a little higher. Just my two
cents.
Mayor Burk: All right, then I'm going to ask what the majority of us are looking for. Mr. Martinez mentioned
the police station. Are there four people that feel that that should be on our top three for the
Congresswoman’s? Ms. Fox, myself, I assume Mr. Martinez, Mr. Bagdasarian and Ms. Nacy. All right, we
got four on that. Mr. Cummings, you were on it too? Mr. Cummings also. I would agree. I would suggest
that Lawson Road would be one that we would bring forward. That is something her staff did call and ask
me about.
They had gotten some calls. When citizens came out, they did reach out to her. That was one that she was
aware of, so I thought that might be something we put up. I don't know if there's four people that would
consider Lawson Road one of the top three. All right, that's everybody. Then as to whether we do Veterans
Park would make sense to me, or whether we do Town Branch at Mosby, I'm willing to consider both of
those.
Eileen Boeing: Are you doing them one at a time?
Mayor Burk: I’m sorry.
Eileen Boing: Or are you doing all of them?
Mayor Burk: No, I'm doing one at a time. How many of us would like to have the Veterans Park money put
third? How many people would want that one? Just me.
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Item a.
Page 36| April 12, 2021
Council Member Bagdasarian: Point of clarification. Are we just voting on the top three, or are we rank-
ordering the entire list?
Mayor Burk: We don't need it. We only need the top three.
Kaj Dentler: No, just the top three. As long as you're comfortable with these 10, then just identify three.
Mayor Burk: Veterans Park is not third. Town Branch at Mosby Drive? We’ve got Ms. Fox, Mr. Cummings,
Mr. Bagdasarian, Ms. Nacy and myself, so that becomes third. That's all we need to do on that one.
Kaj Dentler: We'll have this prepared for your vote tomorrow night.
Mayor Burk: Thank you. Is there any additions to future Council meetings? Ms. Nacy?
Council Member Nacy: [unintelligible].
Mayor Burk: Mr. Bagdasarian?
Council Member Bagdasarian: No additions.
Mayor Burk: Ms. Fox?
Council Member Fox: Yes. After hearing our report tonight, I think something we can do now and I know
most of us probably want to go ahead and wait, but I think something we can do now is present and debate
some of the pros and cons of accessory housing because that's something that we could do either now or
pull into later on. I'd like to go ahead and present that as a future work session, but I don't want to have it
before we seek Planning Commission input. [crosstalk] I would ask for Planning Commission input first, and
then have the discussion about the pros and cons of accessory housing.
Mayor Burk: Are there four people that are interested in doing her accessory housing discussion? Okay,
everybody. Is that it, Ms. Fox?
Council Member Fox: Yes [unintelligible].
Mayor Burk: Okay, anybody else? Mr. Martinez?
Vice Mayor Martinez: There's a couple of things I'd like to add for future meetings. One is to create a
subcommittee to determine if we need either a Police Advisory Committee or Police Oversight Committee,
and basically a subcommittee to determine whether or not we need to add one or the other or maybe not.
Mayor Burk: Are there four people that would want to do that one? Mr. Bagdasarian, Mr. Steinberg, Mr.
Cummings, Mr. Martinez.
Vice Mayor Martinez: Then my second request is that we re-evaluate the Main Street program for the
Town of Leesburg.
Mayor Burk: All right, he wants to reevaluate the Main Street program in Leesburg. Are there four people
that are interested in having that discussion? Mr. Steinberg, Mr. Cummings, Mr. Bagdasarian, and Vice
Mayor.
Vice Mayor Martinez: That is all. Thank you all.
Mayor Burk: All right, is there a motion to adjourn? Oh, wait a minute, sorry. Mr. Cummings.
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Item a.
Page 37| April 12, 2021
Council Member Cummings: Sorry. Thank you. I have a very controversial one I need to bring up here.
May is National Preservation Month. I'd like to do a proclamation before May on preservation in here in
Leesburg.
Mayor Burk: All right, I'm not sure if that's on the list that we have, but either way, it will put it on if it's not.
Council Member Cummings: It may be. I'm not sure.
Mayor Burk: All right, are there four people that want to have that? Okay, everybody. Everyone. Is there a
motion to adjourn?
Vice Mayor Martinez: So moved.
Council Member Steinberg: So moved.
Mayor Burk: Moved by Mr. Martinez. Seconded by Mr. Steinberg. All in favor.
Council Members: Aye.
Mayor Burk: Opposed. All right.
44
Item a.
COUNCIL MEETING April 13, 2021
1 | P a g e
Council Chamber, 25 West Market Street, 7:00 p.m. Mayor Kelly Burk presiding.
Council Members Present: Ara Bagdasarian, Zach Cummings, Suzanne Fox, Vice Mayor
Marty Martinez, Kari Nacy, Neil Steinberg and Mayor Kelly Burk.
Council Members Absent: None.
Staff Present: Town Manager Kaj Dentler, Town Attorney Christopher Spera, Deputy
Town Manager Keith Markel, Director of Finance and Administration Clark Case,
Director of Utilities Amy Wyks, Director of Public Works and Capital Projects Renee
LaFollette, Director of Parks & Recreation Rich Williams, Deputy Director and Treasurer
of Finance and Administrative Services Lisa Haley (via WebEx), and Clerk of Council
Eileen Boeing.
AGENDA ITEMS
1. CALL TO ORDER
2. INVOCATION was given by Council Member Fox.
3. SALUTE TO THE FLAG was led by Council Member Steinberg.
4. ROLL CALL All Council Members present.
5. MINUTES
a. Work Session Minutes of March 22, 2021
MOTION 2021-071
On a motion by Vice Mayor Martinez, seconded by Council Member Steinberg, the
minutes of the Work Session of March 22, 2021, were moved for approval.
The motion was approved by the following vote:
Aye: Bagdasarian, Cummings, Fox, Vice Mayor Martinez, Nacy, Steinberg and
Mayor Burk
Nay: None
Vote: 7-0
b. Regular Session Minutes of March 23, 2021
MOTION 2021-072
On a motion by Vice Mayor Martinez, seconded by Council Member Bagdasarian, the
minutes of the Regular Session of March 23, 2021, were moved for approval.
The motion was approved by the following vote:
Aye: Bagdasarian, Cummings, Fox, Vice Mayor Martinez, Nacy, Steinberg and
Mayor Burk
Nay: None
Vote: 7-0
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Item b.
COUNCIL MEETING April 13, 2021
2 | P a g e
6. ADOPTING THE MEETING AGENDA
MOTION 2021-073
On a motion by Vice Mayor Martinez, seconded by Council Member Cummings, the meeting
agenda was moved for approval.
The motion was approved by the following vote:
Aye: Bagdasarian, Cummings, Fox, Nacy, Steinberg, Vice Mayor Martinez and Mayor
Burk
Nay: None
Vote: 7-0
7. CERTIFICATES OF RECOGNITION
a. None.
8. PRESENTATION OF PROCLAMATIONS
a. Sexual Assault Awareness Month
Mayor Burk read the proclamation for Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
b. Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day
Mayor Burk and Council Member Bagdasarian read the proclamation for
Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day.
c. Arbor Day
Mayor Burk read the proclamation for Arbor Day and presented it to Tree
Commission Chair Earl Hower. Mr. Hower made a few remarks.
9. PRESENTATIONS
a. Planning Commission Annual Report
Planning Commission Chair Gigi Robinson presented Council with the
annual report for the Planning Commission.
10. REGIONAL COMMISSION REPORTS
a. None.
11. PETITIONERS
The Petitioner's Section was opened at 7:18 p.m.
Michelle Thomas. Spoke to Council regarding the Sycolin Cemetery
Memorandum of Understanding with the Loudoun Freedom Center and requested
Council reconsider its position on not including drainage improvements to the
donated parcel as part of the agreement and stated her reasons why she felt they
should be included.
46
Item b.
COUNCIL MEETING April 13, 2021
3 | P a g e
Ron Campbell. Spoke to Council regarding the Sycolin Cemetery
Memorandum of Understanding with the Loudoun Freedom Center and requested
Council delay a vote on the agreement of the donated parcel until the drainage issue
can be resolved. Mr. Campbell felt that the issue was misrepresented and requested
additional time and consideration until the issue could be resolved.
The Petitioner's Section was closed at 7:29 p.m.
12. APPROVAL OF THE CONSENT AGENDA
MOTION 2021-074
On a motion by Vice Mayor Martinez, seconded by Council Member Cummings, the
following consent agenda was proposed:
a. Replacement of the Digester Boiler at the Water Pollution Control Facility
RESOLUTION 2021-050
Approving a Task Order for the Replacement of the Digester Boiler at the
Water Pollution Control Facility to FJ Industrial LLC in the amount of
$264,318
b. Ida Lee Park Tennis Court Air Structure Project
RESOLUTION 2021-051
Awarding a Contract for the Ida Lee Park Tennis Court Air Structure Project
to Yeadon Domes in the Amount of $1,253,855 and Appropriate Additional
Funding in the amount of $389,500
c. Town Manager’s Employment Contract
Motion to Approve a 4% Pay Increase for the Town Manager Effective April
13, 2021, as Additional Compensation in Accordance with the Town
Manager’s Contract
d. Sexual Assault Awareness Month
Motion to Approve Illumination of the Town Parking Garage April 17
through 21, 2021, for Sexual Assault Awareness Month
e. Extending Airport Remote Control Tower Operating Hours
RESOLUTION 2021-052
Authorizing the Airport Director to Request Extended Control Tower
Operating Hours from the Federal Aviation Administration
47
Item b.
COUNCIL MEETING April 13, 2021
4 | P a g e
The Consent Agenda was approved by the following vote:
Aye: Bagdasarian, Cummings, Fox, Vice Mayor Martinez, Nacy, Steinberg, and
Mayor Burk
Nay: None
Vote: 7-0
13. RESOLUTIONS /ORDINANCES / MOTIONS
a. Public Art Exhibit by Goose Creek Ruggers
MOTION 2021-075
On a motion by Vice Mayor Martinez, seconded by Council Member
Bagdasarian, the following was proposed:
RESOLUTION 2021-053
Approval of a Public Art Exhibit at Town Hall by Goose Creek Ruggers
The motion was approved by the following vote:
Aye: Bagdasarian, Cummings, Fox, Vice Mayor Martinez, Nacy, Steinberg and
Mayor Burk
Nay: None
Vote: 7-0
b. Loudoun Museum Lease Amendment
MOTION 2021-076
On a motion by Vice Mayor Martinez, seconded by Council Member
Steinberg, the following was proposed:
RESOLUTION 2021-054
Authorizing the Mayor to Amend the Current Lease between the Town of
Leesburg and Loudoun Museum, Inc.
The motion was approved by the following vote:
Aye: Bagdasarian, Cummings, Fox, Vice Mayor Martinez, Nacy, Steinberg and
Mayor Burk
Nay: None
Vote: 7-0
c. Amendments to Virginia Municipal League Committee Assignments
Due to the requirement that Council Members serve on only one
Virginia Municipal League (VML) Policy Committee, Vice Mayor Martinez
selected to serve on the General Laws Committee and Council Member
Bagdasarian selected to serve on the Community & Economic Development
Committee.
48
Item b.
COUNCIL MEETING April 13, 2021
5 | P a g e
MOTION 2021-077
On a motion by Vice Mayor Martinez, seconded by Council Member
Steinberg, the following was proposed:
RESOLUTION 2021-013 (Amended)
Making Councilmanic Appointments
Council Member Fox expressed a desire to serve on the Human
Development and Education Committee and Council Member Nacy advised
she would be interested in serving on the Transportation Committee. The
motion was amended to add these assignments and to amend Resolution
2021-013 previously adopted on January 12, 2021, to reflect the changes.
The motion was approved by the following vote:
Aye: Bagdasarian, Cummings, Fox, Vice Mayor Martinez, Nacy, Steinberg and
Mayor Burk
Nay: None
Vote: 7-0
d. Community Project Funding Request
MOTION 2021-078
On a motion by Council Member Fox, seconded by Council Member Nacy,
the following was proposed:
RESOLUTION 2021-055
Submitting a Prioritized List of Community Project Funding Requests to
Federal Agencies
The motion was approved by the following vote:
Aye: Bagdasarian, Cummings, Fox, Vice Mayor Martinez, Nacy, Steinberg and
Mayor Burk
Nay: None
Vote: 7-0
e. Motion to Approve the Proclamation for National Drinking Water
Week
MOTION 2021-079
On a motion by Mayor Burk, seconded by Council Member Fox, the following was
proposed:
I move to approve the Proclamation for National Drinking Water to be proclaimed at
the April 27, 2021, Council Meeting
49
Item b.
COUNCIL MEETING April 13, 2021
6 | P a g e
The motion was approved by the following vote:
Aye: Bagdasarian, Cummings, Fox, Nacy, Steinberg, Vice Mayor Martinez and
Mayor Burk
Nay: None
Vote: 7-0
14. PUBLIC HEARINGS
a. Authorizing the Issuance of General Obligation Bonds and Award of a
Contract to Finance the Capital Asset Replacement Program
The Public Hearing was opened at 7:37 p.m.
Mr. David Rose, Senior Vice President and Co-Head of Public Finance with
Davenport & Company, presented Council with the results of the General
Obligation Bond Request for Proposals and recommendation for award to Truist for
a contract to finance the Town’s Capital Asset Replacement Program.
Public Speakers:
There were no public speakers.
The public hearing was closed at 7:39 p.m.
Council, Mr. Rose and Mr. Case discussed the request for proposals and the
options available to the Town. Mr. Rose also reviewed the timeline of events.
MOTION 2021-080
On a motion by Vice Mayor Martinez, seconded by Council Member Fox, the
following was proposed:
RESOLUTION 2021-056
Authorizing the Issuance of General Obligation Bonds and Award of a Contract to
Finance the Capital Asset Replacement Program
The motion was approved by the following vote:
Aye: Bagdasarian, Cummings, Fox, Vice Mayor Martinez, Nacy, Steinberg, and
Mayor Burk
Nay: None
Vote: 7-0
15. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
a. None.
16. NEW BUSINESS
a. None.
50
Item b.
COUNCIL MEETING April 13, 2021
7 | P a g e
17. COUNCIL DISCLOSURES AND COMMENTS / ADDITIONS TO
FUTURE MEETINGS
Council Member Fox disclosed a meeting with Ms. Jennifer Smith regarding the
INMED School project at Paxton.
Council Member Steinberg disclosed a meeting with Ms. Jennifer Smith regarding
the INMED project.
Council Member Cummings disclosed a meeting with Mr. Mike McLister regarding
his projects.
Council Member Bagdasarian noted that he and the Mayor met with representatives
from the Commission on Public Art and Parks and Recreation to discuss the need for a
Black History mural in the Town of Leesburg.
Vice Mayor Martinez requested a Work Session discussion on Affordable Dwelling
Units (ADUs) and workforce housing. Mr. Dentler confirmed with Vice Mayor Martinez
that the timing of the Work Session discussion would be after the Town Plan was presented
to Council.
It was the consensus of Council to add this item to a future Work Session.
18. MAYOR DISCLOSURES AND COMMENTS / ADDITIONS TO FUTURE
MEETINGS
Mayor Burk disclosed she met with Ms. Jennifer Smith to discuss the
INMED project. Mayor Burk welcomed Robin’s Hair Salon and Makeup to
Leesburg. Mayor Burk said she met with Council Member Bagdasarian and
members of COPA and Ms. Carmen Felder to identify an area for placement of a
mural for Black History. Mayor Burk noted Chair Randall held a press conference
where she received her first vaccine as did other members of the Board of
Supervisors and members of the Coalition of Loudoun Town’s (COLT) Mayors.
Mayor Burk noted she was called for jury duty but ultimately was not selected.
Mayor Burk said that the Loudoun Museum held a special reception for its opening
and said it was phenomenal. Mayor Burk remarked that she joined the
Environmental Advisory Commission for Keep Leesburg Beautiful and let residents
know that if they want to participate, to call the Town to receive a tote bag, garbage
bags, gloves and a safety vest. Mayor Burk added that she attended the Islamic
Association of Auxiliary Women roundtable discussion to talk about
discrimination, equality and peace.
19. TOWN MANAGER COMMENTS
a. None.
20. CLOSED SESSION
a. None.
51
Item b.
COUNCIL MEETING April 13, 2021
8 | P a g e
21. ADJOURNMENT
On a motion by Council Member Steinberg, seconded by Council Member Bagdasarian, the
meeting was adjourned at 8:01 p.m.
__________________________
Kelly Burk, Mayor
Town of Leesburg
ATTEST:
_______________________
Clerk of Council
2021_tcmin0413
52
Item b.
Page 1| April 13, 2021
April 13, 2021 – Town Council Meeting
(Note: This is a transcript prepared by a Town contractor based on the video of the meeting. It
may not be entirely accurate. For greater accuracy, we encourage you to review the video of the
meeting that is on the Town’s Web site – www.leesburgva.gov or refer to the approved Council
meeting minutes. Council meeting videos are retained for three calendar years after a meeting
per Library of Virginia Records Retention guidelines.)
Mayor Kelly Burk: Call to order. Today is April 13th, 2021, Town Council meeting. If anyone in the room
needs hearing assistance, please see the Clerk. Council Member Fox will be giving the invocation and
Council Member Steinberg will be doing the Pledge of Allegiance. Council Member Fox.
Council Member Suzanne Fox: Father, we come this hour asking for a blessing and assistance as we
assemble, and we pray for guidance in the matters at hand and ask for your help to help us conduct
our work with a spirit of integrity and enthusiasm, kindness and respect. Please give us the desire to
find ways to excel at our service in a way that uplifts those under the stewardship. We say these things
in thy name. Amen.
Mayor Burk: Mr. Steinberg.
Council Members: –to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty
and justice for all.
Mayor Burk: Members of the public can now participate in Council meetings electronically. Any
member of the public that wishes to participate in the public portion of the meeting should log onto
Webex or call into the telephone number listed on the top of the published agenda. Let the record reflect
that all members of Council are present tonight. We have two sets of minutes. We have the work session
minutes from March 22nd, 2021. Do I have a motion?
Vice Mayor Fernando “Marty” Martinez: So moved.
Mayor Burk: So moved by Vice Mayor Martinez. Second?
Council Member Neil Steinberg: Second.
Mayor Burk: Seconded by Council Member Steinberg. All in favor? Opposed? That's seven, zero.
Regular session minutes of March 23rd, 2021. Do I have a motion?
Vice Mayor Martinez: So moved.
Mayor Burk: Moved by Mr. Martinez. Second?
Council Member Ara Bagdasarian: Second.
Mayor Burk: Seconded by Mr. Bagdasarian. All in favor indicate by saying aye. Opposed? That's
seven, zero. Do I have a motion to adopt the meeting agenda?
Vice Mayor Martinez: So moved.
Mayor Burk: So moved by Vice Mayor. Second?
Council Member Zach Cummings: Second.
Mayor Burk: Seconded by Council Member Cummings. Is there any additions or deletions to the
meeting agenda? All right. All in favor indicate by saying aye. Opposed? Seven, Zero. We have no
certificates of recognition, but we do have three proclamations for tonight. The first one, I don't see Dr.
Hanley. Let me read it out. She was going to accept it. Well, let me do the other ones. Well, I don't see
Mr. [unintelligible] either. Okay, we'll do this one. [laughs]
53
Item b.
Page 2| April 13, 2021
Eileen Boeing: Madam Mayor.
Mayor Burk: Yes.
Eileen Boeing: Mr. Hower is coming upstairs from the Tree Commission, so he may be just a moment.
Mayor Burk: Okay. I'm giving you a copy. Mr. Bagdasarian is going to help me with this one. This is
the Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day April 24th, 2021. Whereas Armenian Genocide
Remembrance Day is held on April 24th of every year and commemorates the forgotten genocide of 1.5
million Armenians between 1915 and 1920 by the hands of the Ottoman Turks. Whereas between the
years of 1915 and 1920 ethnic Armenians were systematically tortured, crucified, raped, deported,
marched, and starved to death, amounting to estimated casualties of 1.5 million and a significant
reduction of the Armenian geographic inhabitants, and whereas it is paramount to reflect upon genocide
and human tragedy given that memory fades with time, and Whereas the sustained deniance of the
Armenian genocide perpetuates the global incomprehension of crimes against humanity in Armenia
and elsewhere, and Whereas, despite a drastic reduction in the Armenian population, people of
Armenian descent have made beneficial, collaborative and important contributions to the communities
in the United States of America, the Commonwealth of Virginia and the Town of Leesburg. Would you
read the next paragraph, Mr. Bagdasarian?
Council Member Bagdasarian: Whereas the Town of Leesburg recognizes several individuals
including Barbara Notar, Anna Agadjanian Ortiz, Pamela Tossounian, Lala Ridgeway, Joe Yeglic, and
Richard Koochagian who is here this evening, Edrick and Eva Bagdasarian to receive the Armenian
Genocide Remembrance Day proclamation.
Mayor Burk: Therefore proclaimed, that the Mayor and the Council of the Town of Leesburg, Virginia,
recognize April 24th, 2021, as Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day. We urge the public to be
conscious of human atrocities and motivate other governments, local and State to unify in a collective
reminiscence of the 1.5 million Armenians who have perished proclaimed this 13th day of April, 2021.
These will be mailed to the individuals that were mentioned. Thank you. Mr. Bagdasarian for bringing
that forward. Can I get the stint that one? Thank you. Mr. Hudler is still not here. Let's see if we can get
this one done.
Sexual Assault Awareness Month, April, 2021. Whereas April is sexual assault awareness month, a
time to draw attention to the prevalence of sexual assault and to educate individuals and communities
on prevention. Whereas sexual harassment, abuse and assault are widespread spread problem. In the
United States alone, nearly one in five women and 1 in 67 men have been raped at some point in their
lives. One in six boys and one in four girls are sexually abused before the age of 18.
Whereas sexual harassment, assault and abuse happens in all communities. That includes online
spaces. We are spending more and more of our lives online whether that's for work, school or
entertainment. Unfortunately, with this increase in viral connection comes an increase in online abuse
and harassment. Consent and boundaries can be violated online in a number of ways. The trauma of
online abuse is too real for many survivors.
Whereas each of us has the power to change that. We can all make a difference to ensure that our
online communities are safe and respectful to everyone. Whereas 2021 marks the 20th anniversary of
the sexual assault awareness month. The theme of this year's campaign is we can build safe online
spaces. The campaign calls on us to create online spaces that are built on the foundational value of
practicing consent, keeping kids safe and supporting survivors.
Whereas we welcome Judy Hanley the Executive Director of Loudoun Abused Women's Shelter to
accept this proclamation. LAWS is a designated domestic violence and sexual assault crisis center in
Leesburg and Loudoun County. Acts of violence can happen to anyone regardless of age, gender, race,
religion, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status. The mission of LAWS is to provide victims of
domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse with safety, hope and empowerment services to live
as survivors free from the effects of violence.
Therefore the Mayor and the Council of the Town of Leesburg, Virginia commit to support the increased
understanding of the impact of sexual violence on victims of all ages. We join advocates and
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communities across the nation and preventing sexual assault. Together we can build safe spaces now
and into the future that are free from any sexual violence proclaimed this 13th day of April, 2021. I still
don't see Judy.
Eileen Boeing: Ma'am, Mr. Hower just arrived.
Mayor Burk: Oh yes. Okay. Let me see if I can find the-- got moved in all of – there it is. Next, we have
Arbor Day. Whereas in 1872, J. Sterling Morton proposed to the Nebraska Board of Architecture--
Agriculture, not architecture, Agriculture that a special day should be set aside for the planting of trees.
Whereas this special day called Arbor Day was first observed with the planting of more than a million
trees in Nebraska. Whereas trees provide many benefits to our community such as reducing the erosion
of top soil, moderating temperatures, reducing heat and cooling costs, cleaning the air in the water.
Whereas trees also provide oxygen and provide a habitat for wildlife.
Whereas planting trees and maintaining mature trees in our Town increases property values. Enhances
the economic vitality of our local businesses and beautifies our community. Whereas the Town of
Leesburg has been recognized by the National Arbor Day Foundation as Tree City USA community
since 1989 and desires to continue our tradition of tree planting and tree maintenance.
Therefore proclaimed by the Mayor and the Town Council of Leesburg, Virginia, that April 30th, 2021 is
the official Arbor Day of the Town of Leesburg 2021. Proclaimed this 13th day of April, 2021. I will take
this down and present this to Mr. Hower. Thank you very much for coming in today. You serve on the
Tree Commission and so it's very appropriate that we give this one to you. Would you like to say a few
words about Arbor Day and what it really means? We're not on camera. It doesn't sound like these are
on. Go ahead.
Earl Hower: Thank you, Madam Mayor. Again, my name is Earl Hower the chair of the Tree
Commission. We're actually in the process of having a meeting right now in the basement. I was able
to step away and let the Vice-Chair take over the meeting for the time being. I just want to express our
appreciation on behalf of the residents and citizens of the Town and the Council for their dedication in
helping promote tree preservation and planting the trees like the comment about the million trees and
planting grass when you plant a million.
Mayor Burk: That would be fabulous.
Earl Hower: Again to help provide the healthy diverse tree canopy which really has effective benefits
to all of us who live here and who visit the Town. Thank you again.
Mayor Burk: That's true. Thank you very much for all you do.
Earl Hower: I hope to see everybody at the Flower and Garden Festival. Come on by a Tree
Commission booth. We are giving away persimmon trees this year.
Mayor Burk: Persimmons? Great. Well, thank you very much, and thanks for what you do.
Earl Hower: Thank you.
Mayor Burk: Are there any regional commission reports at this point? The only one I have is the weekly-
- Yes.
Council Member Steinberg: Mayor, we have a presentation.
Mayor Burk: Oh, I always overlook presentations. Ms. Robinson, would you like to come forward and
give your presentation here? Thank you, Mr. Steinberg, I would have moved on without you.
Gigi Robinson: I have never worked one of these before so I don't know quite how to do it. You all
have it in your packets so you can I guess follow along. Take one of these.
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Mayor Burk: Could you put your microphones down? Not to say that you're short and could you keep
your mask on? Thank you.
Gigi Robinson: Madam Mayor, Vice Mayor, Council, staff, good evening. My name is Gigi Robinson.
I'm a member of the Planning Commission and would like to present the Commission's 2020 activities.
Hey, technology is great. We had a number of interesting applications last year. The expansion of the
Catoctin Elementary school was one of them. During the review of the application, it came to light that
the neighbors were adversely affected by existing drainage in planting, the school administration worked
with them and corrected the situation.
The Premium Outlet Mall brought forth a rezoning to add kiosks to the ordinance. While the Planning
Commission didn't feel these additions were supportive of the brick and mortar sales, the Council had
seen this in a different light. They felt that the kiosks would nurture businesses just starting out and was
worth the gamble. The Gateway District was a wonderful collaboration between the BAR and the
Planning Commission. As part of that group, I was able to learn a great deal of architectural terms and
nuances, the work defined the gradual decrease of the historical influence, as the various gateways
radiated away from the Town center and took on newer and different building requirements.
I think that the BAR now has good guidelines to evaluate applications in that overlay district, further
supported by the Zoning Ordinance updates. The Planning Commission will need to flesh out the street
design section later. The Eastern Gateway Small Area Plan was an effort to take a finite area and very
finely tune what the Town expected from anyone that offers to build there. It will be lifted intact into the
new Legacy Leesburg.
We had 25 scheduled meetings and the Commission attended 15 of them. The rest were called for lack
of applications due to COVID. Unfortunately, COVID has presented P & Z, Finance and other
departments were working on a capital intensity factor and it also precluded work on Appendix B offsite
transportation costs data. Both the Commission and the Council need these instruments to evaluate
rezonings but now that the budget is over, lastly, the comprehensive plan. The Commission's digging
into this draft, we will continue to devote our time and effort to refining it for use by the Town. The rest
of the departments in commissions are working on their ideas and directive. When ready, they will send
those to us for review and inclusions. The Planning Commission appreciates your support and time.
Thank you.
Mayor Burk: Thank you, Ms. Robinson. Does anybody have any questions for Ms. Robinson at this
point? I do want to point out that while Ms. Robinson is the Chair at this point, we are on Ms. Nacy was
the Chair for part of the time and appreciate everybody's work on this most certainly there's a lot that's
in here and a lot that went on and there's a lot waiting in line to be dealt with. Thank you very much. It's
nice to know that we have a Planning Commission that's so good at what they do that we know that
what comes forward has really been reviewed. Thank you very much and please extend that to the
other Planning Commissioners.
Gigi Robinson: Thanks to all of you.
Mayor Burk: All right. Now, this does take us to the Petitioner section. One of the first orders of business
is to hear from the public. All members of the public are welcome to address Council on any item matter
or issue. Please identify yourself and if comfortable doing so give your address for the taped record.
Any public speaker will be requested to state their name and spell it for the purpose of closed captioning.
In the interest of fairness, we also asked you to observe the five-minute time limit.
For those participating in person or on WebEx, the green light on the timer will turn yellow at the end of
four minutes indicating you have one minute remaining. At that time, we would appreciate your summing
up and yielding the floor when the bell indicates your time has expired. For those participating on the
phone, you will hear a bell when your time is up.
Under the rules of orders adopted by this Council, the five-minute time limit applies to all. Council is
now able to hear from members of the public remotely. Once we have heard from everyone who is
present in the room, we will hear from members of the public on the phone or WebEx. We have one
person here at speaking signed up today and it's Pastor Michelle Thomas.
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Pastor Michelle Thomas: Thank you so much for holding this public session tonight. I am very
interested in speaking to you guys in regards to the Sycolin Cemetery. On last night you guys held a
work session and where you discussed the disposition of the cemetery. There are some issues that that
you should be brought up to speed with. First of all, for the last five years, almost, we've been working
to preserve and protect the cemetery. When the Loudoun Freedom Center happened upon this
cemetery, we found it abandoned, discarded. We found it filled with deer carcass and trash piled up.
We worked together with the Town to clean it up along with our neighbors and community to get this
property clean. We've worked alongside of the Town to get it to a good preservation state.
I am pleased to report that we're probably 90% of the way done. It all has not been very comfortable
working with the Town, but I am very pleased that we're going to get possession. We literally have 10%
of the way done. The only thing that's left is to deal with our drainage problem. There's a drainage
problem that I would say further compromised by the path that was laid by the Town. When you lay a
path anywhere in the Town and the County, you lay a path you normally create some storm drainage
for runoff.
In this case, there was no storm drainage created so that the graves on the cemetery constantly
overflows. This is not a new problem. This was a problem that we found when we rediscovered the
cemetery but it's been further compromised. In other words, if the Town has caused any damage to the
property, then it is the Town's responsibility to fix the problem. I don't care if the problem costs $1 or
$100,000, or in this case, up to $200,000. There's no price that you can put on doing the right thing to
preserve what we would call Loudoun's most endangered properties.
We understand that this property is not of just people with means, but these are our most vulnerable
citizens. Those who paid the hefty price of enslavement. In other words, the descendants are often
people who do not have means. It is a heavy lift to impose a issue of $200,000 to further drive in debt
the Loudoun Freedom Center. This is not something that we created. This is something that you
created, so if you broke it, you got to fix it.
I don't feel like it's necessary for us to keep beating a dead horse or drag a dead issue. It's simply a
matter of if you care about preservation, then, and you install pathways and the pathways didn't have
drainage's systems in there, then you must go back and do that work. I do not see what's hard about
that. I do not see what's difficult about it, it's straightforward.
The issue is, do you find it important to preserve this cemetery just like you would preserve any other
cemetery, the cemeteries where your parents or grandparents may lay. You wouldn't like to see your
parents' or grandparents' graves over flooded. You have a position where you can do better. I believe
that the Town has worked together for the last five years trying to do better. Let's get across the finish
line.
There's not much more to say here, except for, I feel as if those people who've given their lives and
certainly, they didn't want to, they were forced into slavery. The very least that we can do is give them
the dignity in their death that they didn't get in their lifetime. You cannot tell me $200,000 or $100,000
is too much to give honor to those who gave so much to this country.
I am Pastor Michelle Thomas. I believe that we can do better. I'm here to work with the Town, but I will
hold you accountable as you are accountable. This is a created issue by the Town. I appreciate you
guys listening. I look forward to working together to get this goalpost across the line and honor the
African-American people who are laid to rest at Sycolin. Thank you.
Mayor Burk: Thank you, Ms. Thomas. There is nobody else signed up to speak. Is there anybody on
Webex that is interested in speaking?
Keith Markel: Madam Mayor, we have one member in public online on Webex. Mr. Campbell, I will
unmute you and your five minutes will begin.
Ronald Campbell: Thank you. Members of Council, good evening. My name is Ron Campbell. I live at
812 Fort MacLeod Terrace, Leesburg, Virginia. I'm a 20 year resident of the Town. I bring a unique
perspective to the conversation about Sycolin Cemetery tonight. In 2015, I was a citizen then I became
a Council Member and now I'm the Executive Director of the Loudoun Freedom Center.
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I have seen this property abandoned, trashed, uncared for, and neglected as Pastor Thomas described.
I've also seen a Town work with the Loudoun Freedom Center, by members of Council and not just
staff. It is unfortunate that tonight we come as petitioners and not as partners, and we have to find a
way to solve that problem because the issues in front of us that were presented last night, I believe can
be resolved, but from a perspective of understanding what the situation is, I wonder how many of the
Council Members have actually been on the site within the last two or three years, and really understand
what we're talking about as an additional problem, not a situation of flooding as described last night,
that we were asking as Loudoun Freedom Center for the Town to resolve.
We were not asking the Town to resolve the flooding problem in the entire gravesite. That was a
misrepresentation. We were only simply asking the Town to repair the damage that it caused, which it
admitted it caused and how do we fix that? I don't know the price of that repair, I would think, but as far
less than the estimates that you were given and under the proper supervision of preservationists, and
maybe archeologists, I don't think there's any penetration into the gravesite itself again, as was
misrepresented last night.
The Loudoun Freedom Center was established to lead and to aid in efforts for the preservation of
history, artifacts, churches, schools, and cemeteries in Loudoun County. We were established to really
look at sharing the inclusive history of African-American families and their contributions to Loudoun
County, and certainly where our descendants lay and rest is no small measure of that effort of telling
the history. This isn't something that I don't believe the Town took lightly or the Loudoun Freedom
Center took lightly. I only asked that together in a unified partnership that we speak to each other about
what the problem really is, not from a distance, but from on-site, and then understand the resolution.
The Loudoun Freedom Center again is only asking for a proper repair to the gravel path, not a flood
mitigation of the entire cemetery as was shared with you last night. I believe that Pastor used the right
terminology. It's not unreasonable that if you caused the damage that you fix it. I hope that the Council
will also make allowance for real conversation with Council and not just the Town staff.
I do believe again that sometimes as we've come together, trying to understand these issues from two
different perspectives and those perspectives never speak to you at the same time, it does a disservice
to what we're trying to do. It does a disservice to our community and what they understand, and it
misrepresents the peaceful intent of both parties. If both parties desire to do the right thing, the right
thing must be done then by both parties together and not simple conversation. I call it simple about
what precedent may or may not be set.
I served on Council long enough to know that other entities also get favorable or special treatment.
They get financial allowances and accommodations or whatever it is that the Council would like to do.
In terms of setting precedent, I don't believe that this one is a precedent. If the Town made it very clear
that they didn't want to be in the cemetery business and the preservation business, we made it very
clear The Loudoun Freedom Center, that's our business. Let's finish the business. I don't believe that a
scheduled public hearing is important or proper until we have this issue resolved. I hope that you will
take our words to heart. Thank you very much.
Mayor Burk: Is there anyone else? Thank you, Mr. Campbell. Was there anyone else on the line?
Keith Markel: We have no other callers, Madam Mayor.
Mayor Burk: Is there anybody else in the audience that didn't get a chance to speak that would like to
speak? That being the case, I will close the petitioner section for tonight. That moves us to the approval.
I am going to read the Consent items and then ask for a motion and ask if anybody at that point would
like to remove anything from the Consent Agenda. The first one is 12A, Replacement of a Digester
Boiler at the Water Pollution Control Facility. B is Ida Lee Park Tennis Court Air Structure Project. C is
Town Manager's Employee Contract. D is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. E is Extended Airport
Remote Control Tower Operation Hours. Do I have a motion? Moved by Vice Mayor. Second?
Council Member Cummings: Second.
Mayor Burk: Seconded by Council Member Cummings. Is there anything anybody wants removed? All
right. Then we are doing A, B, C, D, and E on 12. All in favor, indicate by saying aye. Opposed? That
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passes seven zero. All right. That takes us to our resolutions. Do I have a motion to accept the Public
Art Exhibit by Goose Creek Rutgers? Moved by Vice Mayor Martinez. Second?
Council Member Bagdasarian: Second.
Mayor Burk: Seconded by Council Member Bagdasarian. All in favor, indicate by saying aye. That's
seven zero. The Loudoun Museum Lease Agreement. Do I have a motion to accept that? Moved by
Vice Mayor Martinez. Second?
Council Member Steinberg: Second.
Mayor Burk: Seconded by Council Member Steinberg. Is there any discussion on this? All right. All in
favor indicate by saying aye. Opposed? Seven zero. Amendment to the Virginia Municipal League
Committee Assignment. We have two members that were very generous of their time and offered to be
on two commissions. The VML only allows one.
Vice Mayor Martinez, you volunteered very generously to be on General Laws or Transportation. Which
one would you prefer to be on?
Vice Mayor Martinez: General Laws.
Mayor Burk: General Laws. All right. Mr. Bagdasarian you were generous enough to volunteer to be
on the committee and Economic Development committee or the Community, or Economic Development
Committee or the Human Development and Education committee, which one of those would you like to
be on?
Council Member Bagdasarian: The Economic and Development Committee.
Mayor Burk: The Community and Economic Development Committee. All right. We will make those
changes. Now, do I have a motion to accept the amendment to the Virginia Municipal League
Committee assignment or this moved by Mr. Martinez? Second, seconded by Council Member
Steinberg. All in favor, indicate by saying, Aye.
Council Members: Aye.
Mayor Burk: Opposed? Seven zero.
Eileen Boeing: Excuse me, ma'am. Is there someone who is taking those positions, the other
positions?
Mayor Burk: No, because we've all been assigned except maybe--
Council Member Fox: Yes, I [unintelligible]
Mayor Burk: I'm sorry, which one would you like to do?
Council Member Fox: I'd be interested in the Human Development and Education.
Mayor Burk: You would be interested in doing Human Development and Education Committee. Thank
you for pointing that out and thank you for stepping up. We will amend that to include Council Member
Fox. The amended changes are Mr. Bagdasarian is going to do the Community and Economic
Development.
Mr. Martinez is going to do General Laws. Ms. Fox is going to do the Human Development and
Education Committee. I'm going to ask for another vote because we voted only on the two. That’s a
move by Mr. Martinez, seconded by-- Yes.
Eileen Boeing: There's still one more position to fill. It's for Transportation.
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Mayor Burk: Yes, but we've all taken a position.
Council Member Nacy: I'll do it. I can do Transportation.
Mayor Burk: You already signed up for one, didn't you?
Eileen Boeing: No, ma'am she says she didn’t.
Mayor Burk: Oh, you didn't? Okay, then we got it all filled then. I thought everybody had signed up.
Eileen Boeing: Now we can revote, yes.
Mayor Burk: I think Mr. Martinez made the motion.
Chris Spera: [crosstalk] move on the amended motion.
Mayor Burk: We're moving on the amended motion to add Ms. Nacy, Ms. Fox, Mr. Bagdasarian, and
Mr. Martinez to the assigned committees. I'm not repeating them again. All in favor, indicate by saying
aye.
Council Members: Aye.
Mayor Burk: Opposed? Okay, that passes. Thank you all. Community Project Funding Request,
submitting a prioritized list of community project funding requests for the Federal agencies. We came
up with that last night. We talked about it last night. We have chosen the 10, but we have three that we-
- Let me get to it, I'm sorry.
Here we are, community funding. The three projects that we identified as our priorities, I'm looking for
them in the report.
Kaj Dentler: [inaudible]
Mayor Burk: I don't see it anywhere in the report.
Kaj Dentler: You have the Police station.
Mayor Burk: Right, it was the Police station, Lawson Road and Town Branch at Morven Park. Not
Morven Park.
[crosstalk]
Mayor Burk: No, it’s Mosby Drive, which is next to Morven Park. The list of the other ones.
Kaj Dentler: Those are your top three and then all the other seven--
Mayor Burk: Okay, now I see it. It's in the resolution. Then the other ones were Routes 15 Bypass, the
MC3 Mobile Command and Communication Center, Veterans’ Park, Evergreen Mill Road, North
Hanger Area Development, Western Pressure Zone Pump Station generator, and land acquisition north
of Ida Lee. Those are the 10, but we have three that we prioritized as our top three. Do I have a motion
to accept those?
Council Member Fox: So moved.
Mayor Burk: Moved by Council Member Fox, is there a second? Council Member Nacy. All in favor
indicate by--
Vice Mayor Martinez: May I make a suggested amendment--
Mayor Burk: What is that?
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Vice Mayor Martinez: -or a friendly amendment? Is I thought our discussion number nine was going
to move up to number one.
Mayor Burk: Number nine was going to move up to number one?
Vice Mayor Martinez: The Police expansion, Police station expansion.
Kaj Dentler: Police expansion was number one.
Mayor Burk: That’s number one.
Kaj Dentler: That was number one. Lawson Road is number two. Number three is Town Branch.
[crosstalk]
Mayor Burk: Mosby Drive is number three.
Vice Mayor Martinez: The reason I'm asking is in this resolution, you have it back as number nine.
Mayor Burk: No, in the resolution. It’s number one, is the Police station, two is the Lawson Road, three
is Town branch.
Vice Mayor Martinez: Okay, I'm looking at a revised resolution. Maybe I'm looking at the old.
Council Member Bagdasarian: I think you're looking at the old. I think the other seven are listed but
they're not ranked only the top three are ranked.
Vice Mayor Martinez: Thank you.
Mayor Burk: All right. All in favor indicate by saying aye.
Council Members: Aye.
Mayor Burk: Opposed, the passed 7-0. Okay, we have a motion to approve a proclamation for National
Drinking Water Week. I'll move that since I sponsored it. Is there a second?
Council Member Fox: Yes
Mayor Burk: Second by Council-- somebody over this way, Council Member Fox, sorry. All in favor
indicate by saying aye.
Council Members: Aye.
Mayor Burk: Opposed? 7-0. Okay. Now we have a public hearing. Our public hearings. The first public
hearing, I call to order this April 13th, 2021 public hearing on Leesburg Town Council. Unless there is
an objection I will dispense with the reading of the advertisement. If you wish to speak I ask that you
either sign up on the sheet in the hallway outside of Council Chamber, but if you did not get the
opportunity to sign up, I will give you the opportunity to speak. We will also provide remote public
participation for callers on the phone or on WebEx.
In all cases, please identify yourself and if comfortable give your address for the taped record. Also,
you need to please spell your name for the caption. In the interest of fairness, we also ask you to
observe the five-minute time limit. For those participating in person and on WebEx, the green light in
front of you will turn yellow at the end of four minutes indicating that you have one minute remaining. At
that time, we would appreciate your summing up and yielding the floor when the bell indicates your time
has expired.
For those participating on phone, you will hear a bell when your time has expired. Under the Rules of
Order adopted by this Council, the five-minute time limit applies to all citizens. However, rather than
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have numerous citizens making remarks on behalf of a group, the Council will allow a spokesperson
for the group a few extra minutes. In that instance, we would ask speakers when they sign up to indicate
their status as spokesperson, the group they represent, and the request for additional time. Our
procedure for the public hearing is as follows.
First, there's a brief presentation by staff about the item before us. Second, members of the public that
have signed up to speak will be called and given five minutes to make their comments. The public
hearing item on the agenda tonight is for the Authorizing the Issuance of the General Obligation Bonds
and Award of the Contract to Finance the Capital Asset Replacement Program. Mr. Rose welcome.
David Rose: Yes, Mayor. Thank you for allowing me to speak this evening. Again, I'm going to be
talking on behalf of the Town staff as financial advisor to this wonderful Town. Very briefly, as you know,
we have mentioned last time I was here that we were looking at being more efficient and strategic as it
relates to your capital asset replacement programs, and as such, we've had a program in place since
2017. That is expiring next year, Bank of America has indicated they are no longer interested in doing
that.
Nevertheless, we were looking at some ways to make it more strategic, more cost-effective, and also
to streamline the time and expense of your staff. As a result of that, we're here tonight asking you to
approve this public hearing in that amount there as you can see, which would last for several years.
With that being said we had several objectives when we started to dive into this. One of those was a
just-in-time funding approach so that we would not be paying needlessly on any monies that we did not
need and did not have.
The second, we wanted to make sure the amortization of the various projects were set up in such a
way-- Let me put this here higher, sorry. Amortization of projects was such a way that we were tying it
to the useful life of the projects and no longer than that. Then lastly, recognizing that the rating agencies
look at this debt, whether it's called debt or not really they do look at it as debt. We might as well give
you the lowest cost of money, and that is the general obligation, which we have considerable capacity
as a Town.
What we did when a competitive process, and on that Tuesday, February 23rd, we put out a request
for proposal. We sent it out to a large number over two dozen local, regional, national, learning
institutions, must have talked to a dozen of them and found that at the end of the day, so much were
busy, the size, what have you and the nature of what we're trying to do is somewhat unique, and so we
ended up with two bids. TD bank and Truist Equipment Finance Corp, which you may recall has just
been created from BB&T and SunTrust as a combination. We might've had three bids, but those folks
together are now Truist. The good news, we've received a bid that we feel very good about. It was even
better than the estimates that we had and so what I thought I would do is just spend a moment or two
and tell you a little bit about that bid. That's what, again, hopefully you'll approve tonight.
It is about $13.5 million dollars over six years, but it does not require us, us meaning the Town to actually
borrow that amount of money. We borrow what we need basically when we need it and that was one of
the strong positives of Truist. In addition, as we indicated, there'll be a series of pieces of equipment
and other purposeful needs that lasts at least two years, that would be borrowed anywhere from 5 to
10 years. Again, the timing of that would tie directly back to the useful life of that equipment.
Then we received a rate formula for both the 5-year and the 10-year that would stay throughout the
entire time frame. The 5-year starts though, when we do a first draw in May at a 1.46. So that's set right
now, and then the 10-year, if there's any 10-year money that we want would be a 2.29%. We know right
now exactly what the rate will be, and we do not have to borrow a certain set amount. In addition,
prepayment, as you can see there, we're able to prepay it.
There is descending penalty and after four years or three years, actually the fourth year, there is no
penalty. We thought that was also very positive and then finally there was nominal costs by the bank to
do any legal work. With all of that and if we get your blessing, we will close on May 18th and that's the
plan there. With that said, we're recommending Truist, as we said, provides us that fixed rate at the
draw of closing, and we can decide exactly when I say we, the Town, how much they want to draw
based upon what your needs are.
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Again, the prepayment flexibility is important and the 5 and 10-year amortizing options are equally
important. I point out by the way that we do not have to have, for example, half being 5-year and half
being 10 years. We can do whatever we want based upon what you are actually borrowing for. Last
page here, we are looking down this little checklist time frame, and we are here on the 13th asking you
again to hold that public hearing and approve this. We will then work towards closing of the documents
with bond counsel and again, we'll close effectively a little over a month from now some 35 days. With
that, happy to answer any questions. That's our presentation Madam Mayor.
Mayor Burk: Thank you, Mr. Rose, does anybody have any questions. Mr. Bagdasarian?
Council Member Bagdasarian: Just that you mentioned that this request was unique. Is that a form
of a line of credit that's also a bond? What is unique about our request?
David Rose: I think what's unique about-- Not think, I know what's unique about it is really it's the
flexibility. Typically, when you do something like this, you have to be very specific about how many
dollars you're going to borrow, when you're going to borrow it, how many are going to be 5 years or 10
years, or what have you. We, in this situation, we, the Town, because our credit is so good, they feel
very, very good about being very loose and flexible.
They're not worried about having to put aside considerable reserves, for example, to be able to say,
"We're going to allow you to borrow this money and when." That's one of the things banks really struggle
with, is an entity or a person or they give money to, or lend money to, they worry about deteriorating
credit quality. I think for us, we've demonstrated so many years that excellent credit quality that they
are very comfortable with that. That's why I say I think there's some elements of this big unique.
Council Member Bagdasarian: Okay. Thank you,
Mayor Burk: Ms. Fox.
Council Member Fox: Just a real quick question. Very simple. Bank of America did not have this
product and so this is why we went with somebody [crosstalk] even though they weren't going to drop
us anyway, okay.
David Rose: Great question. Number one, the Bank of America product that we have right now is a
different type of product. It's a lease arrangement, which means that every piece of equipment that we
get the Town has to go to DMV and have a title and have it as security. That's really inefficient. I know,
I think that the Manager and your finance staff experts could talk about the hundreds, if not, maybe a
couple thousand hours over the several years that that has taken away from doing other things. That
was the Bank of America product at the time, so we sought to make something that was better.
The second thing is Bank of America has basically said, we're really not interested. It's not maybe
lucrative enough for us to do what you want to do, which is to get away from the idea of having to have
their leasing company turn around and not have any collateral other than the full faith and credit of the
Town. This for us was, the us, when I say I'm talking about collectively us, is really so much more flexible
than that other approach. Now, the other approach was a good approach. Don't get me wrong and it's
what the most typical of what local governments do, but I think for AAA credits that are really very solid
and that they're not worried about, I could see something like this becoming more popular. Absolutely.
Council Member Fox: Okay. Thank you.
Mayor Burk: Mr. Steinberg.
Council Member Steinberg: Out of curiosity, given the Town's credit rating, why is it only two entities
you suppose were interested in working with us?
David Rose: I think there's a couple of reasons, but I will speculate here having talked to many of the
banks. They are so busy right now, the banks, that they really don't care about trying to get creative
and having to do things that don't fit their checks in their boxes. They really don't need to do that, number
one.
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Item b.
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Number two, interestingly enough, when you are AAA the margins for them in terms of profit is much
smaller than if they were to turn around and say, you're a BBB. They may be taking some credit risk
when you're a BBB, but the ability for them to make money if things go well is much more substantial
than for AAA. In reality and in a strange way you're not as profitable for them.
Then lastly, the idea here that we're not bound to have to borrow, for example, two million, three million
every year. It's not overly lucrative for them, and it causes them to have to adjust, let's say the way they
put you into their books and the way they set aside some credit and all of that for their finances. I think
we've ended up getting a good, good bid if we didn't, we would just stay with where we are and do
something of that nature, but the old saying, "It only takes one," and we got one and we like it and it's
a very good bank. We know it's of course it's a new combination, but they've always been really good
with local governments, both BB&T and SunTrust have been very strong.
Council Member Steinberg: Okay. Thank you.
Mayor Burk: Mr. Martinez.
Vice Mayor Martinez: It's nice to see you in-person again after a year or so. Now I know we've done
this several times to save money for the Town on a yearly basis and stuff. Is the margin of doing this
versus not doing this getting to the point where we have nowhere else to go?
David Rose: Mr. Martinez when you say the margin, help me understand what you mean by that.
Vice Mayor Martinez: The margin of saving enough money to make it worth your while to do it again
and again and again, are we reaching that point, or are we at a point where in the Town, as our bonds
are maturing to where you can roll them off, do we have a continuing stack of bonds that are coming by
every year that we can continue to try to do this as long as interest rates?
Clark Case: The primary reason for doing it, Marty is it allows us to borrow the money when we need
it and that means we're not borrowing money until we need it. The big savings is not on the differential
and the interest rate. The big savings is we're not tying the money up. We're not borrowing it before we
need it. We're not paying interest on money that's sitting in the bank account earning less, so we don't
have a negative arbitrage because we borrowed it a one-and-a-half and we're earning 27 basis points
on it in the checking account. [crosstalk] We borrow it just when we need it and that's where the savings
comes from.
Vice Mayor Martinez: I understand all that. I just want to make sure that we don't continue down a path
that maybe it's not worth it anymore, but I understand what you're doing and understand how bonds are
rolling up and off and all that stuff too. As long as you're conscious of it, then I have no worries.
Clark Case: That is exactly why we're doing this is because we looked at the BofA program and we
didn't think the savings were worth the amount of time we were spending sitting at DMV. We said, "This
isn't working for us," I was going to either pull the plug on the whole program or see if we could get a
better deal. We went out, we asked for very favorable terms from the banks that were not typical and
asked them basically give us a lot of concessions so that we could do it this way. The way I told it to
David was, "Let's see if we can get a good bid. If we can, we continue it, otherwise, we'll just pull the
plug on the whole program." That's why we did it was to see if we could make it worthwhile.
Vice Mayor Martinez: Thank you.
Mayor Burk: All right. Mr. Cummings.
Council Member Cummings: Thank you, just quickly, from the Bank of America standpoint versus this
newer financing option, is there a sense of how much the Town will save if any?
David Rose: Go ahead, if you want to do it go ahead.
Clark Case: No.
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Item b.
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David Rose: Okay. I think it's a little bit of apples and oranges. Number one, again, the Bank of America
was more rigid in terms of all of the requirements and the time involved. There is a time cost in value,
so I'm not sure we can absolutely, but in terms of the pure interest rate, because again, this is based
upon a formula. Right now that formula relative to what we had before is very favorable. It's again
because that formula changed as well for Bank of America. We're in the same, we'll call it neighborhood
or ballpark if you would and that was important to us, as well. The combination of that leads us to,
there's going to be no need for Clark and his staff to say, "We need more dollars this year." That's not
the case. It's not because we don't have Bank of America, that's not the case no.
Clark Case: I would add to that, then again, the savings is-- The way Bank of America was structured,
they had a lien on equipment, so they had a secured loan at a fixed rate, and a dollar amount for five
years. We here we're doing a set at the point in which we take the money. While we know what it is
right now, and that's significant over what BofA was doing-- BofA's loan was a secured loan, they had
lien on an asset, these guys have no lien on anything. You really are comparing a different level of risk,
and a different level of financing flexibility. It's a different program but it is a lower rate, but may not be
entirely a fair comparison, because BofA was having to commit their capital for each of the five years
at a set amount for a set number of years.
This program has both 10-year financing involved in it and just 5 year financing, whereas BofA’s was
just five years on secured equipment. It was a little apples and oranges and the reason we're going to
go longer is things like renovations. One of the problems we have with the BofA program was they're
really interested in doing vehicles. They wanted to have cars and trucks, motor graders, that sort of
thing and they did not want to have things like new windows in Town Hall. Our current program will
allow us to replace the generator at Ida Lee, it'll allow us to replace the doors and the windows in Town
Hall and finance that over 10 years because they're going to last a while. However, I don't want to put
a lien on Town Hall and I don't want to put a lien on Ida Lee to Bank of America because they financed
the generator. It made it difficult for us to finance the renovations part of it. It really isn't a fair comparison
because part of its 10-year financing and part of it was versus a 5-year secured financing. Okay, we
believe it's much cheaper.
Mayor Burk: Excuse me. Any other questions? Thank you. Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you. There
is nobody that is signed up to speak. Is there anybody on-- Oh, Miss Nacy, you had a question? Sorry.
Council Member Nacy: Oh, I'm sorry, no.
Mayor Burk: Is there anybody on WebEx that wanted to speak?
Keith Markel: We have no participants on WebEx.
Mayor Burk: All right, then I will close this public hearing. Does anybody want to make a motion at this
point? I need a motion. What are you moving?
Vice Mayor Martinez: [inaudible] an Award of a Contract to Finance Capital Asset Replacement
Program.
Council Member Fox: I second.
Mayor Burk: Okay, who seconded?
Council Member Bagdasarian: Miss Fox.
Mayor Burk: Miss Fox. Okay. All in favor indicate by saying aye. Opposed? That passes 7-0. Okay. All
right. Disclosures and comments. Ms. Fox.
Council Member Fox: No comments, just one disclosure. I did have a virtual meeting with Jennifer
Lassiter Smith and a few members of the Paxton Trust about the INMED School project at Paxton.
Mayor Burk: Mr. Steinberg.
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Item b.
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Council Member Steinberg: I also had a meeting with Jennifer Smith regarding the Paxton project and
nothing else.
Mayor Burk: Mr. Cummings.
Council Member Cummings: Just one disclosure, I had a phone conversation with Mr. Mike McLister
about some of his projects.
Mayor Burk: All right, Ms. Nacy.
Council Member Nacy: No disclosures, no comments.
Mayor Burk: Mr. Bagdasarian.
Council Member Bagdasarian: Yes. I had a meeting with the co-Chairs of COPA, the Mayor and the
Parks and Rec staff to discuss and explore possible locations for a funded Black history mural in the
Town of Leesburg and that's currently in process and looking at possible options.
Mayor Burk: All right, Mr. Martinez.
Vice Mayor Martinez: I have no disclosures, but I do want to see if I can get Council to agree to look
at putting together another subcommittee that discuss the possibilities of ADU's and what we can do.
In other words a subcommittee that works with the Town and the County to find out what exactly our
options are and how we can work with the County on the ADU program.
Mayor Burk: Do you want a work session? Is that what you're asking?
Vice Mayor Martinez: Yes.
Mayor Burk: Do you understand what the work session is?
Kaj Dentler: I do. The only question I have based on the conversation from last night, is this a request
to discuss affordable housing and ADU's after the Town Plan is presented to you, or you want to do
that before?
Vice Mayor Martinez: In parallel. I also want to talk about workforce housing.
Kaj Dentler: Okay. Similar to Ms. Fox's request last night, we will add it to the agenda, but we'll wait for
the Town Plan to arrive with the recommendations.
Mayor Burk: If we have four people that want to do.
Kaj Dentler: Assuming that of course.
Mayor Burk: Are there for people that would want to do that? Okay. All right. Okay I have a disclosure
that I also met with Ms. Smith and members of INMED. I want to welcome Robin's Hair Salon and
Makeup. You do ribbon cuttings and usually there's a very small group, but in this case, I'm walking
down the street and the whole street is blocked with people.
I think Mr. Cummings, I believe you were there also and it was quite impressive and I wish the proprietor
the best of luck and I know that she'll do well. I also walked the Town with Mr. Bagdasarian and members
of COPA and Carmen Felder to look for a placement for a mural for Black History. There's a couple of
interesting perspectives and we'll be continuing that discussion.
On the 6th, Chair Randall held a press conference on the vaccine where she received her first vaccine
as did other Board Members and COLT, the members, all the Mayors joined in and participated although
we had already gotten ours. I do want everybody to know that even if you're the Mayor of the Town,
you do get called for jury duty.
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Item b.
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Although I was rejected at the end I did get called and spent five hours waiting for that decision. On the
8th, Loudoun Museum had a special reception for its opening and boy that was phenomenal. What they
have done there it was just really great. On the 10th, I joined the EAC in giving out the Keep Leesburg
Beautiful and if you participate, you will get this wonderful bag that you can take with you and keep.
You will get these gorgeous gloves that you can have.
Then they give you these lovely orange bag to be able to put your trash in and you get this wonderful
chat. [laughs] Call Town Hall, and you will be given all of those wonderful things to participate. Then I
want to thank the [unintelligible] Islam Association of Auxiliary women that invited me to a round table
discussion, very interesting round table discussion on discrimination and equality and peace. It was
very well-received and it was a wonderful experience. Anybody have a motion to adjourn.
Council Member Steinberg: So moved.
Mayor Burk: Moved by Mr. Steinberg. Second?
Council Member Bagdasarian: I'll second that.
Mayor Burk: Seconded by Mr. Bagdasarian. All in favor, indicate by saying aye.
Council Members: Aye.
Mayor Burk: Opposed? We are adjourned.
67
Item b.
PROCLAMATION
National Drinking Water Week
May 2 – 8, 2021
WHEREAS, water is our most valuable natural resource; and
WHEREAS, only tap water delivers public health protection, fire protection, support
for our economy, and the quality of life we enjoy; and
WHEREAS, any measure of a successful society such as low mortality rates, economic
growth and diversity, productivity, and public safety are in some way related to access to safe
water; and
WHEREAS, we are all stewards of the water infrastructure upon which future
generations depend; and
WHEREAS, each citizen of our town is called upon to help protect our source waters
from pollution, to practice water conservation, and to get involved in local water issues by
getting to know their water; and
WHEREAS, water professionals work around the clock to ensure tap water is there
when you need it.
THEREFORE, be it PROCLAIMED, that the Mayor and Council of the Town of
Leesburg in Virginia hereby recognize May 2 – 8, 2021 as Drinking Water Week in Leesburg.
PROCLAIMED this 27th day of April, 2021.
____________________________________
Kelly Burk, Mayor
____________________________________
Fernando “Marty” Martinez, Vice Mayor
____________________________________
Ara Bagdasarian
____________________________________
Zach Cummings
____________________________________
Suzanne D. Fox
____________________________________
Kari Nacy
____________________________________
Neil Steinberg
68
Item a.
PROCLAMATION
National Day of Prayer
May 6, 2021
WHEREAS, each year, in accordance with Public Law 100-307, the President of the
United States proclaims the first Thursday in May as a National Day of Prayer; and
WHEREAS, prayer plays a powerful role in the lives of people of all cultures,
religions, and backgrounds. Prayer serves as a source of moral and spiritual guidance for
millions throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia and the Nation, and
WHEREAS, in America, our Nation is stronger because we welcome and respect
people of all faiths, and because we protect the fundamental right of all people to practice
their faith how they choose, to change their faith, or to practice no faith at all, and to do so
free from discrimination; and
WHEREAS, in the face of tremendous challenges, prayer is a powerful force for
peace, justice, and a brighter tomorrow.
THEREFORE, be it PROCLAIMED, that the Mayor and Council of the Town of
Leesburg, Virginia hereby recognize May 6, 2021 as the National Day of Prayer, and
encourage our residents to participate in the National Day of Prayer in the manner that is most
appropriate to their own religious or spiritual beliefs.
PROCLAIMED this 27th day of April, 2021.
____________________________________
Kelly Burk, Mayor
____________________________________
Fernando “Marty” Martinez, Vice Mayor
____________________________________
Ara H. Bagdasarian
____________________________________
Suzanne D. Fox
____________________________________
Zach Cummings
____________________________________
Kari Nacy
____________________________________
Neil Steinberg
69
Item b.
70
Item b.
PROCLAMATION
World Ovarian Cancer Day
May 8, 2021
WHEREAS, established in 2013 by a group of leaders from ovarian cancer advocacy
organizations around the world, May 8 – World Ovarian Cancer Day, is the day of the year we globally
raise our voices in solidarity in the fight against ovarian cancer; and
WHEREAS, ovarian cancer is the most lethal of the female cancers for which there is no
reliable screening test, and every women is at risk; and
WHEREAS, on this day, ovarian cancer awareness organizations from across the world will
aim to have a singular focus and message for ovarian cancer and its symptoms, and will unite to
educate their communities; and
WHEREAS, for women living with the disease, and their families and friends, this day will
build a sense of unity in the fight against the disease; and
WHEREAS, the Leesburg Town Council recognizes LeAnn Moore as a survivor and advocate
for World Ovarian Cancer Day.
THEREFORE, be it PROCLAIMED, that the Mayor and Council of the Town of Leesburg,
Virginia recognize May 8, 2021 is World Ovarian Cancer Day, and ask the community to raise our
voices in the fight against this disease.
PROCLAIMED this 27th day of April, 2021.
____________________________________
Kelly Burk, Mayor
____________________________________
Fernando “Marty” Martinez, Vice Mayor
____________________________________
Ara H. Bagdasarian
____________________________________
Suzanne D. Fox
____________________________________
Zach Cummings
____________________________________
Kari Nacy
____________________________________
Neil Steinberg
71
Item c.
Date of Council Meeting: April 27, 2021
TOWN OF LEESBURG
TOWN COUNCIL MEETING
Subject: Authorization to Enter into Utility Easement Encroachment Agreement with Loudoun
County Board of Supervisors for the Loudoun Animal Services Facility
Staff Contact: Amy Wyks, Director of Utilities
Christine M. Newton, Deputy Town Attorney
Council Action Requested: Adopt a resolution approving and authorizing the Mayor to execute an
encroachment agreement affecting the Town’s rights within utility easements located on property owned
by Loudoun County for the Loudoun Animal Services Facility.
Staff Recommendation: Staff recommends that Town Council approve the proposed encroachment
agreement negotiated by the Town Attorney’s office.
Staff recommends that this issue be addressed by entering into the proposed encroachment agreement
with the County (Attachment 2), which defines the rights and obligations of the parties when access to
Town water lines is required. Under the terms of the agreement, where the geothermal lines run over the
top of the Town water lines, the County will be responsible for preparing the work site before any utility
work is performed by or on behalf of the Town, and for restoring the work site after the Town’s work has
been completed. This will eliminate the need for Town staff or contractors to excavate near the
geothermal lines. Placing the excavation responsibility on the County, as the owner of the geothermal
pipes and the entity with knowledge and expertise in properly handling those pipes, will reduce the
Town’s risk and the overall risk of a rupture of the geothermal pipes.
Commission Recommendation: None.
Fiscal Impact: None.
Work Plan Impact: Negotiation and preparation of an appropriate agreement is within the work plan of
the Town Attorney’s Office. Technical review of such an agreement is within the work plan of the Utilities
Department.
Executive Summary: Geothermal pipes installed on the County property for the new Animal Services
Facility site have been installed so as to cross above the Town’s water line in several locations. This
configuration will heighten the difficulty and the inherent risks of accessing the Town water lines on the
property for purposes of repair, maintenance, or replacement. To address these issues, Town staff has
required an encroachment agreement as a condition of final plan approval for the construction of the
water and sewer utilities at the Animal Services Facility property. Council authorization of the
encroachment agreement is required.
Background: The new Animal Shelter is located within the County at 42225 Adoption Drive, but is
serviced by Town water and sanitary sewer utilities. In 2018, the County granted certain water and
sanitary sewer easements to the Town to facilitate these services (the “Town Utility Easements”). The
County has constructed the Town water and sanitary sewer facilities serving the Animal Services Facility
property, and those facilities will be dedicated to the Town.
72
Item b.
Authorization to Enter into Utility Easement Encroachment Agreement with Loudoun County
Board of Supervisors for the Loudoun Animal Services Facility
April 27, 2021
Page 2
The Town reviewed and approved plans submitted on behalf of the County for the construction of the
Town utility facilities that indicated the location of geothermal wells, but did not show the configuration
of the geothermal pipes running across the Town Utility Easements. During on-site construction
inspections of the water and sewer infrastructure, Town staff discovered that the configuration of the
geothermal pipes as constructed includes a number of crossings over the top of the water line to be
dedicated to the Town. The geothermal pipes assist with temperature control for the property; they form
part of a closed-loop system that circulates a liquid chemical mixture performing coolant and anti-freeze
functions.
In general, where the Town holds a utility easement, property owners have the right to continue to use
the land within the easement in any manner that does not interfere with the Town’s rights under that
easement. The configuration of the geothermal pipes may interfere with the Town’s ability to maintain
its water line infrastructure within the Town Utility Easements, because it increases the difficulty and the
inherent risks of accessing the Town water lines when necessary for repair, maintenance, or replacement.
Proposed Legislation:
RESOLUTION
Authorization to Enter into Utility Easement Encroachment Agreement with Loudoun County Board of
Supervisors for the Loudoun Animal Services Facility
Draft Motions:
1. I move to approve the proposed RESOLUTION approving the proposed utility encroachment
agreement and authorizing the Mayor to execute the agreement in a form to be approved by the Town
Attorney.
2. I move to deny the proposed RESOLUTION.
OR
3. I move an alternate motion.
Attachments:
1. Draft Resolution
2. Proposed Encroachment Agreement
3. Map of Encroachment Area at Loudoun County Animal Services parcel
73
Item b.
PRESENTED: April 27, 2021
RESOLUTION NO. 2021- ADOPTED:
A RESOLUTION : AUTHORIZATION TO ENTER INTO UTILITY
ENCROACHMENT AGREEMENT WITH LOUDOUN
COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS FOR THE LOUDOUN
ANIMAL SERVICES FACILITY
WHEREAS, Loudoun County Board of Supervisors (“County”) has granted certain
utility easements to the Town to facilitate the provision of water and sewer service to the
Loudoun County Animal Services Facility (“Town Utility Easements”); and
WHEREAS, geothermal pipes were constructed and installed by the County within
Town Utility Easements; and
WHEREAS, ordinarily the Town prohibits structures from being constructed within the
Town’s easements; and
WHEREAS, the Town and the County seek to enter into an agreement to permit the
geothermal pipes to remain where located within Town utility easements; and
WHEREAS, the location of the geothermal pipes will have no negative impact on the
operations of the Town’s water and sewer utilities;
WHEREAS, the best interests of the Town will be served by entering into an
encroachment agreement with the County to define the rights and obligations of the parties
when access to Town utility lines located on the Property is required.
THEREFORE, RESOLVED, by the Council of the Town of Leesburg in Virginia as
follows:
1. The Mayor is hereby authorized to execute the proposed encroachment agreement in
a form to be approved by the Town Attorney.
74
Item b.
A RESOLUTION: AUTHORIZATION TO ENTER INTO UTILITY
ENCROACHMENT AGREEMENT WITH LOUDOUN COUNTY
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS FOR THE LOUDOUN ANIMAL
SERVICES FACILITY
-2-
2. The Mayor, the Town Manager, and the Town Attorney are hereby authorized to
take such actions and execute such documents as are necessary and desirable to
effectuate this Resolution.
PASSED this 27th day of April, 2021.
______________________________
Kelly Burk, Mayor
Town of Leesburg
ATTEST:
______________________________
Clerk of Council
75
Item b.
1
Property Identification No.: 191-16-9866
Tax Map No. /60////////12/ UTILITY EASEMENT ENCROACHMENT AGREEMENT This Utility Easement Encroachment Agreement (“Agreement”) is entered into this ____
day of _______________, 2021, by and among the TOWN OF LEESBURG, VIRGINIA
(“Town”), a municipal corporation, and the BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF LOUDOUN
COUNTY, VIRGINIA (“County”) (collectively, the “Parties”).
WHEREAS, County is the owner of certain real property identified as Loudoun County
PIN No. 191-16-9866 (the “Property”), having acquired the Property by deeds recorded in Deed
Book 867 Page 1808; Deed Book 868 Page 809; Deed Book 1795 Page 1692; Instrument No.
20071218-0087268; modified in Instrument No. 20080125-0004108; Instrument No.
20080606-0034512; Instrument No. 20080923-0057402; Instrument No. 20080708-
0041542; Instrument No. 20110607-0034457; Instrument No. 20161116-0078136;
Instrument No. 20161209-0083871, Instrument No. 20180424-0022522; and Instrument No.
20180928-0056764, among the land records of the Circuit Court Clerk of Loudoun County,
Virginia (“Land Records”); and
WHEREAS, County previously granted to the Town certain water and sanitary sewer
easements (the “Town Utility Easements”) on the Property by deed and plat recorded among the
Land Records as Instrument Numbers 20180424-0022522 (Deed) and 20180424-0022523 (Plat),
respectively; copies of the Deed and Plat are attached hereto as Exhibit A; and
WHEREAS, County has submitted certain development plans to the Town for
construction of the water and sewer infrastructure on the Property, which plans are designated as
TLRD-2020-0024 (Loudoun County Animal Services Facility), TLPF-2017-0012, TLCR-2017-
0007, and STPL-2017-0022 (collectively, the “Public Facilities Applications”); and
76
Item b.
2
WHEREAS, in addition to the water and sewer infrastructure constructed within the Town
Utility Easements pursuant to the Public Facilities Applications, County has caused certain
structures and improvements (“Encroachments”), including geothermal pipes (the “Geothermal
Pipes”), to be constructed, installed, or placed within a portion of the Town Utility Easements, as
identified and depicted on the plan sheets attached hereto as Exhibit B, and made a part of this
Agreement (containing: (a) TLRD-2020-0024, Final Site Plan, “Loudoun County Animal Services
Facility,” sheet C-1.02 (revised 10/7/20); (b) STPL-2017-0022, “LC Animal Services Facility”
Sheet C-2.02 Geometry Plan (revised 3/12/21); (c) STPL-2017-0022, “LC Animal Services
Facility” Sheet C-2.05 Clearing and Grading Plan (revised 3/12/21); and (d) STPL-2017-0022,
“LC Animal Services Facility” Sheet C-4.02 Watermain Profiles (revised 3/12/21); and
WHEREAS, in multiple locations, the Geothermal Pipes are situated above the Town
utility facilities installed within such Easements (“Town Utilities”); and
WHEREAS, the location of Geothermal Pipes above the Town Utilities within the Town
Utility Easements creates a risk that the Geothermal Pipes may be ruptured during maintenance or
repair of the underlying Town Utilities; and
WHEREAS, the Parties seek to enter into an agreement to permit the Encroachments to
remain where located within the Town Utility Easements, to establish a protocol for protection of
the Geothermal Pipes and the Town Utilities when excavation is required for the repair or
maintenance of the Town Utilities, to set forth the rights, obligations, and liabilities of the Parties
with respect to the Geothermal Pipes when access to Town Utility Easements is required, and to
set forth the terms and conditions upon which the County will be permitted to expand, replace in
whole, or relocate the Encroachments within the Town Utility Easements.
77
Item b.
3
NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the above recitals, the mutual undertakings of
the Parties as contained herein, and other good and valuable consideration, the Parties hereby agree
as follows:
1. Recitals. The Recitals set forth at the outset of this Agreement are incorporated herein and
made a part of this Agreement.
2. Encroachments.
2.1. The Town hereby agrees not alter, remove, or disturb the Encroachments except as
provided in this Agreement.
2.2. Expansion, Replacement, or Relocation of Encroachments. County may perform routine
maintenance on the Encroachments as necessary. Prior to installation of additional or
larger Geothermal Pipes, or relocation of the Encroachments, County shall obtain the
written consent of the Town. The Town may request such information or documentation
as it deems reasonably necessary to evaluate the impact of the requested action, and
Town consent may be conditioned upon an amendment to this Agreement and/or Exhibit
B hereof. Where replacement or relocation of the Geothermal Pipes is necessary, County
shall make commercially reasonable efforts to relocate the encroaching Geothermal Pipe
such that, where such Geothermal Pipe intersects with the Town Utilities, the
Geothermal Pipe is then situated at a depth below that of the Town Utilities within the
relevant easement area.
3. Access to Town Utilities for Maintenance, Repair or Replacement.
3.1. Notice.
3.1.1. When the Town requires access to any underground portion of the Town
Utilities for purposes of scheduled maintenance or non-emergency repairs, the
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Town will provide notice to County in accordance with Section 7 hereof, as
follows:
(a) When such access is required for the purpose of scheduled
maintenance, the Town will provide notice at least ten (10) business days prior
to the desired access date.
(b) When such access is required for the purpose of non-emergency
repairs, the Town will provide notice at least three (3) business days prior to the
desired access date, provided however, that where non-emergency repairs are
requested by County, no such notice shall be required.
To the extent possible consistent with State and Federal regulatory
standards, guidance, and mandates, and while adequately protecting the
functioning of the Town Utilities, the Town shall work cooperatively with
County to schedule such access to minimize interference with the business of
County conducted on the Property and to permit County to perform its
obligations under this Agreement.
3.1.2. When the Town requires Emergency access to any underground portion of the
Town Utilities within the Subject Area, the Town will provide email and
telephone notice to the following personnel for County:
Ernest Brown, Director General Services 703-777-5552 or 703-737-8181 (24/7 dispatch line)
ernest.brown@loudoun.gov
With an email copy to: dgs@loudoun.gov For purposes of this Agreement, an “Emergency” means a sudden or
unexpected occurrence involving a clear and imminent danger, demanding
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5
immediate action to prevent or mitigate loss of, or damage to, life, health,
property or essential public services, including but not limited to Town water
and sewer services; by way of example and not limitation, the following
circumstances will constitute an Emergency for the purposes of this Agreement:
any circumstance that, if not addressed immediately, would either (a)
jeopardize or compromise the Waterworks Operation Permit issued to the Town
by the Virginia Department of Health, or (b) constitute a major leak justifying
immediate shut-off of water service under Sec. 34-72 of the Leesburg Town
Code, or any successor Town Code provision.
In the event of an Emergency, the Town may immediately shut off water service
to the Property prior to providing such notice in accordance with generally
applicable Town Utility Department emergency procedures; in such event, the
Town shall provide notice in accordance with this Section 3.1.2 as soon as
reasonably practicable.
3.2. Site Preparation and Restoration. Following such notification as is required under
Section 3.1 hereof, the Town, in consultation with the County, shall determine whether
Geothermal Pipe is situated above any portion of the Town Utilities to which the Town
requires access; if so, at the Town’s request, the County shall prepare the site in
accordance with Sections 3.2.1 through 3.2.3 below. Where the Town determines that
the Geothermal Pipes do not impede access to the Town Utility Facilities, the Town will
perform necessary site preparation and restoration in accordance with the terms of the
Town Utility Easements.
3.2.1. Site Preparation.
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6
(a) Duties. County shall perform or cause to be performed all Excavation
and site preparation necessary to provide the Town with access to such portion
of the Town Utilities as is required for the performance of the noticed
maintenance, repair, or replacement. The Parties shall cooperate in the field to
establish any adjustment to the parameters of Excavation where field conditions
demonstrate that such adjustments are necessary. For purposes of this
Agreement, the term “Excavation” shall have the meaning ascribed to it in §56-
265.15(A) of the UUDPA.
(b) Timing of Performance. In the case of scheduled maintenance or non-
emergency repair, County shall complete all necessary site preparation on or
before the agreed-upon access date. In the case of Emergency access, County
shall complete all necessary site preparation as soon as is practicable.
3.2.2. Site Restoration. Following Town’s completion of the maintenance, repair or
replacement work in accordance with Section 3.3 hereof, County shall backfill
all Excavation and restore the site to County’ satisfaction.
3.2.3. Allocation of Site Preparation and Restoration Costs. Except where the costs of
the relevant maintenance, repair, or replacement work are the responsibility of
County under Section 3.3 hereof, the Town shall reimburse County for the
reasonable and customary expenses of Excavation and backfilling, as actually
incurred, exclusive of any additional cost, premium or surcharge (“Additional
Cost”) necessitated by the location of Geothermal Pipes. By way of illustration
and not limitation, the cost of Hand Digging shall be considered an Additional
Cost for which the Town will not reimburse County. For purposes of this
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Agreement, “Hand Digging” means any excavation involving nonmechanized
tools or equipment, or excavation using tools or equipment that utilize air or
water pressure as the direct means to break up soil or earth for removal by
vacuum excavation. Beyond the reasonable and customary cost of backfilling,
the Town will not be responsible for or reimburse County for costs incurred by
County in restoring the site to its satisfaction. (All costs reimbursable by the
Town in accordance with this Section 3.2.3 defined herein as “Reimbursable
Costs”.) The County shall invoice the Town for its Reimbursable Costs within
sixty (60) days of completion of the work, in accordance with the Notice
provisions of Section 7 hereof and shall provide an itemized invoice or
statement detailing and demonstrating what portion of the overall costs
represent Reimbursable Costs. Absent such itemized invoice or statement, the
Town will reimburse only the normal and customary excavation charges for
comparable excavation services in an easement area free of encroachments. The
Town shall reimburse County for all qualifying Reimbursable Costs within 60
days of receipt of all necessary documentation.
3.3. Performance of Maintenance, Repair or Replacement of Town Utilities. Regardless of
which Party prepares the site in accordance with Section 3.2 hereof, the Town shall
perform all work required to maintain, repair, or replace any infrastructure component
of the Town Utilities in accordance with applicable Town standards and requirements,
within a reasonable time following site preparation. The Town shall bear the costs of
such maintenance, repair, or replacement work, provided however, that: (a) where such
costs or any portion thereof are imposed upon County pursuant to such Town ordinances,
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8
regulations and utility policies as are generally applicable to similarly situated Town
water and sewer service customers, County shall remain responsible for such costs and
shall reimburse the Town for such costs; and (b) this Agreement shall not be construed
to impose upon the Town any obligation to perform or bear the cost of maintenance,
repair, or replacement work which is an Owner Development Obligation, as defined in
Section 5.2 hereof.
3.4. No Liability of Town for Loss of Utility Service by County. County acknowledges and
agrees that Town Utility service may be unavailable at the Property when access to Town
Utilities is required, that such loss of service may be protracted on the basis of County’s
delay in performing Excavation or backfilling duties imposed by this Agreement, and
that, absent the Town’s gross negligence or willful misconduct in the performance of
maintenance, repair, or replacement of Town Utilities, the Town accepts no
responsibility or liability for such loss of service.
4. Limitations of Town Liability.
4.1. Damage to the Encroachments. Absent gross negligence or willful misconduct in the
performance of maintenance, repair, or replacement of Town Utilities by Town or any
of its agents or contractors, the Town accepts no responsibility for, and County hereby
assumes responsibility for all costs, repairs, or replacement of the Encroachments which
may occur as a result of the Town accessing the Town Utilities. The Town will not
replace, repair, or reimburse the Owner for any Encroachments damaged by the Town
within its Easements, and accepts no responsibility for the cost of removal, repair, or
replacement of the Encroachments.
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9
4.2. Damage or Injury Caused by the Encroachments. The Town accepts no responsibility
for damages or injuries of any kind or nature to persons or property, including but not
limited to environmental damage or injury, incurred by the County or any third party,
arising out of or caused by: the location or operation of the Encroachments; defects in
the encroaching Geothermal Pipes; the proximity of the encroaching Geothermal Pipes
to the Town water lines; or the need to access Town Utilities located in close proximity
to the Encroachments.
5. Reservation of Town Rights.
5.1. This Agreement is not intended to be a service agreement or to alter the terms of service
for Town water and sewer utilities to the Property, and nothing in this Agreement shall
alter such terms of service as are imposed by or in accordance with Town ordinances,
regulations, or utility policies otherwise applicable to County as a Town utility customer.
5.2. This Agreement is not intended to be a development agreement, and nothing in this
Agreement shall impose upon the Town or alter or relieve either the County from its
obligations in connection with the construction of the Town Utilities pursuant to the
Public Facilities Applications and associated bonding.
6. Rights and Obligations to Run with the Land: This Agreement shall be recorded among the
Land Records of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Loudoun County. The rights and obligations
set forth herein shall run with the land and shall be binding upon and shall inure to the benefit
of the Parties hereto and their respective successors, assigns and beneficiaries. Any conveyance
of title to any part of the Property is, except as otherwise set forth herein, subject to the
provisions of this Agreement, and any transferee of any interest in the Property is deemed to
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Item b.
10
have agreed, by acceptance of such interest, to be bound by all of the provisions of this
Agreement.
7. Notices: With the exception of Emergency access notice provided in accordance with Section
3.1.2 hereof, any notice or other communication required or permitted to be given under this
Agreement shall be in writing and shall be made by hand delivery, or overnight courier service
or by certified mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested, addressed to each respective
party at the address set forth below, and shall be considered to have been effectively given as
of the date of hand delivery, as of the date specified for delivery if by overnight courier, or as
of three (3) business days after the date of mailing by certified mail, as the case may be. The
Parties shall have the right to designate a different recipient and address for the receipt of
notices, in accordance with this section 7.
Owner: County of Loudoun, Virginia Director, Department of General Services
PO Box 7100
Leesburg, Virginia 20177-7100 With a copy to:
County Attorney
County of Loudoun, Virginia 1 Harrison Street, SE (Fifth Floor) Leesburg, Virginia 20175
Town: Amy Wyks, Director Department of Utilities 1385 Russell Branch Parkway, SE
Leesburg, Virginia 20175
With a copy to: Town Attorney
Town of Leesburg
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Item b.
11
25 West Market Street
Leesburg, Virginia 20176 8. Town Capital Improvements. Access to the Town Utilities, or any portion thereof, for
purposes of a Town capital improvement project affecting the Town Utilities, shall be in
accordance with the provisions of Section 3.2 hereof, provided however, that the Town shall
provide notice to the County at least 180 days prior to the planned project start date.
9. General Provisions:
9.1. Amendment. This Agreement may only be amended by an instrument in writing executed
by all Parties hereto, or their successors with respect to the Property.
9.2. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with
the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia and shall be binding upon the Parties and
their respective successors and/or assigns. The Parties further agree that any dispute that
may occur as a result of the terms of this Agreement will be resolved in the Loudoun
County Circuit Court or the Loudoun County General District Court. In the event of such
dispute, each party shall be responsible for its own attorney’s fees and costs incurred as
a result of such dispute.
9.3. No Third Party Rights; No Waiver of Sovereign Immunity. Notwithstanding any other
provision of this Agreement to the contrary, nothing in this Agreement, nor any action
taken by the Board or the Town pursuant to this Agreement, nor any document that arises
out of this Agreement shall: (a) create in the public, or in any person or entity not a party
hereto, rights as a third party beneficiary hereunder; or (b) constitute or be construed as
a waiver of either the sovereign immunity or governmental immunity of the County or
the Town, or of their respective elected and appointed officers and officials, employees,
contractors and agents.
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12
9.4. Authority. The signatories of this Agreement affirm that they have the authority to
execute this Agreement.
[SIGNATURES APPEAR ON THE FOLLOWING PAGES]
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Item b.
13
LOUDOUN COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS By: ___________________________________
APPROVED AS TO FORM: ______________________________
Theresa Fontana, Senior Assistant County Attorney
COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA COUNTY OF LOUDOUN, to wit:
I, the undersigned Notary Public, in and for the jurisdiction aforesaid, do hereby certify that ______________ as __________________ on behalf of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, whose name is signed to the foregoing instrument, appeared before me and personally acknowledged the same in my jurisdiction aforesaid.
GIVEN under my hand and seal this _______ day of ____________________, 2021.
________________________________
Notary Public My Commission expires: ______________________ My Notary Registration Number: _______________
[Signatures Continue Next Page]
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Item b.
14
TOWN OF LEESBURG, VIRGINIA
By: _____________________________ APPROVED AS TO FORM: Kelly Burk, Mayor
______________________________ Christopher P. Spera, Town Attorney
COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA COUNTY OF LOUDOUN, to wit:
I, the undersigned Notary Public, in and for the jurisdiction aforesaid, do hereby certify
that Kelly Burk as Mayor of the Town of Leesburg, Virginia, whose name is signed to the foregoing instrument, appeared before me and personally acknowledged the same in my jurisdiction aforesaid.
GIVEN under my hand and seal this _______ day of _______________________, 2021.
________________________________
Notary Public My Commission expires: ______________________ My Notary Registration Number: _______________
89
Item b.
MINOR FLOODPLAIN50' MANAGEMENT BUFFERMINOR FLOODPLAINEX.KINCAIDBLVD123467101112131420212215161718DCBAGHOVERLANDRELIEFPATHOVERLANDRELIEFPATHOVERLANDRELIEFPATH58FEADOPTION DRIVEC-2.02GEOMETRY PLAN1"=30'VCS-83MATCHLINE-SEE SHEET C-2.01MATCHLINE-SEE SHEET C-2.01MATCHLINE-SEE SHEET C-2.034520 BROADWAY, SUITE EBOULDER, CO 80304FAX 303.444.17591.800.332.4413Dewberry Consultants LLC1503 EDWARDS FERRY ROADSUITE 200LEESBURG, VA 20176703.771.8004 (PHONE)703.771.4091 (FAX)STPL-2017-0022CATOCTIN ELECTION DISTRICTLOUDOUN COUNTY, VIRGINIA#**1NOTE: The Town of Leesburg does not regulate the installation of geo-thermalpipes. It is the responsibility of the property owner and contractor to ensure thatinstallation of geo-thermal pipes are constructed to appropriate standardsAREA SUBJECT TO ENCROACHMENT AGREEMENT1190Item b.
Date of Council Meeting: April 27, 2021
TOWN OF LEESBURG
TOWN COUNCIL MEETING
Subject: Authorization to Enter into Encroachment Agreement with Kettler Goose Creek
Commercial LLC and Goose Creek Club Homeowners Association, Inc.
Staff Contact: Christine M. Newton, Deputy Town Attorney
Amy Wyks, Director of Utilities
Patrick Moore, Deputy Director of Utilities
Council Action Requested: Council authorization is required to enter into an encroachment agreement
affecting the Town’s rights within utility easements located on property owned by Kettler Goose Creek
Commercial, LLC and maintained by Goose Creek Club Homeowners Association, Inc.
Staff Recommendation: Staff recommends that Town Council authorize the Mayor to execute the
proposed encroachment agreement in a form approved by the Town Attorney.
Commission Recommendation: None.
Fiscal Impact: None.
Work Plan Impact: None. Negotiation and preparation of an appropriate agreement is within the work
plan of the Town Attorney’s Office. Technical review of such an agreement is within the work plan of the
Utilities Department.
Executive Summary: An encroachment agreement is necessary to allow certain monument walls and
landscaping to remain where they have been constructed and installed within the Town’s sanitary sewer
easement on the property of Kettler Goose Creek Commercial, LLC at the Goose Creek Club
development. The proposed agreement allows these improvements to remain in their current location for
the useful life of the improvements while protecting the Town’s rights within the easement, including all
necessary Town access to the easement area without liability for damage to the encroaching structures
and plantings.
Background: In August and November of 2017, the Town reviewed and approved two plans submitted
on behalf of Kettler Inc., Kettler Goose Creek Development Inc. and Kettler Goose Creek Commercial
LLC for the construction of the Town utility facilities along Cochran Mill Road and within the Goose
Creek Club development. As approved, Town plans TLPF 2016-0008 and TLPF 2016-0010 did not
include detailed information regarding the location of three landscape walls that were constructed along
Cochran Mill Road within the project.
During on-site construction inspections of water and sewer mains, Town staff discovered that three
landscape walls, and associated trees and landscaping are located and arranged within Town easements.
An agreement is necessary to allow the improvements to encroach upon and into the Town’s sanitary
sewer easement. The proposed agreement (Attachment 2) has been drafted by the Town Attorney’s office,
and the details negotiated with the property owner. The areas of encroachment are depicted on Exhibit
B to the proposed agreement (Attachment 3). The agreement would allow the encroaching improvements
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Item c.
Authorization to Enter into Encroachment Agreement with Kettler Goose Creek Commercial LLC
and Goose Creek Club Homeowners Association, Inc.
April 27, 2021
Page 2
to remain in place during their useful life, and provides that the owners may perform routine maintenance
on the encroaching improvements, but may not expand or replace those improvements. Upon
demolition, the structures may not be replaced within the Town easement. The agreement ensures that
the Town will be able to access the easement area as the Town deems necessary, without cost or liability
to the Town. Where access to the easement is necessary for Town maintenance, repair, or replacement
purposes, the agreement provides that: the Town may require the property owner to remove the
encroaching improvements; the Town may also itself remove the encroaching improvements; the Town
will not be liable for damage to the encroaching improvements; and the property owner will hold the
Town harmless from any claim for damage to the property or third parties.
The Agreement will constitute a covenant running with the land and shall be binding on the parties, their
successors, and assigns. However, the Town may terminate the agreement upon 90 days’ written notice
for the purpose of capital improvements.
Proposed Legislation:
RESOLUTION
Authorization to Enter into Encroachment Agreement with Kettler Goose Creek Commercial LLC and
Goose Creek Club Homeowners Association, Inc.
Draft Motions:
1. I move to approve the proposed Resolution: Authorization to Enter into Encroachment Agreement
with Kettler Goose Creek Commercial LLC and Goose Creek Club Homeowners Association, Inc.
2. I move to deny the proposed Resolution: Authorization to Enter into Encroachment Agreement
with Kettler Goose Creek Commercial LLC and Goose Creek Club Homeowners Association, Inc.
OR
3. I move an alternate motion.
Attachments:
1. Draft Resolution
2. Draft Encroachment Agreement
3. Encroachment Agreement Exhibit B
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Item c.
PRESENTED: April 27, 2021
RESOLUTION NO. 2021- ADOPTED: ____________
A RESOLUTION : AUTHORIZATION TO ENTER INTO ENCROACHMENT
AGREEMENT WITH KETTLER GOOSE CREEK
COMMERCIAL LLC AND GOOSE CREEK CLUB
HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC.
WHEREAS, Kettler Goose Creek Commercial LLC is the owner of certain real
property within the Goose Creek Club development, maintained by Goose Creek Club
Homeowners Association, Inc.; and
WHEREAS, certain utility easements have been granted to the Town to facilitate the
provision of water and sewer service to the Goose Creek Club development (“Town Utility
Easements”); and
WHEREAS, landscape walls, and associated trees and landscaping (“Encroaching
Improvements”) were constructed and installed on behalf of Kettler Goose Creek Commercial
LLC within the Town Utility Easements; and
WHEREAS, ordinarily the Town prohibits structures from being constructed and trees
from being installed within the Town’s utility easements; and
WHEREAS, the Town, Kettler Goose Creek Commercial LLC, and Goose Creek Club
Homeowners Association, Inc. seek to enter into an agreement to permit the Encroaching
Improvements to remain in Town Utility Easements; and
WHEREAS, the proposed agreement provides that Kettler Goose Creek Commercial
LLC and Goose Creek Club Homeowners Association, Inc. will be responsible for
replacement, maintenance, and removal of the Encroaching Improvements when necessary;
and
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Item c.
A RESOLUTION: AUTHORIZATION TO ENTER INTO ENCROACHMENT
AGREEMENT WITH KETTLER GOOSE CREEK
COMMERCIAL LLC, AND GOOSE CREEK CLUB
HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC.
-2-
WHEREAS, the proposed agreement will have no negative impact on the operations of
the Town’s water and sewer utilities; and
WHEREAS, the best interests of the Town will be served by entering into an
encroachment agreement with Kettler Goose Creek Commercial LLC and Goose Creek Club
Homeowners Association, Inc., to define the rights and obligations of the parties when the
Town requires access to the Town Utility Easements.
THEREFORE, RESOLVED, by the Council of the Town of Leesburg in Virginia as
follows:
1. The Mayor is hereby authorized to execute the proposed encroachment agreement in
a form to be approved by the Town Attorney.
2. The Mayor, the Town Manager, and the Town Attorney are hereby authorized to
take such actions and execute such additional documents as may be necessary and
desirable to effectuate this Resolution.
PASSED this 27th day of April, 2021.
______________________________
Kelly Burk, Mayor
Town of Leesburg
ATTEST:
______________________________
Clerk of Council
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Item c.
1
Property Identification Nos.: 150-40-5648-000 Tax Map Nos. /61/////////3A
ENCROACHMENT AGREEMENT This Encroachment Agreement (“Agreement”) is entered into this ____ day of
_______________, 2021, by and among KETTLER GOOSE CREEK COMMERCIAL LLC, a
Virginia limited liability company (“Commercial Owner”), GOOSE CREEK CLUB
HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC. (“Association”), a Virginia nonstock corporation, and the
TOWN OF LEESBURG, VIRGINIA (“Town”), a municipal corporation. The Commercial Owner
and the Association are collectively referred to as “Owners” hereafter; and the Town and the Owners
are collectively referred to as the “Parties” hereafter.
WHEREAS, the Commercial Owner is a Virginia limited liability company, with its
principal place of business located at 8255 Greensboro Drive, Suite 200, McLean, VA 22102, and the
owner of property identified as Loudoun County PIN No. 150-40-5648-000 (the “Property”), having
acquired the property by deed recorded as instrument number 20171030-0067707 among the land
records of Loudoun County, Virginia; and
WHEREAS, certain waterline and sanitary sewer easements (“Easements”) were conveyed
to the Town by Deed of Easements and Subordination and the accompanying plat, recorded among
the land records of Loudoun County, Virginia, as Instrument number 20171227-0079888 (deed), and
20171227-0079889 (plat), respectively, and attached hereto and made a part of this Agreement as
Exhibit A-1, and Exhibit A-2; and
WHEREAS, the developer of Goose Creek Club caused certain structures and
improvements, including retaining walls, planters, landscaping, and trees (hereinafter the
“Encroachments”), to be constructed, installed, and/or placed within the Town’s Easements, as
identified on the “Exhibit to Accompany Encroachment Agreement, Property of Kettler Goose Creek
Commercial, LLC” dated March 31, 2021, attached hereto as Exhibit B, and made a part of this
Agreement; and
WHEREAS, the Encroachments are situated on the Property; and
WHEREAS, the Association is a Virginia nonstock corporation formed pursuant to the
Virginia Nonstock Corporation Act, Section 13.1-801, et seq. of the Code of Virginia, and in
accordance with the Virginia Property Owners’ Association Act, Section 55-508 et seq. of the Code
of Virginia, with its principal place of business located at 8255 Greensboro Drive, Suite 200,
McLean, VA 22102. The Association is a property owners association charged with certain duties
and vested with certain powers to enforce the covenants and govern and manage the real property
generally known as Goose Creek Club; and
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Item c.
2
WHEREAS, the Association is established and governed by, in addition to the pertinent
statutes, its Articles of Incorporation as filed with the Virginia State Corporation Commission
(“Articles”), the Declaration of Protective Covenants, Conditions, Restrictions and Reserved
Easements, Goose Creek Club Homeowners Association, Inc. (“Declaration”) recorded as instrument
number 20180827-0050308 among the land records of Loudoun County, Virginia (“Land Records”),
and its bylaws and duly adopted rules, regulations, and resolutions (collectively all of the above are
the “Association Documents”); and
WHEREAS, the Association has general maintenance and upkeep responsibility for the
Common Areas that are under its control; and
WHEREAS, the Owners seek to enter into an agreement to permit the aforementioned
Encroachments to remain within the Town’s Easements, and to set forth the terms and conditions
upon which the Owners will be permitted to encroach upon the Town’s Easements.
NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the above recitals, the mutual undertakings of the
parties as contained herein, and other good and valuable consideration, the parties hereby agree as
follows:
1. Recitals: The Recitals set forth at the outset of this Agreement are incorporated herein and made
a part of this Agreement.
2. Encroachments. The Town hereby agrees to refrain from removing the Encroachments except as
provided in this Agreement.
3. Access by Town in Emergency. The following provisions will apply in the event the Town, in
its sole discretion, requires access to the Easements on an emergency basis:
3.1. Removal of Encroachments. The Town may, at Owners’ expense, remove the
Encroachments, or any portion thereof, as the Town may deem necessary to make repairs or
otherwise address the emergency.
3.2. No liability of Town. The Town accepts no responsibility or liability for any damage to the
Encroachments caused by the Town’s efforts to enter or access its Easements; and the Town
will not replace, repair or reimburse the Owners for any Encroachments damaged by the
Town within its Easements.
4. Access by Town for Waterline and Sanitary Sewer Maintenance, Repair, or Replacement:
The following provisions will apply in the event that the Town, in its sole discretion, requires
access to the Easements for maintenance, repair, or replacement.
4.1. Notice to Commercial Owner and Association. The Town will provide 48 hours’ notice to
the Owners, which notice need not comply with section 9 of this Agreement, but shall be
provided as follows: Joe Barrows, Sentry Management Inc., via email at
jbarrows@sentrymgmt.com or via telephone at (540-751-1888 x 56610).
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Item c.
3
4.2. Removal of Encroachments. (a) The Town may provide written notice to Owners,
requiring Owners to remove the Encroachments or relevant portions thereof from the
Easement within a time period specified in the written notice; or (b) in the alternative and in
the Town’s sole discretion, the Town may proceed to remove the Encroachments or relevant
portions thereof from the Easements at Owners’ expense. The Town will promptly invoice
Owners for any removal costs incurred by the Town and Owners shall make payment within
30 days of the date of any such invoice.
4.3. No liability of Town. The Town accepts no responsibility or liability for any damage to the
Encroachments caused by the Town’s efforts to enter or access its Easements. The Town
will not replace, repair or reimburse the Owners for any Encroachments damaged by the
Town within its Easements, and accepts no responsibility for the cost of removal, repair or
replacement of the Encroachments.
5. No Right to Expansion or Replacement of Encroaching Structures. This Agreement shall
remain in full force and effect so long as the Encroachments remain in present form. No
Encroachment may be expanded. Owners may perform routine maintenance on the
Encroachments, provided however, that such maintenance shall not include repair or replacement
of any structural element of any Encroachment. Upon removal, demolition, or destruction of any
Encroachment, Owners shall have no right to replace such Encroachment within the Easements.
6. Indemnification:
6.1. Owners hereby assume responsibility, jointly and severally, for all costs, repairs or
replacement of the Encroachments, and agree to defend, hold harmless and indemnify the
Town, its employees and agents from any and all claims by Owners or any third party which
may occur as a result of the Town’s efforts to access its Easements.
6.2. The Town accepts no responsibility for damages or injuries incurred by Owners or any third
party involving the Encroachments. Owners hereby assume all responsibility for such
damages or injuries, and agrees to defend, hold harmless and indemnify the Town, its
employees and agents from any and all claims by Owners or any third party which may
occur as a result of the Encroachments within the Town’s Easements.
7. Rights and Obligations to Run with the Land. This Agreement shall be recorded among the
Land Records of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Loudoun County. The rights and obligations
set forth herein shall run with the land and shall be binding upon and shall inure to the benefit of
the Parties hereto and their respective successors, assigns and beneficiaries. Any conveyance of
title to any part of the Property is, except as otherwise set forth herein, subject to the provisions
of this Agreement, and any transferee of any interest in the Property is deemed to have agreed, by
acceptance of such interest, to be bound by all of the provisions of this Agreement.
8. Notices: Any notice or other communication required or permitted to be given under this
Agreement shall be in writing and shall be made by hand delivery, or overnight courier service or
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4
by certified mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested, addressed to each respective party at
the address set forth below, and shall be considered to have been effectively given as of the date
of hand delivery, as of the date specified for delivery if by overnight courier or as of three (3)
business days after the date of mailing by certified mail, as the case may be. The Parties shall
have the right to designate a different recipient and address for the receipt of notices, in
accordance with this section 9.
Any notice to the Commercial Owner shall be sent to:
Peter Olechnovich
Kettler Goose Creek Commercial LLC
c/o Kettler Inc.
8255 Greensboro Drive, Suite 200
McLean, Virginia 22102
Any notice to the Association shall be sent to: Michele Taylor
Goose Creek Club Homeowners Association, Inc.
8255 Greensboro Drive, Suite 200
McLean, Virginia 22102
Any notice to the Town of Leesburg shall be sent to: Amy Wyks, Director
Department of Utilities
1385 Russell Branch Parkway, SE
Leesburg, Virginia 20175
With a copy to: Town Attorney
Town of Leesburg
25 West Market Street
Leesburg, Virginia 20176
9. Termination by Town. The Town may terminate this agreement upon 90 days' written notice,
for the purpose of capital improvements. In such event, Owners shall remove the Encroachments
at no cost to the Town. Owners shall have no right to compensation from the Town for the
removal of the Encroachments. If the Encroachments are not removed within 30 days of the date
of termination as provided in the Town's notice, the Town shall have the right to remove the
Encroachments at the Owners’ expense; the Town will promptly invoice Owners for any removal
costs incurred by the Town and Owners shall make payment within 30 days of the date of any
such invoice.
98
Item c.
5
10. General Provisions:
10.1. Amendment. This Agreement may only be amended by an instrument in writing executed
by all Parties hereto, or their successors with respect to the Property.
10.2. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with
the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia and shall be binding upon the Parties and their
respective successors and/or assigns. The Parties further agree that any dispute that may
occur as a result of the terms of this Agreement will be resolved in the Loudoun County
Circuit Court or the Loudoun County General District Court. In the event of such dispute,
each party shall be responsible for its own attorney’s fees and costs incurred as a result of
such dispute.
10.3. Authority. The signatories of this Agreement affirm that they have the authority to execute
this Agreement.
[SIGNATURES APPEAR ON THE FOLLOWING PAGES]
99
Item c.
6
GOOSE CREEK CLUB
HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC.
By: __________________________________________ Name: Peter Olechnovich Title: President
COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA:
COUNTY OF ________________: to-wit
I, the undersigned Notary Public in and for the county and state aforesaid, do hereby certify
that Peter Olechnovich, President of Goose Creek Club Homeowners Association, Inc., whose
name is signed to the foregoing Encroachment Agreement bearing the date of the ______ day of
_______________, 2021, has acknowledged the same before me in my county aforesaid.
Given under my hand this ______ day of _____________________, 2021.
_________________________________________ Notary Public My Commission Expires: ____________________
Notary Reg. No.: ___________________________
[Signatures Continue Next Page]
100
Item c.
7
KETTLER GOOSE CREEK COMMERCIAL LLC By: Kettler Asset Management LLC, its manager
By: Kettler Inc., its sole member manager By: __________________________________________
Name: Sean H. Curtin Title: Executive Vice President
COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA:
COUNTY OF ________________: to-wit
I, the undersigned Notary Public in and for the county and state aforesaid, do hereby certify
that Sean H. Curtin, Executive Vice President of Kettler Inc., sole member and manager of Kettler
Asset Management LLC, manager of Kettler Goose Creek Commercial LLC, whose name is signed
to the foregoing Encroachment Agreement bearing the date of the ______ day of
_______________, 2021, has acknowledged the same before me in my county aforesaid.
Given under my hand this ______ day of _____________________, 2021.
_________________________________________ Notary Public My Commission Expires: ____________________
Notary Reg. No.: ___________________________
[Signatures Continue Next Page]
101
Item c.
8
Approved as to Form: TOWN OF LEESBURG
By: _________________________________ By: _________________________________ Town Attorney Kelly Burk, Mayor
COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA:
COUNTY OF LOUDOUN: to-wit
I, the undersigned Notary Public in and for the county and state aforesaid, do hereby certify
that Kelly Burk, Mayor whose name is signed to the foregoing Encroachment Agreement bearing
the date of the ______ day of _______________, 2021, has acknowledged the same before me in
my county aforesaid.
Given under my hand this ______ day of _____________________, 2021.
_________________________________________ Notary Public My Commission Expires: ____________________ Notary Reg. No.: ___________________________
102
Item c.
Tel. 703.642.2306Chantilly, Virginia 201514200 D Technology CourtUrban, Ltd.www.urban-ltd.comPlanners Engineers Landscape Architects Land Surveyors103Item c.
PRESENTED: April 27, 2021
RESOLUTION NO. 2021- ADOPTED: ____________
A RESOLUTION : INITIATION OF AMENDMENTS TO ARTICLES 9 AND 18 OF
THE ZONING ORDINANCE TO DEFINE AND CREATE USE
STANDARDS FOR DONATION BOXES
WHEREAS, donation boxes have become attractive nuisances that are not currently
regulated by the Zoning Ordinance; and
WHEREAS, the Town Council discussed this issue at a work session on April 26, 2021,
and recommended initiation of this text amendment; and
WHEREAS, the public necessity, convenience, general welfare, and good zoning
practice require the proposed amendments.
THEREFORE, RESOLVED, by the Council of the Town of Leesburg in Virginia as
follows:
1. Amendments to the Zoning Ordinance are hereby initiated, and recommended to the
Planning Commission to amend Articles 9 and 18 to define and create use standards
for donation boxes to facilitate the intent of this initiation.
2. The Planning Commission shall hold a public hearing to consider amendments to
the Zoning Ordinance, and to report its recommendation to the Town Council
pursuant the Section 15.2-2204 of the 1950 Code of Virginia, as amended
PASSED this 27th day of April, 2021.
______________________________
Kelly Burk, Mayor
Town of Leesburg
ATTEST:
______________________________
Clerk of Council
104
Item d.
PRESENTED: April 27, 2021
RESOLUTION NO. 2021- ADOPTED: ____________
A RESOLUTION : INITIATION OF AMENDMENTS TO THE TOWN CODE,
ZONING ORDINANCE, DESIGN CONSTRUCTION
STANDARDS MANUAL AND SUBDIVISION LAND
DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS TO INCORPORATE
DISCLOSURE OF POTENTIAL ADVERSE IMPACTS DURING
THE LAND DEVELOPMENT APPROVAL PROCESS
WHEREAS, Town Council has expressed its desire to incorporate notices or
disclosures of potential adverse impacts during the land development process; and
WHEREAS, the Town Code, Town Ordinances, and Town Regulations do not include
required notices or disclosures; and
WHEREAS, in the interest of facilitating public education of potential adverse impacts,
amendments to the Town Code, Zoning Ordinance, Design Construction Standards Manual,
and the Subdivision Land Development Regulations would be appropriate.
THEREFORE, RESOLVED, by the Council of the Town of Leesburg in Virginia as
follows:
1. Amendments to the Town Code, Zoning Ordinance, Design Construction Standards
Manual, and the Subdivision Land Development Regulations are hereby initiated,
and referred to the Planning Commission to include notices or disclosures of potential
advserse impacts.
2. The Planning Commission shall hold a public hearing to consider amendments to
the Zoning Ordinance, and report its recommendation to the Town Council
pursuant the Section 15.2-2204 of the 1950 Code of Virginia, as amended.
105
Item e.
A RESOLUTION: INITIATION OF AMENDMENTS TO THE TOWN CODE,
ZONING ORDINANCE, DESIGN CONSTRUCTION
STANDARDS MANUAL AND SUBDIVISION LAND
DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS TO INCORPORATE
DISCLOSURE OF POTENTIAL ADVERSE IMPACTS DURING
THE LAND DEVELOPMENT APPROVAL PROCESS
-2-
PASSED this 27th day of April, 2021.
______________________________
Kelly Burk, Mayor
Town of Leesburg
ATTEST:
______________________________
Clerk of Council
106
Item e.
Date of Council Meeting: April 27, 2021
TOWN OF LEESBURG
TOWN COUNCIL MEETING
Subject: Water and Sanitary Sewer Service Extension Approval to Cattail Run
Staff Contact: Amy Wyks, P.E., Director of Utilities
Council Action Requested: Adopt a resolution to allow the Town to provide water and sanitary sewer
service to Cattail Run development with conditions related to capacity, payment of fees, and
annexation/boundary line agreement with the County of Loudoun.
Staff Recommendation: Staff recommends Council approve extension of water and sanitary sewer to
Cattail Run with conditions defined in the attached resolution.
Loudoun Water does not have any utilities in the area. Loudoun Water has informed the Town that it is
not in a position to serve this site, and has no plans to bring utilities to this area in the future.
Commission Recommendation: Not applicable.
Fiscal Impact: The design and construction costs for extension of utility infrastructure and connection will
be paid by the developer. The developer will pay all applicable connection fees including availability and
pro-ratas. After connection, the utility accounts will be charged a quarterly utility bill.
Work Plan Impact: No work plan impact as staff will review and inspect this development project within
normal duties.
Executive Summary: Dewberry on behalf of Pulte Homes is requesting Town approval of utility
extension of Town water and sanitary sewer to serve Cattail Run, a proposed 250 residential dwelling
development community. The Town’s existing utility system can support the proposed development.
Background: In accordance with Town Code Sections 34-25 and 34-123, no extension of the Town
waterworks or Town sewerage works shall be made for the purpose of serving users located outside the
town except upon the approval of such extension by the Town Council.
Dewberry on behalf of Pulte Homes, has requested the Town Council approval for extension of water
and sanitary sewer to Cattail Run per the attached letter.
The project proposes 250 single family detached homes. The attached map shows the parcel location
outside the Town’s corporate limits, and within the Joint Land Management Area (JLMA). The property
is surrounded on three sides by developments served by Town utilities. Loudoun Water does not have
any utilities in the area. Loudoun Water has informed the Town that it is not in a position to serve this
site, and has no plans to bring utilities to this area in the future.
Water Service Details
Based on location of the project, existing water infrastructure can be extended to serve the proposed
development. At the time of plan submission, computations must be provided to ensure the water
107
Item a.
Water and Sanitary Sewer Service Extension Approval to Cattail Run
April 27, 2021
Page 2
extension meets all required criteria of the Virginia Waterworks Regulators and Town. A water model
will be required to determine adequate fire flow and capacity.
Water Pro-Rata Details
There is one water system pro-rata agreement (Route 773 Waterline) that requires payment by the
Applicant prior to issuance of a County Building Permit, and under the proposed Resolution, extension
of sewer service by the Town.
Sewer Service Details
Based on location of the project, existing sanitary sewer infrastructure can be extended to serve the
proposed development. A sewer model analysis will be required to determine adequate pipe capacity
downstream. All sanitary sewer shall flow by gravity as a public sanitary sewer pump station will not
be approved.
Sanitary Sewer Pro-Rata Details
There is one sanitary sewer system pro-rata agreement (Cattail Branch Sewer Section 1) that requires
payment by the Applicant prior to issuance of a County Building Permit, and under the proposed
Resolution, extension of sewer service by the Town.
The Cattail Run Property was identified on the map as “Huntington Harris” in the Resolution 93-244,
Establishing Pro-Rata Fees for the Cattail Branch Sewage Conveyance System adopted by Town
Council on December 14, 1993.
Annexation Details
Loudoun County’s Revised General Plan County/Town Annexation Agreement/Corporate Boundary
Adjustment Guidelines in Chapter 11 offer direction for land development proposals that rely on water
and sewer service provided by the Towns. Staff highlights the following policies:
1. “It should be the intent of the County and of the Town that any property located within the Joint Land
Management Area (as defined in the policies of this Plan) which is presently or would be served by Town
sewer and/or water in accordance with the utility policies included in this Plan, should, in the future, be
annexed by the Town.”
2. “The Town and the County should only honor requests for the extension of sewer and/or water services
outside the Town’s corporate limits, within the designated Joint Land Management Area provided that the
beneficiaries of such service prepare written acknowledgement of the right of the Town Council to annex the
subject properties. If the Town should desire, this written acknowledgement shall include the beneficiaries’
written agreement to join with the Town in a joint annexation petition.”
To address policies #1-2 above, Staff recommends that the Applicant agree, in writing, to
annexation/boundary line agreements proceedings by the Town. These conditions are included in the
attached resolution.
108
Item a.
Water and Sanitary Sewer Service Extension Approval to Cattail Run
April 27, 2021
Page 3
Proposed Legislation:
RESOLUTION
Conditional Approval of Water and Sanitary Extensions to Cattail Run
Draft Motions:
1. I move to approve the proposed Resolution for conditional approval of water and sanitary sewer
extensions to Cattail Run.
2. I move to deny proposed Resolution for conditional approval of water and sanitary sewer extensions
to Cattail Run OR
Or
3. I move an alternate motion.
Attachments:
1. Draft Resolution
2. Cattail Run Request and Concept Plan
109
Item a.
PRESENTED: April 27, 2021
RESOLUTION NO. 2021- ADOPTED: ____________
A RESOLUTION : CONDITIONAL APPROVAL OF WATER AND SANITARY
SEWER EXTENSIONS TO CATTAIL RUN
WHEREAS, Dewberry on behalf of Pulte Homes, (the “Applicant”) requests approval
of Town water and sanitary sewer extensions to a proposed development consisting of one (1)
parcel of land (PIN: 147191857) known as the Cattail Run (“Cattail Run”); and
WHEREAS, Cattail Run is located outside the Town’s corporate limits but within the
Town’s and County’s Joint Land Management Area (JLMA); and
WHEREAS, Cattail Run is adjacent to the Town’s corporate limit, within the Town’s
current water and sewer utility service area and surrounded by properties that are Town utility
customers; and
WHEREAS, existing and proposed Town water and sanitary sewer infrastructure are
located within the vicinity of Cattail Run; and
WHEREAS, existing sanitary sewer pro-rata agreements identify Cattail Run as a
“Benefitted Parcel” and/or a “named property” and therefore the Applicant is responsible for all
water and sewer pro-rata payments due under these agreements; and
WHEREAS, the Town has an adopted resolution establishing pro-rata payment for
properties served by the Route 773 Waterline project; and
WHEREAS, the Applicant is responsible for all water and sewer pro-rata payments due
under these agreements; and
110
Item a.
A RESOLUTION: CONDITIONAL APPROVAL OF WATER AND SANITARY
SEWER EXTENSIONS TO CATTAIL RUN
-2-
WHEREAS, the Director of Utilities recommends approval of the extensions of Town
water and sanitary sewer services for Cattail Run so long as the conditions set forth in this
Resolution are met by the Applicant.
THEREFORE, RESOLVED, by the Council of the Town of Leesburg in Virginia as
follows:
1. The extensions of municipal water and sanitary sewer services for Cattail Run is approved
in accordance with Section 34-25 and 34-123 of the Town Code so long as the following
conditions are met by the Applicant:
a. All water and sewer connection, availability, sanitary sewer pro-rata share,
water pro-rata share and any other applicable fees for water and sanitary sewer
services shall be paid prior to the issuance of a Building Permit issued by
Loudoun County.
b. The applicant shall pay the cost of constructing facilities and improvements
needed to connect to the Town’s water and sewer system to serve Cattail Run.
c. All sanitary sewer flow will be by gravity. A public sanitary sewer pump
station will not be approved.
d. The average daily water demand and sanitary sewer flow from Cattail Run will
not exceed 87,500 gallons per day for 250 dwelling units.
e. The Applicant shall pay the sewer pro-rata assigned to the Cattail Run property
as a benefitted parcel in Resolution No. 93-244 and as stated on the final Public
Facilities Permit (PFP) issued by the Town.
f. Any proposed water and/or sanitary sewer utility plan design for Cattail Run
111
Item a.
A RESOLUTION: CONDITIONAL APPROVAL OF WATER AND SANITARY
SEWER EXTENSIONS TO CATTAIL RUN
-3-
that exceeds the average daily water demand and sanitary sewer flow amounts
set forth in paragraph d above obligates the developer to: i.) obtain from the
Town’s utilities engineering consultant, a comprehensive water and/or sewer
model and study that clearly defines the impacts to the Town’s utility system;
and ii.) Compensate the Town’s utilities engineering consultant for the water
and/or sewer model and study.
g. The Town Council must approve or deny any subsequent request, via a
subsequent Town Council Resolution, for increased water demand and/or
sanitary sewer flow capacities over and above the quantities set forth in this
Resolution.
h. In exchange for Town water and sewer services, the Applicant shall provide
written acknowledgement to the Town of the right of the Town Council to
annex, or incorporate through a boundary line agreement, Cattail Run into the
Town and a written agreement to join with the Town in any joint annexation
petition or boundary line agreement request to the County. Based on the
extensions of Town water and sanitary sewer service to serve this parcel of land
(PIN: 147191857) the Town anticipates the parcel will be incorporated into the
Town Boundaries in the future, either by Boundary Line Agreement or
Annexation as provided for in the Town Plan
i. Nothing herein shall be deemed a “holding out” by the Town as the sole water
and sanitary sewer provider outside its boundaries in this vicinity nor shall it
operate as a commitment to provide such services to any party other than the
112
Item a.
A RESOLUTION: CONDITIONAL APPROVAL OF WATER AND SANITARY
SEWER EXTENSIONS TO CATTAIL RUN
-4-
Applicant or for any purpose other than the purposes stated herein.
2. The Town shall not provide water and sewer service to Cattail Run until all conditions
set forth in Section I above are met.
3. The approval of extensions of water and sewer services and the accompanying conditions
shall apply to any subsequent purchaser of the parcels listed in this Resolution, and/or
successor or assignee of the Applicant. However this approval does not guarantee future
expansion of service.
PASSED this 27th day of April, 2021.
______________________________
Kelly Burk, Mayor
Town of Leesburg
ATTEST:
______________________________
Clerk of Council
113
Item a.
114Item a.
115Item a.
116Item a.
117Item a.
Date of Council Meeting: April 27, 2021
TOWN OF LEESBURG
TOWN COUNCIL MEETING
Subject: Douglass High School Commemorative Committee
Staff Contact: Kaj H. Dentler, Town Manager
Council Action Requested: The Loudoun County Public School Board seeks a decision by Town
Council to appoint a representative for the Town of Leesburg to the Douglass High School
Commemorative Committee.
Staff Recommendation: None.
Commission Recommendation: Not applicable.
Fiscal Impact: None.
Work Plan Impact: None.
Executive Summary: The Loudoun County Public School Board has requested the Leesburg
Town Council appoint a representative to the Douglass High School Commemorative Committee.
See Attachment #1.
Background: At the Loudoun County Public School Board meeting on Tuesday, April 13, 2021,
the School Board approved the establishment of the Douglass High School Commemorative
Committee. The Loudoun County Public School Board has requested the Leesburg Town Council
appoint a representative to the committee.
The Council appointed representative to the Douglass High School Commemorative Committee
must be provided to Loudoun County Public School staff by 3:00 p.m. on Friday, April 30, 2021.
The Loudoun County Public School Board is expected to officially appoint the Douglass High
School Commemorative Committee Members at their meeting on Tuesday, May 11, 2021.
The mission of the Douglass High School Commemorative Committee is to engage and formulate
ideas for historical displays at Douglass High School in conjunction with the upcoming renovation
plans.
Proposed Legislation:
RESOLUTION
Appoint a Representative to the Douglass High School Commemorative Committee that has Been
Established by the Loudoun County Public School Board
118
Item b.
Douglass High School Commemorative Committee
April 27, 2021
Page 2
Draft Motions:
1. I move to approve the proposed resolution by appointing __________ as the Leesburg Town
Council representative to the Douglass High School Commemorative Committee.
2. I move to deny the proposed appointing __________ as the Leesburg Town Council
representative to the Douglass High School Commemorative Committee.
OR
3. I move an alternate motion.
Attachments:
1. Email dated April 15, 2021 from Mr. Kevin Lewis, Loudoun County Public Schools
2. Draft Resolution
119
Item b.
From:Kaj Dentler
To:Council
Cc:Tara Belote; Corina Alvarez; Betsy Arnett; Alexandra S. Gressitt
Subject:FW: Douglass High School Commemorative Committee
Date:Friday, April 16, 2021 7:39:47 AM
Good morning Mayor and Council. Per the email below, Council action will be needed at your next business
meeting (April 27) to appoint a representative from Leesburg. As such, Tara and Eileen will add this item to
the respective agenda.
Just wanted you to be aware in order to consider your appointment. I have copied Alexandra Gressitt from
Balch Library in case you want to consult with her for suggestions.
Enjoy your weekend. Kaj
Kaj H. Dentler
Town Manager
(703) 771-2700
From: Kevin Lewis [mailto:Kevin.Lewis@lcps.org]
Sent: Thursday, April 15, 2021 4:32 PM
To: Kaj Dentler <KDentler@LEESBURGVA.GOV>
Cc: Nancy Kramer <Nancy.Kramer@lcps.org>; Mark Smith <Mark.Smith@lcps.org>; Beverly Tate
<Beverly.Tate@lcps.org>
Subject: Douglass High School Commemorative Committee
Mr. Dentler,
I am pleased to let you know that on Tuesday, April 13, the School Board voted to establish the
Douglass High School Commemorative Committee and included a representative appointed by
the Leesburg Town Council.
The Douglass High School Commemorative Committee will engage and formulate ideas for
historical displays at Douglass High School, in conjunction with the upcoming renovationplans.
Commemorative works will be key elements incorporated in the building renovation to tell the
story of Douglass High School. The charge of the committee will be to review and developoptions, both permanent and temporary, for relevant historic artifacts, memorabilia, and otherpossible interpretive building displays. The committee’s mission will be to determine how thehistory and importance of Douglass High School will be shared and to recommendcommemorative components for School Board action and funding, as necessary.
The Douglass High School building renovation and associated construction should be complete
by fall 2022. It is likely, depending on the recommendations of the committee and actions ofthe School Board, that certain historical restorations and commemorative efforts may continue
beyond fall 2022.
120
Item b.
The Douglass High School Commemorative Committee will be comprised of a variety of
community stakeholders. The purpose of this email is to request the name of the representativeappointed by the Leesburg Town Council to serve on the committee.
We are asking for your help to provide the name of the Council’s representative for theDouglass High School Commemorative Committee to LCPS Division of Planning Services
staff by 3:00 p.m. Friday, April 30, 2021. In submitting, provide the person’s name, mailingaddress, email, and telephone number. This information should be sent to LCPS Planning
Services staff at lcpsplan@lcps.org.
The School Board is expected to officially appoint the Douglass High School CommemorativeCommittee on May 11, 2021. Committee meetings will be held at Frederick DouglassElementary School (510 Principal Drummond Way, SE, in Leesburg) with the first meetingplanned for Monday, May 24 at 6:30 p.m. It is anticipated that committee meetings will beheld on the second and fourth Mondays of each month (6:30-9:00 p.m.), continuing through the
end of 2021.
If other members of the Leesburg residents are interested in the opportunity to serve on thecommittee, the School Board will also be appointing additional citizens to the Douglass HighSchool Commemorative Committee. Letters of interest for these committee seats should besent to LCPS Planning Services by the April 30, 2021 date, for consideration by the SchoolBoard.
Loudoun County Public Schools, Division of Planning Services
Attn: Douglass High School Commemorative Committee
21000 Education Court
Ashburn, Virginia 20148
Email: lcpsplan@lcps.org
Telephone: 571.252.1050
Again, the School Board is expected to officially appoint the Douglass High SchoolCommemorative Committee on May 11, 2021. While committee appointments will be limited,all of the meetings will be open to the public and allow time for interested persons to shareideas and comments for committee consideration. The first Douglass High SchoolCommemorative Committee meeting is planned for Monday, May 24, at Frederick Douglass
Elementary School (510 Principal Drummond Way SE, Leesburg); the meeting will begin at6:30 p.m. It is anticipated that subsequent committee meetings will be held on the second and
fourth Mondays of each month, continuing through the end of 2021. All Douglass High SchoolCommemorative Committee meetings will be open to the public and allow time for interested
121
Item b.
persons to share ideas and comments for committee consideration.
Thank you.
Kevin L. Lewis PE
Assistant Superintendent for Support Services
Loudoun County Public Schools
21000 Education Ct
Ashburn, VA 20148
571 252 1385
From: Kevin Lewis <Kevin.Lewis@lcps.org>
Sent: Tuesday, April 6, 2021 4:03 PM
To: kdentler@leesburgva.gov
Cc: Mark Smith <Mark.Smith@lcps.org>; Scott Ziegler <Scott.Ziegler@lcps.org>
Subject: Douglass High School Commemorative Committee
Mr. Dentler,
I believe you are aware that LCPS is in the process of restoring the historic Douglass
High School once the North Star School is completed this fall and the programs move
to their new home. I wanted to let you know that our Finance and Operations
Committee discussed the establishment of a Commemorative Committee to address
and influence the final design and methods to honor black history of the school and
Loudoun County. On Tuesday, April 13, the School Board will consider the
recommendation to establish the membership of the committee and I wanted to give
you a heads up that the FO recommendation included a representative appointed by
the Leesburg Town Council. Below is an excerpt from the item that will appear on the
agenda.
Please note that the item will not go live to the public or School Board Members until 5
PM on Friday No action requested but for your awareness and sharing with board
members as you deem appropriate, once it goes live.
Staff recommends the Douglass High School Commemorative
Committee be comprised of a variety of community stakeholders
including but not limited to members of the Loudoun Douglass Alumni
Association (LDAA), The Edwin Washington Project, Loudoun Chapter of
the NAACP and Martin Luther King, Jr. ‘I Have a Dream’ Committee.
Representatives from other Loudoun historical organizations and
commissions, as well as elected official citizen appointees, should also
serve on the committee.
122
Item b.
Douglass High School Commemorative Committee # Appointees
Member, Black History Committee of the Friends of
Thomas Balch Library
1
Member, Edwin Washington Project 1
Member, Friends of Thomas Balch Library 1
Member, Loudoun County Heritage Commission 1
Member, Loudoun Douglass Alumni Association 1
Member, Loudoun Museum 1
Member, Loudoun Preservation Society 1
Member, MLK ‘I Have A Dream’ Committee 1
Member, NAACP - Loudoun Chapter 1
Citizen At-Large, Leesburg Town Council Appointee 1
Citizen At-Large, Loudoun County Board of Supervisors
Appointee
1
Citizen At-Large, Loudoun County School Board
Appointee
4
Once the committee is established, I will reach out with information and a time line for identifying the
appointee from the Town. Please don’t hesitate to call if you have questions.
Kevin L. Lewis PE, CEM, GBE
Assistant Superintendent for Support Services
https://www.lcps.org/support
Loudoun County Public Schools
21000 Education Ct
Ashburn, VA 20148
571 252 1385
TOWN OF LEESBURG - ⚠ EXTERNAL EMAIL
THIS MESSAGE WAS SENT FROM AN EXTERNAL ADDRESS
TOWN OF LEESBURG - INTERNAL EMAIL
THIS MESSAGE WAS SENT FROM AN INTERNAL ADDRESS
123
Item b.
PRESENTED: April 27, 2021
RESOLUTION NO. 2021- ADOPTED: _________________
A RESOLUTION : APPOINT A REPRESENTATIVE TO THE DOUGLASS HIGH
SCHOOL COMMEMORATIVE COMMITTEE THAT HAS BEEN
ESTABLISHED BY THE LOUDOUN COUNTY PUBLIC
SCHOOL BOARD
WHEREAS, the Loudoun County Public School established a Douglass High School
Commemorative Committee at their meeting on Tuesday, April 13, 2021; and
WHEREAS, the Loudoun County Public School Board has requested the Leesburg
Town Council appoint a representative to the Douglass High School Commemorative
Committee; and
WHEREAS, the Leesburg Town Council appointed representative will need to be
provided to Loudoun County Public School staff by 3:00 p.m. on Friday, April 30, 2021; and
WHEREAS, the Loudoun County Public School Board is expected to officially appoint
the Douglass High School Commemorative Committee Members at their meeting on Tuesday,
May 11, 2021.
THEREFORE, RESOLVED, by the Council of the Town of Leesburg in Virginia
hereby appoints _______________ to represent the Town of Leesburg on the Douglass High
School Commemorative Committee established by the Loudoun County Public School Board.
PASSED this 27 day of April, 2021.
______________________________
Kelly Burk, Mayor
Town of Leesburg
ATTEST:
______________________________
Clerk of Council
124
Item b.
PRESENTED: April 27, 2021
RESOLUTION NO. 2021- ADOPTED: ____________
A RESOLUTION : AUTHORIZING COLLECTIVE BARGAINING WITH
ELIGIBLE TOWN EMPLOYEES
WHEREAS, in the spring of 2020, the General Assembly enacted changes to Va. Code
§ 40.1-57.2 allowing employees of local governments to organize and collectively bargain
effective May 1, 2021; and
WHEREAS, the public policy of the Town of Leesburg is to promote orderly and
constructive relationships between the Town and its employees; and
WHEREAS, the citizens of the Town of Leesburg have the right to expect the orderly
operation of government to promote the health, safety, and welfare of the community; and
WHEREAS, disputes between the Town and its employees are potentially detrimental to
the quality of services provided to the public and the overall orderly operation of government;
THEREFORE, RESOLVED, by the Council of the Town of Leesburg in Virginia as
follows:
1. The Town hereby authorizes eligible employees to organize and freely choose their
representatives pursuant to this resolution, policies, and procedures to be adopted by the
Town and applicable state and federal law.
2. The Town is hereby authorized to negotiate and bargain in good faith with qualifying
employee organizations representing Town employees, and to enter into written
agreements evidencing the result of such bargaining.
125
Item c.
A RESOLUTION: AUTHORIZING COLLECTIVE BARGAINING WITH ELIGIBLE
TOWN EMPLOYEES
-2-
3. The Town shall recognize only the following bargaining units for the purposes of
collective bargaining:
a) Police: The police employee bargaining unit shall consist of all sworn uniformed
employees of the Leesburg Police Department, except those excluded by the terms
of this resolution;
b) Labor & Trades: Those eligible classes of employees associated with maintenance
and skilled crafts, including job classes of workers performing duties that result
directly in the comfort and convenience of the general public, or contribute to the
maintenance of capital assets, land and infrastructure of the Town, except those
excluded by the terms of this resolution; and
c) Professional and Administrative: All other Town general government employees,
except those excluded by the terms of this resolution.
4. The Bargaining Units referenced in Item No. 3 above shall not include any of the following
categories of employees:
a. Employees within the office of the Town Manager;
b. Employees within the office of the Town Attorney;
c. Employees within the Department of Human Resources or other department or
position in which the employee has authorized access to confidential Town
personnel files;
d. Employees within the Budget and Finance & Accounting Sections of the
Department of Finance & Administrative Services;
126
Item c.
A RESOLUTION: AUTHORIZING COLLECTIVE BARGAINING WITH ELIGIBLE
TOWN EMPLOYEES
-3-
e. A secretary, administrative assistant, management analyst, or any other
administrative position, wherever assigned and however those titles may be
changed from time to time, with authorized access to confidential information
pertaining to Town budgetary and fiscal data relevant to subjects within the scope
of collective bargaining;
f. A managerial or supervisory employee; or
g. An intermittent, temporary or seasonal employee, intern or volunteer, or an
employee in new employee probationary status.
5. A bargaining agent shall be certified as the exclusive representative of all employees in an
eligible bargaining unit if the employee organization is selected by a majority of the
employees in an appropriate bargaining unit voting in an election conducted pursuant to
procedures to be developed by the Town and applicable law. In the event that more than
one employee organization files a request for recognition or for election within ten (10)
calendar days after a first request for recognition or for election has been filed, an election
to select an exclusive bargaining agent shall be held pursuant to applicable law. If an
employee organization receives a majority of the votes cast by the employees voting in an
appropriate bargaining unit, it shall be recognized by the Town as the exclusive bargaining
agent for that bargaining unit, subject to the Town’s right to file exceptions to the election
or otherwise object pursuant to applicable law. A petition for certification of a bargaining
agent without election may be approved with adequate documentation, which may
consist of a combination of membership cards or a membership roster, evidence of dues
127
Item c.
A RESOLUTION: AUTHORIZING COLLECTIVE BARGAINING WITH ELIGIBLE
TOWN EMPLOYEES
-4-
payment, or other evidence of a bargaining unit employee’s desire to be represented by a
specific employee organization for collective bargaining purposes.
6. An employee organization may request an election be held by submitting a petition for
an election to the Town. The petition must represent a showing of interest by at least
thirty (30) percent of the employees in a bargaining unit permitted by this article. The
receipt of such request and pendency of an election must be publically noticed by the
Town. Any additional interested employee organization must submit a petition of
intervention to the Town, which must be accompanied by a showing of interest by thirty
(30) percent of the employees in the appropriate bargaining unit, within ten (10) days of
notice of the pending election. An election shall be held within forty-five (45) calendar
days after written notice to all parties of the determination by the Town that a valid
petition for election has been received in accordance with the Town’s established
guidelines and procedures. If an employee organization receives a majority of the valid
ballots cast by the employees in an eligible bargaining unit, it shall be recognized by the
Town as the exclusive bargaining agent, subject to challenge pursuant to the procedures
developed by the Town and applicable law, or subsequent decertification.
7. No election in any bargaining unit may take place within twelve (12) months after a
previous election has determined an exclusive bargaining agent or a determination that
the employees choose no representation in such bargaining unit.
8. An employee organization may continue as the exclusive bargaining agent for a
bargaining unit only so long as such organization satisfies the criteria of this resolution
and any guidelines established by the Town applicable to bargaining agent recognition.
128
Item c.
A RESOLUTION: AUTHORIZING COLLECTIVE BARGAINING WITH ELIGIBLE
TOWN EMPLOYEES
-5-
If a petition for decertification of a recognized exclusive bargaining agent is presented to
the Town showing that at least thirty (30) percent of the employees in the bargaining unit
no longer want the employee organization to be their bargaining agent, then the Town
shall hold an election pursuant to the terms of this resolution and the procedure for
elections developed by the Town. A petition for decertification of a recognized exclusive
collective bargaining agent for an appropriate unit may be filed in a thirty-day (30) period
between the one hundred eightieth (180th) and one hundred fiftieth (150th) day prior to
expiration of any existing collective bargaining agreement for that bargaining unit or any
time after that collective bargaining agreement has expired. For a period of one (1) year
following recognition or certification of an exclusive bargaining agent, no decertification
petitions may be filed. The employee organization shall no longer be recognized as the
exclusive bargaining agent of the employees in the bargaining unit if a majority of the
employees in the appropriate bargaining unit vote in the decertification election to no
longer be represented by the employee organization. In addition, the Town may
withdraw recognition from an employee organization at any time based upon an
objectively reasonable good faith belief that a majority of the employees within the
bargaining unit no longer supports the employee organization. An employee
organization may file an exception to the Town’s withdrawal of recognition pursuant to
procedures established by the Town. Such procedures may include ordering an election
to determine majority support.
129
Item c.
A RESOLUTION: AUTHORIZING COLLECTIVE BARGAINING WITH ELIGIBLE
TOWN EMPLOYEES
-6-
9. The Town will bargain with appropriate bargaining agents on behalf of eligible
bargaining units on wages and benefits only, and on no other terms and conditions of
employment.
10. Town staff is hereby directed to prepare all necessary policies and procedures necessary
to effectuate the terms of this resolution, including without limitation developing
guidelines and procedures for solicitation by proposed bargaining agents, elections,
negotiations, and all other matters necessary to comply with applicable law and best labor
negotiation practices.
PASSED this 27th day of April, 2021.
______________________________
Kelly Burk, Mayor
Town of Leesburg
ATTEST:
______________________________
Clerk of Council
130
Item c.
PROCLAMATION
National Public Works Week
May 16 – 22, 2021
WHEREAS, public works service provided in our community is an integral part of our
citizen’s everyday lives, and are designed to protect and enhance our human environment;
and
WHEREAS, the support of an informed and understanding citizenry is vital to the
efficient operation of public works systems and programs; and
WHEREAS, the 2021 theme for National Public Works Week is “Stronger Together”
which gives a voice to the impact of the many facets public works have on modern civilization;
and
WHEREAS, the Town of Leesburg’s Public Works Department performs essential
services such as maintenance of equipment, reviewing of construction drawings,
transportation infrastructure, stormwater management, public buildings, brush and leaf
collection refuse and recycling collection, streets maintenance, and snow removal; and
WHEREAS, these critical facilities and services could not be provided without the
dedicated efforts of public works professionals, engineers, managers, and employees.
THEREFORE, be it proclaimed that the Mayor and Council of the Town of Leesburg
in Virginia hereby recognize May 16 through 22, 2021 as National Public Works Week, and
recognize the importance of public works employees while paying tribute to them for their
substantial contributions to our quality of life in all hours of the day and in all types of weather.
PROCLAIMED this 11th day of May, 2021.
131
Item d.
PROCLAMATION
National Preservation Month
May 2021
WHEREAS, the Town of Leesburg is rich in its historically significant and diverse architectural
and archaeological resources, and cultural traditions; and
WHEREAS, the Town of Leesburg, recognizing the importance of the protection and preservation
of historic and cultural resources, was the first jurisdiction in Loudoun County to protect such resources
by establishing the Old and Historic District in 1963; and
WHEREAS, historic preservation is an effective tool for managing growth and sustainable
development, revitalizing neighborhoods, fostering local pride, and maintaining community character
while enhancing livability, and celebrating the role of history in our lives; and
WHEREAS, historic preservation is inherently economically, environmentally, and socially
sustainable, fostering a culture of reuse, and maximizing the life cycle of all resources through
conservation; and
WHEREAS, historic preservation is relevant for communities across the nation, both urban and
rural, and for Americans of all ages, all walks of life, and all ethnic backgrounds; and
WHEREAS, the Leesburg community has a profound understanding, appreciation, and sense of
pride for the historic and cultural resources of this Town.
THEREFORE, be it proclaimed, that the Mayor and Council of the Town of Leesburg in Virginia
hereby recognize May 2021 as National Preservation Month, and call upon the people of Leesburg to
join their fellow citizens across the United States in recognizing and participating in this special
observance.
PROCLAIMED this 11th day of May, 2021.
132
Item e.
PROCLAMATION
Fair Housing Month
April 2021
WHEREAS, the Fair Housing Act, enacted on April 11, 1968, enshrined into federal law the
goal of eliminating racial segregation and ending housing discrimination in the United States; and
WHEREAS, the Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color,
religion, sex, familial status, national origin, and disability, and commits recipients of federal funding
to affirmatively further fair housing in their communities; and
WHEREAS, the Town of Leesburg is committed to the mission and intent of Congress to
provide fair and equal housing opportunities for all; and
WHEREAS, our social fabric, the economy, health, and environment are strengthened in
diverse, inclusive communities; and
WHEREAS, more than fifty years after the passage of the Fair Housing Act, discrimination
persists, and many communities remain segregated; and
WHEREAS, acts of housing discrimination and barriers to equal housing opportunity are
unacceptable to a common sense of decency and fairness.
THEREFORE, be it PROCLAIMED, that the Mayor and Council of the Town of Leesburg
in Virginia recognize April 2021 as Fair Housing Month, and are committed to fair housing, and to
promoting appropriate activities by private and public entities to provide and advocate for equal
housing opportunities for all residents and prospective residents of the Town of Leesburg.
PROCLAIMED this 27th day of April, 2021.
____________________________________
Kelly Burk, Mayor
____________________________________
Fernando “Marty” Martinez, Vice Mayor
____________________________________
Ara H. Bagdasarian
____________________________________
Suzanne D. Fox
____________________________________
Zach Cummings
____________________________________
Kari Nacy
____________________________________
Neil Steinberg
133
Item f.
Date of Council Meeting: April 27, 2021
TOWN OF LEESBURG
TOWN COUNCIL MEETING
Subject: Initiating and Establishing a Process for Soliciting Proposals and Granting Non-
Exclusive Telecommunications Facility Franchises
Staff Contact: Christine M. Newton, Deputy Town Attorney
Council Action Requested: Adopt the proposed ordinance initiating a process to solicit proposals
for the grant of one or more non-exclusive small cell telecommunications facility franchises, and
establishing a process for advertising the proposed franchise ordinance, and inviting, receiving and
evaluating bids in accordance with applicable law.
Staff Recommendation: The Town Attorney’s office recommends that the Town utilize a
franchise agreement structure for use of Town rights-of-way by small cell wireless
telecommunications providers. This franchise agreement structure would replace the current short-
term license agreement structure, supporting efficient processing of applications for small cell
facility installations. To initiate the franchise process, staff recommends adoption of the proposed
ordinance as drafted.
Commission Recommendation: Not applicable.
Fiscal Impact: A one-time administrative fee of $750 would be payable by each successful
franchisee upon execution of the Telecommunications Facility Franchise Agreement. Application
fees adopted by the Town and in accordance with state law will continue to apply to individual
small cell installations. Generally, these fees include: zoning permit fees of $100 each for the first 5
permits and $50 each for additional permits, up to 35 permits on any single application; and the
$100 right-of-way permit fee.
Work Plan Impact: Implementation of a longer-term franchise agreement structure will increase
the efficiency of the small cell permitting process, and reduce staff time necessary to process more
numerous short-term license agreements and present those license agreements to Council for
approval. Negotiation of an appropriate franchise agreement is within the work plan of the Town
Attorney’s office.
Executive Summary: Since the enactment of new telecommunications laws in Virginia in 2017
and 2018, the Town has received an increasing number of applications to install small cell facilities
within the public rights-of-way. To date, the Town has utilized a short-term (5-year) license
agreement structure to grant carriers the necessary authorization to place infrastructure within the
rights-of-way. Federal and state laws require the Town to address these applications quickly,
placing a premium on efficient review and processing. A longer-term franchise agreement structure
would have several efficiency-related advantages over the current license agreement structure. In
order to implement the proposed franchise agreement structure, the Town must conduct a public
134
Item a.
Initiating and Establishing a Process for Soliciting Proposals and Granting Non-Exclusive
Telecommunications Facility Franchises
April 27, 2021
Page 2
bidding process in accordance with State Code. The proposed ordinance initiates and establishes
the franchise bidding process.
Background: In 2017, the Virginia General Assembly enacted new laws governing how localities
can regulate the installation of wireless and small cell facilities within the public rights-of-way. (Va.
Code §§ 56-484.26, et seq.) In 2017 and 2018, the General Assembly adopted a set of rules governing
local zoning of wireless facilities. (Va. Code §§ 15.2-2316.3, et seq.) Federal telecommunications
law and regulation also apply in this complex area, and are supplemented by orders of the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC); together these federal rules establish limits on a locality’s
permissible application-processing time (known as the “shot clock”).
Under the applicable state law “small cell” facilities are limited to those wireless facilities that are
no more than six cubic feet in volume. Generally, small cell facilities are installed or mounted on
existing utility poles or purpose-built poles, buildings, or monopoles. Small cell facilities are part of
the deployment of new technological advances in wireless telecommunications. In those
geographic areas with larger populations that put higher demands on the wireless network, these
small cell systems help to disperse the numbers of calls into more manageable pieces by localizing
calls away from macro telecommunications networks. In those areas with connectivity challenges
posed by topographic characteristics, a small cell deployment can help to fill the gaps in the overall
network to maintain call connectivity. Because of the small size of the antenna involved in a small
cell deployment and the low power involved, the range of this type of antenna is not extensive. For
that reason, small cell deployments involve many antennas within close proximity of each other.
Prior to installation of small cell facilities within the public rights-of-way, the applicant must have
both authorization to utilize the right-of-way, and a zoning permit. Since the April 2017 legislation,
the Town has used individual license agreements to authorize use of the right-of-way for each
application submitted by a wireless carrier. To date, Council has approved seven license
agreements for small cell wireless telecommunications facilities in the Town’s rights-of-way,1 and
an additional application is currently pending. Each of the existing license agreements is for a
period of five years.
Two wireless carriers currently have multiple outstanding license agreements with the Town; Staff
anticipates that both will seek to enter into a franchise agreement with the Town. Under the terms
of the proposed franchise agreement, all facilities installed pursuant to any existing license
agreement with a particular provider would become subject to the franchise agreement once it is
executed with that provider.
1 The Town has entered into small cell license agreements with three wireless providers: Mobilitie, LLC; Cellco
Partnership (Verizon Wireless affiliate); and New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC (AT&T affiliate). Approval resolutions
are as noted below:
1. Resolution 2018-027 dated 2/27/2018 (Mobilitie)
2. Resolution 2019-046 dated 3/12/2019 (Cellco)
3. Resolution 2019-091 dated 6/25/2019 (Cellco)
4. Resolution 2019-113 dated 8/13/2019 (Cingular)
5. Resolution 2020-052 dated 4/14/2020 (Cellco)
6. Resolution 2020-053 dated 4/14/2020 (Cingular)
7. Resolution 2021-012 dated 1/12/2021 (Cellco)
135
Item a.
Initiating and Establishing a Process for Soliciting Proposals and Granting Non-Exclusive
Telecommunications Facility Franchises
April 27, 2021
Page 3
The use of a franchise agreement structure will have several advantages over the license agreement
structure that has been used to date. First, the franchise agreement will be for a term of ten years,
with three renewal periods of five years each (for a total of 25 years if all renewals are exercised).
Additionally, the individual application process will become more efficient and streamlined, as
Council approval of individual installations will not be required. Finally, with respect to each
carrier’s facilities, the protections afforded to the Town (such as insurance and surety bond
requirements) will be located in a single agreement.
Zoning permit requirements would not change under the franchise agreement structure. Under
current state law, the Town must approve or deny a small cell application within 60 days of the
submission of a complete application, and may not impose any special exception requirement. The
FCC shot clock also complicates the time limitations. Under applicable law and regulation, the
Town has a very limited ability to deny these types of applications unless specifically-prescribed
criteria are met; generally, appropriate bases for denial are related to public safety issues.
Other generally applicable Town ordinances and regulations would also remain applicable under
the franchise agreement structure. For example: locations within one of the Town’s historic
districts would still require a certificate of appropriateness from the Board of Architectural Review;
and the Town’s Department of Public Works would still review all applications for compliance
with applicable safety and engineering requirements prior to issuing the right of way permit.
With the exception of the initial administrative fee associated with the franchise agreement, the
fees associated with individual installations would remain in place. Current law strictly limits the
fees that the Town may impose. As permitted by law, the Town currently applies the following
fees: a right-of-way permit fee (currently $100) and zoning permit fee, the amount of which is set
by state code not to exceed $100 per application for up to five small cell facilities, and $50 for each
additional small cell facility (up to a maximum of 35 facilities per application).
Under Chapter 21 of Title 15.2 of the Virginia Code, the Town must utilize a public bidding process
before granting any franchise for a term in excess of five years. The proposed ordinance sets forth
a process for advertising, inviting and evaluating bids, and awarding one or more franchises in
accordance with these State Code requirements.
Proposed Legislation:
ORDINANCE
Initiating and Establishing a Process for Soliciting Proposals and Granting Non-Exclusive
Telecommunications Facility Franchises
Draft Motions:
1. I move to approve the proposed ORDINANCE.
2. I move to deny the proposed ORDINANCE.
136
Item a.
Initiating and Establishing a Process for Soliciting Proposals and Granting Non-Exclusive
Telecommunications Facility Franchises
April 27, 2021
Page 4
OR
3. I move an alternate motion.
Attachments:
1. Proposed Ordinance
2. Proposed Franchise Agreement
137
Item a.
PRESENTED: April 27, 2021
ORDINANCE NO. 2021- ADOPTED: ________________
AN ORDINANCE : INITIATING AND ESTABLISHING A PROCESS FOR
SOLICITING PROPOSALS AND GRANTING NON-
EXCLUSIVE TELECOMMUNICATIONS FACILITY
FRANCHISES
WHEREAS, the Town Council wishes to consider the grant of non-exclusive
Telecommunications Facility Franchise(s) for telecommunications providers to install specified
small cell facilities and related infrastructure in the public rights-of-way; and
WHEREAS, the Town Council wishes to establish the process for considering and
granting such franchises in accordance with the requirements of Virginia Code § 15.2-2100 et seq.
THEREFORE, ORDAINED, by the Council of the Town of Leesburg in Virginia as
follows:
SECTION I. The Town of Leesburg proposes to grant non-exclusive Telecommunications
Facility Franchise(s) in the manner prescribed by law, for telecommunications providers to
install specified small cell facilities and related infrastructure in the public rights-of-way, as set
forth in the following proposed franchise ordinance.
PRESENTED: ___________
ORDINANCE NO. 2021- ADOPTED: _____________
AN ORDINANCE: GRANTING TO ___________________
ITS SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS, A
TELECOMMUNICATIONS FACILITY
FRANCHISE, UNDER CERTAIN
CONDITIONS, PERMITTING THE
GRANTEE TO USE THE PUBLIC
RIGHTS-OF-WAY IN THE TOWN OF
LEESBURG FOR THE DESIGN,
CONSTRUCTION, INSTALLATION,
MAINTENANCE, REPAIR, UPGRADE,
REMOVAL AND OPERATION OF
SPECIFIED SMALL CELL FACILITIES
AND RELATED INFRASTRUCTURE
138
Item a.
AN ORDINANCE: AN ORDINANCE INITIATING AND ESTABLISHING A
PROCESS FOR SOLICITING PROPOSALS AND GRANTING
NON-EXCLUSIVE TELECOMMUNICATIONS FACILITY
FRANCHISES
-2-
WHEREAS, by Ordinance 2021-O-________, adopted
April 27, 2021, following a public hearing, the Town Council
initiated and established a process for soliciting proposals and
granting non-exclusive telecommunications facility franchise(s);
and
WHEREAS, in accordance with the process established in
Ordinance 2021-O-________, an invitation to bid for such non-
exclusive telecommunications facility franchise(s) was duly
advertised together with a descriptive notice of the proposed
franchise ordinance, and bids were duly received, publicly
announced, and evaluated, all as required by law.
THEREFORE, ORDAINED, by the Council of the Town
of Leesburg in Virginia as follows:
SECTION I. That this Franchise is hereby granted to
__________________ hereinafter referred to as "Grantee," its
successors and assigns, to permit the Grantee to design, construct,
install, maintain, repair, upgrade, remove and operate specified
small cell facilities and related infrastructure in the public rights-of-
ways in the Town of Leesburg in accordance with the terms and
conditions set forth in the Telecommunications Facility Franchise
Agreement, attached hereto as Exhibit A and fully incorporated
herein by reference.
SECTION II. That said Franchise is awarded to the
Grantee after public notice and invitation for bids, as required by
law and in accordance with Section II of Ordinance No. 2021-O-
____, and after the invitation for bids was duly closed and all bids
were fully and carefully investigated and evaluated. More than one
franchise may be awarded pursuant to this Ordinance.
SECTION III. That the Grantee be, and hereby is granted
a franchise for an initial term of ten (10) years with automatic
extension of up to three (3) additional periods of five years each, to
design, construct, install, maintain, repair, remove and operate
specified small cell facilities and related infrastructure in the public
rights-of-way in the Town. The Grantee shall strictly comply with
the terms of this Ordinance and with the Telecommunications
Facility Franchise Agreement (Exhibit A), together with all
applicable laws and regulations of the Town of Leesburg, the
139
Item a.
AN ORDINANCE: AN ORDINANCE INITIATING AND ESTABLISHING A
PROCESS FOR SOLICITING PROPOSALS AND GRANTING
NON-EXCLUSIVE TELECOMMUNICATIONS FACILITY
FRANCHISES
-3-
Commonwealth of Virginia, and the United States, and any
regulatory agency having jurisdiction, including, without
limitation, with the following conditions:
1. All necessary permits shall be obtained for each and every
excavation or installation, including but not limited to
boring in and/or under public rights-of way or other public
places and any associated parking and lane closure permits
upon payment of applicable fees.
2. In the event that relocation, construction, reconstruction,
maintenance or repair by the Town, or the Commonwealth
of Virginia of any facilities or services is necessary or
desirable, and it is necessary to alter or relocate, either
permanently or temporarily, any of the Grantee’s property
in the public rights-of way or other public property in order
to accomplish the same, the Grantee shall, after reasonable
notice, move, alter or relocate its property at its own cost
and expense and should the Grantee fail to comply with
such notice, its property may be removed, altered or
relocated by the Town or the Commonwealth at the cost of
the Grantee and without liability for any resulting damage.
The Grantee shall do everything reasonably necessary, in a
timely manner, to prevent any delays in construction
projects of the Town or the Commonwealth.
3. This Franchise may not be assigned or transferred without
the prior written consent of the Town in accordance with
the Telecommunications Facility Franchise Agreement.
4. The Grantee will obtain liability insurance in accordance
with the Telecommunications Facility Franchise
Agreement and to the satisfaction of the Town Attorney,
which insurance shall name the Town as an additional
insured.
5. The Grantee will not use the privileges granted by this
Franchise to provide the functional equivalent of a Cable
Television System, Cable Services, or related services
defined in and regulated by Chapter 9 (Cable Television)
of the Leesburg Town Code, as amended.
140
Item a.
AN ORDINANCE: AN ORDINANCE INITIATING AND ESTABLISHING A
PROCESS FOR SOLICITING PROPOSALS AND GRANTING
NON-EXCLUSIVE TELECOMMUNICATIONS FACILITY
FRANCHISES
-4-
6. The Grantee shall protect all property of the Town or any
other person during any work of designing, constructing,
installing, maintaining, repairing, upgrading, removing or
operating its system in or adjacent to the public rights-of
way or other public places, and shall fully restore, in kind,
any property damaged or destroyed during any such work.
7. Nothing in this Franchise shall increase or strengthen the
rights that other franchisees may have. The Town shall
have no liability to the Grantee for exercising any rights the
Town may have in general or under its franchises with
other franchisees, regardless of the effect of such exercise
on the Grantee.
8. The Grantee shall remove its property at its own expense
at the expiration or termination hereof.
SECTION IV. That the Town Manager be and hereby is
authorized to execute such documents as may be required to
effectuate the Franchise hereby granted.
SECTION V. That the Town Manager and the Town
Attorney, or their respective designees, are hereby authorized to
take such actions and execute such additional documents as may
be necessary and desirable to effectuate this Ordinance.
SECTION II. That upon passage of this Ordinance, the Clerk shall cause to be advertised
once a week for two successive weeks in a newspaper published in the Town of Leesburg,
Virginia, a descriptive notice of the proposed franchise ordinance contained in Section I of this
ordinance and, in addition thereto, shall by such advertisement invite bids for the Franchise(s)
proposed to be granted by such proposed franchise ordinance, by publishing a Notice which
shall be in substantially the following form:
NOTICE
BIDS ARE INVITED BY THE TOWN OF
LEESBURG, VIRGINIA, FOR THE GRANT OF A NON-
EXCLUSIVE FRANCHISE PERMITTING FRANCHISEE(S)
TO USE THE PUBLIC RIGHTS-OF-WAY IN THE TOWN
FOR THE DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION, INSTALLATION,
MAINTENANCE, REPAIR, UPGRADE, REMOVAL, AND
OPERATION OF SPECIFIED SMALL CELL FACILITIES
AND RELATED INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE TOWN.
141
Item a.
AN ORDINANCE: AN ORDINANCE INITIATING AND ESTABLISHING A
PROCESS FOR SOLICITING PROPOSALS AND GRANTING
NON-EXCLUSIVE TELECOMMUNICATIONS FACILITY
FRANCHISES
-5-
THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR THE
FRANCHISE ARE ATTACHED TO THE ORDINANCE.
THE TERM OF THE FRANCHISE SHALL BE FOR
AN INITIAL TERM OF TEN (10) YEARS WITH UP TO
THREE (3) ADDITIONAL EXTENSIONS OF FIVE (5)
YEARS EACH.
ALL BIDS ARE TO BE SUBMITTED IN WRITING IN
THE FORMAT OF THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS
FACILITY FRANCHISE AGREEMENT ATTACHED TO
THE ORDINANCE AS EXHIBIT A AND ADDITIONAL
DOCUMENTS REQUIRED BY THE TERMS AND
SPECIFICATIONS. THE BID DOCUMENTS ARE TO BE
SENT TO CARMEN SMITH, PARALEGAL VIA E-MAIL
CSMITH@LEESBURGVA.GOV, OR MAIL 25 WEST
MARKET STREET, LEESBURG, VA 20176 AND MUST BE
RECEIVED ON OR BEFORE 12:00 NOON ON MAY 25, 2021.
AT THAT TIME BIDS SHALL BE PUBLICLY OPENED AND
BIDDERS IDENTIFIED.
IN ADDITION, IDENTIFICATION OF THE
BIDDERS SHALL BE ANNOUNCED IN OPEN SESSION OF
THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF LEESBURG IN
THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS, TOWN HALL, 25 WEST
MARKET STREET, SECOND FLOOR, LEESBURG,
VIRGINIA, 20176 ON MAY 25, 2021, AT 7 P.M. EASTERN
TIME. AT THE MAY 25, 2021, MEETING, THE MAYOR
SHALL REFER THE BIDS RECEIVED TO THE TOWN
MANAGER TO EVALUATE, REVIEW AND CONSIDER IN
THE MANNER PRESCRIBED BY LAW, INCLUDING THE
SELECTION OF, AND NEGOTIATION OF FRANCHISE
AGREEMENT(S) WITH, ONE OR MORE PREFERRED,
RESPONSIVE BIDDER(S). AS SOON THEREAFTER AS
PRACTICABLE, THE TOWN MANAGER WILL
RECOMMEND THE SUCCESSFUL BIDDER(S) AND
PRESENT THE NEGOTIATED FRANCHISE
AGREEMENT(S), FOR CONSIDERATION AND
APPROVAL BY TOWN COUNCIL.
THE TOWN RESERVES THE RIGHT IN THE
TOWN MANAGER'S SOLE DISCRETION TO REJECT
142
Item a.
AN ORDINANCE: AN ORDINANCE INITIATING AND ESTABLISHING A
PROCESS FOR SOLICITING PROPOSALS AND GRANTING
NON-EXCLUSIVE TELECOMMUNICATIONS FACILITY
FRANCHISES
-6-
ANY AND ALL BIDS, TO TERMINATE NEGOTIATIONS
AT ANY STAGE OF THE SELECTION PROCESS, AND TO
REISSUE THE REQUEST FOR BIDS WITH OR WITHOUT
MODIFICATION.
THE DESCRIPTIVE NOTICE OF THE PROPOSED
FRANCHISE ORDINANCE IS AS FOLLOWS:
The proposed ordinance will grant a nonexclusive
franchise or franchises, under certain conditions, permitting the
grantee to use the public rights-of-way in the Town of Leesburg,
for the design, construction, installation, maintenance, repair,
upgrade, removal, and operation of specified small cell facilities
and related infrastructure. A copy of the complete text of the
proposed ordinance is available from the Town Clerk, located in
Town Hall, 25 West Market Street, Leesburg, Virginia, during
normal business hours (Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.);
or by calling Eileen Boeing, Town Clerk, at 703-771-2733.
SECTION III. That the Town Manager and the Town Attorney, or their respective designees,
are hereby authorized to take such actions and execute such additional documents as may be
necessary and desirable to effectuate this Ordinance.
SECTION IV. This ordinance shall be in effect upon its passage.
PASSED this 27th day of April, 2021.
______________________________
Kelly Burk, Mayor
Town of Leesburg
ATTEST:
______________________________
Clerk of Council
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Item a.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS FACILITY FRANCHISE AGREEMENT
This Telecommunications Facility Franchise Agreement ("Agreement") is entered into this ___ day of _________________, 2021, by and between the Town of Leesburg, Virginia, a municipal corporation of the Commonwealth of Virginia (the "Town"), and
__________________________________ (the "Franchisee").
RECITALS: A. The Town is responsible for management of the Public Rights-of-Way, as hereinafter defined, and performs a wide range of vital tasks necessary to preserve the physical integrity of
Public Rights-of-Way, to control the orderly flow of vehicles, to promote the safe movement of vehicles and pedestrians, and to manage a number of gas, water, sewer, electric, cable television, telephone, telecommunications, and other facilities that are located in the Public Rights-of- Way.
B. The Town has the authority to regulate the time, location, and manner of attachment, installation, operation, and maintenance of telecommunications facilities located in the Public Rights-of-Way, subject to applicable law. C. The Franchisee is in the business of transporting signals by means of
telecommunications facilities. D. The Franchisee desires to attach, install, control, operate, maintain, repair, replace, reattach, reinstall, relocate, and remove Franchisee's Facilities, as hereinafter defined, on
specified facilities located in the Public Rights-of- Way and owned by third parties, or on Stand-
Alone poles owned by Franchisee. E. Subject to applicable law, the Franchisee is willing to compensate the Town for permission to use the Public Rights-of-Way for the installation of the Franchisee's Facilities
upon the Available Poles.
F. The Town is willing to permit the Franchisee to enter the Public Rights-of- Way in order to use and occupy the Available Poles, upon the terms and conditions set forth herein.
AGREEMENT:
Now, therefore, in consideration of good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency
of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties agree as follows:
Section 1. Definitions. The following definitions shall apply to the provisions of this
Agreement:
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1.1 "Affiliate" means any entity that own or controls, is owned or controlled by, or is under common ownership or control with the Franchisee. The term "control," as used in this
definition, means the right and power to direct or cause the direction of the management and
policies of an entity, in whatever manner exercised.
1.2 “Approved Equipment" means a Small Cell Facility to be installed and operated by Franchisee, which has been approved in accordance with Section 4 of this Agreement.
1.3 “Approved Pole” means (i) any Standard Design Pole, and (ii) any Individual Request Pole that has been approved by the Town Engineer and the Director in accordance with Section 4.4.
1.4 "Available Pole" means any existing Light Pole or Utility Pole that is suitable for the installation of Franchisee's Facilities.
1.5 "Effective Date" means the date this Agreement is signed on behalf of the Town, with the approval of the Town Council.
1.6 “Director” means the Director of Planning and Zoning or designee.
1.7 "Franchisee" means ____________________________, a ___________ [type of entity] duly organized and existing under the laws of ___________________, registered to do business in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
1.8 "Franchisee's Facilities" means (i) any Approved Pole installed in the Public
Rights-of-Way pursuant to this Agreement; (ii) any Approved Equipment that is attached to an
Approved Pole; or (iii) any Approved Equipment installed elsewhere in the Public Rights-of-Way pursuant to this Agreement. 1.9 “Individual Request Pole” means a Light Pole, Utility Pole, or Stand-Alone Pole
that is not a Standard Design Pole, but whose design and specifications have been approved by
the Town Engineer and the Director as suitable for attachment in accordance with Section 4.4 of this Agreement. 1.10 “Light Pole” means any structure that supports a light fixture that is: (i) installed
for the purpose of lighting a street or roadway; (ii) located in the Public Rights-of- Way; (iii) owned by a public utility; and (iv) no more than fifty (50) feet in height above ground level.
1.11 “New Pole” means a Light Pole, Utility Pole, or Stand-Alone Pole that does not exist at the time of Licensee’s application to the Town for approval of the installation of a Small
Cell Facility on such structure. A Replacement Pole is not a New Pole.
1.12 "Public Rights-of-Way" means the space in, upon, above, along, across, over, and below the public streets, roads, lanes, courts, ways, alleys, and boulevards, including all public street easements, as the same now exist or may hereafter be established, that are under
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the legal jurisdiction and physical control of the Town or of the Virginia Department of
Transportation ("VDOT").
1.13 “Replacement Pole” means a Standard Design Pole or Individual Request Pole that will replace an existing Light Pole or Utility Pole and will be used to support a Small Cell Facility.
1.14 "SCC" means Virginia State Corporation Commission.
1.15 "Services" means those wireless communications services provided by Franchisee.
1.16 “Small Cell Facility” means a wireless facility that meets both of the following conditions:
(a) each antenna is located inside an enclosure of no more than six cubic feet in volume, or, in the case of an antenna that has exposed elements, the antenna and all of its exposed elements could fit within an imaginary enclosure of no more than six cubic feet; and
(b) all other wireless equipment associated with the facility has a cumulative volume of no more than 28 cubic feet, or such higher limit as is established by the Federal Communications Commission. The following types of associated equipment are not included in the calculation of equipment volume: electric meter, concealment, telecommunications demarcation
boxes, back-up power systems, grounding equipment, power transfer switches, cut-off switches, and vertical cable runs for the connection of power and other services.
1.17 “Stand-Alone Pole” means a support structure that will be owned by the Franchisee and that will support only the Franchisee’s Facilities.
1.18 “Standard Design Pole” means a Light Pole, Utility Pole, or Stand-Alone Pole whose design and specifications have been approved in advance by the Town Engineer and the Director, a current list of which is set forth on Exhibit A.
1.19 Town Engineer" means the Director of the Public Works and Capital Projects or designee.
1.20 "Town Facilities" means any Town-owned property, other than the Public
Rights-of-Way, whether or not affixed to the land.
1.21 “Utility Pole” means any structure other than a Light Pole that is (i) located in the Public Rights-of-Way; (ii) owned by a public utility; (iii) used to support electrical,
telecommunications, or cable television lines; and (iv) no more than fifty (50) feet in height above
ground level.
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Section 2. Term.
2.1 Term and Extension. The term of this Agreement is ten (10) years ("Initial Term"), commencing on the Effective Date, unless this Agreement is earlier terminated in accordance with the provisions hereof. After the Initial Term, the term shall automatically be extended for up to three (3) additional periods of five (5) years each (each an “Extension Term”)
unless Franchisee provides written notice to the Town at least ninety (90) days prior to the end of the Initial Term or then-current Extension Term that Franchisee does not elect to extend the Agreement. As used herein the “Term” shall mean the Initial Term and any applicable Extension Terms.
Section 3. Scope of Agreement.
3.1 Non-Exclusive Permission. The Town hereby grants to the Franchisee the
permission, on a non-exclusive basis, to: (i) attach Approved Equipment to Available Poles; (ii)
install New Poles or replace existing ones in the Public Rights-of-Way, as permitted by this Agreement; (iii) control, operate, maintain, repair, replace, reattach, reinstall, relocate, and remove Approved Poles and Approved Equipment installed on Approved Poles for the limited purpose of providing Services; (iv) make electrical and fiber optic communications utility connections in the
Public Rights-of-Way as required for the purpose of operating the Franchisee’s Facilities, subject
to approval by the Town of the locations of such utility connections; and (v) enter the Public Rights-of-Way for the purpose of performing work permitted by the foregoing clauses (i) - (iv). The permission granted by this Section 3.1 is subject to the terms of this Agreement, all applicable Town permitting requirements, all other applicable laws including without limitation the Town
Zoning Ordinance, and all VDOT requirements of whatever nature.
3.2 Permitted Services. The Franchisee's Facilities shall be used exclusively by the Franchisee solely for the rendering of Services. If the Franchisee wishes to use the Franchisee's
Facilities for the purpose of offering services not specifically described in, or authorized by, this Agreement, then the Franchisee shall notify the Town Engineer in writing before providing any such additional proposed services. If the Town Engineer does not approve of proposed services set forth in any such notice, the Town shall notify the Franchisee in writing that the Town requires an amendment to this Agreement, or another form of authorization, before the
Franchisee may provide such services, subject to applicable law.
3.3 Electricity. The Town shall have no responsibility for providing electricity to the Franchisee's Facilities, nor any liability related to the loss or unavailability of power for
such use. For the avoidance of doubt, Franchisee is permitted to contract directly with local utility
companies for the provision of electric and fiber optic communications service to Franchisee’s Facilities.
3.4 No Interference. The Franchisee's use of any Approved Poles shall not
materially interfere, in any manner, with the existence, operation, or use of the Public Rights-of-Way or the Town Facilities or the then-previously installed property of any third party,
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including, without limitation sanitary sewers, storm sewers and drains, water mains, gas mains,
traffic signals, and aerial and underground electric, telephone, or cable television facilities, except as expressly permitted by this Agreement or by express permission of the respective owner.
3.5 Franchise Subject to Rights of Town and of Others; No Property Interest. The permission granted to the Franchisee pursuant to this Agreement shall be: (i) exercised by the
Franchisee at the Franchisee's sole risk and expense; (ii) subject to, and subordinate to, the rights of the Town to use the Public Rights-of-Way and Town Facilities exclusively or concurrently with any other person; and, (iii) subject to all deeds, easements, dedications, conditions, covenants, restrictions, encumbrances, claims of title, and rights (whether recorded
or unrecorded) of others that may affect the Approved Poles, and also including all recorded
or unrecorded rights of VDOT or the Town. Nothing in this Agreement shall be deemed to grant, convey, create, or vest any real property interest in the Franchisee, including any fee or leasehold interest, easement, or vested right. Nothing herein contained shall be construed to require or compel the Town to maintain any particular portion of the Public Rights-of-Way for
a period longer than that required by the Town’s needs. Nothing herein shall restrict the Town
from exercising its authority to vacate, abandon, or discontinue use of any portion of the Public Rights-of-Way and request the relocation or removal of the Franchisee's Facilities therefrom subject to the procedures, time periods, and remedies established within Section 5.8.
Section 4. Approval of Facilities and Equipment.
4.1 Approval Required. This Franchise grants the Franchisee the right to install only Approved Poles and Approved Equipment in accordance with all applicable Town regulations and
aesthetic guidelines. The Town reserves the right to amend or replace such regulations and
guidelines from time to time, provided that the amended or replaced regulations or guidelines shall apply only to (i) applications for installation of Approved Poles or Approved Equipment submitted on after the effective date of any such amendment or replacement; and (ii) applications for modifications to existing Approved Poles or Approved Equipment submitted on after the effective
date of any such amendment or replacement. All other Approved Poles and Approved Equipment
shall be governed by the applicable regulations and guidelines as they existed at the time of installation. This Franchise does not authorize the Franchisee to use or attach any equipment to any Town Property, other than the Public Rights-of-Way, including without limitation any street light poles, utility-type poles, or traffic signal poles owned by the Town.
4.2. Replacement of Available Poles.
4.2.1 The Franchisee may replace existing Available Poles with Standard Design Poles anywhere in the Town without further review of their design or technical specifications by
the Town Engineer or the Director. The Franchisee shall apply for all permits or authorizations required by the Town, and the Town shall review such applications subject to all applicable requirements and standards other than design and technical specifications.
4.2.2 If the Franchisee determines that neither an existing Available Pole nor a
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Standard Design Pole will meet its technical requirements at a particular location, the Franchisee
may propose to replace an Available Pole with an Individual Request Pole, pursuant to Section 4.4.
4.2.3 Only those Standard Design Poles approved for installation in one of the Town’s historic preservation areas consistent with applicable Board of Architectural Review
guidelines and designated as such on Exhibit A may be used to replace Available Poles in such areas.
4.3 New Poles. The Franchisee may install New Poles only with the prior approval of
the Town (which approval shall be granted or denied pursuant to Town standards, as they exist from time to time). If a proposed New Pole is a Standard Design Pole, the Franchisee shall apply for all permits or authorizations required by the Town, and the Town shall review such applications in accordance with Section 4.2. If a proposed New Pole is not a Standard Design Pole, then Section 4.4 shall apply.
4.4 Individual Request Poles. The Franchisee may install Individual Request Poles only with the prior approval of the Town. The Franchisee shall submit the required application or applications and the Town shall consider each application and grant or deny each application
in accordance with applicable law. The Director shall evaluate the design and technical specifications of such an application in accordance with all applicable Town requirements and standards.
4.5 Approval of Standard Design Poles. The Franchisee may at any time request that
a new or additional type of Light Pole, Utility Pole, or Stand-Alone Pole be deemed a Standard Design Pole by submitting an application to the Director. If the Director determines that the proposed design and specifications meet the Town’s applicable safety standards and aesthetic guidelines, the Director shall designate the proposed new type as a Standard Design Pole and Exhibit A shall be amended accordingly. The Director shall have the discretion to approve a new
type of Standard Design Pole that would be applicable only for installation in limited or designated areas of the Town that are specified by the Director at the time such new type of Standard Design Pole is approved.
4.6 Equipment. Only Approved Equipment may be attached to Approved Poles or otherwise installed in the Public Rights-of-Way. The Franchisee shall apply for all permits or authorizations required by the Town in connection with any proposed installation of any Small Cell Facility, and the Town shall review such applications subject to all applicable design standards, technical specifications, and other requirements. Upon issuance of all such permits and
authorizations, the applicable Small Cell Facility shall be deemed Approved Equipment.
4.7 Town Standards. The parties agree that the various Town regulations, guidelines, specifications, requirements, authorizations, applications, consents or other standards or approval criteria promulgated from time to time by the Town related to Franchisee’s Approved Equipment
and/or Approved Poles under this Agreement will be enacted and enforced in compliance with applicable law.
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Section 5. Installation of Franchisee's Facilities.
5.1 Installation of Approved Equipment on Approved Poles. Approved Equipment
shall be installed only on Approved Poles or in the Public Rights-of-Way and only in accordance with accepted industry standards for such installation, including applicable safety codes. Any installation method or configuration that materially differs from industry standards shall not be employed without the prior written permission of the Town Engineer. If Franchisee installs any equipment other than Approved Equipment without the prior written approval from the Town
Engineer, the Franchisee, upon notice from the Town Engineer, shall promptly remove such equipment at Franchisee's sole cost and expense subject to the procedures, time periods, and remedies established in Section 5.8. 5.2 Installation of New Poles and Replacement Poles. New Poles and Replacement
Poles shall be installed only in accordance with the accepted industry standards for such installation, including applicable safety codes. Any installation method or configuration that materially differs from industry standards shall not be employed without the prior written permission of the Town Engineer. 5.3 As-Built Drawings. Upon completion of any installation on any Approved Pole,
the Franchisee shall promptly deliver to the Town Engineer, in hard copy and electronic format, documentation, in substance and in form reasonably acceptable to the Town Engineer, clearly identifying each of the Approved Poles to which the Franchisee's Facilities have been attached, all of the Franchisee's Facilities attached to each such Approved Pole, and any portions of the
Public Rights-of-Way occupied by Franchisee's Facilities in connection with the installation on
such Approved Pole. The foregoing information shall be delivered within thirty (30) days after (i) completion of installation of Franchisee's Facilities at any given location, and (ii) completion of any changes to the Franchisee’s Facilities located in the Public Rights-of-Way that render the information previously provided to the Town Engineer under this Section 5.3 inaccurate or
incomplete.
5.4 Attachment and Access Agreements. Prior to beginning any construction or installation of Franchisee's Facilities, Franchisee shall, at its sole cost and expense, submit to
the Town evidence reasonably demonstrating that the applicable public utility company has
granted Franchisee the right to attach Franchisee's Facilities to Available Poles occupying the Public Rights- of-Way, or to install Franchisee's Facilities in conduit occupying the Public-Rights-of- Way.
5.5 Plans, Specifications and Maps. Before beginning any construction or installation of Franchisee's Facilities, Franchisee shall, at its sole cost and expense, prepare and submit, together with payment of all required fees, applications for all permits required by the Town in connection with the types of facilities the Franchisee proposes to install and the nature of the work required. All plans and specifications required by the respective applications,
detailed maps showing the planned construction, the size, the location, and number, and all other relevant details regarding the placement of the Franchisee's Facilities proposed to be located on any Available Pole or in any portions of the Public Rights-of-Way shall be prepared
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by the Franchisee at its sole cost and expense. The Town Engineer may, in writing, condition
approval of plans and specifications on Franchisee meeting reasonable requirements necessary to protect the public health, safety, and welfare of the traveling public. The Town Engineer may also condition approval of plans and specifications on Franchisee’s agreement to use an alternate location for the Franchisee's Facilities when the Town Engineer reasonably determines that it is necessary to avoid conflict with public safety as well as other permitted uses in, or future public
needs of, the Public Rights-of-Way in the vicinity of any Approved Pole or other proposed location for Facilities. The Franchisee shall, at its sole cost and expense, submit traffic control plans related to installation of Franchisee's Facilities, for approval by the Town Engineer. The Town Engineer may, at any time, inspect the attachment, installation, control, operation, maintenance, reattachment, reinstallation, relocation, removal, and replacement of Franchisee's
Facilities. Subject to applicable law, the Franchisee shall pay all fees required by this Agreement or the Town Code, prior to the issuance of any permit for the installation and construction of Franchisee's Facilities. All work within the Public Rights-of-Way shall be performed in compliance with all requirements of the Town (and VDOT, if applicable) and the owner of the respective Approved Poles, as the case may be, and all plans and permits approved and issued by
the Town (and VDOT, if applicable), respectively. Subject to applicable law, the Franchisee agrees that the Town may require the Franchisee to obtain generally applicable single use permits and pay generally applicable fees that are charged for similar work by public utility companies for such permits, pursuant to the Town’s rules and regulations, for each of the following activities: (i) work within the travel lane or require closure of a public right-of-way; (ii) disturbance of the
pavement, shoulder, roadway, or ditch line; and (iii) placement on limited access rights-of-way. The Town may also require the Franchisee to take specific precautions to ensure the safety of the traveling public or the protection of public infrastructure or the operation thereof.
5.6 Costs and Expenses Borne by Franchisee. The Franchisee shall bear all costs
incurred by Franchisee in connection with the Franchisee's planning, design, construction, repair, modification, disconnection, attachment, installation, control, operation, maintenance, reattachment, reinstallation, relocation, removal, and replacement of the Franchisee's Facilities. The Franchisee shall waive any claim against the Town for any movement in, damage to, repair
of, or deterioration of, Franchisee's Facilities due to (i) repair, maintenance and/or
failure/collapse of any street or highway improvements, sanitary sewers, storm sewers and drains, water mains, gas mains, poles, aerial and underground electric and telephone wires, cable television facilities, and other telecommunications, utility or Town-owned property, or (ii) any other improvements or works proximate to Franchisee's Facilities; except in both
instances to the extent caused by the gross negligence, willful misconduct, or breach of this Agreement by the Town, its officers, employees, or agents. Franchisee also agrees to bear the costs of repair or replacement of Franchisee’s Facilities regardless of whether or not such damage is directly or indirectly attributable to the installation, operation, maintenance, repair, or upgrade work on the Franchisee's Facilities, except to the extent the damage results from the gross
negligence, willful misconduct, or breach of this Agreement by the Town, its officers, employees, or agents.
5.7 Installation in Public Rights-of-Way. To the same extent required of all
similarly-situated occupants of the Public Rights-of-Way, no equipment, facility or structure shall
be installed by or on behalf of Franchisee at any location in the Public Rights-of-Way, unless
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Franchisee shall have first obtained all required permits and permissions and complied with all
generally applicable Town ordinances, regulations and policies, including but not limited to, all applicable provisions of the Town Code pertaining to underground utility facilities and the Town Zoning Ordinance.
5.8 Improvements. The Franchisee shall promptly modify, repair, replace, relocate,
restore, remove, maintain, reattach, reinstall, underground, or refinish Franchisee's Facilities,
Public Rights-of-Way, street or highway improvements, or other Town or third party facilities, including, without limitation pavement, streets, alleys, sidewalks, sewer pipes, water pipes or other pipes, located in the Public Rights-of- Way or any other public property, real or personal, belonging or dedicated to the Town to the extent the same are disturbed or damaged as a result
of acts of Franchisee or its agents in connection with the operation of the Franchisee's Facilities
("Improvements"). Franchisee shall promptly perform Improvements upon receiving notice from the Town. All Improvements shall be performed at Franchisee's sole cost and expense. If Franchisee defaults (beyond applicable notice and cure periods) in the performance of any Improvement in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, the Town may cure the default
itself, and may charge to Franchisee the reasonable cost the Town incurs in curing the default;
provided that, prior to performing any such work to cure a default, the Town shall give Franchisee written notice of the default and a period of thirty (30) days from the date of the notice in which to initiate action to cure the default and a period of (sixty) 60 days in which to complete the cure. In addition, the foregoing commencement and completion periods will be
extended by the Town Engineer for a reasonable amount of time if a cure of the default cannot
reasonably be commenced, or the default cannot reasonably be cured, within such periods respectively, and Franchisee has diligently pursued commencement of, or completion of, a cure during the applicable time period ("Cure Period"). Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 5.8, if the Town Engineer determines, in his sole discretion consistent with applicable
law, that the failure to perform or complete any Improvement threatens the public health, safety, or welfare, the Town may commence the Improvement and assess its costs upon Franchisee, as provided herein. Prior to commencing such work, the Town shall make a reasonable effort to provide Franchisee with telephonic notice and an opportunity to promptly perform or complete the Improvement itself. In the event Franchisee is unable to, or otherwise fails to,
timely perform or complete the Improvement in accordance with this Agreement and the Town performs the repair work Town shall, immediately upon completion of the work, provide Franchisee with written notice of the work it has performed, and also shall, reasonably soon after the completion of the work, provide Franchisee with a statement of the Town’s reasonable
costs and expenses incurred in performing the work. Franchisee shall promptly repave or
resurface the portion of the Public Rights-of-Way disturbed or damaged by Franchisee’s work in accordance with the then-current standards set forth by the Town Engineer if there are any street cuts or other disturbances of the surface of the Public Rights-of- Way as a result of any Improvements.
5.8.1 Any costs assessed upon Franchisee under this Section 5.8 shall be paid to the Town within 30 days of the Franchisee’s receipt of notice of the assessment and a
description of the basis for the costs from the Town.
5.8.2 The obligation of the Franchisee· to act promptly at its sole cost and expense, the
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default and cure procedures, the time periods, and the Town’s right of self-help, all as
set forth in this Section 5.8, shall apply to those matters addressed in Sections 5.1, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, 11.1, and 11.3, as if such matters constitute "Improvements" as defined herein.
5.9 No Liens. Franchisee shall not suffer, permit, or give cause for the filing of any lien against the Town, the Public Rights-of-Way, or any Town Facilities, or perform any other act that encumbers or might encumber the Town’s title or subject the Town Facilities, the Public Rights-of-Way, or any part of thereof to any lien. Franchisee shall promptly pay all persons
furnishing labor, materials, or services with respect to any work performed by or for the
Franchisee on or with respect to the Town, the Public Rights-of-Way, or any Town Facilities. If any lien is filed against the Town, the Public Rights-of-Way, or any Town Facilities, by reason of any work, labor, services, or materials performed or furnished, or alleged to have been performed or furnished, to or for the benefit of Franchisee, Franchisee shall promptly cause the lien to be
discharged of record. If Franchisee fails to cause the lien to be discharged within thirty (30) days
after being notified of the filing thereof, then in addition to any other rights and remedies available under the terms of this Agreement or under applicable law, the Town may cause the lien to be discharged by paying the amount claimed to be due or posting a bond, and the Franchisee shall reimburse the Town within thirty (30) days following the Town’s demand for all costs incurred in
connection therewith, including without limitation reasonable attorneys’ fees.
Section 6. Fees Paid to the Town.
6.1 Administrative Fee. Within sixty (60) days after the Effective Date, the
Franchisee shall make a one-time initial payment to the Town of Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00) (the "Administrative Fee") as consideration for the grant of this Agreement and to defray the Town’s administrative costs incurred in connection with the negotiation and approval of this Agreement.
6.2 Form of Payments. Payments by the Franchisee of all sums required to be paid to the Town pursuant to this Agreement shall be paid to "Town of Leesburg, Virginia" at the following payment address (or such other address at the Town may provide from time to time on 30 days’ advance written notice to Franchisee):
Town of Leesburg Department of Finance and Administrative Services 25 W Market Street Leesburg, Virginia 20176
6.3 No Waiver. Acceptance by the Town of any payment due hereunder shall not be deemed to be a waiver by the Town of any breach of this Agreement. The acceptance by the Town of any such payment shall not preclude or prohibit the Town from thereafter establishing that a larger amount in fact was due, or from collecting any balance due to the Town.
6.4 No Relief from Other Fees and Taxes. The fees required by this Section 6 shall be in addition to, and not in lieu of, all fees and taxes required by the Town, and all other
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amounts Franchisee may be required to pay the Town by law, ordinance, or other agreement.
Section 7. Maintenance, Removal and Relocation of Franchisee's Facilities.
7.1 Limited Risk or Liability to Town. The Franchisee hereby acknowledges and assumes all responsibility, financial and otherwise, for the Franchisee’s permitted use of the Approved Poles and Franchisee’s use of the Public Rights-of-Way, and the planning, design, construction, repair, attachment, installation, control, operation, maintenance, reattachment, reinstallation, relocation, removal, and replacement of the Franchisee's Facilities, which shall
be undertaken without risk to, or liability of the Town. All planning, design, construction, repair, attachment, installation, control, operation, maintenance, reattachment, reinstallation, relocation, removal, and replacement work shall be performed at Franchisee's sole cost and expense and in accordance with applicable law, and any work affecting the Public Rights-of-Way shall be performed using Town (and VDOT, if applicable) construction standards.
7.2 Maintenance of Franchisee's Facilities. Franchisee shall ensure that Franchisee's Facilities are maintained at all times in a clean and safe condition and location, in
good repair, and free of all material defects. Franchisee shall use reasonable care at all times
in installing, maintaining, relocating, removing, repairing, and replacing Franchisee's Facilities. The planning, design, construction, repair, attachment, installation, control, operation, maintenance, reattachment, reinstallation, relocation, removal, and replacement of Franchisee's Facilities shall be performed by experienced and properly trained maintenance and construction
personnel in accordance with accepted industry standards and using commonly-accepted methods
and/or devices to reduce the likelihood of damage, injury or nuisance to persons or entities, including the public.
7.3 Removal/Relocation of Franchisee's Facilities. If the Town Engineer, in his reasonable discretion, determines that removal, relocation, or reconfiguration of any portion of
the Franchisee's Facilities is necessary in order to protect the public health, safety, or welfare, then the Franchisee shall, at its sole cost and expense, remove, relocate, or reconfigure such portion of Franchisee's Facilities subject to the procedures, time periods, and remedies established in Section 5.8, except that (a) the Town shall provide Franchisee with at least sixty (60) days prior written notice before any such removal, relocation or reconfiguration unless the
Town Engineer determines immediate action (as described below) is necessary; and (b) the parties will work together using good-faith efforts to provide Franchisee with a reasonably equivalent replacement location that affords Franchisee substantively similar engineering and coverage objectives. Should the Town Engineer determine that the public health, safety or welfare require that the Town undertake immediate maintenance, repair or other action as to the
Franchisee's Facilities then the Town may do so and the Franchisee shall be responsible for all reasonable expenses. In such an emergency, the Town Engineer may take the measures required by Franchisee under this Section without prior notice to Franchisee, provided that the Town Engineer will (i) make reasonable efforts to provide prior verbal notice to the Franchisee of such measures and (ii) provide written notice to Franchisee within 10 days of Town’s taking
such measures.
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7.4 Town Removal of Franchisee's Facilities. If Franchisee does not protect,
temporarily disconnect, relocate, or remove Franchisee's Facilities in accordance with the applicable procedures and time periods specified in Section 5.8, then the Town may perform the same to the Franchisee's Facilities and charge the Franchisee for the reasonable cost thereof. Upon Franchisee's request, and subject to Section 7.5, by written notice to Franchisee, Town may approve the abandonment in place of specified Franchisee's Facilities. ·
7.5 Abandonment of Franchisee's Facilities. If any portion of Franchisee's Facilities is out of service for a period of one (1) year or more, then Franchisee shall promptly
notify the Town in writing of such fact and such Facilities shall be considered abandoned.
Franchisee shall promptly remove the Facilities at the Franchisee's cost and expense subject to the procedures, time periods, and remedies established within Section 5.8, except that notice shall be deemed valid upon receipt by Town. The Franchisee shall comply with all requirements of any rules governing the abandonment of Franchisee's Facilities that may be adopted by the
Town in accordance with Virginia Code § 15.2-2316.4(B)(6).
7.6 Damage to Property. In exercising the permissions granted by this Agreement, the Franchisee shall exercise the customary level of care to avoid causing damage to the Public
Rights-of-Way and nearby real and personal property of the Town and of third parties. The
Franchisee hereby assumes responsibility and the risk for all loss, expense, and liability arising out of any such damage. The Franchisee shall make an immediate report to the Town Engineer of the occurrence of any such damage verbally by calling the Director of Public Works and Capital Projects (currently: Renée LaFollette) and 703-737-6079 (main number at DPW&CP) and
via email to rlafollette@leesburgva.gov. If requested by the Town after such initial report, the
Franchisee shall, promptly and in all events within five (5) business days after occurrence, formally report to Town, in writing, the incident or accident causing, or resulting in, property damage or any personal injury resulting from, or arising out of, any of the Franchisee's activities or permissions under this Agreement. Such report shall contain the names and addresses of the
persons and entities involved, a statement of the factual circumstances, the date and hour, the
names and addresses of all witnesses, and other pertinent information required by the Town pertaining to the incident or accident, where reasonably available.
7.7 Removal of Franchisee's Facilities. The Franchisee may remove any of the Franchisee's Facilities at any time, subject to applicable Town permitting requirements, if any.
Section 8. Insurance.
8.1 Policy Limit. Franchisee, at its sole expense, shall obtain and maintain a policy of commercial general liability insurance, throughout the Term of this Agreement, providing
coverage for claims arising from the exercise of the permission granted hereunder by Town. Such insurance coverage shall have policy limits of Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000) per occurrence for bodily injury and property damage and Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000) general aggregate. The insurance policy and policy limits shall not operate as a limit of Franchisee's liability to the Town under this Agreement, nor as a limit of Franchisee's duty of indemnification hereunder.
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8.2 Certificates; Noncancellation; Additional Insureds. Prior to the beginning of the
Term, and annually thereafter, Franchisee shall furnish the Town with certificates of insurance and blanket additional insured endorsements as required by this Agreement. Each policy shall provide, among other things, that the actions or omissions of any insured party shall not invalidate the policy as against any other insured party or otherwise adversely affect the rights of any other insured party under the policy. The insurance required to be carried by Franchisee herein shall be
with an insurance company licensed, authorized or permitted to do business in the Commonwealth of Virginia and rated not lower than A: VII in the A.M. Best Rating Guide. Upon receipt of notice from its insurer(s) Franchisee shall provide the Town with at least thirty (30) days' prior written notice to the Town of cancellation of any required coverage by first-class mail. The Town, its elected and appointed officials, officers, and employees shall be included as additional insureds
as their interest may appear under this Agreement under all coverage maintained by the Franchisee hereunder except workers compensation and employer’s liability. If the policy requires an endorsement to include the indicated parties as additional insureds, the blanket additional insured endorsement must accompany the certificate of insurance. Coverage afforded under this Section shall be primary as respects the Town, its elected and appointed officials, officers, and employees.
The following definition of the term "Town" applies to all policies issued under this Agreement:
"The Town Council of the Town of Leesburg, Virginia. any affiliated or
subsidiary Board, Authority, Committee, or Independent Agency (including those
newly constituted), provided that such affiliated or subsidiary Board, Authority, Committee, or Independent Agency is either a Body Politic created by the Town Council of the Town of Leesburg, Virginia, or one in which controlling interest is vested in the Town; or a Constitutional Officer of the Town."
8.3 Cancellation. Upon receipt of notice from its insurer(s) Franchisee shall provide the Town with at least thirty (30) days’ prior written notice of cancellation of any required
coverage.
8.4 Coverage Limits. Franchisee shall maintain the types of coverages and limits indicated below, unless the Town Director of Finance approves a lower amount, in his sole discretion. These amounts of coverage will not constitute any limitations or cap on Franchisee's
indemnification obligations under this Agreement. The Town, its officers, agents, and employees make no representation that the limits of the insurance specified to be carried by Franchisee pursuant to this Agreement are adequate to protect Franchisee. If Franchisee believes that any required insurance coverage is inadequate, Franchisee will obtain such additional insurance coverage, as Franchisee deems adequate, at Franchisee's sole expense.
8.4.1 Commercial General Liability Insurance. $2,000,000 per occurrence for bodily injury and property damage and with $5,000,000 general aggregate including premises and operations, personal and advertising, products/completed
operations, contractual liability, and independent contractors.
8.4.2 Automobile Liability. $2,000,000 combined single-limit per accident for bodily injury and property damage.
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8.4.3 Workers' Compensation and Employer's Liability. Virginia Statutory Workers' Compensation coverage including Virginia benefits and employer's liability with limits of $500,000 each accident/disease/policy limit.
8.5 Default. Failure to maintain any of the required insurance coverages shall be deemed a default for purposes of Section 11.
8.6. Insurance to be Primary. Insurance coverage provided to the Town as an additional insured shall be primary insurance and other insurance maintained by the Town, its officers, and employees shall be excess only and not contributing with the insurance provided pursuant to this Agreement. Franchisee's insurance shall also waive any rights of subrogation
against the Town, its officers, and employees as it pertains to the scope of this Agreement for any claims resulting from Franchisee's work or service. 8.7 No Waiver. No acceptance or approval of any insurance by the Town shall be construed as relieving or excusing the Franchisee from any liability or obligation imposed by the
provision of this Agreement.
Section 9. Indemnification and Bonds.
9.1 Indemnification. The Franchisee hereby agrees to indemnify, protect, defend (with counsel reasonably acceptable to the Town), and hold harmless the Town, its elected and appointed officers, officials, employees and agents, from and against any and all claims, demands, damages, liabilities, fines, charges, penalties, administrative and judicial proceedings and orders,
judgments, actions of any kind, and all costs and expenses (including, but not limited to, reasonable attorneys' fees and costs of defense), caused by the negligence, willful misconduct, or breach of this Agreement by Franchisee, except that to the extent that such damages or loss are caused by the negligence or breach of this Agreement by Town, its elected or appointed officials, officers, employees, or agents. The Franchisee also agrees to hold harmless and indemnify the
Town from, and to assume all duties, responsibilities and liabilities at the sole cost and expense of the Franchisee, for payment of penalties, sanctions, forfeitures, losses, costs or damages, and for responding to any action, notice, claim, order, summons, citation, directive, litigation, investigation or proceeding, in each instance, to the extent arising directly from the Franchisee’s failure to comply with any and all laws, rules, statutes, regulations, codes, ordinances, or principles
of common law regulating or imposing standards of liability or standards of conduct with regard to protection of the environment or worker health and safety, as may now or at any time hereafter be in effect (“Environmental Claims”). The Franchisee agrees to hold harmless and indemnify the Town from, and to assume all duties, responsibilities and liabilities at the sole cost and expense of the Franchisee, for payment of penalties, sanctions, forfeitures, losses, costs or damages, and
for responding to any Environmental Claims, to the extent arising from hazardous substances brought into the Public Rights-of-Way by the Franchisee. The foregoing indemnification for environmental claims specifically includes reasonable costs, expenses, and fees incurred in connection with any clean-up, remediation, removal, or restoration work required by any governmental authority. The provisions of this Section 9.1 will survive the expiration or earlier
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termination of this Agreement.
9.2 Acts of Contractors. The Franchisee shall be liable to the Town and to others for the acts and omissions of the Franchisee's employees, agents, contractors, and subcontractors.
9.3 Waiver by Franchisee. The Franchisee waives all claims, demands, causes of
action, and rights that Franchisee may assert against the Town, its elected and appointed officers, officials, ·employees, and agents on account of any loss, damage, or injury to any of the Franchisee's Facilities, except to the extent caused by the negligent actions, willful misconduct, or breach of this Agreement of the Town, its elected or appointed officials, officers, employees,
or agents.
9.4 Town Not Liable. The Town shall not be liable to the Franchisee or to any other person or entity for any interruption in the Franchisee’s Services or for any interference with the operation of the Franchisee’s Facilities arising from the Town’s use of Town Facilities or the Public Rights-of- Way or from any other action of the Town, its officers, agents and employees, provided that the foregoing is not caused by the negligence, willful misconduct, or
breach of this Agreement by the Town.
9.5 No Consequential Damages. In no event shall the Town or any of its elected or appointed officials, officers, or employees be liable to the Franchisee, or the Franchisee or any of its employees, agents, contractors, and subcontractors be liable to the Town, or shall any of the foregoing be liable to any third party, for any consequential, exemplary, special, indirect,
punitive, reliance, incidental, or similar damages, including but not limited to any lost profits,
data, savings, or revenues, arising out of, or in connection with, this Agreement or any other agreement the Franchisee may have with any of its subscribers, whether under tort, contract, or other theories of recovery, even if a party has been advised of the possibility of such negligence or damages. This Agreement is for the benefit of the Franchisee and the Town and not for the
benefit of any other party. No provision of this Agreement shall create, or be construed to
create for the public or any member thereof, or any other person or business, rights as a third party beneficiary hereunder, or to authorize any person not a party to this Agreement to maintain a suit for damages of any sort pursuant to the terms or provisions of this Agreement.
9.6 Franchisee to Post Surety Bond. Prior to commencement of any work under this
Agreement, the Franchisee shall furnish to Town, as beneficiary, a surety bond in a form, reasonably acceptable in form and substance to the Town Manager or his designee, and reasonably approved, as to form, by the Town Attorney, in the amount of Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000), securing the faithful performance by the Franchisee of all of its obligations pursuant to this Agreement, including, but not limited to, timely payments, attachment, installation,
control, operation, maintenance, reattachment, reinstallation, relocation, removal, replacement, and abandonment pursuant to this Agreement, or in fact, of the Franchisee's Facilities, within the time periods and upon the terms set forth in this Agreement. The surety bond shall be issued by a financial institution that is insured by the Federal Depository Insurance Corporation or the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation, or is otherwise acceptable to the Town Manager
and Town Attorney. Such surety bond (or a replacement surety bond in the same amount approved by the Town Manager and Town Attorney) shall continue and shall be in full force and effect at
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all times during the initial term of this Agreement and each extension thereof. The Town
Engineer, on behalf of the Town, is authorized to and may make claims under such surety bond if the Franchisee has defaulted under this Agreement beyond applicable notice and cure periods. Such obligations include, but shall not be limited to, costs and expenses incurred by the Town, for which the Franchisee is obligated to reimburse to the Town. Upon any claim under the surety bond having been paid, the Franchisee shall cause the surety bond to be restored
to replenish the surety bond to the full $50,000 called for in this Section. Upon the termination or expiration of this Agreement, the surety bond will be released upon Franchisee's written request, after confirmation by the Town Engineer that the Franchisee's Facilities have been removed and all portions of the Public Rights-of-Way used by Franchisee have been restored to their condition on the Effective Date, wear and tear excepted. Such confirmation by the
Town Engineer shall not be unreasonably delayed, withheld, or conditioned. Any failure of the Franchisee to maintain the full amount of the surety bond shall constitute a default of this Agreement.
Section 10. No Assignment; No Transfer.
10.1 No Assignment Without Town’s Prior Consent. This Agreement and the
permissions granted hereunder shall neither be assigned, transferred or sublicensed, in whole or in part, by the Franchisee to any other person or entity, nor shall the Franchisee allow any other person or entity to co-locate its facilities on or attach any type of equipment to the Franchisee's Facilities, except as permitted by this Section 10. If the Franchisee assigns,
transfers or sub-licenses its rights under this Agreement in violation of this Section 10, or
allows another person or entity to co-locate on or attach to the Franchisee's Facilities in violation of this Section 10, then such act shall constitute grounds for termination by the Town of this Agreement, pursuant to the relevant provisions of Section 11.
10.2 Exception. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Town’s prior express approval shall not be required for the transfer of rights and obligations under this Agreement from the Franchisee to an Affiliate or to any entity which acquires all or substantially all of Franchisee's
assets in the market defined by the FCC in which the Town is located by reason of a merger,
acquisition or other business reorganization provided that (i) the Franchisee is not in default at the time of the assignment; (ii) the Franchisee provides the Town prompt written notice of the assignment or transfer; and (iii) such acquiring entity agrees to be bound by all of the terms and conditions of this Agreement.
Section 11. Termination and Default.
11.1 Termination. This Agreement may be terminated by either party upon thirty (30) days prior written notice of a default ("Default Notice") of any provision hereof by the other party which default is not cured pursuant to the procedures, time periods, and remedies
established within Section 5.8. If the default is a breach of this Agreement not pertaining to Section 5.8, the Agreement may be terminated 30 days after the receipt of a Default Notice by
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the defaulting party, if the defaulting party has failed to commence to cure within such 30 day
period or, upon commencing, has failed to thereafter diligently pursue such cure to completion. Subject to the rights of the owner of any applicable Approved Pole, the Town may remove any of the Franchisee's Facilities, at the Franchisee's sole cost and expense, after delivery of a Default Notice and expiration of the applicable cure period, or which remain attached to Available Poles sixty (60) days after the termination of this Agreement.
11.2 No Release. Any termination of this Agreement shall not release the Franchisee from any liability or obligation hereunder that was accruing or had accrued at the time of
termination, without limitation.
11.3 Removal of Franchisee’s Facilities. The Franchisee shall remove all of the Franchisee's Facilities, subject to the rights of the owner of any applicable Available Pole, at Franchisee's sole cost and expense, within sixty (60) days after the expiration or earlier
termination of this Agreement, unless a written agreement otherwise is executed between the Town and the Franchisee to abandon the Franchisee's Facilities in place. The Franchisee shall be responsible for repairs to any damage to the Public Rights-of-Way or Town Facilities caused by such attachment, installation, control, operation, maintenance, reattachment,
reinstallation, relocation, removal, and replacement by Franchisee of the Franchisee's
Facilities.
Section 12. Permits.
12.1 Permits Required. Notwithstanding any provision in this Agreement to the contrary, the Franchisee is not relieved of its obligation to obtain Town (and VDOT as
applicable) permits. This Agreement shall not be construed to entitle Franchisee to receive any
preferential consideration of any application for, or processing of, any Town permit. Section 13. Approval of Agreement by the Town.
13.1 This Agreement shall not become effective unless and until the Town Council approves this Agreement and it is executed on behalf of the Town. If this Agreement is not approved by the Town Council and executed by an authorized person, then no liability
whatsoever shall accrue to the Town or Franchisee and the Town and Franchisee shall have no
obligations whatsoever to each other under this Agreement.
Section 14. Miscellaneous Provisions.
14.1 Notices. All notices under this Agreement shall be in writing and, unless otherwise provided in this Agreement, shall be deemed validly given if sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, or via recognized overnight courier service, addressed as follows (or to any other address which the party to be notified may designate in writing to the other party
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by this notice method). All notices properly given as provided for in this section shall be
effective upon receipt. The Notice addresses are: ··
FRANCHISEE:
__________________________________
__________________________________ _________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
With copies to:
__________________________________
__________________________________ _________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
TOWN:
Town Manager
25 W. Market Street
Leesburg, Virginia 20176
With copies to:
Office of the Town Attorney 25 W Market Street
Leesburg, Virginia 20176 and
Director
Department of Public Works & Capital Projects 25 W Market Street Leesburg, Virginia 20176 Should the Town or the Franchisee have a change of address, the other party shall immediately be notified of such change by the notice method provided in this section, and the notice address
shall be adjusted thirty (30) days after such party receives notice of such address change.
14.2 Non-Exclusive Franchise; Co-location. Neither this Agreement nor the franchise granted hereunder is exclusive. Nothing in this Agreement shall be deemed to obligate the Town
to grant the Franchisee permission to use any particular facility, property, or right-of-way not
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covered by this Agreement. No other person or entity shall be permitted to co-locate any facilities
with Franchisee's Facilities, except as required by applicable law.
14.3 No Precedent. This Agreement shall apply solely to the Franchisee's Facilities,
and shall neither apply to, nor establish any precedent for, any other agreements if the Franchisee seeks to use any other Town property or to provide any other type of service within the Town. The Franchisee shall not occupy, attach to or in any way use any Town Facilities without entering into a separate written agreement acceptable to the Town. Nothing in this Agreement is intended
to waive any rights, obligations or remedies that either party may have under applicable law.
14.4 Reservation of Rights. The permissions granted by this Agreement are granted based upon the mutual understanding of the parties that Franchisee has the authority under federal
and state law to construct and operate the Franchisee's Facilities as described in this Agreement. The Town and Franchisee each reserve their rights, under both current law and any future changes in law, related to use of and payment of compensation for the Public Rights-of-Way and Town Facilities. Furthermore, in the event that any legislative, regulatory, judicial, or other action binding upon the Town or the Franchisee (any of which is a “Change in Law”) that
affects any of the terms of this Agreement in any material respect is enacted after the Effective Date, then either party may, upon thirty (30) days written notice, require that such terms be renegotiated, and the parties expressly agree that they shall renegotiate in good-faith mutually agreeable new terms that maintain the substantive benefits and burdens of this Agreement and incorporate the substantive effect of the Change in Law.
14.5 Benefit to Public. The Franchisee acknowledges that the paramount use of the Public Rights-of-Way is for the benefit of the public at large. Franchisee agrees that its use of the Public Rights-of-Way shall comply with all lawful and applicable federal, state and local laws, ordinances, permit requirements, regulations, orders, directives, rules and policies now
in force or as hereafter enacted, adopted or promulgated. Notwithstanding Section 7.3, which describes the process the Town will pursue in the ordinary course of business, in the event immediate action is necessary, the Town reserves the right to require the Franchisee to move, remove, or modify the Franchisee's Facilities at specific locations in the Public Rights-of-Way in the course of performing the Town’s duty to manage the Public Rights-of-Way, protect the
public health, safety and welfare, and protect public property. Franchisee also shall conform to changes in the Town’s policies governing use of the Public Rights-of-Way, including, without limitation, to avoid conflict with new Town uses or facilities, provided, however, that no such changes will be retroactively enforced.
14.6 Role of Town as Franchisor: No Waiver. The Town’s execution of this Franchise
neither shall constitute, nor be deemed to be, governmental approval of any work or action permitted hereby, or for any other governmental approval or consent required to be obtained from the Town. Without limiting the foregoing, the issuance by the Town to the Franchisee, or its contractors or agents, of any permit to perform work in the Public Rights-of- Way shall not be construed as permission by, or approval of, the Town for any of the Franchisee's proposed
installation of Franchisee's Facilities, unless all other applicable provisions of this Agreement have been first satisfied by the Franchisee. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to waive any of Town’s powers, rights or obligations as a governing authority or local governing body, whether
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or not affecting the Public Rights-of-Way or Town Facilities, including, but not limited to the
Town's police power, right to grant or deny permits, right to collect taxes or fees, or any other power, right or obligation whatsoever. Waiver by the Town of any breach or violation by the Franchisee of any provision of this Agreement shall not be deemed to be a waiver by the Town of any subsequent breach or violation of the same or any other provision of this Agreement by the Franchisee.
14.7 No Waiver of Sovereign Immunitv. Notwithstanding any other provisions of
this Agreement to the contrary, nothing in this Agreement nor any action taken by Town pursuant to this Agreement, nor any document which arises out of this Agreement, shall constitute or be construed as a waiver of either the sovereign immunity or governmental immunity of the Town, or of its elected and appointed officials, officers and employees.
14.8 Compliance with Laws. In addition to all requirements contained herein, in the exercise of the permission granted by this Agreement, the Parties shall comply with all lawful and applicable federal, state and local laws, ordinances, permit requirements, regulations, orders, directives, rules and policies now in force or as hereafter enacted, adopted, or
promulgated.
14.9 Relationship of Parties. Nothing contained in this Agreement, nor any acts of the parties hereto, shall be deemed or construed to create the relationship of principal and agent,
or of partnership, or of joint-venture, or of any association whatsoever between Town and Franchisee other than that of licensor and Franchisee.
14.10 Severability. If one or more of the provisions of this Agreement shall be held
by a court of competent jurisdiction in a final judicial decision to be void, voidable, or unenforceable, then such provisions shall be deemed severable from the remaining provisions of this Agreement and shall in no way affect the validity of the remaining provisions of this Agreement.
14.11 Applicable Law. This Agreement shall be construed and enforced in accordance
with the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The courts of Loudoun County, Virginia,
shall be the proper fora for any disputes arising hereunder.
14.12 Entire Agreement. This Agreement contains the entire understanding between the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof. There are no representations, agreements,
or understandings, whether oral or written, between the parties relating to the subject matter of
this Agreement, which are not fully expressed herein. All exhibits referred to in this Agreement are incorporated into this Agreement and shall be deemed a part hereof.
14.13 Amendments. This Agreement shall neither be amended nor modified except
by a writing signed by authorized representatives of the Town and the Franchisee.
14.14 Authority. The individuals executing this Agreement represent and warrant that
they have the right, power, legal capacity and authority to enter into and to execute this
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Agreement on behalf of the Franchisee and the Town, respectively.
14.15 Recitals. The Recitals are incorporated into this Agreement by reference.
14.16 Rights. This Agreement shall not limit any other rights or remedies available to
the parties. 14.17 Franchisee’s Qualifications. Franchisee shall at all times be duly organized and
validly existing, and, to the extent required by applicable law, registered to do business in the
Commonwealth of Virginia.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed by duly authorized representatives of the parties on the dates written below.
TOWN:
THE TOWN COUNCIL OF LEESBURG, VIRGINIA By: _____________________________ Name: _____________________________ Title: _____________________________ APPROVED AS TO FORM: Date: _____________________________ By: ______________________________ Town Attorney
FRANCHISEE: _____________________________________
By: _____________________________ Name: _____________________________ Title: _____________________________
Date: ______________________________
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EXHIBIT A STANDARD DESIGN POLE SPECIFICATIONS [TO BE ESTABLISHED AND INSERTED]
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Item a.
COUNCIL ACTIONS CALENDAR
Tentative/Subject to Change
4/21/20213:29 PM
MeetingDate MeetingType Name SubmittedBy
04/26/2021 Town Council Work Session DISCUSSION: Collective Bargaining Didawick, Josh
DISCUSSION: Disclosure Requirement of Developer/Seller to Potential Buyers Related to Surrounding Neighborhoods and ActiviCicalese, Karen
DISCUSSION: Legislative Agenda Belote, Tara
DISCUSSION: Potential Zoning Ordinance Amendments regarding donation boxes Cicalese, Karen
INFORMATION MEMO: Board and Commission Report - March Boeing, Eileen
04/27/2021 Town Council Meeting CONSENT: Encroachment Agreement of Sanitary Sewer Easement for Goose Creek Club Wyks, Amy
CONSENT: Loudoun County Animal Shelter Encroachment Agreement of Waterline Easement Wyks, Amy
CONSENT: Motion to Approve Illuminating the Town Garage for World Ovarian Cancer Day Belote, Tara
MOTION: National Public Works Week (Sponsor Mayor Burk)Southerland, Danielle
MOTION: Preservation Month (Sponsor: Council Member Cummings)Murphy, Lauren
PROCLAMATION: National Drinking Water Week Wyks, Amy
PROCLAMATION: National Day of Prayer Belote, Tara
PROCLAMATION: World Ovarian Cancer Day Belote, Tara
PUBLIC HEARING: Adopting Initiating Ordinance for Franchise Agreement for Small Cell Facilities Smith, Carmen
RESOLUTION: Cattail Run Extension of Utilities Request Wyks, Amy
RESOLUTION: Collective Bargaining Boeing, Eileen
RESOLUTION: Douglass High School Commemorative Committee Belote, Tara
RESOLUTION: Equine Center Utility Extension Request Wyks, Amy
RESOLUTION: Tuscarora Crossing Extension of Utilities Request Wyks, Amy
05/10/2021 Town Council Work Session DISCUSSION: Police Department – Crime Statistics and Oversight Committee Smith, Carmen
DISCUSSION: Public Private Partnership/Liberty Lot Redevelopment Smith, Carmen
DISCUSSION: Storm water management - Tuscarora Creek and Town Branch Southerland, Danielle
INFORMATION MEMO: Visit Loudoun Monthly Report Turney, Elaine
05/11/2021 Town Council Meeting CONSENT: Appointment to the Economic Development Commission (Nacy) - Tentative Boeing, Eileen
CONSENT: Award Task to FJ Industrial for Belt Filter Press Replacement at WPCF Wyks, Amy
CONSENT: License Agreement between the Town of Leeesburg and SummitIG Southerland, Danielle
CONSENT: Richmond Dam Sanitary Sewer Encroachment Agreement Wyks, Amy
CONSENT: Battlefield Pkwy/Rte 15 Bypass Interchange – VDOT Review Agreement Steyer, Cindy
CONSENT: Contract Award for LMIS Software Belote, Tara
POTENTIAL CLOSED SESSION: Boundary Line Adjustment and Revenue Sharing Agreement Smith, Carmen
PRESENTATION: BAR Annual Report Cicalese, Karen 167
Item a.
COUNCIL ACTIONS CALENDAR
Tentative/Subject to Change
4/21/20213:29 PM
MeetingDate MeetingType Name SubmittedBy
05/11/2021 Town Council Meeting PROCLAMATION: Kids to Park Day Belote, Tara
PROCLAMATION: Mental Health Awareness Month Belote, Tara
PROCLAMATION: National Military Appreciation Month Belote, Tara
PROCLAMATION: National Police Week Belote, Tara
PROCLAMATION: National Public Works Week Southerland, Danielle
PROCLAMATION: Preservation Month (Sponsor: Zach Cummings)Murphy, Lauren
PUBLIC HEARING: Sycolin Cemetery Lot Dedication to Loudoun Freedom Center Smith, Carmen
PUBLIC HEARING; TLSE-2020-0003, Playful Pack Doggie Daycare Parker, Scott
RESOLUTION: Electric Vehicle Charging Grant Belote, Tara
RESOLUTION: Harrison Street Art Mural Kosin, Leah
RESOLUTION: Liberty Street Art Mural Expansion Kosin, Leah
05/24/2021 Town Council Work Session DISCUSSION: Main Street Seymour, Russell
DISCUSSION: Arts and Cultural District - Wayfinding Signs and Banners on Private Buildings Eagle, Tabitha
DISCUSSION: Continuing Disclosure Requirements Related To Town Debt Case, Clark
DISCUSSION: Murals on Private Buildings Cicalese, Karen
DISCUSSION: Strategic Property Acquisitions Belote, Tara
INFORMATION MEMO: Board and Commission Report - April Boeing, Eileen
INFORMATION MEMO: Quarterly Budget and CIP Update Fazenbaker, Cole
05/25/2021 Town Council Meeting PRESENTATION: 2020 Tolbert Award Klusek, Richard
PRESENTATION: EAC Annual Report Klusek, Richard
PROCLAMATION: National Gun Violence Awareness Day Belote, Tara
PROCLAMATION: Wayne's Crossing Day Belote, Tara
PUBLIC HEARING: Small Cell Franchise Bid Opening Smith, Carmen
PUBLIC HEARING: Town Code Amendments Related to Airport Smith, Carmen
RESOLUTION: Reconciliation of Snow Storm Costs Cournoyer, Jason
06/07/2021 Town Council Work Session DISCUSSION: MEC Lease and Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)Seymour, Russell
INFORMATION MEMO: Visit Loudoun Monthly Report Turney, Elaine
06/08/2021 Town Council Meeting PROCLAMATION: Juneteenth Belote, Tara
PROCLAMATION: LGBTQ Pride Month Belote, Tara
PUBLIC HEARING: At Home BLA at Compass Creek and Walmart BLA(Tentative)Smith, Carmen
RESOLUTION: Ethics Policy Smith, Carmen 168
Item a.
COUNCIL ACTIONS CALENDAR
Tentative/Subject to Change
4/21/20213:29 PM
MeetingDate MeetingType Name SubmittedBy
06/08/2021 Town Council Meeting RESOLUTION: Ida Lee Roof Replacement - Construction Contract Award Steyer, Cindy
06/21/2021 Town Council Work Session DISCUSSION: Accessory Housing Cicalese, Karen
INFORMATION MEMO: Board and Commission Report - May Boeing, Eileen
06/22/2021 Town Council Meeting ORDINANCE: Continuity of Government Ordinance Renewal (PLACEHOLDER)Smith, Carmen
PUBLIC HEARING: Award of Franchises Smith, Carmen
PUBLIC HEARING: Town Code Batch Amendments Belote, Tara
07/12/2021 Town Council Work Session INFORMATION MEMO: Visit Loudoun Monthly Report Turney, Elaine
07/13/2021 Town Council Meeting CONSENT: Award Contract for Industrial Coatings Application for Utilities Wyks, Amy
RESOLUTION: Geotechnical Services Continuing Services Contract Award Steyer, Cindy
RESOLUTION: Renewal and Extension of Consolidating Billing MOA with County of Loudoun Fazenbaker, Cole
07/26/2021 Town Council Work Session INFORMATION MEMO: Board and Commission Report - June Boeing, Eileen
INFORMATION MEMO: Quarterly Budget and CIP Update Fazenbaker, Cole
07/27/2021 Town Council Meeting RESOLUTION: Airport North Hangars - Construction Contract Award Steyer, Cindy
08/09/2021 Town Council Work Session INFORMATION MEMO: Board and Commission Report - July Boeing, Eileen
08/10/2021 Town Council Meeting PROCLAMATION: National Payroll Week Belote, Tara
PROCLAMATION: World Suicide Prevention Day Belote, Tara
09/13/2021 Town Council Work Session DISCUSSION: Town Plan/Legacy Leesburg Cicalese, Karen
INFORMATION MEMO: Visit Loudoun Monthly Report Turney, Elaine
09/14/2021 Town Council Meeting PROCLAMATION: Childhood Cancer Awareness Month Belote, Tara
PROCLAMATION: Constitution Week Belote, Tara
PROCLAMATION: Hispanic Heritage Month Belote, Tara
PUBLIC HEARING; Town Plan/Legacy Leesburg Cicalese, Karen
09/27/2021 Town Council Work Session INFORMATION MEMO: Board and Commission Report - August Boeing, Eileen
10/12/2021 Town Council Meeting: Regular + Work Session PROCLAMATION: Bullying Prevention Month Belote, Tara
PROCLAMATION: Domestic Violence Awareness Month Belote, Tara
PROCLAMATION: Dysautonomia Awareness Month Belote, Tara
10/25/2021 Town Council Work Session INFORMATION MEMO: Board and Commission Report - September Boeing, Eileen
11/08/2021 Town Council Work Session INFORMATION MEMO: Visit Loudoun Monthly Report Turney, Elaine
11/09/2021 Town Council Meeting PROCLAMATION: Diabetes Awareness Month Belote, Tara
PROCLAMATION: National American Indian Heritage Month Belote, Tara
PROCLAMATION: Small Business Saturday Belote, Tara 169
Item a.
COUNCIL ACTIONS CALENDAR
Tentative/Subject to Change
4/21/20213:29 PM
MeetingDate MeetingType Name SubmittedBy
11/09/2021 Town Council Meeting PROCLAMATION: Veterans Day Belote, Tara
11/22/2021 Town Council Work Session INFORMATION MEMO: Board and Commission Report - October Boeing, Eileen
12/13/2021 Town Council Work Session INFORMATION MEMO: Board and Commission Report - November Boeing, Eileen
INFORMATION MEMO: Visit Loudoun Monthly Report Turney, Elaine
12/14/2021 Town Council Meeting PROCLAMATION: Recognition of Public Service of Town Employees Retiring Belote, Tara
170
Item a.