HomeMy Public PortalAbout2022_tcmin1011 COUNCIL MEETING October 11, 2022
Council Chamber, 25 West Market Street, Leesburg, Virginia, 7:00 p.m. Mayor Kelly Burk
presiding.
Council Members Present: Ara Bagdasarian, Zach Cummings, Suzanne Fox, Vice Mayor
Marty Martinez, Neil Steinberg, and Mayor Kelly Burk.
Council Members Absent: Kari Nacy.
Staff Present: Town Manager Kaj Dentler, Town Attorney Christopher Spera, Deputy
Town Manager Keith Markel, Airport Director Scott Coffman, Leesburg Police Chief Greg
Brown, Deputy Director of Parks and Recreation Kate Trask, Leesburg Police Lieutenant
Bob Thompson, Management and Budget Officer Cole Fazenbaker, Zoning Administrator
Mike Watkins, Senior Planner Rich Klusek, Senior Budget and Management Analyst
Holland Schellhase and Clerk of Council Eileen Boeing.
AGENDA ITEMS
1. CALL TO ORDER
2. INVOCATION was given by Council Member Cummings.
3. SALUTE TO THE FLAG was led by Mayor Burk.
4. ROLL CALL
5. MINUTES
a. Work Session Minutes of September 26, 2022
MOTION2022-183
On a motion by Council Member Steinberg, seconded by Council Member Fox, the
minutes of the Work Session of September 26, 2022, were moved for approval.
Vice Mayor Martinez was absent at the September 26, 2022, meeting and
abstained from the vote.
The motion was approved by the following vote:
Aye: Bagdasarian, Cummings, Fox, Steinberg and Mayor Burk
Nay: None
Vote: 5-0-1-1 (Vice Mayor Martinez abstain, Nacy absent)
b. Regular Session Minutes of September 27, 2022
MOTION2022-184
On a motion by Council Member Steinberg, seconded by Council Member
Bagdasarian, the minutes of the Regular Session of September 27, 2022, were moved for
approval.
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COUNCIL MEETING October 11, 2022
Vice Mayor Martinez was absent at the September 27, 2022, meeting and
abstained from the vote.
The motion was approved by the following vote:
Aye: Bagdasarian, Cummings, Fox, Steinberg and Mayor Burk
Nay: None
Vote: 5-0-1-1 (Vice Mayor Martinez abstain, Nacy absent)
6. ADOPTING THE MEETING AGENDA
MOTION2022-185
On a motion by Council Member Fox, seconded by Council Member Cummings, the meeting
agenda was moved for approval.
The motion was approved by the following vote:
Aye: Bagdasarian, Cummings, Fox, Vice Mayor Martinez, Steinberg and Mayor Burk
Nay: None
Vote: 6-0-1 (Nacy absent)
7. CERTIFICATES OF RECOGNITION
a. None.
8. PRESENTATION OF PROCLAMATIONS
a. League of Dreams Day
Mayor Burk read the League of Dreams Day proclamation and presented it to
Aces Baseball Club Vice President Sarah Mullikin and League of Dreams Founder
Frank Kolarek, who made a few remarks. League of Dreams Chairman Mike
Bordick and Aces Baseball Club Fundraising Director Jennifer Kaywork made
additional remarks.
b. Domestic Violence Awareness Month
Mayor Burk read the Domestic Violence Awareness Month proclamation and
presented it to LAWS Chief Operating Officer Samantha Clarke, who made a few
remarks. LAWS new Chief Executive Officer Debra Gilmore also gave some
remarks.
c. Lung Cancer Awareness Month
Mayor Burk read the Lung Cancer Awareness Month proclamation which
will be mailed to the American Lung Cancer Screening Initiative.
d. National American Indian Heritage Month
MOTION2022-186
On a motion by Council Member Steinberg, seconded by Council Member Cummings,
the following was proposed:
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COUNCIL MEETING October 11, 2022
I move to approve the Proclamation for National American Indian Heritage Month to be
proclaimed at the October 25, 2022, Town Council Meeting.
The motion was approved by the following vote:
Aye: Bagdasarian, Cummings, Fox, Vice Mayor Martinez, Steinberg and Mayor Burk
Nay: None
Vote: 6-0-1(Nacy absent)
9. PRESENTATIONS
a. Leesburg Police Department Strategic Plan Update
Chief of Police Greg Brown presented the Leesburg Police Department
Strategic Plan Update. Council and Chief Brown discussed the plan.
10. REGIONAL COMMISSION REPORTS
a. None.
11. PETITIONERS
The Petitioner's Section was opened at 7:43 p.m.
There were no Petitioners wishing to address Council.
The Petitioner's Section was closed at 7:43 p.m.
12. APPROVAL OF THE CONSENT AGENDA
MOTION2022-187
On a motion by Council Member Cummings, seconded by Council Member Fox, the following
Consent Agenda was proposed:
a. Illumination of Town Garage for Domestic Violence Awareness Month
RESOL UTION2022-125
Illumination of the Town Parking Garage on October 15 through October 30, 2022, in
recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month
The Consent Agenda was approved by the following vote:
Aye: Bagdasarian, Cummings, Fox, Vice Mayor Martinez, Steinberg and Mayor Burk
Nay: None
Vote: 6-0-1 (Nacy absent)
13. RESOLUTIONS /ORDINANCES / MOTIONS
a. Crescent District Master Plan Update
Mr. Rich Klusek presented Council with the proposed update to the Crescent
District Master Plan. Council and staff discussed the plan update and the need for a
supplemental appropriation of$81,128.
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COUNCIL MEETING October 11, 2022
MOTION2022-188
On a motion by Council Member Bagdasarian, seconded by Council Member Steinberg, the
following was proposed:
RESOLUTION2022-126
Endorsing the Project Plan for the Crescent District Master Plan Update
The motion was approved by the following vote:
Aye: Bagdasarian, Cummings, Fox, Vice Mayor Martinez, Steinberg and Mayor Burk
Nay: None
Vote: 6-0-1 (Nacy absent)
b. 2023 Legislative Program
Mr. Keith Markel reviewed the proposed 2023 Legislative Program. Council
and staff discussed the proposed legislative agenda and made the following suggested
addition, as well as topics to research further for future consideration:
• Include support for any action associated with the State providing
dedicated funding for an Emergency Manager position for every
locality. It was the consensus of Council to include this item in the 2023
Legislative Policy Statement.
• Staff to research with VML and other jurisdictions the issue of tying up
Police resources to transport and stay with detained individuals until
mental health facility space is available. It was the consensus of Council to
have staff research the issue before it is considered for inclusion in a future
Legislative Agenda.
• Staff to research adding the Town's ability to abate taxes for
landowners for affordable housing projects. It was the consensus of
Council to have staff research the issue before it is considered for inclusion in a
future Legislative Agenda.
MOTION2022-189
On a motion by Council Member Steinberg, seconded by Council Member Bagdasarian, the
following was proposed:
RESOLUTION2022-127
Adoption of the Town of Leesburg's 2023 Virginia General Assembly Legislative Program
with the addition of adding support in the Legislative Policy Statement to any State funded
initiative for emergency managers in every locality
The motion was approved by the following vote:
Aye: Bagdasarian, Cummings, Fox, Vice Mayor Martinez, Steinberg and Mayor Burk
Nay: None
Vote: 6-0-1 (Nacy absent)
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COUNCIL MEETING October 11, 2022
14. PUBLIC HEARINGS
a. Amend Town Code Appendix B —Fee Schedule, Section 6-25(2)Monthly Fees at
the Leesburg Executive Airport
The Public Hearing was opened at 8:12 p.m.
Mr. Scott Coffman and Ms. Holland Schellhase presented the proposed amendments
to Appendix B of the Town Code to address the monthly rental fees at the Leesburg
Executive Airport. The lease agreement for the Leesburg Hangar Condominiums built in
1988 for the construction and operation of 50 T-hangar facilities reverts to the Town on
October 31, 2022. Council and staff discussed the proposed fee amendments.
Public Speakers:
Jim Thill, Leesburg. Spoke to Council as a current tenant in opposition of an
increase to the existing fee schedule at the Airport.
The public hearing was closed at 8:22 p.m.
MOTION2022-190
On a motion by Council Member Steinberg, seconded by Council Member Cummings, the
following was proposed:
I move to approve the proposed ordinance amending Appendix B—Fee Schedule, Subsection 2
(Monthly Rentals)of Section 6-25(Leesburg Executive Airport)of the Town Code of Leesburg,
Virginia.
ORDINANCE 2022-0-024
Amending Appendix B—Fee Schedule, Section 6-25(2)Monthly Rentals
The motion was approved by the following vote:
Aye: Bagdasarian, Cummings, Fox, Vice Mayor Martinez, Steinberg, and Mayor Burk
Nay: None
Vote: 6-0-1 (Nacy absent)
b. TLOA-2022-0005, Steps and Landings Setbacks Amendment
The Public Hearing was opened at 8:24 p.m.
Mr. Mike Watkins presented Council with a proposed Zoning Ordinance
amendment to clarify that steps and landings, which are attached to a single family attached
dwelling's (townhouse) uncovered deck, do not require a setback from interior side lot lines.
Council and staff discussed the proposed amendment.
Public Speakers:
There were no speakers wishing to address this public hearing.
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COUNCIL MEETING October 11, 2022
The public hearing was closed at 8:28 p.m.
MOTION2022-191
On a motion by Vice Mayor Martinez, seconded by Council Member Bagdasarian, the
following was proposed:
I move to approve the proposed Zoning Ordinance Amendment to clarify that steps and
landings, which are attached to a single family attached dwelling's(townhouse)uncovered
deck, do not require a setback from interior side lot lines.
ORDINANCE 2022-0-025
Amending Zoning Ordinance Section 10.4.5.C to Clarify that No Interior Side Lot Line
Setback is Required for Stairs and Landings on Uncovered Decks Attached to Single Family
Attached(Townhouse)Dwellings
The motion was approved by the following vote:
Aye: Bagdasarian, Cummings, Fox, Vice Mayor Martinez, Steinberg, and Mayor Burk
Nay: None
Vote: 6-0-1 (Nacy absent)
15. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
a. None.
16. NEW BUSINESS
a. None.
17. COUNCIL DISCLOSURES AND COMMENTS / ADDITIONS TO FUTURE
MEETINGS
Council Member Fox requested a proclamation for Battery Warehouse's 30th
anniversary.
It was the consensus of Council to add this to a future Council meeting.
Council Member Fox commented on the VML Conference and appreciated the
opportunity to attend. Due to the rescheduling of the Employee Service Awards, Ms. Fox
was unable to attend but congratulated the employees that were recognized. Ms. Fox noted
she attended lots of ribbon cuttings and the Fire Department open house that was well
attended. Ms. Fox also attended that she attended the memorial tree planting ceremony
that was both nice and somber.
Council Member Bagdasarian requested a Work Session discussion on an outdoor
performing pavilion at Ida Lee Park.
It was the consensus of Council to add this to a future Work Session discussion.
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COUNCIL MEETING October 11, 2022
Vie Mayor Martinez said he was unable to attend the last set of Council meetings as
he had a colonoscopy and encouraged everyone who needs one to get one.
Council Member Steinberg attended a fundraising event for the Arc of Loudoun at
ION noting it was spectacular and showcased ION perfectly and included a performance by
They Might Be Giants.
18. MAYOR DISCLOSURES AND COMMENTS /ADDITIONS TO FUTURE
MEETINGS
a. None.
19. TOWN MANAGER COMMENTS
a. None.
20. CLOSED SESSION
a. None.
21. ADJOURNMENT
On a motion by Council Member Steinberg, seconded by Council Member Fox, the meeting was
adjourned at 8:34 p.m.
4urk1.44_,
Town of Leesburg
ATTEST:
*2212112
Clerk of Council
2022 tcmin1011
111
7 I P age
October 11,2022—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.leesburuva 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 would like to call to order tonight's October 11th meeting of the Leesburg Town
Council. Anyone in the room needs hearing assistance please see the Clerk. Council Member
Cummings will be giving the invocation, and I will follow with the salute to the flag. Mr. Cummings.
Council Member Zach Cummings: Thank you. As we're acknowledging Domestic Violence
Awareness Month, I just like us to take a moment of silence for victims of domestic violence and
especially for those that work in the industry of domestic violence and work to help victims tirelessly.
Just please bow your heads for a moment.
Council Member Cummings: Thank you.
Mayor Burk: Please join me in the salute to the flag. I pledge allegiance.
All: To the flag...and to the republic...
Mayor Burk: Let the roll call reflect that, everybody--We have new carpeting in the hall here, and it's
very hard to move the chair, so excuse us. Everyone is present today with the exception of Kari Nacy
who will not be with us tonight. Do I have a motion to accept the work session minutes of September
26th, 2022?
Vice Mayor Fernando"Marty" Martinez: I will not make the motion.
Council Member Neil Steinberg: So moved.
Mayor Burk: Moved by Council Member Steinberg, seconded by Council Member Fox.All in favor?
Members:Aye.
Mayor Burk: Opposed? It would be one, two, three, four, five, 5-0-1-1, and now you're abstaining,
correct?
Vice Mayor Martinez: I am abstaining.
Mayor Burk:All right. You're abstaining because you were absent at the last meeting.
Vice Mayor Martinez:Yes.
Mayor Burk: Regular session minutes-
Vice Mayor Martinez:Want me tell you why I was absent?
Mayor Burk: No, I don't. The regular session minutes of September 27th,2022.
Council Member Steinberg: So moved.
Mayor Burk: So moved by Council Member Steinberg. Second.
Council Member Ara Bagdasarian: Second.
Mayor Burk: Council Member Bagdasarian. All in favor indicate by saying aye.
Page 11 October 11, 2022
Members:Aye.
Mayor Burk: Opposed? That's 5-0-1-1. One person absent and one person abstaining. Tonight we
have four proclamations. We have three.
Vice Mayor Martinez:While she's pausing,the reason why--Allow me to make this.
Mayor Burk: No. We have to go with the meeting. Adopting the meeting agenda. Is there a motion?
Council Member Fox. Second.
Council Member Cummings: Second.
Mayor Burk:Council Member Steinberg?Cummings.Sorry. Is there any additions or deletions anyone
would like to add at this point?All in favor indicate by saying, aye.
Members:Aye.
Mayor Burk: Opposed?All right,that's five. No,that's six because you can vote on that one,6-0-1.We
do have three proclamations that I will read. The first one I'll read into the record is a proclamation for
the League of Dreams Day,and this says,whereas on September lath,the Aces Baseball Club and the
League of Dreams nonprofit joined together to host the League of Dream Day, which consisted of
baseball and softball clinics and games that included players of all abilities. Whereas the event was
held at the Leesburg Freedom Park to provide a first-class field for play. Whereas games brought
excitement to all the participants, but mostly empower our local players with disabilities.
Whereas the event was designed to be all-inclusive for everyone with the dream of playing baseball.
Whereas the Town wishes to recognize the organizers and coaches from the Aces Baseball team and
the League of Dreams nonprofit, for collaboratively working together to sponsor and host the inclusive
clinics and games for all young players. Therefore, proclaimed that the Mayor and the Council of the
Town of Leesburg hereby recognized the League of Dream nonprofit and the Loudoun Aces Baseball
Club for the successful event and for their efforts towards creating an inclusive environment along with
a sense of accomplishment, events such as these have on players in the community. Proclaimed this
11th day of October.
I will go down in hand and give these out after reading them. The next one is Domestic Violence
Awareness. Domestic Violence Awareness Month is whereas in 1989, the United States Congress
passed a public law 101-112 designating October of that year as National Domestic Violence
Awareness Month. Whereas domestic violence victim advocates, domestic violence service providers,
domestic violence first responders, and other individuals across the nation recognize October as
National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.Whereas domestic violence affects many people in our
community and causes significant harm to the physical and mental health of the survivors and their
families.
Whereas domestic violence is an abuse of power that tears apart the fabric of relationships and families
and undermines the wellbeing of communities. Whereas during Domestic Violence Awareness Month,
the community will shine a light on this violation of basic human rights and pledge to ensure every victim
of domestic violence is not alone. Whereas the Town Council calls upon the Leesburg residents to
come together to reaffirm their commitment to ending domestic violence and supporting survivors.
Therefore, proclaimed by the Mayor and the Council of the Town of Leesburg, Virginia, that October
2022 is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month and recognizes LAWS and its staff for the direct
service it provides to over 1,000 adults, youth, and child victims of domestic violence, sexual assault,
and child abuse. Proclaimed this 11th day.The next one is a proclamation for Lung Cancer Awareness
Month. This is whereas lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among men and women in
the United States, accounting for more death than colon cancer, breast cancer, and prostate cancer
combined.
Whereas screening for lung cancer has high-risk individuals using low-dose computed tomography can
lead to early detection of lung cancer and save lives. Whereas five-year survival rate for localized lung
cancer is less than 60%, yet only less than 24% of lung cancers are diagnosed at this state. Whereas
Page 21 October 11, 2022
finding the lung cancer research trails far behind funding for research and many other cancers, and
additional research is needed in early diagnosis, screening, and treatment for lung cancer as well for
lung cancer affecting women and large cancer health disparity. Whereas lung cancer incidence is
decreasing twice as fast in men as it is in women.
Each year, more women die from lung cancer than breast cancer, and by 2035, more women will die
from lung cancer than men. Therefore, proclaimed that the Mayor and the Council of the Town of
Leesburg, Virginia, hereby proclaim November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month and recognizes
organizations such as the American Lung Cancer Screening Initiative and the Women's Lung Cancer
Forum for their efforts towards educating about lung cancer and lung cancer screening and working to
increase lung cancer screening rates. Proclaimed this 11th day of October. All right, I will take these
down at this point. [silence]
Thank you. First, I would like everyone that is involved in the League of Dreams Aces Baseball Club
and the League of Dreams nonprofit to come forward. [silence] Hello, how are you? Nice to see you all
again. [chuckles]How are you?[laughs]Yes,very nice to see you.This was a really unique opportunity.
I wanted to make sure that we recognize all of you that work so hard to make this happen. I forget the
day, it was in September,the 10th.You guys should explain it more than I, but I want to tell you that this
was an event that really touched my heart. It was very, very special.Who would like to first explain it?
Frank Kolarek: Thank you very much. This really means a lot. It really does. We've been in existence
now for almost 20 years. We've impacted about 31,000 children around the country. It all comes down
to local programs. We met Jennifer and her group, and it really turned out to be much more than we
expected. I would say that we've seen great results with our program.
Mayor Burk: Would you explain what your program is?
Frank Kolarek: Yes, we provide baseball, softball opportunities for children, and adults with any
disability. It's totally inclusive. A big part of not only children with special needs playing the game, our
volunteers, able bodied children playing with their buddies in their neighborhood. It really gives
everybody a chance. Baseball was my life. My chairman, Mike Bordick, it was his life. Really, our goal
is to share that with children throughout. The relationship here in Leesburg really exceeded our
expectations for the first year. I would say that we couldn't have done it without Jennifer and all of her
committee and our players.
I think as much as it touches the lives of children with disabilities, it also reaches young players to give
them the experience of giving back at an early age to realize their talents and their blessings can be
shared. That's probably one of the best parts of it.Anything you want to add, Mike?
Mick Bordick: You said it well, so well. I don't know that I can say it any better than Frank Kolarek.
We've been doing this for 20 years, impacting the lives of kids with special needs, bringing the
opportunities to play baseball and softball. I think there's even more of an impact on our young
volunteers that are able to come out there and be a part of putting smiles on kids faces that don't
generally get the opportunities to play sports. Thank you so much to you kids, thank you so much to
your parents for this incredible involvement, and Leesburg, it was overwhelming the reception that we
had, and the kids that were impacted by that day was something we'll never forget. Thank you all so
very much.
[applause]
Mayor Burk: Would anybody like to say a couple of words in regard to this? Do you want to say a
couple of words about the experience for you?
Sarah Mullikin: I just want to say that the Loudoun Aces Baseball Club focuses a lot on baseball and
also on giving back to the community.This was a really good opportunity for us to serve the community
and give our boys an opportunity to play with many different abled children. It kicked off our year of
community service in a pretty great way. So thank you. You guys did a great job.
Page 31 October 11, 2022
Mayor Burk: I have to say, guys, I was truly, truly touched by that event, the joy, just spectacular.
[laughs] Thank you all very much. Now, I need to give you the proclamation Let me take that off and
give one to you.
Frank Kolarek: Thank you.
Mayor Burk: Let me take that off and give one to you. Boys, I have something for you guys. Here you
go. Here you go. Get one. [inaudible]
Boys: Thank you.
[laughter]
Mayor Burk: There you go. Thank you. [laughs] Thank you all very much for doing such a wonderful
event, making children happy and sharing your experiences. It's just phenomenal. Thank you.
Absolutely.
[laughter]
Mayor Burk: I'm sorry. I know I did. It was a little to the side, but that's all right. Thank you all. Thank
you very much.
[applause]
Mayor Burk: It was great to see you. I hope we get to do it again.
Mick Bordick:Thank you.
Frank Kolarek: Thank you all.
Mayor Burk: The next one is Samantha Clarke. Samantha, are you here? Oh, here's Samantha,there
she is. Samantha, I want to thank you very much for being here to accept this and for all your supporters
here, workers. This is such an important topic. It's our privilege to be able to light up the garage wall in
the color purple for the month or two weeks, I think it is. On behalf of the Town Council,they wanted to
make sure that we thanked you for all of your hard work and all that you're doing and how you're helping
people in a terrible situation.Would you like to say a few words about what you do?
Samantha Clarke: Of course, of course. Thank you Mayor Burk. We're always grateful for the
opportunity to stand in front of you and the Town Council. Thank you for your incredible support. I
actually want to take this opportunity, I'm always grateful to stand here before you and acknowledge
this. We also have the opportunity to introduce our new CEO Ms. Debra Gilmore to you Mayor Burk as
well as the Town Council. I'm going to give her the opportunity to speak on behalf of LAWS tonight so
I'm going to hand the mic over to her for a moment.
Mayor Burk: Fair enough.
Debra Gilmore:Thank you,Sam.Thank you, Mayor Burk.Thank you,Council Members for recognizing
this incredibly important topic that continues to plague our community, our people, their bodies, and
their dignity. You mentioned that we served at LAWS more than 1,000 survivors of domestic violence
sexual assault. Last year,we also saw in this area two domestic violence homicides,and I can't imagine
waking up every morning wondering which statistic you'll be.We are very grateful to you to the Council
for raising awareness and for supporting along with our survivor center partners safety and healing in
our community. Thank you.
Mayor Burk: Thank you all very much. Truly appreciate all that you do.
Samantha Clarke: Thank you.
Page 41 October 11, 2022
Mayor Burk:Thank you. The lung cancer one will be mailed to the individual that asked for it.The next
item we have on our agenda is the presentation from the—
Chris Spera: Madam Mayor—
Mayor Burk: Oh,thank you. It's right there, too. The National American Indian Heritage Month. I need
a motion to approve for October 25th. Council member Steinberg.Second?Council Member Cummings.
Council Member Cummings: Second.
Council Member Steinberg: Do we need to read it?
Mayor Burk: No, I'll be happy to read it in just a moment. No,we don't read it at this point never mind.
All in favor indicate by saying.Aye.
Members:Aye.
Mayor Burk: Opposed, that's 6-0-1.All right.We will read that at the next meeting, Mr. Steinberg. Next
we do have a presentation from the Leesburg Police Department, a strategic plan update.
Greg Brown: Good evening Madam Mayor, Vice Mayor, Council Members. This evening I will be
presenting to you to the LPD Leesburg Police Department strategic plan update. I will try to get through
this in 10 minutes. I have with me tonight staff member Lieutenant Bob Thompson who was our team
lead, who's actually the crafter and drafter and author of this strategic plan, which was based off of
President Obama's 21st Century Task Force on Policing. I've provided you with some documents,which
you can follow along with as we go over the updates and cover which objectives we had met with the
LPD strategic plan.
As I made you aware of when I first came before you in 2018, the last time a strategic plan had been
drafted for the Leesburg Police Department was in 2008. When I got here, I saw a need to have a plan
to move us forward and also to hold us accountable and be transparent as to the actions Leesburg
Police Department would be taking in order to continue provide quality police services. We'll start off
with our mission. Our mission is to enhance the quality of life, provide exceptional police services to the
residents, businesses and visitors to the Town of Leesburg.A very simple mission statement.
Of course, our strategic vision is in partnership with the community at large and Leesburg Police
Department will diligently strive to exceed the professional standard, and the delivery of quality police
service to the public. Organizational values which you are very familiar with.They're on the side of each
of our cruisers, leadership, pride, and dedication. I won't read those verbatim. It is fitting that acronym
actually spells out LPD for us as well. The mission of the strategic plan is to establish the Leesburg
Police Department as a leader or a leading example of 21st century policing.This evening,we'll be going
over the goals of the strategic plan, which are built off of the six pillars that the task force report
mandated that Police Departments move forward with.
The first one, of course, is continue to build trust and maintain legitimacy with the citizens of Town.
Continue policy review refinement processes incorporating appropriate oversight, continue to update
department technology platforms and infrastructure and continue engagement with the public through
social media. Continue to pursue effective community policing and crime reduction strategies. Continue
to provide our employees with groundbreaking training and education, and continuing to promote
wellness and safety. Of course, our six pillars, which our strategic plan is built off is building trust and
legitimacy, policy and oversight,technology and social media,community policing and crime reduction,
training and education, and the sixth pillar officer wellness and safety.
If you refer to the document that I provided you, it will go over each objective, and I'll break down how
that chart actually reads. I'll first read our goals and objectives. The department goals for the plan are
based on six main topic areas or pillars identified in the recommendation from the President's Task
Force on 21st Century Policing final report,which was in May of 2015. By modeling the goals after these
recommendations, the department aspires to establish the Leesburg Police Department as a leading
example of 21st century policing. The following chart shows the objectives that have been identified
based on stakeholder input.
Page 51 October 11, 2022
Each objective is given a target timeframe during which it will be completed. Each is classified under
the primary secondary goal under which it falls.The strategic plan focuses on 2019 through fiscal year
2024. I'm just checking my time here, make sure I can get through all of these. Under objective 1.1,
continue to establish and maintain positive relationships with businesses within the Town. Of course,
that is an ongoing endeavor of the Police Department. 1.2, continue to expand community outreach,to
lead the region, to touch [unintelligible] lives and difficult-to-reach communities. That is an ongoing
endeavor as well.
Family services coordinator, which I've put into the budget, I think for the last two fiscal years, we're
targeting that for 2025. Hopefully, we can get that position in, which I think will help us continue our
endeavor and community outreach. Expand our juvenile outreach programs under 1.4. We've gone
from three camps to now five camps on the books. We are trying to touch all age groups within our
juvenile population. 1.5, added in-house polygraph examiner, which we're hoping to achieve in 2025,
which will help us expedite our hiring and recruitment processes. 1.6, added records retention
specialists, which is also targeted for 2025.
1.7, transition of paper records to digital, which was a target time, 2022 to 2024, which is now 60%
complete. If you access our website, you will see that we have general orders in many of our policies
already up on the actual website for the spirit of transparency. 1.8 interfaith outreach.That is an ongoing
effort. We actually brought back to chaplaincy program about three years ago. We're currently at four
chaplains with one that is currently in process, which will bring us to a maximum of five chaplains for
the chaplaincy program. 1.9,which is a tricky one because in 2020,we were shooting to be fully staffed
with sworn and non-sworn employees by July 2019 with an expected attrition rate of 2%to 4%.
We did meet that in July of 2019. We had a 1.94% attrition rate, but then some things happen, and we
find ourselves struggling with staffing once again. 2.1, moving on to the next objective, continue policy
review and refinement and seek legal review.When I first got here, I looked over all of our policies, and
I found that the policies, they had been vetted internally, but we had not run the policies by the Town
Attorney. Over the course of the next 18 months,we pulled each policy to make sure it aligned not just
with accreditation professional standards, but also that they had a legal review as well. for all of our
high-impact policies.
2.2, maintain accreditation. We just completed our fifth accreditation August 29th through the 31st. We
have not received the official report back from the master assessor, but it seemed to be favorable for
us, and we go before the commission in December of this year. Body worn cameras under 3.1 was
completed 2018. Target date was 2020. In-car cameras' target date was 2020. We completed that in
2022.3.3 transitioned to SUVs for patrol vehicles from the actual cruiser from what we call a PPV,which
is the sedan to the actual SUV platform, which is better suited for today's officer duty, the amount
equipment and some of the size of our officers as well.
Maintain a replacement schedule for those vehicles every five to seven years, which we have
established. Equip all officers with mobile data terminals. When I got here, again, not every officer had
their own terminal and some of them had to share. We are now 83% complete in that initiative.
Addressed infrastructure deficiencies, updated with fiber and wireless to accommodate the body-worn
camera in-car camera systems. We completed that in September, 2021. Continue to build our
unmanned aircraft systems, our drone systems, which was completed in 2021 as well in January.
Expand our canine program to add a fourth canine and a bloodhound.
When I got here the canine program had been disbanded, and I found myself listening to the radio and
hearing Leesburg Police Department asked for either Virginia State Police or Loudoun County to come
help us. We brought the canine program back, and we currently have our fourth canine in training.
Hopefully, they will be graduating soon. The bloodhound is still in the works. Expand our traffic
management unit to one additional motor officer, which is targeted for this year. I'll probably have to
push that. Expand traffic management unit to include two truck safety officers.
Truck safety officers actually are the individuals who are responsible for doing the inspection on trucks,
heavy equipment that come through Town. We have a lot of heavy equipment coming through Town
that, unfortunately, probably not operating safely.These positions will actually pay for themselves in the
future. Expand our CIS special investigations unit to four to five. We completed that in 2020. I'm going
to skip past some of these.We added a crime analyst in 2020.We wanted to move forward with a filling
Page 61 October 11, 2022
a computer forensic specialist position. We've held off on that because we're using outside resources
to help us in our investigations whenever we're seizing cell phones and computers.
We're actually utilizing other assets. Establish Emergency Management Director for the Town. That
was completed in February, 2020 with the help of Town Manager's office. Moving to the sixth pillar or
sixth objective, expand the recruitment program. Again, we revamped the whole recruitment program
and expanded that in February, 2020. Expanded our rifle program in response to active shooter, 2018.
Equip all officers with conducted energy weapons, tasers, which is one of our less-than-lethal use of
force options and which was completed in 2018. Conduct a pay and benefit study. We completed our
third one in 2021,which resulted in January having our pay compensation adjustment.
Improve employee wellness by providing free and conventional access to physical fitness facilities in
addition to also resources, making sure that if they are under duress, are responding to a stressful
situation that they have access to any type of help that they need as a result of that. I knew I flew
through that, but it's a lot of information I'm trying to get you in a short period of time. Do we have any
questions? I just want to say it's not a plan but a process, so I can't take credit for that. Lieutenant
Thompson came up with that, and it's not just a plan, it's a process as well. It holds us accountable, it
keeps us transparent. It keeps the public and Council, and of course, my boss, Mr. Dentler informed
what we're actually doing over at the PD.
Mayor Burk: Thank you. You're correct. That's a lot of information, but I'm sure everyone has some
questions we'd like to ask Mr. Martinez.
Vice Mayor Martinez: [inaudible]
Mayor Burk: Mr. Cummings.
Council Member Cummings: I don't have any.
Mayor Burk: Everybody's making a liar out of me here. Mr. Steinberg.
Council Member Steinberg:What does a bloodhound do that other canines don't do?
Greg Brown: A bloodhound is very effective at tracking and article searches. Elmore, which is Officer
Brookley, I'm pretty sure each one of you have met her before. Elmore does a very good job at that, but
many times, if you have an extra dog on staff as a force multiplier in times of essence, particularly if a
missing person is a juvenile or an elderly person that's out there and add in inclement weather, and it
even becomes even more urgent. Usually that's what we're using our canines for is tracking. In the past
we've had to call elsewhere to bring in other resources sometimes are two hours out. Operationally,
that's not a good thing.
Council Member Steinberg: How are we doing against other jurisdictions locally in terms of
recruitment and competing with them for sworn officers?
Greg Brown: We're all pulling from the same pools. The applications that I have been receiving, the
files that I've been receiving, we have a page in there which shows the other agencies that they have
submitted their applications to and are in the process. We are in direct competition with several other
agencies here in the region.
Council Member Steinberg:Thanks. I'm going to ask the third of my one question.Can you just explain
some of the situations where we're using unmanned vehicles, aerials?
Greg Brown:They've been very helpful. I can go back, and I like to use real-life experience rather than
theorizing and hypothesizing. 2018, we responded to a missing person who had left his resident the
night before, 24 hours prior to that had purchased a firearm. Our experience that's usually not a good
combination. Of course, we sound the alarms. We find his vehicle over near the library, and we
commenced doing a grid search of the area.We were out there roughly six hours with multiple resources
between LPD, LCSO. VSP was not on the scene at the time to assist us with the grid search. Pardon
me. [coughs]
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We requested VSP's bloodhound who was coming out of Richmond if I'm not mistaken, and then we're
two hours out, and we requested LCSO's drone.Within 45 minutes of getting there,we had located the
body actually in the area that we had already searched. Those two things working in tandem, the
bloodhound and the actual drone, we could have resolved that essentially six hours prior to what we
did. Within 45 minutes of deploying those two resources, they located the deceased.
Mayor Burk: Ms. Fox.
Council Member Suzanne Fox: Thank you. Just a couple of questions and you probably told us this
back in 2019. When did you mention the stakeholders, and the task force, who were they? The
stakeholders for the task force that you compiled the strategic goals with?
Greg Brown: The stakeholders for this is different. This is based off the 21St century policing model.
Stakeholder are internal for us, whether they be IT, DPW, the Town shop. This is different than a task
force in which you're referring to.
Council Member Fox:Yes. I know that. I was seeing what it was, and I just wasn't sure,you said when
stakeholders identified, I was wondering who that was. That's all
Greg Brown: In internally, particularly for the fleet and car cameras, IT, we had to make sure that we
were all on the same page to get those projects done. Their PD initiatives, but PD does not do it alone.
It's not without our stakeholders and our partnerships with our other departments.
Council Member Fox: My next question, I know you've been stretched over the past year or two, in a
conversation we had, you mentioned something about a co-responder model, could you tell me what
that is? How would that help the Police Department?
Greg Brown: Co-responder models, they are models which don't include just the Police Department.
They include representatives from mental health, from the medical field, and they actually co-respond
to incidents that are more societal issues rather than enforcement issues.
Council Member Fox:All right. That's it. Thank you.
Mayor Burk: Mr. Bagdasarian. See, I didn't forget
Council Member Bagdasarian:Thank you. Thanks, Chief Brown. With the interfaith outreach, Officer
Malpin did a [unintelligible] survey at St. James Church, awesome job by the way. Is that part of the
outreach working with houses of worship to secure their facilities through environmental design? Is that
something that's actively being presented?
Greg Brown: That's something that we offer the whole community, but it can definitely be lumped in
that. One of the things that come to mind for me is our outreach to our Latino pastors,which again, we
didn't have before.We were meeting with them quite often and quite frequently prior to COVID.We just
had our first meeting late last month to start those meetings back up to make sure that those
communities are included in our outreach efforts.
Council Member Bagdasarian: This one is obviously a big one, but as far as the 6.3, the expanded
recruitment program, what is working nowadays? It is so competitive, there's so few resources, so few
candidates for positions, not just in Leesburg but nationwide. What's working?
Greg Brown:When I first started my pursuit of law enforcement,you had to chase organizations down,
you had to make calls, you had to essentially beg to get in, unless Uncle Tommy was captain or
something of that nature. Now, I'm from the north, so that was very common up there. Today, besides
just taking those initiatives, utilizing social media, platforms such as Linkedln, Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram to try to reach a particular generation, going out to actual recruitment events, making sure
we're present at all of those events, making sure we're marketing ourselves in a positive light, I think, is
really important.
There's one thing that is not tangible, and it doesn't cost us anything, we do what we call we court our
recruitees. They don't have to chase us down. If we see a value in an individual who is interested in
Page 81 October 11, 2022
Leesburg Police Department,we make sure that communication stays open,even if they're not eligible.
My folks have actually gone back and stayed in contact with an individual. They may be in their first
semester in their last year of college and won't be 21 when the next academy starts. Our officers will
stay in contact with that individual to keep them engaged to try to make sure they stay focused on LPD
and not somewhere else.
Council Member Bagdasarian: That makes sense. Great.Thank you, appreciate it.
Mayor Burk: First off, I just want to make sure that you are aware that, personally, I'm very proud of
our Police Department. I've knocked on over 5,000 doors this year, and the comments that come from
the public indicate that there's a lot of community respect for our officers, and that doesn't happen
everywhere. Your community outreach is excellent. You are succeeding at what you're trying to do
because the compliments and the comments that I get are just off-the-wall positive. I want to pat you
on the back and all of your officers for doing such a great job.The whole concept of community policing,
I know that you have said in the past that other localities come to us to get trained in the community
policing concept. Do you still see that as a tool to reduce crime and prevent crime?
Greg Brown: When you think about community policing here in Leesburg, it goes hand in hand with
the problem-solving approach. Leesburg Police Department, if you call a cop,you're going to get a cop,
plain and simple. It may not be a criminal offense, but we're going to try our best to mitigate the situation
by being what we call community mediators. I've explained to some of my younger officers who are
maybe 8 little bit rambunctious and want to go out there and do real police work that our job is not just
to only respond to crime, but it is to reduce crime, it's to minimize crime. It's also to reduce the fear of
crime by our citizens.
A lot of times we talk about crime fighting or crime reduction, but we don't talk about the actual fear that
some citizens actually experience from the possibility of crime. I think that community policing model,
focusing on the quality-of-life issues and problem solving before incidents actually become a crime,that
is the way that policing should be.
Mayor Burk: I think you're on the wave of what people are beginning to realize is a very important
program and concept and theory.
Greg Brown: We get a lot of questions about our community policing program.
Mayor Burk: Again, I will go back to, the comments are extremely positive in the community.
Something's working. Tagging on to Mr. Bagdasarian's question on retention of officers, I've read an
article recently that Amazon is one of our big competitors at this point because they can hire our officers,
not ours only but in the Northern Virginia area, that they hire out of the Northern Virginia officers, they
don't have to do shiftwork,the salary is higher.Amazon is great for Arlington in some ways, but in other
ways, it'l;really had an impact on their Police Department, but also the other Police Departments.We're
competing with businesses maybe not as much, but also not just other Police Departments.
Greg Brown I would suspect beyond Amazon will start to see, and I won't go into particulars.
Personally, I've seen a relative secure job with a private security firm whose salary I can't even touch. I
have to look at this young man and say, "I can't blame you. I can't." Essentially, he's making about
$40,000, more than what we start at, and he's going to be obtaining his secret clearance. We just can't
compete with that. There are individuals, and this is what we really want to focus on. I get it, that the
dollar is important, but I try to make sure that when I come across a young person or person who's
maybe not necessarily young, but looking for public service because we get those as well, that they
focus on their why.
They focus on why you want to serve the public,why you're wired that way.You can make all the money
in the world. If you are not doing what your heart is calling you to do,you're not going to be happy. I try
to remind people, "Look, money is fine, but do you want to make a difference?" I know that sounds
corny, and cliché in 2022-
Mayor Burk: No, no, not all.
Page 91 October 11, 2022
Greg Brown-but that's how I feel, honestly. You can call me corny, but that's how I honestly feel. I've
got 33 years in public service,26 and a half in law enforcement. I still have the same level of energy to
come out serve and make a difference that I did the day I walked across the stage.
Mayor Burk:Through the efforts of the Town Manager,we increased the salary of the officers, tried to
work it out so everybody got a piece.Are you going to be looking for an additional bump in their salaries?
It seems like we got to be able to compete.We can't do it if we're not offering [crosstalk]
Greg Brown: Being more competitive is very important. I think we remained highest paid in the region
for about a month. I'm not going to publicize my colleagues, agencies who actually surpassed us. I've
had some choice words with them,friendly choice words, of course,with my fellow chiefs, but I get it. I
think not just the recruitment portion and making sure our base salary is market competitive, but we
also have to make sure we're focusing on retaining current employees and experienced employees.
Because right now, there is'a large gap between those who don't know, those who are just getting in
the profession and those who do.Those who do only have a few years left. Retaining experienced
employees who are going to stay here, I think it has to go hand in hand with the recruitment portion.
Mayor Burk: Absolutely. All right. Thank you very much. We really appreciate all the hard work that
you all are doing an. Please continue.
Greg Brown: Thank you, Mayor. Have a good evening.
Mayor Burk: The next item that we have on our presentation is regional commission reports. Mr.
Steinberg, a number of us went to the VML conference, did you want to say anything in regard to that?
Council Member Steinberg: Nothing specific regarding the Environmental Infrastructure and
Transportation Commission,other than there was a long list of asks that there are going to become part
of the legislative packet to the legislature in the upcoming session.Thanks.
Mayor Burk: Mr. Martinez, did you have anything you wanted to add in regard to the conference?
Vice Mayor Martinez: No.
Mayor Burk:Anyone else have anything at this point? Ms. Fox. Sorry, I didn't mean to [crosstalk]
Council Member Fox: [chuckles] It's okay. This is actually my second VML. One was when I was first
elected, and then this one I was able to attend. Most of the time, it's because of what I did for a living.
October was always out of the question. I went there not knowing exactly what to expect, but I had a
great time. I learned a lot of things.As Council Member Steinberg said,there's a lot of things I think we
need to start talking about on the legislative agenda, and I'm looking forward to that discussion tonight.
It was a good time and learned a lot. Thank you.
Mayor Burk: Great. Thank you. Thank you all for coming. I think it was very worthwhile and very
interesting. There were a lot of ideas that came out of it. Thank you. I did get elected vice chair of the
Town committee, and then found out I can't serve on it because I'm on the executive committee. Oh,
darn.The next section we have is our petitioner's section. I want to remind if anybody is in the audience
that is wishing to speak in regard to one of the two public hearings, you might want to wait till then to
speak. The petitioner section is one of the most important things that we do, and it's one of the first
orders of business. All members of the public are welcome to address the 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 ask that you observe the three-minute time limit. The green light on the
timer will turn yellow when you have one minute remaining, at that time, we would appreciate your
summing up,and yielding the floor when the bell indicates your time is expired.Under the rules of orders
adopted by this Council, this time limit applies to all. At this point,we have nobody who has signed up
for the petitioner section.
Page 101 October 11, 2022
Is there anybody in the audience that would like to speak that did not sign up at this point? There is
nobody.Then I will close the petitioner section.That will take us to the approval of the Consent Agenda
which has one item on it. It is the illumination of the Town Garage for Domestic Violence Awareness
Month. Do I have a motion to approve the Consent Agenda?
Council Member Cummings: So moved.
Mayor Burk: So moved by Mr. Cummings, seconded by Ms. Fox. Cummings and Fox. All in favor
indicate by saying aye.
Members:Aye.
Mayor Burk: Opposed?That passes 6-0-1. All right. That now takes us to our resolution, and the first
one we have is 13A,which is the Crescent District Master Plan Update. Mr. Klusek, how are you today?
Rich Klusek: Doing very well. Good evening, Mayor Burk, Members of Council. I have a very brief
update for you this evening just to highlight some of the elements of the work plan that's included in
your packet. First of all, getting into a couple of the key project components of our Crescent District
Master Plan Update. Obviously,we took the list that Council provided to us back in June of the elements
that you all wanted to look at in this effort, and with that, we developed the work plan using our
consultant, Stantec, from the Town Plan and we came up with this list of key project components,
including looking at the lessons learned.
That's looking at everything from the Form-Based Codes Institute to some of the commentary from the
Council in our recent experiences, some stakeholder engagement to get a better sense of what the
development community is looking for and what makes sense from a financial perspective. Obviously,
working with the public, doing a feasibility analysis to make sure that anything that the Crescent District
Master Plan ends up saying is actually feasible from a market perspective.A fiscal analysis to determine
what fiscal impacts or benefits might result from changes.A series of new graphics and illustrations to
go into the master plan to better describe and articulate the vision of the Council and of the Town in
general.
All of that would be done in four general phases. I'll show a little bit more detail of what this all means
in just a moment. Looking at some background research, using that background research to develop
materials that go to the public, so that the public can provide us input on some of the scenarios that
they're most interested in seeing, preparing an initial draft document, and providing that draft document
to the public for some additional comment. Then ultimately, putting together a final draft document that
goes to the Council for review. There would be a series of deliverables that we get with this project,
including a briefing memo that summarizes a lot of those past efforts.
A summary of the stakeholder input that we receive, the feasibility analysis which actually speaks to
what is feasible from a market perspective. Sketch-up models which provide us with 3D renderings of
different types of development examples, a fiscal impact model which would actually be run in-house
to summarize the fiscal impacts of the different development scenarios that we see.A summary of the
public outreach,a draft master plan document,and perhaps one of the most important is the illustrations
to really show the vision that we have moving forward.
There are a couple of key tasks that we have outlined here, Project Kickoff,where we essentially meet
with the consultants, come to the same page in terms of what has been done and what needs to be
done.Stakeholder outreach.The development density studies,which are going to be one of the primary
tools used to solicit impact from the public. The development feasibility analysis, again, that's making
sure that the scenarios that we come up with can actually be constructed from a market perspective.
The fiscal impact analysis. Another one that would be very important, of course, is the public outreach
sessions where we solicit input from the public to get a sense of what they're looking for.
Preparing an initial draft document that then goes to the public for additional review, preparing a
finalized document with illustrations,and then ultimately,concluding with the Planning Commission and
Council's review. Our recommendations are for the Council to endorse the project plan that's included
in your packet or Town staff to work with our Town Plan consultants to complete this effort. We're also
Page 111 October 11, 2022
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looking for a supplemental appropriation of$81,128 to fund the consultant's work efforts.That is all that
I have for now. Happy to take any questions.
Mayor Burk: Well, thank you. This most certainly is very thorough. It point out a calendar of what our
expectations can be, when it would be completed, and what you'll actually need and what the steps
you're going to take. Thank you for the very thorough presentation. Does anybody else have any
questions? Mr. Bagdasarian.
Council Member Bagdasarian: I do.Yes,and I appreciate this as well. I think that the investment now
will save time and money in the future when projects do come up for the Crescent District. I'm just
thinking back to when this was first conceived. From my recollection it was really-- part of the strategy
was expanding the downtown, expanding the historic district. Is that still where you see this, because it
seems like there are a lot of suburban pressures,if you will,with regards to parking and traffic and roads
and everything? -
Rich Klusek: I think that that vision which first came to be in 2006, I think Council generally agreed that
that general vision should be carried forward. The project plan that'you have before you assumes that
we're still rolling in the same direction, if you will.
Council Member Bagdasarian: Okay, good.The development density study,will that give us an idea
of how many residents could potentially live in the Crescent District? Is that correct?
Rich Klusek:Yes. It would be looking at some specific areas in the Crescent District and attempting to
show what different types of development could-look like there. It provides a representative sample.
That representative sample,again,would be one of the key tools that we show to the public so that they
can weigh in on what type of development they're most interested in seeing.
Council Member Bagdasarian: I think it's important especially with the visualizations and renderings
to start with the end in mind. Let's talk about what we envision this looking like physically as we plan for
the future. I think it's important to take that perspective, so I support it. Thank you.
Mayor Burk:Anyone else have any questions? Ms. Fox.
Council Member Fox: I just have a finance question. We have a supplemental appropriation. Could
you remind me what was set aside for this before or is this just something--
Rich Klusek: Back in 2019, Council actually set aside$60,000 to update the Zoning Ordinance based
on some of the work of Form-Based Codes Institute. However, given the fact that Virginia Village was
coming in and the Town Plan was coming to be,we put that on hold. That$60,000 since went back to
the general fund budget.
Council Member Fox:What you're saying here,the 81,128 was inclusive of that 60,000?
Rich Klusek:Yes.That was primarily to update the Zoning Ordinance and the Crescent District zoning,
specifically. This looks like the master plan and once we update the master plan, we'll be in a much
better position to use our existing Zoning Ordinance rewrite effort to simply pull that master plan work
into the Zoning Ordinance.
Council Member Fox: That makes sense. With everything, costs climb, do you expect to need more
supplemental stipends and things like that?
Rich Klusek: The budget for this is tight and much tighter than we would like, so we're using a
combination of staff efforts and consultant resources to ultimately get the work product that we're looking
for.
Council Member Fox:All right.Thank you.
'Council Member Bagdasarian: Didn't know he lost his phone.
Page 121 October 11, 2022
Mayor Burk:Well,that woke everybody up. Mr. Cummings, do you have a question?
Council Member Cummings:Yes.When the original Crescent District Design Standards were put into
place, were all of these development studies and fiscal impact studies and public outreach sessions
conducted?
Rich Klusek: To a certain degree, yes, but obviously, that was in 2006 and a lot has changed since
2006.
Council Member Cummings: Sure. Okay. That's it. Thanks.
Mayor Burk: All right. You're asking for us to endorse the plan and to approve a supplemental
appropriation of$81,128.
Rich Klusek: Correct. This is all included in your resolution.
Mayor Burk: Mr. Dentler,where would that$81,128 come from?
Kaj Dentler: It comes from our unassigned fund balance.
Mayor Burk: Its there. It's in there.
Kaj Dentler: Yes,the money is there. If you approve it then the staff will transfer it.
Mayor Burk: Does anybody want to make a motion on this?Yes.
Council Member Bagdasarian: I motion. I move to approve the proposed resolution to endorse a
project plan for the update of the Crescent District Master Plan and authorize use of consultant
resources and an amount up to$81,128 to provide support services.
Mayor Burk: Is there a second? Council member Steinberg.All in favor indicate by saying aye.
Members:Aye.
Mayor Burk: Opposed?That passes 6-0-1.Thank you very much.
Rich Klusek:Thank you.
Mayor Burk: Next one is our Legislative Program. This is for 2023.
Keith Markel: It's that time again. Here we are. Fresh after coming back from VML, well, you all who
were in attendance there did hear a number of the policy concerns shared by our VML staff that are
statewide, and some of those are the same concerns that you've shared here locally. Briefly, just to
walk you through the process.This evening is presenting to you the Draft 2023 Plan with staffs additions
based on your feedback over the past several months,as well as staffs concerns for your consideration
and for editing and adjusting.
If you're prepared this evening,we can adopt tonight or at a future Council meeting.The regular session
begins in January, as always, the second Wednesday in January, and you've already received the
invitation for the Legislative Day Enrichment for your calendars.Once the legislative program is adopted
by the Council here,we will sit down with our state legislators or local representatives in Richmond and
share with them these policies as we do each year. Hopefully, they will pick up some of those items
and introduce them as legislation in the session.
What we learned from VML this past week, unfortunately, is to don't set your expectations too high.
This is not expected to be a very productive session, unfortunately. It's a short session here, so it just
means fewer bills are introduced and less time to consider them. Is also a redistricting year. The
redistricting take effects next year, which means a lot of seats are up for grabs and some folks are
Page 131 October 11, 2022
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competing against themselves and with others that currently have seats in the legislature. People are
going to be playing it safe, we understand.
This is not part of the year for bold legislative action. It's also an election year coming up, and people
are going to be more careful with legislation that's introduced. One of the big things, and in a session I
said it on at VML and others may have been there as well, is the concern over the marijuana legislation
in limbo. You remember two years ago, the state legalized and decriminalized a certain amount of
possession that individuals are able to have.
Growing plants has now been legalized, but what they did not follow through with that second-year
reenaction is creating the framework for localities to decide if and where they want marijuana sold in
their communities and how it can legally be sold.Right now you've got a product that is legal to possess,
but no legal way to purchase unless you're going through the medical marijuana dispensaries. This is
a major concern of VML and definitely something that will be discussed this year, hopefully.
Although listening to the staff of the Marijuana Task Force and their consultants, it's not expected that
much decisive legislation will take place this year, unfortunately.That is a concern.We do have several
items that we've introduced to the program for the Town of Leesburg that I'll walk through with you
quickly here and you have those in your packet as well. First is E-scooters. As we've talked about
several months ago, as we know that there is no right for a locality to prohibit them outright, only to
regulate them to their choosing.
What we would be proposing here, based on your feedback, is to change that legislation to allow for a
full prohibition of e-scooter commercial rentals.The plastic bag tax as we know is something that towns
are not authorized to implement, only cities and counties. The county here, in our case, Loudoun
County, is opting to hold all of those funds themselves and not redistribute them back to towns.
This is a piece of legislation that we're proposing to suggest the Code change to either allow towns to
enact their own bank tax or to require counties to redistribute those funds in a prorated portion back to
the towns within those counties.We would suggest the same way that the sales tax formula distributes
funds back to the towns within the county currently.
Go back here. One more. Temporary custody order is a new item that is being presented to you in this
packet and that's under the public safety legislative priorities. Currently, this is something, there's an
allowance for a 72 hour protective order for folks who may be harmful to themselves or others where
Police are called to the scene,take them to hospital for evaluation.
If they're not able to find a bed in a psychiatric unit somewhere within the State, they are not able to
hold them longer than 72 hours and have to be released back out into the community. The Town runs
the'risk of either releasing someone that can do harm or having unlawful detention or holding. Chris,
certainly,can speak to this in more detail,but what we're proposing here is that there'll be an opportunity
to allow for an extension of an additional 72 hours beyond the first 72 hours, to allow time for a bed to
be found for this person so that they can be kept safe and others safe as well. That is a new piece
introduced.
The fourth new item here is a utility force majeure exemption. This is something that we saw just this
past year, and what we're suggesting is legislation.Although it's a fairly large ask and a big wish is that
communities who have done everything right, their plants are operating normally and meeting all the
requirements, but due to factors outside of their control, a foreign substance is sent to, in our case,the
sewer plant,which upsets the balance of the treatment process, kills off the bugs.
We don't realize what has happened until all those indicators. It's too late then to do anything or to react
to anything. You're taking the flow coming into the plant, not knowing that it's actually upsetting the
treatment process.We still can violate permits,we can still exceed levels that we're held to by the state
regulatory agencies.
What this would be saying is for those localities who are doing everything right and get a foreign
substance sent to their plant, we recognize it and immediately report it and work with the State
regulatory agencies to correct the issue as soon as possible, are not penalized or fined because of the
upset to the treatment process.Which is something we have personal experience with this year.
Page 141 October 11, 2022
Those are the new items. We had additions to text to one existing item, which is under the budget
funding request,which is State maintenance for roadway paving and repair.We have those two revenue
streams that we've really come to benefit from in recent years,which is the state of good repair and the
revenue-sharing dollars.Unfortunately,VDOT has now commingled state funds and with federal dollars
on these two programs,which means, for localities,that anytime we receive these funds,they become
federalized projects.
With that comes much more regulatory oversight, much more reporting,separate procurement process.
All of that adds to costly delays and a much more expensive ordeal to go through. What we're
suggesting to the State is pull that back, make sure when you're giving money out to localities through
revenue sharing, through state of good repair, only use state dollars so that they remain local projects
and not subject to those federal requirements.
That's an add-on to 8.1 under budget funding request. Other than that, there are a few other small
additions and small clarifications that we can walk through if you like. With that, I'm happy to answer
any questions as we discuss this and if you have any additions, deletions you have and then move
forward.with adoption.
Mayor Burk:Thank you.Appreciate the information.The four items here, especially the e-scooters and
the plastic bags we've talked about before,and most certainly,a majority of us support that.The Mayors
at the Mayor's Conference talked about-one particular item, and I'm not sure how it affects Leesburg
because we really haven't spoken about it. It's the Police escorting someone who's having a Mental
health issue to the emergency room and having to stay with that person.
Sometimes it takes a very long time to find someplace to get treatment or to find someplace for that
person to go, and the officer has to stay there. If they find that it's somewhere else, the officer has to
drive them there.That has a huge impact on,especially smaller localities that have,three police officers
now. One of them's gone. Is there any way of looking at that to-- Maybe it's too late to do it now, but
they did ask that we bring it up and talk about it, that the hospitals take some responsibility for the
transportation and the takeover,the control of the person as they come in so the officer doesn't have to
stay there.
Keith Markel: That really speaks to the much larger mental health issue and the funding statewide,
having enough available beds regionally to accommodate folks that are having these mental health
issues so that we're not using the hospitals as these facilities.Then tying up, as you point out, our local
law enforcement to be the custodians until an appropriate facility can receive them.
Mayor Burk: How would we go about adding that to the legislative agenda?
Keith Markel: I don't know. We'd have to think on that one. It's such a big and complex process.Who
can keep custody of these detained individuals? It really is, is the State willing to spend the dollars to
fund these regional facilities to create enough capacity so that we're not having to hold them in local
hospitals for as long as we have to?Maybe something. It's a general policy initiative of properly funding,
fully funding and developing a regional strategy for creating additional bed space to eliminate this
problem.
Mayor Burk:Yes, sir.
Christopher Spera: If I might interject. What we were trying to do here was address a very specific
problem that had been conveyed to me by our police officers. Social services gets involved. Say an
arrest is made or an officer responds to a situation, they get social services involved. Social services
makes an application. There's this temporary custody order that is issued by the Court. The specific
problem we were trying to address is that oftentimes it takes more than the 72-hour limit. That is the
maximum time.
I think, as I understand it,we've got a pretty good relationship with the Loudoun County Sheriffs Office,
where they'll transport.a Leesburg resident if they're-- because it's Loudoun County Social Services
that's getting the custody order. I don't think that we've got the transportation problem to the extent that
some of the other Mayors may have.
Page 151 October 11, 2022
Typically, Loudoun County will handle the transport, the Sheriffs Office, but if it's a Leesburg resident,
our Police Department handles the custodial aspect of it.When I met with the Chief and his staff about
how we were going to try and solve this, it didn't seem like the transportation piece was the thing that
they were the most worried about, because their relationship with the Sheriffs Office is such that the
Sheriff comes and gets the person and transports them. The issue is, what do you do when you have
an expired order, and the person's condition hasn't changed, and they don't have a bed for them?
Mayor Burk: I think we're talking about two different things, I think. I'm more focused on the Police
Officer having to be there at the hospital as the custodial person, and stay with the patient. That
sometimes can be a[unintelligible].
Christopher Spera: It is onerous. It requires shift work. It takes an officer off the street to--All of that's
very fair. That would be a much more sweeping change than what we were--What we were trying to
do was essentially say, look, if the social services people certify there's been no change in
circumstance, can you have an expedited order issue to give another 72 hours to find a facility?
Mayor Burk: No, I understand that. No, that was very clear. I do understand that. I was introducing a
new item,that perhaps it's too complicated at this point.
Christopher Spera:What I would love to do is take that up with VML and talk to some other jurisdictions
and see if we can come up with a more-- instead of trying to piggyback it on this. This is a short-term
fix. Obviously, as Keith alluded to, the longer-term fix is more facilities and better turnaround time for
people who need to be put into care. In the interim,we want to protect our officers and protect the Town,
because we are basically faced with this bizarre choice of either letting somebody who's in an agitated
state out or keeping them with an expired order.
Mayor Burk: Right.As I said, I understand that one. I got it. That was good. Is this something that you
could reach out to VML and get an assessment because they're the ones that brought it up?
Keith Markel: All right. If not this year, we're comfortable workshopping this around and maybe
introducing it next year.
•
Mayor Burk: Okay. Mr. Cummings?
Council Member Cummings:Yes.Just one item I thought maybe to try to add. Currently, under State
law, local municipalities,we don't have the ability to abate taxes for landowners for affordable housing
projects, anything that fits in affordable housing project. I wanted, if we would be willing,we would have
to get the State legislature to allow us to have that right.
Mayor Burk: I think that's another one that they're going to have to word search and find with VML kind
of thing. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that probably would be more appropriate to do it for the next year,
not this year. Is that okay? Ms. Fox?
Keith Markel:We can waive permit fees, review fees,and those things now for affordable housing, but
this would be waiving real estate tax in your suggestion.
Mayor Burk: Ms. Fox?
Council Member Fox: Thanks. I attended the emergency management module, and during that time,
the presenter said there was legislative initiatives at the State level at this point for dedicated funding
for every locality for an emergency manager. Of course, my ears perked up on that one, and I wanted
to see if we can try and get behind that initiative. I think it's already started, but lending our voice to that,
that would help with number one, our budget. I agree that every locality should have an emergency
manager.
Keith Markel: We can look and see what legislation they've introduced and then just internal policy
statement supporting the State funding.
Council Member Fox: They just alluded to it, so I don't know what it is. Thanks.
Page 161 October 11, 2022
Mayor Burk:What will we have to do here, because you've had two things that were presented but will
have to go on next year's agenda. Then this policy statement that Ms. Fox, do we need to vote on her
suggestion, because it's not part of the legislative program right now?
Keith Markel: If you're asking for it to just go under maybe general position statements, maybe both of
these items can be added and we can come up with staff,with just general language,the Town supports
developing legislation to allow real estate tax to be waived for affordable housing, construction and
localities. The Town supports the State funding towards a position for an emergency management for
each locality.Just a general statement, if you're not looking for a specific ask, of your description.
Mayor Burk: I'm a little concerned about that, though, about the real estate one. I would like to have
more information on it. To add it to this year's would make me_a little uncomfortable. I don't know if
anybody else hasn't-- We can, most certainly, if there's majority that want to add it, that's fine. At this
point I would be a little reluctant to do it now, for this agenda, even as a policy statement because I'm
not sure of the implications and what that would mean to the community at large. Unless someone really
feels very strongly about it, and then we can vote on it, otherwise, we'll just hold it to next year. Mr.
Cummings? Okay.
Christopher Spera: Or we could bring it back, Madam Mayor, as a work session item. We could do
our due diligence as staff and bring it back to you with whatever we find out.Just a suggestion.
Mayor Burk: I think it's a pretty serious suggestion. I think we need to really take some time on making
sure that we're understanding what the implications are. We will move forward with it, but with the
intention that we will try to get--Unless you guys come up with so much information that we can discuss
it at that point. We don't have much time, so I would be hesitant myself. Then Ms. Fox's statement, do
we need to vote on that?
Christopher Spera:Yes,that would be included.
Mayor Burk:The statement that--Reiterate it for me, please, Ms. Fox.
•
Council Member Fox: Sure, sure. It is a legislative initiative that we would support dedicated funding
for every locality, including ours, of course,for an emergency manager.
Mayor Burk: Especially ours. No, I mean, including.
Christopher Spera: Someone would need to make a motion to adopt a legislative agenda with the
addition of Ms. Fox's item, and that would accomplish what-
Mayor Burk: Let's do that. Is there a motion to accept the 2023 Legislative Program with the addition
of Ms. Fox's request?
Council Member Steinberg: So moved.
Mayor Burk: So moved by Mr. Steinberg. Second?
Council Member Bagdasarian: I'll second.
Mayor Burk:All right. Mr. Bagdasarian.We kind of discussed it at this point, so all in favor indicate by
saying aye.
Members:Aye.
Mayor Burk: Opposed?That passes 6-0-1. Thank you.
Keith Markel:All right. Thank you.
Mayor Burk: Public hearing.That's our next one, is the public hearing. Let me read the introduction for
the public hearing. Public hearing number one is to Amend the Town Code,Appendix B, Fee Schedule,
Page 171 October 11, 2022
Section 6-25(2) Monthly Fee at the Leesburg Executive Airport. I call to order this October 11th, 2022,
public hearing of Leesburg Town Council. Unless there is an objection, I will dispense with the reading
of the advertisement.
If you wish to speak,we ask that you either signup on the sheet in the hallway outside Council Chamber.
If you did not get the opportunity to sign up,we will give you the opportunity to speak. In the interest of
fairness, we ask that you observe the three-minute time limit. The green light in front of you will turn
yellow at the end of two 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 is expired.
Under the rules of orders adopted by this Council, the three-minute time limit applies to all citizens.
However, if we have numerous citizens present remarks on behalf of a group, the Council will allow a
spokesperson for that 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 on the item
before us. Second, members of the public that have signed up to speak will be called and given three
minutes. The public hearing on the agenda for tonight is the amended Town Code, Appendix B, Fee
Schedule, Section 6-25(2) Monthly Fees at the Leesburg Executive Airport.
Holland Schellhase: Good evening, Madam Mayor, Members of Council and members of the public.
My name is Holland Schellhase. I'm the Senior Management and Budget Analyst for the Department of
Finance and Administrative Services and I'm here to present to you on amending Appendix B Monthly
Rentals at the Leesburg Executive Airport. The Town entered into a lease agreement with Leesburg
Hangar Condominiums in 1988 for the construction and operation of 50 T-hangar facilities. These
facilities will revert back to the Town on October 31,which requires a public hearing.
Virginia Code authorizes the Town to charge or authorize the charging of compensation for the use of
the Airport. The Airport Director and Airport Commission reviewed and support an amendment to
Appendix B Fee Schedule in two ways. Set monthly rental fees for the newly acquired hangars, and
charge monthly rental fees for hangars already owned by the Town. The changes in bold are listed
above. Then this is the recommended motion for tonight. Scott Coffman, the Airport Director, and I are
happy to answer any other questions.
Mayor Burk: Okay,thank you. Appreciate that. Ms. Fox.Anybody have any questions, Ms. Fox?
Council Member Fox: Yes,just one quick question. How long is the waiting list for hangers? Is there
a waiting list still?
Scott Coffman: Yes. Currently, the waiting list for T-hangers is 100 people and we capped it at that
until it goes back down, it's about seven years.
Council Member Fox: Okay.Thank you.
Mayor,Burk: Seven years, did you say?
Scott Coffman:Yes, ma'am.
Mayor Burk: That's [unintelligible].Yes, Mr Cummings.
Council Member Cummings: I know it's broken-down monthly payments, do we require a certain
number of months for a lease?
Scott Coffman: No,with the demand they are month-to-month leases.
Council Member Cummings: A follow up to that is, if we were to go away from month-to-month, is
there an option--Are we allowed to add in a-- Like when you rent a home, typically, if you're going to
extend the lease,there's an increase in that fee.Is there any option that we have to--Obviously,demand
is high and supply is low. This is an opportunity for residents who never use the Airport to have some
Page 1.81 October 11, 2022
relief from their tax dollars paying for things at the Airport, so could we add an increase per year after
12 months?
Scott Coffman: I'll answer it this way. When Davenport looked at our North Hangar Project and they
did a financial analysis for us, hangars are built with public money but local, but also State and Federal.
Their opinion to us was to keep leases short because those hangers are available to the public.We're
not committing a long term year-long lease to one individual, but we're making sure that they're utilized
by the public, so if that person vacates there's another person that comes in. They did not encourage.
In fact,they asked us to reduce the length of our leases to three months or less.
Council Member Cummings: Okay, but we have a waiting list of seven years?
Scott Coffman: Seven years.
Council Member Cummings: It doesn't seem like folks are vacating those leases.
Scott Coffman: No, a lot of folks buy an airplane and they fly [unintelligible].
Council Member Cummings:Just thought.Again,we're just trying to make sure that we're being good
fiscal stewards of the tax dollars here, and again, the Leesburg Airport is a jewel and I love it and I'm
happy we have it. It is something that not a lot of-- I don't have neighbors that fly in and out of the
Airport, but they asked me how much are we spending over there and I always tell them we keep our
budget tight. If this is a way that we can help ensure that we're always looking for revenue with
something that obviously has opportunity for revenue.
Scott Coffman:This is a fairly aggressive price structure. I can go into more detail. I know the members
of the public wanted to speak as well. If these rates are adopted by you tonight, are the highest in the
area. Some of the comparable airports,for their largest hangers,which are ones we have a large group
of are just over 600 a month.
We're currently at 600 a month proposing go to 700 a month. Then a small, medium, large pricing
structure gives an opportunity for those folks with smaller airplanes to switch to a smaller hangar. We
have large hangars available for the larger airplanes that didn't need them.
Mayor Burk: I would say the tiers there, it definitely makes sense. I'm sure that will be a good thing.
When was the last time the fees were changed?
Scott Coffman: September 2018.
Mayor Burk:2018.Anybody else have any questions on this?Okay.Then we will hear from the public.
Is there anybody who has signed up to speak?James Thill will be our speaker. Welcome, Mr. Thill.
James Thill: Good evening. My name is Jim Thill, T-H-I-L-L.
Mayor Burk:Thank you.
James Thill: Nice to meet you all. I've lived in Leesburg now for 40 years,and in 2012, I purchased an
aircraft for$42,000. 2019, I purchased a condo hangar for$23,000.You have a recommendation from
the Airport Commission regarding hangar rents for the Leesburg Airport. I believe the recommendations
are flawed and here's why. The Commission seems to be using supply and demand as their prime
criteria relying on the laws of pre-market capitalism.
There is, after all, a waiting list, but they have ignored the obligation of the government and the Town
of Leesburg to provide goods and services to its constituents for a fair and reasonable price. Free
market capitalism without competition becomes a monopoly with all of its potential abuses. If you don't
like the rental rates, go somewhere else, is not the philosophy the Town Council should be using to set
these rates.
Page 191 October 11, 2022
Governments are granted monopoly power and they are entrusted not to abuse that power. Hanger
rental rites at the Leesburg Airport have historically been the highest in the State, and now the Airport
Commission seems to think that it is appropriate that these rates be increased even more with increases
approaching 17%. Remember, we are only four months into the current fiscal year, and I see nothing
in the Town budget that justifies this type of increase during the current cycle.
In fact, .a decrease in rates may be more appropriate. On November 1st,the Town will take possession
of the condo hangers. Considering there are eight months remaining in the fiscal year, this will amount
to a revenue windfall or approximately$200,000 before expenses. The condo association has typically
covered all expenses of these hangers for approximately$40,000 annually.
It would seem the Town will realize sizable additional unbudgeted income. In fiscal year 2024, the
income from the condo hangers will be realized for all 12 months, generating roughly a quarter million
dollars of additional revenue after expenses. Now, obviously, rates would have to be set for the condo
hangers for the remainder of the 2023 fiscal year, but in doing so, you must recognize that the condo
hangers are significantly inferior to the current Town hangers.
They're 40 years old,they're smaller,they're poorly lit,they have few electrical outlets and deteriorating
flooring. Perhaps,surprisingly,there are many inexpensive airplanes like mine based at Leesburg worth
about the same as a new Harley,and hanger rent is the single most expensive item for operating these
aircraft. These are not necessarily expensive toys of the wealthy. The Town, with its monopoly power,
might make it unaffordable for grassroots aviators to continue to reside at the Airport. I hope that won't
happen.,Thank you for listening.
Mayor Burk: Thank you. Is there anybody in the audience that didn't sign up that would like to have
the opportunity to speak?Okay. I don't see anybody that is interested in speaking.Then I will close the
public hearing. Is there a motion anyone would like to make at this point? Mr. Steinberg? Well, make
the motion. I'll get a second and then we can--
Council Member Steinberg: I move to approve an ordinance Amending Appendix B Fee Schedule
Subsection Two Monthly Rentals of Section 6-25 Leesburg Executive Airport of the Town Code of
Leesburg,Virginia, or the Town Code as follows as these rates are listed.
Mayor Burk: Is there a second?
Council Member Cummings: Second.
Mayor Burk: Council Member Cummings, second.All right. Mr. Steinberg.
Council Member Steinberg: I appreciate Mr. Thill's comments, yet I have trouble-- On the one hand,
when we argue we don't tax aircraft at any appreciable level because aircraft owners are free to take
the aircraft and park it at any other airports. It seems to me if that is the case, and I'm not asking Mr.
Thill to park his aircraft somewhere else or any other Town resident.It's an expensive venture,operating
this Airport.
Revenues have to come from somewhere. Given the demand for the hangars, it seems to be the
obvious place. I recognize that we, at this stage, are at a higher level than our competitors in other
areas, but I have to imagine that they won't be very far behind when it comes to raising the rates on
their hangers. Thanks.
Mayor.Burk: Thank you. Anyone else have any comments that would like to make at this point?Any
questions?All right. All in favor of Amending the Town Code Appendix B Fee Schedule for Section 6-
25(2) Monthly Fees at the Leesburg Executive Airport, indicate by saying aye.
Members:Aye.
Mayor Burk: Opposed?That passes 6-0-1.The next public hearing is number two.This public hearing
number two was on TLOA-2022-0005, Steps and Landings Setbacks Amendment. I call to order this
October 11th, 2022 public hearing on the Town of Leesburg Council. Unless there's an objection, I will
dispen§e with the reading of the advertisement. If you wish to speak, we ask you to either sign up on
Page 201 October 11, 2022
the sheet in the hallway outside the Council Chamber, but if you did not get the opportunity to sign up,
we'll give you an opportunity to speak.
In the interest of fairness, we also ask that you observe the five-minute time limit. 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. Under the rules adopted by this Council, there will be a three-minute time limit.
However, rather than have numerous citizens present remarks on behalf of the group, the Council will
allow'a spokesperson for a 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 then request for
additional time. Our procedure for the following public hearings is as follows. First, there's a brief
presentation by staff.Then members of the public that have signed up to speak will be called and given
their three minutes to speak. The public hearing is on TLOA-2022-005 Steps and Landings Setbacks
Amendment. Hello.
Mike Watkins: Madam Mayor, Members of Council, good evening. Before you is a minor text
amendment that, hopefully, will fix a permitting issue that we have. Again, the purpose is to amend
Zoning Ordinance to clarify the steps and landings, which are attached to a single family attached
dwelling,a townhouse, uncovered deck do not require a setback from interior side lot lines.The a purpose
of this graphic is to show you the setbacks that apply to a townhouse principal structure.
I note on here that the arrow on the highlight says that there's a zero-foot setback for the interior
townhouse lots. I've also included a graphic that shows the area in the rear yard,that orange box.That
would be considered an area of the side yard. This graphic is intended to illustrate how the regulations
apply to decks and steps for the end units.What I want to note here is that steps are the issue with this
particular text amendment, cannot be closer than five feet to a property line.
The purpose of this slide is to illustrate the current interior side yard setbacks. I'll note here, at the
bottom of the screen, the right arrow indicates that steps and landings cannot be closer than five feet
to'a property line. I've also included a graphic, so on the right-hand side in the red box, illustrates how
the ordinance is codified today.What we've discovered is throughout time,this section of the ordinance
has been inconsistently administered.
This graphic shows you two situations. The green box, obviously, identifies a good situation where the
steps have been set back five feet. The red box indicates a permit that was issued where that setback
was not adhered to. At the Planning Commission's Public Hearing on September 1st of this year, they
made a minor recommendation to this staff draft to include the word side when referencing interior lot
lines that do not require setback.The Commission voted 5-0-2 with two absent.
Getting'into the text itself, again,this slide illustrates the housekeeping that we're doing to clean up the
ordinance language in various sections of the ordinance. Again, what I did on this slide was highlight
the Planning Commission's recommendation, "A setback from an interior side lot line is not required.
Again, illustrating how this would be effectuated. Again, the setback for the side would not be applied
to the steps.Again, as illustrated previously,the graphic on this page shows you the effect.These steps
would.be conforming steps. There are draft motions for your consideration, and,I'm happy to answer
any questions that you may have.
Mayor Burk:All right. Thank you. Is there any questions on this particular item? Ms. Fox?
Council Member Fox:Yes.Thanks.Just a clarifying question.This is just for interior units of residential.
That's it.
Mike Watkins:That's it.
Council Member Fox: Okay. Thank you.
•
Mayor Burk: Any additional questions? Nobody has signed up to speak. Is there anybody in the
audience that would like to speak to this item? Seeing no one, I will close this public hearing. Does
anybody have any questions?Any additional questions?Would somebody like can make a motion?
•
Page 211 October 11, 2022
•
Vice Mayor Martinez: Now its my turn. I move to approve the proposed Zoning Ordinance amendment
to clarify that steps and landings which are attached to a single family attached dwelling townhouse
uncovered deck do not require a setback from interior side lot lines.
Mayor.Burk: Is there a second?
Council Member Bagdasarian: I second.
Mayor Burk: Seconded by Council Member Bagdasarian.All in favor indicate by saying aye.
Members:Aye.
Mayor Burk: Opposed. That passes 6-0-1.Any future Council meeting agenda topics? Ms. Fox?
Council Member Fox: I don't know if we're doing this already, but considering the 30 years of service
for the Battery Warehouse, have we even offered a proclamation for that? I know we're doing some
recognition this Saturday, but is there a proclamation in the works? Then I'd like to go ahead and
suggest that we recognize Battery Warehouse for their 30 years of service.
Mayor Burk: Is there a second?
Council Member Bagdasarian: I second.
Mayor Burk: Council Member Bagdasarian. Oh, that's right. We're doing the four head knots again.
Are there four people that would like to have a proclamation for the Battery Warehouse? Ms. Fox, Mr.
Bagdasarian, Mr. Cummings, Mr. Steinberg. Was that a yes? Okay, so you got your four people.
Anything else?
Council Member Fox: I don't have any other additions. It's been a busy time. I just wanted to reiterate
about the VML. I really appreciated the opportunity to go down there. I'm so sorry I couldn't attend the
service awards. With the way it happened, I had a previous engagement. I want to thank the Town
employees that were recognized in those service awards. Lots of ribbon cuttings. The Fire Department
had an open house. That was enlightening. That was very, very well attended by the public. We had a
somber,moment, but a nice moment for the tree planting this weekend, too. I just wanted to mention
those things. Thanks.
Mayor Burk:All right, Bagdasarian?
Council,Member Bagdasarian: This is something that's been discussed for decades, I think, but we
have a number of outdoor events at Ida Lee, including 4th of July that requires a stage. I'd like to add
an item to our agenda for staff to explore the options for a structural outdoor performance space at Ida
Lee, whether that's a band shell or some amphitheater, to explore the possibilities, overall costs,
maintenance, all the above, but something that would add to the quality of the programs that we're
doing in,the time. I know we've added some resources in the Parks and Rec for events, so I'd like to
look at this as an option.
Mayor Burk: Are there four people that would like to have staff look at the possibility of creating a
performance area? Does anybody else have anything? Mr. Martinez?
Vice Mayor Martinez:Yes. I missed last week's last meeting because I had a colonoscopy scheduled
on the night of the day that we were having the meeting. I have no problem saying that. It's not an
embarrassment to me.My only problem was it took me--I made this appointment in May without thinking
of looking,at my schedule. I was not going to cancel that appointment for the Council Meeting. I did it
and I recommend anybody who has any kind of issues and stuff to do it. It's not that big a deal, and it
does.save lives. There you go.
Council Member Bagdasarian: It does, and if you're 40--Sorry
Mayor Burk: Excuse him.
Page 221 October 11, 2022
Vice Mayor Martinez: Go ahead. Did you want to add on mine?
Mayor Burk: Steinberg?
Council Member Steinberg: First of all, I would gladly have offered to move the meeting to Marty's
operating room,if he'd only mentioned it in time.Just a quick comment.This Saturday was a fundraising
event for the Arc of Loudoun at ION. For the first one, it was just spectacular.The costumes that people
dressed up in were really interesting. Of course, the scary creatures hanging around the space were
fun.Then They Might Be Giants had a great show and it showcased ION perfectly.There's no question.
We've got a gem there and we need to figure out how to better utilize it to their benefit and the Town's
benefit. I have nothing for a future meeting. Thanks.
Mayor Burk: Anyone else? Do I have a motion to adjourn? Second? Moved by Mr. Steinberg.
Seconded by Ms. Fox.All in favor?
Members:Aye.
Mayor Burk: Opposed?That goes 6-0-1.
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