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HomeMy Public PortalAbout2023_tcwsmin0925Council Work Session September 25, 2023 Council Chamber, 25 West Market Street, Leesburg, Virginia, 7:00 p.m. Mayor Kelly Burk presiding. Council Members Present: Ara Bagdasarian, Todd Cimino -Johnson, Zach Cummings, Kari Nacy, Patrick Wilt, and Mayor Kelly Burk. Council Members Absent: Vice Mayor Neil Steinberg. Staff Present: Town Manager Kaj Dentler, Town Attorney Christopher Spera, Deputy Town Manager Keith Markel, Director of Community Development James David, Zoning Administrator Mike Watkins, Preservation Planner Lauren Murphy, Assistant Public Information Officer Leah Kosin and Clerk of Council Eileen Boeing. AGENDA ITEMS 1. Item for Discussion a. Synthetic Building Materials in Old and Historic District Ms. Lauren Murphy provided an overview of allowable uses of synthetic/composite materials in the Old and Historic District. Ms. Murphy reviewed when administrative approvals are allowed by staff and when requests need to go before the Board of Architectural Review. Council and staff discussed the materials and the approval process. Proposed changes to the administrative approval process and use of composite/synthetic materials will be reviewed as part of the Zoning Ordinance rewrite. No further action is required for this item. b. Mobile Food Unit Regulations Mr. Mike Watkins reviewed Council's request to discuss allowing food trucks in the downtown B-1 district, B-2 district, and the B-3 district. Mr. Watkins reviewed the existing regulations. Council and staff discussed current regulations which include allowing mobile food units to operate in the B -I district under a Business Special Event Permit up to three times per year and three days per event. No further action is required for this item. 2. Additions to Future Council Meetings a. Proclamation Requests - Hispanic Heritage Month A proclamation request was received from the Diversity Commission for Hispanic Heritage Month to be proclaimed at the October 3, 2023, Council Meeting. It was the consensus of Council to add this proclamation to the October 3, 2023, Council Meeting agenda. 1 1 1' a gc Council Work Session September 25, 2023 b. Future Council Meetings and Agenda Topics Council Member Cimino -Johnson requested a motion be added to the September 26, 2023, Council agenda to approve extending benefits to Council Members at 100% of the cost assessed to Council Members as outlined in the July 10, 2023, Information Memo to Council. It was the consensus of Council to add this item to the September 26, 2023, Council Meeting. Council Member Cummings requested a Work Session discussion on signage in the historic downtown. Mr. David noted this will be addressed in the Zoning Ordinance rewrite currently underway. No additional action is required for this item. Council Member Patrick Wilt asked for the timeline of the Zoning Ordinance rewrite when discussion items on the current agenda will be reviewed. Mr. David noted that additional information will be provided at the October 19 upcoming joint session with the Town Council and Planning Commission. 3. Adjournment On a motion by Council Member Nacy, seconded by Council Member Cummings, the meeting was adjourned at 743 p. m. Clerk of Council 2023_mwsmin0925 21Pagc September 25, 2023 — Leesburg Town Council Work Session (Note: This is a transcript prepared by a Town contractor based on the video of the meeting. It may not be entirely accurate. For greater accuracy, we encourage you to review the video of the meeting that is on the Town's Web site — www.leesburgva.gov or refer to the approved Council meeting minutes. Council meeting videos are retained for three calendar years after a meeting per Library of Virginia Records Retention guidelines.) Mayor Kelly Burk: Welcome everyone here tonight. And tonight's Town Council Work Session of September 25, 2023. Our first item for discussion is the synthetic building material in the old and historic district. Ms. Murphy? Lauren Murphy: Madam Mayor. For some background, which was also in your staff report. The Zoning Ordinance in the Town of Leesburg delegates administrative review authority to the Preservation Planner in a few different broad areas, for administrative review of Certificates of Appropriateness, rather than requiring full public hearing with the Board of Architectural Review. Across the board these actions are intended for minor-- [exclaims] I lost my PowerPoint. Mayor Burk: They're 111 hold up, the -- [laughter] Lauren Murphy: I didn't print a copy. Council Member Zach Cummings: Did you memorize it? Lauren Murphy: I did not memorize it. Mayor Burk: Oh, you know what, 1 forgot to read the disclaimer. Kari Nacy: That happened right when I plugged my computer in. [laughter] Mayor Burk: Unplug it, see if it does something. It's not you, you don't need to worry. [pause] Lauren Murphy: I used to print the PowerPoint, and then we hired a Sustainability Manager. The Director started yelling at us for printing paper. Now I don't print paper. [silence] Mayor Burk: 1 always get mad when people read the PowerPoints word for word, so you could do it tonight, though. [laughs] Lauren Murphy: All right, 1 might have to. Mayor Burk: Not working? Do we know if people can hear us? Eileen Boeing: They should be able to hear you. Mayor Burk: While they're doing that, let me read the disclaimer. The Town has experienced audiovisual issues that is preventing video from being displayed on the cable TV channels and on the Web site. Town staff is working to correct the issue as quickly as possible. In the meantime, if you need closed captioning or a copy of tonight's presentation, please visit the Council's agenda page on the Town's Website. Page 11September 25, 2023 Lauren Murphy: 1'11 have it brought up on my laptop if someone will go grab it from my desk. Just say the historic way is sometimes the best way, like printing out paper. James David: Here you go. Lauren Murphy: Thank you. Okay, I'm still Lauren Murphy, the Preservation Planner and I can use this now whenever you're ready. Mayor Burk: Go ahead. She'll catch up to you. It's okay, it's up to you. Go ahead. Lauren Murphy: The Zoning Ordinance does delegate certain authority to the Preservation Planner. It's intended to be minor actions that are clearly and easily approvable, and it's also meant to be a benefit to property owners, mostly in the Old and Historic District, which is the H-1, although there are some actions in the Gateway, and H-2 district, which can also be done administratively. In 2021 into early 2022, staff did a thorough overview and rewrite of this particular section as it relates to the H-1. We are not able to expand actions in the H-2, but we could potentially look at the Gateway district. I believe we will look at the gateway district as a part of the Zoning Ordinance rewrite. In 2021,'22, we focused primarily on the Old and Historic district, which is where the majority of our residents and property owners have parcels within an architectural control district. That list was drastically expanded, probably about three times as much in January of last year. Administrative review does not have a fee, and it is generally faster than Board of Architectural Review because it does not require a public hearing. [silence] Lauren Murphy: Can you move it for me? Eileen Boeing: [inaudible] Lauren Murphy: [laughs] Maybe. Okay, thank you. There's a release of composite materials, and I will just say I prefer the term composite over synthetic materials, so I'm going to use those interchangeably both in the staff report and in the presentation tonight. The Zoning Ordinance does not generally give authority to the Preservation Planner for the implementation of new composite materials. They can be approved as replacement in kind, meaning if someone has composite siding today, they could replace it tomorrow, with the same material. There are also other in kind replacements that can be done, like roofing, gutters, porch, flooring, et cetera. There are also circumstances where the BAR might defer certain future requests to staff, especially when the existing material is no longer available. We've seen this multiple different times in the Old and Historic district, asbestos siding and masonite siding, in particular, are known to be inferior or dangerous products, and they're no longer being produced in this country. As a result, the BAR has determined that a certain product that's on the market still today, in this case, its hardie plank or cement fiber siding is considered in kind replacement and so staff is able to make that switch from masonite to hardie plank or from asbestos to hardie plank administratively. Lauren Murphy: Can you click for me? I'm sorry, Eileen. For composite materials in general, as I said, most of those require architectural review by the Board. They can defer certain actions to staff. It's not generally acceptable for composite materials to be used as a replacement for historic or traditional materials. For example, we would not want to see someone remove their historic wood siding and replace it with something contemporary. We also wouldn't want to see somebody remove their historic windows and replace those with something contemporary. For historic buildings, repair when you can, is always the best course of action and when you can't repair anymore, replacement in kind, is always the second best course of action. However, when we do allow composite materials, we ask that they be as close to the traditional material as possible or that they visually approximate traditional materials, which is the term that I use in my industry. For Page 2ISeptember 25, 2023 example, we would say that cement fiber, Fly ash, or paintable, carvable, PVC has the visual qualities of wood whereas vinyl and plastic do not. Can you click for me? I keep hoping it's going to work and it's not working. I should just put it down. The Ordinance divides our administrative review authority into five subcategories. The first is building and site enhancements, and its really the most common area where we review administrative requests. It includes a lot of very minor actions like paint, color changes, walkways and patios, fences, gates, pergolas. You can even construct small sheds or accessory structures using this particular section of the Ordinance. It also includes low walls. That's the bulk of our administrative approval requests, and it's the most common residential requests that we get. Next slide, please. Signs are the most common commercial requests that we get. Administratively we can approve up to two per business, usually up to six square feet, although there are some minor changes to that in the guidelines and in the Zoning Ordinance. This does include composite materials that have been previously approved by the BAR. A lot of time the signs that you see in the Old and Historic district that might look like wood aren't actually wood. They're something called Extira, MDO or PVC, but again, they can be carved, they can be painted, and they have a visual approximation of a traditional sign material would. Click, please. For contributing structures, these are historic buildings or buildings older than 50 years, and they are specifically noted as contributing in our Old and Historic district architectural survey. This category has the highest standard of preservation, which means it is the most limited. It includes things that are generally easily reversible like storm windows or shutters, which can easily be changed by a future property owner. For major elements, we're talking only a replacement in kind. Replacement in kind of your siding, replacement in kind of your roof, your porch floor, your porch railing, et cetera. Next. For non-contributing structures, right now, we would say that's anything built after 1950 or a historic building that's been so substantially altered that its significance is now in question. We do have several of those in the historic district. This has wider flexibility administratively, and it can include more changes in material. For example, your roof, you could potentially change from one roofing type to another if you're considered a non-contributing structure. You also have the benefit of the same in -kind replacements that historic buildings have. This category actually also includes demolition, which has been very helpful for folks who want to take down rusted metal sheds and things like that in their backyard. Then finally is a catchall category that is for folks who have already gone through the Certificate of Appropriateness process, but recognizes that by the time they come to us at the Board of Architectural Review, their plans are not always final. This allows for minor adjustments to things that have already been approved like window and door locations. It also allows for changes in siding material, which could include composite. Then it also allows for some changes that are in what I would call a catchall category. This was a big ask from the BAR when we did these in 2021,'22. Fortunately, they were comfortable with it, which I guess is fortunate because it means they're so far comfortable with me. This is allowing the Preservation Planner to make minor adjustments that don't impact the approval, and that can capture things that aren't elsewise listed directly in the Zoning Ordinance. I think that's my-- oh no, just kidding, I thought that was my last slide. Administrative approvals, just in summary. They are for clearly approvable minor actions that are consistent with the guidelines. Larger items, particularly in the Old and Historic district, are usually referred to the Board of Architectural Review. In the OHD in particular, that's to, one, negatively reduce the impact that any changes could have on the character and the integrity of the district. But two, I like to tell people, it also ensures that the decision is being made by an appointed public body, not by one person. Page 31September 25, 2023 It's not my personal preference that's approving your addition or your new construction. It's actually a group decision of the full board and usually, that's to somebody's benefit. Finally, requests for composite materials, I would say, are considered on a case -by -case basis, with some of them being eligible for administrative approval, while others require full board review. Lauren Murphy: That, I'm confident, is my last slide. and now I can answer any questions. Mayor Burk: Thank you. Are there questions at this point? I got a couple. You used a lot of terminology and abbreviations that maybe the public isn't completely aware of or understands completely. The gist of what you're asking for here, correct me where I'm wrong, you are saying that historic structures still have to replace anything-- that any changes that they make has to go to the BAR, and it has to be historically accurate, historically appropriate? Lauren Murphy: It needs to be appropriate. There are things that can be done to historic structures administratively. A lot of them are replacement in kind. When someone wants to change a material or change a design, even if it's more historically appropriate than what they might have today, we usually say that that's something that needs to go to the BAR and be looked at by the full body. If somebody wants to replace their wood siding with wood siding, I can do that for you administratively. If someone wants to replace their wood siding with hardie plank, that's going to be something that were going to refer to the Board of Architectural Review. Mayor Burk: Okay, and that there are things that you want to be able to approve that right now you can't approve? Lauren Murphy: I feel pretty confident in the list that we have today. I think that the Gateway District does need to be looked at. I'm not very confident in the list that we have available for the Gateway District. For the Old and Historic districts, I feel comfortable with the list that we have today. Mayor Burk: In the Gateway District, I would think composite material could be used on a regular basis. Lauren Murphy: Absolutely. Composite material is clearly allowed in the Gateway. This item was framed as a question about how composite materials can be used in the Old and Historic district. They can be allowed, but they are with limited circumstances and usually with approval from the Board. I do think that as a part of the Zoning Ordinance rewrite, we should be looking at what we allow in the Gateway. I would say the list in the H-1 right now is broader than the Gateway, which makes no sense. You would think that the Historic District would he the most strict. Mayor Burk: You guys got some questions now, Mr. Bagdasarian. Council Member Ara Bagdasarian: Of course. It always takes me a little while to catch on. Mayor Burk: Not a problem. Council Member Bagdasarian: A little slow. What composite materials can be made administratively? You said in some cases, it can be made administratively, what are those cases? Lauren Murphy: Your house, for example, is in the Old and Historic district, but it's a contemporary structure. You have hardie plank siding on your house, you could, tomorrow, put in an application to replace that hardie plank siding in kind. When you have composite materials already, even if they're not the preferred material, like there are folks that have vinyl siding and they've come and said, can't afford to upgrade, can't afford to restore the wood, can I just replace the vinyl? The answer is yes. You have it today, it's a status quo, and you can replace it tomorrow. That is an option. Then if you are a non-contributing structure, there are certain circumstances. It's mostly with roofs and gutters that you could ask to change from one material to another as long as that other material is equally consistent with the guidelines. Page 4ISeptember 25, 2023 Council Member Bagdasarian: Do we differentiate maybe that this is contributing or non- contributing between historic buildings and a building in the historic district? Lauren Murphy: Yes. A historic building would be specifically noted as contributing in our architectural survey. Technically, in an industry standard, it's anything older than 50 years. A lot of folks don't like that. I myself am close to that, so I don't personally prefer it. We in Leesburg use anything built before 1950 as our current cutoff for our period of significance. Anything after 1950, we do not currently view as non-contributing. Council Member Bagdasarian: Do we actually identify homes that were built in the early 1970s as historic buildings, is that even happening? Lauren Murphy: It does happen elsewhere. I don't know that it would necessarily happen here. There are entire neighborhoods in Fairfax County, for example, where it would be very appropriate for like a mid -mod or a mid-century neighborhood to be considered a historic neighborhood. Council Member Bagdasarian: One particular location that I'd just like some background on, I think this was before you started with the Town, but I know Market Station has composite decking. What was the process behind that and how was that allowed? Lauren Murphy: It was definitely before my time, but we have allowed composite decking for lots of other projects in the Historic district. We actually have one on the agenda earlier this week— I guess technically, it was last week because today's Monday. We have a lot of folks who request to replace their wood decking on a rear contemporary deck with Trex. The BAR has approved that pretty consistently. I don't know the exact circumstances around Market Station, but Market Station is a conglomeration of buildings that used to be historic and really aren't anymore. I think it would probably have been viewed as a contemporary commercial development and that's why the Trex was acceptable, but since then we have started letting folks with historic homes use it on the rear. Council Member Bagdasarian: Does that also apply to fencing or is it strictly decking? Lauren Murphy: It's a good question. So far we have not come across a composite fence that has visually approximated wood. Usually folks who don't want a wood fence go with a metal fence and we'll allow aluminum. Council Member Bagdasarian: Thank you. Mayor Burk: Council Member Wilt. Council Member Patrick Wilt: Thanks. I'm wondering about if there are benefits to standardizing on some things, the streamline processes and just take some burden off of residents. For example, the Trex discussion, if one property owner in the H-1 had gone through the process and then the board decided, "Yes, Trex visually works. It's a good quality-" and 1 read the BAR'S exception approving that. This is a fantastic material. It's better than natural wood, is there benefit to standardizing that and allowing future property owners to avoid the entire process? We've decided Trex is a viable product. If you want to use it now, we can administratively approve it. Is there benefit to doing that? Lauren Murphy: I think there could be benefit to doing that, sure. I think we've done that already in a couple of other circumstances, like the Masonite siding and the asbestos siding. The BAR has said, "You don't need to bring us any more of those that want to replace those products with hardie plank. That's a one for one replacement and we're good with it." Council Member Wilt: Then, things, have we done a wood siding replacement with hardie plank, anywhere on the H-1? Page 5 September 25, 2023 Lauren Murphy: I would say, no, because I would say that's on a case by case. That would be a circumstance where it's not appropriate to remove historic wood siding to replace it with hardie plank, but it could be appropriate, far example, to remove vinyl siding and replace it with hardie plank. Council Member Wilt: I'm thinking of a big element in the Market Station justification was, they needed it to be maintenance free and that was a motivation in granting that. Lots of homeowners had that same justification. If I wanted to take down some very hard to maintain and paint and scrape, wood fascias and corbels under my eaves and replace them with a carveable PVC or a resin, is that appropriate? Lauren Murphy: It depends on the age of the structure. For a contemporary structure, again, that's one right now that we would say after 1950, I think that that's possible. The BAR has approved those in a couple of different occasions. [unintelligible] for example, had a siding on it that was inferior of a very early cement fiber. They were able to take that off and replace it and put new hardie plank on it and it looks great. Would that be right for something that is a 200 -year old structure? No, I don't think it would. Council Member Wilt: Then how can we-- or is there a benefit to categorizing certain things if it's 1895, 200 years, the people who own these properties and some of them, we can walk around Town. I think there are opportunities to improve the condition of properties, because maintaining some of these is difficult, expensive, and some of them are not in terrific shape. How do we incentivize actually preserving them? I'm wondering if putting carveable PVC corbels under an eave, 35 feet above the ground, it looks like wood, and it is maintenance -free, what is the downside of that? Lauren Murphy: I think it depends on the element that you're talking about. I think the BAR probably would and has considered small details or areas where we've had homeowners who have been able to show a consistent water problem. We obviously have a lot of high -lying water areas here where flooding and water damage can be really significant. They have taken a look at that in the past and said, "Okay, in this particular instance, it makes sense." The reason why those go to the BAR is because they are a case -by -case basis, and again, that ensures that there's an open and public process, and that the decisions being made by seven people who have been appointed by y'all, not just by one person, me. I think we already have categorized the structures in the historic district by saying contributing versus non-contributing. When you're a contributing structure, you are a historic building that is significant and part of the integrity of this historic district. We have said that those have a smaller number of things that can be approved administratively. If you're a non-contributing structure, that list is broader. We already have started to make that categorization where we've said contributing, tighter list, preservation is more important. Non- contributing has more flexibility. Council Member Wilt: Okay. I think there's still some benefit to homeowners and residents defining a smoother, more predictable path to preserve their structures so that they're maintainable in the future. I'd like to see that happen somehow. Thank you. Mayor Burk: Council Member Cummings? Council Member Zach Cummings: Thank you. Thanks, Lauren, for your presentation. Obviously, when we talk about the governing documents for the Town of Leesburg Historic District, that's the Old and Historic Design Guidelines, right? Lauren Murphy: I love that you still have your copy. [laughter] Council Member Cummings: I've read it. I want everyone to know that I know how to read. No, I'm just kidding. Page 61September 25, 2023 Lauren Murphy: I don't have any stickers to give out tonight, Mr. Cummings. Council Member Cummings: We have our own guidelines we follow, but are there guidelines that historic preservationists and historic planners nationwide follow? Lauren Murphy: Yes, definitely. The Secretary of the Interior has several, more than several, it's like 30 -some, preservation briefs. I do rely on those when our guidelines are silent on something if we have a really specific case, if we have something like a stained-glass window at Saint James, there really aren't a whole lot of those elsewhere in the district, so we might not necessarily have specific guidelines about how to handle stained-glass. I can rely on those preservation briefs from the National Park Service that are coming through the Secretary of the Interior. They also do put out white papers and guidelines of their own. Most of those have found their way into our own guidelines and been adopted, but occasionally they'll be something new and updated. I also will be honest, and I think there's some things that they're behind the times on, like solar panels. I think that they have room to improve theft documents as well, but generally, I'd say the crux of their documents have made their way into ours, but sometimes there's just such a specific case that I might have to refer it to the National Park Service instead of our own documents. Council Member Cummings: What does the Department of Interior say about synthetic material and historic districts? Lauren Murphy: I don't think that we would like the answer, because they say you shouldn't really use it at all, but when you are going to use it, it should be on the back and on new construction only. The preference of the National Park Service is perfect preservation. I don't know that that's really achievable, but they do recognize that folks use it It doesn't keep us from being listed in the National Register of Historic Places or from being a certified local government, but certainly, pure preservation would be the preference of the National Park Service. Council Member Cummings: Again, for contributing structures, not every structure in this district. Lauren Murphy: I think they would prefer if everybody would just use wood siding, but that's not feasible, so, yes, definitely for contributing structures. Council Member Cummings: We know what the Department of Interior says. We obviously aren't the only historic district in the Commonwealth. What do, let's say, City of Alexandria's Historic Guidelines say for synthetic material? Lauren Murphy: It's a good question. There are some, as you might guess, that are more strict than ours, and I would say Alexandria is one of those. They have very limited circumstances where they will allow contemporary materials to be used on historic buildings at all and then even on non -historic buildings. There are others that are more flexible than ours, but they also have different periods of significance. They may have a newer historic district in general. Council Member Cummings: As our resident expert for historic preservation, beyond the Gateway District, which you've explained that we need to look at when were rewriting zoning, is there anything that you feel, as our Historic Preservationist, or Historic Planner that we should be allowing for with synthetic material that maybe we haven't, that we need to help you by putting it into the Zoning Ordinance? Lauren Murphy: I think it's certainly worth a look especially as we do the rewrite to see if best practices have changed. We did this update not too long ago in '21, '22, and that did involve a survey of other similar jurisdictions. I did look at Alexandria, I did look at Herndon, I did look at Fairfax. I would say were in line with the jurisdictions that I would say are doing good preservation in the Northern Virginia region with the exception of Alexandria. I would say they are much tougher than us, but that's not necessarily making them a better historic district. Off the top of my head, I can't think of anything where I was like, "Oh, I wish I had that." I always think it's smart to look at it and see if there are things that have come up where we were like, Page 7ISeptember 25, 2023 "That shouldn't have had to go to the BAR. That should have been simple and straightforward" Which is how we got to that list in'21,'22 anyway. Council Member Cummings: Then I may have said final question, which I always -- Lauren Murphy: You did. [laughs] Council Member Cummings: When I do that, I always ask one more. I don't think anyone was here when we established our historic district in Leesburg. I know were not the first, but were right up there. Lauren Murphy: We're close, I think were number three. Council Member Cummings: What was the intent then and do you still feel like were working within that intent? Lauren Murphy: I do feel like were working within that intent. I think what's really special about Leesburg's Historic District is that it was a district that was brought to the Council by the people. They had seen several significant structures be demolished in Town and they felt like there was a lot of history here that should have been protected and preserved. They carne to the Council and said, "We want this;" as opposed to the Council putting it an them and saying, "You're going to do this." I think that that is really goad. I think that there are a lot of people in this district that still feel really strongly about the Historic District. I think that's been evident through different outreach projects that we've done, through the Comprehensive Plan update, we saw a lot of folks pointing to how important that the Historic District was to them. I do think were still embracing the intent. I think it's just better because when you know better, you do better. There are things that we know better now that we didn't know 60 -some years ago. Mayor Burk: Oh, okay. Sorry. Council Member Cimino -Johnson. Council Member Todd Cimino -Johnson: Thank you Madam Mayor. Thank you, Lauren, for your presentation. My first question is an signs in here, you put some limitations. Is that for the whole Town or just for the Historic District? Lauren Murphy: Actually, the Historic District, the H-1 specifically gets a benefit to property owners where the Board of Architectural Review can actually give them more signage and larger signage than is allowed elsewhere if the Board of Architectural Review finds that it's appropriate to the character of the district and the building. An example of that would be the Stockman Building, for example, that sign-- it's the green building at the corner of Market and King and that sign is quite large and might not have been allowed otherwise, but because there are historical photos of a sign in that location and of that general size, the BAR was allowed to grant that even though it might have exceeded what the Zoning Ordinance would have allowed elsewhere in Town. For administrative approval, that's only applying in the Historic Districts. I do think-- I take it back, Mr. Cummings. I think our signs do need looked at, but that's because our guidelines for signs are quite out of date and possibly need to be revamped. [chuckles] Right now those guidelines are very specific that I can only approve six square feet administratively. I don't understand why, I don't know why that number was picked. It seems arbitrary and most folks are like,' Fine, I'll do the six square foot sign so don't have to go to the BAR." Could we allow folks to do a bigger sign if it was better and more appropriate to the character of their building administratively, I think we should. I definitely think that that's an area-- see, I had to think about it for a second. I think that's an area where we could probably go back and take a look at our sign guidelines and then update those so that more things would be approvable administratively that six square foot limitation's not in the Zoning Ordinance, it's in the guidelines. Page aISeptember 25, 2023 Council Member Cimino -Johnson: Got you. Then is there like a mission or vision for the Historic District, like we're going to save 75% of all material, all the buildings in this area? Lauren Murphy: That's a good question. We don't have a number on it. I judge it by how happy, I think, folks are, how well I think it's looking. I think were doing a pretty good job right now. I think the Town has really embraced the historic district over the last 60 -some years, and I think it's pretty cool. Council Member Cimino -Johnson: Then my last question, it will be my last question is - Mayor Burk: We'll see. Council Member Cimino -Johnson: The BAR is seeing a lot of applications for certain things, and they feel that this should come through staff and just be administratively approved. Is that a process that happens? Lauren Murphy: It is. That is kind of how we arrived at that last set of amendments, which I know was getting approved probably at your first meeting of the Council. They felt like they were seeing a larger and larger and larger consent agenda case, where it was like, if these can just constantly be approved by consent, then why aren't we just making them administrative approvals? That's how we started with the list we have today is we looked at over the last three years what are the types of things we've been approving by consent, so the BAR is not even discussing them, they're just taking our staff report for it's face value and saying, 'approved'. Then we went from there by comparing what that list looked like to other jurisdictions, adding in some things, taking out some things, and then bringing it to the Council for approval. Council Member Cimino -Johnson: Excellent. Thank you so much. Mayor Burk: Thank you very much. We really appreciate your report. Lauren Murphy: Thank you. Mayor Burk: The next item for tonight is the Mobile Food Unit regulations. Mr. Watkins. Mike Watkins: Madam Mayor, Members of Council, very good evening to you. This is a work session to discuss mobile food unit regulations. The staff report that was provided to you has a lot of background information. However, on your August 27'^ meeting this year you did request this discussion. We enacted regulations for food trucks or mobile food units in 2017 initially. There's been two amendments thereafter. I'm not going to read the slide to you, but wanted to tell you that we distinguish the B-1 from the B-2 and B-3 districts and others zoning districts regarding food trucks. In the Council's previous discussions they did not want the year round ability for food trucks in the B-1 and the B-2, B-3, PEC, I- 1, there is an allowance for year round permitting of food trucks. However, in the B-1 district, you can operate a food truck under a special event permit-- business special event permit. Those are limited to three times a year and no more than three days for each event. We don't get very many requests. The most frequent requester is breweries in the downtown, the microbreweries. This table just illustrates the difference between the B-1, B-2, 8-3, B-4, CDC, C -I1 and PEC. Those are the districts that allow the unlimited duration for mobile food units. Those are permitted under the annual temporary use permit. Again, in the B-1, you can operate a mobile food unit, however, it is under a business special event. There is no staff position on this I'm happy to answer any questions you may have. Mayor Burk: Thank you. Appreciate it. Could you explain B-1 to the public, what do you mean by B- 1? Page 9ISeptember 25, 2023 Mike Watkins: B-1 is our downtown zoning district. It overlaps in some areas with the H1. It is our core historic downtown district. Mayor Burk: Thank you. Anyone have any questions on this, Mr. Bagdasarian? Council Member Bagdasarian: Yes, thank you. At this point there's no action on this, this is just information only, correct? Mike Watkins: Correct. Council Member Bagdasarian: Just a couple questions. Do food trucks in the H-1 or anywhere pay meals tax, are they accountable for that? Mike Watkins: I believe there is meals taxes. I'm not the financial expert on. I apologize, I don't have that answer for you. I do believe meals taxes are recouped in some fashion. Council Member Bagdasarian: I understand obviously not having food trucks on the streets and everything. If we do anything with this, I do think this would be a great opportunity for the Leesburg Movement, the Main Street Program to provide an opinion on this from the downtown businesses. I think that'd be worthwhile. Thank you. Mayor Burk: Council Member Cimino -Johnson. Council Member Cimino -Johnson: Thank you for your presentation. I have a couple questions. The first, when we're talking about the mobile food units, are we talking about on the street or are we talking about on private property? Where in the B-1 are they allowed, not allowed? Mike Watkins: Very good question. This table in the B-1 district, again, only allowed on private property under a business special event. Elsewhere, they are allowed on public streets, private streets, and on private property. Council Member Cimino -Johnson: What about Taste of Leesburg, because they were in the street? Mike Watkins: That's an event that's hosted by the Town. Those events are dealt with through an event permit that's managed by the Town Manager's Office. Council Member Cimino -Johnson: Then you said you could do three, three-day events. Is that for one business or in total? Mike Watkins: No, each business is entitled to three three-day events a year. Council Member Cimino -Johnson: Excellent. Thank you. Mayor Burk: All right, any additional questions on this and no motions or anything, all right. Thank you very much. Appreciate your report. Mike Watkins: Welcome. Mayor Burk: At this point, does anybody have-- wait a minute, I have one request for a proclamation for Hispanic Heritage Month, September 15th to October 15th. Would I get a motion to accept that proclamation request? Eileen Boeing: Just four head nods. Chris Spera: Four head nods. Mayor Burk: Four head nods. Sorry. Are there four heads that will nod to get the historic Hispanic Heritage Month, September 15th to October. Hand raises will do it too. Okay, everybody? Yes. All right, thank you. Future council meeting and agenda topics. Mr. Wilt. Page 10ISeptember 25, 2023 Council Member Wilt: Nothing, thank you. Mayor Burk: Mr. Bagdasarian. Council Member Bagdasarian: Nothing for me. Mayor Burk: Miss Nacy. Council Member Kari Nacy: Nothing for me. Mayor Burk: Oh, I see two lights on. [laughter] Council Member Cummings: You allowed too much time. Mayor Burk: Council Member Cimino -Johnson. Council Member Cimino -Johnson: Thank you, Madam Mayor, I just have one item. Under section 14.3 of the Rules of Procedure, I would like to move to add a discussion and approval of the Town Council Benefits Memo that we received from Josh Didawick on July 101h. He already created the staff report and this would be the option of adding benefits that are paid entirely by the Council Member, not the Town. Mayor Burk: Does that -- Council Member Cimino -Johnson: I know that was a lot. Chris Spera: I think what would be appropriate, Madam Mayor is a motion because that was already prepared, there was already a work session on that. I think Dr. Cimino -Johnson could add a motion - Mayor Burk: Tomorrow. Chris Spera: -tomorrow. Then you could have a discussion tomorrow on that motion. Mayor Burk: Are there four people who would like to have a discussion on the item that Council Member Cimino -Johnson has brought forward? Yes. Council Member Bagdasarian: I'm sorry. I'm not clear on what the motion is. Chris Spera: To discuss the availability of benefits to the seven of you. Council Member Cimino -Johnson: Yes, we have to add it. Council Member Bagdasarian: Yes, I'm fine with that, discussing. Mayor Burk: We got four hands. Council Member Cummings: We're discussing it. Mayor Burk: No, we would make the motion to accept it or not accept it tomorrow, right - Chris Spera: Correct. Mayor Burk: -if you're making correct. Chris Spera: This is not an adjudication of the motion itself, this is just -- Mayor Burk: Tomorrow it would be an accept or not accept. Chris Spera: Correct. Page 111September 25, 2023 Mayor Burk: Do we have four hands that wanna do that. Mr. Bagdasarian. Council Member Wilt: Are we talking about existing benefit programs that were just adding a Council member too with full-- with no-- is there some discussion about this tomorrow night then when it's made? Chris Spera: There was a previous work session information, information item, I'm sorry - Council Member Cimino -Johnson: July 10'^. Chris Spero: -that was presented to you several months ago about allowing the participation from a self -funded basis of each of you on an optional basis in various benefits that are available currently to employees. The information's already been presented to you. Council Member Wilt: Go refresh myself on my own then from that. Chris Spera: Yes. No presentation, just a motion. Council Member Wilt: Ok. Mayor Burk: We need four hands to determine if we have this on the agenda for tomorrow. Mr. Bagdasarian, Mw Nacy, Mr. Wit, and Mr. Cimino -Johnson, Council Member Cimino -Johnson. That will be on there for tomorrow. Kaj Dentler: Yes. We'II add that for tomorrow. Mayor Burk: Mr. Cummings, Council Member Cummings: I want to make sure I'm doing the-- I have a request for a proclamation. I don't know, to just fill the form out online, but not tonight I will do that and then I also wanted to, from our conversation tonight, ask for a work session to talk about composite material in the Gateway District Mayor Burk: Did you want to do that before Ms. Murphy has the chance to look it over? Didn't she say that she was going to, and maybe Mr. David could. Council Member Cummings: I mean, unless we can address it with the Zoning Ordinance rewrite, which would be just easier probably. James David: Good evening, thank you. I think staffs preference would be to put it into the Zoning Ordinance rewrite. Mayor Burk: Ok. Council Member Cummings: Wait stay here. What about signage? She brought up signage. James David: Signage, as well, is a big part of the Zoning Ordinance. Council Member Cummings: Never mind, I have nothing. Mayor Burk: Okay, I see two lights back on. [laughs] Yes, Mr. Wilt? Council Member Wilt: Yes. Just a quick specification there. The phrase, the zoning rewrite has come up on a number of different topics, and it's a two -year -long project. When we say that, is there any timeframe we get that's more specific than saying 2025, we address something. James David: Sure, The Zoning Ordinance rewrite, the next milestone is a joint Planning Commission Council Meeting on October 199'^. They'll present their third -party audit or assessment of the ordinance which identifies best management practices, maybe areas where we can improve the Page 12ISeptember 25, 2023 ordinance. That'll be an important discussion topic, and we can bring these types of topics up in that discussion as well. Then we'll go through it in a systematic fashion, bringing draft chapters forward as part of the process. We'II discuss with the Planning Commission, we'll discuss with the public, we'll discuss with focus groups along the way. Certainly, once we have that a little bit more finalized, I can identify when sign regulations are going to come up, or when Gateway District would come up, or overlay districts as part of that discussion. Council Member Wilt: Okay. That would be useful. There are certain things I might want to defer for two years and other things that might be, if we can do something sooner. James David: Absolutely. We don't want you to get hit with it all at once a year and a half from now, so we'll keep you apprised of those topics that you're interested in. Mayor Burk: And Mr, Bagdasarian. Council Member Bagdasarian: I just wanted to verify that we'll be receiving information regarding Mr. Cimino -Johnson's request before the meeting tomorrow. Mayor Burk: The information from the HR guy. Council Member Cimino -Johnson: Yes. It's online from July 10th. No, I'm just kidding, 1'11 send it to you. [laughter] Council Member Bagdasarian: Thank you. Mayor Burk: Anybody else? Nobody else at this paint. Okay. Do I have a motion to adjourn? Council Member Nacy: So moved. Mayor Burk: Second? Council Member Nacy: No one else is paying attention. Mayor Burk: I know, really. [laughs] Council Member Cummings: Second. Mayor Burk: Thank you, appreciate that. [laughter] Seconded by Council Member Cummings. All in favor? Members: Aye. Mayor Burk: Opposed? You two can stay after class -[laughter] -for talking. Page 13ISeptember 25, 2023