Dear SW Residents:
The Council will be taking up the Town Plan this coming Tuesday, May 22nd at a public input session. Included are the proposed increases in Community Commercial square footage and flexibility in placement of same at Evergreen Mill Road and S. King.
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From: Listserv LocalPlanningBlast On Behalf Of Irish Grandfield
Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2012 4:37 PM
To: Listserv LocalPlanningBlast
Subject: Leesburg Town Council to Consider Town Plan Updates
Town Council will hear input from the public on TLTA-2011-0003 5-Year Town Plan Update at a Tuesday May 22 input session and again at a Public Hearing on Tuesday June 12, 2012. All interested parties are welcome to speak to the Town Council at these meetings in the Council Chambers, 25 W. Market St. in Leesburg, Virginia 20175. Council meetings start at 7:30 pm.
State Code Section 15.2-2223 requires a local planning commission to prepare and recommend a comprehensive plan for the physical development of the area within its jurisdiction to achieve a coordinated development pattern. The Code further states that planning commissions shall review the comprehensive plan at least every five years. The subject Town Plan Amendment is undertaken to comply with the direction provided in the Code to review and update the goals and objectives in the Plan comprehensively to assure that the Town Plan remains relevant and cohesive in its policy guidance. The Planning Commission completed their review and recommended approval of the Town Plan Amendments to Town Council on February 2, 2012.
Te Planning Commission completed an extensive, thorough review of Leesburg’s Town Plan in 2010 and 2011 to identify policies that might be updated to better reflect current Town land use and public service provision objectives. The intent was not to re-write the Town Plan but to revise sections based on changed conditions since adoption of the plan in 2005.
The Planning Commission considered Town Plan update recommendations in light of the following:
* Town Council priorities and policy directions since the 2005 Plan adoption
* New federal and state requirements or initiatives
* The need for better coordination of policies between elements to address conflicting policy direction
* Updates to trend analysis
* Clarification of unclear objectives
* Deletion of outdated or completed initiatives
Link Hereto the complete recommended Town Plan Amended changes.
Key changes recommended include the following.
Land Use
* Recommendation for future development of two new neighborhood plans, one for the area northeast of the Crescent District and one for the East Market Street corridor outside of the bypass to provide better guidance for development;
* Allowance of expansion of light industrial and auto dealerships where appropriate outside the bypass;
* Consideration of mixed use in addition to existing “Low Density Residential” use for land fronting on the east side of Sycolin Road between the Bypass and Battlefield Parkway.
* Flexibility in location of the “Community Commercial” use at either the northeast or southeast quadrant of Evergreen Mill Road and S. King St.;
* Provision of more flexibility for light industrial and technology uses in the Regional Office.
* Designation of properties identified as Loudoun County Parcel Identification Numbers: 232283893, 232389290, 232289934, 232201814, and 232377166 for Downtown Land Use consistent with adjacent properties to the north and east.
* Changing the Planned Land Use map designation to Major Institutional Use for Loudoun County Schools that were not previously identified as such.
Economic Development
* Building upon the role of the Downtown as an activity center;
* Leveraging emerging opportunities to promote a diversified economic base;
* Targeting growth opportunities in government contracting, research and development, higher education and life sciences;
Transportation
* Monitoring parking supply and demand to assure that parking demands are met;
* Identifying the need for a future strategy for adding capacity on E. Market St. outside of the bypass;
* Updates to local road networks to be consistent with the Countywide Transportation Plan;
* Removal of a planned multi-use path between Chancellor Drive and the W&OD Trail;
* Designation of future sidewalks along Evergreen Mills Road, Hope Parkway, Miller Drive, Kincaid Boulevard, Lawson Road, and Russell Branch Parkway.
Heritage Resources
· Development of a preservation plan to supplement the Heritage Resource policies in the Town Plan;
· Consideration of local incentive programs to encourage preservation/conservation efforts;
· Removal of portions of the H-1 and H-2 Districts where they overlap with the proposed Crescent District Form-based District.
Community Design
· Encourage integration of artistic design into prominent projects.
Housing
· Encourage better design for accessibility for special needs populations;
· Encourage provision of housing types that meet the current demographic trends and consumer demand for smaller dwellings.
Community Facilities and Services
· Guidance for street design to accommodate street trees;
· Seeking stakeholder input for developing the Town’s stormwater management program;
· Gradually increasing the Town’s recycling rate to a goal of 50%;
· Development of technology and communications strategic plan.
Parks and Recreation
· Strive to update the Parks Master Plan at least every five years.
Natural Resources
· Refining the concept of green infrastructure to exclude streams in artificial channels;
· Implementation of the objectives in the Town’s Urban Forestry Management Plan;
· Protecting people and property from natural hazards such as flooding and unstable geological conditions associated with Karst landscapes;
· Consideration of environmental health issues such as Lyme Disease in site design.
Please contact Town Clerk Lee Ann Green at lgreen@leesburgva.govif you would like to sign up to speak at the Town Council meetings. If you have other questions related to the Town Plan Amendment, feel free to send me an e-mail or call.
James P. (“Irish”) Grandfield, AICP
Senior Planner
Town of Leesburg DPZ
25 W. Market St.
Leesburg, VA 20176
igrandfield@leesburgva.gov
703.771.2766
