How Development Works In Loudoun

The Washington Post's LoudounExtra has released their Community Guide for Loudoun County. It's full of great stuff, like articles on falling housing prices and special neighborhoods here in Loudoun. Worth taking the time to read is the article on how development and zoning works in Loudoun. This is an important thing to understand, as the Post points out: "County figures show, for example, that there are nearly 38,000 housing units in the pipeline -- units that developers haven’t started building but which already have a green light from county officials."

The first step is to understand that land development applications come in different forms, and the extent to which residents can affect the outcome will vary.

A developer whose plans are outside the scope of what the property’s zoning allows -- who wants to build a warehouse, for example, on land zoned for retail -- must apply for rezoning or a special exception. Those applications require public hearings, first before the Planning Commission and then before the Board of Supervisors, a process that makes it relatively easy for residents to learn about the project and to weigh in with questions or concerns.
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Some developments require a change not only in the zoning ordinance but in the county’s comprehensive plan -- their density or their appearance doesn’t conform to the official county blueprint for a broad section of Loudoun. That means the project can’t go forward without a comprehensive plan amendment, or a CPAM, in the jargon of county planners and activists. That process, too, involves public hearings and public deliberations of the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors.

Other kinds of development applications don’t require a public hearing, and those are harder to monitor. In most cases, a property owner whose project complies with county zoning still needs to submit a site plan or subdivision plan to the county’s Department of Building and Development, which must approve it before a building permit can be issued. Keep an eye out for new signs -- the owner usually is required to post a notice on the property about the pending application. - LoudounExtra

The County Comprehensive Plan can be seen here (Leesburg Tomorrow has written about it before).


(Loudoun Comprehensive Plan - Land Use)
Basically, the greater a planned development deviates from the zoning and comprehensive plan, the greater input residents can have on it before it is considered by the Board of Supervisors. This is the role of the all-important County Planning Commission. The Commission consists of citizens appointed by the Supervisors to review and evaluate development applications for consideration by the Board of Supervisors. The Planning Commission is responsible for evaluating applications against current zoning and comprehensive plan requirements and making a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors for approval or denial. Leesburg's representative on the Planning Commission (appointed by Supervisor Burk) is Gigi Robinson, a long-time Leesburg resident whose interest in, and knowledge of development questions in Loudoun is startling. The citizens of Loudoun have a great advocate on the Planning Commission in Gigi.

If you're wondering about construction already underway, you might find the answer in this brief summary.

So that is how development works here in Loudoun. The first step in making a difference is understanding how the system works. From there, you can start to get your voice heard in our government.