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Staff REPORT
Action ITEM
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| | | | | | | | SUBJECT:
| Loudoun County's Proposed Zoning Ordinance and Map Update (D. Dooley, S. Hankins) (pgs. 108-167)
| DATE OF MEETING:
| July 26, 2022
| | Staff CONTACT(S): | Don Dooley, Director of Planning and Economic Development
Sally Hankins, Town Attorney |
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SUMMARY and RECOMMENDATIONS:
As part of the County’s comprehensive Zoning Ordinance amendment project that is currently underway, Loudoun County seeks the Town’s input concerning the future zoning classifications and regulations applicable to land surrounding the Town.
Land immediately surrounding the Town is generally zoned “Joint Land Management Area” (JLMA-1, JLMA-2, or JLMA-3). (See current County Zoning Map at Attachments 1A, 1B & 1C). And, in general, the land immediately surrounding the JLMA is zoned AR-1. One unique parcel located immediately north of the Town (across Route 7) stands out as being zoned Planned Development – General Industrial (PD-GI), which allows heavy industrial uses. This PD-GI property consists of 18.98 acres, and is identified in Loudoun County land records as parcel number 452-25-4770 (the “Property”). The Property was formerly part of a larger tract owned by Branko Stupar, a portion of which is now within Town limits and commonly referred to as the “Stupar Property.” The property is currently owned by St. Francis Industrial, LLC. The Property was reportedly rezoned by the County to “PD-GI” many decades ago, and no proffers are associated with the Property.
This staff report provides the Town Council with both the current and proposed zoning map and associated regulations, for comparison.
If the Town Council would like to take a position on behalf of the Town relative to the County’s proposed zoning changes as they relate to lands surrounding the Town, the Council should adopt a motion expressing the Town’s preferences. A draft motion is provided in this Staff Report. The adopted motion will be transmitted to the County by the Town Manager.
Planning Commission Recommendation
The Planning Commission adopted a motion (See Attachment 2) at its meeting on July 21, 2022, recommending that there be no change to the current County zoning map or regulations as concerns lands around the Town, with the exception of the Property. Relative to the Property, the Planning Commission recommends that Data Centers no longer be allowed as a matter of right. Further, the Planning Commission recommends that, if the County is considering converting the Property from PD-GI to a less intense industrial zoning district called Transitional Industrial (TI), then the Planning Commission would support the change to the less intensive TI zoning.
In order for the Town to send a recommendation to the County concerning the land uses around the Town of Purcellville, a resolution reflecting the Council’s position on the matter should be adopted.
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BACKGROUND:
Loudoun County is in the process of conducting a comprehensive update to the County’s zoning ordinance and map. On April 18, 2022, the County sent a memorandum requesting comments/input from a variety of stakeholders, including the Town of Purcellville (Attachment 3).
A member of County staff, Judi Birkitt, has represented to the Town that, “…it is not the intent of the [County’s] draft Zoning Ordinance to change the permissibility of uses or the allowed density in the JLMAs [surrounding the town of Purcellville].”[1] (Compare Existing “JLMA” Regulations at Attachment 4A, 4B, & 4C, to Proposed “JLMA” Regulations at Attachment 5; See also the Proposed Zoning Map at Attachment 6). However, Ms. Birkitt noted that some more minor changes were being considered for the JLMAs, as follows:
“5.05.03-5 Parking requirements have changed some. Staff continue[s] to work on the parking chapter and welcome your feedback on parking requirements for JLMAs.
5.09.02 There is a new standard prohibiting private roads to terminate in a cul-de-sac.
5.13 There is a proposed new requirement for variation in residential lot size (at least 1,000 sf of difference). This standard has received a lot of discussion and concern from Zoning Ordinance Committee members.
In addition to these proposed JLMA changes, Ms. Birkitt called attention to the Property. She noted that the Property’s current PD-GI zoning designation allows Data Centers as a matter of right, and that the County is re-considering whether data centers are appropriate at this location, as well as other locations across the County. Ms. Birkitt further noted that the County is contemplating rezoning the Property from PD-GI, to a new industrial category called Transition Industrial (“TI”) (See Existing Zoning Map at Attachment 1, and Proposed Zoning Map at Attachment 6). As currently proposed, the TI zoning district would also allow Data Centers as a matter of right, but would require significantly greater open space and landscape buffers than is required in the existing PD-GI zone. She writes:
Regarding the triangular shaped parcel along Route 7, its current zoning district is PD-GI (Planned Development-General Industry). In the draft zoning ordinance, the proposed zoning district is TI (Transition Industrial). The primary difference between the 2 is the open space requirement. As proposed, TI requires 50% open space. The current PD-GI requires landscaped open space in an amount that is 0.2 times the buildable area of the lot. A proposed change (to implement the General Plan) is that in TI is a required 100-foot perimeter setback from roads and dissimilar place types. You also may want to monitor the Transportation and Land Use Committee’s [TLUC] work on data centers and where they think data centers should be located in the County. This triangular parcel is among the parcels that are under discussion.
Proposed TI Regulations
Like the existing PD-GI regulations, the proposed TI regulations would continue to allow Data Centers as a matter of right. However, the proposed TI Regulations would require significantly more open space on a parcel than the existing PD-GI regulations. (See Existing PD-GI Regulations at Attachment 8, and Proposed TI Regulations at Attachments 9 & 5). (See also Birkitt Email at Attachment 7)
Current & Proposed JLMA Regulations
The County’s current JLMA Regulations do not include “Data Center” as a land use permitted either by-right, or by Special Use Permit/Special Exception. (See Attachment 4). According to Ms. Birkitt, no changes are currently proposed to the JLMA regulations. (See Attachment 5).
[1] Source: June 28, 2022 e-mail to Town Staff from Judi McIntyre Birkitt, Interim Assistant Director of the Loudoun County Department of Planning and Zoning (See Attachment 7)
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BUDGET IMPACT:
There is no budget impact to the Town of Purcellville.
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MOTION(S):
I move that Town Council recommend to the County of Loudoun that the County retain the existing “JLMA” zoning designations and regulations that currently surround the Town of Purcellville’s corporate limits.
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I further move that, in order to protect the Town’s rural character, the Town Council recommend to the County of Loudoun that the County amend its existing zoning ordinance to prohibit data centers from being located within either the JLMA, or within other zoning designations that may be located near the Town of Purcellville, including the property currently zoned PD-GI situated on the Town’s northern boundary, north of Route 7.
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