Loudoun Now for Dec. 1, 2022

Parents Push Renovations, Replacements in $1.3B Plan

BY ALEXIS GUSTIN agusitn@loudounnow.com

Nearly 30 people spoke up during Monday night’s public hearing on the School Board’s Fiscal Year 2024-2029 Capital Improvement program and Capital Asset Preservation Program.

Speakers supported plans to rebuild Park View High School and renovate Waterford Elementary School. Speakers also supported upgrades to Banneker Elementary School, although some called for renovations and others advocated building a replacement school.

No one spoke against the nearly $1.3 billion dollar six-year construction budget.

Lisa McLaughlin, a parent of three Waterford Elementary students, asked the board to support the renovation plans because the school is already over capacity and kids are being put in modular units or “cottages” to make space for them. She raised safety concerns about students walking back and forth between the school and the trailers. She also said the trailers

CIP continues on page 42

At Catoctin, a Refresh is Celebrated

BY ALEXIS GUSTIN agustin@loudounnow.com

With the start of the 2022-23 school year, Catoctin Elementary School in Leesburg—a 56-year-old school—opened with some significant upgrades it hadn’t had in 23 years. It’s a model parents at

other aging Loudoun County school buildings are hoping to emulate.

Renovating the school took the cooperative work of the school staff, the school district, the PTA, students, and even some money from the Town of Leesburg.

The school, which was built in 1966, is known as a pod school because of its

circular design and 10 classroom pods. It was built for $1 million and was designed to accommodate 600 first through seventh grade students, according to the school’s website. There are two with that design in

continues on page 41

Alexis Gustin/Loudoun Now Catoctin Elementary School Dean Jeremy Tipton, Principal Janet Platenberg and Assistant Principal Jacquelynne Spencer race down the new slides at Catoctin Elementary School.

CATOCTIN REFRESH

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State, Regional Leaders Join Affordable Housing Push

BY RENSS GREENE rgreene@loudounnow.com

Government groups and leaders at ev ery level are adopting plans to tackle the region’s and country’s affordable housing crisis, showing a range of answers not only to the question of how to make hous ing more attainable, but why it has gotten so expensive.

The latest proposals come from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments and Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

At the Virginia Governor’s Housing Conference on Nov. 18, Youngkin an nounced his “Make Virginia Home” plan, built largely on incentivizing localities to curb zoning laws, streamlining state en vironmental review, establishing public/ private partnerships with business site se lectors to get workforce housing included early in their process, and possibly mod ifying the state building code to cut con struction costs.

“For far too long, Virginians have faced unnecessary burdens that have

limited their housing options and oppor tunities. Today’s plan is a needed step to improve housing options and keeps my commitment to lower the cost of living and make Virginia the best place to live, work, and raise a family,” Youngkin stat ed in announcing the plan.

The specifics for now are unclear. Youngkin has said he will introduce legis lation during the 2023 General Assembly session. But he has indicated he does not plan to put more state money into the ef fort, and without more funding, attainable housing experts are skeptical those ideas will move the needle.

“I was there when he gave the speech at the housing conference—I did not hear a plan,” said Northern Virginia Afford able Housing Alliance Executive Director Michelle Krocker. “I heard a lot of inter esting ideas. I heard him make the case for the connection between housing and economic development, which is certain ly not new at all.”

That connection was a crucial part of the last administration’s successful

effort to attract Amazon’s HQ2 to North ern Virginia, and has been at the center of a renewed, business-led push for at tainable housing—which advocates call workforce housing—here in Loudoun. The Community Foundation for Loudoun and Northern Fauquier County’s “Work force Housing Now” initiative, partnered with local businesses, is the latest push in a years-long effort to develop more attain able housing for employees of the busi nesses that pay those middle- and low-in come salaries.

And there are two sides to housing cost problem—the price of a home, and the money people have available to spend on it.

In real terms, the country’s minimum wage peaked in 1968, when it was $1.60 per hour. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, that’s the equivalent of $13.98 in today’s money—almost dou ble the current federal minimum wage of $7.25. Under legislation passed in 2020, Virginia is gradually scaling up the state minimum wage to $15 per hour in 2027,

and automatically increasing it with the Consumer Price Index thereafter.

Since that time, incomes have re mained almost flat. According to the Census Bureau, the 1970 household me dian income in the U.S. was $8,734—or $63,080 in July 2021 dollars. Meanwhile, the 2021 household median income was $70,784, marking only a 12% growth in median income over more than six de cades. Some of that progress has since been wiped out by high inflation.

That also means people at the lower end of the income scale—the half of the population below the median income— have seen their incomes shrink during that time.

But home prices have not. The 1970 median home value was $17,000, or $122,779 in July 2021 dollars. The actual 2021 median home value was $281,400, marking growth of 129%, or more than double. That also means that where the 1970 household median income was just

HOUSING

School Board Adopts 180-day Student Calendar for 2023

BY ALEXIS GUSTIN agustin@loudounnow.com

The School Board on Tuesday ad opted a 180-day student calendar for the 2023-2024 school year that would have classes start Aug. 24, more than a week before Labor Day. The board majority rejected efforts to reduce the number of teaching days and to add a Veterans Day school holiday.

The calendar passed on a 6-3 vote, with Denise Corbo (At-Large), Tiffany Polifko (Broad Run) and Ian Serotkin (Blue Ridge) opposed.

The Adopted schedule has students starting Thursday, Aug. 24 with the last day June 14. It has students in school for 180 days of instruction, a four-day La bor Day weekend, and a shorter winter break. It also has teachers starting their school year Aug. 16 and ending June 18, working 194 days.

Serotkin proposed an amendment to make Nov. 10, Veterans Day, a stu dent holiday and having both students and teachers start one day earlier, on a Wednesday for students. He said

feedback he’s received from veterans was that they wanted their children home on the federal holiday.

“Veterans Day is the only holiday where we send our students to school and make our employees work,” he said. “Every year our veterans community reaches out and asks why and I never have a good answer for them. We don’t treat any other federal holiday like this.”

He said students don’t need to be in school to learn about and honor

veterans.

Chair Jeff Morse (Dulles), a 20-year U.S. Navy veteran and a son and grand son of veterans, got emotional when expressing why he wouldn’t support the amendment.

“Every year when I go into the schools, I talk to the veterans who are there with their kids and I ask them: Is this important for you to have the day off? Would you prefer to have it at home, or would you prefer to come into your child’s school and celebrate it with them? I have yet to have a veter an tell me that they would rather have the day off,” he said. “They can’t do it the day before. They don’t have the day off. They get a federal holiday they can take advantage of. They can be in the classroom with their child. As a military child, I’ve seen it. I know the impact of bringing your family member into the school and seeing the look on the faces of those kids. It’s amazing. It’s some thing parents and relatives look forward to every year.”

Several board members said they had received split feedback form the veteran

community on the matter. The amend ment failed 1-8, with only Serotkin sup porting the additional school holiday.

Corbo advocated another proposal which included 175 student days, a start date of Monday, Aug. 28 and the last day being June 12. It also had a shorter winter break.

Board members voted against Corbo’s plan, arguing that after the COVID-19 years and after hearing from parents, students need to be in school more. Several board members also ob jected to the Monday start date, saying students and parents are used to school starting on a Thursday to give them both days of their block schedules before jumping into a longer week.

Chief Human Resources Officer Lisa Boland asked the board for direction on what board members would like to see moving forward, with the goal of estab lishing a regulation or policy to simpli fy the creation of future calendars. She gave the example of the length of win ter break, or a preferred start day of a Thursday versus a Monday. n

Alexis Gustin/Loudoun Now

Chief Human Resources Officer Lisa Boland addresses the Board on Nov. 29 about the student calendar options.

ON THE Agenda Loudoun

Supervisors Look to Drop Local Oversight for Dulles Solar Plans

BY RENSS GREENE rgreene@loudounnow.com

The Board of Supervisors’ land use committee is recommending the county government surrender local oversight of plans for a 100-megawatt solar array at Dulles Airport, dismissing a push from environmental groups for more protections at the proposed construction site.

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority and Dominion Energy plan an 835-acre solar array on the southern end of the airport, clearing hundreds of acres of forest land and nearly 80 acres of wetlands. While the solar panels could avert tens of thousands of tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually that would result from generating that energy with fossil fuels, environmental groups have opposed the project because of the impacts of clearing the land.

While current zoning rules would give the county government some leverage to require offsets of the project’s negative environmental impacts, members of the Transportation and Land Use Committee

voted to give up that authority in the case of the Dulles project.

Supervisors had already voted to rezone the area to an industrial district, where utility-scale solar arrays are permitted through a zoning exception. That legislative process requires public hearings and votes from the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors and typically results in commitments from the developer for offsets to the project’s impacts, such as funding roads and schools around new homes—or additional environmental protections.

The committee on Nov. 16 voted 3-02, with supervisors Tony R. Buffington (R-Blue Ridge) and Caleb E. Kershner (R-Catoctin) absent, to recommend allowing utility-scale solar projects by-right for parcels above 500 acres, effectively exempting the Dulles project—and, because of its size, only the Dulles project—from the zoning exception process.

Pointing to a draft environmental assessment of the project prepared by an airports authority contractor, which found around 80 percent of the array’s planned

capacity could be generated by building solar panels instead on existing buildings, parking garages and parking lots, environmental groups had pushed for a less-destructive alternative. Solar panels over built areas can be built more densely, the assessment reported, requiring less acreage for the same energy.

The environmental assessment examined installing the solar panels only over those existing structures, including where there are other plans for a smaller-scale solar array over one parking lot to provide power directly to the airport. Then, based on their own assumption that the parking lot’s solar panels would be used for Dominion’s grid rather than airport power, the airport’s contractor dismissed it as an option.

Environmental groups in the region had pushed a compromise position—installing as much of the solar array as possible over already developed areas, then making up the difference with new development.

DULLES SOLAR continues on page 7

County’s Purcellville Projects Still Stalled

BY RENSS GREENE rgreene@loudounnow.com

County staff members reported little progress on long-planned projects in and around the Town of Purcellville as they continue to encounter regulatory and Town Council roadblocks in advance of an end-of-the-year deadline.

The county’s projects around the town include the Fields Farm Park athletic complex, a trail from Franklin Park to Purcellville, Rt. 7 interchanges at Rt. 287 and Rt. 690, a park and ride lot, and a new road connection to Woodgrove High School and Fields Farm Park. The interchanges and park and ride lots are partially funded with state money through a competitive grant process. But facing years of delays from the town government, county staff members have said they will advise pulling state funding for those projects if they do not clear town approvals by the end of the year, citing a threat the county’s

ability to win that funding in the future if it is not used in a timely manner. Staff members previously reported they had received a letter from the Virginia Department of Transportation noting the delay.

With those projects dragging on, county staff members now provide monthly updates to the Board of Supervisors’ finance committee. During the Nov. 10 committee meeting, Department of Transportation and Capital Infrastructure Acting Director Nancy Boyd and Design Program Manager Mark Hoffman reported on their Nov. 2 meeting with the Purcellville Town Council and residents.

At that meeting, council members asked for changes such as keeping Mayfair Crown Road closed to through traffic, moving the Woodgrove High School access road further from homes, adding pickleball courts, plantings and architecture requirements consistent with the town, and limiting lighting on the fields. Supervisors were skeptical of some of those—especially the limits on field

lights. County parks and recreation staff members have said the project, decades in the planning, was designed to address a shortage of lighted fields in western Loudoun.

Supervisors Matthew F. Letourneau (R-Dulles) and Juli E. Briskman (D-Algonkian) agreed they wouldn’t want to spend the money on the park if the county wouldn’t be able to make the most of it. And Letourneau said lighted fields near homes, including in more densely populated areas, are common elsewhere in the county.

County staff members are working through town comments on Rt. 287 interchange design plans. The Rt. 690 interchange is held up by a town decision Nov. 15 to try to stop county acquisition of a lot just inside town limits, arguing the county did not follow proper procedures for removing it from the Catoctin

PURCELLVILLE PROJECTS continues on page 6

County to Host Meeting on Philomont Fire Station

Loudoun County will host a meeting on plans to build a new Philomont Fire and Rescue station on Thursday, Dec. 8 at 6 p.m. at the Franklin Park Performing & Visual Arts Center near Purcellville.

The county plans a 18,500-square-foot fire and rescue station on seven acres at the current Philomont horse show grounds, plans which have remained controversial in the village. According to the county fire department, the current station is not safe by modern standards, with equipment bays too small for larger modern vehicles; and not enough space for proper decontamination, sleeping and exercise spaces, sex-separated showers and lockers; and an inadequate fire protection system.

However, some in the community have pushed the county to renovate the existing station, which a county study found would be feasible and could make the station safe, but would be more expensive. Supervisors elected to stick with plans to build on the horse show grounds, lwned by the Philomont Volunteer Fire Department.

At the meeting Dec. 8 county staff members will present a site plan and preliminary building illustrations with options, seeking public feedback. To learn more about the meeting or offer comment online, open through Jan. 5, go to loudoun.gov/philomontstation.

Public Hearing Planned on Tax Break for Line of Duty Death Surviving Spouses

Supervisors plan a Dec. 14 public hearing on a change to county tax code that would tax real estate belonging to surviving spouses of people killed in the line of duty.

The change expands the tax break for military widows. The Virginia Constitution exempts from taxation the real property of the surviving spouse of a member of the armed forces killed in action, a disabled veteran, or the surviving spouse of a disabled veteran. That

ON THE AGENDA continues on page 7

Committee Suggests Dropping County Electric Aggregation Study

BY RENSS GREENE rgreene@loudounnow.com

Faced with the prospect of a million-dollar study, the Board of Supervisors’ finance committee is recommending halting work on a program that would see county government buying and managing the Loudoun’s electricity supply.

Under community choice aggregation, the county government would buy electricity for Loudoun directly from power suppliers, rather than through Dominion Energy, while Dominion would continue to distribute the power, manage outages, and bill for its services. That would give the county the choice of what power providers to use for energy within its borders—such as getting more of Loudoun’s electricity from renewable sources. It could also mean lower energy bills in Loudoun as the county creates competition for utility monopolies.

But county staff members noted no other Virginia county has tried community choice aggregation yet, and the

prospect raises complicated legal, regulatory, budgetary, and organizational questions. The price of a study to answer those questions was estimated at more than a million dollars. The county staff had recommended taking the bulk of that from the budget’s year-end fund balance.

“That is a lot of money to spend in a time of very tight financial conditions for the county,” committee Chair Kristen C. Umstattd (D-Leesburg) said.

Supervisor Matthew F. Letourneau (R-Dulles) questioned whether the county would do better on green energy than utilities like Dominion are now, as well as the effect of the county’s staffing constraints.

“This has been a really active board with a lot of initiatives, and I really think we’re stretching staff pretty thin, and this is a huge initiative,” he said.

“I’m very intrigued by this concept and I do love the idea of us maybe being the first in the state to do it, but given the fact that we are going to have a lot of competition for our fund balance and we are doing a number of other projects with our energy plan and solar and those sorts of things—it’s not that we’re ignoring that issue completely when it comes to energy,” Supervisor Juli E. Briskman (D-Algonkian) said.

The committee on Nov. 10 voted 3-02, with County Chair Phyllis J. Randall (D-At Large) and Supervisor Koran T. Saines (D-Sterling) absent, to recommend the board instruct the staff to halt work on community choice aggregation. n

Purcellville projects

Meadows Homeowners Association. It was previously held up by the lack of a clear method for documenting floodplains in the town, according to the county staff.

Four of the five plats on the Woodgrove and Fields Farm Park project have been approved by the town, but the fifth has been stalled since Town Council instructed the staff to stop processing it in September while they gathered more public input. After completing a survey of Mayfair residents, the town took no action to start it moving again.

As of the committee report Nov. 10, the Franklin Park to Purcellville trail plan, submitted to the town in August, was still waiting for comments from town staff. And the Fields Farm complex and park and ride lot are still awaiting Town Council action.

If the new year comes with no approvals, county staff members have said it will be time to make some decisions, such as whether to cancel or delay the projects.

“We’re trying to work with the town to see what we can do,” Assistant County Administrator Erin McLellan said. n

Douglas Graham/Loudoun Now

The Panda Stonewall Energy Center in Leesburg, a 778-megawatt natural gas electricity plant, pictured in 2017.

excludes line of duty deaths such as those who died in training accidents or died of cancer as a likely result of carcinogens to which they were exposed in their service.

In 2022 the General Assembly passed a bill enabling localities to offer a lower, non-zero tax rates to surviving spouses those killed in the line of duty. Supervisors plan a one-cent tax rate, the lowest rate possible under existing law. The different tax rate would apply as long as the surviving spouse occupies the real property as their principal residence and does not remarry.

Chair Phyllis J. Randall (D-At Large) said she is aware of only one family in Loudoun the change will effect. Supervisors voted 9-0 on Oct. 18 to send the change in local tax code to a public hearing.

Next year the General Assembly will be asked to take the second required vote on a state constitutional amendment to include those surviving spouses in the tax

Dulles solar

continued from page 4

That would mean a smaller footprint for the remaining solar panels, reducing the impact to the airport’s undeveloped areas.

That proposal, first offered in January in a letter from the Piedmont Environmental Council, Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy and Northern Virginia Conservation Trust, gained little traction on the county board. At least some supervisors seemed not even to have understood it—committee Chair Michael R. Turner (D-Ashburn) dismissed that plan, raising concerns about the carbon impacts of only building solar panels on developed areas, the option presented in the draft environmental assessment.

Chair Phyllis J. Randall (D-At Large) said all of her questions about environmental impacts had been answered “to my satisfaction and beyond.”

“We can plant trees somewhere else,” she said.

The final decision on zoning at the project will fall to the full Board of Supervisors, which is scheduled to take it up Dec. 6.

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority and Dominion Energy plan the solar array alongside a 50-megawatt battery system, switchyard, and substation, along with the plans for a smaller solar system on the economy parking lot directly powering the airport and new electric fleet vehicles at the airport. n

exemption. If it passes again, the amendment will go onto the November 2023 ballot.

Environmental Excellence Awards Nominations Open

The Loudoun County Environmental Commission is calling for nominations for the inaugural Environmental Excellence Awards, honoring individuals, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and educators for their leadership on environmental issues.

Planned to be annual, judges will award bonus points to projects that promote that year’s theme. For this year, the

theme will be litter prevention, education, or clean up.

Nominations should include an overview of the project or person being nominated, information on how the project or person contributed to the preservation and protection of Loudoun County’s environment, what specific results have been achieved, whether the project is sustainable and what best practices can be learned from the initiative.

Nominations are accepted in seven categories: citizen or nonprofit group; educator, government employees, teams or programs; large business, over 100

employees; small business; students, as individuals or a group; and the Lifetime Achievement award, for an individual.

Except for the Lifetime Achievement award, nominations should relate to activities that took place between January 2022 and February 2023. The deadline to nominate is Feb. 28, 2023. Winners will be notified in March, with an awards presentation planned for April.

More information, including a link to the nomination form is online at loudoun. gov/EnvironmentalAwards. n

Geri Deane, McEnearney Associate Photographed at The Old Lucketts Store

Leesburg Craig Family’s Hobby Shop to Close

BY NORMAN K. STYER nstyer@loudounnow.com

For two decades, Leesburg Hobbies and Collectables has been a destination for train enthusiasts, model builders, young rocketeers, and Boys and Girl Scouts. The store will close next month, ending a retail adventure shared by three generations of the Craig family.

The business started around the Craig family’s kitchen table.

“Bill and his father [Mike] decided they wanted to do something in retail and his father wanted to do a hobby shop. So that’s what they did. And they did it for 21 years,” Grace Craig said Friday as her children and grandchildren gathered at the West Market Street store to prepare for the upcoming weeks of closing sales.

Bill Craig said he was living in North Carolina when he told his dad, a newly retired electrical engineer whose career included work on nuclear power plants and NASA space shuttle cockpits, that he wanted to start a business.

“We sat down at the house in Leesburg and sat at the kitchen table and just worked through different ideas. It was going to be between a hobby shop and a coffee shop,” he recalled. “We just really game-planned what we wanted to do. He had had trains when he was a kid and we decided to go with the hobby side of things.”

His mother was a supporter of Bill’s venture.

“He was in North Carolina, and I wanted him to come home,” Grace said.

That was the start of a 21-year run for the family business.

At the beginning, model trains formed the core of the business, along with model kits, paints, and rockets. Soon they added a Boy Scout shop and then a Girl Scout shop, becoming a destination not just for rare trains or hard-to-find rolling stock, but also for uniforms, badges, and camping supplies.

Mike Craig, who died in July at age 74, had been a scoutmaster in Dale City and dedicated 35 years to scouting. Bill and his brother Charlie both reached the rank of Eagle Scout.

“We grew the Boy Scout side to the point that for a while we were the number one retail store in the country. We did really well and made a lot of great connections doing that,” Bill said.

The business has diversified over the years. At the start, about 75% of the business focused on trains.

“It’s actually seen a little bit of a shift. It started with trains and then that industry slowed down a bit. We see a lot more people doing general hands-on hobbies. We do well with the models, the model rockets. Our gaming community grew up and we have more of those,” Bill said.

The store also was a place for handson learning, offering workshops on model building and painting and building lots and lots of pinewood derby cars.

The family also designed train layouts, including displays at the Leesburg Wegmans store and some that were published in train magazines.

The decision to close the store comes five months after Mike Craig’s death and a realization that continuing to run the operation is too much for family members with other jobs. Bill’s a tech ed teacher at Tuscarora High School. His sister, Christinia Gutshall, teaches at Woodgrove High School. His brother Charlie is looking to get more into computer work.

“I think every one of my Dad’s grandkids [four of them] have worked here

Town Staff Bonus Proposal Dropped

BY NORMAN K. STYER nstyer@loudounnow.com

In September, Leesburg Town Council Member Kari Nacy asked for options to provide staff members with endof-the-year bonuses. On Monday, she took that proposal off the table.

The council had been scheduled to review a staff memo that outlined four options that would provide a range between $500 and $2,000 for the town’s 359 fulltime employees. Under those plans regular part-timers would get half of the fulltime bonus, and flexible part-time employees 25%. In total, the plans would cover 732 staff members and range in cost from $193,500 to $48,375.

Before the proposal was taken up for discussion during Monday’s work session, Nacy asked it be removed from the agenda.

“It looked like it was not going to get support,” she said, adding she did not want to put her colleagues in the position of having to vote against providing bonuses.

Instead, Nacy said she expects the concept of year-end bonuses to be discussed during the council’s budget deliberations next spring.

HOBBY

SHOP continues on page 9

Nacy said she originally proposed the bonuses to recognize the work of the town’s staff during the COVID pandemic with the idea to use some of the federal relief money to fund it, as other localities have done. However, with Leesburg’s American Rescue Plan Act funds allocated to other projects, a budget amendment would be required to provide the bonus money from the General Fund. n

Nacy

Norman K. Styer/Loudoun Now

Grace Craig holds a photo of her late husband, Mike, while surrounded by her children and grandchildren inside the Leesburg Hobbies and Collectables store the family has run for the past two decades.

Town’s Next Mural Pays Tribute to Public Works Staff

BY NORMAN K. STYER nstyer@loudounnow.com

Leesburg’s Commission on Public Arts on Tuesday got approval for its next mural project, a display on the town shop building along Russell Branch Parkway.

Six artists submitted proposals for the mural. The design by Danielle Ferrin was selected.

Appearing before the Town Council during its Monday night work session, Ferrin said she has been painting murals across the country and around the world for the past 20 years.

Her design illustrates the varied services provided by the town’s public works staff—from traffic lights to drinking water.

“I wanted to uplift people that were coming there to work every day and to let them know how honored they were for the whole breath of what they do that often gets overlooked. And I wanted other people passing by to have a spot of color and whimsy,” she said.

Council members formally greenlit

the project Tuesday night as part of its uncontested consent agenda. The nonprofit Friends of Leesburg Public Arts is funding the mural, providing up to $4,000 for supplies and up to $6,000 for design and installation.

“It certainly is colorful, and I think it is pretty cool,” Mayor Kelly Burk said.

On Saturday, the town will cele-

brate the completion of the “Celebrate Music” mural in the Virginia Village Shopping Center with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. That mural, the first approved for a privately owned structure through a pilot project, was designed and painted by Serina Chowdhury and paid for by the property owner, Keane Enterprises. n

Hobby shop

from page 8

at some point. It is very much a family thing,” Bill said.

That generational connection applied to their customers, as well. Bill said that many of the kids they served years ago are now bringing their children to the store.

The Craigs hope to see more of them in the weeks ahead.

“I’d like to see some of our Scouting community—even if they don’t have scouts anymore—to come by and say hi,” Gutshall said. “Some of them we used to see every month or every couple of weeks and it is really nice to connect with them and see their children.”

While family members said they know closing the business is the right decision, the change won’t be easy.

“The business has run its course. Twenty-one years is a while,” Bill said. “It means we won’t be around the community as much, which we’ll miss. Leesburg was very kind to us. We’ll miss the people.” n

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Town of Leesburg

Danielle Ferrin’s mural design illustrates the varied services provided by the town’s public works staff—from traffic lights to drinking water.

Pedestrian Killed in Lovettsville; 14 Holiday Fatalities Reported Statewide

STAFF REPORT

The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a fatal crash involving a pedestrian in Lovettsville.

According to the report, the crash occurred shortly before midnight Nov. 25 in the area of North Berlin Turnpike and Bavarian Way. The victim was not in a crosswalk at the time of the crash. The driver involved remained on the scene.

The victim has been identified as Kenneth Burdette Henderson, 73, of Lovettsville.

The Sheriff’s Office Crash Reconstruction Unit continues to investigate the crash. Anyone with any information is asked to call Investigator T. Alpy at 703-771-1021.

Henderson was among 14 others who died on Virginia roads over the five-day Thanksgiving holiday weekend, includ-

ing two other pedestrians and a motorcyclist, according to preliminary data released by Virginia State Police.

Of the 10 who were riding in vehicles equipped with seatbelts, eight did not wear one.

“Not sure how many times we can say this until folks start paying attention, but ‘seatbelts save lives,’” Virginia State Police Superintendent Colonel Gary T. Settle stated. “We are now heading into the 2022 holiday season with 14 families grieving the loss of their loved ones due to these Thanksgiving holiday traffic crashes. For eight of those 14, the simple act of buckling up may well have prevented such tragic outcomes. Please buckle up every one in your vehicle every time and on every ride.”

During the five-day period between Nov. 23 and Nov. 27, fatal crashes occurred in the counties of Brunswick,

6 Teens Nabbed in Sneaker Store Break-in

STAFF REPORT

Juvenile petitions are expected to be filed against six teens suspected of breaking into the Restocked Sneakers store in Leesburg early Sunday morning. It is the second burglary reported at the store this month.

According to the report, Leesburg Police officers were dispatched to the Madison Trade Plaza store at 2:38 a.m. Nov. 27 after multiple reports of loud banging noises and subjects fleeing on foot. Offi-

cers determined the subjects had shattered the plate glass window and had taken an undetermined amount of property from the business.

A perimeter was established and the Fairfax Police helicopter was called to help with the search. Five juveniles were apprehended nearby. A sixth juvenile suspect was not apprehended, but was later identified. Officers recovered stolen merchandise both from the juveniles and from a vehicle they had used. It was determined that the vehicle had been taken

Campbell, Chesterfield, Floyd, Greensville, Henrico, Loudoun, Powhatan, Prince William, Rockingham and Spotsylvania and the cities of Richmond, Roanoke and Virginia Beach. Of those crashes, three involved pedestrians—including the fatality in Loudoun County—one included a motorcycle, and eight were not wearing a seatbelt.

This is an increase from 2021 when there were five traffic fatalities during the five-day Thanksgiving holiday.

During the holiday, Virginia State Police participated in the national Operation C.A.R.E., the Crash Awareness and Reduction Effort, with increased police visibility and traffic enforcement This year, troopers cited 4,413 speeders and 1,803 reckless drivers statewide. Virginia troopers arrested 93 drivers for driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, and issued 454 for seatbelt violations. n

Deputies Seek Family Dollar Holdup Suspect

The Sheriff’s Office is investigating a Sunday night robbery that occurred at the Family Dollar store in Sterling.

Shortly before 7:30 p.m. Nov. 27, a woman entered Enterprise Street store. In the store, she allegedly walked up to the counter, displayed a firearm, and demanded money before leaving the store.

She was described as a white female, with a slim build, wearing a black hat, black mask, oversized blue and black plaid flannel jacket, black jeans, and black boots.

Anyone with information regarding the case is asked to contact Detective Schmidt with the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office at 703-777-1021. You may also submit a tip through the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office app. The Loudoun Sheriff app is available on the iTunes App Store and Google Play.

Manassas Man Falls from Moving Truck, Dies

The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a workplace fatality that happened Saturday morning south of Leesburg.

from a family member of one of the juveniles without consent.

The investigation will now be turned over to the Loudoun County Juvenile Court Services Unit for the placement of charges against all six juveniles, who range in age from 14-16 years old, according to the Police Department.

Leesburg police were assisted by the Sheriff’s Office, Fairfax County Police Department, and Virginia State Police.

The incident remains under investigation, including to determine if the case is related to the Nov. 17 burglary at the store. n

Shortly before 9:30 a.m. Nov. 26, emergency personnel were called to a worksite in the 23000 block of Evergreen Mill Road south of Leesburg. Detectives determined the victim was on the back of the truck and fell while the vehicle was in motion. The driver immediately stopped and summoned paramedics and the Sheriff’s Office.

The victim, Heidy Ricardo Lopez Rivas, 40, of Manassas, died at the scene.

Detectives are working with the Virginia Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in the continuing investigation. Criminal activity is not suspected, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Anyone with any information is asked to call Detective K. Mitchell at 703-771-1021. n

Education

Students Learn Sustainability and Skills, and Help Homeless Youth At New Thrift Store

BY ALEXIS GUSTIN agustin@loudounnow.com

Holly Myers, an eighth grade Family and Consumer Science teacher at Blue Ridge Middle School, has partnered with Mobile Hope the past three years, with her students sewing toiletry wraps—a washcloth with sewn-in pockets to hold a toothbrush or toothpaste and other toiletry items—for homeless and at-risk youth in the community up to age 24.

When Myers learned the nonprofit had opened a thrift store in Purcellville that focused on reducing the amount of clothing that ends up in a landfill, she thought it was a great opportunity to increase that partnership by taking her students on a field trip to teach them about sustainability in action.

“Their goal is sustainability with clothes and upcycling instead of buying something new,” Myers said.

Graffiti and Silk at 860 E. Main St. opened Sept. 10. It’s a “funky, artsy modern thrift store,” according to its website. It sells upcycled clothing, even redesigning some of the donated items into something new, like taking a bodice from one blouse and marrying it with sleeves from another.

Graffiti and Silk Creative Director Amy Burns, a woodworker who designed and built the space, said the idea behind it was multi-fold. It is intended to be a place people can shop and feel excited about the high style and fashionable clothing, but to also serve as a community space where people could come in and do homework or knit or crochet—and most importantly, to connect.

“With COVID, people became so disconnected in so many aspects. We wanted to develop a program that is more than selling people more things,” Burns said. “You can come in and never buy a single thing.”

Myers, the Consumer and Technical Education Department chair, looks for opportunities to teach her students in real life situations. FACs standards promote

being responsible citizens, managing resources, and being critical and creative in addressing problems among others.

Caroline Milne, the sixth-grade dean at Blue Ridge Middle School, said Loudoun County Public Schools encourages teachers to create experiences that allow students to get to a deeper level of thinking as problem solvers and community collaborators and not just in a classroom

setting.

“This sets students up with the ultimate project based learning. It’s meaningful, authentic and impactful as it gives back to the community. It’s something they will never forget,” Milne said.

“This experience touches on so many levels of learning. They are thinking about at-risk youth and how to give back to our community to help people in a way

that is both direct and indirect by helping at the thrift store. And on the larger scale, they are learning how to help the planet,” she said.

Myers said the students were in awe when they walked into the thrift store, with some even saying, “I could live here.”

“It looks like you are walking into an Anthropology store. It’s not your typical thrift store, its mostly clothes, but if there are housewares its trendy light fixtures or retro toasters,” Myers said.

The store “celebrates juxtapositions,” according to its website. It mixes mediums like wood and metal, paint and found objects mixed with vintage items in both its décor and in what it sells.

She said they use items that will sell. But even items like old Turkey Trot T-shirts are put to good use.

“In the middle of the store is this huge loom and its being used to make a rug out of all the T-shirts that won’t sell, everything is refurbished,” she said.

The Blue Ridge Fiber Guild, which donated the loom, was on hand to give students a lesson in weaving.

“Two kids sat down and learned how to use the loom. One eighth grade boy got it right away and he sat there the entire time and did it. The reps from Blue Ridge Fiber Guild said he could come back and do it anytime because he knew what he was doing,” Myers said. She said the store had a very cool vibe that felt welcoming. She said it was a safe place kids could come and hang out and use the loom if they wanted to.

Burns said it’s not just a rug, but a “group effort.” She said she was thrilled to have the students come for a field trip.

“This is what happens with great teachers who think differently. It’s seeing sustainability in practice and bringing kids in to come check it out,” Burns said

In addition to helping with the rug, students were able to be part of the shop

Alexis Gustin/Loudoun Now

A loom donated by the Blue Ridge Fiber Guild sits in the middle of Grafitti and Silk. Customers can learn how to weave and help make a rug out of old donated t-shirts.

Creighton’s Corner Teacher Up for LifeChanger of the Year Award

BY ALEXIS GUSTIN agustin@loudounnow.com

Amanda Farhi, a fifth grade reading and writing teacher at Creighton’s Corner Elementary School, has been nominated for the 2022-23 Na tional LifeChanger of the Year award.

Farhi has been teaching for eight years, the last four at Creighton’s Corner. Before coming to Virginia, she lived in Hawaii.

The award, sponsored by the National Life Group Foundation, recognizes K-12 educators and school employees across the country who are making a difference in the lives of students “by exemplifying excellence, positive influence and leader ship,” according to a press release from LifeChanger of the Year.

Farhi was nominated by TeshaLynn Murphy, a friend.

“She enjoys connecting with her stu dents, allowing her to fully invest herself in the children to ensure each student is heard, appreciated, and learning in a way where they can thrive,” Murphy said.

LifeChanger of the Year receives hundreds of nominations from all across the country. This year, accord ing to LifeChanger spokesperson Chris tina Emmerthal, there have been 500 nominations.

Eighteen individual LifeChanger of the Year awards will be given during the 2022-23 school year, with the grand prize winner receiving $10,000 to be shared with their school or district. Four grand prize finalists will receive $5,000 to be shared with their school or district. Addi tionally, there is one winner of the Spir it Award which is given to the nominee whose community demonstrates the most support for their nomination. The winner receives $5,000 to be shared with their school or district.

Winners will be chosen by a selection committee comprised of former winners and education professionals and will be announced in February or March.

Past nominees from Loudoun County Public Schools include Cardinal Ridge Elementary School librarian Tracie Lane,

Tuscarora High School theater teacher Justin Daniel, and Loudoun Valley High School math teacher Teresa McConnell. All three were nominated in the 20192020 school year.

Nominations for LifeChanger of the Year run through Dec. 31, 2022.

To view Farhi’s nominee profile or to nominate someone from your school community, lifechangeroftheyear.com. n

What happened?

Local news, online always.

LoudounNow.com

Farhi

Thrift store

by repairing jeans in the “Happy Jeans” section of the store.

Burns said when they have stained jeans or jeans that are too tattered to be worn, they embroider them, sew patches or bedazzle them.

Myers said several students took pairs of jeans and patched them up and brought them back to the store to be sold.

According to Burns, those jeans sold within 24 hours of being back at the store and for much higher prices than they would have sold for in their previous condition.

Burns said it created more funding for their mission and gave the kids an opportunity to learn some entrepreneurial skills as well as some upcycling skills.

Students also made pillows out of donated T-shirts. The pillows are for sale at the store.

“It gave students the ability to experience this during a school day and piqued their interest for other times,” Myers said, noting Graffiti and Silk’s open social stitching day on the third Thursday each week at 3 p.m. She said now that students are familiar with the store, they will feel more comfortable going back for events.

Myers will store some of the clothes that need to be fixed in her classroom and when students are done with their daily learning target they can work on the items for Graffiti and Silk.

Students also got to see first-hand that day how many pounds of clothing were saved from the landfill. Graffiti and Silk uses a vintage scale at checkout to weigh all of the purchased clothing.

Burns said it helps people to see the difference they are making. She said in the past seven weeks they have saved over 1,400 pounds of clothing.

Myers said you can show students videos of clothing going to a landfill all day, but they won’t get it. She said going to the store and seeing things firsthand made it relevant to her students.

As the icing on the cake Myers said they made the visit by foot, walking a mile each way instead of scheduling a bus.

She said they discussed the ways they were being sustainable on their walk.

Proceeds from Graffiti and Silk fund Mobile Hope’s programs to empower homeless and at-risk youth and to build food security. n

Inside the new thrift store Grafitti and Silk in Purcellville. The store benefits Mobile Hope, a nonprofit that helps at risk and homeless youth.

Alexis Gustin/Loudoun Now

2,000 Run in Ashburn Farm Thanksgiving Day Races

For the 29th year, runners gathered near Crossroads United Methodist Church early Thanksgiving morning to participate in the Ashburn Farm 10K, 5K and fun run.

More than 2,000 people participated in this year’s event. “Thank you for running today because you are changing thousands of people’s lives today. By running, you are helping to feed people who are hungry. By running, you are helping people pay their rent. By running, you are helping people stay in their homes. By running you are helping educate kids in Uganda. And you are doing so, so much more,” said Crossroads UMC Paster Tim Ward, who also joined the racers in the course, finishing 552 overall in the 5K field of nearly 1,500.

Ethan Cannon of Minneapolis, MN, was the top overall finisher, completing the 10K course with a time of 31.57. Zanney Arey, of Bridgewater, was the top female finisher, crossing the finish line at 39.08.

In the 5K, Derek Johnson, of Charlottesville, set the pace, completing the course in 14:41. Sara Friex, of Centreville, was the top female finisher in the 5K race, with a time of 17:38.

The event started three decades ago as a fundraiser to support the church’s missionary work supporting children in Mukono District, Uganda. Through that work, the HUMBLE United Methodist School opened there in 2004 and the Ashburn church continues to sponsor Ugandan children in their educational pursuits. n

PUBLISHER’S NOTICE

We are pledged to the letter and spirit of Virginia’s policy for achieving equal housing opportunity throughout the Commonwealth. We encourage and support advertising and marketing programs in which there are no barriers to obtaining housing because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, elderliness, familial status or handicap.

All real estate advertised herein is subject to Virginia’s fair housing law which makes it illegal to advertise “any preference, limitation or discrimination because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, elderliness, familial status or handicap or intention to make any such preference, limitation, or discrimination.”

This newspaper will not knowingly accept advertising for real estate that violates the fair housing law. Our readers are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised in this newspaper are available on an equal opportunity basis. For more information or to file a housing complaint call the Virginia Fair Housing Office at (804) 367-9753.

fairhousing@dpor.virginia.gov www. fairhousing.vipnet.org

Ethan Cannon, of Minneapolis, MN, was the top overall finisher, completing the 10K course with a time of 31.57.

Derek Johnson, of Charlottesville, set the pace in the 2022 Ashburn Farm 5K, completing the course in 14:41.

Chewbacca—Alan Speicher of Ashburn— bounded to a fifth-place finish in the men 45-49 age group during the 2022 Ashburn Farm 5K race, 121 overall.

Photos by Norman K. Styer/Loudoun Now

Loudoun Chamber Earns Rare 5-Star Accreditation

STAFF REPORT

The Loudoun Chamber of Commerce has earned 5-Star Accreditation from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, placing it in the top 2% of chambers nationwide for the quality of its programs, policies and impact on the community.

“On behalf of the best Board of Directors and staff in the Chamber industry, it is an honor to accept this national recognition of the Loudoun Chamber’s commitment to the highest standards of excellence,” Loudoun Chamber President & CEO Tony Howard stated. “These outstanding leaders are devoted to supporting a world class economy and quality of life in Loudoun, and we are proud that America’s leading business organization has recognized the Loudoun Chamber for the impact we

have made on our community.”

U.S. Chamber’s Accreditation Program exists establishes standards for operational excellence for chambers of commerce, and to recognize chambers that achieve “best in class performance” in areas such as governance policies, financial controls, safe work environments, effective communications, public policy and programming. The extensive self-review can take six to nine months to complete.

Accreditation decisions are made by the Accrediting Board, a committee the U.S. Chamber’s Board of Directors. The Loudoun Chamber was previously Accredited at the 4-Star level in 2017.

U.S. Chamber Vice President

The Land Trust of Virginia (LTV) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit land conservation organization dedicated to preserving and protecting Virginia’s open space, agricultural land, natural areas, and cultural heritage. To become a business sponsor, please contact kerry@landtrustva.org or call 540-687-8441. For more information, go to www.landtrustva.org

The Land

Trust of Virginia is truly grateful for the annual support and partnership of the following businesses They support conservation of the spaces we all love, so we hope you will support them Perpetuity

Steward Guardian

Advocate

Protector

Loudoun Chamber

The Loudoun Chamber of Commerce celebrates earning 5-Star Accreditation from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

LOUDOUN CHAMBER continues on page 17

Ronis Earns Nat’l Golf Professional Award

John Ronis, di rector of Golf at the River Creek Club, is the 2022 Invited Golf Pro fessional of the Year.

Invited, which manages more than 200 coun try clubs nation wide, invites members at its clubs to nominate their golf pro for the award

in October. After the first round, the competition was narrowed down to the top 5 nominees based on the number of votes. After a final round of vot ing in November, the person with the most votes in the second round wins the title.

“On behalf of our management team, but more importantly our mem bership, I am humbled and honored to receive this award,” said Ronis, who won a trip for two to Jamaica as part of the award. “We will most certain ly celebrate this as a unified family of members, friends and staff. Thank you to all who voted for me.” n

Loudoun Chamber

continued from page 16

Raymond P. Towle said the achievement is “reflective of the Loudoun Chamber’s staff and leadership commitment to ex cellence in all that your organization does to serve your community.”

“I congratulate the Loudoun Cham

ber of Commerce for earning 5-Star Ac creditation, and for its commitment to meet the highest standards for operation al performance in the Chamber industry, and for your unwavering commitment to free enterprise,” he stated.

Learn more about the Loudoun Chamber of Commerce at loudounchamber.org. n

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Rocket science, for starters

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Towns

Lovettsville Town Council Readies to Move into Second Half of FY 2023

BY HANNA PAMPALONI hpampaloni@loudounnow.com

The Lovettsville Town Council last week held a special budget meeting for fiscal year 2024 during which Town Manager Jason Cournoyer brought council members-elect Robert Merhaut and Brandon Davis up to date on the town’s current and future budgets.

Cournoyer said Lovettsville was in good financial shape for the rest of fiscal year 2023 and looking good for 2024, as well.

“I’m not looking to make any, propose any radical changes,” he said during the Nov. 17 session. “So it’s kind of stay the course, keep the momentum going of what we have going on.”

Cournoyer said one thing he would like to see the town focus on is retaining the staff because turnover of even a few employees is costly.

“Retention is a big deal. ... Turnover in this town it puts us in dire straits,” he said. “We don’t have enough bodies here to backfill any one person. And I mean that, any one person goes out, sick, leaves the town, whatever, we are scrambling to backfill that. So, retention is where I want council to start considering how to focus

on retention.”

The new Town Council will discuss its priorities for fiscal 2024 year during a budget meeting scheduled for Jan. 7.

Cournoyer also said that the preliminary fiscal year 2022 results were looking good, with the town expected to add $383,000 to the General Fund and $90,000 to the Utilities Fund.

“We have a budget of about $1.2 million, so it’s a pretty significant increase on our reserves,” he said, adding, “a lot of this will be put aside for future projects.”

He said the funding that the town had received from federal American Rescue

LOVETTSVILLE BUDGET continues on page 19

Lovettsville Gears Up for Love Winter Programs

BY HANNA PAMPALONI hpampaloni@loudounnow.com

The Town of Lovettsville is hosting a series of events beginning Saturday and continuing to Jan. 1 as part of its Love Winter program.

Events include:

• SATURDAY, DEC. 3 – Cocoa Crawl: a walk through town to visit businesses and shop their cocoa inspired products from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

• SATURDAY, DEC. 3 – Christmas Tree Lighting and Lantern Parade: begins with the Community Center Lantern

Making and Parade. The parade will start from the community center at 6 p.m. and the tree lighting will take place at Zoldos Square at 6:15 p.m. The lantern making workshop begins at 5:15 p.m. at the community center and there is a $10 charge.

• SATURDAY, DEC. 10 – Light Up Lovettsville Judging: The town’s Christmas light decorating contest will be judged by the Town Council beginning at 6 p.m. Residents can nominate houses for the judges to visit on a form that will be published on the Love Winter Facebook page.

• THURSDAY, DEC. 15 – The Light up

Lovettsville Competition awards will be presented at the Town Council meeting starting at 6:30p.m.

• MONDAY, DEC. 19 – Menorah Lighting to observe the beginning of Hannukah starting at 5:30 p.m.

• SUNDAY, JAN. 1 – Berserkle in the Squirkle: A fun run around the town squirkle with a fun twist for each lap like hopping or skipping. It starts at 11 a.m. n

For more information and to stay up to date on the Love Winter events at facebook.com/LovettsvilleWinter.

AROUND towns

MIDDLEBURG

It’s Christmas in Middleburg Weekend

Middleburg is preparing for its biggest weekend of the year, with a full slate of holiday activities.

Festivities start Friday at 5 p.m. with a tree lighting ceremony at The Pink Box.

Saturday kicks off with breakfast with Santa at the Middleburg Community Charter School. At 11 a.m. the famed Middleburg Horse and Hunt Review takes place on Washington Street. At 2 p.m. crowds regather downtown for the Christmas parade.

Parking is limited in town and parking passes are required.

For full details, go to christmasinmiddleburg.org.

PURCELLVILLE

Bush Tabernacle Renovations Complete

Just in time for the town’s holiday activities, the renovations to the Bush Tabernacle Skating Rink are complete. The public is invited to tour the building Friday night.

The open house will start at approximately 7:30 p.m., following the 6:30 p.m. tree lighting ceremony at Town Hall. That event will include caroling by the Loudoun Valley High School choir, the Woodgrove High School choir, a performance from the Dance Academy of Loudoun, and a visit from Santa.

The Bush Tabernacle will allow residents to see the new floor and other renovations in advance of the Dec. 10 Holiday Market in the building.

Input Meeting Planned on Woodgrove Tower

The Town of Purcellville will hold a public information meeting for the proposed public safety and cellular communications tower at Woodgrove High School on Tuesday, Dec. 6.

AROUND TOWNS

Hanna Pampaloni/Loudoun Now Lovettsville Town Council Meets with Town Manager Jason Cournoyer and two council members-elect during a special budget meeting Nov. 17.

AROUND Towns

continued from page 18

Milestone Towers is proposing a 165-foot-tall telecommunications tower near the Woodgrove High School baseball stadium along Allder School Road.

The meeting, starting at 7 p.m. at Town Hall, will include an informational presentation followed by a question-and-answer session.

ROUND HILL

Re-paving Marks End of Streetscape Project

Construction crews will return to Round Hill this week to for the final milling/paving and concrete work—the last items to complete the Main Street improvement project.

Once complete, the contractor is expected to shut the job down after getting final sign off from the Virginia Department of Transportation and Loudoun County Department of Transportation and Critical Infrastructure.

Works Sought for 2023

Appalachian Trail Art Show

The Round Hill Outdoors Committee and the Round Hill Arts Center invite artists to participate in the sixth annual Appalachian Trail Art Show. The exhibit will be at the Round Hill Arts Center, running from Feb. 5 through March 12.

The purpose of the show is to broaden public awareness and appreciation of the Appalachian Trail.

Artists are welcome to submit paintings, drawings, photography, fiber arts, stained glass, and sculptures. There is a separate category that welcomes submis-

sions from young artists in grades K-12.

The Appalachian National Scenic Trail was completed on August 14, 1937. This 2,189-mile trail crosses 14 states and hosts an estimated 3 million visitors a year. The exhibit will celebrate the 80th anniversary of the completion of the trail.

Learn more at roundhillartscenter.org.

Santa to Join in Tree Lighting

The Town of Round Hill, Round Hill Baptist Church, and the Round Hill Volunteer Fire Department will hold the 18th annual Christmas Tree lighting ceremony at 4:30 pm on Dec. 3 at the Town Park.

The event includes caroling, hot cocoa, cookies, crafts for kids and a first-hand view of the park’s holiday decorations.

After the tree lighting, the Round Hill Volunteer Fire Department will offer a free family dinner at 5:30 p.m. Photo opportunities with Santa will be available at dinner.

Lovettsville budget

continued from page 18

Plan Act grants was a big factor in helping the town catch up and be a in a good place to move forward.

“We are kind of a reflection of what the intent of ARPA was,” he said. “It was to get us in a position for longer term financial term responsibility coming out of the pandemic.”

Overall, Cournoyer said the town was in good shape to move into the second half of fiscal year 2023.

“I don’t plan on at this point proposing anything that we haven’t done in the current year,” he said. “I think I’ve said it four different ways tonight, it’s hold the line, again, try not to put any more burden on taxpayers and users. So that’s my goal.” n

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THINGS to do

HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS

Leesburg Holiday Tree Lighting

Friday, Dec. 2, 6 p.m.

Leesburg Town Green, 25 West Market St., Leesburg Details: leesburgva.gov

Kick off the season in downtown Leesburg with lights, live music, holiday characters and community cheer.

Purcellville Town Tree Lighting

Friday, Dec. 2, 6:30 p.m.

Purcellville Town Hall, 221 S. Nursery Ave., Purcellville Details: purcellvilleva.gov

Purcellville celebrates with caroling by the Loudoun Valley High School and Woodgrove High School choirs, a performance from the Dance Academy of Loudoun, a countdown to the lighting of the Town Tree and a special visit from a beloved resident of the North Pole.

‘The Fezziwig Ball’

Friday, Dec. 2 Saturday, Dec. 3, Sunday, Dec. 4, 6-10 p.m.

Waterford Old School, 40222 Fairfax Street, Waterford Details: jupitertheatercompany.com

Jupiter Theater Company presents an immersive theatrical experience where audience members can dance and interact with characters from Dickens’ classic “A Christmas Carol.” Tickets are $18-$25.

Shopping Small: Loudouners Flock to Holiday Markets

BY JAN MERCKER jmercker@loudounnow.com

Why hit the mall when you can shop small, sipping on a glass of mulled wine while you search for one-of-a-kind gifts?

Holiday markets large and small are booming in Loudoun. In the past two years, small Christmas markets have popped up at wineries and breweries across Loudoun, with more than a dozen on tap over the next three weekends. The first weekend in December also marks a return for two larger-scale local markets: Lovettsville’s German-inspired Christkindlmarkt and Leesburg’s Holiday Fine Arts and Crafts Show.

A Christmas-loving British owner’s memories of holiday markets inspired Two Twisted Posts winery’s Christmas Mini-Market, now in its second year.

“It’s for people who want to be outdoors instead of at the mall. We bring the

HOLIDAY MARKETS continues on page 22

‘The Snow Monster’

Friday, Dec. 2, 7 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 3, 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 4, 2 p.m. Village at Leesburg, 1609 Village Market Blvd. SE, Leesburg, #110

Details: aplacetobeva.org

A Place to Be presents an original musical for families about complex emotions and finding home as a young boy in foster care searches for his missing snowman and makes an unexpected connection with the snow monster who stole it. Admission is free. Performances continue Dec. 9-11.

‘A Christmas Story’

Friday, Dec. 2 and Saturday, Dec. 3, 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 4, 2 p.m.

Trillium Gathering Building, 18915 Lincoln Road, Purcellville Details: goosecreekplayers.com

The Goose Creek Players present Jean Shepherd’s beloved story of his life as a boy in the late 1940s and the memorable Christmas when all he wanted was a Red Ryder BB gun. Tickets are $15. Performances continue Dec. 9-11.

Renss Greene/Loudoun Now Vendors put their wares on display at the Leesburg Holiday Fine Arts & Crafts Show at Ida Lee Park Recreation Center Saturday, Dec. 1, 2018. The event draws thousands of visitors.

Norman K. Styer/Loudoun Now

Jason Franklin, a third-generation woodworker from Germantown, MD, displayed his custom-made charcuterie boards and chopping blocks during Sunday’s Shop and Sip event at Vanish Farmwoods Brewery near Lucketts.

Why I Love Loudoun

Beth Erickson & Buddy Rizer

BY VISIT LOUDOUN

In 2019, Visit Loudoun, Loudoun Department of Economic Development and Loudoun Chamber of Commerce launched “Take Loudoun Home,” a program aimed at marketing and advertising the 1,200+ farms and businesses in the county and to encourage consumers to not only visit, but to support and buy local when doing so. The program was an extension of the 2015 “Loudoun Made, Loudoun Grown” campaign. We spoke to Beth Erickson, president & CEO of Visit Loudoun and Buddy Rizer, executive director of Loudoun DED, two people instrumental in establishing the program.

Why did you start

Take Loudoun Home?

RIZER: Loudoun is home to a wide array of products and experiences that can’t be found anywhere else in the region. We wanted to share this, while helping our small businesses and rural communities.

ERICKSON: Visitors are looking for unique experiences and products to bring home as a reminder of their travels. In 2018 Loudoun’s agritourism businesses hosted 1.2 million people who generated an impact of $413.6 million. It’s big business! People who call Loudoun home made up 60 percent of that

business so we needed to find ways to make that even easier.

How successful has it been?

RIZER: In just the first year of implementation, our partners reported up to a 30 percent increase in sales.

ERICKSON: It’s been fabulously successful, but I would love to see more Loudoun businesses—beyond those in tourism and hospitality – engage. My ask is that Loudoun businesses think local for corporate gifts, serve Loudoun products at holiday gatherings or give great Loudoun experiences to recognize the outstanding work of their teams.

What are some of the most unique businesses in the program or unique local items you can buy?

RIZER: I love the cheeses and caramel from Georges Mill Farm, the garlic powder from Snickers Run Garlic Farm and the great variety of wines from all over Loudoun. My favorite gifts are the Rye Whiskey from Catoctin Creek and all the fiber products in western Loudoun—gloves, scarves and hats made from sheep, llama, or alpaca fiber.

ERICKSON: I love to pair items. For

MasterSingers

Sing We Now of Christmas

4 PM, Saturday, December 10, 2022

St. James’ Episcopal Church, Leesburg, VA

4 PM, Sunday, December 11, 2022

St. David’s Episcopal Church, Ashburn, VA

Lessons and Carols

4 PM, Saturday, December 17, 2022

Trinity Episcopal Church, Upperville, VA www.msva.org

of Virginia modern choral music...masterfully. Dr. Erik Jones, Artistic Director and Founder

Conducted by Dr. Erik Jones and MSVA Conductor Finalist, Dr. Jesse Parker

Featuring joyous works that celebrate the seasonWhitacre’s Lux Nova and arrangements of Ukrainian Bell Carol and Betelehemu/Sing Noel by our founder, Erik Jones.

Erickson Rizer

LOVE LOUDOUN continues on page 23

European Christmas market vibe—it’s rustic, warm and intimate,” said Krista Cato, co-owner of the family-run winery near Hillsboro. Cato’s mother and co-owner Theresa Robertson grew up in England and was inspired by the festive holiday markets of her youth.

Cato and Robertson decided to keep it small, with a handful of carefully curated vendors on the winery’s heated outdoor patio and in tents just outside. Patrons can enjoy a relaxed atmosphere with fire pits, mulled wine while shopping for baked goods and handmade cookie cutters, woodworking, jewelry, wine-themed accessories and bottle holders, plants, greenery and ornaments.

This year, wineries and breweries around the county are jumping on the holiday market bandwagon, offering local artisans a chance to shine and giving patrons the opportunity to shop for special gifts in a mellow setting, making holiday shopping a fun experience instead of a chore.

“It’s a personal experience,” Cato said. “That’s something Loudoun has done really well with these Christmas markets.”

Lovettsville’s Christkindlmarkt Returns

Lovettsville’s German-inspired Christkindlmarkt returns Saturday, Dec. 3 after a two-year hiatus. The festive event, previously organized by the Loudoun Valley German Society for more than a decade,

People Who Work In Loudoun Should Be Able To Live In Loudoun

is now run by the Lovettsville Lions Club and Lovettsville Game Protective Association.

Lisa Brill, a fundraising chair for the Lovettsville Lions Club, has participated in past markets as a vendor, selling White House Ornaments as a fundraiser. It was a big moneymaker for the nonprofit club

and a fun community event, so Brill decided it was time to revive the market.

“We did so well, and I missed it, too,” Brill said. “I kept thinking maybe we could do this. I went to the game club and said, ‘I’ll do the vendors, you do the food, and everybody’s happy.’”

Brill spent the past year building a vendor list and has a full house with 25 signed up. LGPA provides the venue and serves up German inspired food, mulled wine and beer as a fundraiser, with local cub scouts on hand offering gift wrapping by donation.

The market is part of the town-wide Cocoa Crawl event spotlighting local businesses and kicks off a list of holiday activities, wrapping up with the annual German-inspired lantern parade and tree lighting Saturday evening.

Leesburg’s Fine Arts and Crafts Show Draws Thousands

One of Loudoun’s largest and longest-running craft shows also is back in its pre-pandemic glory. The Leesburg Holiday Fine Arts and Crafts Show takes place Saturday, Dec. 3 and Sunday,

HOLIDAY MARKETS continues on page 26

More housing options for Loudoun’s workforce is essential to the future of Loudoun. Workforce Housing isn’t an issue of charity. It’s about investing in Loudoun assets.

Let’s shape Loudoun’s future. Won’t you join us?

WORKFORCEHOUSINGNOW.ORG

Workforce Housing Now is an initiative of the Community Foundation for Loudoun and Northern Fauquier Counties.

Norman K. Styer/Loudoun Now Giovanna Ramuri, of Frederick, MD, sells her handmade jewelry at the Shop and Sip event at Vanish Farmwoods Brewery near Lucketts last Sunday.

Love Loudoun

continued from page 21

example, Catoctin Coffee with a mug from Amy Manson; chocolate from The Conche with a bottle of Cana Vineyards wine; Blue Ridge Dairy cheese and a growler of beer from Adroit Theory. Buying local is all about celebrating the people who grew or made the item, so I sometimes call ahead and ask for what I’m buying to be signed by the person behind the product, making a special gift even more extraordinary. My final tip: Gift certificates for overnight stays at one of our B&Bs; dinner or brunch at one of our farm-to-table restaurants or tickets to a concert or event.

What items or products would you recommend for the holiday dinner table?

RIZER: You must start with an organic, pasture-raised turkey from one of our farms. Pair that with some CSA veggies, flowers for a centerpiece and a nice local craft beverage!

ERICKSON: I love Buddy’s suggestions. I would add a playlist of Loudoun artists to put on during dinner or when wrapping gifts. Visit Loudoun has a few suggested playlists ready for you to download and enjoy.

What’s your best secret place in Loudoun?

RIZER: The family fun at Great Country Farms and the pick-your-own experiences at Wegmeyer Farms. All of western Loudoun is a wonderful place to explore, learn and find locally made and grown products! Visit LoudounFarms.org to learn why we love it so much.

ERICKSON: It’s hard for me to call out only one place but Loudoun is pretty special for the holidays. Go to VisitLoudoun.org and start exploring. Remember to buy local and tell your friends and family to do so. n

THINGS to do

LBPAC ‘The Nutcracker’

Friday, Dec. 2, 6:30 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 3, 3:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 4, 3:30 p.m.

Loudoun Valley High School, 340 N. Maple Ave., Purcellville

Details: lbpac.org

Loudoun Ballet Performing Arts Company’s full-length Nutcracker is back as the Nutcracker Prince leads Clara on a magical journey through the Land of Snow to the Kingdom of Sweets. Tickets are $35 for adults, $30 for children.

Christmas In Middleburg

Saturday, Dec. 3, 8 a.m.-6 p.m.

Town of Middleburg

Details: christmasinmiddleburg.org

The celebration starts with breakfast with Santa at Middleburg Charter School, followed by the Hunt and Hound Review at 11 a.m., Christmas Parade at 2 p.m. and Spirits of Middleburg progressive tasting event from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Parking passes are $40$100 with advance purchase available online.

Claude Moore Holiday in the Park

Saturday, Dec. 3, 4-7 p.m.

Claude Moore Park, 21544 Vestals Gap Road, Sterling

Details: facebook.com/claudemoorepark

Take a stroll to check out the holiday lights and decorations. Enjoy hot chocolate and toasting marshmallows. Help your neighbors by donating a new hat or gloves for the Winter Warmth Tree and try out some crafts. Admission is free.

Lovettsville Lantern Parade and Tree Lighting

Saturday, Dec. 3, 6 p.m.

Lovettsville Community Center, 57 E. Broad Way, Lovettsville

Details: loudoun.gov/lovettsvillecc

Lovettsville’s holiday tradition is back with a lantern parade starting at Lovettsville Community Center followed by a tree lighting at Zoldos Square at 6:15 p.m. An optional lantern-making workshop is available at 5:15 p.m. for a $10 fee.

Loudoun Chorale Lessons and Carols

Saturday, Dec. 3, 7 p.m., Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 605 W. Market St., Leesburg Sunday, Dec. 4, 4 p.m.., Leesburg Community Church Details: loudounchorale.org

The event pairs nine choral pieces with nine readings exploring the many emotions of the holiday season. Selections span genres from classic favorites to contemporary works to gospel and folk music. Tickets are $15, free for children 12 and under. Advance purchase is recommended.

LOCO LIVE

Live Music: Ted Garber

Friday, Dec. 2, 5 p.m.

Crooked Run Fermentation, 22455 Davis Drive #120, Sterling Details: crookedrunbrewing.com

Singer/songwriter Ted Garber returns to Crooked Run for a happy hour show with his genre-bending, multi-instrumentalist approach to what he calls BluesAmericanaRock.

Live Music: Mike Massey

Friday, Dec. 2, 6 p.m.

Flying Ace Distillery and Brewery, 40950 Flying Ace Lane, Lovettsville Details: flyingacefarm.com

Massey is a crowd-pleasing solo acoustic artist playing covers from the 60s through today from John Mayer to Bob Marley to Otis Redding and other favorites.

Live Music: Just South of 7 Friday, Dec. 2, 7 p.m.

MacDowell Brew Kitchen, 202 South St. SE, Leesburg Details: macsbeach.com

Just South of 7 returns to MacDowell’s with five decades of rock.

Live Music: Trial By Fire Journey Tribute Friday, Dec. 2,

Tally Ho Theater, 19 W. Market St., Leesburg  Details: tallyhotheater.com

Trial By Fire returns to the Tally Ho with Journey favorites like “Wheel in the Sky” and “Don’t Stop Believin.” Tickets are $15.

Live Music: Chris Bone

Saturday, Dec. 3, 1:30 p.m.

Sunset Hills Vineyard, 38295 Fremont Overlook Lane, Purcellville Details: sunsethillsvineyard.com

Kick back with great tunes from Western Loudoun singer/songwriter and one-man band Chris Bowen of the Bone Show.

Live Music: Melissa Quinn Fox

Saturday, Dec. 3, 2 p.m.

Lost Rhino Brewing Company 21730 Red Rum Drive, Ashburn

Details: lostrhino.com

Country/Americana songstress Melissa Quinn Fox is known for her story-driven songs, distinctive vocal tone and captivating live performances.

Live Music: Juliet Lloyd

Saturday, Dec. 3, 5 p.m.

Lost Barrel Brewing, 36138 John Mosby Highway, Middleburg

Details: lostbarrel.com

Singer/songwriter/pianist Juliet Lloyd returns to Lost Barrel with pop, rock and classic soul favorites.

Lucketts Bluegrass: Ralph Stanley II and the Clinch Mountain Boys

Saturday, Dec. 3, 7 p.m.

Lucketts Community Center, 42361 Lucketts Road, Leesburg

Details: luckettsbluegrass.org

The son of a bluegrass legend, Ralph Stanley II has earned respect as an artist in his own right. He continues to delight fans with his own brand of mountain music. Tickets are $22 for adults, $5 for youth 5 to 17 and free for children 4 and under.

Live Music: Bill Pappas Project

Saturday, Dec. 3, 7 p.m.

MacDowell Brew Kitchen, 202 South St. SE, Leesburg Details: macsbeach.com

The Bill Pappas Project brings a unique high-energy fusion of blues, rock, funk and jazz, taking audiences on a musical road trip from Texas to Chicago and beyond.

Live Music: Unsullied

Saturday, Dec. 3, 7 p.m.

Crooked Run Fermentation, 22455 Davis Drive

BEST BETS

Dec. 2, 3, 9, 10, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 4, 10, 11, 2 p.m.

Trillium Gathering Building goosecreekplayers.com

JUST SOUTH OF 7

Friday, Dec. 2, 7 p.m. MacDowell’s macdowellsbrewkitchen.com

Saturday, Dec. 3, 7 p.m.

The Barns at Hamilton Station thebarnsathamiltonstation.com

#120, Sterling

Details: crookedrunbrewing.com

The winners of Crooked Run’s Battle of the Bands return with their high energy brand rock ‘n’ roll.

Stories and Songs with Sela Campbell and Juliana MacDowell

Saturday, Dec. 3, 7-9 p.m.

The Barns At Hamilton Station, 16804 Hamilton Station Road, Hamilton

Details: thebarnsathamiltonstation.com

JASON MASI

Saturday, Dec. 3, 2-5 p.m. Doukenie Winery doukeniewinery.com

RALPH STANLEY II & THE CLINCH MOUNTAIN BOYS

Saturday, Dec. 3, 7 p.m. Lucketts Community Center luckettsbluegrass.org

Join longtime favorite singer/songwriter Juliana MacDowell with rising star Sela Campbell for a special evening of music at the Barns. Tickets are $15.

Live Music: Boat House Row

Saturday, Dec. 3, 8 p.m.

Tally Ho Theater, 19 W. Market St., Leesburg  Details: tallyhotheater.com

Boat House Row is back with yacht rock favorites. Tickets are $15.

Live Music: Ken Wenzel

Sunday, Dec. 4, 2 p.m.

Flying Ace Distillery and Brewery, 40950 Flying Ace

Lane, Lovettsville

Details: flyingacefarm.com

Wenzel returns to Flying Ace with his signature rootsrock, country-jazz take on love, learning and life in America.

Live Music: Pete Lapp

Sunday, Dec. 4, 2-5 p.m.

The Barns At Hamilton Station, 16804 Hamilton Station Road, Hamilton Details: thebarnsathamiltonstation.com

Singer and guitarist Pete Lapp plays acoustic interpretations of classic and alternative rock favorites.

A CHRISTMAS STORY

SPONSORE

BENEFITIN

JULIANA MCDOWELL & SELA CAMPBELL

Holiday Markets, Loudoun-style

From large craft fairs to tiny winery markets, here’s a look at some of the holiday shopping oppor tunities this weekend in Loudoun. Check the Loudoun Now calendar next week for more fun holiday events.

LOVETTSVILLE CHRISTKINDLMARKT

Saturday, Dec. 3, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Lovettsville Game Protective Association 16 South Berlin Pike, Lovettsville Details: facebook.com/lgpapage Lovettsville’s Christmas market features 25 vendors and traditional German food and drink. Admission is free.

LEESBURG HOLIDAY FINE ARTS AND CRAFTS SHOW

Saturday, Dec. 3, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 4, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Ida Lee Park 60 Ida Lee Drive NW, Leesburg Details: leesburgva.gov

Leesburg’s beloved holiday craft show features local and regional artisans with handmade items including candles, stained glass, carved wood, jewelry, table linens and more. Admission is free.

SUNSET HILLS HOLIDAY MARKET

Saturday, Dec. 3, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

Sunset Hills Vineyard 38295 Fremont Overlook Lane, Purcellville Details: sunsethillsvineyard.com

SHV’s holiday market returns with live entertain ment, mulled wine, and food. Shop for handmade

Holiday markets

continued from page 22

Dec. 4 at Ida Lee Recreation Center.

Now in its 32nd year, the two-day event features nearly 100 vendors and draws between 3,000 and 3,500 attendees over two days, taking over both levels of the town’s recreation center.

Linda Fountain, events and outreach manager for the Town of Leesburg’s Parks and Recreation department, and her team organized the show outdoors at Freedom Park in 2020 on a reduced scale with 25 vendors. But the 2020 event still drew around 1,300 shoppers looking for an open-air market during the first holi day season of the COVID pandemic. The town returned to the indoor show last year with a reduced number of vendors but a similar number of shoppers.

“I was surprised at the numbers we had last year,” Fountain said.

jewelry, bath and body products, candles, and home decor.

TWO TWISTED POSTS CHRISTMAS MINI-MARKET

Saturday, Dec. 3, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

Two Twisted Posts Winery 12944 Harpers Ferry Road, Neersville Details: twotwistedposts.com Sip and shop in a cozy atmosphere with curated artisans, mulled wine and food for sale.

OLD 690 HOLIDAY MARKET

Saturday, Dec. 3, noon

Old 690 Brewing Company 15670 Ashbury Church Road, Hillsboro Details: old690.com

Old 690’s holiday market returns with unique vendors including pottery, candles, jewelry, decor, lotions, soaps and more.

GREENHILL VINEYARDS CHRISTKINDLMARKT

Saturday, Dec. 3, noon-6 p.m.

Greenhill Vineyards 23595 Winery Lane, Middleburg Details: experiencegreenhill.com Jump start your holiday shopping with local hand crafted goods while enjoying mulled wine and other libations.

FIREFLY CELLARS HOLIDAY MARKET

Saturday, Dec. 3, noon-5 p.m.

Firefly Cellars

This year, the show is back with a floor plan similar to 2019, featuring 92 vendors offering candles, stained glass, carved

40325 Charles Town Pike, Hamilton Details: fireflycellars.com

Get a cozy Christmas feel while shopping small with artisan vendors featuring handmade gifts and decor. The event features food trucks, holi day music, Christmas movies, firepit, and festive decor.

HARPERS FERRY BREWING HOLIDAY MARKET

Saturday, Dec. 3, noon-5 p.m.

Harpers Ferry Brewing 37412 Adventure Center Lane, Loudoun Heights Details: facebook.com/harpersferrybrewing Check out local vendors while enjoying craft beer and hard cider.

WILLOWCROFT SIP AND SHOP

Saturday, Dec. 3, noon-4 p.m.

Willowcroft Farm Vineyards 38906 Mount Gilead Road, Leesburg Details: willowcroftwine.com

Knock out some holiday shopping in a mellow environment while sipping great wines.

FLYING ACE HOLIDAY CRAFT FAIR

Saturday, Dec. 3, noon-4 p.m.

Flying Ace Distillery and Brewery 40950 Flying Ace Lane Lovettsville Details: flyingacefarm.com

Flying Ace’s inaugural holiday craft fair features local artists showcasing handmade items.

wood, jewelry, table linens and other handmade items.

“I think the appeal is unique, one-of-

a-kind items—not your average, go to the store and everything is the same,” Fountain said. n

Norman K. Styer/Loudoun Now

Shoppers filled Vanish Farmwoods Brewery on Sunday for a Shop and Sip event featuring dozens of area craft vendors.

Assistant

Aquatics

Assistant Director of

Assistant Zoning Administrator

Parks & Recreation $52,446-$95,178 DOQ Open until filled

Public Works & Capital Projects $86,040-$156,137 DOQ Open until filled

Programs Utilities $86,040-$156,137 DOQ Open until filled

Planning & Zoning $72,952-$132,386 DOQ Open until filled

Billing and Collections Coordinator Finance & Administrative Services Department $52,446-$95,178 DOQ Open until filled

Communications Technician (Police Dispatcher) Police $50,000-$88,774 DOQ Open until filled Custodian Parks & Recreation $50,000-$63,626 DOQ Open until filled

Deputy Director of Public Works and Capital Projects Public Works & Capital Projects $93,438-$169,567 DOQ Open until filled

Groundskeeper

Parks & Recreation $50,000-$81,495 DOQ Open until filled

Head Lifeguard (Full Time) Parks & Recreation $50,000-$63,626 DOQ Open until filled

Land Acquisition Manager Town Attorney $72,952-$132,387 DOQ Open until filled

Maintenance Worker I

Public Works & Capital Projects $50,000-$75,040 DOQ Open until filled

Police Detective Police $68,356-$109,934 DOQ Open until filled

Police Officer Police $62,000-$109,934 DOQ Open until filled

Police School Resource Officer Police $68,356-$109,934 DOQ Open until filled

Police Traffic Officer Police $68,356-$109,934 DOQ Open until filled

Project Manager Utilities $76,426-$138,530 DOQ Open until filled

Senior Engineer Plan Review $70,374-$127,560 DOQ Open until filled

Senior Planner (Preservation and Zoning Administration)

Stormwater and Environmental Manager

Transportation Engineer

Planning & Zoning $67,175-$121,947 DOQ Open until filled

Public Works & Capital Projects $82,999-$150,445 DOQ Open until filled

Public Works & Capital Projects $82,999-$150,445 DOQ Open until filled

Utility Inspector II Utilities $56,956-$103,363 DOQ Open until filled

Utility Plant Technician or Senior Utility Plant Technician Utilities $50,000-$95,178 DOQ Open until filled

Wastewater Plant Operator Trainee, I or II Utilities $50,000-$95,178 DOQ Open until filled

Water Meter Operations Supervisor Utilities $61,857-$112,250 DOQ Open until filled

Stallion Enterprises LLC seeks a eCommerce Customer Service Associate in Ashburn, VA to engage in fulfillment process independently of supervision. Rqmts: 6 months of exp. as a customer service agent or a related occupation. Exp. must include the following skills: phone interaction with customers, &; email/social media marketing experience. Please send all resumes to stallionent8@gmail.com.

Legal Notices

PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE

The LOUDOUN COUNTY BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS will hold a public hearing in the BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MEETING ROOM, County Government Center, 1 Harrison Street, S.E., Leesburg, Virginia, on Thursday, December 15, 2022, at 6:00 p.m. to consider the following:

VARI-2022-0002

Salman – Feyes Circle

Raied Salman and Athra Khalaf of Herndon, Virginia, have submitted an application for a variance to permit a deviation from the following provision of the Revised 1993 Loudoun County Zoning Ordinance in order to permit the construction of a single-family detached dwelling on the subject property located approximately 15.0 feet from the rear property line: Section 3-404(C)(3) – Lot Requirements for Suburban Design Option, Yards, Rear, which requires a twenty-five (25) foot rear yard. The subject property is zoned R-4 (Single Family Residential) under the Revised 1993 Loudoun County Zoning Ordinance and is located within the AI (Airport Impact) Overlay District, outside of but within one (1) mile of the Ldn 60 aircraft noise contour. The subject property is approximately 0.31 acre in size and is located on the south side of West Church Road (Route 625), approximately 0.1 mile east of the intersection of West Church Road and Morgan Way (Route 1820), and approximately 0.06 mile west of the intersection of West Church Road and Magnolia Road (Route 1525) at 45581 Feyes Circle, in the Sterling Election District. The subject property is more particularly described as PIN: 032-46-8230.

Full and complete copies of the above-referenced application(s) and related documents may be examined in the Loudoun County Department of Planning and Zoning, County Government Center, 1 Harrison Street, S.E., 3rd Floor, Leesburg, Virginia, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, or call (703) 777-0246.

All members of the public will be heard as to their views pertinent to these matters. Citizens are encouraged to call in advance to sign up to speak at the public hearing. If you wish to sign up in advance of the hearing, please call the Department of Planning and Zoning at 703-777-0246 prior to 12:00 PM on the day of the public hearing. Speakers may also sign up at the hearing. Written comments are welcomed at any time and may be sent to the Loudoun County Board of Zoning Appeals, 1 Harrison Street, S.E., 3rd Floor, MSC #62, Leesburg, Virginia 20175, or by e-mail to stephanie.capps@loudoun. gov. If any member of the public requires a reasonable accommodation for any type of disability in order to participate in a public meeting, please contact the Office of the County Administrator at 703-7770200/TTY-711. At least one business day of advance notice is requested; some accommodations may require more than one day of notice.

Nan M.

Joseph Forbes,

Chairman 12/1 & 12/8/22

TOWN OF MIDDLEBURG PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE

PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE FISCAL YEAR 2023 APPROVED BUDGET

The Middleburg Town Council will hold a Public Hearing in the Town Hall Council Chambers located at 10 West Marshall Street, Middleburg, VA and remotely at (540) 339-6355 on December 8, 2022, at 6:00 p.m. for the purpose of receiving comments on proposed budget amendments to the adopted Fiscal Year 2023 General Fund CIP budget, in accordance with Sections 15.2-2506 and 15.2-2507 of the 1950 Code of Virginia, as amended.

The following supplemental appropriations are proposed:

General Fund CIP Supplemental Appropriations

From To Amount

Prior Year Surplus Asbury Church Renovations $ 50,000

Grant Funding Town Hall Project $2,000,000

Cash Funding Road & Paving Projects $ 45,000

Total Supplemental Appropriations $2,095,000

Details of the proposed amendments may be reviewed online or at the Finance Director’s Office located at 10 West Marshall Street in Middleburg, VA - Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m, holidays excepted. Questions may be directed to the Finance Director at 540-687-5152.

Tina Staples Finance Director/Town Treasurer

ORDER OF PUBLICATION

COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA VA. CODE § 8.01-316

Case No.: JJ045188-07-00

VIRGINIA:

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR

LOUDOUN COUNTY

IN RE: ESTATE OF FULTON WANT, JR.

Probate File No. 19912

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE AGAINST DISTRIBUTION

It appearing that a report of the account of W. Franklin Pugh, Executor for the Estate of Fulton Want, Jr., and a report of the debts and demands against the Estate have been filed in the Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court for Loudoun County, and that more than 6 months have elapsed since the qualification of the Executor before this Court,

It is ORDERED that the creditors of, and all others interested in, the Estate of Fulton Want, Jr., deceased, do show cause, if any they can, on Friday, December 16, 2022, at 9:00 a.m., before this Court at its courtroom in Leesburg, Virginia, against payment and delivery of said Estate to the Estate's beneficiaries, after payment of remaining administrative expenses; 12/01 & 12/08/22

A message to elderly and disabled Loudoun County residents from

Robert S. Wertz, Jr. Commissioner of the Revenue

Residents 65 and older or totally and permanently disabled who wish to apply for 2022 Real Property Tax Relief for the first time must submit an application to my office by the January 3, 2023 filing deadline.

Please visit our website or contact my office for information or filing assistance.

Leesburg Office 1 Harrison Street SE First Floor

Sterling Office

*New Location as of November 14th* 46000 Center Oak Plaza First Floor

Internet: www.loudoun.gov/taxrelief

Hours: 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM, M - F

Phone: 703-737-8557

Email: taxrelief@loudoun.gov

Mailing Address: PO Box 8000, MSC 32 Leesburg, VA 20177-9804

12/1, 12/8, 12/15, 12/22 & 12/29/22

12/1/22

Loudoun Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court

Commonwealth of Virginia, in re Ashli Martinez-Bonilla

Loudoun County Department of Family Services /v.

Maynor Martinez Acosta, putative father, and Unknown Father

The object of this suit is to hold a foster care review hearing and review of foster care plan pursuant to Virginia Code §§ 16.1-282 and 16.1-281 for Ashli Martinez Bonilla.

It is ORDERED that the defendant Maynor Martinez Acosta, putative father, and Unknown Father appear at the above-named Court and protect his or her interests on or before January 4, 2023 at 4:00 p.m.

11/24, 12/1, 12/8 & 12/15/22

ORDER OF PUBLICATION

COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA VA. CODE § 8.01-316

Case No.: JJ030702

Loudoun Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court

Commonwealth of Virginia, in re Aislan Trevor McCall

Loudoun County Department of Family Services /v.

Dyana Elizabeth Guaraldi, mother

The object of this suit is to hold an adjudicatory hearing regarding child protective order pursuant to Virginia Code § 16.1-253 for Aislan Trevor McCall, and; hold a dispositional hearing regarding child protective order pursuant to Virginia Code § 16.1-278.2 for Aislan Trevor McCall.

It is ORDERED that the defendant Dyana Elizabeth Guaraldi, mother appear at the above-named Court and protect his or her interests on or before November 16, 2022 at 2:00pm (adj) and December 12, 2022 at 10:00am (disp).

11/10, 11/17, 11/24 & 12/01/22

ORDER OF PUBLICATION

COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA VA. CODE § 8.01-316

Case No.: JJ046150-03-00

Loudoun Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court

Commonwealth of Virginia, in re Marjorie Cruz

Loudoun County Department of Family Services /v.

Endenilson Alavarado, putative father & Unknown Father

The object of this suit is to hold a foster care review hearing and review of foster care plan pursuant to Virginia Code §§ 16.1-282 and 16.1-281 for Marjorie Cruz.

It is ORDERED that the defendant Endenilson Alavarado, putative father, and Unknown Father appear at the above-named Court and protect his or her interests on or January 10, 2023 at 2:00 p.m.

11/24, 12/1, 12/8 & 12/15/22

PUBLIC HEARING

The LOUDOUN COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION will hold a public hearing in the Board of Supervisors’ Meeting Room on the first floor of the County Government Center, 1 Harrison Street, S.E., Leesburg, Virginia, on Monday, December 12, 2022, at 6:00 p.m. to consider the following:

ZMAP-20202-0009, ZMOD-2022-0038

ZMOD-2022-0039 & ZMOD-2022-0040

GUILFORD STATION SOUTH (Zoning Map Amendment, Special Exception & Zoning Modifications)

Guilford Station LLC, of Bethesda, Maryland, has submitted an application to rezone approximately 1.5 acres from the C-1 (Commercial – 1) zoning district under the 1972 Zoning Ordinance to the PD-IP (Planned Development – Commercial Center (Small Regional Center)) zoning district under the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance in order to develop a stand-alone car wash. The applicant also requests the following Zoning Ordinance modification(s):

ZONING ORDINANCE SECTION

§4-202(C), PD-CC Planned Development –Commercial Center, Purpose, Size and Location of Individual Districts, Small Regional Center (SC).

§4-205(C), PD-CC Planned Development –Commercial Center, Lot Requirements, Yards.

§4-205(C)(1)(c), PD-CC Planned Development – Commercial Center, Lot Requirements, Yards, Adjacent to Roads, Small Regional Center (SC).

PROPOSED MODIFICATION

Reduce the minimum size of the PD-CC(SC) zoning district from 20 acres to 1.5 acres.

Reduce the required setbacks from 35 feet to 10 feet.

Reduce the required setbacks from 35 feet to 10 feet along adjacent roadways.

The subject property is located within the Route 28 Taxing District and within the AI (Airport Impact) Overlay District outside of but within one (1) mile of the Ldn 60 aircraft noise contours. The subject property is located north of West Church Road (Route 625) west of Atlantic Boulevard (Route 1902), at 22060 Rail Car Drive, Sterling, VA, in the Sterling Election District. The subject property is more particularly described as PIN 044-40-8919. The area is governed by the policies of the Loudoun County 2019 General Plan (Suburban Mixed Use Place Type) which supports Retail and Service Commercial uses at a Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of up to 1.0 within a pedestrian-oriented environment.

ZRTD-2022-0002

T-4 VENTURES (Zoning Conversion in the Route 28 Taxing District)

CWC Gas LC, of Fairfax, Virginia, has submitted an application to rezone approximately 15.58 acres from the PD-IP (Planned Development – Industrial Park) zoning district under the 1972 Zoning Ordinance to the PD-IP zoning district under the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance in order to permit certain principal and accessory uses permitted in the PD-IP zoning district under the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance at a maximum Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of 0.6 (up to 1.0 by Special Exception). The subject property is located within the Route 28 Taxing District, partially within the QN (Quarry Notification) Overlay District (part of parcel 034-47-9040) and fully within the Route 28 Optional Overlay district and the AI (Airport Impact) Overlay District, outside of but within one (1) mile of the Ldn 60, aircraft noise contour. The subject property is approximately 15.58 acres in size and is located south of Glenn Drive (Route 864), west of Davis Drive (Route 868), east of Terminal Drive, and north of Platform Plaza in the Broad Run Election District. The subject property is more particularly described as PINs: 033-19-0248 and 034-47-9040. The area is governed by the policies of the Loudoun County 2019 General Plan (Suburban Policy Area (Suburban Employment Place Type)), which designate this area for Office, Production, Research and Development, Flex Space, and Contractor without outdoor storage uses at a FAR of up to 1.0.

ZMAP-2021-0022, ZMOD-2021-0086, ZMOD-2021-0087, ZMOD-2022-0042 ZMOD-2022-0043 & ZMOD-2022-0044

UNIVERSITY CENTER LAKEVIEW (Zoning Map Amendment & Zoning Modifications in the Rt. 28 Tax District)

LAKEVIEW 1 LC, of Fairfax, Virginia, has submitted an application to rezone approximately 21.55 acres from PD-RDP (Planned Development – Research and Development Park) zoning district under the 1972 Zoning Ordinance to the R-24 (Townhouse/Multifamily) zoning district under Affordable Dwelling Unit (ADU) regulations of the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance in order to develop 617 multifamily dwelling units at 28.6 dwelling units per acre. The applicant also requests the following Zoning Ordinance modification(s):

ZONING ORDINANCE SECTION PROPOSED MODIFICATION

§3-702(A), R-24 Multifamily Residential, Size and Location.

§3-707(B), R-24 Multifamily Residential, Building Requirements, Building Height.

§5-1102, Table 5-1102, Off Street Parking and Loading Requirements, Number of Parking and Loading Spaces Required.

To allow access to lots created after rezoning to be provided by private roads.

To increase maximum building height to 60 feet without additional setbacks from streets or lot lines for each foot of increased height.

To modify the parking requirements for Multifamily Residential to permit a minimum of 1 parking spaces per studio and onebedroom ADU and a minimum of 1.3 parking spaces per two- and three-bedroom ADU.

§5-1404(D), Landscaping, Buffer Yards, Screening, and Landscape Plans, Buffer Yards, Buffer Yard Widths and Plant Requirements.

§5-1408(B)(2)(d), Landscaping, Buffer Yards, Screening, and Landscape Plans, General Landscape Provisions, Plant Unit Requirements.

To decrease the width of portions of required Buffer Yard Type A to five feet.

To increase the maximum percentage of shrubs from 30 percent to 80 percent permitted within the Buffer Yard Type A.

The subject property is located within the Route 28 Taxing District, the Route 28 CB (Corridor Business) Optional Overlay, and the AI (Airport Impact) Overlay District, outside of but within one (1) mile of the Ldn 60 airport noise contour. The subject property is approximately 21.55 acres in size and is located north of Harry Byrd Highway (Route 7), south of George Washington Boulevard (Route 1050), and east of Riverside Parkway (Route 607) in Ashburn, Virginia, in the Algonkian Election District. The subject property is more particularly described as PIN: 039-35-5892 and PIN: 039-25-8839. The area is governed by the policies of the Loudoun County 2019 General Plan (Suburban Policy Area (Suburban Mixed Use Place Type)) which designate this area for compact, pedestrian-oriented environments with opportunities for a mix of Residential, Commercial, Entertainment, Cultural, and Recreational uses at a Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of up to 1.0.

ZMAP-2022-0007 & SPEX-2022-0023

VANTAGE DATA CENTER (Zoning Map Amendment & Special Exception)

Vantage Data Centers VA2, LLC, of Sterling, Virginia, has submitted an application to rezone approximately 18.59 acres from the PD-IP (Planned Development – Industrial Park) zoning district under the 1972 Zoning Ordinance and Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance and the R-4 (Single Family Residential) zoning district under the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance to the PD-IP zoning district under the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance in order to develop a data center campus. The applicant is also requesting a Special Exception in order to permit an increase in the maximum Floor Area Ratio (FAR) from 0.6 to 1.0 for the development of all principal and accessory uses in the PD-IP zoning district. These applications are subject to the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance, and the proposed increase in maximum FAR is permitted by Special Exception under Section 4-506(C).

The subject property is approximately 18.59 acres in size and is located south of Belfort Park Drive (Route 891), west of Glenn Drive (Route 864), and on the east side of Shaw Road (Route 636) in the Sterling Election District. The subject property is more particularly described as follows:

PIN PROPERTY ADDRESS

044-10-7257 N/A 044-10-9177 N/A 044-10-6480 N/A 032-15-0581 N/A 032-15-3041 N/A 032-15-5119 N/A 044-10-6869 N/A

The subject property is located within the Route 28 Taxing District, the Route 28 CB (Corridor Business) Optional Overlay, and the AI (Airport Impact) Overlay District, outside of but within one (1) mile of the Ldn 60 airport noise contour. The area is governed by the policies of the Loudoun County 2019 General Plan (Suburban Policy Area) in the Suburban Mixed Use Place Type which designate this area for a mix of Residential, Commercial, Entertainment, Cultural and Recreational uses at a recommended FAR of 1.0.

Legal Notices

ZMAP-2021-0017, SPEX-2021-0043, SPEX-2021-0044, SPMI-2022-0002 SPMI-2022-0012, SPMI-2022-0013, ZMOD-2021-0056, ZMOD-2021-0057 ZMOD-2021-0058, ZMOD-2021-0059, ZMOD-2021-0060, ZMOD-2021-0061 ZMOD-2021-0062, ZMOD-2021-0063 & ZMOD-2021-0064

NORTHSTAR SQUARE

(Zoning Map Amendment, Special Exceptions, Minor Special Exceptions & Zoning Modifications)

Belmont Land LP, of Ashburn, Virginia, has submitted applications for the following: (1) to rezone approximately 7.16 acres from the from the PD-OP (Planned Development – Office Park) zoning district under the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance to the PD-RDP (Planned Development – Research Development Park) zoning district under the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance; (2) to rezone approximately 6.39 acres from the PD-OP and PD-H4 (Planned Development – Housing 4) zoning districts under the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance to the PD-CC(CC) (Planned Development - Commercial Center, Community Center) zoning district under the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance; (3) to rezone approximately 13.94 acres from the PD-OP (Planned Development – Office Park) and PD-H4 (Planned Development –Housing 4) zoning districts under the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance to the R-24 ADU (Townhouse/ Multifamily Residential-24, ADU Development Regulations) zoning district under the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance; (4) to rezone approximately 83.29 acres from the PD-OP (Planned Development –Office Park) zoning district under the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance to the R-16 ADU (Townhouse/ Multifamily Residential-16, ADU Development Regulations) zoning district under the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance in order to develop 1,245 residential units, consisting of a maximum 297 single family attached units, a maximum of 592 multifamily attached units and a maximum of 356 multifamily stacked units at a density of approximately 12.8 dwelling units per acre; (5) Special Exceptions to permit the modification of the minimum yard requirements for ADU developments in the R-16 and R-24 ADU zoning districts; and (6) Minor Special Exceptions to modify Section 5-637 and Section 5-1405(C) and (D) of the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance. These applications are subject to the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance and the proposed modification of the minimum yard requirements for ADU developments in the R-16 and R-24 ADU zoning districts are listed as Special Exceptions under Sections 7-903(C)(3) and 7-1003(C).

The applicant also requests the following Zoning Ordinance modification(s):

ZONING ORDINANCE SECTION

§1-205(A) Interpretation of Ordinance, Limitations and Methods for Measurements of Lots, Yards and Related Terms, Lot Access Requirements.

§3-602 R-16 Townhouse/Multifamily Residential, Size and Location.

§3-607(B)(1) R-16 Townhouse/Multifamily Residential, Building Requirements, Building Height.

§3-607(B)(2) R-16 Townhouse/Multifamily Residential, Building Requirements, Building Height.

§3-607(C) R-16 Townhouse/Multifamily Residential, Building Requirements, Maximum Units Per Building.

§3-707(B) R-24 Multifamily Residential, Building Requirements, Building Height.

§4-205(C)(1)(b) PD-CC Planned Development - Commercial Center, Lot Requirements, Yards, Adjacent to Roads, Community Center (CC).

§4-205(C)(2) PD-CC Planned Development - Commercial Center, Lot Requirements, Yards, Adjacent to Agricultural and Residential Districts and Land Bays Allowing Residential Uses.

§4-205(C)(3) PD-CC Planned DevelopmentCommercial Center, Lot Requirements, Yards, Adjacent to Other Nonresidential Districts.

§4-206(D)(2) PD-CC Planned Development –Commercial, Building Requirements, Vehicular Access, Community Centers.

PROPOSED MODIFICATION

Allow structures to be erected on lots that front onto open space.

ZONING ORDINANCE SECTION PROPOSED MODIFICATION

§4-207 (D)(2) PD-CC Planned Development - Commercial Center, Use limitations, Site Planning- Internal Relationships.

§4-402, PD-RDP, Planned Development –Research and Development Park, Size and Location.

§4-405(B)(1) PD-RDP, Planned Development – Research and Development Park, Lot Requirements, Yards, Adjacent to Roads.

§4-405(B)(2) PD-RDP, Planned Development – Research and Development Park, Lot Requirements, Yards, Adjacent to Agricultural and Residential Districts and Land Bays Allowing Residential Uses.

§4-407(E) PD-RDP, Planned Development – Research and Development Park, Use Limitations, Minimum Floor Space Mix.

§5-1303(D), Tree Planting and Replacement, Canopy Requirements, Existing Conditions.

§5-1403(B) Landscaping Buffer Yards, Screening, and Landscape Plans. Road Corridor Buffer and Setbacks, Road Corridor Buffer and Setbacks Matrix, Table 5-1403(B), Other Arterial Roads.

Permit vehicular access to a local access road.

Reduce the minimum district size from 20 acres to 7.16 acres.

Eliminate required parking setbacks.

Permit a reduction for building, outdoor storage, areas for collection of refuse adjacent to a residential landbay from 100 feet to 50 feet and a reduction of the parking setback adjacent to a residential landbay from 50 feet to 5 feet.

Eliminate the minimum floor space requirement.

Allow existing trees preserved and located within the open space areas of Northstar Square to be allocated to and count toward canopy requirements for each site plan filed for development areas within the ZMAP area as development occurs.

Reduce the minimum required building and parking setbacks along Route 7 as follows:

(a) Reduce Building Setback from 200 feet to 165 feet;

(b) Reduce Parking Setback from 125 feet to 100 feet;

(c) Eliminate the Road Corridor Gateway Buffer along the Route 7 frontage of the existing Viewshed Easement.

AND

Increase the maximum district size from 25 acres to 84 acres.

Increase the maximum height for single family attached buildings from 45 feet to 55 feet without additional setbacks.

Increase the maximum height for multifamily buildings from 45 feet to 70 feet without additional setbacks.

Increase the maximum unit count per building from eight units to ten units.

Increase the maximum height for multifamily buildings from 45 feet to 70 feet without additional setbacks.

Allow for buildings to be located within five feet of any road right-of-way and to eliminate parking setbacks from any road right-of-way.

Reduce the maximum building setback from 100 feet to five feet, and eliminate the parking setback adjacent to residential districts.

Eliminate the hundred foot setback requirement for refuse collection or loading areas adjacent to residential districts.

Reduce the maximum building setback from 35 feet to 25 feet and eliminate the parking, outdoor storage, and loading area setback requirement adjacent to nonresidential districts.

Permit vehicular access to a local access road.

§7-903(E), R-16 Townhouse/Multifamily District, Lot and Building Requirements, Active Recreation Space.

§7-1003(E), R-24 Multifamily District, Active Recreation Open Space.

Reduce Building Setback from 35 feet to 15 feet in Land Bay 3.

AND

(a) Reduce Building Setback from 75 feet to 35 feet in Land Bays 5 and 6.

(b) No Change

(c) Modify the Road Corridor Buffer along both sides of Russell Branch Parkway within the Viewshed Easement.

AND

In Land Bay 3, reduce the building setback from 100 feet to 25 feet, eliminate the parking setback and provide a Type 1 Buffer adjacent to the existing Belmont Ridge Road.

AND

In Land Bays 1 and 2, reduce the building setback from 100 feet to 25 feet, eliminate the parking setback and provide a Type 1 Buffer adjacent to the existing and future Belmont Ridge Road.

Reduce the active recreation space requirements.

Reduce the active recreation space requirements.

Legal Notices

The subject property is located partially within the FOD (Floodplain Overlay District). The subject property is approximately 110.79 acres in size and is located east of Belmont Ridge Road (Route 659) and south of Harry Byrd Highway (Route 7) in the Ashburn Election District. The subject property is more particularly described as follows:

PIN PROPERTY ADDRESS

083-35-9224 19508 Freedom Trail Road, Ashburn Virginia 113-29-0452 19400 Freedom Trail Road, Ashburn, Virginia

The area is governed by the policies of the Loudoun County 2019 General Plan (Suburban Policy Area (Suburban Mixed Use Place Type and Suburban Neighborhood Place Type)) which designates this area for a mix of Residential, Commercial, Entertainment, Cultural and Recreational uses at recommended Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of 1.0 (Suburban Mixed Use Place Type) and for predominately residential uses arranged on medium-to-large lots at a density of four (4) dwelling units per acre (Suburban Neighborhood Place Type).

NIVO SUBSTATION EXPANSION (Zoning Conversion in the Route 28 Taxing District, Commission Permit, and Minor Special Exception)

Virginia Electric and Power Company (Dominion Energy Virginia) of Glen Allen, Virginia, has submitted applications for the following: to rezone approximately 3.85 acres from the PD-IP (Planned Development – Industrial Park) zoning district under the 1972 Zoning Ordinance to the PD-IP zoning district under the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance in order to permit the development of all principal and accessory uses permitted in the PD-IP zoning district under the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance at a maximum Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of 0.6 (up to 1.0 by Special Exception); and Planning Commission approval to permit the expansion of an existing Utility Substation, Distribution use in the PD-IP zoning district. These applications are subject to the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance and require a Commission Permit in accordance with Section 6-1101. The applicant also seeks a modification of the buffer yard requirements under Section 5-616(D) of the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance which is authorized by Minor Special Exception under Section 5-600. The applicant requests the following modification(s):

ZONING ORDINANCE SECTION PROPOSED MODIFICATION

§5-616(D), Additional Regulations for Specific Uses, Utility Substations.

Reduce the minimum percentage of plant units assigned to evergreen trees from 40% to 30% for the northern perimeter of the Utility Substation use,

AND

Eliminate the 40% minimum percentage requirement for plant units assigned to evergreen trees for the southern perimeter of the Utility Substation use.

The subject property is located within the Route 28 Taxing District and within the AI (Airport Impact) Overlay District between the Ldn 60-65 noise contours. The subject property is approximately 10.26 acres

in size and is located on the east side of Smith Switch Road (Route 1950), south of Gloucester Parkway (Route 2150), and north of Waxpool Road (Route 625), at 21380 Smith Switch Road, Ashburn, Virginia, in the Broad Run Election District. The subject property is more particularly described as PIN: 060-28-0333. The area is governed by the policies of the Loudoun County 2019 General Plan (Suburban Policy Area (Suburban Employment Place Type)) which designate this area for a broad array of Employment uses at a recommended FAR of up to 1.0.

Unless otherwise noted above, full and complete copies of the above-referenced amendments, applications, ordinances and/or plans, and related documents may be examined in the Loudoun County Department of Building and Development, County Government Center, 1 Harrison Street, S.E., 2nd Floor, Leesburg, Virginia, from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday or call 703-7770220, or electronically at www.loudoun.gov/lola. This link also provides an additional opportunity for public input on active applications. Additionally, documents may be viewed and downloaded electronically the week before the hearing at www.loudoun.gov/pc. For further information, contact the Department of Planning and Zoning at 703-777-0246.

Citizens are encouraged to call in advance to sign up to speak at the public hearing. If you wish to sign up in advance of the hearing, please call the Department of Planning and Zoning at 703-7770246 prior to 12:00 PM on the day of the public hearing. Speakers may also sign up at the hearing. Written comments are welcomed at any time and may be sent to the Loudoun County Planning Commission, 1 Harrison Street, S.E., 3rd Floor, MSC #62, Leesburg, Virginia 20175, or by e-mail to loudounpc@loudoun.gov. If written comments are presented at the hearing, please provide ten (10) copies for distribution to the Commission and the Clerk’s records. All members of the public will be heard as to their views pertinent to these matters. Any individual representing and/or proposing to be the sole speaker on behalf of a citizen’s organization or civic association is encouraged to contact the Department of Planning and Zoning prior to the date of the public hearing if special arrangements for additional speaking time and/or audio-visual equipment will be requested. Such an organization representative will be allotted 6 minutes to speak, and the Chairman may grant additional time if the request is made prior to the date of the hearing and the need for additional time is reasonably justified.

Citizens are encouraged to call the Department of Planning and Zoning on the day of the public hearing to confirm that an item is on the agenda, or, the most current agenda may be viewed on the Planning Commission’s website at www.loudoun.gov/pc. In the event that the second Thursday is a holiday or the meeting may not be held due to inclement weather or other conditions that make it hazardous for members to attend, the meeting will be moved to the third Tuesday of the month. In the event that Tuesday is a holiday or the Tuesday meeting may not be held due to inclement weather or other conditions that make it hazardous for members to attend, the meeting will be held on the following Thursday. The meeting will be held at a place determined by the Chairman.

Hearing assistance is available for meetings in the Board of Supervisors’ Meeting Room. FM Assistive Listening System is available at the meetings at all other locations. If you require any type of reasonable accommodation as a result of a physical, sensory or mental disability to participate in this meeting, contact the Department of Planning and Zoning at 703-777-0246. Please provide three days’ notice.

BY ORDER

OF: FOREST HAYES,

CHAIRMAN LOUDOUN COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION 11/24 & 12/1/22

TOWN OF LOVETTSVILLE PLANNING COMMISSION

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

LVCU 2021-0001, APPLICATION FOR CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT

The LOVETTSVILLE PLANNING COMMISSION will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, De cember 7, 2022, at 7:00 p.m. in the Town Council Chambers, 6 E. Pennsylvania Avenue, Lovettsville, Virginia, to consider amending Section 42-290 to establish standards that permit decks and accessory structures on townhouse lots to extend to interior property lines of the lot.

All persons desiring to speak will be given an opportunity to do so at this meeting.

Written comments regarding this item can be submitted to clerk@lovettsvilleva.gov by 3:00PM on the day of the meeting. Members of the public may access and participate in this meeting electronically. The proposed zoning amendment is available for review on the Town website at: www.lovettsvilleva.gov/ government/planning-commission/ You may also request a copy be sent to you via email by contacting John Merrithew, Planning Director at (540) 822-5788 between the hours of 8:30am and 4:30pm week days, holidays excepted. In the event the meeting is postponed, the public hearing will be convened on the next regularly scheduled meeting at the same time and place.

11/24/22, 12/1/22

Pursuant to Sections 15.2-2204 and 15.2-2286 of the 1950 Code of Virginia, as amended, the LOVETTS VILLE PLANNING COMMISSION will hold a public hearing Wednesday, December 7, 2022, at 7:00 p.m. in the Town Council Chambers, 6 E. Pennsylvania Avenue, Lovettsville, Virginia, to consider an application for a Conditional Use Permit filed by One Family Brewing LLC to increase the building setback from Lutheran Church Road beyond the 40-foot maximum setback permitted in the CRA-1 Commercial Residential Annexation zoning district pursuant to Section 42-233(d)(3). The parcel of land that is the subject of this request is Parcel Identification Numbers 371394189 and is 27.07 acres in area. The property is located at 12890 Berlin Turnpike.

All persons desiring to speak will be given the opportunity to do so at this meeting.

Written comments regarding this item can be submitted to clerk@lovettsvilleva.gov by 3:00PM on the day of the meeting. Members of the public may access and participate in this meeting elec tronically. The proposed Conditional Use Permit is available for review on the Town website at: www.lovettsvilleva.gov/government/planning-commission/ You may also request a copy be sent to you via email by contacting John Merrithew, Planning Director at (540) 822-5788 between the hours of 8:30am and 4:30pm weekdays, holidays excepted. In the event the meeting is postponed, the public hearing will be convened on the next regularly scheduled meeting at the same time and place.

Legal Notices

PUBLIC HEARING

The LOUDOUN COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS will hold a public hearing in the Board of Supervisors’ Meeting Room, County Government Center, 1 Harrison Street, S.E., Leesburg, Virginia, at 6:00 p.m. on WEDNESDAY, December 14, 2022, in order to consider:

ORDINANCE TO ESTABLISH A NEW CHAPTER OF THE CODIFIED ORDINANCES OF LOUDOUN COUNTY

New Chapter 1099

Flood Mitigation and Protection Grant Program

Pursuant to Virginia Code §§15.2-1427 and §15.2-2114.01, the Board of Supervisors gives notice of its intention to propose for passage an ordinance to establish a new chapter of the Codified Ordinances of Loudoun County, Chapter 1099 to be titled “Flood Mitigation and Protection Grant Program.” The pro posed ordinance would establish a program where County appropriated funds may be provided as grants to an owner of private property or a common interest community for flood mitigation and protection measures in accordance with the requirements of Virginia Code §15.2-2114.01, and the Flood Mitigation and Protection Guidelines as endorsed by the Board.

A complete copy of the full text of the above-referenced proposed ordinance is on file and available for public inspection at the Loudoun County Government Center, Office of County Administrator, Information Desk, 1st Floor, 1 Harrison Street, S.E., Leesburg, Virginia, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday or call (703) 777-0200. Documents also may be viewed and downloaded electronically 72 hours in advance of the public hearing at: www.loudoun.gov/bosdocuments (for Public Hearing documents, follow the link for “Board of Supervisors Business Meetings, Public Hearings and Special Meetings”).

AMENDMENT TO CHAPTER 1040 OF THE CODIFIED ORDINANCES OF LOUDOUN COUNTY Waterwells

Pursuant to Virginia Code §§ 15.2-1427 and 15.2-958, the Board of Supervisors gives notice of its inten tion to amend Chapter 1040, Waterwells, of the Codified Ordinances of Loudoun County. The purpose of this amendment is to resolve a perceived regulatory conflict between the Codified Ordinances and the Virginia Waterworks Regulations regarding public water supply systems.

The proposed amendment to Chapter 1040 will be effective upon adoption by the Board of Supervisors.

A complete copy of the full text of the above-referenced proposed ordinance amendment is on file and available for public inspection at the Loudoun County Government Center, Office of County Adminis trator, Information Desk, 1st Floor, 1 Harrison Street, S.E., Leesburg, Virginia, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, or call 703-777-0200. Documents may also be viewed and downloaded electronically 72 hours in advance of the public hearing at: www.loudoun.gov/bosdocuments (for Public Hearing documents, follow the link for “Board of Supervisors Business Meetings, Public Hearings and Special Meetings”).

AMENDMENTS TO CHAPTER 878 OF THE CODIFIED ORDINANCE OF LOUDOUN COUNTY Transient Occupancy Tax

Pursuant to Virginia Code §15.2-1427, the Board of Supervisors gives notice of its intention to amend Chapter 878 Transient Occupancy Tax, of the Codified Ordinances of Loudon County. Chapter 878 con tains provisions for assessing and collecting Transient Occupancy Tax on the total charge made to tran sients for use or possession of a room meant for overnight stays. The proposed amendments are as follows:

• Updates to definitions in Loudoun Codified Ordinances, Chapter 878.01 Definitions, defining a “Ho tel” to include all places that offer overnight accommodations regardless of capacity. The current ordinance defines hotel as a place which can lodge four or more persons at one time. Additional updates to the definition of “Room rental”, changing it to “Room Charge” and aligning the definition with recent updates to the Code of Virginia.

• Removal of gender specific pronouns in Loudoun Codified Ordinances in Chapter 878.01 Definitions

• Modernization and clarification of language throughout Loudoun Codified Ordinance Chapter 878.

A complete copy of the full text of the above-referenced proposed ordinance amendment is on file and available for public inspection at the Loudoun County Government Center, Office of County Adminis trator, Information Desk, 1st Floor, 1 Harrison Street, S.E., Leesburg, Virginia, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, or call 703-777-0200. Documents may also be viewed and downloaded electronically 72 hours in advance of the public hearing at: www.loudoun.gov/bosdocuments (for Public Hearing documents, follow the link for “Board of Supervisors Business Meetings, Public Hearings and Special Meetings”).

ORDINANCE TO ESTABLISH A NEW CHAPTER OF THE CODIFIED ORDINANCES OF LOUDOUN COUNTY

Real Estate Classification for Property Owned by Surviving Spouses of Certain Persons Killed in The Line of Duty

Pursuant to Virginia Code §15.2-1427, the Board of Supervisors gives notice of its intention to propose for passage a new Chapter of the Codified Ordinances of Loudoun County establishing a Real Estate Classification for Tax Rate Purposes for Property Owned by Surviving Spouses of Certain Persons Killed in the Line of Duty.

A complete copy of the full text of the above-referenced proposed amendments is on file and available for public inspection at the Loudoun County Government Center, Information Desk, 1st Floor, 1 Harrison Street, S.E., Leesburg, Virginia, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, or call 703-7770200. Documents also may be viewed and downloaded electronically 72 hours in advance of the public hearing at: www.loudoun.gov/bosdocuments (for Public Hearing documents, follow the link for “Board of Supervisors Business Meetings, Public Hearings and Special Meetings”).

AMENDMENTS TO CHAPTER 848 OF THE CODIFIED ORDINANCES OF LOUDOUN COUNTY Special Assessment for Land Preservation

Pursuant to Virginia Code §15.2-1427, the Board of Supervisors gives notice of its intention to propose for passage amendments to Chapter 848, Special Assessment for Land Preservation, of the Codified Or dinances of Loudoun County. The proposed amendments will align the local ordinance with updates to the Code of Virginia.

A complete copy of the full text of the above-referenced proposed amendments is on file and available for public inspection at the Loudoun County Government Center, Information Desk, 1st Floor, 1 Harrison Street, S.E., Leesburg, Virginia, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, or call 703-7770200. Documents also may be viewed and downloaded electronically 72 hours in advance of the public hearing at: www.loudoun.gov/bosdocuments (for Public Hearing documents, follow the link for “Board of Supervisors Business Meetings, Public Hearings and Special Meetings”).

AMENDMENTS TO CHAPTER 868 OF THE CODIFIED ORDINANCES OF LOUDOUN COUNTY

Exemption for Certified Solar Energy Equipment

Pursuant to Virginia Code §15.2-1427, the Board of Supervisors gives notice of its intention to amend Chapter 868, Exemption for Certified Solar Energy Equipment, of the Codified Ordinances of Loudoun County. The proposed amendments will align the local ordinance with updates to the Code of Virginia.

A complete copy of the full text of the above-referenced proposed amendments is on file and available for public inspection at the Loudoun County Government Center, Office of County Administrator, Information Desk, 1st Floor, 1 Harrison Street, S.E., Leesburg, Virginia, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, or call 703-777-0200. Documents also may be viewed and downloaded electronically 72 hours in advance of the public hearing at: www.loudoun.gov/bosdocuments (for Public Hearing documents, follow the link for “Board of Supervisors Business Meetings, Public Hearings and Special Meetings”).

SPEX-2022-0001 & SIDP-2022-0002

BELMONT AUTOMOBILE SERVICE STATION

(Special Exception, Sign Development Plan)

Belmont Green Commercial, LLC of Baltimore, Maryland, has submitted applications for the follow ing: 1) a Special Exception to permit an automobile service station in the PD-H3 (Planned Development – Housing 3) administered as PD-CC(CC) (Planned Development – Commercial Center (Community Center)) zoning district; and 2) a Sign Development Plan to request alternative sign regulations for per mitted signs in order to increase the total aggregate sign area and to increase the number of signs. These applications are subject to the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance, and the proposed use is listed as a Special Exception use under Section 4-204 (B), and pursuant to Section 5-1202(E) alternative sign regulations for permitted signs may be requested with the submission of a Sign Development Plan. The subject property is located within the QN (Quarry Notification) Overlay District (Luck Note Area). The subject property is approximately 2.13 acres in size and is located south of Belmont Ridge Road (Route 659), west of Ports mouth Boulevard (Route 1937) in the Ashburn Election District. The subject property is more particularly described as PIN: 152-20-4348 and a portion of PIN:152-20-4210. The area is governed by the polices of the Loudoun County 2019 General Plan (Suburban Policy Area (Suburban Mixed Use Place Type)), which supports Retail and Service Commercial uses at a Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of up to 1.0.

Legal Notices

SPMI-2022-0011

CHICK-FIL-A (Minor Special Exception)

Chick-Fil-A, Inc of Atlanta, Georgia, has submitted an application for a Minor Special Exception to modify the Regulations of Section 5-1403(B) of the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance regarding the parking setback from Route 7 from the Fairfax County Line to the west of Broad Run, in order to reduce the parking setback to accommodate a two-lane drive-through as part of the renovation of the existing Chick-Fil-A fast-food restaurant with a drive-through use. The existing development has a non-conforming legacy parking setback of 28.5 feet. This application is subject to the PD-CC(SC) (Planned Development-Commercial Center (Small Regional Center)) zoning district. The modification of the Regulations of Section 5-1403(B) is authorized by Minor Special Exception under Section 5-1409(B)(1), pursuant to which the application requests the following modification:

ZONING ORDINANCE SECTION

§5-1403(B), Road Corridor Buffer and Setbacks Matrix, Table 5-1403(B), Parking Setback from Route 7: Fairfax County Line, West to Broad Run.

PROPOSED MODIFICATION

Reduce the required parking setback from 50 feet to 30 feet.

The subject property is a 0.2-acre section of an approximately 22-acre parcel and is located south of Route 7 and east of Lakeland Drive (Route 821) at 26920 Community Plaza, Sterling, Virginia, in the Sterling Elec tion District. The subject parcel is more particularly described as PIN: 014-38-2990. The subject parcel is lo cated partially within minor floodplain in the Floodplain Overlay District and has areas of Moderately Steep and Very Steep Slopes. The area is governed by the policies of the Loudoun County 2019 General Plan (Sub urban Policy Area (Suburban Mixed Use Place Type)), which designates this area for a mix of residential, commercial, entertainment, cultural, and recreational uses at a recommended Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of 1.0.

SIDP-2022-0001

EVERGREEN MEADOWS (Sign Development Plan)

Evergreen Mills Road LLC of Rockville, Maryland, has submitted an application for a Sign Development Plan to request alternative sign regulations for permitted signs in order to: 1) increase the total aggregate sign area; 2) increase the maximum number of signs; 3) the maximum area of any one sign; and 4) in crease the maximum sign height. The subject property is located in the PD-IP (Planned Development –Industrial Park) and the CR-1 (Countryside Residential – 1) zoning district under the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance. This application is subject to the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance, and pursuant to Section 5-1202(E) alternative sign regulations for permitted signs may be requested with the submission of a Sign Development Plan. The subject property is located within the AI (Airport Impact) Overlay District, within the Ldn 65 or higher aircraft noise contours. The subject property is approximately 4.03 acres in size and is located south of Arcola Mills Drive (Route 621), west of Briarfield Lane (Route 3442), in Aldie, Virginia, in the Blue Ridge Election District. The subject property is more particularly described as PIN: 202-29-4526 and PIN: 202-29-7203. The area is governed by the policies of the Loudoun County 2019 General Plan (Suburban Policy Area (Suburban Neighborhood Place Type)), which designate this area for residential uses arranged on medium-to-large lots at a recommended density of up to six dwelling units per acre for infill development.

SPEX-2022-0037

INTERCONNECTION SUBSTATION (Special Exception)

Virginia Electric and Power Company of Glen Allen, Virginia, has submitted an application for a Special Exception to permit an increase in the maximum Floor Area Ratio (FAR) from 0.6 to 0.63 for utility

TOWN OF LEESBURG

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

LEESBURG TOWN CODE AMENDMENTS:

CHAPTER 2 (ADMINISTRATION); CHAPTER 6 (AVIATION); CHAPTER 20 (LICENSES, TAXATION AND MISCELLANEOUS REGULATIONS); CHAPTER 24 (OFFENSES AND MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS) SECTION 24-182 (NOISE ORDINANCE); and CHAPTER 32 (TRAFFIC AND VEHICLES); APPENDIX A – FRANCHISES; and APPENDIX B – FEE SCHEDULE, SECTION 6-25(2)(MONTHLY RENTALS)

In accordance with Code of Virginia of 1950, as amended, §§ 2.2-4300 et seq.; 15.2-1102; 15.2-1123; 15.2-1125; 15.2-1427; 46.2-1220; 46.2-1302; 58.1-3921; and 58.1-3924, the Leesburg Town Council will hold a public hearing on:

Tuesday, December 13, 2022, at 7:00 P.M. in the Council Chambers of Town Hall, 25 West Market Street, Leesburg, VA

substation, distribution use in the PD-IP (Planned Development – Industrial Park) zoning district. This application is subject to the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance, and the proposed use is permitted under Section 4-506(C). The subject property is located within the Route 28 Taxing District and the AI (Airport Impact) Overlay District, between the Ldn 60-65 and outside of but within one (1) mile of the Ldn 60 aircraft noise contours, and located partially within the FOD (Floodplain Overlay District) and has areas with Steep Slopes (moderately steep slopes). The subject property is approximately 10.18 acres in size and is located on the north side of Loudoun County Parkway (Route 607) and the east side of Beaumeade Cir cle (Route 3037) at 21529 Beaumeade Circle, Ashburn, Virginia, in the Broad Run Election District. The subject property is more particularly described as PIN: 042-15-2579. The area is governed by the policies of the Loudoun County 2019 General Plan (Suburban Policy Area (Suburban Employment Place Type) which designate this area for Office, Production, Flex Space, and Warehousing uses at a recommended Floor Area Ratio (FAR) up to a 1.0.

Unless otherwise noted in the above notices, copies of the above-referenced amendments, applications, ordinances, and/or plans and related documents may be examined by request at the Loudoun County Gov ernment Center, Information Desk, 1st Floor, 1 Harrison Street, S.E., Leesburg, Virginia, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, or call 703-7770246 (option 5) to request hard copies or electronic copies, or electronically at www.loudoun.gov/lola. This link also provides an additional opportunity for public input on active applications. Documents also may be viewed and downloaded electronically 72 hours in advance of the public hearing at: www.loudoun.gov/bosdocuments (for Public Hearing docu ments, follow the link for “Board of Supervisors Business Meetings, Public Hearings and Special Meet ings”). In addition, for detailed instructions on how to access documents using LOLA, to request that documents be emailed to you, to receive physical copies of documents, or to arrange a time to view the file at the Loudoun County Government Center, please email DPZ@loudoun.gov or call 703-777-0246 (option 5).

Board of Supervisors public hearings are available for live viewing on television on Comcast Government Channel 23 and Verizon FiOS Channel 40, and livestreamed at loudoun.gov/meetings. All members of the public who desire to speak will be heard as to their views pertinent to these matters. Public input may be provided by electronic means at Board public hearings. Members of the public who wish to provide public input, whether electronically or in person, will be accommodated without advanced sign-up during the hearing, however, members of the public are strongly encouraged to sign-up in advance. For this public hearing, advanced sign-up will be taken after 8:30 a.m. on December 2, 2022, and no later than 12:00 p.m. on December 14, 2022. If you wish to sign-up in advance, call the Office of the County Administrator at (703) 777-0200. Citizens will also have the option to sign-up during the public hearing. Citizens may also submit written comments by email sent to bos@loudoun.gov. Any written comments received prior to the public hearing will be distributed to Board members and made part of the minutes for the public hearing.

Hearing assistance is available for meetings in the Board of Supervisors’ Meeting Room. If you require any type of reasonable accommodation as a result of a physical, sensory or mental disability to participate in this meeting, please contact the Office of the County Administrator at 703-777-0200. At least one busi ness day of advance notice is requested; some accommodations may require more than one day of notice. FM Assistive Listening System is available at the meetings.

BY ORDER OF: PHYLLIS RANDALL, CHAIR LOUDOUN COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

11/24 & 12/1/22

at which time the public shall have the right to present oral and written testimony on: proposed amendments to Town Code Chapters 2, 6, 20, 24, and 32; an amendment to Appendix B-Fee Schedule, Section 6-25(2) (Monthly Rentals); and deletion of Appendix A-Franchises.

The amendments to the Town Code Chapters 2, 6, 20 and 32 will clarify and refine business processes, conform the Town Code to State Code and to current Town operations, and correct inconsistencies and errors. The changes to Chapter 24 (Section 24-182) will clarify application of the amplified outdoor music portion of the noise ordinance.

The proposed ordinance would delete Appendix A-Franchises from the Town Code.

The amendment to Appendix B-Fee Schedule, Section 6-25(2)(Monthly Rentals) would establish the aircraft holdover storage fee referenced in airport hangar and tie-down leases, at $30.00 per day.

A copy of the proposed ordinance is available from the Town Clerk, located in Town Hall, 25 West Market Street, Leesburg, Virginia, during normal business hours (Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.); or by calling Eileen Boeing, Town Clerk, at 703-771-2733.

At this hearing, all persons desiring to express their views concerning these matters will be heard. Persons requiring special accommodations should contact the Clerk of Council at 703-771-2733, three days in advance of the meeting. For TTY/TDD service, use the Virginia Relay Center by dialing 711.

Legal Notices

PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE

TOWN OF PURCELLVILLE TOWN COUNCIL

FIELDS FARM PARK APPLICATIONS FOR REZONING, SPECIAL USE PERMITS, & COMMISSION PERMITS

PARCEL NUMBERS 522-29-5928 & 522-29-6381

OWNER: LOUDOUN COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

The Town Council of the Town of Purcellville will conduct a public hearing on TUESDAY, DECEM BER 13, 2022, at 7:00 PM for the purpose of receiving comments on, considering, and possibly voting on the following applications:

The County of Loudoun has submitted 5 applications, proposing to rezone parcel numbers 522-29-5928 and 522-29-6381 (“the Property”), so that the Property may be developed with two special uses: a Com muter Parking Lot, and an Outdoor Lighted Public Recreational Facility consisting of 8 athletic fields, all as follows:

(1) One Rezoning application (“RZ 20-01”), which proposes to amend the zoning designation of the Property from the existing “X - Transitional” designation, to the “Institutional and Public Use District” designation (“IP”). The existing X-Transitional zoning district is the zoning district assigned by the Town to land when it is annexed into the Town’s corporate limits, and therefore has been the zoning designation of the property since it was annexed into the Town in 2008. The proposed “IP” zoning designation is described by the Town Zoning Ordinance as follows: “[The “IP”] district is intended to permit the location and growth of public and private educational, institutional, public, and semi-public uses in areas appro priate for such uses. The district is intended to encourage the retention or adaptive reuse of larger public and institutional uses on sites identified for such uses in the adopted comprehensive plan.” The zoning amendment is necessary in order to obtain the two Special Use Permit applications, described below.

(2) Two Special Use Permit applications (“SUP 20-01” and “SUP 20-02”) for the following special uses:

(a) One Commuter Parking Lot with up to 260 parking spaces, and (b) Eight (8) Lighted Outdoor Public Recreational Fields.

While the Property consists of about 226 acres, the portion of the Property proposed to be rezoned and de veloped with the two Special Uses consists of approximately 69 acres, and is shown in yellow on the map associated with this advertisement (“Special Use Area”). The Special Use Area currently has 2 existing soccer fields, with the remainder of the land being currently vacant. The Special Use Area is located north of Route 7, between Routes 690 and 611. The Special Use Area is immediately south of Woodgrove High School, and abuts the west side of the Mayfair residential and industrial subdivisions. The Special Use Area is proximate to the future interchange planned to be constructed at Route 690 and Route 7.

A full and complete copy of the proposed applications and all related documents are available for review on the town’s website at https://www.purcellvilleva.gov/1017/Fields-Farm-Park-Projects, and also in-per son at the office of the Town Clerk, or at the office of the Planning Department, both located within the Purcellville Town Hall, 221 S. Nursery Avenue, Purcellville, Virginia from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Monday through Friday, holidays excepted. For questions, please call (540) 338-7421.

At this public hearing, all persons desiring to present their views concerning this matter will be heard. If you require any type of reasonable accommodation to participate in this meeting as a result of a physical, sensory or mental disability, contact the Town Clerk at 540-751-2334; please provide notice of the accom modation at least three days in advance of the meeting.

Remote Participation Through “GoToMeeting” -- If you have already installed the GoToMeeting app and wish to comment during the hearing but cannot attend in person, please join the Public Hearing re motely by going to the following: Please join my meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone. https://meet.goto.com/906286093

You can also dial in using your phone. Access Code: 906-286-093 United States: +1 (571) 317-3122

To install the app: https://meet.goto.com/install

Email Your Comments: In addition, all persons have the option of sending an email to the Town Clerk, townclerk@purcellvilleva.gov, with written comments or questions concerning the proposed project. Emails sent by 6:00 PM the day of the Public Hearing will be part of the written record for the public hearing and project, but may not necessarily be read aloud into the record at the public hearing.

Pursuant to Sections 15.2-1427, 15.2-2204, 15.2-2205 and 15.2-2285 of the Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended, the LEESBURG TOWN COUNCIL will hold a public hearing on TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2022, at 7:00 p.m. in the Town Council Chambers, 25 West Market Street, Leesburg, Virginia 20176, to consider Rezoning application TLZM-2021-0002 and Special Exception application TLSE-2021-0002, Meadowbrook Neighborhood Center.

The subject property consists of approximately 23.56 acres of vacant land located at the intersection (southeast corner) of South King Street (Route 15) and Evergreen Mill Road. The property is zoned R-1, Single-Family Residential and is further identified as Loudoun County Property Identification Numbers (PIN) 272-10-4379, 272-10-5189, 272-10-8158, 272-10-6609, 272-10-7319, 272,10-8129, 271-10-8839, and 272-10-9649. A portion of the property also lies within the Gateway District (Overlay).

Rezoning Application TLZM-2021-0002 is a request by Traditional Land, LLC to rezone, subject to a Concept Plan and Proffers, approximately 23.56 acres from R-1, Single-Family Residential to:

• PRN, Planned Residential Neighborhood (residential) 6.98 acres

• PRN, Planned Residential Neighborhood (commercial) 4.51 acres

• PRN, Planned Residential Neighborhood (open space) 8.62 acres

• B-3, Community Retail/Commercial 1.44 acres

The application requests 65 residential units (single-family attached) and up to 34,000 square feet of commercial uses, including retail, office and dining uses that may be interchanged. A maximum of 11,000 square feet of dining is proposed. The site is located in what the Legacy Leesburg Town Plan (LLTP) de scribes as an “Area to Enhance” on the Area Based Land Use Initiatives Map (LLTP pg. 72). The property is further designated within LLTP as a “Neighborhood Center” on the Character Areas for Preservation and Change Map (LLTP pg. 76). There is no recommended density for residential use or a Floor Area Ratio (F.A.R.) for commercial uses associated with a PRN within LLTP. The requested residential density for the residential portion of the PRN is 1.53 dwelling units per acre (which includes the 8.62-acre open space parcel of Land Bay F). The proposed commercial F.A.R. of the PRN (Land Bay C) is .17.

The application includes 11 requested modifications to the Town of Leesburg Zoning Ordinance (TLZO) regulations.

Special Exception Application TLSE-2021-0002 is a request by Traditional Land LLC for a gas station (with convenience store) of 5,000 square feet and a car wash of 1,450 square feet on a 1.44-acre portion of the 23.56-acre property (Land Bay G). The F.A.R. for the proposed uses is .10, and there is no F.A.R. requirement for the B-3 district.

Additional information and copies of these two applications are available at the Department of Planning and Zoning located on the second floor of the Leesburg Town Hall, 25 West Market Street, Leesburg, Virginia 20176 during normal business hours (Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.), or by contacting Scott E. Parker, AICP, at 703-771-2771 or sparker@leesburgva.gov.

At these hearings, all persons desiring to express their views concerning these matters will be heard. Persons requiring special accommodations at the meeting should contact the Clerk of Council at (703) 771-2733 three days in advance of the meeting. For TTY/TDD service, use the Virginia Relay Center by dialing 711.

Legal Notices

ORDER OF PUBLICATION

COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA VA. CODE § 8.01-316

Case No.: JJ045837-04-00, 05-00;JJ045838-04-00, 05-00;JJ0458394-00, 05-00 JJ045840-04-00, 05-00; JJ045841-04-00, 05-00; JJ045842-04-00, 05-00

Loudoun Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court

Commonwealth of Virginia, in re Zubayer Ekren, Sumeyyah Ekren, Asiyeh Ekren, Khadija Ekren, Fatima Ekren and Osama Ekren Loudoun County Department of Family Services /v.

Unknown Mother and Unknown Father(s)

The object of this suit is to hold a permanency planning hearing and review of foster care plan with a goal of adoption, pursuant to Virginia Code §§ 16.1-282.1 and 16.1-281 for Zubayer Ekren, Sumeyyah Ekren, Asiyeh Ekren, Khadija Ekren, Fatima Ekren and Osama Ekren; and Petition for Termination of Parental Rights of Unknown Mother of Zubayer Ekren, and Unknown Father(s) of Zubayer, Sumeyyah, Asiyeh, Khadija, Fatima and Osama Ekren pursuant to Virginia Code § 16.1-283. Unknown Mother of Zubayer and Unknown Father(s) of Zubayer, Sumeyyah, Asiyeh, Khadija, Fatima and Osama Ekren are hereby notified that failure to appear on the hereinafter noticed date and time may result in the entry of an Order approving a permanency goal of adoption as well as the termination of residual parental rights with respect to Zubayer, Sumeyyah, Asiyeh, Khadija, Fatima and Osama Ekren. Unknown Mother of Zubayer and Unknown Father(s) of Zubayer, Sumeyyah, Asiyeh, Khadija, Fatima and Osama Ekren are hereby further notified that if their residual parental rights are terminated, they will no longer have any legal rights with respect to said minor children, including, but not limited to, the right to visit Zubayer, Sumeyyah, Asiyeh, Khadija, Fatima and Osama Ekren, any authority with respect to the care and supervision of Zubayer, Sumeyyah, Asiyeh, Khadija, Fatima and Osama Ekren, or the right to make health related decisions or determine the religious affiliation of Zubayer, Sumeyyah, Asiyeh, Khadija, Fatima and Osama Ekren. Further, Unknown Mother of Zubayer Ekren and Unknown Father(s) of Zubayer, Sumeyyah, Asiyeh, Khadija, Fatima and Osama Ekren will have no legal and /or financial obligations with respect to Zubayer, Sumeyyah, Asiyeh, Khadija, Fatima and Osama Ekren, and the Department of Family Services of Loudoun County, Virginia may be granted the authority to place Zubayer, Sumeyyah, Asiyeh, Khadija, Fatima and Osama Ekren for adoption and consent to the adoption of Zubayer, Sumeyyah, Asiyeh, Khadija, Fatima and Osama Ekren,

It is ORDERED that the defendant Unknown Mother and Unknown Father(s) appear at the abovenamed Court and protect his or her interests on or before December 5, 2022 at 10 a.m. 11/24 & 12/1/22

PUBLIC HEARING PURCELLVILLE TOWN COUNCIL

The Purcellville Town Council will hold a public hearing in the Town Council Chambers of Town Hall, located at 221 South Nursery Avenue, Purcellville, Virginia, on Tuesday, December 13, 2022, at 7:00 P.M. to receive public input on, consider, and possibly vote on the following item:

LICENSE TO LUMOS NETWORKS, INC., DOING BUSINESS AS “SEGRA,” TO PLACE TELECOMMUNICATIONS FACILITIES IN THE PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY

Pursuant to authority granted under Virginia Code §15.2-1800, the Town of Purcellville will hold a public hearing to receive comments concerning a proposed amendment to an existing contract between the Town and LUMOS NETWORKS, INC. (doing business as Segra) (“Segra”), which would allow Segra to place an additional 1,534± linear feet of optical fiber within the Town’s public rights-of-way. Segra intends to use the optical fiber to provide Segra’s customers Broadband Internet Access Service and Telecommunications Service. In exchange, Segra would compensate the Town an additional $3,911.00± annually, and the existing contract term would be extended by approximately 19 months, so that it expires five years after the contract amendment effective date.

A full and complete copy of the agreement is on file and may be examined in the Office of the Purcellville Town Clerk, located at Purcellville Town Hall, 221 South Nursery Avenue, Purcellville, Virginia, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, holidays excepted. For questions, please call (540) 338-7421.

At this public hearing, all persons desiring to present their views concerning this matter will be heard. Hearing assistance is available for meetings in the Town Council Chambers. If you require any type of reasonable accommodation to participate in this meeting as a result of a physical, sensory or mental disability, contact the Town Clerk at 540-751-2334; please provide notice of the accommodation at least three days in advance of the meeting.

Kwasi A. Fraser, Mayor

COUNTY OF

LOUDOUN

FIRST HALF REAL PROPERTY TAX DEADLINE

H. Roger Zurn, Jr., Treasurer

DECEMBER 5, 2022

The deadline for payment of the second half real property tax is December 5, 2022

Payments received or postmarked after December 5, 2022, will incur a 10 percent penalty and interest. Any such penalty, when assessed, shall become part of the tax with interest accruing on both the tax and penalty at a rate of 10% annually. The due date will not be extended for bills where assessment questions have been filed with the Board of Equalization. Taxpayers who are having financial difficulties should contact our Collections Team at 703-771-5656 who stand ready to assist.

For your safety and convenience, please consider making payments online, by phone or mail.

CONVENIENT PAYMENT OPTIONS AND LOCATIONS

Online: www.loudounportal.com/taxes Pay using electronic check, VISA, MasterCard, American Express or Discover

By Telephone: 24-hour line 1-800-269-5971 703-777-0280 during regular business hours. Pay using electronic check, VISA, MasterCard, American Express or Discover

Please note: There is a convenience fee added to a Credit Card transaction. There is no fee for electronic checks (e-check).

By Mail: County of Loudoun P.O. Box 1000 Leesburg, Virginia 20177-1000

TREASURER’S OFFICE HOURS AND LOCATIONS

1 Harrison Street, S.E. 46000 Center Oak Plaza 1st Floor Suite 110 Leesburg, Virginia 20175 Sterling, Virginia 20166

24-hour depository boxes are located outside each office.

Regular Hours: 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM

Please contact the Loudoun County Treasurer's Office at 703-777-0280 or email us at taxes@loudoun.gov with questions or if you have not received your bill.

Stay up to date on tax information by subscribing to the Tax Notices category of Alert Loudoun at www.louduon.gov/alert. You can also text the word “TAXES” to 888777 to receive text messages about tax-related information, including upcoming deadlines.

For information regarding Real Property Tax Relief for the Elderly or for Disabled Persons, please contact the Tax Exemption and Deferrals division of the Commissioner of the Revenue’s Office at tax relief@loudoun.gov by phone 703-737-8557 or visit www.loudoun.gov/taxrelief.

NOTICE OF IMPOUNDMENT OF ABANDONED VEHICLES

This notice is to inform the owner and any person having a security interest in their right to reclaim the motor vehicle herein described within 15 days after the date of storage charges resulting from placing the vehicle in custody, and the failure of the owner or persons having security interests to exercise their right to reclaim the vehicle within the time provided shall be deemed a waiver by the owner, and all persons having security interests of all right, title and interest in the vehicle, and consent to the sale of the abandoned motor vehicle at a public auction. This notice shall also advise the owner of record of his or her right to contest the determination by the Sheriff that the motor vehicle was “abandoned,” as provided in Chapter 630.08 of the Loudoun County Ordinance, by requesting a hearing before the County Administrator in writing. Such written request for a hearing must be made within 15 days of the notice.

YR. MAKE MODEL VIN STORAGE PHONE#

2007 TOYOTA YARIS JTDJT92397509401 AL’S TOWING 703-435-8888

2004 NISSAN MURANO JN8AZ08W94W327524 ROADRUNNER 703-450-7555

2017 DODGE CARAVAN 2C4RDGCG7HR731426 AL’S TOWING 703-435-8888

Legal Notices

Loudoun County Public Schools

Fiscal Year 2024 – 2029 Capital Improvement Program

Fiscal Year 2024 – 2029 Capital Asset Preservation Program

The Loudoun County School Board has scheduled meetings for the Fiscal Year 2024 - 2029 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) and Capital Asset Preservation Program (CAPP) budgets.

Date Time School Board Meeting Topic

Tuesday, November 15, 2022* 4:00 p.m. Superintendent’s Recommended FY 2024-FY 2029 CIP & CAPP Budgets Presented to School Board

Monday, November 28, 2022 6:30 p.m. School Board FY 2024-FY 2029 CIP & CAPP Public Hearing/Work Session

Monday, December 5, 2022 6:30 p.m. School Board FY 2024-FY 2029 CIP & CAPP Public Hearing/Work Session

Tuesday, December 13, 2022* 6:30 p.m. School Board Adoption of FY 2024-FY 2029 CIP & CAPP Budgets

*Regular School Board Business Meeting

The meetings will be held at the Loudoun County Public Schools Administration Building (21000 Education Court, Ashburn) and broadcast live on Comcast channel 18 and Verizon Fios channel 43, as well as viewable via simultaneous webcast on the Loudoun County Public Schools website (https:// www.lcps.org/webcast).

Detail on how to sign up to speak at the hearings is provided at https://www.lcps.org/Page/223425. In-person sign-up will also be available between 5:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., on the evening of each attendance zone public hearing.

Those who need translation/interpretation assistance or a reasonable accommodation for any type of disability in order to participate meaningfully in the School Board meetings or public hearings should contact the Superintendent’s Office at 571-252-1020 at least three (3) days prior to the meeting.

Kevin L. Lewis, Chief Operations Officer

Loudoun County Public Schools, Department of Support Services 21000 Education Court, Ashburn, Virginia 20148

Telephone: 571-252-1385

Email: LCPSPLAN@LCPS.ORG

11/11/2022, 11/18/2022, 11/25/2022, 12/2/2022, 12/9/2022

TOWN OF LOVETTSVILLE PLANNING COMMISSION NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

LVZA 2022-0003

AMENDMENTS TO CHAPTER 42, ZONING, ARTICLE 42 VI (Residential Districts), and ARTICLE 42VII (Commercial and Light Industrial Zoning Districts)

The LOVETTSVILLE PLANNING COMMISSION will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, December 7, 2022, at 7:00 p.m. in the Town Council Chambers, 6 E. Pennsylvania Avenue, Lovettsville, Virginia, to consider the following amendments to the Lovettsville Zoning Ordinance:

• Sections 42-233 CRA-1, 42-258 C-1, Section 42-259 C-2, Section 42-260 CI-1: modification of uses to increase protection for the Town’s water supply by requiring legislative review of commercial uses that may include the storage, distribution, or sale of herbicides, pesticides, petroleum products or other hazardous or toxic materials.

• Section 42-257: regulate the storage of hazardous and toxic materials within 1,000 feet of a Town well.

All persons desiring to speak will be given an opportunity to do so at this meeting.

Written comments regarding this item can be submitted to clerk@lovettsvilleva.gov by 3:00PM on the day of the meeting. Members of the public may access and participate in this meeting electronically. The proposed zoning amendment is available for review on the Town website at: www.lovettsvilleva. gov/government/planning-commission/ You may also request a copy be sent to you via email by contacting John Merrithew, Planning Director at (540) 822-5788 between the hours of 8:30am and 4:30pm weekdays, holidays excepted. In the event the meeting is postponed, the public hearing will be convened on the next regularly scheduled meeting at the same time and place.

11/24/22, 12/1/22

PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE MIDDLEBURG TOWN COUNCIL

The Middleburg Town Council will hold a public hearing beginning at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 8, 2022 to hear public comments on the following:

Zoning Text Amendment 22-02 - AN AMENDMENT TO CHAPTERS II, V, X AND XVI OF THE MIDDLEBURG ZONING ORDINANCE PERTAINING TO SHORT-TERM RENTALS

The hearing will take place at the Town Office, 10 W. Marshall Street, Middleburg, Virginia. The proposed amendment may be reviewed online at www.middleburgva.gov/313/Public-Hearings or in the Town Office from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, holidays excepted. Questions may be directed to Deputy Town Manager Will Moore at (540) 687-5152 or by email at wmoore@ middleburgva.gov

The Town of Middleburg strives to make its hearings accessible to all. Please advise of accommodations the Town can make to help you participate in the hearing.

11/24 & 12/1/22

ORDER OF PUBLICATION

COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA VA. CODE § 8.01-316

Case No.: JJ045875-03-00, 04-00, 05-00

Loudoun Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court

Commonwealth of Virginia, in re Joseph Kevin O’Brien

Loudoun County Department of Family Services /v. Patrick Kevin O’Brien

The object of this suit is to hold a permanency planning hearing and review of foster care plan with goal of adoption, pursuant to Virginia Code §§ 16.1-282.1 and 16.1-281 for Joseph Kevin O’Brien and Petition for Termination of Parental Rights of Johnette Mae Nickens, mother, and Patrick Kevin O’Brien, father, pursuant to Virginia Code §16.1-283 for Joseph Kevin O’Brien. Patrick Kevin O’Brien, father, is hereby notified that failure to appear on the hereinafter noticed date and time may result in the entry of an Order approving a permanency goal of adoption as well as the termination of his residual parental rights with respect to Joseph Kevin O’Brien. Patrick Kevin O’Brien, father, is hereby further notified that if his residual parental rights are terminated, he will no longer have any legal rights with respect to said minor child, including, but not limited to, the right to visit Joseph Kevin O’Brien; any authority with respect to the care and supervision of Joseph Kevin O’Brien; or the right to make health related decisions or determine the religious affiliation of Joseph Kevin O’Brien. Further, Johnette Mae Nickens, mother, and Patrick Kevin O’Brien, father, will have no legal and /or financial obligations with respect to Joseph Kevin O’Brien, and the Department of Family Services of Loudoun County, Virginia may be granted the authority to place Joseph Kevin O’Brien for adoption and consent to the adoption of Joseph Kevin O’Brien.

It is ORDERED that the defendant Patrick Kevin O’Brien appear at the above-named Court and protect his or her interests on or before December 13, 2022 at 2:00 p.m.

11/24, 12/1 & 12/8/22

Public Notice

The Town of Leesburg Board of Zoning Appeals

The Town of Leesburg is soliciting resumes and letters of interest for an appointment to serve on the Board of Zoning Appeals. This position is appointed by the Loudoun County Circuit Court to fill a former member’s unexpired term ending December 31, 2023.

The Board of Zoning Appeals meets as necessary the third Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. in Town Hall, 25 West Market Street, Leesburg, VA. Additional information concerning this quasi-judicial board is available from the Clerk of Council during normal business hours (Mon – Fri 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.) at 703-771-2733 or eboeing@leesburgva.gov, or the Town of Leesburg website at www.leesburgva.gov

Please submit your letter of interest and resume materials by 5:00 p.m., Friday, December 2, 2022, to the Clerk of Council, at the Town of Leesburg, 25 West Market Street, Leesburg, Virginia, 20176 or via email to eboeing@leesburgva.gov. All interested parties will be forwarded to the Loudoun County Circuit Court for consideration.

11/10, 11/17, 11/24, 12/1/22

Legal Notices

PUBLIC AUCTION

This proceeding is for the judicial sale of real properties located in Loudoun County, Virginia, for payment of delinquent taxes pursuant to the provisions of Virginia Code §§ 58.1-3965, et seq. Pursuant to Orders entered by the Circuit Court of Loudoun County, Virginia, the undersigned Robert J. Sproul, Special Commissioner of Sale of said Court, will offer the real properties described below for sale at public auction to the highest bidder in front of the Loudoun County Courthouse, at 18 East Market Street, in Leesburg, Virginia on: December 6, 2022 3:00 p.m.

RAIN OR SHINE Registration Starts at 2:30 p.m.

TERMS OF SALE:

1. The sale of any real property is subject to the approval and confirmation by the Circuit Court of Loudoun County.

2. The Special Commissioner of Sale reserves the right to withdraw from sale any property listed and to reject any bid by declaring “NO SALE” after the last bid received on a property.

3. Any person who wishes to bid on any property during the auction must register with County staff before the start of bidding. As part of the registration process, potential bidders must: (i) have suf ficient funds on hand to pay the Minimum Deposit required for each parcel on which they want to bid; and (ii) sign a form certifying that they do not own any property in Loudoun County for which any delinquent taxes are due, or for which there are zoning or other violations.

4. The Minimum Deposit required for each parcel is specified below, as part of the property descrip tion. The full amount of the Minimum Deposit must be paid by cashier’s or certified check made payable to Gary Clemens, Clerk of the Circuit Court of Loudoun County, at the time the auctioneer declares the sale.

5. In lieu of attending the auction, bidders may submit written bids to Robert J. Sproul, Special Commissioner of Sale, at the address listed below. All written bids must be accompanied by the applicable Minimum Deposit, which shall be paid by cashier’s or certified check made payable to Gary Clemens, Clerk of the Circuit Court of Loudoun County. Written bids must also be accompanied by a certification that the bidder is not the owner of any property in Loudoun County for which delinquent taxes are due, or for which there are zoning or other violations. A written bid form, which includes the required certification, can be obtained from the Special Commissioner of Sale or the Treasurer’s website.

6. Written bids (with the required deposit and certification) will be received by the Special Commis sioner of Sale at any time prior to the date of auction and held under seal until the date of the auc tion. If a written bid exceeds the highest live bid received from the audience during the auction, the audience will have an opportunity to bid against the written bid. If a higher bid is not received from the audience, the Special Commissioner of Sale may declare the sale to the proponent of the highest written bid or may reject all bids by declaring “NO SALE.”

7. If either a written bid or a live auction bid is approved by the Circuit Court of Loudoun County, the balance of the purchase price must be paid in full within 30 days after Court approval.

8. Once a submitted written bid or a live bid has been accepted during the auction, it cannot be with drawn except by leave of the Circuit Court of Loudoun County. Any bidder who attempts to with draw his/her bid after it has been accepted by the Special Commissioners of Sale may be required to forfeit his/her deposit.

9. Properties are offered “as is”, with all faults and without warranties or guarantees either expressed or implied. Prospective bidders should investigate the title on properties prior to bidding. The sale of the properties is not subject to the successful bidders’ ability to obtain title insurance. The sale of the properties is made free and clear only of liens of defendant(s) named in the respective judicial proceeding, and of those liens recorded after the County filed a lis pendens with the Circuit Court of Loudoun County.

10. All recording costs (including but not limited to any grantor’s tax/fee) will be at the expense of the purchaser. All property will be conveyed by Special Warranty Deed from the Special Commissioner of Sale.

11. Announcements made on the day of sale take precedence over any prior verbal or written terms of sale.

The Special Commissioner of Sale represents that information regarding the property to be offered for sale, including acreage, type of improvements, etc., is taken from tax and/or land records, and is not guaranteed for either accuracy or completeness. Bidders are encouraged to make their own investigation to determine the title, condition of improvements, accessibility, and occupancy status of each property and to bid accordingly. The sale will be made subject to matters visible upon inspection, and to restric tions, conditions, rights-of-way and easements, if any, contained in the instruments constituting the chain of title. Any costs incurred by a bidder to inspect or investigate any property are the bidder’s respon sibility and are not reimbursable. The owner of any property listed below may redeem it at any time before the date of the auction by paying all taxes, penalties, interest, costs (including the pro rata costs of publishing this advertisement and attorney’s fees) incurred through the date before the auction. Below is a brief description of each property to be offered for sale at the auction. More detailed information may be obtained by examining the files in the Clerk’s office of the Circuit Court of Loudoun County, or by contacting the Special Commissioner of Sale at (703) 777- 0307; or N. Rebekah Long, Deputy Treasurer for Collections at (703) 771-5656.

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THE COUNTY OF LOUDOUN v. NANCY J. LANG, et al. CIVIL ACTION NO. CL 22-4464

LOUDOUN COUNTY TAX MAP NO. 100/P/1P6A-401 PIN 204-25-9192-025

Robert J. Sproul, Special Commissioner of Sale Minimum Deposit Required: $38,730.00

Residential condominium located at 41895 Cathedral Valley Square, Unit 401, Alide, Virginia, and described of record, among the land records of Loudoun County, Virginia as:

Condominium Unit No-A-401, Phase 6, Building A, Centre Park at Stone Ridge Condominium, together with the use of the limited common elements appurtenant thereto, including the use of limited common element garage unit no. A-401, and parking space 28, established by the condo minium instruments recorded on February 26, 2014 as Instrument No. 20140226-0009257, with plat and plans recorded as Instrument No. 20140226-0009258, and as amended in Instrument No. 20141031-0061717, and any and all supplemental declarations and/or amendments recorded subsequent thereto, among the land records of Loudoun County, Virginia.

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THE COUNTY OF LOUDOUN v. UNKNOWN OWNERS. CIVIL ACTION NO. CL 22-5089

LOUDOUN COUNTY TAX MAP NO. /68///4////UK/ PIN 688-45-3782-000

Robert J. Sproul, Special Commissioner of Sale Minimum Deposit Required: $4,271.87

Unimproved land containing 13.22 acres, more or less, with no situs address and otherwise described as being located in the southwest corner of the County, between Trappe Road and Blueridge Mountain Road, bordered to the north by a parcel identified as PIN 693-208-837-000 with a current owner shown as Spurlock Family LLC, to the west by a parcel identified as PIN 693-196-566-000, also with a current owner shown as Spurlock Family, LLC, to the south by a parcel identified as PIN 688-455-304-000 with a current owner shown as Victor E. Ferrall, Jr., and to the east by a parcel identified as PIN 688-379-524-000 with a current owner shown as Barbara Balfanz Allbritton.

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Robert J. Sproul

Special Commissioner of Sale

Office of County Attorney

1 Harrison Street, S.E. P.O. Box 7000

Leesburg, Virginia 20177-7000 (703) 777-0307

11/10, 11/17, 11/24 & 12/01/22

Loudoun County Public Schools

Fall 2022 Secondary School Attendance Zone Change Process for Ashburn, Central Loudoun and Eastern Loudoun

The Loudoun County School Board has scheduled a series of meetings to facilitate the review of Ashburn, Central Loudoun and Eastern Loudoun area secondary school attendance zones. The current boundaries for Broad Run High School/Farmwell Station Middle School, Dominion High School/Sen eca Ridge Middle School, Heritage High School/Harper Park Middle School, Loudoun County High School/J. Lupton Simpson Middle School, Park View High School/Sterling Middle School, Potomac Falls High School/River Bend Middle School, Riverside High School/Belmont Ridge Middle School, Stone Bridge High School/Trailside Middle School and Tuscarora High School/Smart’s Mill Middle School will be reviewed in the attendance zone process.

Thursday, October 13, 2022 6:30 p.m. School Board Attendance Zone Overview

Tuesday, October 18, 2022 6:30 p.m. Staff Briefing & School Board Attendance Zone Public Hearing

Tuesday, November 1, 2022 6:30 p.m. School Board Attendance Zone Work Session

Wednesday, November 9, 2022 6:30 p.m. Staff Briefing & School Board Attendance Zone Public Hearing

Monday, November 14, 2022 6:30 p.m. School Board Attendance Zone Work Session

Tuesday, November 29, 2022* 6:30 p.m. School Board Review of Secondary School Attendance Zone Recommendations (Information Item)

Tuesday, December 6, 2022 6:30 p.m. Staff Briefing & School Board Attendance Zone Public Hearing

Tuesday, December 13, 2022* 6:30 p.m. School Board Adoption of Secondary School Attendance Zones

*Regular School Board Business Meeting

The meetings will be held at the Loudoun County Public Schools Administration Building (21000 Education Court, Ashburn) and broadcast live on Comcast channel 18 and Verizon Fios channel 43, as well as viewable via simultaneous webcast on the Loudoun County Public Schools website (https:// www.lcps.org/webcast).

Attendance zone information and data, as it becomes available (including potential attendance zone plans being considered or reviewed by the School Board), will be posted on the ‘Fall 2022 – Secondary School Attendance Zone Change Process’ webpage (https://www.lcps.org/Page/246406).

Detail on how to sign up to speak at the hearings is provided at https://www.lcps.org/Page/223425. In-person sign-up will also be available between 5:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., on the evening of each attendance zone public hearing.

Those who need translation/interpretation assistance or a reasonable accommodation for any type of disability in order to participate meaningfully in the School Board meetings or public hearings should contact the Superintendent’s Office at 571-252-1020 at least three (3) days prior to the meeting.

Beverly I. Tate, Director

Loudoun County Public Schools

Division of Planning & GIS Services 21000 Education Court, Ashburn, Virginia 20148

Telephone: 571-252-1050

Email: LCPSPLAN@LCPS.ORG

10/6, 10/13, 10/20, 10/27, 11/3, 11/10, 11/17, 11/24, 12/1 & 12/8/22

Community Town Hall on Renaming Mercer Middle School

The Loudoun County School Board is considering changing some school names that do not reflect the School Board’s values of inclusion and diversity and is seeking public comment. The first two school names to be considered are Mercer Middle School and Frances Hazel Reid Elementary School.

A Community Town Hall will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 8, 2022, specifically on Mercer Middle School’s name. The public meeting will be held in the auditorium of Mercer Middle School (42149 Greenstone Drive, Aldie).

A community meeting to receive comments on the name of Frances Hazel Reid Elementary School will be scheduled in the coming weeks.

Information on the school name review is provided on the Loudoun County Public Schools webpage (https://www.lcps.org/Page/247047).

Citizens may attend the December 8 public meeting and/or submit comments via lcpsplan@lcps.org.

Those who need translation/interpretation assistance or a reasonable accommodation for any disability to participate meaningfully at the December 8 Community Town Hall should contact the Division of Planning & GIS Services at 571-252-1050 at least three (3) business days prior to the meeting.

12/01 & 12/08/22

Misc.

Date Time Secondary School Attendance Zone Meeting

Opinion

The Hard Work

Remember when the biggest obstacle to providing affordable housing was NIMBYism? Leaders attempting tackle the issue today face a more complex collection of competing forces.

Beyond the market-driven price spikes, house hunters now see residences once within their reach instead being reserved for visiting tourists, converted into more upscale dwellings or simply torn down to make room for another McMansion. While the number of high-density apartment or condo communities has increased, so have the prices required to move into them. And as incomes increase, the cost of housing continues to outpace the raises.

It is that environment in which elected and community leaders are again pushing for practical solutions. The alarm is sounding all the way from the governor’s mansion to the local town council

chambers. It’s now a priority for business owners as much as it has been for social service providers.

As we know from previous efforts over the past several decades, there are no easy solutions. Areas of progress and programs with promise largely have been dwarfed by the overwhelming need.

As communities work to preserve their existing stock of affordable housing and spur new opportunities, they’ll have to embrace a variety of approaches, likely including both increased funding and new zoning flexibility, to accomplish their goals. Some backyards may be put back in play, as well.

As the debate continues in the months ahead, we should remember that the easiest way to make housing more affordable is to for the community to become a less desirable place to live, work or visit. Instead, doing the hard work to meet this critical need is worth the investment. n

LETTERS to the Editor

Magnificent Resource

Editor:

I don’t live in Loudoun County, but I am drawn to the area again and again for hiking excursions along the Blue Ridge, scenic drives, delicious eateries, and welcoming residents.

I recently learned that Loudoun County is going through a zoning ordinance rewrite. Part of this rewrite includes the mountainside overlay district (MOD), which involves a landscape feature of great interest to me: the mountain ranges. The mountains play a significant role in my desire to visit Loudoun, where I can recreate and explore

with my pup Jack.

As many of you know, the Blue Ridge Mountains are home to the Appalachian National Scenic Trail (AT) and lovely day hikes, such as Bears Den Overlook, Raven Rocks, and Buzzard Hill. The more advanced hiker may even decide to tackle the aptly named “roller coaster” section of the AT—12.5 miles of varying climbs and descents between Ashby Gap and Snickers Gap.

While hiking isn’t for everyone, a fair number of folks enjoy it. In 2021, nearly 59 million people in the United States participated in hiking activities. Thinking more

locally, 79% of households in the Northern Virginia Recreational Planning Region listed “visiting natural areas” as one of their top outdoor recreation activities. From an economic perspective, the annual per-capita spending on outdoor recreation in Loudoun County is $99.70. That figure jumps to $184.32 when one focuses entirely on the Town of Leesburg. That’s a lot of money going into the economy for food, gear, lodging, and gas!

Outside of drawing in tourists, the mountains also contain

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR continues on page 41

Norman K. Styer, Publisher and Editor - nstyer@loudounnow.com

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Alexis Gustin, Reporter agustin@loudounnow.com

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Catoctin refresh

Loudoun County Public Schools; the oth er, now the Hillsboro Charter Academy, opened the same year.

Later in 1972, when the Simpson Mid dle School opened, Catoctin shifted to serve students from kindergarten through fifth grade. It got major additions in 1974, 1983 and 1999.

The newest additions to Catoctin El ementary include a more secure front entrance, three new classrooms, a new playground, and upgrades to the school’s energy efficiency. The classrooms alone cost $3.5 million, according to the school district’s Capital Improvement Program.

The playground was created with a mix of fundraising and the input of the kids who play on it.

While the school’s PTA was fundrais ing for a new elementary school, Catoctin Principal Janet Platenberg said, the school surveyed then third grade students to see what they wanted in a playground. Those students, now fifth graders, opted for more slides and swings and got to see those wishes come to fruition.

Platenberg said the school division worked with them to make the kids’ wish es come true.

“They were good about letting us tell them what the kids wanted. We were able to incorporate all the things the kids really wanted and make it an all-inclusive play ground and accessible,” Platenberg said. “It’s phenomenal. The kids love it, it’s all they talk about.”

LETTERS to the Edit

continued from page 40

headwaters to public water resources, support groundwater recharge, and provide valuable habitat for plant and animal communities. They are a place of beauty and cultural heritage and are a haven from the busy day-to-day lives we all lead.

As an outsider, I would like to make a plea to Loudoun residents and ask that you make your voice heard throughout the zoning ordinance rewrite process. Mountains are highly sensitive to land disturbance and development, and now you have the opportunity to ensure they are safeguarded well into the future. The Planning Commission will hold a public

Leesburg Town Councilman and Cato ctin Elementary parent Zach Cummings said the school’s PTA had already raised about $25,000 for a new playground when the town decided to pitch in.

“It was a pleasant surprise, especially for me, for Catoctin, because it’s one of the oldest elementary schools to be able to get those kids a new playground. We’ve got to keep improving and upgrading our schools because people want to live in Loudoun County,” Cummings said.

“We got lucky. It was perfect timing because we badly needed the upgrade,” Platenberg said.

The town collects proffers from resi dential development on behalf of Loudoun County and Loudoun County Public Schools. The proffers are held by the town until the school division requests the mon ey and are reserved public schools relat ed capital projects. On Jan. 25, the Town Council approved reimbursing the school division for $1.13 million for the cost of playground equipment at Catoctin and three other elementary schools in town, Cool Springs, Frederick Douglas Ball’s Bluff, and John W. Tolbert Jr., and Smart’s Mill Middle School, according to docu ments from a Nov. 9, 2021, School Board meeting.

Other renovations to the school were designed to make it safer and more en ergy efficient. Platenberg said before the renovation, there was a cement wall that blocked the view of the front entrance from the office. She said it was hard to see whether visitors made the right turn into the office or if they continued down the hallway without checking in.

“That was always an area of big

hearing on Monday, December 12th and you can either speak in-person or provide written comment. Let County leadership know how important the mountains are to you and the future of Loudoun.

Finally, thank you for allowing this traveler to enjoy all the magnificent natu ral resources that your home has to offer.

— Hallie and Jack Harriman, Strasburg

Contrary to the Facts

Editor:

Regarding Mr. Kershner’s comments in the article “Supervisors Consider Equity Policy,” I’m not going to try and change his mind here as it would be just too exhausting.

However, he might want to check the facts as stated in the last paragraph of the article before he makes comment on

concern for the families and the staff,” Platenberg said.

Division of Construction Services As sistant Director of Design Melissa Tello oversaw the projects at the school. She said they worked with a team of consult ing architects and engineers and the school staff of the school to create the new front office and vestibule to fit in the existing footprint.

“We did not expand the building in this area, but we had to do some pretty signifi cant modifications in the area to reuse this space and bring back transparency at the entrance,” Tello said.

Platenberg said that included some re working of offices, including hers, which was not part of the front office.

And the new classroom space gave the school the room to make those improve ments without losing office space, even gaining a teach work room.

The school saw a 4,300-square-foot addition of three kindergarten-sized class rooms with bathrooms, a couple of work rooms and two larger conference rooms. Platenberg said the conference rooms are being used for Special Education resource rooms. They are also using the extra class room space as an art and music room.

Catoctin Elementary has building ca pacity of 743 students, and this year’s en rollment of 605 students puts the school at 81% capacity.

She said having the extra classrooms brought extra storage space, which is be ing put to good use.

“Knowing how an older home or school doesn’t have enough closet space, there is a huge storage unit in there which was just an absolute bonus for us because we are

equity in Loudoun County.

Also, his notion that racism only exists because we keep bringing it up as an issue is again contrary to the facts. We will stop bringing racism up as an issue when racism actually ends. It’s amazing to me how Black leaders like Ms. Ran dall can be so calm and measured when they hear these comments. I would be totally wild with emotion. I commend her.

— Norman Ferry, Leesburg

using that space to archive school histori cal materials like yearbooks from the year it opened, pictures and floor plans,” she said.

The final project was upgrading some infrastructure to make the building more energy efficient. Tello said they updated the fire sprinkler system throughout the school, updated lights with LED replace ments, installed a complete HVAC system replacement, and brought in solar panels.

The panels serve a dual purpose. Not only do they offset electrical costs, but they serve as a science lesson during the day.

Platenberg said the students can check a TV monitor and see just how many kilo watts of energy were saved each day.

“They can look at how the changes have impacted their environment and their classrooms,” she said.

Platenberg said she appreciated how Tello and her team took the character of the school into account when doing the renovation and kept the culture the same while bringing it up to date.

“It is a refresh, not a new look, but it fits perfectly,” she said.

The two-year process and 4,300-squarefoot addition was complete by the time school started. Tello said it took some time for the projects to come to fruition, but she said they are happy the staff is happy.

“Honestly, what it means to us as a school community, families just feel like this huge injection of pride that Loudoun County Public Schools is taking care of an older building and also making sure the kids and the families have equitable work spaces. This has been huge for Catoctin,” Platenberg said. n

as the minister he is. He did not speak in his role as governor, to his new Virginia flock, about how he would protect them from harm.

A serious study of the problem might lead to reasonable solutions. We can all agree that there are too many guns in this country, but there are also too many gun owners, not all of whom should own guns. The majority of gun owners are re sponsible and if they alone owned guns, the problem would be minimized.

A Start Editor:

From California to Chesapeake, the number of mass shootings grows, barely creating a ripple. We have become inured to such news.

The governor spoke in Chesapeake, with feeling and compassion, in his role

We have driver’s licenses, why not gun licenses? During the application pro cess, authorities would have the time to detect red flags or other signs of concern, thus denying possession to those who might be more likely to cause harm.

This is not the complete solution, but it might be the start of that process.

— FW Lillis, Leesburg

don’t have bathrooms or running water, so if a student needs to use the bathroom or fill their water bottle, they miss instruction time to walk into the main school. Other students miss it, too, because they must go in pairs and use a teacher’s badge to get into the school.

Whitney Otto, a parent of two Waterford Elementary students, reminded the board that it was a year ago Waterford parents asked the board to support an addition to the school and reiterated they are currently at 93% of the building’s capacity and will be over capacity in the next few years. She talked about three classrooms that are out side of the main school and how students have to wait outside by themselves before they can get buzzed through the new se curity vestibule. She said the students are not getting equitable services like their counterparts in other schools because of the space issues. She said the proposed ad dition would allow for lunch to be served in a separate space and give teachers their own space and storage areas, and allow for designated art and music spaces.

Others talked about a shortage of bath room stalls for the number of students, not having an American with Disabilities Act Standards for Accessible Design-com plaint bathroom stall, and the loss of art and music classrooms because of over crowding. Several parents invited Board members to come to the school and see for themselves.

“How is it equitable to ask our students to achieve the same learning tasks, these 21st century learning tasks that we want them to be engaged in, when we have such a lack of space to engage them?” asked Tricia Crouch, a fifth-grade Waterford teacher assigned to a cottage classroom.

Amy Cornell, a parent and teacher at Banneker Elementary, spoke in support of building a new school and said, based on an August information meeting, building a new school would cost the same as reno vating the old one. She expressed concern over the renovation taking place while students were in school and the worry of opening the walls of a 75-year-old build ing and how it would affect the students.

“Advocating for a new building does not mean advocating for demolishing the old. The present building may have out lived its life as a school, but that does not mean it can’t be repurposed,” she said.

Another Banneker teacher, Bryan Cornell, spoke of his experience with rodents in the classroom and opposed a

renovation, noting documented asbestos and mold throughout the building and how it will be disturbed while children are in classes during years of construction. He said renovation would only buy another 15 years for the building but said a new one would get another 75 years.

Jennifer Imhoff spoke in favor of ren ovating Banneker and pointed to sever al older buildings, including the White House and the U.S. Capitol, that have been renovated because of their historical significance.

“History is important, and I am a white person up here talking about a historical ly Black village which I live in, and it’s important to me and my fellow neighbors. We need to listen to the people of St. Lou is village. It is historical to them, and it means something to them,” she said.

Donald Reid, a Banneker student from 1955 to 1962, spoke against tearing the school down, saying it has survived other renovations and its history needs to be pre served. He said it was built a long time ago for a reason and that reason was “to teach the people, the children.”

Others brought up the age of the school and the tight quarters because of multi purpose spaces, saying students eat in the classrooms for breakfast because the cafe teria is used for instruction. Others point ed to the poor condition of the two on-site modular classrooms.

Several teachers spoke up in favor of plans to build a new Park View High School, saying rebuilding the school was the only option.

Park View teacher Liz Thomas said the community was thrilled at the super intendent’s recommendation to rebuild the school.

“While the cost is obviously great, I be lieve the cost of not replacing Park View would be even greater in the long term. It’s not only in terms of monetary cost of ever ongoing small-scale renovations and replacements, but it will also be cost ly for the well-being of the community,” she said. She said at a previous Title One school where she worked, a new building brought positive changes for students and staff.

Park View teacher and Sterling resi dent Sophie Fowler said the community has been advocating for a new facility for a year, “not just because we want a new facility, but because we need a new fa cility, and this need is very real and very necessary. It comes down to the safety of the students and staff as well as creating an equitable learning environment.”

Chief Operations Officer Kevin Lew is said after looking at some of the issues Park View faces—including its smaller classrooms, smaller library and cafeteria space, thin walls that disrupted learning, and the lack of a central HVAC plan in the building—and after looking at three reno vation plans, his staff determined the cost was only slightly different to rebuild the school rather than renovate it.

Lewis said staff members have pro posed delaying several other projects in an effort to lessen the overall costs of the six-year CIP.

Renovations at Waterford are sched uled to begin in 2025, with $20 million budgeted for the work to build an estimat ed 14,000- to 20,000-square-foot addition that would include a multipurpose room, four classrooms and other ancillary spaces. Renovations would be made to the cafe teria, kitchen and office spaces. And the modular classrooms would be removed. The renovation is set to be complete 2027-2028.

Work at Banneker is scheduled to begin in 2024 with a $38.9 million budget. The project envisions a 61,000-square-foot ad dition that would include a multipurpose room, five classrooms and other ancillary spaces and additional bathrooms. Ren ovations would be made to the cafeteria, kitchen, and office spaces. And the modu lar classrooms would be removed.

The Park View rebuild project is esti mated at $221.7 million. Under the plan, work won’t start on the 295,000-squarefoot building it until 2023 or 2024. The new school would be built on the current stadium and athletic fields while students continue to attend the current school. The new school would open in the fall of 202728. The former school then would be torn down to make way for new athletic fields opening in 2028-29.

The next public hearing and work ses sion for the CIP is Dec. 5 at 6:30 p.m. The School Board is expected to adopt the FY2024-FY2029 Capital Budgets on Dec. 13. n

Alexis Gustin/Loudoun Now

Community members wait for the public hearing on the CIP to begin on Nov. 28.

Affordable housing

over half the median home value, the 2021 income was a quarter of the home value.

Things are even more dire in Loudoun, where the high $153,506 median income is still even further behind the $648,400 median home value. But wages are not something localities can regulate in Virginia.

Krocker said flat incomes couple with a shortage of housing in the region to make pricing unaffordable for many, while redevelopment continues to push to prices even of existing housing higher.

“Incomes are not keeping up with the cost of housing, and our supply is ane mic, so those are things that are kind of the macro factors that have made it so dif ficult for people to afford housing,” she said. And because the region isn’t keep ing up with the demand for housing, she said, older homes that might be more af fordable are being purchased, renovated, or rebuilt, and put back on the market at higher prices.

“This has been a trend that’s been growing, and it’s been exacerbated in our area because we’re so low in housing supply,” she said. “On top of all that, we have in many of our communities existing neighborhoods who say, ‘we don’t want any more development, we don’t want to see any more houses, there’s traffic, there’s pressure on our schools,’ et cetera. So now you have this added dimension of community opposition.”

That means localities in the region are focused not only on encouraging new af fordable housing development, but also helping buy up existing housing to keep it affordable. And in a region of commuters, they are working across county and city lines.

A New Regional Vision

The latest proposal comes from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, a group of elected leaders from among 24 jurisdictions in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia, which is finalizing a Regional Housing Equity Plan as a guide for member juris dictions.

The plan, a voluntary collaboration among eight regional jurisdictions in cluding Loudoun to achieve unified goals around fair housing, represents the first time in 25 years that the region’s local ities have come together to address dis parities in access to housing opportunity,

according to MWCOG.

The housing cost crisis also has a his tory strongly rooted in racism, Krocker said, with many communities historically closed to people of color.

“This notion of redlining is a through line that goes from 100 years ago. You can see the throughline of where Black and brown people weren’t allowed to buy into neighborhoods or into communities, and so how do we rectify that,” she said. “One of the solutions is to open up that single-family zoning to allow us to put maybe a duplex or a triplex in that sin gle-family detached neighborhood.”

She said based on her own experi ence—living in a single family detached home, across the street from a duplex and down the street from an apartment build ing, in the Alexandria neighborhood of Del Ray where homes are selling for more than a million dollars—that doesn’t have to hurt existing home values.

MWCOG’s plan sets out seven broad goals, such as increasing the supply of affordable housing for low- and moder ate-income families, reforming zoning and land use policies to increase the de velopment and geographic distribution of affordable housing, implementing policies to preserve existing affordable housing, protecting the housing rights of individuals, increasing community integration and reducing discriminatory housing barriers for people with disabili ties, and making public transportation for accessible and affordable.

Those are supported by a variety of strategies, such as offering grants and low-interest loans to homeowners to build affordable accessory dwellings on their property, making a housing equity analysis part of reviewing rezoning pro posals, and offering free bus transporta tion to low-income households. Some of the strategies, such as local housing trust funds, Loudoun County is already doing.

MWCOG staff members hope to make final revisions to the plan, send it to local jurisdictions for approval and then to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development by April.

“This plan has a potential to shape fair housing planning nationwide,” MWCOG Housing Programs Manager Hillary Chapman said during the Nov. 9 board meeting. “HUD is looking to metropol itan Washington to inform a new, affir matively-furthering fair housing rule as a national model for regional planning.”

“It’s absolutely critical that we not conflate passing a mile marker with pass ing a finish line,” Fairfax County Super visor Rodney Lusk said. “… We cannot cede housing equity in our region to

market forces, or to a particular policy, or just to chance. We have to act proactively as a region to force the trends necessary to flip the script.”

Loudoun’s representatives on the MWCOG Board of Directors pushed to go further. Loudoun Supervisor Juli E. Briskman (D-Algonkian) asked that data collection around the plan be broken out to show classes of people protected from discrimination in federal and state law, especially women. And Loudoun Coun ty Chair Phyllis J. Randall (D-At Large) said a down payment assistance program is needed to help people get out of renting and into homeownership.

“There are so many people who are in rental spaces right now who’ve been in rental spaces for 10, 15, 20 years, and while a low interest loan is helpful to them, what they really need is a closing cost and down payment program,” she said. “What we’re really finding is, in this region, sometime rents can be as much as a mortgage, but because they cannot gath er enough money for a down payment, they cannot get a home.”

Arlington County supervisor and MWCOG Board of Directors Chair Chris tian Dorsey said jurisdictions should look at the plan’s overall goals as being the commitments they make, and the strate gies in the plan as a menu of options to get there.

“No plan or document achieves every goal. The Regional Fair Housing Plan is hopefully something that will not just become a shelf document, but becomes actually influencing of the comprehensive plans that come out of your jurisdictions,” he said.

Strategies for Success

Some strategies are already showing success.

The Loudoun Board of Supervisors adopted its Unmet Housing Needs Stra tegic Plan in September 2021, laying out a broad range of strategies to tackle the county’s housing cost problem. It’s a fiveyear plan looking at housing goals over a 20-year timeframe. Already many of the goals in that plan are done or underway, such as waiving permit fees on affordable housing development, inventorying the county’s publicly owned lands with an eye toward possibly using it for attainable housing, steering cigarette tax revenues into affordable housing programs, and launching the Rental Housing Acquisi tion and Preservation Loan Program to help developers finance the cost of buying existing affordable rental housing to keep it available.

The county also already offers pro grams for potential homebuyers, includ ing the Down Payment/Closing Cost As sistance loan program and the Sponsoring Partnerships and Revitalizing Communi ties low-interest mortgage loan program.

Some of the strategies in that plan, have seen success in other areas, such as the idea of using publicly owned land to develop affordable housing. That has al ready happened in Fairfax County, Kro cker noted, both on undeveloped land and by collocating housing with facilities like fire stations and community centers.

“That takes the cost of land out of the equation, which is probably upwards of 40% of your development cost,” she said.

Loudoun supervisors also consider the difference between renting a home and owning one, allowing people to build their equity and wealth. That’s a piece missing from many new affordable housing de velopments, and many new large-scale developments generally. Plans for Rivana at Innovation Station, a project supervi sors have cheered and one of the largest in Loudoun’s history, has no for-sale units among its planned 2,700 residential units

“We collectively as a region have done a terrible job on affordable homeown ership. Nobody’s cracked that nut. No body’s figured out how to do that,” Kro cker said.

But she said she has seen a new gener ation of leaders arise in the region who are willing to tackle the problem with more creative solutions, and willing to spend money to do it. Meanwhile, affordable housing developers, spurred on by public investment, are purchasing or building homes with a complicated assortment of funding sources, ranging from the local Housing Trust Fund to federal programs.

“There are a multitude of plans, but there are common threads in all of those plans, and I think there was an under standing regionally that we had to come together and tackle this,” she said. “Be cause people live in one jurisdiction and maybe work in another, and there is a willingness to learn from each other, elected officials learning what’s working where. What works in a very urban area like Arlington is not going to necessari ly work in Loudoun County, but you can take elements of that.”

And, she said, “the need is enormous.”

“People continue to struggle to afford shelter, and we have people who are pay ing 70% or 80% of their take-home pay on their rent. And that’s just not produc tive for any community, so we have to continue to look at what are the tools at our disposal, how can we be smarter, how can we do this more efficiently.” n