Land Use Planning

Our Land Use Planning Division is responsible for managing the legislative approvals process, long range planning, and various special projects.

Some projects require approval from the Town Council. Examples of legislative approvals include rezonings, concept plan amendments, proffer amendments, and special exceptions. The Land Use planning division is responsible for managing the legislative review process which includes analysis from various Town departments as well as the Planning Commission.

Potential applicants that need assistance with the legislative process can find more information about the approval process and steps that must be taken to file an application on our Rezoning & Special Exception Information page.

Anyone interested in current applications being processed by the Town can visit the Leesburg Interactive Application Map to view project documents and get information about the status of an application.

Capital Intensity Factors

A Capital Intensity Factor (CIF) is a per-household estimate of the cost of building the capital facilities needed to serve Town growth (new residents) resulting from development. CIFs are expressed as a dollar amount per household, by housing type, and are used as a starting point for the negotiation of proffers during legislative rezoning approvals. The CIFs are based on the Town's current capital facility standards and levels of service and a capital needs assessment that projects what facilities the Town anticipates building within the next 10 years to serve growth.

In May 2024, the Town Council adopted CIFs for three categories of Town capital facilities:

• Parks & Recreation
• Public Safety (Police)
• Transportation

The full Leesburg Capital Impacts Report, by TischlerBise, provides details of the Capital Facilities Standards, Capital Needs Assessment, and Capital Intensity Factors.

The Capital Intensity Factors will be indexed annually, using the Engineering News Record's Construction Cost Index, as part of the annual budget process. In addition, the Leesburg CIFs use household sizes by housing type for the Leesburg Planning Subarea as developed by Loudoun County. Those numbers will be updated as often as new data is available.

Legacy Leesburg is the Town’s Comprehensive Plan (or Town Plan). The Town Plan is a long range policy document to guide and shape the Town’s future for the next 20 years and beyond. The Plan is intended to guide future land development activities in a manner that reflects the values and future aspirations of the community.  Several additional planning policy documents such as Small Area Plans and Design Guidelines fall under the umbrella of the Town Plan and provide more specific planning policy for certain areas of the of the Town.

Preservation Division

Our Preservation Division works with property owners, businesses, and developers within the Town's three architectural review districts with the role of protecting and enhancing heritage resources in Leesburg:

• Old & Historic District
• Gateway District
• Historic Corridor District

Preservation staff manage the review and processing of Certificate of Appropriateness applications both for staff level approval and approval by the Board of Architectural Review based on the adopted design guidelines for each district.  Additionally, our staff engage in various outreach and education programs with the community on preservation related issues. 

One of the larger projects that Preservation staff are currently working on is an updated architectural survey of the Old and Historic District. Visit the Historic District Architectural Survey page for additional information regarding this exciting project. 

Zoning Division 

Our Zoning Division staff facilitate the improvement of properties within the boundaries of the Town of Leesburg. This is done by interpreting and administering the Zoning Ordinance and the issuance of various permits. Zoning staff are further charged with inspections related to new occupancies, completion of construction projects, and zoning enforcement activities throughout the Town.  Click below for more information regarding the following:

 
The Town of Leesburg is currently in the process of rewriting our Zoning Ordinance. Visit the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite page for additional information regarding the status of this project and public engagement opportunities.