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Leesburg developers respond with cautious optimism to regulatory reform
When Doug Wolf, owner of a small chain of furniture stores, announced in October he was abandoning plans to open a 70,000-square-foot showroom in Leesburg, a political maelstrom erupted.
Wolf said the town’s approval process -- which began in October 2005 -- proved too cumbersome for the family-owned, Pennsylvania-based business.
“We never envisioned a timetable or a process like this to build a furniture store,” Wolf said at the time. The company, founded in 1902, has opened four stores in Pennsylvania and Maryland in the last five years, and the Leesburg location would have been the first in Virginia.
This disgruntled voice -- from a chief executive officer in Altoona, Pa. -- proved to be the straw that broke the camel's back: Brewing frustration came roaring to the surface as Leesburg readies for town elections in May 2008.
Businesses and property owners accused the town government of stifling economic development with reams of zoning, engineering and historic regulations.
Last month, responding to the outcry – and to the town council's urging -- Town Manager John Wells and Economic Development Director Betsy Fields accelerated reform of the town's relationship with businesses, property owners and developers.
Increased communication
Such a reform, Wells said, requires a culture shift within town government.
The government’s responsibility is to protect the health, welfare and safety of the residents as development occurs, he said. But Wells added that economic development is an equally important responsibility.
“What we have to do … is focus on success being ribbon-cuttings, not regulations,” Wells said.
From the moment a project is proposed, until it is completed, Wells said, everyone involved -- planners, engineers, administrators -- must feel part of the “big picture.”
One fundamental change -- to be implemented in January – is a new system that will assign one staff member to be point person for each proposal in order to resolve conflicts early.
Numerous landowners and developers interviewed -- most requesting anonymity because of pending applications with the town -- said there is no unified voice from town staff. For example, a set of changes mandated from the planners might contradict demands from the engineers.
One developer said Leesburg is “notorious” in the region’s building community for being the slowest jurisdiction to get necessary approvals.
“You need a strong constitution” to do business with the town, he said, and deep pockets.
Rezonings and other legislative approvals have a state-mandated time limit of one year. With site plan review, staff must take no more than 45 to 60 days reviewing each submission. But there is no limit to the number of submissions staff can request.
A local engineer, who also requested anonymity, said this has caused many delays in the past.
“You would submit a plan, they would give you a set of revisions. Then we respond. This would go on six times,” he said.
Face-to-face meetings between town staff and developers at different points in the process will help reduce the number of revisions, said Tom Mason, head of the Department of Engineering and Public Works for the town. Increasing the number and frequency of these meetings is part of the reform.
“If [developers] invest the time upfront, I believe it'll pay off in the long-run,” Mason said.
One of the main reasons Wolf Furniture's plans were held up was the site's mitigation of floodwaters. It took four revisions to get that part of the design approved. Several other developers said the town's standards on this particular issue are almost impossible to meet.
Mason said: “The [regulations] are no tougher than other jurisdictions, we just enforce them,” adding that the town is conservative on this issue for the safety of the citizens. But he said better communication upfront with Wolf's engineers would have shortened the approval process.
In another effort to increase communication across the board, Fields, Wells, Mason and the town's head planner, Susan Swift, meet monthly to discuss current development projects.
Also, changes to what is nicknamed “the engineering bible” -- the 5-inch-thick Design and Construction Standards Manual -- are under way.
Mason said that a committee of private sector engineers and environmental experts has been working on changes to that document.
Developers respond
Most of the developers interviewed said they are encouraged by the reforms, but wait to see concrete results.
Landmark Commercial Real Estate has several development proposals pending before the town. The town’s recent initiative, Landmark broker Bob White said, is encouraging. “There seems to be a new groundswell of enthusiasm,” he said. “I am most encouraged by the new attitude that I sense at the department-head level.”
White is slightly skeptical of promises from town officials for a smoother ride. He has been promised this before.
Landmark has two projects under site plan review in eastern Leesburg that, he said, have been stalled for two years in the site plan review process. Landmark is also representing Loudoun Times-Mirror owner Peter Arundel on the sale of the property at 9 E. Market St.
Projects in Leesburg, White said, take twice as long as other jurisdictions – and therefore cost developers twice as much.
“It's pay as you go. The longer you're waiting, the more you pay.”
Contact the reporter at akeisman@timespapers.com
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