n LOUDOUN
Pg. 4 | n LEESBURG
VOL. 7, NO. 1
Pg. 6 | n EDUCATION
Pg. 8 | n OBITUARIES
Pg. 17 | n PUBLIC NOTICES
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Pg. 27
NOVEMBER 25, 2021
Supervisors Seek Option to Take Library Board Power BY RENSS GREENE
rgreene@loudounnow.com
meal over time, are getting plenty of work, too. The Zoning Ordinance Committee, which was created in in October 2020 to replace the Zoning Ordinance Action Group, has been meeting about twice monthly since its creation, offering feed-
Loudoun County supervisors will this year ask the General Assembly for legislation allowing the county board to seize the powers of the Loudoun County Public Library Board of Trustees. Like the School Board, although the Board of Supervisors provides the budget for the public libraries, the Board of Trustees is the library’s governing body, deciding on library programming and how to use those funds. Unlike the modern School Board with elected representatives, members of the library board are appointed by the Board of Supervisors, and the library system leans on the county for administrative functions like human resources and payroll management. But County Chair Phyllis J. Randall (D-At Large) likened the library board to the county’s advisory boards. “Technically, the library board is a governing body, so I certainly understand why they don’t want to lose that, but the way I feel about our advisory boards and bodies, I don’t see the library board as a higher board or an advisory board as a lesser board,” Randall said during the Nov. 16 Board of Supervisors meeting. Loudoun’s library system is considered among the best in the country, regularly winning national acclaim including in July being recognized with an honorable
ZONING REWRITE continues on page 43
LIBRARY BOARD continues on page 41
Hayley Bour/Loudoun Now
Children drink in the holiday light show at the Village at Leesburg, during the lighting of the Wish Tree. Donations to activate the tree’s light show benefit Loudoun Hunger Relief, and may be made throughout the holiday season. For more, see page 12.
Zoning Ordinance Rewrite Enters Next Phase BY RENSS GREENE
rgreene@loudounnow.com
Although the process of revising the county’s zoning ordinances to reflect the 2019 comprehensive plan has been underway for months, county supervisors hit an important milestone on Nov. 16 with a vote formally shaping the work going forward.
The legally required Resolution of Intent to Amend sets in stone the work that county planners and board-appointed Zoning Ordinance Committee face in the months ahead, with an aim to adopt a new zoning ordinance in mid to late 2022. And much as the comprehensive plan was badly in need of an overhaul after nearly 20 years without one, Loudoun’s zoning ordinances, while getting updated piece-
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