Better times promised for Leesburg businesses
By Anne Keisman
About five months after Pennsylvania-based Wolf Furniture pulled the plug on its planned showroom on Fort Evans Road in Leesburg, there are signs of an improving relationship between the business community and town staff.
Wolf’s construction plans had lingered 18 months in the town's site-plan review process, leading the business to sell the property rather than wait for approval. The move led to a strong call from the local business community for regulatory reforms in the town.
On March 12, Town Manager John Wells spoke to members of Loudoun's Chamber of Commerce and talked frankly of the challenge of untangling Leesburg's bureaucratic maze.
“It's like turning a large ship in the ocean. We know we have a reputation. We worked hard to earn that,” he said jokingly, generating chuckles from the crowd of local business leaders dining at Lightfoot Restaurant in Leesburg. “We are also trying hard to change it.”
Reputations take years to build, he said, and this is just the beginning of that process.
Wells stressed the importance of reform, especially as Leesburg experiences a commercial development boom – in spite of a national economic downturn. Leesburg currently has 400,000 square feet of commercial space under construction.
Also, Wells said there are 4 million square feet of commercial development in the planning stages within the town limits. Besides adding jobs and vibrancy to the town, commercial development translates into valuable tax dollars for road-building and other public infrastructure.
Wells and his team are paying special attention to the site-plan approval process, in which the developer and town work together to make sure the project conforms with town regulations. Wolf Furniture worked with the town for 18 months on its site plan, then gave up. The store's owner, J. Douglas Wolf, said when he pulled out that he desired a more predictable regulatory environment in which to do business. Ideally, Wells said, the process should take no longer than nine to 12 months.
The Village at Leesburg has just entered the 16th month of its site-plan review process -- a town center with more than 1 million square feet of retail and office space, as well as residential units, to be built at the intersection of Route 7 and River Creek Parkway by the developer Kettler.
The site's anchor store -- Wegmans grocery store -- has its site plan approved, but the rest of the town center is still pending approval with the town. The plan was submitted in December 2006.
“[The developers] are getting close to approval,” said Delane Parks, senior planner at the town. He said Kettler may need to apply to the town council for some amendments to their original rezoning.
Regardless of the site plan approval, the developer cannot break ground on the town center until the overpass and interchange at Route 7 now under construction – which Kettler is paying for -- is finished. That was a stipulation the town council made when it approved the project's rezoning application in November 2005.
The town center is one of the more high-profile developments in Leesburg, but many smaller-scale projects are under way to bring neighborhood retail to communities like Potomac Station and Oaklawn. Wells says he hopes for an improved level of communication on all these projects.
The tone at the Chamber lunch members was decidedly positive, as Wells strove to convince business leaders that change was under way.
He said a major reorganization of staff involved with land-use approvals will be announced soon. The establishment of case managers will create a much-needed single point of contact for landowners and engineers trying to get a plan approved, Wells said.
Wells emphasized the need for better communication between landowners and the staff at every stage of the development process.
“We want it to be more of a partnership effort, instead of a regulatory effort,” he said. He has also introduced a monthly Development Activity Summary, which will be available online to keep track of projects' progress.
Michael Connor, co-chairman of the Downtown Improvement Association, said, “We applaud your efforts. There has been a marked shift” in the regulatory environment at the town.
Rich Vaaler, who sponsored the event, is a commercial Realtor in the downtown and has lived and worked in Leesburg for 20 years. He said there was no question there was a major change occurring in the town’s internal structure.
Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce president Tony Howard said jokingly, “The first step of solving a problem is admitting you have one.” But he commended Wells for owning up to the town's problems and working to solve them.
Wells ended his remarks by encouraging business leaders to call him directly with any criticisms or comments about the town’s reform process.
“You are our customers and partners, and can provide us with a reality check” on the town’s progress, Wells said.
Contact the reporter at akeisman@timespapers.com