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Leesburg News: Council considers uses for Loudoun St. lot
Council considers uses for Loudoun Street lotTown council members discussed options for the Loudoun Street lot at their meeting May 12.
The lot is between Town Hall and the town's parking garage and can accommodate a 7,500-square-foot building, applicant Peter Burnett said.
Burnett, a downtown property owner, submitted a private-public partnership application in April. His plans include a visitor center and other commercial space, which would adjoin the town's parking deck.
He said if everything goes as planned, construction could begin next year.
Other options for the space include a park and other landscaping.
Council members discussed May 12 hosting a public input session on uses for the lot.
Other Leesburg news:
Lawson Road Bridge
During their May 12 work session, town council members discussed closing the Lawson Road bridge to automobiles.
The bridge is over a creek.
Residents living in the Kincaid Forest neighborhood complained to town leadership that joy riders drive through their yards to get to the bridge when the access way to the bridge is gated off in bad weather.
The town had planned to close the bridge to auto traffic and make it a pedestrian walkway after the section of Battlefield Parkway that connects Lawson Road and Route 7 is completed in 2009. Because of the complaints, however, they discussed closing the bridge to auto traffic early.
Other ways to keep cars off neighbors' property were discussed, including adding a fence or other barrier.
Several council members said they want to discuss options with neighbors before making a decision.
Civic signs
Civic signs that were taken down years ago might be put back up. During its May 12 work session, town council discussed restoring the signs, which advertised local civic organizations and how to get in touch with them.
The signs were taken down to avoid a possible lawsuit. The Sons of Confederate Veterans had asked to put their information and a Confederate flag on the signs, which at the time were posted at all four of the town's entranceways. Some council members at the time said they did not want the flag on a town sign because it could be offensive to some residents, Mayor Kristen Umstattd said at the May 12 meeting.
Other council members asked whether the signs could go up without flags and civic organizations' logos.
Discussion on the civic signs resumed at the town council's May 13 meeting. For updates on this issue, visit www.LoudounTimes.com.
Contact the reporter at hhobbs@timespapers.com
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