Review Comments on the Draft Zoning Ordinance

Input into the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite project from the public was an important part of the public process. Members of the Board of Supervisors reviewed and considered information provided to them through all communication channels as revisions to the draft Loudoun County Zoning Ordinance were accomplished. 

Public Comments to the Board of Supervisors 

View input to the Board of Supervisors from members of the public regarding the Planning Commission Draft Zoning Ordinance (July 6, 2023).

Past Public Comments to the Planning Commission

A critical component of the ZOR project has been engaging stakeholders and considering stakeholder input for incorporation into the ZOR project. Throughout 2022 and through the first half of 2023, the Planning Commission received thousands of comments from stakeholders and other members of the public regarding various drafts of the ordinance. 

Analysis of Public Comment to the Planning Commission

Loudoun County analyzed thousands of comments through various methods to inform the Planning Commission's review of the ordinance and to better understand the common themes raised by members of the public, which informed revisions to Zoning Ordinance to ensure public input was considered and addressed while developing the Planning Commission Draft Zoning Ordinance. 

The county's analysis through a consultant used a combination of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other programmatic tools, as well as manual synthesis of information, to produce their results. The findings show that periods of high comment frequencies corresponded to public meetings and comment review periods following the release of new draft chapters, demonstrating that the public was successfully engaged in the development of the Planning Commission Draft Zoning Ordinance through intentional outreach efforts by staff. The AI analysis also shows that comment topics that were present in many initial comments later fell to a small minority of overall comments, indicating that the Commission and staff were largely successful in addressing concerns as they were brought forth by the public. Finally, this analysis demonstrated that while organizations and interest groups provided most comments, individual citizens were highly engaged in the process providing 30 percent of all comments received.

How Public Comments Were Previously Received

During the Planning Commission's review of the ordinance, the commission received comments through a number of channels, which included the following:

  • Focus Groups
  • Community Meetings
  • enCodePlus online planning tool (90-day comment period, April-July 2022)
  • Email
  • Phone
  • Online comment forms
  • Mail/Letters
  • Loudoun Online Land Applications system
  • Planning Commission Public Hearings (August 30, 2022, and January 24, 2023)

Review Past Comments to the Planning Commission

Comments that have been submitted by a broad range of organizations and residents of Loudoun County have been documented throughout the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite project. The comments are posted below for review.