April 4, 2025
Leesburg Commissioners to Consider Temporary Pause on Residential Annexations and Rezonings
By Cindy Peterson
Leesburg Commissioners to Consider Temporary Pause on Residential Annexations and Rezonings
In response to a surge in residential development activity and growing concerns about maintaining a balanced and sustainable city, the Leesburg City Commission will consider a resolution at an upcoming meeting that would place a temporary pause on new residential annexations and rezonings from non-residential to residential uses.
The proposed resolution by Commissioner Jay Connell expresses the intent to pause new residential growth requests through December 31, 2026, allowing time for the city to focus on managing the more than 30,000 undeveloped, approved single-family lots already within its city limits.
According to the proposed resolution, the City’s planning department has been inundated with new applications for development, while simultaneously fielding inquiries about annexing additional land and converting non-residential land to residential uses. City leaders have expressed concern that residential growth is outpacing infrastructure capacityand is beginning to overshadow opportunities for commercial and employment-based development.
“A vibrant and sustainable community should maintain a mix of uses,” the resolution states. “The City wishes to cultivate a community that does not rely solely on residential growth but instead is sustainable through a balanced mix of uses.”
The resolution emphasizes that growth should enhance residents’ quality of life and allow for adequate infrastructure—such as schools, roads, and utilities—to be developed concurrently. The temporary pause would allow staff to prioritize existing projects, encourage commercial investment, and better manage long-term planning goals.
The proposal makes clear that while the pause would apply to applications submitted on or after April 1, 2025, any applications received prior to that date will not be affected. Additionally, applications submitted during the pause will still be reviewed, though only under extremely compelling circumstances will they be considered for approval.
Once presented, commissioners will give their input as well as the public before the vote will take place. If adopted, the resolution would go into effect immediately upon passage and remain active until January 1, 2027.
The location for this upcoming meeting on April 14 has been changed to the Venetian Center to accommodate a potentially larger crowd. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 5:30pm.
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Originally from the small town of Berryville, Arkansas, Cindy has become a multimedia specialist in journalism, photography, videography, and video editing. She has a B.S. in Communications from the University of Central Arkansas and produces Style Magazine's Sports Hub Podcast and the Healthy Living Podcast. She also produces for Beacon College’s Telly Award-winning PBS show, “A World of Difference.” When she isn’t working, Cindy loves traveling the National Parks with her husband , Ryan, and son, David, photographing wildlife.
Thank you very much for publishing this informative article!
Before anyone infers that this moratorium could harm the building industry in Leesburg, I want to be clear that it will not as:
It is NOT a moratorium on the issuing of building permits.
It is NOT a moratorium on the inspection of new buildings.
It is NOT a moratorium on the right of builders who already have over 30,000 dwelling units approved by the City of Leesburg from moving forward with the building process.
It is a pause in the approval of new residential annexations and rezoning until January 1, 2027.
This pause allows the City of Leesburg to evaluate the infrastructure needs of the current and already approved developments.
As the City of Leesburg averages between 35 and 40 Certificates of Occupancy issued per month and there are over 30,000 dwelling units approved, but not yet built, the City of Leesburg has a backlog that will carry it well over 60 YEARS.