How Loudoun County government works

The Board of Supervisors

The Board of Supervisors is Loudoun's elected governing body. It has nine members: a chair elected by voters across the whole county and eight supervisors, each elected from one election district. All nine serve four-year terms that run at the same time.

The Board adopts the county budget and sets tax rates, passes ordinances, approves rezonings and special exceptions, and appoints the county administrator, who runs day-to-day operations. It also appoints the Planning Commission, which reviews land-use cases and makes recommendations before the Board decides.

Loudoun County Public Schools is governed separately by the elected School Board. The School Board sets school policy and adopts a budget request, but the Board of Supervisors decides how much local money the schools receive.

Business meetings and public hearings

Meetings take place in the Board Room of the Loudoun County Government Center, 1 Harrison Street SE in Leesburg. They are also shown on television and streamed online. Agendas, staff reports and videos are posted on the county's meetings page, usually by the Friday before a meeting.

How a land-use decision moves

1. Application or Board initiation
2. Staff review
3. Planning Commission hearing
4. Board public hearing
5. Board vote
6. Implementation

A landowner applies to rezone land, or the Board starts a policy change itself. County staff study the proposal and write a staff report. The Planning Commission holds a public hearing and recommends approval or denial. The Board then holds its own public hearing and makes the final decision, sometimes after sending the case back for changes.

How to speak or submit a comment

• Sign up to speak by calling the Board clerk at 703-777-0200 by noon on the day of the meeting, or sign up in person at the clerk's desk starting 30 minutes before the meeting begins.
• Speak by phone at a business meeting by asking for that option when you sign up. At a public hearing, call 703-880-8534 during the meeting.
• Time limits: speakers usually get two minutes. Public input at business meetings is capped at 90 minutes in total, and hearing comments must be about items on that night's agenda.
• Comment in writing through the email form to all nine supervisors on the county's Board meetings page, or leave a message on the Board comment line at 703-777-0115.
• Need help? Request an interpreter at least 48 hours ahead, or other accommodations at least one business day ahead, by calling 703-777-0200.

Source: Loudoun County, About Board of Supervisors Meetings. Check the page before you go, since procedures can change.

How to read a staff report

Every Board agenda item comes with a staff report. Start with the summary and the recommendation on the first page, which say what is being decided and what staff advise. Then look for the background section for history, the fiscal impact section for cost, and the attachments for maps and site plans. Past votes on the same case are usually listed near the start.

Glossary