The Commercial Development Subcommittee of the Steering Committee to Amend Round Hill's Comprehensive Plan held a public input workshop on Monday, May 3, to discuss the development of the 12-acre property on the corner of Evening Star Drive and Loudoun Street (Business Rt. 7). About a dozen citizens attended the meeting, many of them residents of adjacent properties in the Villages of Round Hill.

In his opening remarks, Councilman and Subcommittee Chairman John Heyner explained that the property in question was part of an annexation process instituted by the Town. The Town wants to annex the property in order to enhance the Town's commercial tax base and to have design control over the development of the commercial property. Heyner stressed that the property will be developed, either under the eye of the County or the Town.

If the property were part of the Town, then the Town would have greater influence and ability to make the property blend into the fabric of the Town. He explained that at the moment the Town's Comprehensive Plan does not have policies governing the development of this commercial property; consequently, it is the goal of the committee to change this document and have planning policies in place by mid-June.

As part of this process, the Town is participating in a charrette process with the Loudoun Design Cabinet, a group of architects and planners who donate their time through the Main Street Loudoun program. This meeting is scheduled to take place on Thursday, May 20, from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., at the Round Hill Arts Center. The Design Cabinet will take input received at this meeting and develop detailed concept drawings and elevations. The Design Cabinet's efforts will be focused on the Rt. 7/Evening Star Drive property as well as the Town's Central Commercial District and the commercial property at Hill High Orchard.

The charrette will use as a starting point for the Rt. 7/Evening Star Drive property concept drawings that were created as part of the Streetscape Master Plan.  Heyner stressed that these drawings were strictly conceptual, and do not constitute a actual development plan in place. The Streetscape plan shows a 50.000 square foot anchor store adjacent to "streetscape" style shops similar to the Cascades marketplace in Sterling.

Monday night's meeting was held to solicit the input of nearby residents to determine what specific policies the Committee to Amend Round Hill's Comprehensive Plan should consider when revising the document. Both Heyner and Round Hill Mayor Frank Etro encouraged continued participation by area residents in the planning process and emphasized that everyone in the area is invited to participate, not just in-Town residents. As Mayor Etro said, "The Round Hill community extends beyond Town boundaries."

The discussion generated a long list of citizen concerns as well as a list of the types of businesses residents would and would not like to see. (See citizen input on Rt. 7 commercial property.)

Through the course of the public input, several key points were brought up by Heyner and Etro. They include:

• The property is zoned for a commercial development of up to 150,000 square feet. This is the county zoning, and even if the property is annexed into Town, the Town cannot change this zoning.
• This is the only property in Western Loudoun County that is zoned commercial that has not already been developed.
• While the Town cannot dictate what specific businesses are brought into an area, the Town can write policies to steer development toward or away from certain commercial applications.

The Commercial Subcommittee's next meeting will be held Monday, May 10, and will focus on the Central Commercial District.