Loudoun County Zoning Watch: Live Updates on Rural Zoning Changes

Zoning in Loudoun County changes more often than most landowners expect. A rule that shaped what you could build last year may be under review right now. The Loudoun County Zoning Watch is our answer to that: a plain-English record of what the county is actually doing, checked every week against county sources.

What is the Loudoun County Zoning Watch?

It is a living resource. Every week we check Loudoun County's own websites and meeting agendas for zoning changes that affect people who want to build in the county. When something real happens, we write it here in plain language, say what it means for a landowner, and link straight to the county page so you can read the original yourself.

We do three things on every entry:

• Say what changed — in normal words, not zoning code.
• Say what stage it is at — proposed, under review, or adopted. These are very different things.
• Show the source — a direct link to the official Loudoun County page, plus the date we last checked it.

Where the information comes from

We monitor primary county sources only:

• loudoun.gov Notify Me and CivicAlerts — the county's own email alert system for planning and zoning notices.
• The Zoning Ordinance Amendment (ZOAM) tracker and county project pages, including the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite page and Western Loudoun Rural Uses and Standards.
• Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission agendas, motions, and staff reports.
• The adopted [Loudoun County Zoning Ordinance](https://www.loudoun.gov/zoningordinance) itself.

We do not publish rumors, social media chatter, or secondhand summaries. If we cannot point to a county document, it does not go on this page.

Who writes this

Dan Caporale, Principal of Hearthstone Design Build. Hearthstone is a design-build firm working on custom homes, estates, and rural properties across Loudoun County and western Virginia, which means we read these ordinances because our own projects depend on them. This page is general information, not legal or zoning advice. Always confirm your parcel with Loudoun County Building and Development.

Dated updates

September 14, 2026 — Rural zoning committee starts voting on real changes: AR-1/AR-2 density, equestrian uses, farm buildings

What happened. The 9-member Ad Hoc Committee working on new rules for rural western Loudoun held its first real work session on August 24, 2026. This was different from its August 11 meeting, which only covered ground rules and a calendar. At the August 24 meeting, the committee worked through seven specific topics and voted on 18 separate motions telling county staff how to write the draft rules. The topics: what happens to farm buildings that no longer meet current rules ("non-conforming agricultural structures"), how conservation easements affect how many homes you can build on AR-1 and AR-2 land ("density"), sawmill permits, food vendors, rural restaurants, horse-related uses ("equestrian uses"), and outdoor lighting on farms.

What stage this is at: proposed, not yet adopted. These are votes that tell county staff which direction to write the draft rules in. They are not new law. The Zoning Ordinance adopted in December 2023 is still what applies to your land today.

What's next. The committee has five more meetings booked: September 15, September 29, October 13, October 29, and November 16, 2026 (plus one on November 9). The September 15 meeting covers bed and breakfasts, guest farms/ranches, seasonal labor housing, and tenant dwellings — topics that matter if you're considering farm income uses on rural land. The county still expects the committee to finish by the end of November 2026, with adoption in early 2027 at the earliest.

What this means if you are building in western Loudoun. If your land is AR-1 or AR-2 and you have, or are considering, a conservation easement, this committee is actively working on the density rule that affects how many houses you can build there — worth watching closely. If you have farm buildings, barns, or equestrian facilities that don't meet current rules exactly, the committee is also working on new flexibility for those. None of this is law yet. Keep designing to the December 2023 ordinance until something is formally adopted.

Source: Next Meeting of Western Loudoun Rural Uses and Standards Ad Hoc Committee is September 15 — loudoun.gov and Western Loudoun Rural Uses and Standards — loudoun.gov/6088.

Last verified: September 14, 2026.

August 24, 2026 — County appoints 9-member committee to work on western Loudoun rural zoning rules

What happened. Loudoun County formed a new committee to help write the rules for farms, wineries, breweries, and other rural businesses in western Loudoun. The Board of Supervisors created this "Ad Hoc Committee" on June 2, 2026. It has 9 members: 4 from the Planning Commission and 5 from the Zoning Ordinance Committee. The committee held its first meeting on August 11, 2026, at the county government building in Leesburg. That first meeting covered ground rules and a meeting calendar — no rule changes were discussed or voted on yet.

What stage this is at: proposed, not yet adopted. This committee is a working group, not a lawmaking body. Its job is to review draft rule language written by county staff and give feedback before anything goes to a public hearing. Nothing the committee does becomes law by itself. The Zoning Ordinance adopted in December 2023 is still what governs your land today.

What happens next. The county expects this committee to finish its work by the end of November 2026. After that, the draft rules go to the Planning Commission for a public hearing, then to the Board of Supervisors for a final vote. The county's own project page now points to adoption in early 2027 at the earliest — not this year.

What this means if you are building in western Loudoun. Nothing changes today. If your project depends on rural business uses — farm wineries, breweries, distilleries, event space, or agricultural processing — this is the group shaping those future rules, and it is worth designing with flexibility until the rules are final. If your project is a straightforward home on an AR-1 or AR-2 lot, this committee's work is unlikely to affect you. Your feasibility work is still lot size, setbacks, well, septic, driveway, and power.

Source: Western Loudoun Rural Uses and Standards Ad Hoc Committee to Hold First Meeting — loudoun.gov and Western Loudoun Rural Uses and Standards — loudoun.gov/6088.

Last verified: August 24, 2026.

August 12, 2026 — Western Loudoun zoning rewrite: still in process, not yet adopted

What is happening. Loudoun County is working through a set of proposed changes to the rules for rural western Loudoun. The county calls it the Western Loudoun Rural Uses and Standards amendment (file numbers CPAM-2024-0002 and ZOAM-2024-0002). The Board of Supervisors approved a plan to study these rules on September 17, 2024. The study grew out of concerns raised during the larger Zoning Ordinance Rewrite, which the county adopted in December 2023.

Where it stands. At a special meeting on May 4, 2026, the Board of Supervisors adopted a Resolution of Intent to Amend and gave staff direction on dozens of stakeholder recommendations covering rural uses such as farm wineries, breweries, and distilleries, event activity, signage, food service, and the Mountainside Overlay District. Later in May the Board reversed part of its own earlier direction on unlimited events at wineries, breweries, and distilleries. Direction to staff is not a new rule. Staff still has to draft ordinance language, and that draft still has to go through public hearings before the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors.

This is in process, not yet adopted. Nothing described above changes what is allowed on your land today. The rules in force are the ones in the adopted Zoning Ordinance.

Why it matters if you want to build in western Loudoun. Three practical points:

1. Agritourism and hospitality plans carry the most risk. If your project depends on events, a tasting room, food service, or a rural restaurant, the standards you design to today may not be the standards in force when you apply. Design with flexibility and confirm current rules before you commission construction documents.

2. Homes on rural parcels are less exposed. A single-family home on a conforming AR-1 or AR-2 parcel is governed by lot size, setbacks, well, and septic rules that are not the center of this amendment. Your feasibility work is still the well, the drainfield, the driveway, and the power run.

3. Timing is a real cost. Amendments of this size take months of drafting and hearings. If a rule change would help your project, waiting for it is a schedule decision with a price attached. If a change would hurt your project, filing under current rules may be the better move.

What we are watching next. Draft ordinance language from staff, the Planning Commission public hearing, and the Board of Supervisors action date.

Source: Western Loudoun Rural Uses and Standards — loudoun.gov/6088 and Zoning Ordinance Rewrite — loudoun.gov/5274.

Last verified: August 12, 2026.

The Loudoun zoning library

These are the standing reference pages we maintain alongside the dated updates:

• Building on Rural Land in Loudoun County — zoning, well and septic, access, power, and stormwater before you design.
• AR-1 vs AR-2 Zoning in Loudoun County — lot size, density, and what each rural district allows.
• The Loudoun County Buildability Checklist — 20 questions to answer before you break ground.
• Zoning Intelligence — every county we cover.
• Building in Loudoun County — our design-build service page for the county.

More dated entries will be added here as the county acts.

Building in a specific Loudoun town?

Zoning is county-wide, but permitting, historic review, and utilities differ town by town. These are our town-level design-build pages for Loudoun and the adjoining hunt country:

• Leesburg, VA — H-1 historic district review plus AR-1/AR-2 rural overlays west of town.
• Middleburg, VA — in-town historic review and AR-2 equestrian estate acreage.
• Purcellville, VA — town limits versus surrounding AR-1 rural parcels.
• Round Hill, VA — Mountainside overlay and steep-slope constraints.
• Hamilton, VA — small-town infill and adjacent rural acreage.
• Marshall, VA — Fauquier RA/RC parcels just over the Loudoun line.
• The Plains, VA — Fauquier hunt country estates.
• Upperville, VA — the Loudoun–Fauquier estate corridor.

Talk to us about your parcel

If a proposed change affects what you are planning, the useful next step is a parcel-specific read rather than a general one. Schedule a consultation or request a feasibility review and we will tell you what the current ordinance allows on your land, and where a pending amendment could move that line.