Larry Malone Speaks To Loudoun BOS on Mountain Zoning

Malone to Loudoun BOS: Strengthen Zoning for the Mountains

Larry Malone, executive director
May 4, 2026

On May 4, the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors debated the instructions to staff regarding changes
in the zoning ordinance affecting the Mountain Overlay District. Comments by Larry Malone appear below.

I speak on behalf of Friends of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

I urge you to strengthen—not weaken—the zoning protections for our mountains. Many of the uses permitted by the current zoning ordinance are incompatible with steep slopes and dense forests, regardless of how carefully they are sited.

Public safety, public health, and the long-term strength of Loudoun’s economy depend on protecting the mountains from development.

Blue Ridge Mountain Road is at capacity. Additional non-residential development will increase traffic, intensify parking demand, and create pressure to widen roads, and pave more parking thus attracting more traffic—an unending cycle.

The result will be increased congestion and more accidents.

Ensuring safety on our roads must remain one of your highest priorities as you consider the Western Loudoun zoning ordinance.

Our Mountains are essential to the health of our community. These forests remove thousands of tons of greenhouse gases and produce millions of pounds of oxygen. They filter runoff before it reaches our streams and, ultimately, the Chesapeake Bay.

Expanding non-residential development in the mountains will erode this natural capacity to clean our air and water. If nature no longer performs these functions freely, taxpayers will bear the cost—spending millions to replace what we once had at no cost.

Our Mountains are vital to Loudoun’s economy. Visit Loudoun has clearly documented the importance of our natural environment to the tourism industry. Every new parking lot, commercial building, or retail use on these slopes brings us closer to degrading the very landscape that draws visitors here.

Members of the Board, you are thoughtful and capable leaders. You have the insight to understand the long-term consequences of these zoning decisions, and the courage to act in the best interests of Loudoun County.

Thank you.