Loudoun County Launches New Interactive Land Development Mapping System

From the Department of Planning and Zoning: Loudoun County is launching a new interactive land development mapping system, the Loudoun Existing and Potential Development Tool (EPD).

The EPD mapping system provides direct access to information about the existing and potential development of land in the county, including:

• Existing use of structures;
• Existing use of parcels;
• Location and existing number of housing units within residential projects that are completed and approved (not started or partially built); and
• The remaining residential development potential of vacant or under-developed parcels and approved projects (not started or partially built).

The data in the mapping system can be used for land use, capital facilities, and transportation planning purposes as well as fiscal, demographic and market analysis. In addition, the new mapping system will be a useful tool for land use scenario planning initiatives such as Envision Loudoun, the county’s effort to develop a new comprehensive plan.

The development of the tool by the Department of Planning and Zoning came about as a result of a Board of Supervisors-initiated project. The Board directed staff to conduct a detailed, countywide build-out analysis of residential units to determine the development potential for housing in Loudoun under the county’s current land use plan, the Revised General Plan. Residential build-out analyses provide an estimate of the maximum number of residential units under certain development scenarios. The mapping system provides the data that was used to determine the county’s build-out potential.

The information serving as the foundation for the map are current as of July 2016. It will be updated on a quarterly basis beginning in January 2017. The tool will also be enhanced in the coming months to include non-residential projects and the type of non-residential for existing structures.

More information, including a link to the new interactive mapping system, is available online at www.loudoun.gov/DevelopmentMap.

Photo courtesy of Department of Planning and Zoning (Screenshot of the Loudoun County Existing and Potential Development Tool Mapping System)