None of the Town's design guidelines uses the word TPO. They do describe flat roofs behind parapets, and one line sorts "rubber membrane" by whether the street can see the roof.
A building in neither district is outside these two documents, and the Leesburg roofing page shows how to check an address and which counter issues the permit.
Chapter 5 lists the traditional roof materials as standing-seam metal, slate, wood, asphalt shingles, clay and concrete tiles. It asks owners to replace with a material that matches the original, or "another traditional material" where that suits the building. Chapter 7 says commercial roofs are generally shed or gable, and warns against flat or low-pitched primary roofs without a parapet wall.
The materials list says roofs should use quality materials such as metal or textured asphalt shingles, then adds that "Flat roofs may employ other materials such as a rubber membrane." Two items later, the list gives the condition quoted in the table below.
| Line, and where it sits | What it says | What it leaves open |
|---|---|---|
| Gateway, materials, item 12 (page 3.29) | "Roll roofing, built-up tar and gravel, rubber membrane, plastic or fiberglass roofing materials are not appropriate unless they are used on flat roofs not visible from the public right-of-way." | It does not define "rubber membrane", name TPO, EPDM or PVC, or say how "not visible" is measured. |
| Gateway, existing structures, item 1c | "Traditional roof forms and materials should be used," and flat roofs with parapet walls are named among the most common forms in Leesburg. | It does not say whether item 12 reaches a re-roof of an existing flat roof, since item 12 sits in the new-construction materials list. |
| Old and Historic District, chapter 5, roofs (pages 50 and 51) | Replace with a matching material or "another traditional material"; no membrane is named among the traditional ones. | It does not say how a hidden shed roof behind a parapet is treated when only its covering changes. |
| Old and Historic District, chapter 5, inappropriate treatments | No vents, skylights or solar panels "unless placed inconspicuously on secondary elevations". | It says nothing about rooftop mechanical units on an existing building. |
| Both, rooftop equipment | New buildings: integrate it and screen it on all sides. Gateway: screen equipment visible from the district. | No height, setback or screen material is given for a unit already on a roof. |
The Town's Old and Historic District page says a Certificate of Appropriateness is needed for all exterior changes before work begins, and its Certificates page lists in-kind roof replacement as a staff-level approval. Whether a new membrane on a roof the street cannot see counts as in-kind is for the staff to say.
The Town's Preservation Manager is listed at (703) 771-2773. Two questions came up while reading; ask them before a membrane is chosen.
No. The Gateway guidelines say "rubber membrane" and the Old and Historic District Guidelines name no membrane at all. Whether a given single-ply sheet falls under the Gateway phrase is a question for staff; our flat roof page explains how single-ply roofs are built.
The guidelines do not give a test. A parapet hides a roof from some places and not from others, and the text sets no height or sightline.
The line is in the materials list for new construction, while the existing-building item asks for "traditional roof forms and materials".
No. They are separate districts with separate guidelines, from 2020 and 2009, and the Town's Certificates page treats them as different review areas.
For new buildings, equipment is to be integrated and screened on all sides. The Gateway site-design list asks owners to screen rooftop equipment that is visible from the district.
The roof lines quoted here name materials and forms, not membrane color. For an existing roof, the Old and Historic District asks that a replacement match the original in color.
The Leesburg roofing page covers permits and the county and Town split. The Leesburg metal roof page reads the same 2009 guidelines for metal, and the Falls Church TPO page covers another office. For how membrane roofs are built and repaired, see the flat roof guide.
Sources, checked October 12, 2026. The Town's server refuses automated downloads of its PDFs, so the guideline quotations come from archived copies of the Town's PDFs held by the Internet Archive; the page numbers are those printed in the documents. The Town's own Old and Historic District page, opened live, lists the 2009 edition as current. Old and Historic District page, Certificates of Appropriateness page (opened October 11, 2026), Design Guidelines chapter 5 (archived copy), chapter 7 (archived copy), Appendix D glossary (archived copy), Gateway District Design Guidelines (archived copy).
Talk through the next step
Share the address, what you are seeing on the roof and the decision you need to make. We will tell you what to expect before anything is scheduled.
9220 Topaz St, Fairfax, VA 22031
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