Norfolk staff, consultants preview draft future land use plan; open houses set for June

Norfolk planning staff and the city’s lead consultants presented a draft future land use plan to the Planning Commission, explained the new place‑type mapping approach and resilience priorities, and announced public open houses and online comment periods for the draft.

The plan’s consultant, Wil Kim, identified the delivery milestone and scale: “The document is nearly 400 pages long,” and the city team said they are in the final internal review phase before public release. City staff described the future land use section as a mapping and guidance tool—not a zoning map—and said it will be used to guide zoning updates, streetscape projects, parks and other implementation tools.

Why it matters: the draft reorients future growth toward higher, lower‑risk areas and toward transit corridors while preserving neighborhood character. That matters for property owners, developers and residents because the map will inform where the city encourages redevelopment, transit‑oriented development and where it prioritizes adaptation measures for sea‑level rise.

Key points presented

- Structure and schedule: staff said the draft sits inside a larger comprehensive plan update that includes pillars, goals, actions and an implementation matrix with departments and timeframes. The consultant delivered the draft to the city for internal vetting and editing.

- Place types and approach: rather than a parcel‑by‑parcel zoning map, the draft uses place types (for example, community mixed use, corridor mixed use, regional activity centers, innovation/production, transportation and logistics, open space and several “sustain” categories tied to character districts). Staff described place types as guidance on form, mobility and character and said they can be fulfilled by multiple zoning districts.

- Flood resilience and priorities: staff said the core intent of the map is to steer growth to resilient, lower‑flood‑risk areas (described as “designing new urban centers”), while identifying high‑flood‑risk economic areas that require protective interventions.

- Transit and planning focus areas: staff tied the plan to prior work including Vision 2100 and to corridor studies such as the Naval Station Norfolk transit corridor effort. They also identified planning focus areas (for follow‑up area plans) including Greater St. Pauls, Military Circle and Southside.

- Implementation tools: planners said the plan will be used in pre‑application and application workflows and that they plan a simple scorecard/rubric linking projects to comp plan goals to help applicants and staff evaluate how proposals meet the plan’s pillars.

Public engagement and next steps

Staff announced four identical phase‑3 public open houses (5–7 p.m.), beginning at Jordan‑Newby Library on June 3 with a 2–4 p.m. preview for advisory groups; additional open houses listed in the presentation will be at Southside Boys & Girls Club, Pretlow Library and the YMC on Granby. An online draft and drop‑box locations for written comments will follow the open houses.

Discussion highlights

Commissioners asked whether arts/maker spaces would be explicitly called out (staff said arts support appears in the plan’s smart actions and in zoning overlays such as the Neon District, and that staff could add clearer language). Commissioners also asked about trail and high‑capacity transit mapping; staff said transportation and public‑facilities maps required by Virginia code are included in the plan package and that the team broadened the modal language from “light rail” to “high‑capacity transit” to reflect multiple corridor options.

What was not decided

The commission received the draft and discussed content and outreach; no formal action, vote or adoption occurred at this meeting. Staff said the draft is under internal review and will be refined based on departmental feedback before the public release and subsequent Planning Commission hearings.

Ending

Staff asked commissioners to review the 11x17 maps at their seats, attend or promote the announced open houses, and submit comments during the public comment period. The city said it will bring a refined draft and implementation proposals back for formal public hearings and eventual adoption.