Planner asks Lexington commission to adopt Weldon Cooper projections, approves survey and open-house plan

At the July 24 meeting of the Lexington Planning Commission, Jeremy Crute, planner with the Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission, updated the commission on the city’s comprehensive plan revision and asked members for guidance on population projections, a public-survey draft and plans for an open-house public engagement event.

The presentation matters because the population projections and public input will shape housing, water and transportation estimates across future chapters of the comprehensive plan. Crute said draft chapters should start arriving for review within a week and that the project team will circulate a community-profile appendix and a draft survey for commissioners’ comments.

Crute said the population projections in the community profile come “straight from the Weldon Cooper Center out of UVA,” and that the new July release estimates roughly 2 to 3% population growth each coming decade, producing a projection “of little over 7,700 by 2050.” He asked whether the commission was comfortable using Weldon Cooper as the basis for plan forecasts. He told commissioners he could add low and high scenarios and…