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City staff outlines progress on Staunton Comprehensive Plan 2045 and next engagement steps
Summary
City planner Mickey (Maggie) Roche and consultant EPCRC-led outreach produced an open house, online mapping survey and stakeholder meetings; next public workshop set for June 25 to draft vision and goals.
Maggie Roche, project staff for the city’s Comprehensive Plan 2045, briefed Staunton City Council on May 8 about public engagement to date and the next steps in drafting the plan that will guide the city through 2045.
Roche said the city contracted a consultant (listed in the packet as EPRPC) in August 2024 and launched public engagement with an open house on Jan. 22 at Staunton High School. She reported “over 25 residents” attended the open house despite cold weather, and that staff used three engagement stations to solicit input on plan purpose, the city’s key elements and goal setting.
An online mapping tool (Social Pinpoint) collected 258 comments from 55 participants, Roche reported, using categories for “big idea,” “favorite thing,” and “problem that needs fixing.” She said transportation received the highest number of comments, followed by recreation and concerns about balancing economic development with preservation of Staunton’s character.
Roche described stakeholder meetings across 10 topic areas and summarized recurring themes: aging infrastructure and development challenges; community engagement and equity; economic sustainability balanced with character preservation; and resource management and interagency collaboration. She said additional outreach included farmer’s‑market intercepts (about 80 conversations), Earth Day events and other community meetings.
Roche said the project recently completed a formal data‑gathering phase and is beginning task 4, identifying community needs and drafting vision and goals. She notified council of a community workshop scheduled for Wednesday, June 25 at Staunton High School and encouraged attendance. Roche said stakeholder surveys will be circulated again and that further stakeholder follow‑ups are planned.
