Buckingham planning commission declines to add policy statements to draft comprehensive plan; will rely on boardletter to Richmond

The Buckingham County Planning Commission voted to remove two proposed policy statements about local control from the draft comprehensive plan and to rely instead on a letter the Board of Supervisors will send to Richmond. Commissioners voted to exclude both statements before opening the public hearing on the plan.

Commissioner Pete, who drafted one of the suggested statements, told the commission he intended the language to make clear "it's our intent to continue to make our own decisions." County Attorney Ian Wright cautioned that calling local authority a "right" was legally imprecise because Buckingham is a general-law locality. "Your main problem was with calling it a right because we are a general law state," Wright said.

The commission debated whether a political statement about resisting state action belongs in a 5- to 10-year planning document. Several commissioners said the comprehensive plan must remain aligned with state law. Commissioner Jay said the board should instead send the separate letter to state legislators in Richmond rather than include either statement in the plan.

After discussion, a motion not to include either statement and to rely on the previously discussed letter to Richmond passed. Commissioners then returned to the comprehensive-plan item, made minor edits noted in the meeting packet, and voted to approve the draft plan. The commission recorded the approval as unanimous.

Commissioners also agreed to table any separate insertion of political language until after the public hearing and further coordination with the Board of Supervisors. Planning staff said the letter to Richmond had already been provided to the Board of Supervisors.

The decision leaves the comprehensive plan as a locally developed, living document that staff said will be updated as state law and local policy change.