Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Comprehensive Planning topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Pittsylvania County opens comprehensive plan update public hearing; consultant lays out 12–18 month process
Summary
Consultant Line and Grade presented its approach for a 20-year comprehensive plan update, proposing a four-phase process and extensive community engagement; the board opened and later closed the public hearing after one public comment urging a “people-first” approach.
Pittsylvania County on Sept. 16 opened a public hearing on its comprehensive plan update and heard a presentation from Line and Grade, the county’s selected consultant, which described a four-phase process and proposed 12 to 18 months to complete the plan.
Rachel Falkenstein, project manager with Line and Grade, told the Board of Supervisors the consultant team will combine technical analysis, visual plan documents and broad community engagement. "We anticipate the whole process to take anywhere from 12 to 18 months," Falkenstein said. She described a discovery and visioning phase, a policy-development phase, an implementation/action phase and a final document phase, and said the team would produce a prioritized list of capital and policy projects after community input.
The consultant proposed three engagement components: technical partner meetings (including the Virginia Department of Transportation and neighboring localities), broad public outreach with in-person and virtual options, and a 10–15 member advisory committee to meet throughout the process. Line and Grade said it will pull in existing regional transportation and housing studies and produce a clear, visual plan meant to be accessible to residents and implementable by county staff.
During the public comment portion, Amanda Sink Weidner, a Gretna Collins District resident speaking for the Coalition for the Protection of Pittsylvania County, urged the board to prioritize residents’ quality of life and to be cautious in how the county markets itself to developers. "As long as we put people first, our comprehensive plan will result in being one of the best plans that this county has ever written," Weidner said.
The board closed the public hearing later in the meeting. Line and Grade representatives who spoke included Alan Steinbeck, a senior adviser; Mike Callahan, deputy project manager and director of community planning; and Daniel Hyer, principal at Line and Grade. The county staff member who introduced the consultant was identified in the record as Mr. Arnold.
The presentation outlined that the final product would be delivered as a web-first document with optionally printable materials, and emphasized integrating land use, transportation, housing and economic development recommendations. Board members did not take further action on adoption at the Sept. 16 meeting; the record shows the public hearing opened at the meeting and was closed the same evening to allow the consultant and staff to gather additional input.
The county will accept further public engagement as the consultant begins data collection and advisory committee formation; no adoption vote was scheduled at the Sept. 16 meeting.
