Centreville planning chair outlines Comprehensive Plan 2040 map and text amendments; public hearing set for May 15

Kara Willis, chair of the Centreville Planning Commission, reviewed proposed amendments to the town's Comprehensive Plan 2040 on April 17, describing text changes and map updates that reflect recent zoning actions including the Providence Farm annexation.

Willis told the council the town is required by the state to maintain a comprehensive plan and that the commission is bringing a set of text and map edits intended to align the plan with recent annexations, zoning updates and the planning commission's recommendations. "The town of Centreville is required by the state to have a comprehensive plan. We update it every 10 years," Willis said, adding that the amendments combine map redrawings with new future land-use categories such as a "complete neighborhood" designation.

The amendments Willis described include: adding the Providence Farm annexation into the town's growth-area boundary; creating a new "complete neighborhood" future land-use category applied initially to the Providence Farm parcel; expanding the central business district boundary in the downtown area (including up to the Dollar General parcel and across Pennsylvania Avenue) to encourage a more walkable, mixed-use character; and correcting mapping errors where parcels had previously been mislabeled (for example, a commercially zoned lot that appeared as open space on the comp-plan maps).

Willis answered council questions about implementation of the complete-neighborhood concept and the related TND (traditional neighborhood development) code changes. She said the commission is working to align the code with the map changes before designating additional infill sites as TND, noting that the commission is piloting the approach using two sample areas: "we've got 200 plus acres on one side. You've got about 40 on the other," Willis said, referring to the annexation parcel and a smaller infill parcel used for code testing. Willis said the annexation's commercial and residential components need coordinated TND language so both parcels can be addressed under one code.

The council discussed timing and next steps. The council clerk indicated the resolution accompanying the amendment (Resolution 5-2025) will be the subject of a public hearing scheduled for May 15. No formal vote to adopt the comp-plan amendments occurred at the April 17 meeting; Willis and staff said the commission will continue code work and the public hearing will be the next council-level opportunity for public comment.

Why it matters: The text and map edits will guide where Centreville expects growth and the character of future development (for example, walkable mixed-use blocks versus more intensive commercial uses). The amendments also correct mapping errors and bring the comp plan into alignment with recent annexations, a necessary step before code changes and site-specific development proposals come back to the town for permitting.

Next steps: The council has scheduled a public hearing on the Comprehensive Plan 2040 resolution for May 15; staff and the planning commission will continue drafting the TND code language ahead of future council review.