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Staunton staff outline revised strategic-plan priorities, timeline for implementation updates
Summary
City staff summarized council’s revisions to the Staunton strategic plan (the "Staunton plan") and proposed a process for tracking implementation, timelines and public-facing reporting; topics include economic development, responsible growth, sustainability, parks and recreation, communications and capital planning.
City staff presented an updated “Staunton Plan” strategic-framework draft on Oct. 9 that organizes council priorities into four broad areas—comprehensive economic development, responsible growth and land use, environmental sustainability and infrastructure, and quality-of-life initiatives such as parks and recreation—alongside a communications element and other cross-cutting tasks.
Leslie Beauregard and staff summarized Council’s retreat changes and said the plan is a living document intended to guide department work and the FY 2027 budget process. Staff proposed a schedule to align departmental performance measures and capital improvement planning with the strategic areas and said they would return in November with recommended timelines and a process for regular updates.
Key items discussed include an implementation focus for enterprise-zone and economic-development efforts, a holistic downtown plan and potential design for a designated outdoor refreshment area (DORA) for festival districts; updating permitting and development-review systems; reexamining lighting and short-term-rental regulations; initiating a parks and recreation master plan and considering improvements such as a Moxie Stadium master plan; and environmental measures including a solid-waste reduction plan, flood-resiliency planning, EV-charger siting and facility energy assessments.
Councilors recommended adjustments to grouping and phrasing—one councilor asked that bicycle, pedestrian and greenway planning be incorporated under an overall “quality of life” or recreation heading to better reflect connectivity and access. Staff said they would refine timelines, confirm departmental performance measures for the FY 2027 budget and share a proposed reporting cadence. The council did not take final action; staff will return with more specific timelines and reporting proposals.
