Manassas council hears 2045 comprehensive plan and mobility master plan updates; traffic calming, Route 28 corridor and housing highlighted

Manassas City Council members spent the work session reviewing an update to the city’s 2045 Comprehensive Plan and a new Mobility Master Plan that staff said will guide land‑use, transportation and parks decisions for the next two decades.

The update, presented by planning staff, notes that “the current plan was adopted in February of 2020, and the Code of Virginia requires that a review of the plan take place every five years,” and frames the work as a set of recommendations to guide future zoning and design work, not as immediate regulatory changes, the presentation said.

City planners outlined several high‑priority proposals: creating a Route 28 “tourist corridor” overlay to allow higher aesthetic and streetscape standards on that gateway; focusing redevelopment and “missing‑middle” housing options in the Mathis Avenue character area (the shopping center site was noted as a redevelopment opportunity); recommending the Marstellar site as a candidate location for Fire Station 1 and for park, recreation and cultural planning; and stronger environmental measures such as increased tree canopy.

Why it matters: the comprehensive plan sets the city’s long‑range policy framework and signals issues that will require follow‑up zoning, design guidance and community outreach. Several council members emphasized the advisory nature of the plan and asked staff to make clear that adoption of plan language would not itself change property rules or trigger construction without further steps.

Transportation and safety priorities dominated the mobility update. Staff described the Mobility Master Plan as a technical, multimodal document covering roadways, transit, bicycle and pedestrian facilities and traffic safety. The presentation noted about 150,000 average daily trips in Manassas, with roughly 10% of trips under one mile and about 25% under two miles — indicators staff said point to opportunities for shifting short trips to walking, bicycling or micromobility.

Planners reported that the updated traffic model shows 50 of 62 signalized intersections operating at a level of service C or…