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Lynchburg planning staff: comprehensive-plan update underway; draft public in May, hearings late summer
Summary
Planning staff told council the city is in the drafting phase of its comprehensive plan update, required to be reviewed by state code. Staff expects a complete public draft in May and public hearings later in the year; the process includes focus groups, an interactive map and five planning-commission work sessions.
Rachel Fleschajeuser, a city planner, briefed the council on the comprehensive-plan update and explained that the plan is a long-range policy document that guides land use, transportation, natural-environment and community-facility decisions and provides the foundation for zoning and subdivision ordinances.
“We use the comprehensive plan as a resource, to determine whether the request at hand aligns with our comp plan’s goals and visions,” Fleschajeuser said. She summarized the three-phase process — community input and data gathering, plan drafting, and review/refinement — and said the city must also submit the draft to VDOT as required by state code.
Fleschajeuser said the project is in the drafting and planning-commission review stage; three of five work sessions with Planning Commission are complete and staff will schedule interviews with newer council members. She said staff aims to release a complete plan draft to the public in May and to hold public hearings with Planning Commission and City Council in late summer to early fall.
Councilors asked about stakeholder engagement, including Liberty University; staff said stakeholders were included in phase-one focus groups and that additional outreach included interactive mapping and public workshops at elementary schools. One councilor noted the online community survey drew 257 responses, and staff said they supplemented the survey with in-person workshops and focus groups during phase one.
Councilors also asked about the future land-use map; staff confirmed the future land-use map is part of the comprehensive plan and will be evaluated during the update.
