Chesterfield County council hears completed joint comprehensive plan, aims to launch joint planning commission in January 2025

Council members on Aug. 14 received a briefing on a completed joint comprehensive plan and a timetable to form a joint planning commission. Lindsay Privet and consultant Phil Linder told the Chesterfield County Council the draft plan is available for public review on town and county websites and that the county will adopt it by ordinance after three readings, with towns adopting after two readings.

"This is important because in a lot of cases, you have very small places that, sometimes get left out because they just can't financially afford to do these types of plans," Privet said, describing why the county pursued a joint approach. Linder, introduced as a former Greenwood County planning director, said the county largely modeled its approach on Greenwood’s program and offered to provide model ordinances and implementation guidance.

Council members and staff discussed next steps and staffing needs. County staff said the department appears comparable in size to peer counties and that the county and towns will continue refining chapters and goals in response to public comment. Privet emphasized that the plan’s chapters contain the key goals the committee and participating towns identified as priorities for the next 20 years.

The presenters said the Palmetto-style outreach and formal adoption schedule are intended to get the joint planning commission operational by January 2025, giving towns and county staff several months to finalize edits and ordinances. No formal vote on adoption occurred at the meeting; the presentation served as an update and call for public review.

The council moved on to other agenda items after a brief Q&A about staffing and outreach. The council’s next steps include public comment on the draft, formal ordinance readings by the county and participating towns, and formation of the joint planning commission once the ordinances are adopted.