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Deep Creek area plan presented to Chesapeake Planning Commission; staff outlines guiding principles and opportunity areas
Summary
Staff presented the Deep Creek area plan, covering roughly 37 square miles and recommending nearly 50 policies and about 40 projects focused on connectivity, preservation, design, and balanced growth. The plan will return to the commission in February and to City Council in April for consideration.
Planning staff presented the Deep Creek area plan to the Chesapeake Planning Commission on Jan. 14, describing the study area (about 37 square miles, excluding the Great Dismal Swamp), an extensive public-engagement program, guiding principles, and four opportunity areas where redevelopment or preservation strategies could concentrate.
Anna Nagorniak, project manager for the plan, summarized outreach: 10 community outreach events, two surveys, and 12 stakeholder-committee meetings. "This plan looks at the Deep Creek and Camelot planning areas," she said, and staff identified five guiding principles—preservation, accessibility, connectivity, community empowerment and balanced, responsible progress—that informed recommended policies and projects. Nagorniak said input revealed recurring concerns about traffic and multimodal connectivity, a desire to preserve open space and historic character, and interest in more local amenities.
Opportunity-area concepts included the North George Washington Highway corridor (envisioned as a neighborhood-services hub with enhanced pedestrian connectivity), a South Military Highway corridor strategy that proposes a new parallel Main Street rather than forcing the existing highway to function as a main street, Deep Creek Village with adaptive reuse of an old school site to create a plaza and local destination, and Culpeper Landing where staff proposed activating green space, improving trail connections and evaluating the feasibility of a pedestrian bridge across the canal in coordination with the Army Corps.
Staff said they are making final revisions and plan to present the draft to the Planning Commission in February and then to City Council in April with the goal of adoption and implementation. Director McNamara noted the comprehensive plan recommended last year will be presented to council on Jan. 20. "We're really excited about the opportunity to present this for public hearing for council's consideration," he said.
Next steps: Staff will finalize draft revisions, schedule the Deep Creek plan for Planning Commission review in February, and pursue City Council consideration in April with additional public meetings to follow.
