Ed. — From the Sunday, Dec. 1, print edition.
VIRGINIA BEACH — Virginia Beach’s comprehensive plan contains hundreds of pages of technical jargon, visionary ideals and pretty pictures from the past and present. It’s meant to provide planners and policymakers with a long-term land use strategy for this diverse city. A lofty goal.
Today’s task is to bring that plan up to date and project it into the future. State law requires that the plan be reviewed every five years for necessary amendments. The last update was in 2016, when I served on the Planning Commission and participated in the process of developing it and recommending it to the City Council.
Eight years is a long time to wait, but a draft of a revised plan finally is on its way. An updated comprehensive plan is essential for an ever-changing place like Virginia Beach. Without one, leaders make land use decisions according to an outdated plan, current conditions or personal whim.
None of these options is advantageous for a rapidly growing city whose residents, given their coastal proximity, need a plan that looks forward while prioritizing preservation, conservation and sustainability.
“During the first set of public meetings to gather input on the Comprehensive Plan update, residents expressed support for redevelopment,” Kathy Warren, the city’s planning director, told me recently.
Accordingly, the updated plan identifies the city’s existing strategic growth areas, or SGAs, as ideal for this development type.
“This is one of the ways we aim to protect and preserve existing neighborhoods, which was foremost in the public commentary during the first rounds of public engagement,” Warren said.
Citizen comments also emphasized the need for greenfields and conveyed a sense of urgency in the need to address environmental changes and development pressures.
“Many residents understand the need for the city to grow ‘up’ instead of out,” Warren said. “These objectives are also reflected in the updated plan. There’s guidance as to where and how to do that.”
The Planning Commission reviewed the first two chapters of the draft plan during a special workshop on Thursday, Nov. 21.
Consultants presented the draft chapters, giving an overview to the diverse areas of this city, like the rural and coastal, which are referred to as “context areas.” The chapters also examine citywide priorities such as transportation, development, the environment and housing. They also distinguish the city’s “place” types to guide land use according to an area’s character, function and development patterns.
There are seven chapters in the Comprehensive Plan update. The Planning Commission will review the remaining chapters in December and January.
“We’re working in small chunks to gather input and further refine the chapters,” Warren said. “After each set of chapters is reviewed by the Planning Commission, they are made available online for the public to review.”
Warren told me the critical difference between the next plan and the current iteration is that the new plan will be more streamlined and user-friendly for the public, city staff and the leaders who will use its policies.
“It’s a more streamlined process document, which makes it easier to connect the dots,” Warren said. “Conclusions about a development application can be drawn sooner rather than later.”
The current review of the seven-chapter drafts begins the update’s final phase.
Two citywide public meetings will be held in February to review the revised plan. Stakeholders and area committees like the Agricultural Advisory Committee, the Historic Preservation Committee and the Bayfront Advisory Committee get to see how their interests have been addressed and incorporated into Virginia Beach’s plan. After that, it’s on to the City Council for approval and adoption. If all goes well, Virginia Beach will have a new Comprehensive Plan in time for the summer season.
This updated Comprehensive Plan is taking longer than expected to reach the desks of those who will use it. We can be frustrated by the delay, or we can use it to our advantage by attending these last rounds of public meetings to provide input on the plan that will shape Virginia Beach in the coming years.
The city’s future is worth the time.
Ed. — The public can learn more about the draft comprehensive plan process online at the city website.
The author is a former Virginia Beach Planning Commissioner and college professor. Reach her at leejogger@gmail.com.
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