How Do We Determine the Future of Loudoun County?
Blog post written by Mark Baker of Bowman Consulting, who acts as the Chamber’s representative to the Comprehensive Plan Stakeholder’s Committee
Loudoun County has recently embarked upon revising their Comprehensive Plan which will guide the development and management of Loudoun County for the next 10-20 years. The Comprehensive Plan establishes the vision for the future of Loudoun County; it serves as a tool for planning our future growth; and it sets policies to guide decision making for development proposals, future public/private investment, new ordinances and new standards for the future. The Comprehensive Plan includes both a new General Plan and Transportation Plan. How do we determine this new plan for Loudoun County?
The new Comprehensive Plan Charter was endorsed by the BOS on April 21, 2016. The Plan Charter will assist in determining where we want to go and what we want to be as a County. The plan charter is a plan on how to create the Comprehensive plan. Topic areas include: Economic Development, Transition Policy Area, Housing Choice and Diversity, Redevelopment and Revitalization, Suburban Policy Area, Community Facilities and Infrastructure, Quality of Development, Fiscal Management, and Growth Management. For more general information on the New Comprehensive Plan and its process, click here for more information and background.
Engagement is key to the development of our New Comprehensive Plan. To this end, the Board of Supervisors have engaged County Staff, Stakeholders, outside Consultants, and devised public input sessions to glean maximum input from constituency.
As part of this constituency, Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce has a seat on the Stakeholders Committee. The Stakeholder Committee is composed of 26 various citizens and representatives of key stakeholder groups within the County. The Stakeholder Committee will work with Loudoun County Staff and their Consultants to help guide the plan’s development process and provide critical feedback and direction on the New Comprehensive Plan. For more information on the Stakeholder Committee, click here.
The first meeting of the Stakeholder Committee was on June 20th where we were introduced to the County’s intentions, process, components, and schedule for updating the New Comprehensive Plan. Currently, Stakeholder committee meetings are scheduled for the third Monday of the month. The frequency may increase as the project progresses. Meetings are open to the public.
The County has planned for three phases in the process:
1.) Project Preparation
2.) Plan Development Plan Recommendation/Adoption
3.) Plan Implementation
Phase 1 is primarily complete, and the County is about to select their Consultant to assist in the plan preparation and process. We are entering Phase 2 currently, which is projected to occur between April and September of 2016, followed by Recommendation/Adoption by the Planning Commission and then Implementation. The County has targeted Public Outreach meetings to begin in Fall of 2016.
Over the next 18 months, we welcome the business community to engage in the process by participating in Public Outreach meetings, and various input sessions published on the previously noted websites. Specific recommendations and input may be directed to the Chamber’s Policy Committee for further engagement.
Mark W. Baker | Bowman Consulting | Office phone: 703-433-2400
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