County’s comprehensive plan nears review

BY SUSAN GIBBS, Record Reporter
Published: July 10, 2008

The County has enlisted the aid of the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission (TJPDC) in the review of its Comprehensive Plan, scheduled to begin in the fall.
While it is advisory in nature, the state-mandated Comprehensive Plan will guide the County’s actions regarding land use, economy, physical features and quality of life in Greene for years to come. The State requires that Comprehensive Plans be reviewed at least every five years. Greene’s was last reviewed in 2003.
At that time the County’s Comprehensive Plan was examined by a review committee consisting of 10 appointed and three volunteer members. Seven task forces were formed to look in detail at key areas of the County: future land use; economic development; natural resources; tourism; agriculture; transportation; and, infrastructure.
Now, “TJPDC will use the framework of the existing plan and work closely with the County’s planning department and two members of its planning commission to make changes,” says Chairman of Greene’s Board of Supervisors Steve Catalano.
A Comprehensive Plan is the basis for land development regulations and decisions, capital improvements, transportation, environmental and historic resource protection initiatives, new programs and decisions on the distribution of budget dollars to programs and agencies.
Developing practical, visionary plans and assisting partners with implementation is part of TJPDC’s mission. Those partners are, in addition to Greene, the City of Albemarle and the counties of Albemarle, Fluvanna, Louisa and Nelson.
Bill Wanner, senior regional planner at TJPDC says that when comprehensive plans are being developed it “sometimes helps to bring in an outside agency.”
No outside agency helped review Greene’s Comprehensive Plan in 2003.
One of those volunteers was Carl Schmitt, who, prior to his election to the Board of Supervisors last fall, served on the Comprehensive Plan Review Committee. He also served as chairman of the Future Land Use Task Force and as a member of the Economic Development, Natural Resources, and Agriculture task forces.
Schmitt says he supports TJPDC’s involvement in the coming review of the County’s Comprehensive Plan.
“TJPDC ‘s involvement brings a lot of credibility, background and knowledge about land use planning and comprehensive plans in general (to the table). Working with them, getting extensive public input, should help us come up with a good plan,” Schmitt says.
Catalano applauds the work the task forces did.
That work concluded with recommendations for, among other things: the establishment of an economic development process; the establishment of an organization to promote tourism; the identification of the long range funding needs of the county and prioritization of allocations; the development of a water supply; the improvement of transportation; and, the establishment of new zoning ordinances for both growth and rural areas.

Since then, the County has: hired an economic development director with extensive experience at the state level; established an organization to promote tourism; adopted a proffers system; and, identified its long range funding needs and prioritized allocations. It has considered new zoning ordinances and is currently working on the development of a water supply.
Its transportation problems, however, remain unresolved.
Transportation, says Wanner is “going to be a big part of (the upcoming review). What we want to do is compliment Places 29.”
Places 29 is a Master Planning Process for Albemarle’s four northern development areas coupled with a transportation study of the U.S. 29 North Corridor. It means to help shape the future of Albemarle County north of Charlottesville.
It is related to the U.S. 29 North Transportation Corridor Study, a multi-modal effort being led by TJPDC that covers the 10.75-mile stretch of that road from the U.S. 250 Bypass in Charlottesville north to the Greene County line.
Both Places 29 and the U.S. 29 North Transportation Corridor Study are re a joint project of Albemarle County, the Virginia Department of Transportation and TJPDC are involved in both studies. The City of Charlottesville and the University of Virginia are cooperating with the projects, and consultants are assisting.
The Places 29 Master Plan will be incorporated into Albemarle’s Comprehensive Plan, and Wanner thinks it should be incorporated into Greene’s as well.
That Plan, says Wanner, is about “how transportation is working up and down the Corridor regardless of political jurisdiction.”
Another area that Wanner says he will be taking a hard look at is Greene’s growth areas.
“We want to make sure they actually achieve what folks want them to achieve. Right now they are so big there tends to be too much sprawl,” Wanner says. He will also be taking a look at such things as preservation techniques in rural areas, environmental concerns, and consistency.
But he won’t be taking any of those looks alone.
“Issues that require detailed examination will be sent to committees consisting of County residents, willing to volunteer their time, appointed by the County’s Planning Commission,” says Catalano.
And, public meetings that Catalano likens to town meetings will be held to garner public input.
Says Wanner: “First and foremost, we are sympathetic to the desires of the community. Citizen participation is a big part of what we do.”