City of Fredericksburg Comprehensive Plan DRAFT - December 17, 2014 Key to Consultant Mark-up: Consultant comments shown in italic blue font. Identification of typos or other potential format issues or questions shown in yellow highlight. Comment: I assume that graphic art, photographs, and other style/format elements will be added post adoption. Comment: Consider a serif fontfor main text, as opposed to sans-serif. 1 MH comments v1 Acknowledgements City Council Mary Katherine Greenlaw, Mayor William C. Withers, Vice-Mayor, Ward Two Kerry P. Devine, At-Large Matthew J. Kelly, At-Large Bradford C. Ellis, Ward One Timothy P. Duffy, Ph.D., Ward Three Charlie L. Frye, Jr., Ward Four Planning Commission Richard Friesner, Chair Joanne Kaiman, Vice-Chair James Beavers Roy F. Gratz Roy E. McAfee James M. Pates Richard Dynes City Administration and Staff Beverly R. Cameron, City Manager Kathleen Dooley, City Attorney Chuck Johnston, Director of Community Planning and Building Comment: Often, a longer list of participant acknowledgments is shown. 2 MH comments v1 Table of Contents Comment: Add page number references for each section. It’s good that the pagination is continuous rather than renumbered in each section (which some plans do). Part I: A Livable City[Comment: It could be helpful to add a subtitle here that tells the reader what the content of this Part is: “an overview of the vision and basic data”.] Preface Chapter 1: City Council Vision and Comprehensive Plan Overview Chapter 2: Fredericksburg: A Community Profile Part II: Promoting and Sustaining a Livable Community[Comment: It could be helpful to add a subtitle here that tells the reader what the content of this Part is: “Goals and Policies for key elements of the city”] Chapter 3: Transportation Chapter 4: Public Services, Public Facilities, and Preserved Open Space Chapter 5: Environmental Protection Chapter 6: Business Opportunities Chapter 7: Residential Neighborhoodsand Housing [Comment: The actual title of the Chapter includes the word “housing”. However, it is fairly light on actual “affordable housing” strategies in terms of meeting the requirements of the state code] Chapter 8: Historic Preservation Chapter 9: Institutional Partnerships Chapter 10: A Livable Community[missing from this file] Part III: Land Use Chapter 11: Land Use Plan Chapter 12: Planning Areas Part IV: Appendices [Comment: These are not included in this digital file. If hard copies do not include the appendix, a note referencing “under separate cover” would be appropriate. Yet this is a moot point for web publication]. Comment: Add contents/page numbers for Maps and Tables 3 MH comments v1 4 MH comments v1 Part I: A Livable City Defining the City’s Future In 2007, the City Council adopted a Vision Statement to guide Fredericksburg toward its 300th anniversary in 2028. This Comprehensive Plan provides the framework for the community to attain that vision – addressing current conditions, defining goals for the future, and providing strategies that reconcile existing conditions and the City’s desired outcomes. This Part I of the Comprehensive Plan sets the stage with a clear statement of vision, a brief overview of what a comprehensive plan is supposed to be, and a presentation of facts about community. Preface Chapter 1: City Council Vision and Comprehensive Plan Overview Chapter 2: Fredericksburg: A Community Profile Comment: It would be beneficial to readers to have some citywide graphics up front, such as maps or photos or other graphic art to give feel for the context and character of the City, in time and place. This may already be planned for the final document. 5 MH comments v1 Preface Fredericksburg, Virginia, December 2014 This Comprehensive Plan has been prepared to guide decision making. It is to be used to help the City of Fredericksburg move forward in a manner that embraces local values and achieves the City’s vision for itself. The Fredericksburg City Council adopted its last comprehensive plan in 2007. A year later, the nation experienced a severe economic downturn that had a tremendous impact on the available revenues that are used to cover local government costs. The local real estate market dropped, although not as significantly as it did in some parts of the country, due to the City’s favorable location along the Interstate-95 corridor, within the Northern Virginia/Washington D.C. metropolitan area. Still, some area housing lost value and many local businesses are still recovering. In 2015, the City is seeing renewed investment in the community and this Plan renews the City’s policies to guide the anticipated growth. This Comprehensive Plan is organized as follows: Part I: The City’s vision, plan overview, and community profile Part II: Promoting and Sustaining a Livable Community Part III: Land use map and ten sub-planning areas Part IV: AppendicesUnder separate cover? Comment/Note: State Law (§ 15.2-2225) requires that the draft Comprehensive Plan be posted on the web prior to adoption: “Prior to the recommendation of a comprehensive plan or any part thereof, the local planning commission shall (i) post the comprehensive plan or part thereof that is to be considered for recommendation on a website that is maintained by the commission or on any other website on which the commission generally posts information, and that is available to the public or that clearly describes how the public may access information regarding the plan or part thereof being considered for recommendation…” 6 MH comments v1 Chapter 1: City Council Vision and Comprehensive Plan Overview Introduction The concept of the public welfare is broad and inclusive. The values it represents are spiritual as well as physical, aesthetic as well as monetary. It is within the power of the legislature to determine that the community shall be beautiful as well as healthy, spacious as well as clean, well-balanced as well as carefully patrolled. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas The ability of the City of Fredericksburg to direct its own future lies principally in its authority to regulate land use and in the wisdom of the City Council’s decisions when investing in public improvements. A Comprehensive Plan provides the adopted policies that can guide the City toward its stated objectives. Planning is ongoing, however, in a dynamic process that includes professional analysis and citizen participation. When people define the qualities that make Fredericksburg an attractive place to live and do business, they often resort to phrases like quality of life, small town atmosphere, and sense of place. These words express the values of the community, but if they are to remain a reality, they must be sustained and enhanced through specific policies. Places with a good quality of life provide maximum opportunity for social encounter and exchange in public places, as citizens attend to their daily activities. Attention to the community’s physical, social, and economic attributes is the key to maintaining an authentic sense of place. 7 MH comments v1 Vision Statement In 2007, the Fredericksburg City Council adopted a Vision Statement that sets out the community’s fundamental values as it approaches the 300 year anniversary of its existence: Since the City’s founding in 1728, the citizens of Fredericksburg have overcome many challenges, created the character of the City, and ensured its extraordinary role in our Nation’s history. During our stewardship of this great City, we resolve to build on this heritage and add our mark on the City’s history. The City Council’s vision for Fredericksburg at its 300th Anniversary is: To be a city animated by a sense of its unmatched, irreplaceable history; To be a city characterized by the beauty of its riverfront, the vibrancy of its downtown, and its safe and attractive neighborhoods; To be a city inspired by active arts, cultural, and education communities; To be a city shaped by civic involvement and economic vitality; and To be the city of choice for people of many income levels, cultures, ethnicities, and physical abilities to live, work, and play.Comment: Clearly reaffirming this vision would be helpful, particularly since it refers specifically to the 300th anniversary, which has now passed. Overall, this Vision is sound,although it does not speak specifically to certain elements that are indeed present “between the lines” such as mobility, walkability, connectivity, and historic architectural preservation. The Comprehensive Plan Authority The Commonwealth of Virginia requires a local governing body to adopt a comprehensive land use plan, prepared by the local planning commission, for the physical development of the jurisdiction. The specified process is to study existing conditions, growth trends, and probable future requirements and then develop a plan for “the purpose of guiding and accomplishing a coordinated, adjusted, and harmonious development of the territory, which will, in accordance with present and probable future needs and resources, best promote the health, safety, morals, order, convenience, prosperity and general welfare of the inhabitants, including the elderly and persons with disabilities (Code of Virginia Section 15.2-2223.A).” 8 MH comments v1 The Comprehensive Plan is to be general in nature, designating the general or approximate location, character, and extent of transportation improvements, new or improved facilities, and development areas. When evaluating growth trends, localities must use the official estimates of either the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service of the University of Virginia, the Virginia Employment Commission, the United States Census Bureau, or other official government projections required for federal transportation planning (Code of Virginia Section 15.2-2223.1). Previous Planning The City’s first Comprehensive Plan was adopted in 1970. It contained a thorough analysis of Fredericksburg’s population, economy, transportation network, housing supply, and public services and facilities and then presented a recommended land use plan.