I. PLANNING PROCESS A. PURPOSE/NATURE OF THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN A Comprehensive Plan provides a framework to guide local leaders in decisions affecting community development. The Comprehensive Plan is a process whereby a locality can give direction to growth within its boundaries. Specifically, it is an official document which is adopted by a locality's governing body to serve as a policy guide for decisions about future physical development within a locality. The Comprehensive Plan, when completed and adopted by the City of Colonial Heights will provide a basis for decision making by the City Council and Planning Commission, as well as the City Manager and his administration, in daily operations. The Comprehensive Plan is general, comprehensive, and long-range in nature. It is comprehensive in that it examines all geographic areas and functional elements which affect future development. It is general in that it contains mainly general recommendations. It is long-range in that it considers distant problems and possibilities which will affect the locality's future. It is intended that the plan reflects the current objectives of local officials and citizens of the jurisdiction and is used in the decision-making process to prepare for anticipated conditions occurring within the next twenty years. The Comprehensive Plan is an important step in the growth and development of a locality. Unguided urban growth can waste tax dollars and valuable land. It can overburden existing water supplies and detract from overall environmental character. Unplanned growth can also lead to land use conflicts. Through Comprehensive Planning, a reasonable estimate of future population levels can be derived, and in turn, determination can be made as to the most suitable areas for this growth to occur, thus minimizing possible future land use conflicts. Likewise, Comprehensive planning can help point out general areas which will require higher levels of utilities, services, and community facilities, as well as indicate improvements to the transportation system that will be required. The Code of Virginia sets forth the scope and purpose of the Comprehensive Plan. Virginia Law requires all local governments to prepare and adopt a Comprehensive Plan by July 1, 1980 and requires local governments to review and, if necessary, to revise those plans every five years. The authority for preparation of the Comprehensive Plan originates with Title 15.1-446.1 of the Code of Virginia as follows: The comprehensive plan shall be made with 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. 1 In 1972 the first Comprehensive Plan for the City was prepared but not officially adopted by the governing body of the City. The Planning Commission approved its concept, but the document was not made official. In 1978 a Comprehensive Plan was prepared and adopted, using much of the 1972 plan with additional research and depth. Since 1978 the Comprehensive Plan has not been revised and updated. This document will serve as the 1996 update for the next twenty (20) year period. B. PLAN ORGANIZATION The Comprehensive Plan for the City of Colonial Heights is intended to serve as a broad policy guide concerning decisions about future development and redevelopment in Colonial Heights, Virginia. The objective of the City's Comprehensive Plan is to provide a framework and serve as a flexible guide to be used by local government, the private sector and citizens of the City toward the attainment of the highest level of health, safety, morals, order, convenience, prosperity, and general welfare of all City residents. To this end, the Colonial Heights Comprehensive Plan Update discusses many elements which together form the character of Colonial Heights. The following elements comprise Colonial Height's Comprehensive Plan Update: I. THE PLANNING PROCESS - consists of the purpose/nature of the Comprehensive Plan, plan organization, and a summary of the government, planning and zoning. II. COMMUNITY PROFILE - consists of history/regional setting, population trends and characteristics, economic conditions, and housing. III. ENVIRONMENTAL INVENTORY - summarizes geology and topography, soils, hydrology, floodplains, wetlands, Chesapeake Bay Preservation Areas, and water quality. IV. ANALYSIS OF EXISTING CONDITIONS - provides information on existing land use, existing highways and transportation, community services and facilities and planning factors affecting development. V. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES - consists of goals and objectives for all planning elements. VI. COMPREHENSIVE PLAN - provides plans for land use, transportation, and community services and facilities. VII. PLAN IMPLEMENTATION - outlines administration of the plan. VIII. CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PROGRAM - provides 1992-1997 capital improvement plan. 2 C. SUMMARY OF GOVERNMENT, PLANNING, AND ZONING Government The City of Colonial Heights is organized under the Council/Manager form of government. City Council is the governing body that makes policies for the proper administration of the City. Council is elected at large by the voters and is comprised of seven (7) members, who elect a Mayor from their number for a two-year term. The Mayor presides over meetings of the Council and is recognized as the head of city government for all ceremonial purposes. Council terms are for four years and a portion of Council is elected every two years. The Council appoints a City Manager, who serves at the pleasure of Council, to act as administrative head of the City. The City Manager attends all Council meetings and is charged with the implementation of Council's policy decisions. The City Manager directs all other business procedures for the City and has the power of appointment and removal of the heads of all departments and employees under his supervision. Planning Department The Colonial Heights Planning Department administers the day-to-day planning of the City as well as long-term planning. Colonial Heights also participates in the Crater Planning District Commission's local planning assistance program. The primary nature of this assistance is to provide research, reports, and expertise concerning the physical characteristics, population, and regional land use relationships pertinent to the City. The Colonial Heights Planning Commission performs its duties under the adopted City Charter and City Code. There are seven (7) voting members, five (5) of which are locally appointed commissioners; the sixth is a voting representative from the City Council and the seventh is a member of the Board of Zoning Appeals. The Commission holds regularly scheduled monthly meetings (the first Tuesday of every month) and occasional workshops. Zoning The Colonial Heights City Code of 1959 was amended in 1968 to add a new chapter designated for the purpose of adopting a comprehensive zoning ordinance and planning map. At this time, the City had nine zoning classifications: four (4) residential, two (2) business, and three (3) industrial. In 1990 the zoning ordinance was amended to include a new article XI, Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area Overlay District, to provide for the regulation of land development within delineated preservation areas. This updated zoning ordinance and map also included an expanded number of zoning classifications: five (5) residential, six (6) business, one (1) mixed use, and two (2) industrial. Other ordinances that the City uses to guide development are the Subdivision Ordinance, Site Plan Ordinance, and the Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Ordinance, each amended in 1991 to comply with the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act. 3 II. COMMUNITY PROFILE A. INTRODUCTION History Colonial Heights, originally a part of Chesterfield County, became a town in 1926 and an incorporated city in 1948. Its history goes back much further, however, as it was the site of significant battles during both the American Revolution and the Civil War. The name "Colonial Heights" refers to the Revolutionary battle between Lafayette's artillery, stationed on Oak Hill overlooking the Appomattox River, and the British forces stationed in Petersburg. Legend indicates that an English soldier exclaimed, "Look! There are the Colonials, up on the heights!", hence, the name Colonial Heights. The first recorded settlement in Colonial Heights was by Thomas Shore. In 1775, he purchased 144 acres of land across the Appomattox River from Petersburg. There he built his mansion and called it Violet Bank. Later, in 1864, during the War Between the States, the mansion and grounds of Violet Bank became headquarters for General Robert E. Lee. Lee was camped at Violet Bank on the morning of July 30, 1864, when he heard the explosion of the Crater. Today, Violet Bank is owned by the City of Colonial Heights and serves as a Civil War museum and is a registered Virginia Historic Landmark. Regional Setting The City of Colonial Heights is located in southeastern Virginia, 20 miles south of Richmond, Virginia's state capital, and 120 miles south of the nation's capital. The City of Petersburg lies directly across the Appomattox River. Colonial Heights is located where the Tidewater plain meets the Piedmont plateau. The City is bordered to the south by Petersburg, to the east by the Appomattox River, and by Chesterfield County to the north. Colonial