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City of Lynchburg Comprehensive Plan (2023)

Plan website

2023-08-31 Kickoff meeting

Name of Plan is “LYH Tomorrow - Planning for tomorrow _together_”
Berkley Group project rep speaking first
Speaking about what a comprehensive plan is for those unfamiliar
“The guiding framework for the community's planning tools: Zoning Ordinance, Subdivision Ordinance, Capital Improvements Program, and other Plans & Studies”
Comprehensive plans legally required by Virginia State Code Section 15.2-2223
“Implementable, actionable strategies” - buzzwords to live by
Five year review legally required by Virginia State Code
Consultants have completed diagnostic analysis of existing comprehensive plan
Steps:
- Plan Kickoff
- Data Gathering
- Community Engagement
- Plan Drafting
- Community Feedback
- Refinement and adoption
  - VDOT 729 review
20 month process
Planning horizon is 20 years
Current plan is from 2013-2014
Not sure yet if this will be an update or a full overhaul
1-page agenda is a different document than the multi-page document that planning commissioners
Consultants are working with city staff to develop public engagement survey.
Public engagement survey will be open for 60 days
They're going to run a number of focus groups in 8 categories
- There will be a focus group on mobility and transportation
- They're inviting local organizations to participate in these
There will be 4 public workshops with identical content (dates TBD)
Discussing data that has been collected. Comp plan diagnostic assessed 2014 comp plan, and found that:
- need to update populaton projections
- need to meet VDOT vtrans requirements
- need up to date state housing code requirements
- need to update growth areas to reflect current reality
Berkley group uses APA best practices for planning documents and recommends:
- expand discussion of housing and housing types
- include regional coordination policies
- include implementation matrix
- update plan structure for readability and use
Berkley group is conducting department interviews
departments agree that city is in a great place, has great educational institutions, and a low cost of living
Departments believe aging infrastructure is an issue in the city