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What is the Comprehensive
Plan?
The Comprehensive
Plan is a document that establishes policies that guide the
future development of the County, establishes a vision for the
future and identifies a strategy for achieving that vision.
Although general in nature, the Comprehensive Plan includes a
review of many different aspects of physical development
including land use, transportation, public utilities, parks and
recreation, historic preservation, redevelopment, economic
development and environmental resources.
The
Comprehensive Plan
enables local government officials and citizens to anticipate
and deal constructively with changes occurring within the
community. Though its format varies from jurisdiction to
jurisdiction, the comprehensive plan is a broad effort to
address a wide range of community issues and concerns,
understanding the important relationships between each part.
Why
have a Comprehensive Plan?
Virginia State law requires that
all local governments have an adopted Comprehensive Plan, which
spells out policies for future development in order to ensure
orderly growth and the protection of the public health and
welfare. The Comprehensive Plan may consist of a number of
components, such as local area plans, service plans, and
specific land-use related resolutions of the Board of
Supervisors. Section 15.2-2223 of the Code of Virginia
states:
"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."
By
requiring local governments to adopt comprehensive plans, the
legislature implied that local government issues are best
handled at the local level of government. This Comprehensive
Plan, therefore, is the vehicle by which the local government
officials and citizens of Middlesex County express their goals
for the future of their community.
Why Update The Comprehensive
Plan?
The Plan
is used by citizens, developers, County staff, the Planning
Commission, and the Board of Supervisors to develop and
implement a course of growth for Middlesex County. As much has
changed in our community over the last five years, the update is necessary to assess new
needs, develop solutions for new and long-term challenges, and
to plan for new growth while enhancing our existing community.The
Plan update will consist of researching and analyzing the
County's goals and objectives, current conditions, future
trends, future land use plans and implementation strategies.
About Middlesex County's
Comprehensive Plan
Middlesex County's first
Comprehensive Plan was approved
in 1977. The County's
current Comprehensive Plan was adopted by the Board of
Supervisors in 1994, and subsequently updated by the
Board of Supervisors in 2001. The text of the current Middlesex
County Comprehensive Plan can be found
here.
What is The Relationship Between
the Comprehensive Plan and Zoning?
The Comprehensive Plan forms the
guide for zoning in Middlesex County, and can be considered a
"blueprint" for future zoning decisions. While future land use
plan designations are only recommendations of possible future
use, they are used as an important guide for the changing of any
zoning classification. The Plan is not a zoning ordinance and
amendments will not change existing zoning designations, but it
is a guide for which zoning changes are anticipated and
considered. |
