Chesterfield solicits input on its future

A series of public workshops on Chesterfield County's under-construction comprehensive plan will kick off this week.

The sessions will run through Oct. 6 in each of the county's five magisterial districts. The input collected will be incorporated into the plan, which will be shaped by a 34-member residents steering committee, county staff and a team of planners.

The new guideline for development, expected to be complete in 14 months, will address countywide growth for the first time since the 1980s.

The committee will begin building the plan at its October meeting based on the feedback from the workshops.

"There really needs to be broad participation and general support," committee member Andrea Epps said.

"We're shaping the future of the county, and everyone that lives or works here is vested in the outcome."

Presentations at the workshops will address the county as it looks now, as well as where growth should be focused. "Visioning exercises" will break attendees into small groups for detailed discussions.

"It's a great opportunity," committee member Imad Damaj said. "The input from citizens is going to be put into computer programs and models and directly affect our work. It will tell us, 'This is how we want our county to be in the next 30, 40, 50 years.'"

Residents may attend any of the meetings regardless of their district. The steering committee's monthly meetings are also open to the public.

"It's a very open, transparent process, which I love," said Damaj, a Virginia Commonwealth University professor and president of the Virginia Muslim Coalition for Public Affairs.

The committee is made up of members from a variety of backgrounds and affiliations, he noted, adding that the 34 members are getting along well.

"There's a good spirit of respect and trying to understand each other," he said.

Once complete, the plan will roll Chesterfield's current 22 individual area plans into one, addressing land use, transportation, the environment and economic development, among other issues.

The county's Planning Commission is expected to have a proposed plan for review by October 2010. Then it's on to the Board of Supervisors for final review.

Contact Wesley P. Hester at (804) 649-6976 or .