As the City of Waynesboro prepares a plan for the next 20 years, leaders continue to ask residents and business owners to weigh in with their ideas and thoughts for the future.
The effort, titled Waynesboro Together, will take place over 24 months and will work to engage the public to help develop a renewed vision for the River City.
A survey was launched to identify community needs and to pinpoint areas in the city that are visited often, need upkeep or mark where opportunities exist. In addition to the online survey, paper copies are available at the Waynesboro Public Library.
So far, the response has been lackluster, with only 342 responses; the goal is 1,000.
Seventy-five people have pinpointed places on the map with nearly 350 comments to date.
ICYMI
- Waynesboro launches online tools for residents to weigh in on vision for city
- Have a vision for Waynesboro? City wants public input on its comprehensive plan
Director of Community Development Leslie Tate shared a 65-page report with Waynesboro City Council members last week summarizing the public engagement in the first three months of the comprehensive-plan process. The report is the first of three reports that will document the community’s objectives for the city.
“We’re continuing to interact with the public, and want to keep that message out there and clear that this is an ongoing process, and that it’s not a one-and-done-type survey, and that they’ll continue to see touch points throughout the process where they can participate,” Tate told City Council on Sept. 8.
A steering committee for the process has been established, and members met on May 23 and Aug. 1.
The city held a public open house to get community input in June at Waynesboro High School.
Stakeholder groups have also been set up on topics including housing, transportation, economy, infrastructure, education, health, public safety, environment, history and culture, recreation and outdoors and outreach to underrepresented groups. It has been recommended that a youth stakeholder group also be created.
“We’ll continue to engage those groups throughout the process as we begin to distill down a vision and goals and other more distinct components of the plan,” she said.
The timeline for the comp plan is for the community needs assessment to be conducted in the fall and winter. Starting in the spring, the goal is to identify a vision, goals and objectives.
The City of Waynesboro will produce detailed recommendations next summer and fall, with the comprehensive plan released in early 2027.
For more information, visit the project website or contact the city at [email protected] or (540) 942-6604.
Report highlights
Among the recurring themes from the engagement so far:
- Proper homeless shelter needed, not churches
- More low-cost housing needed for renters and first-time homebuyers
- Need to keep small-town feel
- New building styles should blend with existing
- Need to improve walkability
- Greenway is universally loved by community
The full report is available here.
Presentation on comprehensive plan
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Crystal Graham
