Suffolk’s 2018 Comprehensive Plan was adopted in 1998 and was the first of three comprehensive plans adopted by the City. Currently, the City is working on the fourth iteration which is scheduled to be voted on by City Council on November 20th, after the election but just before Thanksgiving.
Care4Suffolk recently obtained a copy of the 2018 Comprehensive Plan. It is not available online, but we had a member go in and take photos of each of the roughly 700 pages of the document and accompanying appendices. We are hoping to provide the public with a copy online in the future.
With the new comp plan still under way, I thought this was a good opportunity to share some of the aspects of the first comprehensive plan, especially in light of the recent admission by a city leader that this new plan is about Suffolk’s role in supporting the Port of Virginia.
The 2018 Comprehensive Plan emphasized balanced growth, specifically about keeping the growth healthy and sustainable. There were no ‘market trends’ which seems to be a focus in the 2045 Comp Plan. The second major focus of the 2018 plan was an environmental theme with a lot of focus on protecting ground water, reservoirs, and rivers.
Another theme in the old plan is preserving rural character, including a focus on rural, agricultural land, and open space. This was an actual focus, not just lip service like it is in the 2045 Comp Plan, which does mention these ideals, but it is a low priority and is juxtaposed to the massive land use changes that contradict protecting rural areas.
Core revitalizing in downtown Suffolk with economic development made up the last major theme. Economic development included agriculture and tourism along with manufacturing, office, and commercial development. This is a huge contrast to the 2045 Comp Plan which focuses heavily on creating more warehousing space to serve the Port of Virginia.
The part that stood out most about the 2018 Comp Plan was the part where is stated:
“These key ideas are a result of an intensive two-year planning process. They reflect ideas from many citizens who attended and participated in many meetings and responded on public comment forms.”
What a contrast to the 2045 Comp Plan which did a great job getting public input, but focused on the ideas of the ‘other stakeholders’ (Port of Virginia and developers) over the vision of the citizens.
Another contrast between the original comp plan and the prosed 2045 plan – the original was based on a wealth of data. The 2018 Comp Plan contained a Fiscal Impact Analysis (FIA). Current city leaders are unconcerned with the fact that staff decided AGAINST doing the FIA, a frustration with citizens who are looking for fiscal responsibility from city leaders.
These pages are from Chapter 1of the 2018 Comprehensive Plan.
The 2018 Comp Plan also had a substantial amount of data on agriculture in Suffolk. One map included in the plan showed the soil conditions throughout the city.
This image is from the 2018 Comp Plan and shows the soil map – conditions of the soil throughout the city. The original map is completely in black and white. The green highlighted was done by Care4Suffolk to delineate the good soil land.
The green highlighted area represent good soil – suitable for farming. Compare the good soil map with the proposed growth areas in the 2045 Comp Plan highlighted in red. Please note that a lot of the red is actually from the current growth area under the 2035 comp plan, but the 2045 additional growth areas have been added as well to represent what will be the Growth Area if the 2045 Comp Plan is passed.
The growth areas will not stop there, however. The 2045 Comprehensive Plan contains language that allows for both utility solar and industrial projects that the City deems desirable, on agricultural lands outside the growth area. Additionally, in five years, the City will evaluate the comp plan again and can add additional growth areas if they chose. The City’s original growth area expansion in the February 2024 draft was even more extensive, but they pulled back on some of those areas due to public outcry.
The map below includes all the areas from the February draft and is telling of the City’s thinking about future growth. Each successive draft gobbles up more and more of that good soil area, chipping away at the agricultural industry in Suffolk.
How well the 2018 Comprehensive Plan was implemented, I can’t say. The2018 plan states itself:
“In some communities, the Comprehensive Plan is all but invisible, used for little else than as a reference point for contentious rezonings. It is often no more than the servant of the marketplace, simply ratifying the status quo. In other places, it is a rallying point for citizens and leaders who say, ‘this is the way we want our community to look!'”
I don’t want a comprehensive plan that’s sole purpose is to serve the needs of other stake-holders. I want a comprehensive plan that is of the people, for the people, by the people. The people have told the City what they want for Suffolk’s future – it is time for the City to start listening to us.