Mapping a Pathway to 2040

The Comprehensive Plan is a vision document. It establishes land use policy and maps development densities, parcel-by-parcel, for the entire county.

The County recently released a new interactive map titled Pathway to 2040:  A Review of the Comprehensive Plan Long-Range Land Use Map Layer. The map shows and identifies properties where landowners have requested changes to planned land uses for specific parcels.

The map proposes significant changes to both the plan and the process, allowing individual projects to avoid public scrutiny. It also sidesteps the County's Comprehensive Plan Amendment process, where individual projects require a full review based on the ten principles of smart growth adopted by Supervisors.

The map shows applications for cluster development in the Rural Crescent, with densities that exceed the one home per ten acre standard for residential lots. It includes some active proposals, such as the Kline Property, located at the intersection of Prince William Parkway and Liberia Avenue.

And, despite the Boards recent initiation of the Zoning Text Amendment seeking to expand areas for data centers, this new map creates a parallel process that allows individual projects to avoid public scrutiny.

All told, the map shows approximately 35 parcels where landowners have requested changes, most of which lie in the western part of the County. When this concept was originally discussed, the Board agreed that controversial projects would not be included on the map.

Next the Planning Office will recommend which of the proposed land use changes should remain on the map and which should be pulled for a full CPA review. All the projects that remain would be approved as one with the approval of the map, limiting the public’s capacity to share their views on individual projects.  

The Planning Commission, which leads Comprehensive Plan updates, will hopefully schedule a work session on the map and the process. Checkout the map here. Then send your questions and share your views with PlanningCommissioners and Supervisors.