Results from our Community Meeting

Below are the results from our community meeting held on April 10 to gather information on our community values. Feel free to comment! We will be using this data to craft an introduction statement to the plan, which we plan to present to the Commission in May.

Community Identity
What contributes to the best qualities of the identity of Ashland?
Support of friends, neighbors and the community
Community events – parades, black history event, street parties, etc
Tolerant community
Train
1940’s physical atmosphere
Architecture and Town layout
Historic Town
Town services – leaf removal, street clearing, trash collectionSafe town, good police service
Sense of place
Prettiest place on Amtrak
Being able to walk to the train station

What makes Ashland different from other communities around Central Virginia?
Train in the middle of Town
Sense of self “center of the universe” “full of ourselves”
Traditions: Christmas House Tour, Variety Show, Railroad Run
Low crime rate
Good Town services
Diversity in housing, not so many “cookie cutter” subdivisions
Know your neighbors

What are the threats to the identity of the Town?
Identity of Town is lost the farther you go away from the center core
Introduction of street names that have no connection or bearing on the Town
Surrounding County development
Too much rental
Drug related crime
Loss of Amtrak – do not want to become a freight town
Not thinking creatively about change
Thinking we can stay the same
Traffic brought from outside development
Lack of interest on the part of much of the public
New development out of character with the Town
Need design standards for businesses along Route 1
You don’t want big retail but that’s who has the money to pay for the improvements (i.e. tax revenue)
Sizeable housing developments

What can we do to maintain or get to the desired identity of Ashland?
Preserve neighborhoods
Positive open communication
Define the Town center – pump life into it
Gateways
A good Comprehensive Plan
Leadership programs for youth and young adults
Responsible growth
Keep Ashland from being a “cut-through” area
Transportation next to uses, not residential
Design standards
More community involvement in local government – make people understand that their opinion counts
Redevelopment of vacant properties
Continue cultural events such as Strawberry Faire; Bluemont Concerts; Train Day, Variety Show

How do neighborhoods, college, the railroad, etc. contribute to Ashland's identity?
Immensely!
Cultural events
Railroad makes commuting possible
Collectively they define the Town

Natural, Historic, Cultural, Educational Resources
What are our key resources?
Schools
College
Walkability
Diversity of People, Housing
History
Architecture
Rural surroundings
Trees/Parks/Open Space
Preservation of mature trees
Library
Live music (Coffee/Tea; Iron Horse; Hanover Arts and Activities Center)
Free Clinic
Hanover Arts and Activities Center
Book Store
Natural resources
Pool
Street grid network
Town Hall

What resources are missing, and needed?
Open Air amphitheater
Community gardens
Passive Parks
Diversity of jobs; need more professional jobs
Museums
Conference Center
Cultural entertainment for young people
Community Center
Hospital
Retirement community and health care for seniors
Children’s venue to rival the college “draw” for kids to return
Strict controls of the size of houses

What features do you value, and why?
Victorian Architecture
The train
Cross Bros Grocery
Library
Trees, sidewalks, walkability
Hanover Arts and Activities Center
Library
Parks

What are the threats to these resources?
CSX bypass
Internet – people not relating to each other
Too much development
Loss of elementary schools
Traffic is a threat to walkability
Crime
Not shopping locally
Lack of diversity
Age of existing schools
Too many rental units

How can we best utilize these resources?
Open up the college to more types of students and the community
Empty nester courses at RMC
Better publicity of college cultural events
More publicity for all of the Town’s cultural events both internally and externally
Improving walkability to cultural sites

Economic Vitality
What types of commerce - including retail, offices, and industrial - do we already have throughout Ashland?
Retail, Restaurants, Banks, Auto dealers, Auto repair, Hair salons, Real Estate, Bike shop, Wine shop, Photographer, College, Motels, Warehouses, Mini storage, Insurance companies, Pet supplies, Used books, Agricultural supplies, Coffee houses, Custom cabinetry, Dentists and Doctors offices, chiropractor, physical therapist, Dry cleaners, Lumber supply, Jewelry, Landscape design, Pharmacies, Boat sales/service, Gas stations, Consignment shop, Mail service, Lawyers, Nail salons

What types of commerce would you like to see occur in Ashland?
Bowling Alley and similar entertainment
Art Gallery and space for artisans
High end clothing and shoe stores
Larger Ukrops or organic groceries or Co-op for locally grown produce
Boutique style shopping
Outdoor dance and bandstand and more performance space
Medical Clinic
Movie Theater
Shoe Repair
Hobby & Art Supply Store
High-end restaurants
Good Pub or Grill
Diner for Breakfast and Lunch

Are there needs that you have that cannot be met in Ashland?
Appliances/electronics
Cameras
Children’s shops
Medical specialists/urgent care
Specialty Foods
Non-chain family restaurants
Larger bookstore
High-end clothing/shoes
Would like to see the service businesses on the tracks return to retail
Senior Day Care

What do people shop for in Ashland and what do they shop for outside of Ashland, and is that the right mix?
In Town
Basic Groceries
Restaurants
Auto services
Other Services

Out of Town
Furniture
Specialty Grocery
Seafood
Boutique shopping

What types of commerce would you not like to see occur in the Town?
Adult Book Stores
Tattoo Parlors
Cigarette shops
Check cashing businesses
Pawn Shops
Large Malls
Strip development
Heavy traffic producing businesses
Do not want to loose all the trees to development
Named subdivisions
Cul-de-sac developments

What types of industrial uses would be appropriate or not appropriate for the Town?
Appropriate:
Clean industry
High paying jobs
Computer Service
Small energy efficient companies

Inappropriate:
Heavy Equipment
Truck Stops
Heavy polluting companies

Tonight's Meeting

We hope everyone is looking forward to tonights Community Forum at St. James The Less Episcopal Church at 7PM. Attached is a map of the church grounds, as it might be a little confusing getting to our meeting space if you are not familiar with the church.

April 9th Planning Commission Meeting: Community Facilities

At the April 9th Commission meeting, staff will present its draft Community Facilities Chapter to the Commission. Click here for the Community Facilities Chapter. Please feel free to comment!

April 10 Community Input Session

A meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 10, 2008 at 7:00 P.M. in the Fellowship Hall of St. James the Less Episcopal Church, at 125 Beverly Road, Ashland, Virginia.

The purpose of the meeting is to gather input from the community to assist with developing a vision statement for the introduction to the Comprehensive Plan. A group exercise will be conducted to engage participants to state what they value about Ashland, and how they would like Ashland to be in the future.

Former Planning Director Neil Holthouser will facilitate this session.

The comments and input gathered from this meeting will help Town staff and Planning Commissioners understand the values and priorities of the community, and how to address these within the Comprehensive Plan document.

Potential Questions to be asked on April 10 - please feel free to respond, comment, or make suggestions now on the blog!

Community Identity
What contributes to the best qualities of the identity of Ashland?

What makes Ashland different from other communities around Central Virginia?

What are the threats to the identity of the Town?

What can we do to maintain or get to the desired identity of Ashland?

How do neighborhoods, college, the railroad, etc. contribute to Ashland's identity?

Natural, Historic, Cultural, Educational Resources
What are our key resources?

What resources are missing, and needed?

What features do you value, and why?

What are the threats to these resources?

How can we best utilize these resources?

Economic Vitality
What types of commerce - including retail, offices, and industrial - do we already have throughout Ashland?

What types of commerce would you like to see occur in Ashland?

Are there needs that you have that cannot be met in Ashland?

What do people shop for in Ashland and what do they shop for outside of Ashland, and is that the right mix?

What types of commerce would you not like to see occur in the Town?

What types of industrial uses would be appropriate or not appropriate for the Town?

How would - and should - economic growth relate to the citizens of the Town?

Planning Commission Update

Upcoming Work Session
The next work session of the Planning Commission will be on Thursday, March 27, at 7:00 PM. On the agenda that evening, Randolph-Macon College will present their draft Campus Master Plan, which will guide improvements to the campus over the next several years, very similar to our Comprehensive Plan.

The Town will need to study the College's plans as part of our Plan process to help develop recommendations on how the Town will interface with the R-MC campus.

Recap of the last meeting
At the last meeting on March 12, 2008, the Planning Commission:

• generally agreed to holding the upcoming public input session to develop the Comprehensive Plan session. (see earlier post)
• agreed to utilize a consultant to assist with the remainder of the plan process (see earlier post)
• Agreed on revisons to the Environment Policy Chapter. Further discussions will continue regarding LEED/Green Development policies in this chapter.

Comprehensive Plan Consulting Services

On Tuesday, March 18, the Town Council authorized staff to search for a consultant to assist the Town with completing the Plan. Also that evening, they agreed to utilize a firm for the economic study for the Plan.

Comprehensive Planning Services Consultant

The Planning Commission has been working with staff on the Plan update since September 2007. With the recent departure of the Planning Director, it has been recognized that the schedule for the Plan process cannot be adhered to without seeking additional assistance.

A structure and process for the Plan update has been well thought out, and many staff hours have been spent. Also, three of the ten policy chapters have been drafted.

Originally, it was anticipated that consultants would be used in three areas:
(1) Economics (2)Transportation (3) Urban Design.

Now, we propose to utilize two consultants – Economics and General Comprehensive Planning Services. The Comp Plan consultant will need to demonstrate the ability to concentrate in Transportation and Urban Design.

Staff intends for this consultant to work with staff to fulfill the process and framework that has been adopted. The firm selected would draft policy chapters, develop land use scenarios, facilitate neighborhood meetings, develop graphics and maps.

Most data collection will be completed by the Economic analyst, and staff is still planning to undertake tasks that can be managed in-house.

This proposal will help ensure that the Comp Plan process is as seamless as possible throughout this time of staff transition, as well as ensure that the schedule is adhered to. Given the weakness of direction in our current comprehensive plan, and growing development pressure in the area we believe that staying on this schedule is extremely important.

Economic & Demographic Analysis Consultant

Response to the Economic and Demographic Analysis Request for Proposals was excellent. Sixteen well qualified proposals were recieved, and four of those firms scored an interview.

The selection panel agreed that Urban Partners of Philadelphia was the right choice.

Ultimately, that firm demonstrated a clear understanding of how we plan to integrate their work into the Comprehensive Plan process.

The study will begin by meeting with Town officials and community leaders to go over the scope of the project.

Followed by a data collection and analysis period. A small number of interviews will be conducted with local business owners.

Urban Partners states that the study will concentrate on these economic sectors: Retail – Residential – Office – Industrial – Cultural Arts & Entertainment - Hotel

Sometime early this summer, they will present a preliminary report to the Planning Commission for review.

This report will contain specific economic policy recommendations that will be incorporated into the Comprehensive Plan document, and much of the information collected will be used to help at the stage of the plan when land uses are allocated on the Plan map.

Public Input Session Coming Soon!

The commission determined that prior to putting much more effort into policy chapters, that it would be best to develop an introduction statement, to state the overall mission of the Plan, and to have a statement in place to help provide guidance on how the policy chapters would be developed.

The Commission has decided to hold a public input session to gather comments. Several questions will be asked of the community to assist in developing this introduction statement to the Plan. The session will be held in early April, and will be facilitated by Neil Holthouser. The time, date, and place will be forthcoming. As soon as the details are finalized, they will be posted here, as well as the questions so the public may also comment on this blog if they are unable to attend.