Town Council holds Joint Comp Plan Update meeting with Planning Commission, FREDA

The Front Royal Town Council met in a joint session with the Town Planning Commission and the Front Royal Economic Development Authority in an unexpectedly brief 13-minute meeting to hear a progress update from the Planning Department’s contractor, Summit Engineering. Planning Director Lauren Kopishke introduced Michael Stapor of Summit to address the group on the . The presentation included a deliverables list that highlighted the Stakeholder survey (which is now closed), an interactive comment map, and a draft of the vision, goals, and objectives document that forms the introductory part of the Comprehensive Plan. The Plan has its own website, where citizens can see the progress on the plan so far and add their comments and ideas.

The briefing concluded with a summary of the next steps in the process, with the completion of the draft plan for a public open house in May, continued editing on the plan in June and July, a Final Plan for review by the Planning Commission, and the Town Council in August and adoption of the new Comprehensive Plan by the Town Council expected in September.

A large gathering that included the members of the Town Planning Commission, Town Council, and the Town’s Economic Development Authority provided a good opportunity to socialize between the groups, but hard information was in short supply.

Surprisingly, the Council and the FREDA representatives had very few comments since the draft Vision, Goals and Objectives and the Existing Conditions document were presented to them for the first time at the meeting.

Stapor indicated that public input would continue to be accepted throughout the process of drafting the document. There is a link on the website for comments and input, which will be collected by the planning department.

Planning Commission Chairman Daryl Merchant asked if there was a cutoff date for input from the planning commission and town council. The answer was that a firm cutoff had not been established as the final document will be a bringing together of all the inputs, but likely between May and June, the document should be ready to go final. In the meantime, the team will be “workshopping” the inputs.

Interestingly, Mr. Merchant has been the Commission’s Chairman since February, yet his table tag read “Planning Commission Member”, whereas former Chairman Douglas Jones, also in attendance, was indicated as Chairman. The Planning Department has reflected the new officers on its website since February. Mr. Merchant was characteristically diplomatic about the lag time in acknowledgment of his chairmanship when asked about it. “I don’t worry about such things. I’m just doing a job.”

The draft vision developed so far:

“The Town of Front Royal will be a safe, environmentally conscious community that protects its natural resources and strives to preserve its small-town charm. It will serve the needs of all residents while providing a business-friendly culture to promote economic prosperity and encourage high-quality development.”

Several commission members have expressed their concern that terms that are used throughout the plan can be interpreted in different ways and need to be more clearly stated – What does a “Business-friendly culture” or “High-quality development” mean? – are examples of questions raised by commissioners.

As the development of the plan continues, further public engagement events are planned.