Town Planning Commission adopts new bylaws, continues discussions on Comprehensive Plan progress

The Front Royal Planning Commission Met on April 20^th with a very short agenda – discussion and adoption of their bylaws, which have been under rewrite and review for several months.  The Bylaws previously required the Commission to consist of six members, and the new bylaws require only five. The last update of the bylaws was approved in January 2008. The Article III membership requirements include residence in town; and a wording change removed the obsolete term “Free holders” and replaced it with a requirement that at least one-half of the members be property owners. The other significant change to the bylaws inserted a statement in Article VIII, Order of Business, regarding the Citizen’s Comments or Concerns section of a regular meeting:

Members of the public wishing to speak during the Citizen’s Comments or Concerns period shall sign in with the clerk of the commission prior to the start of the meeting and speakers shall be subject to the following reasonable time, place, (and) manner restrictions: (1) a three (3) minute time limit, (2) the speakers comments shall be relevant to the business of the Commission and directed to the Commission, (3) the speaker’s comments shall not address the subject matter of a public hearing being held during the same meeting, (4) no personal attacks, indecorous language, or display of signs, placards, posters, or other disruptive displays.

Town Planning Commission’s April 20 Meeting was not the shortest on record, but very nearly so – 11 minutes, 22 Seconds. The commission still had time to discuss its revised bylaws. Commissioners voted to insert guidelines concerning continued Citizen Input.

This section is the citizen’s doorway into the proceedings of the Commission and ensures that a valuable right is defined and protected. It’s also important to point out that the bylaws also require the Commission to maintain minutes of each meeting and those minutes become a public record.

On a motion by William Gordon, with a second by Douglas Jones, the Commission unanimously voted to approve the bylaws.

After that brief 11-minute regular meeting Chairman Daryl Merchant convened a work session to discuss the ongoing work on the Town’s Comprehensive Plan. Chairman Merchant expressed concern over the lack of substantive response from the Town Council and Economic Development Authority (FREDA) at the April 10 Joint Meeting in which the consultant contractor, Summit, gave an update on the plan. At that meeting, covered in an earlier Royal Examiner story, questions from FREDA members and Council members were sparse and general in nature. That may be because they were seeing preliminary documents for the first time.  Commissioner Jones observed that his takeaway from the April 6 joint meeting was that the Town Council expected the Comprehensive Plan would remain in the Planning Commission’s hands until it was a complete draft, whereupon the Council could provide their input and changes.

Commission Chair Daryl Merchant listens as commission members offer suggestions about proposed public engagement efforts to obtain wider participation in informing the new Comprehensive Plan.

Chairman Merchant indicated that the land use maps that were part of the initial Existing Conditions submission were outdated. This is a concern because that is a barometer of how growth can be managed. He said that with only 1000 acres or thereabouts of currently developable land in the town (600 in one parcel), it will be vitally important to develop it right, particularly if the projected population increase comes to pass.  “Eventually we will run out of room!” Merchant observed.

Planning Director Lauryn Kopishke said that Summit had asked for topics for Public Engagement sessions that will be held during the remainder of the drafting process. There is confusion about opportunities for public input, and Commissioner Marchner said that some residents may be more or less inclined to participate, depending on topics. All the commissioners agreed that transportation is a major interest for residents, whether they are local business owners, commuters, or shoppers.

That brought about a lively discussion about what topics would be most useful. Chairman Merchant asked if a Plan “Table of Contents” was available to identify areas that the plan would cover. Since September 2021 the citizen surveys and public events have provided a snapshot of opinion, and the Commission and Planning Department with its consultant now have to flesh out the information that has been received to help the commission and the Town Council make healthy decisions.

Commissioner William Gordon has been collecting additions, corrections, and ideas from reviews of the Comprehensive Plan draft documents. He explains to the commission members that his markups to the plan are forwarded to the chairman and the planning director.

Commissioner William Gordon has been collecting input on so-far delivered documents and those inputs are routed to the Planning Director for the use of the team. The chairman asked Planning Director Kopishke to contact Summit and clarify what the role of the Commission should be going forward, as well as the format of further public engagement events. He then suggested that commission members could help stimulate public interest by using local media interviews and stories, so that a wider variety of participants can help guide the Comprehensive Plan as it is finalized. The final document is currently scheduled to be presented to the commission and town council in August, followed by Zoning and Subdivision ordinance rewrites by February 2023.