CITY OF WAYNESBORO PLANNING COMMISSION Regular Meeting, Tuesday, October 18, :00 pm

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1 CITY OF WAYNESBORO PLANNING COMMISSION Regular Meeting, Tuesday, October 18, :00 pm Council Chambers, Charles T. Yancey Municipal Building 503 West Main Street PLANNING COMMISSIONERS Constance Paradiso Chair Chris Darden Vice-chair Stephen Arey Patrick McNicholas Stewart Hall Shannon Boyle Elzena Anderson, Council Rep. FUTURE SCHEDULED MEETINGS: City Council Business Meeting Monday, October 24, :00 pm AGENDA 1. Call to order at 7:00 p.m. Pledge of allegiance. 2. Review and approval of minutes of work session held August 3, Citizen comment period limited to 4 minutes per speaker, for issues not listed as an agenda item. 4. Election of Planning Commission Chair and Vice Chair. 5. Presentation and Discussion on the Smart Scale Grant Application Project Rosser Avenue and Lew Dewitt Boulevard Connector Road. 6. Presentation and Discussion on the Smart Scale Grant Application Project Exit 96 Park and Ride Upgrades. 7. Other Business/Commissioners correspondence and communication. 8. Adjournment. Planning Commission Regular Meeting/ Public Hearing Tuesday, November 22, :00 pm Thank you for attending. Citizen comments are invited and welcomed during the meeting s citizen comment period. For those with special needs, please contact the Planning Department at for any accommodations required at least 3 days prior to the meeting you wish to attend. Assistive listening devices available.

2 The Planning Commission of the City of Waynesboro, Virginia, held a work session on the 3 rd of August, 2016, at 7:00 P.M., in Council Chambers, Charles T. Yancey Municipal Building, 503 West Main Street, Waynesboro, Virginia: PRESENT: Commission Members Constance Paradiso, Chair Greg Bruno Stephen Arey Stewart Hall Chris Darden Pete Marks City Planner & Clerk of the Commission: Absent: Michael D. Barnes, AICP Sunny (Weixuan) Yang Scott Jones (excused) 1. CALL TO ORDER: Meeting was called to order by the Chair Paradiso who asked Mr. Darden to lead the pledge of allegiance to the flag. 2. REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Minutes of regular meeting held July 19, 2016, were approved with a 6-0 vote. 3. CITIZEN COMMENTS NOT SUBJECT TO A PUBLIC HEARING: None 4. A DISCUSSION ON REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL TO HIRE A CONSULTANT TO UPDATE THE CITY S COMPREHSNEIVE PLAN: Mr. Barnes stated that the City intends to hire a consultant to help update the Comprehensive Plan. With the budget, the focus will be on setting up major goals and strategies and prioritizing investments. Staff has provided the Commissioners a copy of the Request for Proposal (RFP) for discussion tonight. Mr. Bruno suggested hiring a consultant not too far away from Virginia. Mrs. Paradiso asked for a clarification on the differences between the 1998 Plan and the new plan. Mr. Barnes stated that the new plan is more actionable. The plan will focus on prioritizing the city s resources towards needs to be addressed over the next 5 to10 years. Mr. Arey asked how the City would get people involved so citizens ideas can be properly reflected. And Mrs. Paradiso asked how the City will solicit ideas. Mr. Barnes agreed that the plan needs a broader range of input from citizens through various means. Also picking a consultant with good ideas on ways to get involved with the community is important. Mr. Bruno suggested having a Comprehensive Plan 101 familiarizing the local population with what the Comprehensive Plan is. Due to the limited budget, the Commissioners had a discussion over whether to update the Plan or rewrite the Plan. Mr. Bruno questioned whether it will be called a 2017 Plan and what the tipping point is whether it is called an update or a rewrite. Mr. Barnes stated that in some ways there is no need to completely rewrite the whole plan but still it will be called a 2017 Plan because the restructuring and new

3 mission statement make it a new plan and other chapters can be integrated into it with a single table of contents. Mr. Hall commented on the RFP regarding its language on the City s industry and critiqued that the goals here are not promoting growth and development of the city. Mr. Darden thought the RFP is great. The thing about manufacturing is background information but not a mission statement or position the city will take. He is looking forward to having someone with experiences help the city update the Comprehensive Plan. Mrs. Paradiso added that the state law requires the local government to review the Comprehensive Plan and it is already overdue. She is also looking forward to the opportunity to tweak the document and add new items for the future. Mr. Barnes appreciated Commissioners comments on the economic development and agreed to the importance of industry as part of the plan. He stated the Comprehensive Plan update/rewrite will provide the chance for the city to look over what has been done and make sure the City pushes forward on the goals and the more important issues of the city. He emphasized that the Commissioners will have the opportunity to discuss their details in the next 3-5 months. Mr. Marks suggested clarifying some sentences in the RFP for what they mean and make clear that Waynesboro will continue to improve as the economy gets better for everyone but not certain groups. Mr. Barnes agreed and committed to make sure the RFP is clearly stated, broadened and softened a little bit more. Mr. Hall questioned when the next consulting meeting would be. Mr. Barnes stated the desire of staff is to finish writing the RFP and have it out by the end of the month. It may take 3 to 4 months before public input. Mr. Barnes also noted the benefits of having a consultant. It is recognized that having an outside person is beneficial for the perspective component as well as for the workload component and also of the value of their experiences of running public processes so that they can deliver a good result and provide the City with the direction it wants to go. The Commissioners asked what the formatting of the plan is. Mr. Barnes stated the file would be electronically generated and would be posted on the city s website. The Commissioners will have plenty of opportunities to incorporate their ideas and their priorities. They are looking forward to working with the citizens to get their priorities as well. It is a good opportunity for everyone to learn more about the City and to think seriously about what they want from it. 5. OTHER BUSINESS/COMMISSIONERS CORRESPONDENCE AND COMMUNICATION: It is Mr. Bruno and Mr. Scott s last meeting. Mr. Barnes appreciated their efforts serving on the Committee. The commission will have two new members at the end of the month. There would be no regular meeting in August. Meeting adjourned at 8:08 pm. Michael D. Barnes, clerk

4 Waynesboro Planning Commission Agenda Briefing Meeting Date: October 18, 2016 Staff/Council Member(s): Agenda Item # 5 Michael Barnes, Planning Subject: Lew DeWitt-Rosser Connector Road Plan Introduction The City s 2008 Land Use Plan identified major new roads within several areas of the City that were relatively undeveloped (Attachment A). The intent of showing these roads on the Land Use Plan is to plan for and build these roads either prior to or as a part of the new developments within these areas. The three major roads are identified in Land Use Plan: (A) The Southern Connector, a link running between Rosser Avenue and Delphine Avenue south of I-64; (B) The Tiffany Drive Extension, a link extending Tiffany Drive from the Martin s Grocery Store over to Lew DeWitt in the vicinity of Bookerdale Road; and (C) The Hopeman-Ivy Connector Road, a link connecting the King Avenue/ Hopeman Parkway intersection to Ivy Road. VDOT, as part of a 2014 VA General Assembly Transportation Bill ( ), established the Smart Scale Program (formally known as HB2). The major difference between the Smart Scale program and VDOT s previous efforts to fund transportation projects listed within the adopted Six-Year Transportation Improvement Plan is that the Smart Scale program guarantees that projects will be allocated enough funding to actually be built within six years. Because there are more planned transportation projects than there is funding, the Smart Scale program is a competitive program and the State s goal is to pick the right transportation projects for funding in order to ensure the best use of limited tax dollars. The program works by allowing localities, MPOs, and public transit agencies to submit proposed transportation projects into one of two funding pathways District Grants and State-wide Grants. Smart Scale uses a set of five objective criteria to score the benefits of a transportation project. These are: Safety, Congestion Mitigation, Accessibility, Environment Quality, and Economic Development Potential. A ratio is developed between the proposed project s total costs versus how well it meets these criteria. This cost/benefit ratio is then used to score and rank the project within the pools of district or state-wide funding. Once projects are scored and prioritized, the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) select the right projects for funding. Waynesboro s efforts to fund transportation projects The City has diligently sought to take advantage of the new Smart Scale program in order to build the roads identified within our Land Use Plan. Last year, the City received a $16m VDOT Smart Scale award to complete the Southern Connector. Preliminary engineering for this project has already begun. Funding for right-of-way and construction will be programed over the next several years. Construction of the Southern Connector is slated to begin in This past July, the State announced that applications for the Smart Scale program would be accepted only on a biennial schedule with an application submittal deadline of September 30, In order to take advantage of this relatively narrow submittal window, staff elected to submit the Lew DeWitt-Rosser Connector Road project (Attachment B).

5 Staff has been refining the alignment of this road over the past few years through work with land developers and other property owners within this corridor. Various engineering studies showed that an original Tiffany Drive Extension alignment shown on the Land Use Plan (i.e., from the Martin s Store to the intersection of Bookerdale and Lew DeWitt) is not feasible due to steep slopes and the presence of a major natural gas transmission line that economically prevents lessen the slopes. As a result, staff has worked with the developers and land owners to establish a road alignment that would start at the Sheppard Court/ Lew DeWitt intersection (where the Frontier Bank is location) and then run eastward across Bookerdale Road, though the proposed Silver Creek Subdivision, across the Carflow Farms property, and then linking to Rosser Avenue at a new intersection immediately north of the Avante Assisted Living Facility. The extension of Tiffany Drive will also occur; however, it will now extend straight back and T into the Lew DeWitt-Rosser Connector. It will also be built by the Carflow Farms developer as part of their project. The Lew DeWitt-Rosser Connector Road provides several significant advantages. First, it provides an alternative route around the current Windigrove/Rosser/ Lew DeWitt intersection, which is the City s most congested intersection. As a result, the Connector Road will relieve congestion pressure at this intersection as well as at the interchange of I-64 s Exit 94. In turn, this congestion mitigation maintains the viability of Waynesboro s regional commercial center, which is a major financial resource for the City. Second, the Lew DeWitt-Rosser Connector Road provides access for the properties flanking it as well as relatively direct access for residents north of Pratt s Run to the retail stores in and around Wal-Mart and Martin s. Third, the Bookerdale s one lane bridge over Pratt s Run has been slated to be replaced for years. The Lew DeWitt-Rosser Connector Road will provide for alternative vehicle connections within this area, thus alleviating the need to upgrade and replace this bridge. The current plan calls for building a cul-de-sac on Bookerdale south of Pratt s run and converting the remaining portions of this road as well as the bridge into a shared-use greenway trail. The fourth advantage of the Lew DeWitt- Rosser Connector are the sidewalks, bike lanes, and shared-use trails. Attachment C provide a more detailed look at the conceptual layout for these multi-modal facilities as well as the potential open spaces that would flank the Connector Road as well as Pratt s Run. These trails and open space are consistent with the City s Greenway Trail Plan and Land Use Plan. Preliminary scoring results of this round of the Smart Scale program will be released in January The CTB will then evaluate the projects over the spring and formally approve funding for this round in June If the City is awarded funding for the Connector Road, engineering would start the following year and construction would not start until Planning Commission Action No formal action by the Planning Commission is requested at this time. This report has been provided for your information.

6 Attachment A Hopeman-Ivy Connector Lew DeWitt Rosser Connector Southern Corridor

7 Attachment B

8 Attachment C

9 Attachment C

10 Waynesboro Planning Commission Agenda Briefing Meeting Date: October 18, 2016 Staff/Council Member(s): Agenda Item # 6 Michael Barnes, Planning Subject: Exit 94 Park and Ride Plan Introduction City staff has been working the Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission (CSPDC) staff and the Staunton-Augusta-Waynesboro Metropolitan Planning Organization (SAW-MPO), which is also staffed by the CSPDC, to submit a Smart Scale project for an expansion and improvements to the Exit 94 Park and Ride lot. The park and ride lot at Exit 96 existed prior to the reconstruction of the Waynesboro Outlet Mall into the Waynesboro Town Center. The current park and ride is an inefficient gravel lot with no striping and little signage. CSPDC staff worked closely with VDOT District staff and city staff to develop the conceptual plan shown in Attachment A. The proposed plan calls for expanding the park and ride area, paving and striping of the lot, and adding trees and lighting. The proposed plan also provides for a bus loop that will enable the park and ride to support a regional bus service. This regional bus service is currently being studied by the CSPDC as a commuter bus service that would link Staunton and Waynesboro to Charlottesville and possibly Harrisonburg as well. This bus loop also has the potential to serve local Brite Bus routes, which pass through this area and serve Stuarts Draft, the City, and Route 250 West. As with the Lew DeWitt-Rosser Corridor project, improvements to the Exit 96 Park and Ride would be funded through VDOT s Smart Scale program. With this particular application, the project sponsor is the SAW-MPO and not the City of Waynesboro. Please note, the City is currently reviewing a site plan for a Steak n Shake as is shown on the attachment. This site plan has not yet been approved by the City, but is currently in its third round of review. The attachment does not reflect their current site plan. Planning Commission Action No formal action by the Planning Commission is requested at this time. This report has been provided for your information.

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