A Comprehensive Committee has been established for the City of Buena Vista, those appointed by the City Council were Lewis Plogger and Larry Tolley. The Planning Commission appointed Mike Ohleger, and Tim Petrie and an ad hoc committee of City Staff: Tim Dudley, City Manager, Tim Reamer, Economic Development and Robert Luke, Planning and Zoning.

Citizens asked to join the committee were Robert Huch, Richard Roberts, Todd Jones, and Mrs. Lucy Ferrebee.

The Comprehensive Plan which was last fully addressed in 1995 will be reviewed and brought up to date by this committee with technical assistance from the Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission. Elizabeth McCarty, of the Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission, will be spearheading the drafting of a new and revised Comprehensive Plan for the city. The Comprehensive Committee is tentatively planning to begin the process in January 2009. Organizational meetings have been held to organize the committee.

The Comprehensive Committee will be taking input from citizens and ad hoc committees. Meetings are tentatively set for the third Tuesday of the month at 5:00 PM in the City Council Chambers. All citizens are welcome to attend. Please remember that all meetings are tentative and due to scheduling conflicts, meeting dates may change. Please call 540-261-8607 to verify meeting dates, and times and locations. Agendas will be placed on the Municipal Building bulletin boards showing day and time and location of the next Comprehensive Committees meeting. We will try and post the agenda a week ahead of schedule and also watch the paper and website for the next meeting..

The Comprehensive Plan is an official document adopted by the Buena Vista City Council (Public Hearings will be scheduled by the Planning Commission. After hearing public input and analyses, the Planning Commission will take the recommendations from the Comprehensive Committee and public input and make recommendations to the City Council) The City Council after hearing recommendations from the Planning Commission, will schedule public hearings and after hearing and taking into consideration public comment will then make the final decision on the final draft for the future Comprehensive Plan.

The document will serve as a policy guide for decisions concerning the growth and development of the city. The Comprehensive Plan provides a general overview of the present and future needs of the city, taking into account the full realm of physical, social and economic activity. The Comprehensive Plan helps the city recognize its needs and provides direction for allocating community resources for meeting those needs. The Plan is a reasonable expectation and statement of the city’s goals for the future.

A Comprehensive Plan has two primary functions: (1) to serve as basis for the more detailed ordinances and land use regulations developed to implement the Plan and (2) to provide a general Plan with in which the Planning Commission has full authority and a reasonable basis upon which to evaluate and accept or reject development proposals.

Because Comprehensive Plans are long range, they must be flexible enough to change or be revised as the community undergoes changes. The Plan does not attempt to provide specific regulations or restrictions. It does, however, provide the framework for appropriate ordinances and polices to protect and improve the conditions of the community.

The preparation of the Comprehensive Plan is the legal responsibility of the municipality under the Code of Virginia. The Plan becomes the general guideline for community development. The Comprehensive Plan is the basic planning document upon which other implementation documents, such as official maps, zoning ordinances, and land use regulations should be based.

The Comprehensive Plan is part of the ongoing planning process, and as such the State Code requires that “at least once every five years, the Comprehensive Plan, or the completed parts of it, shall be reviewed by the local commission to determine whether it is advisable to amend the Plan.”

The City of Buena Vista First adopted a Comprehensive Plan in 1967, 13 years later the city adopted the 1980 Comprehensive Plan and in 1989 the Comprehensive Plan was revised and adopted. In 1995 it adopted its present Comprehensive Plan.