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Live in Stafford? Your help is needed as we re-envision the future

Staffordians, now's your chance to envision the future

Date published: 7/21/2006

A SONG by Dave Matthews begins by asking a simple question: "Where are you going?"

The same could be asked of Stafford County. The home-building industry developed and built out subdivisions across Stafford. And as a result, our population has ballooned, from 95,000 in 1999 to over 125,000 today. The population explosion has affected (and not necessarily in good ways) every aspect of our lives, from the kind of public education our kids receive to the water and sewer services we get, to the convenience and safety of the roads we travel.

Many would argue that much of the population growth we have experienced is the result of ad-hoc decisions and a general a lack of vision since Stafford County's Comprehensive Plan had not been revised for several years. Thus, an out-of-date Comp Plan led to an utter failure of imagination. If Stafford were to keep it up, developers would scramble in a race for Stafford's remaining open space.

So, where are we going?

The time has come to transform Stafford from a constellation of built-out bedroom communities and crowded roads into something better: a community with a sense of place and purpose where growth is handled smartly without wreaking havoc on our remaining natural resources.

The good news is that there are signs of positive change; Stafford County has set into motion a process to modify the Comprehensive Plan to reflect our community's changing needs. In June, the county held its first public-input sessions at four locations. Unfortunately, despite heavy promotion of these sessions and questionnaires sent to 600 random households, public response has been minimal.

Revising the Comprehensive Plan remains a necessity. To offer input, the public may attend regularly scheduled meetings of the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee as well as additional public planning sessions this fall. For those invested in positively transforming Stafford, I propose these Comprehensive Plan amendments:

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Date published: 7/21/2006