Steering committee kicks off comprehensive plan

Page Dowdy/Chesterfield Observer Steve Elswick (left), former fire chief, and Bill Hastings, former full-time teacher, chat during the first meeting of the Chesterfield County Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee last week.

The 32-member Chesterfield County Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee met for the first time last week to begin the daunting task of recommending one countywide plan to cover what 22 plans do today. Some of those individual plans took more than 18 months to be revised and approved.

Under the slogan of "Today, Tomorrow, Together," Vlad Gavrilovic of the Renaissance Planning Group and Milt Herd of Herd Planning and Design facilitated the meeting, telling the participants what to expect, to be on time and be prepared by reading the "homework" in advance. On average, the committee, armed with three-ring binders, will meet monthly for about four hours. Much of the communication will be by e-mail.

The enormity of the assignment includes integrating land use, transportation, the environment, economic development, public facilities, village areas and much more countywide from now into the future. Members were also encouraged to attend future community meetings to hear public input and watch joint meetings of the board of supervisors, school board and planning commission.

Behind the scenes, much of the actual planning will be done by the professionals: the consultant team of Gavrilovic, Herd, the Michael Baker Corporation, Economic Research Associates and Sharp & Company along with staff support by the Chesterfield Planning Department.

The committee was energized by the assignment. Though some have work experience in the field of planning and zoning, most do not. During individual introductions of the committee, Travis Collins quipped, "I'm the pastor of Bon Air Baptist Church, and I heard this group might need some divine guidance."

"We'll be doing data-driven decision-making," promised Gavrilovic.

Herd preached building consensus, compromise and looking at the big picture. "We're not going to get down into the weeds," he said

He asked for input from the group "to create consensus for political sustainability." The recommendations from the committee will go through the planning commission before a vote by the final arbitrators - five elected supervisors who have demonstrated they have their own views on planning.

"Let's not get held up by not resolving the smaller issues," urged Herd. "Consensus is the goal. We'll have to let some things go. Ask yourselves not 'Do I love this outcome?,' but 'Can I live with it?'"

The committee affirmed "ground rules for working together" that include being brief and constructive in comments during meetings and directing comments and questions to the facilitators. "Be open to new perspectives and solutions," reads one of the rules.

Committee guidelines recommend a tone of "respect" when discussing the committee or a committee member. When talking to the media, a member should stress that he/she is speaking personally and not for the committee. "Members will not use the news media to lobby for their own points of view," reads another ground rule.

John Hughes, who chairs the Economic Development Authority and served on the selection committee for the consultant search, warned, "If someone is out of line, the facilitator will talk to them outside of the meeting."

Mass transit advocate and committee member Bob Herndon cautioned his fellow members that e-mail communication is subject to the Freedom of Information Act. "What you write could end up in the newspaper," he advised.

Pharmacist and committee member Cathy Kirk suggested that those who blog consider taking a hiatus.