The Board of Supervisors identified healthy growth as a priority last fall when they adopted Stafford’s first-ever Strategic Plan and Stafford County 2040 Vision for the Future. The Strategic Plan calls for actionable steps over the next three years to identify and execute growth management strategies that align with Stafford’s Comprehensive Plan without negatively impacting taxation. Citizen input is a critical element in the deliberations. Roundtable discussions and public meetings are the next steps in Stafford’s healthy growth analysis.

“It’s crucial that we balance our ability to serve the citizens in Urban Services Areas with the protection of our rural spaces and natural and historic resources,” said Chairman of the Board Gary Snellings, Hartwood District. “We are asking the citizens to tell us what they want as the County moves into the future with a growing population.”

Recently, the County has seen a rising trend of residential development in rural areas without the proper infrastructure to provide Stafford’s excellent level of service to residents. That development coupled with a 16% rise in the County’s population since 2010 prompted the Board of Supervisors to redouble its efforts in examining healthy growth to channel development in areas more suited to it. A consultant is assisting the County with the gathering of data and the community engagement portion of the analysis.

Two facilitated roundtable discussions are planned for healthy growth stakeholders. The participants were selected by criteria approved at the Board meeting on March 5. The meetings are open to the public but only invited stakeholders will participate in the discussion. There will also be two larger open sessions held to inform the public about the data gathered during the analysis and the information garnered during the roundtable discussions. These public sessions will include comment periods with educational opportunities. Details of the roundtables and public meetings are listed below:

Stakeholder Roundtables

Wednesday, April 10, 2019
10:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
Conference Room ABC
George L. Gordon, Jr., Government Center
1300 Courthouse Road
Stafford, VA 22554

Public Information Sessions

Monday, April 22, 2019
7:00 p.m.
Margaret Brent Elementary School
2125 Mountain View Road
Stafford, VA 22556

Tuesday, April 23, 2019
7:00 p.m.
T. Benton Gayle Middle School
100 Panther Drive
Fredericksburg, VA 22406

For additional information and progress updates, please visit www.staffordcountyva.gov/healthygrowth.