GOALS, OBJECTIVES, POLICIES AND
IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES
OF THE 1995 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
(Goals,
Objectives, Policies and Implementation Strategies that are highlighted are
being addressed or have been accomplished by the County.)
The Goals and Objectives set forth herein are the
result of a thorough review of existing conditions and issues, and of an
extensive discussion with citizens about the future of
The Goals and Objectives are set forth for seven functional areas: Environment; Transportation; Public Utilities; Community Facilities; Housing; Economic Development; and Land Use. A subsequent chapter entitled Future Land Use and Implementation will use the directions of these Goals and Objectives to develop policies and strategies that ensure the County realizes its fullest potential.
Goal: Preserve and improve the quality of the county’s soil, water, air, forests, and farmland.
Objective: Protect environmentally sensitive areas from
development.
1. Critical Slopes: Require a thorough environmental impact analysis prior to permitting new buildings, septic systems, or other development on slopes over 25%.
2. Steep
Slopes: Prior to permitting new
buildings, septic systems, or other development on slopes over 15%, require the
applicant to develop a plan in accord with the standards of the Virginia
Erosion and Sediment Control Handbook to minimize cut and fill, stabilize
slopes, control erosion, and manage stormwater runoff.
3. Floodplains: Prohibit new construction in flood hazard
areas that will result in any increase in flood levels of the 100 year storm.
4. Groundwater Recharge Areas: Map aquifer and groundwater recharge areas, and take appropriate steps to protect critical areas.
5. Water Supply Watersheds: Establish shoreline conservation areas along each water supply impoundment and its tributaries. Conservation areas should remain in natural vegetation, and land disturbing construction activity should be minimized.
6. Wildlife/Natural
Areas: Identify unique wildlife habitat
and natural areas, and develop public policies that ensure adequate protection.
7. Wetlands: Identify and map wetland areas, and develop public policies that ensure adequate protection.
8. Water Quality
of Lakes: Monitor new
construction activity to ensure the preservation of the water quality of
9. Farmland: Identify prime farmland, and continue and improve the effectiveness of public policy incentives for its preservation and conservation.
10. Forests: Identify unique woodland habitat and forest areas, and continue and improve the effectiveness of public policy incentives for its preservation and conservation.
Objective: Continue and improve the effectiveness of
performance standards to ensure all new construction is sensitive to the
natural environment.
1. Air, Soil, and Water Quality: Fully evaluate any new development proposal that intends to introduce hazardous wastes into the atmosphere, soil, or water, and ensure appropriate protective measures are incorporated into the construction process.
2. Natural
Drainage Channels: Ensure new
development proposals maintain natural drainage channels in areas of slope of
15% or more in their natural state and/or stabilize such channels to protect
them from higher rates of stormwater development associated with new
development.
3. Erosion and
Sediment Control: Require erosion and
sediment control plans for all new commercial and industrial construction, and
all new residential construction exceeding 10,000 square feet in area.
4. Stormwater
Management: Require stormwater
management plans for all new industrial and commercial projects and all new
multi–family residential projects to equate pre– and post–development runoff of
the two year storm.
5. Floodway Protection: Require a floodplain management study prior to any land disturbing construction activity in flood hazard areas to ensure no rise in the vertical elevation of the 100 year storm occurs as a result of development.
6. Watershed/Shoreline Protection: Minimize the impact of new construction within 100 feet of streambanks and preserve a minimum of 25 feet of conservation area along the edges of streams.
7. On–site Sewage
Disposal: Coordinate with VDH to ensure
all new building lots dependent on water and sewage disposal systems have
adequate service and service reserve areas.
8. Open Space and Scenic Vistas: Review the visual impact of all new development proposals. When necessary, require improvement of visual impact by careful siting, routing, revegetation, and skillful design.
9. Visual Character: Minimize or eliminate negative eyesores through appropriate siting, screening, and locating of uses such as junkyards, and greenboxes.
Objective: Develop an effective public education
program to improve and encourage conservation of the county’s air, land, water,
soil, farm, forest, and wildlife resources.
1. Federal and
State Programs: Support the efforts of
effective federal and state programs that help conserve farm and forest lands.
2. Public Outreach Programs: Develop effective outreach programs to explain the basis for environmental regulation regarding groundwater, soil erosion, stormwater management, floodplain and wetland protection, and the preservation of prime farm and forest lands and wildlife habitat.
Goal: Proactively plan and develop a safe,
efficient, and accessible transportation network that meets the future, long
term needs of
Objective: Plan a high quality, efficient, and
effective road network that serves the needs of
1. Interstate
I73/83: Strive to make I73/83 a reality,
and ensure it passes through
2. Interstate
I73/83 Corridor Planning: Coordinate
conceptually the new limited access I73/83 corridor alignment with Henry and
3. Route 40 East and West:
Develop conceptual corridor plans for new alignments of Route 40 east
and west of
4. Route 40 West: Develop a
conceptual corridor plan for a new roadway between new Route 40 west and an
upgraded Route 220 interchange at Route 220 south of
5. Route 220
Interchanges: Evaluate the conceptual
feasibility of upgrading the following interchanges:
a) Route 220/new Route 40 West
b) Route 220/ Route 40 East
(existing)
c)
Route 220 South of
6. Route 40
Corridor from Route 220 to Route 122:
Develop a sub–area roadway/traffic circulation plan that reviews
previous findings, evaluates alternatives, and develops a preferred conceptual
subarea plan.
7. Route 640/Blue Ridge Parkway :
Develop a plan to provide Route 640 access to the
8. Route 122/116/834 Corridors: Develop corridor plans that identify conceptual issues and evaluate alternatives to ensure the long range safe traffic carrying capacity of these key roadways.
9. Access to
Franklin County/Smith Mountain Lake Park:
Identify, design, and obtain construction funding for an access road for
a public park on
Objective: Use and support Federal, State, and
Regional, and local Transportation Planning programs and policies to develop a
high quality, efficient road network.
1. VDOT Six Year
Maintenance Plans: Plan and implement
road improvement projects through the VDOT Six–Year Planning process.
2. Route 220
North: Review the VDOT Route 220 North
traffic safety study findings and confirm the details of an action plan to
improve corridor safety.
3. Highway Access on Arterial and Collector Roads: Monitor site plans submitted for projects on all County arterial and collector roads to ensure coordination with long range plans under development for these corridors.
4. Right–of–Way
for Future Road Widenings: Enforce building
setback regulations to facilitate future road widenings, and encourage
voluntary donations of right–of–way for 50 foot minimum widths of all public
roads.
5. Industrial and Commercial Road Links: Identify, design, and obtain construction funding for critical access roads to support future commercial and industrial development.
Goal: Ensure the handicapped, elderly, and financially distressed citizens of the County have adequate pedestrian and vehicular access to essential shopping, services, and job opportunities.
Objective:
1. Human Service
Transportation: Support the
implementation of a coordinated, integrated, human service transportation
system providing essential transportation services to all needy residents.
2. Access for the Disabled: Encourage the long term location and linkage of essential services, shopping, and job opportunities, and identify, design, and obtain funding for pedestrian and vehicular projects to ensure the accessibility of these services.
Goal: Ensure all new development is served by adequate and appropriate access.
Objective:
2. Scenic Byways: Obtain
Scenic Byways designation for a scenic route between the Blue Ridge Mountains
and
3. Pedestrian Access: Identify, plan, and develop pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicular access projects that link key private and public facilities, and improve the quality of life in County communities.
Goal: Ensure the continued viability of the county’s railways, and identify opportunities for new rail industries.
Objective:
1. Support state and federal legislative initiatives to preserve existing rail services and to provide new services as appropriate.
2. Participate in state rail planning programs.
Goal: Develop and implement a County Airport Plan.
Goal: Implement a Long Range Countywide Utility
Plan for Water and Sewer that supports and complements the county’s long range
plan for transportation; residential, commercial, and industrial development;
and community facilities.
Objective:
1. Water and Sewer
for the County citizens and Industry:
Provide water and sewer service as projected to the County service area
and target key future industrial sites in the County, including:
a) Route 220 South/Commerce Center
b) Route 220 North Industrial Sites
c)
2. Regional Water
Supply Source: Develop a regional water
supply source from
3. Rocky Mount/Route 220 Area: Install County public water and sewer through interjurisdictional agreements providing bulk water purchases by the County or through independent County water sources in the County residential and business area around Rocky Mount and Route 220 North and South, including Henry Fork/Doe Run, and unserved areas in the vicinity of Scuffling Hill, among other areas.
4. Route 40 East and West Water and Sewer Service: Develop County public water and sewer service on the Route 40 East and West corridors leading from Rocky Mount through interjurisdictional agreements providing bulk water and sewage treatment purchases by the County, or through independent County sources.
5. Smith Mountain
Lake Water and Sewer System: Develop a County
public water supply source(s), treatment plant(s), and distribution system, as
currently either in planning or underway, that eventually links and
consolidates the new and existing water systems around
6. Water Service Impact Study: Prior to the extension of water service into any area, study the impact of water service to existing and future development on groundwater, roads, and population density to assure conformity with the Comprehensive Plan.
Goal: Ensure the adequate design, construction, and
maintenance of water and sewer systems for all new development in the County
and their appropriate integration into the County public system.
Objective:
1. Standards for Private Water and Sewer Systems: In coordination with State agencies, administer and enforce uniform standards for all central and community water or sewer systems (discharge or non-discharge), and regularly review subdivision and zoning regulations to ensure appropriate development of utility systems which either will be accepted or not accepted by Franklin County, and the long term maintenance and repair of such systems which remain privately-owned
2. Reserve Areas for On–Site Sewage Disposal: Ensure all new building lots dependent on on–lot sewage disposal have a 100% drainfield reserve area, and a program for maintenance and repair.
Goal: Ensure the long term capability of the County
to Dispose of Solid Waste.
Objective:
1. Solid Waste Disposal: Implement the long term management plan to
ensure the effective operations of the new landfill or transfer station.
2. Solid Waste
Collection: Implement the management
plan to consolidate and improve the County Solid Waste Collection system.
3. Recycling: Implement an effective strategy to meet recycling requirements.
4. Litter Control and Beautification: Develop and Implement a complete plan to modernize and improve the collection and waste disposal program.
Goal: Obtain natural gas service for the County to
meet the future needs of industrial, commercial, and community facilities.
Objective:
1. Conduct service area, customer base studies in conjunction with service providers.
2. Cooperate with natural gas service companies in developing service proposals and routes.
Goal: Coordinate with APCO and ensure the County has adequate power at the right locations for future growth.
Objective:
1. Powerline Routing: Review future transmission line locations well in advance of construction and ensure compatibility with community growth and visual character.
Goal: Provide facilities for community services
that respond to the basic human and social needs of County residents. Such
facilities should be located strategically to support and complement the
county’s plans for public utilities, transportation, and future commercial,
industrial, and residential development.
Objective: Maintain a high quality, effective fire and
rescue system.
1. Central Fire
and Rescue Facility: Develop a central
fire and rescue/public safety complex in the vicinity of
2. Fire and Rescue
Volunteer System: Ensure the continued
growth and improvement of the volunteer fire and rescue system through improved
recognition of volunteer service, the provision of adequate equipment, and the
continuation of challenging opportunities for training and personal
development.
3. Emergency Dispatch: Complete road signs, mapping, and Computer Aided Dispatch by 1995.
Objective: Provide centers for the delivery of mandated
human and social services that are accessible and convenient to County
residents.
1.
2. YMCA/Community
Center: Support and encourage the construction of a
YMCA/community center in the vicinity of
Objective: Develop law enforcement services and
facilities to meet the needs of the citizens of the County in the year 2015.
1.
2. Communications: Upgrade radio communications in North, South,
and Southwest areas of the County.
3. Neighborhood Watch: Encourage and support programs that empower local residents to control the security of their neighborhoods.
Objective: Develop Park and Recreation facilities to
serve the needs of County residents, and to take advantage of unique County
resources that can be available for the enjoyment of all citizens.
1.
2. Waid Recreation
Area: Develop and implement a Master
Plan for facilities at the Route 640 “
3.
4. Rural Recreation Centers:
Continue to develop satellite park and recreation facilities at each of
the eleven elementary school locations in the County, thereby insuring that
ballfields, tot lots, and facilities for organized recreation activities are
available within 15 minutes driving time to every resident in
5. Pedestrian
Trails: Develop a Plan for greenways and
trails that use river corridors, abandoned railways, and other linear routes to
link selected County towns, park sites, schools, and other community
facilities.
6. Open Space Preservation/Outdoor Recreation Program: Develop a strategic plan for open space preservation that identifies key wildlife/conservation sites and opportunities, identifies acquisition agencies and programs, and preserves appropriate open space areas for the benefit of future generations.
Objective: Promote understanding and enjoyment of the
county’s rich and diverse historic and cultural heritage.
1.
2. History and
Heritage: Identify, map, and promote
significant historic and cultural sites in the County that build on the
foundation of Ferrum College/Blue Ridge Farm Museum, Booker T. Washington
National Park, the Rocky Mount Train Depot, and
Goal: Provide a range of housing opportunities to meet the future needs of County residents.
Objective:
1. Subdivision
Standards: Establish effective minimum
standards for new subdivisions in rural areas that will be supported long–term
by water and septic systems.
3. Maximum Rural
Densities: Establish maximum development
densities for remote areas of the County distant from public services and
utilities, and provide density incentives for locations close to schools,
services, utilities, and commercial and industrial centers.
4. Design
Standards for Higher Density Residential Development: Establish adequate setbacks, buffer zones,
and landscaping standards to ensure tranquillity of residential neighborhoods.
5. Density Incentives: Establish density incentives for locating multi–family dwellings, townhouses, and manufactured housing parks close to towns and communities with schools, services, and facilities that support such densities.
Goal: Provide opportunities for every resident of
Objective:
1. Minimum Property Standards: Maintain and enforce minimum property standards for all new construction, including single family dwellings, manufactured home parks, and multi–family dwellings. Further, develop programs to improve salvageable, substandard housing, and to demolish or retire vacant, substandard dwellings and mobile homes that cannot be cost effectively repaired.
2.
3. Housing Opportunities for Special Populations: Develop public/private programs to provide housing opportunities for special populations, including elderly persons and handicapped/disabled persons.
a)
Construct a group home in the vicinity of
b) Encourage construction of a continuous care facility as a part of a health care facility in the vicinity of Route 122/834/616.
4. Neighborhood Improvement Program: Identify distressed neighborhoods in the County and seek a fair share of federal and state funds to improve roads, sidewalks, and public utilities.
5. Public/Private Partnership: Work with local lending institutions to develop a non–profit housing agency to provide incentives for home ownership and to make possible private loans to otherwise marginal applicants through counseling and risk underwriting.
6. Habitat for Humanity: Support Habitat for Humanity and other self–help housing programs.
Goal: Establish and maintain a County economy that is self–sustaining, diverse, environmentally sensitive, and capable of creating more and better job and business opportunities for local residents.
Objective:
1. Economic Development Organization: Establish a task force of local citizens to develop a proactive plan for development, and hire a qualified professional Director of Economic Development to organize, staff, and implement the plan:
a) Conduct a study of target industries for future marketing efforts
b) Identify,
acquire, and develop sites
for industry
c) Ensure that the present and future financing, job training, and site/space requirements of existing businesses are met in the County.
2. Industrial Sites and Infrastructure: Ensure that the location of future industrial sites complements and supports the transportation, public utilities, and community facilities plans of the County.
a) Identify a 150–200 acre business park location in the vicinity of Routes 122/670/834.
b) Cooperate with efforts of
c) Develop and market industrial
sites at the
d) Develop industrial sites at
Ferrum and the Route 220N corridor.
e) Develop and promote
f)
Develop and market the remaining sites at the
3. Small Business Development: Help small businesses start and expand.
4. Support the
enterprise zone in
5. Use the expertise of successful County retirees to create a volunteer mentor and new business development program.
6. Maintain
designation as a Redevelopment Area in conjunction with the U.S. Department of
Commerce, Economic Development Administration.
7. As appropriate,
seek state and federal grant funds to promote industrial development (i.e., job
generation and retention).
FUTURE LAND USE
Incorporated towns or unincorporated Community Centers are intended to be the primary focus for commercial services and social activity. Business services include retail shopping opportunities, general business, industry, offices, and government services. These centers serve the daily needs of the population living within a 5–10 mile radius. Rural, low, and medium density residential land uses are located in and around Town and Community Centers. The Centers designated in this Comprehensive Plan are:
·
· Boones Mill
· Ferrum
·
An emerging
Each Town or Community Center has its own unique
characteristics, development pattern, and function within
· Growth Areas: The County will define future growth areas under County jurisdiction, but proximate to the Town, and will coordinate with the Town on rezoning, subdivision, and site plan review for new development within these growth areas to ensure compatibility with Town development plans and the efficient provision of public services and utilities.
· Transportation Planning: The County will coordinate with the Town on
transportation planning issues that affect Town and County residents, including
the upgrading of the three Route 220 Bypass interchanges and the future routing
of I73/83.
· Public Utilities: The County will seek to develop a partnership
with the Town regarding public water supply sources and the extension of public
water and sewer service into County areas.
·
Housing: The County will encourage higher density
residential developments, and housing projects for special populations (such as
the elderly and the handicapped) to locate in the
· The County will seek to improve
operations and safety on Route 220 North, particularly on the approaches to
Boones Mill and at the entrance to the elementary school. To that end, the
County will monitor and evaluate new development proposals on the corridor for
their impact on safe travel on the corridor.
·
The County will identify an urban growth area in
the vicinity of the Town of
· The County will encourage higher density residential and commercial development to locate within the Boones Mill growth area.
·
Establish a high speed, direct road link between
Ferrum and Route 220 that is capable of carrying both truck traffic and
commuter traffic to
· Community Design and
Growth: In coordination with local
citizens and
· Industrial development: The County will identify, develop, and market
industrial sites in the Ferrum area that are compatible with the community’s
long term growth and quality of life.
·
As opportunities arise, upgrade the park and
recreation facilities at the
· Encourage the location of a full-time physician with a family practice in the Ferrum area.
· As opportunities arise, develop a Senior Citizens Center with a variety of services and programs for seniors in the Ferrum area.
The following policies are adopted to guide County
planning efforts for County areas adjacent
to and within the growth areas of the existing and emerging community
centers of
· Transportation Planning: Develop, and strive to implement, transportation plans that anticipate future congestion before it occurs, and that identify needed road improvement to ensure Town and Community Centers are linked by a safe, efficient, and high quality road network.
· Public Water and Sewer: Make future investments in infrastructure
such as water and sewer, that extend and build upon the past investments, and
extend services to areas where roads are capable of serving the new development
that results.
· Residential Development: Encourage small lot subdivisions,
manufactured home parks, townhouse developments, and multi–family apartments to
locate in and around established and emerging Town and Community Centers, where
public water, sewer, and other services are available.
· Community Facilities: Coordinate the location of new community facilities such as schools, libraries, fire and rescue stations, park facilities, and administrative offices so as to strengthen the identity and improve the quality of existing and emerging Towns and Community Centers.
· Gateways and Entry Points: Work with Town and Community officials to identify and plan the enhancement of key gateways and entry points to Town and Community Centers, and to establish guidelines for landscaping, setbacks, and coordination of access so as to enhance the quality of these points.
· Commercial Development:
Coordinate the review of new commercial development on the fringe of
incorporated towns and in and around unincorporated community centers with an
awareness of the impact of such development on the character of the existing
development.
· Industrial Development: Establish and provide density and siting incentives for new industries that can locate on sites in and near incorporated towns and community centers.
A
· Callaway
· Burnt Chimney
· Glade Hill
· Snow Creek
· Sontag
· Henry Fork/Doe Run
· Henry/Fork Mountain
Each of these Rural Villages has its own unique service area and character. These Villages function as the focal point for rural commerce and social interchange, as well as fulfilling important functions regarding education and public safety. These centers create an identity for each County area, and in the future this identity should be strengthened and the quality of life in these Village areas should be improved through wise and thoughtful private and public sector development decisions.
· Residential Development: Encourage small–scale residential
subdivisions, townhouses, and garden apartments in locations that complement
and support established or new Rural Village Centers where supporting services
such as convenience shopping, schools, playgrounds, and churches are
conveniently available.
· Community Facilities: Make future decisions about the location of rural community services and facilities so as to strengthen the identity and improve the quality of life of Rural Villages.
· Community Design: (
· Commercial Development: Coordinate commercial development at key
intersections so as to ensure safe entrances and adequate separation of parking
from travel lanes.
· Industrial Development: Encourage small scale work places in Village Centers, particularly those that provide services to the surrounding rural community.
· Public Utilities: In conjunction with community design studies,
identify villages where small–scale public water and sewer systems are
feasible.
· Agriculture and Forestry: Encourage agricultural and forestal projects as a source of income and as a tool for beautification and revitalization.
In addition to the towns, Community Centers, and
· The County will explore and
implement effective ways to manage and ameliorate the negative impacts of strip
commercial development on important arterial roads that have already
experienced development. These impacts include frequent curb cuts,
proliferation of signs and visual clutter, poor aesthetics and poor traffic
flow.
· In areas that face increasing pressure for strip commercial development, the County will explore ways to provide incentives to encourage beneficial development and desirable site characteristics, and to reduce the negative impacts. These methods will include planning for intersecting local access road nodes connecting to parallel collector roads.
· The County will monitor Site
Plans for new development along key highway corridors, and encourage the coordination
of entrances according to good engineering practices to reduce safety hazards
and congestion, and to meet or exceed VDOT commercial highway entrance
standards.
· Highway Corridor Plans: The County, in conjunction with local businesses and property owners, will study individual highway corridors, and develop a corridor plan to coordinate and improve business development patterns on the corridors.
As a part of its long range transportation planning
program, the County is actively seeking to ensure that a new Interstate is
built through
· The County will monitor progress
on the I73/83 corridor planning and the proposed location of roadbeds and
interchanges. The County will analyze the impacts of alternative proposals on
local roads, traffic patterns, and land use, and will support the location that
best responds to the long term needs of County residents.
·
The County will coordinate its planning efforts with adjacent
· Minimum
· Farmland Preservation: Provide incentives to discourage the conversion of active agricultural land to other uses through continued use value assessment and taxation.
· Agribusiness: Support and encourage both temporary and ongoing agribusiness activities on farms that contribute to their continuing economic operation.
· Agribusiness: Ensure flexible siting standards permit the location and continuation of agribusinesses that support or are a part of the agricultural and forestal economy.
· Conservation of Prime Farmland: Where development occurs in identified agricultural conservation areas, use flexibility in regulations to permit new development to locate on sites that minimize interference with agricultural operations, that use marginally productive land, and that cause a minimum loss of productive agricultural acreage.
·
Soil and Water Conservation:
Encourage agricultural policies to protect and preserve soil and water quality.
·
Watershed Conservation:
Encourage the combination of agricultural–oriented technical and
financial assistance programs with watershed management programs to identify
and prioritize problem areas and to improve conservation measures.
·
Nutrient Management Plans:
Promote BMP for agriculture to minimize nutrient run–off in
· Forestry activities should be conducted in accordance with Forestry Best Management Practices to prevent adverse impacts such as erosion and siltation on watersheds.
· Forestal Operations: Ensure flexible but effective siting standards for forest operations, including saw mills, lumber concentration yards, and trucking operations.
· Residential densities in rural areas should be based on the carrying capacity of the land, i.e., the ability of the land to support water and sewer systems.
·
All building lots fronting on State maintained roads in rural areas
should maintain a minimum frontage of 100 feet, so as to minimize the stacking
of access points.
·
Private roads providing frontage for building lots should have a
minimum width of fifty feet. Roads that are not built to State standards and
that are not eligible for inclusion in the State highway system should
have mandatory provisions for the establishment of associations that provide
for maintenance by lot owners.
·
Road Standards: All roads should
be built to State standards and offered by the developer for inclusion in the
State system for maintenance.
· Density: The density of all new subdivisions to be served by wells and/or septic systems should be determined by the long term carrying capacity of the land.
· All new lots should have adequate reserve areas in the event of septic system failures.
· Buffers: All new subdivisions located in prime farmland areas should include adequate buffers to separate residential uses from agricultural operations.
· Service Roads: New subdivisions abutting County arterial or major collector roads should be provided access onto service roads so as to prevent the stacking of driveways.
· Each new development with waterfront lots must include an overall plan for providing docks for each lot.
· Campgrounds
and
· Campgrounds
and
·
· Minimize visual impact.
· Retain water quality.
· Minimize site disturbance.
· Retain woodland features.
· Provide erosion control of shoreline at and along 795 foot contour.
· Good design will be encouraged for all new residential development. Residential development should accommodate the natural landscape, preserve trees and vegetation, consider solar access in siting, and provide for a workable, efficient, and visually pleasing residential environment.
·
·
Public roads should be required for all subdivisions with lots of less
than five acres. Private roads serving lots of five acres of more should be a
minimum of 50 feet in width, and maintenance of these roads should be
guaranteed by a property owners association.
· Greater lot frontages should be required for subdivision lots fronting on arterial and collector roads to encourage new subdivision side roads and cul–de–sacs and to reduce strip residential development that can lead to greater traffic hazards and congestion.
·
On–street parking should be discouraged in subdivisions in favor of
off–street driveways with areas for side–by–side parking and adequate spaces
for ingress, egress, and turnaround.
·
Access: Coordinate the siting of
new commercial uses to prevent too many commercial exits/entrances over short
lengths of roadway on major routes so as to avoid unsafe conditions and
accidents.
·
Access: Include turn lanes at
exit/entrance points in the development of large scale commercial centers.
· Cluster Development: Locate highway–oriented commercial development in clusters with common access points on sites of a minimum of three acres. Commercial development not located in clusters should coordinate access points to minimize the number of intersections on heavily traveled roads.
·
Sign Control: Develop standards
for sign control along major travel routes to reduce distractions for
motorists, prevent signs that block the line of sight for motorists, and
preserve the aesthetics of an area’s roadways.
· Entrances: Shopping and convenience centers should have main entrances a minimum of 100 feet from intersections of arterial or major collector roads.
·
Landscaping: All commercial
developments should provide linear landscaped areas along front property lines.
· Consolidation: Provide density incentives to promote the consolidation of small, individual commercial parcels into larger scale commercial centers, so as to allow for coordinated access, site design, and shared parking.
· Encourage the location of commercial activities near existing and planned Town, Community Centers, and Rural Village Centers so that commercial nodes will be formed, allowing for a more efficient use of land, energy, travel time, and utilities.
·
Industrial uses should be located adjacent to compatible uses, such as
commercial or other industrial uses. When industrial operations are to be
located near to agricultural or residential land uses, land use arrangements should either create
adequate buffer zones, or allow transition areas such as commercial office
uses.
· Problems or objectionable aspects of industrial uses should be addressed through a combination of realistic performance standards, buffering or reserve areas, and setback regulations. Flexibility in resolving problems associated with the siting of new industry is essential.
·
Industrial uses should locate in areas where public utilities and
facilities are adequate to support and supply the needs of operators. The
approval of new industrial sites should include a review of the requirements
for upgrading and extending roads, water, sewer, electrical, and telephone
systems.
· For County sponsored industrial parks, consider distance from highway, air, and rail transportation in order to improve the convenience and efficiency of the sites, and to avoid bringing heavy industrial traffic through residential and agricultural areas and over roads not designed for industrial traffic.
· Route industrial access to major collector and arterial highways. Plan, design, and locate industrial intersections to minimize traffic conflicts with other land use activities and other road users.
· Consider natural site characteristics in the selection of industrial sites so as to avoid extensive grading, cutting and filling, piping of streams, tree removal, and similar activities.
· Require a site review analysis and a transportation analysis prior to rezoning any site of twenty–five (25) acres or more to an industrial classification. If municipal water and sewer systems are not available to the site, applicants should discuss water supplies and wastewater disposal with the State Health Department.
· Provide equal treatment to existing industry expansion plans and new industry development plans, including flexibility in resolving site design issues.
·
Heavy industrial uses such as quarries and mining operations must be
developed with adequate setbacks from surrounding lands to buffer noise and
dust from crushers, washers, and screeners.
·
Access roads to such uses should be separate from roads serving
existing residential neighborhoods, and the perimeter of such sites should be
bermed and landscaped.
·
Coordination: The
·
Design Standards: The County
will set an example of quality in the location and design of each new public
facility.
·
GIS Access: The County will
secure cost effective access to a modern, comprehensive Geographic Information
System that includes accurate information concerning critical and environmental
resources.
·
GIS Mapping: The County will use
a GIS system that includes a data base on the location of floodplains, steep
slopes, wetlands, groundwater recharge areas, other environmentally sensitive
areas, and cultural and historic resources as a tool for future land use
decisions. The County will also ensure the system is available for use by the
general public.
·
Soil Survey: The County will
ensure that the Soil Survey of the entire County is complete and accessible to
the public.
· Groundwater: The County will seek to identify and map critical groundwater areas, and will develop appropriate policies to ensure their long term conservation.
· The County will develop appropriate incentives and standards to ensure long term conservation of all critical environmental, cultural, and historic resources.
·
·
·
The Franklin County Comprehensive Plan focuses on maintaining the county’s rural character, protecting the environment, upgrading key routes of travel for the future, and developing a strategic plan to meet the public utility and community facility needs of County residents in the year 2015. The Plan encourages controlled growth within and around existing towns and Rural Villages, promotes industry, and identifies performance standards for all categories of land use. This Plan is to be used as a policy guide by the County and the development community from which to base decisions in support of achieving the goals identified in the Plan.
The Future Land Use Plan is general in nature and is intended to provide a framework within which to structure future growth and development in the County. For the Comprehensive Plan to be effective, the Goals and Objectives and the Future Land Use Plan must be implemented through a variety of tools, including County and State regulations, policies and procedures. Land use decision making must be based upon surrounding land uses, environmental and economic impacts and many other issues in addition to the guidance of the Future Land Use Plan and the Comprehensive Plan.
Primary responsibility for implementing the Comprehensive Plan rests with the Board of Supervisors. The Board uses the Code of the County, including the Zoning Ordinance, Subdivision Ordinance, and Mobile Home Park Ordinance, the acceptance of proffers from rezonings, the placement of conditions on Special Use Permits, and the development of specific improvement plans (such as the Solid Waste Management Plan and the Water and Sewer Plan), and the county’s budget to accomplish this ongoing task. In addition, the Board relies upon the various boards, commissions, and review agencies to assist in the implementation process. These include the Planning Commission, the Board of Zoning Appeals, the School Board, the Virginia Health Department, the Soil and Water Conservation District, the West Piedmont Planning District Commission, and the Roanoke Regional Partnership. These boards, commissions, and review agencies obtain direction from the Goals and Objectives, the Public Facilities/Capital Improvements, and the Implementation section of the Plan, as well as from similar documents of their own.
Land development regulations are the most frequently
used implementation tools of the Comprehensive
Plan. These ordinances regulate use, density, placement, subdivision, and
construction of all properties located in the zoned areas of the County. This
document has indicated a number of areas where key Ordinances may be adjusted
in the future to provide appropriate incentives to guide new development in
directions that complement the county’s transportation, community facilities,
and public utility goals. The checklist at the close of this section indicates
a number of specific ordinance updates that will advance implementation of the Plan.
·
· Zoning Ordinance: Develop new planned development commercial and industrial districts to supplement the existing conventional commercial and industrial districts in order to provide incentives for the orderly clustering and development of commercial and industrial uses on highway corridors.
·
Zoning Ordinance: Develop
standards for landscaping and sign control on commercial highway corridors.
·
Zoning Ordinance: Develop
standards for a new zoning district appropriate for large scale, mixed use
developments that include residential, commercial, office, and industrial uses.
· Subdivision Ordinance: Develop new standards for lot frontage on key arterial and collector roads.
· Subdivision Ordinance: Develop new standards for the design and construction of private roads.
· Subdivision Ordinance: Develop new standards to ensure adequate drainfield reserve areas for all lots served by water and septic systems.
· Manufactured Home Park Ordinance: Develop new standards for density, design, and construction of manufactured home parks.
The Code of Virginia provides that property owners may proffer reasonable conditions for the use or development of property in addition to the regulations contained in the Zoning Ordinance. Proffers can assist in the implementation of this Plan. To that end, conditions may be imposed upon special use permit applications. Proffers and conditions associated with these applications should be encouraged to:
· Preserve existing natural features, including wetlands;
· Encourage planned development;
· Retain stream valleys as open space;
· Include handicapped accessibility and landscaping.
· Provide transportation improvements as required by the proposed development along with those that are in keeping with the county’s Comprehensive Plan and that address the impact of the proposed and surrounding development;
· Provide pedestrian path/trails;
· Consolidate small commercial parcels along the county’s highway corridors;
· Provide cultural amenities;
· Preserve agricultural and forestal land;
· Provide
water and sewer facilities in keeping with long–range
· Provide Best Management Practices and stormwater management;
· Provide land for schools, parks, or other public uses that are required to serve the new development;
· Preserve significant historic structures and areas in accordance with the Goals and Objectives of the Comprehensive Plan.
The Franklin County Board of Supervisors and
the Town Councils of Rocky Mount and Boones Mill share in the responsibility of
providing wise and effective governance to the residents of
The Comprehensive Plan is relatively general in nature and may not provide the level of detail necessary to bring about action. Often, a greater level of detail is necessary in order to carry forward the recommendations contained in this Plan. Some examples of studies or area plans needed to supplement the county’s land use plan are:
· Future Roadways and Land Use Studies, including:
· Route 220 North (impact of water and sewer; preventive road planning,
· Route 40 East Corridor,
·
Completion of the
· Area
Plans and Design studies for Community Centers and
· An Inventory of Groundwater Resources;
· An Economic Development Inventory of Scenic, Historic, and Cultural Resources;
·
A Study of Potential Industrial Sites;
·
A Study of Target Industries.
The Franklin County School Board each year updates its Master Plan for School Facilities. The strategy of this Plan identifies elementary school facilities as a key component of the rural Land Use Plan. The School Board’s Facilities Plan should be considered to be directly related to the Comprehensive Plan, and the two should be used together.
The Virginia Department of Transportation periodically revises the long–range Statewide Highway Plan. Also, each year the County and VDOT update the six Year Plan for maintenance and improvement of secondary roads. The updating and approval of these Plans should be considered to be directly related to this Comprehensive Plan.
The Department of Public Safety maintains a Master Plan for Fire and Rescue Services. Like school facilities, the Comprehensive Plan envisions Fire and Rescue services as a key aspect of rural community life. With over 500 volunteers, the fire and rescue services remain key to the community spirit so treasured in the County. The Fire and Rescue Facilities Plan should be considered to be directly related to the Comprehensive Plan, and the two should be used together.
The Water and Sewer Facilities Plan, completed in 1991, provides a detailed inventory of potential water and sewer projects and service areas. These studies provide the County an assessment of feasible projects, needs, and costs, and can be used as the basis for future water and sewer initiatives.
Another means of accomplishing the Goals and Objectives is a proactive economic development program. Some specific programs that will assist the County in its marketing efforts as well as in infrastructure improvements are the creation of an Economic Development Commission, and the Overall Economic Development Program.
· Economic
Development Commission: an Economic
Development Commission, supported by a trained professional staff, can assist
in improving job opportunities and capital investments.
· Overall Economic Development Program: the United States Department of Commerce, through the Economic Development Administration, administers the Overall Economic Development Program to areas that have been designated as “Redevelopment Areas.” Under this program, EDA will provide support consistent with the priorities established by the areas OEDP. Programs consistent with the OEDP become eligible for funding. EDA may provide grants, typically not to exceed 50% of the estimated cost of the project, but under certain circumstances up to 80%.
The scope of the projects that could qualify under OEDP range from traditional infrastructure needs of water, sewer, and transportation to solid waste and recycling facilities to planning, economic development expansion, community facilities, and education and training programs. A key factor in any project request will be the project’s potential impact on reducing the number of unemployed and underemployed, and the conditions associated with low–income families, such as housing.
Many of the Comprehensive Plan’s goals, objectives, and recommendations become actualized through the Capital Improvements Program process. The CIP, a multi–year scheduling of physical improvements, is the primary mechanism for funding various public school facilities and improvements such as schools, parks, and industrial sites. The CIP sets forth for each project the county’s estimated resources available to finance the projected expenditure.
The final ingredient necessary to implement the Comprehensive Plan is the active
involvement of the public. Every action on the part of the County, whether a
zoning change, a CIP project, a special use permit, or a grant application, is
open to public input.
Elected officials and the
Many County programs operate solely through volunteerism. The following is just a brief list of some of the areas that require public support:
· Participation in public hearings,
· Fire and Rescue volunteers,
· Education, through PTA and other activities,
· Civic organizations,
· Cultural Groups,
· Hospital auxiliary groups,
· Recreation program volunteers.
The County must also seek the cooperation of other
public and private organizations in order to implement the Comprehensive Plan. The Plan
specifically recommends joint cooperation with the Town of
·
Master Utility Plan for Water and Sewer,
·
Transportation Planning for Routes 220 and 40 and Interstate 73,
·
Schools,
·
Fire and Rescue,
·
Jail Facilities.
In addition, the County must continue to participate actively in regional organizations aimed at improving the quality of life throughout the region. The Plan specifically advocates a regional approach to the following areas:
· Economic Development and Tourism,
·
Transportation, including Interstate 73,
·
Water quality planning for