In early 2022, the Suffolk, Virginia, community set out to update their comprehensive plan and engaged Planning NEXT, with support from McBride Dale Clarion, Clarion Associates, EPR PC, TischlerBise and Ninigret Partners, to facilitate the process. The process, named Suffok2045, has now entered an exciting new phase following a highly successful series of open houses at which core ideas for the plan were shared for comment.
Impactful engagement has been a priority for the City. In this third round of public engagement, broadly promoted open houses, supplemented by interactive, online engagement, allowed for the team to engage with the community regarding land use considerations, growth areas, transportation, economic development, broadband, and more. The materials that were shared highlighted important choices that Suffolk must make about its future. A key topic for the plan is how growth can be accommodated in five opportunity areas that have been identified, including both infill development and potential new development along priority corridors. Coupling economic development opportunities with agricultural preservation best practices is another important focus for the City.
As a result of the well-executed public input campaign, over 1,000 people have interacted with Staff at in-person events, and over 9,000 unique comments have been collected from the Suffolk community.
