Comprehensive Plan Update and Parks Master Plan 2023

The City of Fredericksburg is continuing to grow and plans to maintain the way of life our community expects.  One of the main ways the City can plan for this future is through periodic updates to its Comprehensive Plan and utilize master planning efforts.

The Comprehensive Plan is a document that guides the City of Fredericksburg's decisions on a wide range of topics and services over a 20-year time period.  As this plan acts as the blueprints for development in the City, it will impact neighborhoods, businesses, traffic, the environment, and you.  This Plan is also meant to reflect the vision and priorities of the City of Fredericksburg community and residents, while meeting requirements of state and federal law.

A city’s comprehensive plan can be defined as a long-range planning tool that is intended to be used by City staff, decision-makers, and citizens to guide the growth and physical development of a community for ten years, twenty years, or an even longer period of time.  Comprehensive plans and master plans are created as a guide toward a vision of what the community should retain and what the community could ultimately become.  

The  growth of the Fredericksburg community necessitates the need for advance planning to ensure that municipal service systems, including parks and recreation, keep pace with increasing demands upon these systems.  In the last 25 years, parks and open space planning has become a specialized area within the overall municipal planning structure.  As the population increases, the acquisition and development of parks and open space areas will be significant factors in maintaining a high quality of life for citizens in Fredericksburg. These growth characteristics indicate that the City should continue taking a “hands on” approach in guiding the development of the City. 

The planning process and the resulting policies will be critical to the City's ability to promote and manage growth, protect, and enhance key areas of importance while accommodating future trends.  This includes identifying what makes the City of Fredericksburg unique, establishing the vision of how Fredericksburg will continue to grow, and determining how Fredericksburg achieves that vision through ongoing execution of the implementation action plan.  Once adopted, these plans should be regarded as long-range statements of public policy.

The City of Fredericksburg's current Comprehensive Plan has been in place since 2006.  In 2015, an Issues Update was completed including a Sidewalks Plan, Gateways Plan, and Design Standards and Guidelines for Entry Corridors.  In 2016, a Parks, Recreation & Open Space Master Plan was completed as an update to the 2006 Parks Master Plan.  

We want to hear from you!  To ask a question or provide a comment on the 2023 Update, please use the buttons below.

Public Engagement

Public engagement will play a key role in shaping the new Comprehensive Plan and Parks Master Plan.  Local community members and area stakeholders will be involved throughout the process to provide input on the vision and goals, plan development, and the strategies and recommendations in the final plans.  A wide range of activities and tools will be used to provide convenient opportunities for the public to attend meetings, find information from the convenience of their home or office, meet the project team out in the community, and receive project updates.  

Public engagement opportunities include:

• Advisory Committees
• Focus Groups
• Public Open Houses
• Community Events
• Contacting Elected and Appointed Officials
• Online Surveys
• Digital Communications

Scheduled Public Meetings:

The current Comprehensive Plan was adopted in 2006.  In 2015, an Issues Update was completed including a Sidewalks Plan, Gateways Plan, and Design Standards and Guidelines for Entry Corridors.  The current Parks, Recreation and Open Space Plan was completed in 2016 as an update to the 2006 Parks Master Plan.  

Other documents and ordinances that are used together with the Comprehensive Plan are the Long-Range Visioning Plan, the Subdivision Ordinance, the Zoning Ordinance, and the Historic Preservation Ordinance, among others found the the City of Fredericksburg's Code of Ordinances.

Community Input Findings

Throughout the Comprehensive Plan and Parks Master Plan Updates, community input is used as a key element in the process.  The findings collected throughout the process thus far are available below.  

• City Council Goals & Priorities:  Comprehensive Plan and Parks Master Plan Update
• Community Survey Results - With Open Responses
• Community Survey Results - No Open Responses
• Open House #1 - Public Input Summary
• Advisory Committee Meeting #4 Presentation - July 25, 2023