Roanoke Valley Alleghany Regional Commission
Posted on June 11, 2008
In 1968, the Commonwealth passed the Regional Cooperation Act. The bill divided Virginia into 21 official planning districts and encouraged the local governments in each one to form a Planning District Commission.
According to the bill, the purpose of these Commissions was to:
• encourage and facilitate local government cooperation and state-local cooperation in addressing on regional basis problems of greater than local significance
• facilitate the recognition and analysis of regional opportunities and take account of regional influences in planning and implementing public policies and services.
• promote the orderly and efficient development of the physical, social and economic elements of the district by planning for the future.
The Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission (RVARC) serves the Fifth Planning District, which includes Alleghany, Craig, Botetourt, Roanoke and Franklin counties, the cities of Covington, Roanoke and Salem, and the towns of Clifton Forge, Rocky Mount and Vinton. The Commission provides strategic support, including data and sophisticated analysis, to local governments and other planning organizations throughout the district. For example, in 1992 counties in the Third, Fourth and Fifth Planning Districts came together to work with the New Century Council to assess the future of the greater region. For the remainder of the 90s, RVARC supported the group’s planning and implementation efforts. Beginning in 1993, the Commission provided staff support to four municipalities and a steering committee to develop the Conceptual Greenways Plan. Since then, RVARC has been instrumental in the 2002 Regional Strategy, Regional Long-Range Transportation Plan and other issues such as regional water supply and regional stormwater management plans. These efforts are prime examples of RVARC’s support of regionalism.
Wayne Strickland, RVARC’s Executive Director, has been with the Commission since 1979. During that time, his organization has developed dozens of studies and plans pertaining to transportation infrastructure, environmental management, economic development, tourism enhancement and community resources. Today, his organization uses sophisticated economic modeling software to project the impact that new development and tourism-related initiatives have or will have on the region. Strickland’s involvement in 30 years worth of planning could be considered even more valuable.
Of all the planning organizations in the region, his is the most open, unbiased and ubiquitous. RVARC makes every effort to involve the public through planning meetings and discussion forums. The Commission has no agenda other than providing the factual support necessary to make good decisions in the best interest of the region. Because of this stance, RVARC is effective in supporting broad regional efforts as well as more localized municipal plans. In fact, small municipalities with fewer planning resources achieve extraordinary value from relationships with RVARC.
Last year, RVARC completed Comprehensive Plan for the town of Buchanan and a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) for the Alleghany Highlands. The CEDS provides a cohesive roadmap for future economic development efforts. The CEDS is also a requirement to receive grant funding from the U.S. Economic Development Administration. This plan is created in cooperation with local governments, businesses, citizen organizations, and other interested parties. The plan is intended to help promote the orderly and efficient development by stating goals and objectives, strategies to meet those goals, and mechanisms for measuring progress.
This year, Strickland’s organization began work on a CEDS for the overall planning district. He insists that this plan will not be duplicating the efforts of other groups like the Roanoke Valley Economic Development Partnership (RVEDP). Rather, the RVARC will help to ensure that economic development priorities of organizations, such as the Partnership, are incorporated into a larger regional picture.
Strickland understands that the dynamic between RVARC and RVEDP has shifted since the private sector assumed the lead role in the Partnership. The new RVEDP Board of Directors was appointed by the Roanoke Business Council, a consortium of the region’s 50 largest employers. While each municipality maintains representation on the Board, the business community is taking on a greater role in leading the new strategic effort, backed by $6.5 million in new private/public funding.
Based on his 30 years of experience, Strickland sees this shift as a positive development. He would much rather see the private sector take on a stronger role in our economic future as opposed to not participating in the process. When it comes to attracting new business to the region, existing businesses can play a critical role in closing the deal.
It will be interesting to see how the Partnership will utilize the CEDS framework in developing their new program of work. Fortunately, both initiatives are beginning at the same time. So, the opportunity for synergy is clearly present. The CEDS process provides ample opportunity for public involvement. Participation from both the public and private sectors will be critical in achieving consensus as the Partnership moves forward with its plans.
RVARC has set up a CEDS website to make everything easily accessible throughout the process. The first CEDS Committee meeting was held on March 7. The minutes from all Committee meetings and future public meetings are posted online at www.regionalstrategy.org. The next Committee meeting will be held on May 7 from 2pm-6pm at the Claude Moore Education Complex at 109 Henry Street. This meeting will focus on formulating a regional vision statement and formulating Goals and Objectives for the CEDS document and process.The first public meeting will be held in June.
Comments
Leave a Reply
-
get connected
....subscribe to the blog