Last week, county planner Stuart McKenzie presented a revised draft of Northumberland County’s Comprehensive Plan to the Northumberland County Board of Supervisors, noting that the Northumberland County Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend adoption.

Counties in Virginia are legally required to adopt a Comprehensive Plan, which serves as a long-range policy guide for future growth and development and addresses issues such as land use, transportation, housing and public facilities. The plan essentially lays out a community’s vision for its future and helps ensure that development and decisions happen in an orderly manner. McKenzie noted that the comprehensive plan provides guidance rather than enforceable rules, which are handled separately through the county’s zoning ordinance.

The version presented to Northumberland supervisors featured updates to development guidance, environmental policies, infrastructure planning and new recommendations related to solar energy development.

New Guidance on Solar

A notable update is the addition of a new section outlining concepts solar developers should consider before proposing projects in the county.

The policy notes that renewable energy will likely play an important role in the state’s future energy supply but emphasizes protecting local resources and community character.

Key recommendations include locating solar facilities at least 1,000 feet away from village growth or support areas to allow for future expansion, prioritizing marginal soils over prime agricultural land, minimizing impacts to forest resources by concentrating development on open land, and preserving existing vegetation along property boundaries to provide natural visual buffers whenever possible.

Water Supply and Reservoir Planning Another significant update addresses long-term water supply planning.

While earlier versions of the comprehensive plan referenced reservoirs as a potential future water source, the new document acknowledges that building reservoirs, treatment facilities and distribution pipelines is currently not economically feasible for the county.

Officials noted that the concept could become more viable in the future if groundwater levels decline.

Reorganized Structure

McKenzie explained that another major change is the reorganization of the plan’s chapters.

In the previous version, policy action items were located in Chapter 2, which the Planning Commission felt interrupted the flow of the document. They moved that section to the final chapter so readers can first review background information, land use and infrastructure discussions before reaching the policy recommendations.

They also updated numerous maps throughout the plan to reflect current data, including revised development patterns, updated 2024 flood zones from FEMA, National Wetlands Inventory information and updated traffic volume data and road classifications from the Virginia Department of Transportation.

Those updates are intended to ensure the plan reflects the most current geographic and infrastructure data available.

Updates & Planning Tools

The revised plan also introduces several new elements designed to improve accessibility and future planning efforts.

Historical background information about the county has been moved into a preamble ahead of Chapter 1, while a new “Pillars of Community Growth” page outlines priorities related to quality of life, workforce development, infrastructure and community support. A community growth assessment survey was also added to help gather public feedback that could guide future updates to the comprehensive plan.

Additions were also made following recommendations from state agencies, including data provided by the Virginia Department of Forestry documenting forestry trends in the county.

Next Step

The Board of Supervisors voted to move the draft plan forward for a public hearing, a required step before the plan can be adopted. Supervisor James Long was not present for the vote.